Chapter 60: Inventory

Sanyin Temple, quiet room.

Chen Ci is currently taking inventory of his dreams.

As for whose they are, such details need not be minded at all.

First is the Great Liang banknotes, totaling fifty-six thousand taels.

Huh, Chen Ci doesn't understand either how his banknotes appeared here, so he very naturally tucks them into his bosom.

As for that golden thread money pouch picked up from who knows where, it was burned in a fire; the gold threads were pinched into small gold beans and tucked away.

Fourteen jin and seven liang of Five Qi Peiyuan Mushroom.

Originally there was more, but after these greenish mushrooms were picked, some of poor quality withered quickly, resulting in a loss of about one-third of the amount; otherwise, there should have been a yield of around twenty jin, which is a bit of a pity.

Two thousand nine hundred and fifty-seven drops of refined Essence Refining.

One large bronze tripod.

This tripod is of an archaic style and quite large in volume, enough to fit a person inside with room to spare; the tripod body bears the two ancient characters for "Medicine Spring," and looking closely, one can faintly sense a trace of spiritual energy, indicating that the tripod material either contains some Spirit Material or has gained a trace of spirituality over time, making it no ordinary mortal object.

Whether for refining medicine or serving as a base for a Dharma Artifact, it works, but its value is not easy to assess, nor is it easy to sell.

Longhu Dharma Sword, Longhu Dharma Robe, Longhu Dharma Seal.

Chen Ci feels unlucky just looking at these few items; not only are they useless, but they are also difficult to dispose of.

This Dharma Sword is neither a Dharma Artifact nor a flying sword, otherwise Chen Ci would have been dead already; it is simply a finely crafted Spirit Iron Treasure Sword of superior quality, perhaps mixed with other Spirit Materials, and with True Qi flowing through the sword body, it is more than a notch stronger than an ordinary Spirit Iron sword.

The Dharma Robe has a large cut and is still stained with blood; how to deal with it is a problem.

And the Longhu Dharma Seal is just a token with a simple Dharma Power Prohibition, representing the identity of an Apprentice of Longhu Mountain; to Chen Ci, it is simply too hot to handle, and he doesn't know if it carries a tracking function.

A few scrapped Soldier Beans; he originally wanted to study this kind of wondrous Yin Soldier Talisman Artifact, but found it useless and couldn't understand it at all.

A few weapons inherited from the military, made of Sha iron, worth a little money.

However, Chen Ci decides to return them to the Wang Family of the County Lieutenant.

Firstly, to accumulate some good karma.

Secondly, the Wang Family has cultivated in Changping County for a hundred years; they won't collapse just because four men died in battle, though their vitality is certainly damaged, their connections in the county are still usable.

One Baiyang Sword, slightly stronger than an ordinary Spirit Iron sword, with decent texture.

One volume of "Baiyang Sword Solution."

These are all the gains from Qingquan Village worth mentioning.

And, Basic Sword Technique: Master/Clear Insight.

"In a sword fight, aside from strategic thinking against the enemy, thinking too much about anything else is useless; when the intent arrives, the sword arrives, and with a clear mind, any sword move used well can kill."

Chen Ci lightly covers the wound on his left chest and abdomen, his brows slightly furrowed.

This place should have been a vital spot for the heart, and a moment of carelessness would have meant death, but with a clear state of mind, he was able to subconsciously judge the outcome of this sword strike, make a choice, and seek victory within the sword.

It had the flavor of using one's body as bait and gambling one's life on a single sword strike.

It was very useful, but he won't use it next time.

"However, after Basic Sword Technique reached Master, there is no progress or analysis on the Gold Finger panel; it seems this means I have reached the peak of mortal sword moves, and even if there is progress, there won't be a qualitative change."

Chen Ci rubs his chin, his expression showing a hint of regret.

This shows that although his Gold Finger panel is useful, it does not seem to have the ability to turn the mundane into a divine ability just by practicing something to the extreme.

Basic Sword Technique cannot make sword light like a rainbow, sword Qi like thunder, or shatter the void.

"But then again, with a few mortal sword moves, can one really practice them into something extraordinary? That would be thinking of the path to Longevity too easily."

