Chapter 17: Refining the Thunderbolt Pearl

One hundred thousand taels of silver, eight boxes of yellow jade, two boxes of land deeds, twenty-four three-foot corals; besides these, there was a seven-foot-four-inch tall white jade-like coral, its branches full, standing like a canopy.

In a secret vault behind the hall.

Chen Hang didn't even use a key, smashing the sealed door with one punch, revealing the wealth Daoist Yangshan had accumulated over many years.

The Yangshan disciples following far behind him all gasped, unable to stop whispering to each other.

Just the silver alone amounted to one hundred thousand taels, dozens of large boxes stacked layer upon layer, taller than a man.

In this world, an acre of prime paddy field would at most be thirty taels in a good year; if it were a famine year, perhaps eight or ten taels, or even cheaper, could easily buy an acre.

Those who came to Yangshan to learn the Dao, though called disciples, were no different from long-term slaves serving tea and water; they were all sold by their parents and relatives because they couldn't afford to eat, having already signed death contracts.

Seeing so much wealth that they wouldn't even dare to dream of, the hearts of the many disciples didn't dare to beat, thinking they were having a nightmare.

"This master, since you have occupied Yangshan, what will happen to us?"

Suddenly, a bold one shouted:

"Master, keep a few people by your side to serve you! The small one is proficient in eighteen kinds of skills, cooking, raising horses, night-watching, sweeping—I am proficient in everything, let me stay and serve you!"

His shout was like the start of a trend, and other Yangshan disciples became noisy, all starting to express their loyalty.

"The Young Master is a member of the Chen Clan, a high-ranking noble family! Even if he needs servants, there are plenty of clean-blooded family-born servants to serve him. What are you worthless things? How dare you chatter endlessly?"

A Chen Clan servant who had sent the sedan chair up the mountain was displeased and scolded: "Why don't you get lost? Are you an eyesore standing here?"

The person who was scolded shrank his head, but the more he endured, the angrier he became, finally retorting sarcastically.

The two sides argued back and forth like this, and the scene suddenly became chaotic.

"Enough!"

Chen Hang shouted deeply, suppressing the noise of the crowd: "No need to argue, I don't need anyone to serve me."

"Young Master Hang, this won't do."

A Chen Clan steward became anxious upon hearing this: "This Yangshan has quite a bit of land, and it's inevitable that tigers, leopards, and wolves will roam, which will disturb your cultivation. Why not let me leave a few alert servants? Not to mention protection, even for daily meals, it's convenient to have someone to take care of things."

"Which innate Embryonic Breathing cultivator would fear wild wolves, tigers, or leopards? As for meals, dried meat and preserved fruits are enough to fill the stomach."

"How can the Young Master eat such lowly food, I—"

The Chen Clan steward still wanted to argue.

Chen Hang just swept his eyes over him, and the steward immediately felt as if he had fallen into ice and snow, his whole body cold, unable to stop trembling.

"Lowly food? Then what did I eat on Little Ganshan?"

Chen Hang didn't want to speak again: "I understand what you mean, don't worry, I am a person who rewards merit; the wealth left by Daoist Yangshan has a share for you."

"Senior Brother, is there anything you like? Feel free to take it; today, without you, it would not have been possible."

He turned to Xu Zhi and said: "This worldly gold and silver is not enough to reward you, just take it as a prize to play with."

Xu Zhi shook his head and smiled, saying: "What use is worldly gold and silver to me? Little Ganshan doesn't use such things either. However, I see that those Yangshan disciples don't seem to be great villains, all from poor backgrounds. Junior Brother, can you distribute some silver to them too?"

"Is that so?"

Chen Hang looked at Xiao Yu on the side: "What is their nature?"

"Well, they are from poor backgrounds, that's true, they just joined the sect not long ago... those who did evil before were all taken by Duanbao to your house, and none came back. Were they killed by Young Master Hang?"

After a long time, Xiao Yu finally woke up like a dream.

That pale and thin face revealed absolute madness, and she spoke softly and gently: "However, in this ghost den of Yangshan, good people will be turned into ghosts if they stay too long. Better to kill them all!"

She suddenly burst into loud laughter, every sound weeping blood: "Burn this whole mountain down! One fire, bundle the people and the beasts together, and burn them all clean!!!"

The woman's laughter was as sharp as a night owl in a lonely forest on a cold night.

Everyone present felt their hearts tremble and their soles turn cold from her laughter. Even Xu Zhi quietly gripped the broken sword in his hand to embolden himself.

"Understood, they haven't done evil."

Chen Hang remained unmoved and instructed the Chen Clan steward:

"There are still many women in this mountain who were abducted by Yangshan for pleasure. Give them a share of the gold and silver too. Do not allow any concealment or private hoarding. Do you remember?"

The Chen Clan steward hurriedly agreed, his back covered in cold sweat without knowing when.

Chen Hang withdrew his gaze from the vault, feeling listless, and did not look again.

Just as Xu Zhi said, worldly gold and silver were of no use to a cultivator.

If they wanted to live in luxury in the mortal world, a simple Five-Ghost Moving Daoist art could bring in countless gold and silver, more than could be enjoyed in a lifetime.

"Having obtained three talisman artifacts and the foundation of Yangshan, this trip was not in vain."

He weighed the Universe Bag taken from Daoist Yangshan's corpse, his expression shifting slightly.

This Universe Bag was the highlight of this trip.

This bag truly had the ability to contain the universe in a mustard seed, forming a space within itself, which could be used to store objects. Strictly speaking, this Universe Bag could also be considered a talisman artifact.

This Universe Bag should contain many resources suitable for cultivators, but with so many eyes and ears, Chen Hang couldn't investigate it directly.

After Chen Hang turned around.

The expression on Xiao Yu's face slowly turned from madness and resentment to numbness and blankness.

"You... why didn't you come earlier..."

She murmured in her heart.

Deep in her eyes, a trace of crazy killing intent flashed and disappeared.

Five days later.

In the mountain belly, in the quiet chamber where Daoist Yangshan used to retreat.

Chen Hang sat cross-legged, wisps of white gas overflowing from his mouth and nose, continuously washing over a red and white pearl floating between his chest and abdomen.

After another half-stick of incense, Chen Hang suddenly opened his eyes and inhaled the overflowing white gas back into his chest and abdomen.

"Absorb!"

He pinched a Dharma seal, bit the tip of his tongue, and sprayed essence blood onto the red and white pearl between his chest and abdomen.

As this mouthful of essence blood sprayed out, his face suddenly turned pale, and his figure swayed.

And the red and white pearl, stimulated by the essence blood, suddenly shone brightly, reflecting the entire cave in red and white colors, which was quite beautiful. This brightness lasted for dozens of breaths before gradually dissipating.

"Finally refined this Thunder-Fire Thunderbolt Pearl. Daoist Yangshan is worthy of being a Sixth-Layer Qi Cultivator; the essence blood mark he left behind was indeed difficult to deal with."

Chen Hang beckoned slightly.

The pearl, the size of a pigeon egg, immediately flew into his palm like a tired bird returning to the forest, and under the drive of his mind, it moved left and right, up and down, very nimbly.

"Finally, I have a protective object."

A smile appeared on Chen Hang's face.