Chapter 45: Prince Fu's Collection

Behind the underground passageway lay a wide and sturdy stone door. It fitted so seamlessly against the surrounding walls that not even a needle could be inserted—commonly known as a dragon-severing stone.

Without knowing the mechanism or possessing the key, it would take a force of tens of thousands of catties to even nudge it upward.

Standing before the stone door, Yu Xian initially considered asking the Princess Consort whether Prince Fu had left any keys or tokens behind.

On second thought, however, he had just taken liberties with the Princess Consort. To seek her out right now might make her feel he was pressing his advantage, which would not be appropriate.

He paused before the stone door in contemplation for a moment.

Yu Xian opened his mouth and exhaled, and a green radiance a little over three inches long floated before him. It was precisely his blood-refined magical instrument—the Azure Blood Sword.

The name had no profound meaning: azure was its color, blood was genuinely his own, and sword was its shape—simple and crude.

As for any derivative meanings like azure blood and crimson gallantry, or a gentleman upholding his integrity, attributing those to him would be giving him far too much credit.

"Go!"

At a thought from Yu Xian, the green radiance instantly surged, stabbing toward the stone door like a drill bit.

Then came unexpected ease.

It was just like a knife cutting into tofu, meeting virtually not a shred of resistance.

The green radiance cleaved into the stone door, swishing left and right, and carved out an opening just large enough for a person to pass through.

Yu Xian glanced at the cut and discovered that the stone door was actually a foot thick and cast in a single piece.

Prince Fu must have expended countless efforts to place it here; even a Innate Grandmaster going all out would likely be unable to fracture it by even a fraction.

Yet facing his magical instrument, it offered not the slightest bit of resistance.

"The dragon-severing stone is impervious to water and fire, and is connected to the earth's veins as one. If I were still in the mid-stage of Qi Refining, getting inside would require a fair bit of effort.

No wonder stepping into the late stage of Qi Refining qualifies one as an expert. Having a magical instrument in hand fundamentally changes everything."

With his spiritual sense leading the way, Yu Xian probed into the secret chamber, discovering no further trap mechanisms blocking the way.

Clearly, in the mind of the designer, anyone capable of breaching this dragon-severing stone would find the presence or absence of mechanisms entirely irrelevant.

Clack!

A spark flashed, and the secret chamber lit up with a faint glow.

Yu Xian first took a breath. He sensed not the slightest staleness; the air was identical to the outside world, clearly indicating that ventilation ducts were installed within the chamber, preventing it from being completely sealed.

The secret chamber was roughly a hundred square meters in size, lined with rows of bookshelves.

On the shelves sat various treasures worth a thousand gold pieces in the outside world, alongside generations of master paintings and calligraphy worthy of being handed down, all meticulously mounted and hung.

At this moment, a layer of dust coated the shelves, suggesting that no one had come to clean for quite some time.

Yu Xian swept his gaze over them and looked no further.

In prosperous times, antiques; in chaotic times, gold.

Now that the State of Yue was caught in troubled times, even if he took these items, he could not trade them for much silver, and they would merely occupy space in his storage pouch.

Next came various divine weapons and sharp blades, mostly sabers and swords.

Clang!

Yu Xian drew a precious sword whose scabbard was embedded with seven-colored gemstones. Half of the blade was exposed, radiating a chilling glare, its edge seemingly keen enough to cleave hairs blown against it.

"The sword is named Seven Stars, but unfortunately, it is merely a mortal blade."

Yu Xian pushed backward with his wrist, returning the precious sword to its sheath, and with another twist of his wrist, casually slung the Seven Stars Sword across his back.

"Still, it's not bad for disguising oneself as a swordsman—quite flashy, suits me."

Following that were rows of brocade boxes.

Yu Xian first swept his spiritual sense across them to ensure there were no traps within the brocade boxes, avoiding any mishaps in the gutter. Even if they could not injure him, they might still put him in an awkward spot.

He opened a brocade box.

Inside were actually medicinal herbs!

Yu Xian could now be considered a seasoned invalid. Having dealt with Physician Huang for so long, he possessed a discerning eye for identifying certain medicinal herbs.

"This ginseng has complete roots, vaguely resembles a human form, and harbors inner spiritual qi. It's at least two hundred years old.

Even in the immortal cultivation world, this counts as a decent spiritual medicine, capable of fetching at least a few dozen spiritual stones. Who knows where Prince Fu managed to acquire it.

Ahem, Your Highness, since I'm taking care of your Princess Consort and your son for you, I'll consider this ginseng as my compensation."

Yu Xian muttered to himself, and the very next second, the brocade box was stowed into his storage pouch.

Once ginseng exceeds a century in age, it qualifies as a spiritual medicine, which also marks the limit for herbs in the mortal realm.

The most precious ingredient in the medicinal wine Physician Huang had previously brewed for him was a century-old ginseng, and even then, only its roots were used.

Yet there were exceptions to every rule; herbs capable of growing beyond their normal lifespan occasionally appeared, though they were always a matter of serendipity rather than deliberate seeking.

He had not expected Prince Fu to possess one here.

"Could it be that Prince Fu is truly dead? Otherwise, why would such precious medicinal herbs be left behind uncollected?"

Yu Xian had always suspected that Prince Fu had faked his death to make his escape.

Yet seeing the treasures within the secret chamber made that theory rather unconvincing.

"That might not be it either. Perhaps Prince Fu felt there was no place safer than this, and rather than transferring them elsewhere, it was better to sit tight."

