The Sword Dynasty

Book 8: Chapter 59: Foundation

Zhangsun Qianxue had previously been a bit angry. While there were still some moonstones left in the first warehouse, without the blueprints from Jiaodong it would take a lot of effort to use them in seal weapons other than the statues. Also, Zheng Xiu had taken away most of them. She feared that they would turn into more powerful attacks against them.

But when this warehouse was opened and she saw what was inside, her anger instantly disappeared.

This warehouse was also filled with very large and orderly wooden shelves. But these shelves were filled with all kinds of tools. Some were specially made jade boxes and bottles, some were porcelain items sealed with wax, some were also containers made from stunning gems. There were also some made from ordinary wood.

Whether it was her, Lin Zhujiu, Ding Ning, or Zhang Shiwu, they all knew the purpose of these containers. They contained different energies used to store medicines of different qualities to prevent the power of the medicines to dissipate. Most of them were filled with all kinds of spirit medicines. So this warehouse was a giant medicine store.

In the past, the Zhangsun Family also had a medicine store, but in Zhangsun Qianxue’s memories, her family’s room was just the size of several houses, and could not compare to this warehouse. Even more importantly, this Jiaodong warehouse was filled with many stunning spirit medicines.

At a glance, there were dozens of ocean beast cores in the pure crystal bottles. More than half of them were the size of fists. The brimming energy was trapped inside the bottles like colorful clouds. Just from her perception, she was certain that these were spirit medicines of the same level as serpent cores.

What did this mean?

Ye Celeng had been the bureau chief in the Qin Dynasty, and cultivated for more than a decade overseas, and only got one serpent core. It was rare for ordinary nobility to get such a core once in their lifetime.

In these decades, Jiaodong Commandery had only ever given a few cores among their tribute to Changling. Not all powerful beasts would form cores, same with the serpent dragons. If Zhangsun Qianxue was not seeing with her own eyes, she would not have thought that Jiaodong Commandery had managed to accumulate so many serpent cores in the past centuries.

There were differences in the energies of the cores of all beasts, including the serpent dragons, but almost all of them could be used in medicine. Some could be directly induced in order to extract the spirit energies contained within to use directly. Others needed healers to remove the energies detrimental to cultivators.

Qing Yaoyin had followed Ding Ning to Jiaodong Commandery. Just these serpent cores of different qualities was a stunning sum of wealth which could be used to create powerful pills of different abilities. Also, they were just a part. Other than these serpent cores, there were thousands of cores of different shapes and colors in other containers. It was hard to imagine how many beasts Jiaodong Commandery’s cultivators had killed over these centuries to harvest such stunning wealth.

Lin Zhujiu had followed Ding Ning into the warehouse. He walked to a corner and picked up a coral.

This coral was blood red, brighter in color than most gems, and also gave off a faint tang of blood. This was the blood coral, a spirit medicine known in the world to increase blood and energies.

At this time, the blood coral he held in his hand was just a bit more than a foot. But if it was used in medicine, it could replenish the energies and blood he had lost during his imprisonment, and greatly increase his energies.

Back when the Qin Dynasty taught the Han, Zhao, and Wei, they had gotten several branches of blood coral like this, and the healers of the Qin made them into medicine. They had been used on the battlefield. At least, during the Changling battle, there were no blood corals like this in the treasury of the Qin Dynasty.

But, right now, in front of Lin Zhujiu, there was a whole pile! At least sixty or seventy blood corals, the longest one over six feet long!

And because these blood corals had existed tens of thousands of years under the sea, their medicinal power was very steady and refined. So they did not need special storage methods. At this time, these blood coral branches were piled up simply like firewood in front of Lin Zhujiu.

The blood red color reflected on Lin Zhujiu, turning his entire body red.

“To Zheng Xiu, Jiaodong Commandery is truly too small,” Zhang Shiwu looked at many corners of the warehouse, and could not help but say.

He had hid in Changling for many years as a gardener, because he liked plants. So he had some understanding of some of the legendary plants. He saw many plants that he had only seen before in books in some special containers.

From a certain point of view, Jiaodong Commandery was crazy. Hundreds of years of silent accumulation, and in the end, they only used ten percent or so of what they had. Before Zheng Xiu became the mistress of Changling, people only felt that Jiaodong Commandery was strong, but only just that.

During this accumulation process, if Jiaodong Commandery was even the tiniest bit presumptuous, people would feel it was a fat piece of meat which people would covet, and Jiaodong Commandery would have been eaten.

When Jiaodong Commandery accumulated such stunning wealth and a powerful person like Zheng Xiu appeared, then Jiaodong Commandery could become a dominant force in the Qin Dynasty.

Jiaodong Commandery did not lack for powerful cultivators. But compared to these resources, there were too few young talents who had good cultivation ability and were worthy of being invested in by Jiaodong Commandery.

If not for Ba Mountain Sword Field back then.

If not for Yuanwu.

If she were to take complete control of the Qin Dynasty, just with the medicines in this warehouse, how many completely loyal cultivators could she create?

Zhang Shiwu could imagine, if such a day truly came, if the Qi and Yan dynasties still existed, then they would be shocked to see countless powerful cultivators appear under her rule, greater than in any other than in the Qin Dynasty.

If there truly was such a day, then everyone would likely think that she had the mandate of heaven. When something was in such a terrifying quantity, there was no meaning in counting it. That was something done when it was going to be used.

Ding Ning and the others did not linger in the second warehouse, and quickly went to the third.

“If Qing Yaoyin were here, he might go mad,” when the third warehouse was opened, Ding Ning could not help but say.

Qing Yaoyin was the best at medicine, but his medicines were mostly used to change beasts.

What entered their sight in the third warehouse was one of the most important parts of Jiaodong Commandery, without any exaggeration. The things were messily piled up, like those corner stores on Changling’s streets which sold all kinds of things, but many times larger.

But in general, they could be in three categories. One was books on the habits of the beasts, maps, sea charts with the gathering places of sea beasts, and how to tame them. The second was materials used to raise beasts, food that was essential during the feeding process, or medicines needed to maintain their abilities. The last was eggs of sea beasts, or infant beasts which had been forced into sleep with certain methods.

In the seas outside Jiaodong Commandery, there were all kinds of sea beasts. Some sea beasts were weak, and could only be used as food. Others could not be tamed or did not have value to be tamed. But there were all kinds of beasts that could be tamed and used as steeds, or as guardians, or in combat.

Jiaodong Commandery first relied on taming beasts to defend against their enemies. Now, in this warehouse, there were countless methods to tame beasts, materials, and books.

This warehouse could be called the early foundation of Jiaodong Commandery.

Translator Ramblings: Blood coral is pretty but don’t use it for medicine. Protect coral reefs.