Chen Ci laughs dumbly, but what a coincidence, just as mortal techniques reached their end, a sword solution arrived, which can be considered a seamless transition.

Chen Ci closes the "Baiyang Sword Solution" in his hand, his face quite speechless.

So this is it.

The name sounds decent, and at a glance, one might think it is some orthodox sword manual of a profound sect; he was originally quite expectant, but after opening it to read, he realized this so-called sword solution is merely a minor heterodox technique, fine for being brave and fierce, but impossible for refining Qi and Longevity, and it even damages the physical foundation, hindering the Great Dao.

This sword solution records three techniques: Gold Swallowing Method, Lung Gold Method, and Washing Refining Method.

To practice this sword solution, one must first use the Gold Swallowing Method to swallow gold and iron objects, cultivating Gold Qi with stomach earth; then perform the Lung Gold Method to refine the Gold Qi into a breath of Lung Metal Sword Qi; finally, use the Washing Refining Method to nourish the Lung Metal Sword Qi, refining Qi to break through the apertures, fighting and killing enemies, all is possible; the book records that practicing to a high level can break through as many as Thirty-six Apertures.

But the problem is, this Gold Swallowing Method damages the liver and stomach, the Lung Gold Method damages the lungs and viscera; the deeper the practice, the worse the foundation, and using sword Qi to break through apertures is suicide if one is not careful, and the resources required are massive.

To sum it up, it's pretty trashy anyway.

Throwing this booklet aside, Chen Ci cannot help but sigh.

The true path is hard to find.

"The Five Yin Evil Qi Bag is not very reliable, even that Ge Laodao didn't look highly upon it, but given its ranking in the He Mountain Sect's great techniques, that shouldn't be... this Baiyang Sword Solution is also unreliable; what a waste of my joy just now."

"The biggest gain this time is actually that tripod of Essence Refining; calculating this way, my merit points are almost enough to exchange for a Tiger Sha Breaking Aperture Pill!"

A trace of hesitation flashes across Chen Ci's face.

Items to improve cultivation, items for self-protection; if it were before, he would definitely choose the former.

But after this battle, Chen Ci feels that not having a handy Dharma Artifact for protection won't do either; the cultivation world is truly too dangerous!

Low-level cultivators lack resources and always have to face such choices, making it hard to have the best of both worlds.

"It's hard... but to be honest, if I had a Five Poisons White Bone Sword or a Hundred Spirits Poison Dragon Sword in hand, relying on this Basic Sword Technique would be the real trump card."

Dual cultivation of poison and sword.

I bet I could make that guy surnamed Ge speechless in a few moves.

Five Poisons White Bone Sword: 120 merit points.

Hundred Spirits Poison Dragon Sword: 80 merit points.

Tiger Sha Breaking Aperture Pill: 50 merit points.

Merit points: If counting this batch of Essence Refining, about 42 merit points.

These two Dharma Artifacts are only the methods of sacrifice and refining; to form combat power, one must also diligently refine the Prohibition layers, and this consideration must also be included.

Hard to choose, really very hard to choose.

"Silver notes, Foundation Cultivating Mushrooms, plus what I can scrape together myself, and counting this month's Frost Sugar cargo funds, it seems I can get close to one hundred thousand taels of silver."

Roughly worth one hundred catties of Five Elements Divine Sand, or five thousand drops of Essence Refining, or fifty contribution points.

Calculating it this way, Chen Ci was even a bit startled; murder and arson bring golden belts, and if he were to enter Qingquan Village again, he doubted whether he would be the one to strike first.

He had truly struck it rich.

"Now it's even harder to choose!"

"And I don't even know how much it costs to advance in the He Mountain Sect; damn it, this is just too hard."

Chen Ci could not help but pace back and forth in the room, countless thoughts rising and falling, but it was just very hard to make up his mind.

But suddenly, he glanced at the Baiyang Sword Solution tossed to the side, and subconsciously touched the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag.

Huh?

Gold Swallowing Method, stomach earth nourishes metal Qi, evil Qi.

Chen Ci stopped his pacing and began to ponder, lost in thought.

The Five Yin Evil Qi Bag at his waist, however, was shivering: Master, you must think twice before you act!

(End of chapter)