A hundred thoughts spun through Yu Xian's mind, though it did not prevent him from opening the brocade boxes one by one.

However, perhaps because of his auspicious start, the remaining herbs were also exceedingly precious, such as musk, deer antler, and fleeceflower root. All of them possessed rich medicinal fragrances, clearly none of them being ordinary goods.

Even so, they remained at the level of the mortal realm.

Yet Yu Xian did not disdain them; he packed them all away into his storage pouch.

The herbs here were all highly nourishing and would be excellent for brewing wine. Several of the main ingredients for Physician Huang's Ten-Complete Great Nourishing Wine could be found right here.

In the very corner lay manual after manual, also sealed individually in brocade boxes and treated with some kind of insect-repelling medicine. A strange scent emanated from the books, somewhat resembling mothballs.

*"Splitting Tendons and Dislocating Bones", "Great Tablet-Smashing Palm", "Hunyuan Thunderbolt Palm", "Tai Chi Pushing Hands"…*

*"Treading on the Grass", "Flying Wild Geese Treading on Snow", "Crossing a River on a Single Reed", "Lingbo Weibu", "Eight-Step Chasing Cicada"…*

*"Golden Body Skill", "Bronze Statue Body", "Pure Yang Virgin Body", "Tiger Roar Dragon Chant"…*

*"Classic of the Mysterious Maiden", "Classic of the Plain Maiden", "Classic of Peng Zu"…*

Initially, Yu Xian cared little, feeling these were mere mortal martial arts. Even so-called Innate martial techniques could not compare to the refinement of any casual spiritual spell.

That was until he laid eyes on the bedchamber arts collected by Prince Fu.

"Learning has no end, and the sea of knowledge is boundless. As expected of Prince Fu's collection, this illustration technique is truly exquisite. Hiss, this posture looks rather formidable."

In any case, the manuals were not thick. Yu Xian picked a few of each category, especially the bedchamber arts—he left not a single one behind, sweeping them all into his storage pouch.

This concerned his Great Dao, after all, and could not be treated carelessly.

Having secured the bedchamber arts along with his harvest of medicinal herbs, Yu Xian felt his trip had already been amply rewarding.

However, when he laid eyes on the very last brocade box, he realized he had rejoiced too early—he could rejoice even more.

Inside the box were three jade slips, white and yellow in color, yet all of them dull and devoid of luster, as if haphazardly polished from miscellaneous jade.

Yet Yu Xian saw at a second glance that these jade slips were precisely the carriers used in the immortal cultivation world to record information.

All cultivators possessed spiritual sense.

Consequently, information no longer had to rely entirely on written text; many precious pieces of information were stored using jade slips, which were incomparably more convenient than paper or animal skin carriers.

Yu Xian swallowed hard, picked up one of them, and pressed it against the center of his brow.

*"Azure Sea Tide-Sensing Art", a lower-grade superior-tier cultivation method. After practice, one's magic power surges like the tides, exceeding peers by thirty percent, and it can be cultivated up to the Foundation Establishment realm at its peak.*

Yu Xian roughly reviewed the cultivation method and discovered it was indeed far superior to his lower-grade foundational *Innate Qi-Refining Technique*. The magic power cultivated through it was not only denser than that of his peers, but it also granted a power bonus when casting water-type spiritual spells.

However, this method had an affinity for the water element; if he wished to switch cultivation methods in the future, he would be restricted to water-type techniques.

"This must be the cultivation method of the manor's Chief Honorable Guest. As expected of a royal heritage, they can casually produce a lower-grade superior-tier cultivation method.

Pity it doesn't suit me. If only there were a method pertaining to metal or wood."

If this had been a mid-grade or higher cultivation method, Yu Xian would have switched without hesitation, suitability notwithstanding.

Being a lower-grade technique, however, its advantages were confined to the Qi Refining stage; by the time one reached Foundation Establishment, those advantages would become exceedingly weak.

He was already at the ninth layer of Qi Refining; unless it was an exceptional fit, switching to another lower-grade technique would result in a net loss.

He picked up the second jade slip.

*"Encyclopedia of Basic Water-Type Spiritual Spells", Water Arrow Technique, Water Shield Technique, Water Prison Technique, Water Wall Technique…*

"This one is rather good. Although my magic power lacks affinity for the water element, spiritual spells are universal; at worst, their power won't be as formidable as someone else's.

Besides, these spiritual spells are comprehensive, combining offense and defense. At least I won't have to conquer the world using solely Fireball Technique anymore."

"There's still one last jade slip. I wonder what surprise it holds for me?"

*"Qi-Aculation Art", a tier-one secret technique. It can conceal one's magic power fluctuations, hiding breath and qi. Cultivated to perfection, one can mask their cultivation even under the spiritual sense inspection of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.*

"This, this..."

Yu Xian was struck dumb by the pleasant surprise.

This was practically an essential technique for shady operators; he had yearned for it for a long time. With this technique, it would no longer matter even if he exposed a sliver of his cultivation in front of others.

After a long while, Yu Xian finally calmed his pounding heart.

"Your Highness, you may rest in peace. I shall take good care of the Princess Consort."

Otherwise, accepting so many gifts for nothing would weigh too heavily on his conscience.

Upon departing, Yu Xian had people summoned to haul out the remaining treasures from the secret chamber, packing them all away to take with him.

Since he was going to flee anyway, leaving these things behind would merely supply the enemy; it was better to exchange them for some silver.

(End of this chapter)