The first thing Ryu noticed were Edwin's Qi Stones. Of course, he wasn't as rich as Fidroha, but this could only be expected. Edwin's cultivation was not only lower, but his background should be weaker as well. If it wasn't, he would be forced to be a subordinate of Fidroha's.
Of course, aside from that, Ryu had some middling thoughts of his own. For example, Edwin's hatred of him was far too high. No matter how unreasonable the martial world was, it couldn't possibly birth a cultivator who hated a person to the bone simply for surviving one of their attacks, right?
In Ryu's opinion, this hate definitely had to do with some sort of punishment Edwin received from Fidroha. In that case, Fidroha's standing was definitely far higher than his, or else she wouldn't dare to treat him in this way.
Still, it was a decent amount of wealth. Edwin had Lower Immortal Qi Stones numbering in the several hundred, and Higher Mortal Qi Stones numbering in the several hundred thousand. While it was a drop compared to Fidroha's wealth, it still bolstered Ryu's coffers.
Next, Ryu stumbled upon some Earth Grade herbs. Edwin had likely been saving them for the sake of having an alchemist refine them for him. Though Ryu didn't use such methods, he knew it was the norm for others to do so.
Even when the Holy Wing Clan still controlled the Incubator that was now in his possession, they did so as well. After all, they treated it like a Clan treasure and didn't allow any single person to fuse with it like Ryu had.
'Ailsa, I'll give these two you. There are one or two here we haven't found seeds for.'
Ryu and Ailsa had been together for upwards of two years now, so the medicinal garden they were building was steadily growing in size. Up to now, Ryu had pretty much gathered all of the Common and Black Grade Herbs that were most important to him. But as his strength increased, so did his need for Spiritual Herbs.
He had gathered many Earth Grade Herbs within the Mortal Qi Small Realm, however, it hadn't be remembered that the climate of that Small Realm was extremely limited. After all, it was a Small Realm. It couldn't possibly have the complex ecosystems of a True Realm.
As a result, many of the more powerful and niche Earth Grade Herbs didn't have proper environments to grow, and as such, never did.
'Ooo.' Ailsa clapped excitedly. It wasn't much of a surprise that as a Cultus Faerie, she loved nurturing plants maybe even more than nurturing Ryu. 'Freezing Thyme and Earth Grade Decomposition Root.
'Freezing Thyme is a good stabilizing agent for pill concoction and often works as a secondary binding agent… However, on its own it's very good at halting biological processes. Earth Grade Decomposition Root is often used by Necromancers to follow the Bone Refinement branch of the Refiner Necromancer path. It quickens the process of flesh decomposition into raw energy…
'It's very curious as to why Edwin would have such things. Second binding agents are usually provided by the alchemists themselves, someone who commissions their work would only provide the main ingredients. If someone stumbled upon it, it would be better to just sell it to an Alchemy Association. As for the Decomposition Root, it's even more curious… He's obviously not a Necromancer.
'The best reason I can think of is related to some sort of masochistic Body Realm technique…'
Ryu of course didn't need Ailsa to explain the properties and uses of these Spiritual Herbs. He was an Origin Grade Herbologist after all. Though he had only received this title in theory, and not application, when his strength was enough, he wouldn't fall short of anyone.
'Your theory is most likely…' Ryu nodded in affirmation. '… Which like means that this…'
Ryu took out a black wooden box. He could tell immediately that it was crafted of a high-grade preservation wood known as Sorbic Grain. A high-class vessel on this level wouldn't be used for anything weaker than a Heaven Grade Herb.
Opening its lid, Ryu confirmed that his guess was correct.
'Gate Leaping Lotus…'
Much like Edwin's Decomposition Root, this Gate Leaping Lotus was the lowest grade of its kind. While Decomposition Root's nomenclature only added its grade to its front similar to a prefix, Gate Leaping Lotus became Flood Gate Leaping Lotus, Dragon Gate Leaping Lotus, and finally, Origin Gate Leaping Lotus.
Of the Spiritual Herbs Ryu had studied, this one in particular had one of the most abstruse usages in combination with the shortest entry Ryu had ever seen in an Herb Compendium.
Its entry was only a single line… 'Snatching Luck from the Heavens.'
Why would Ryu think of such an enigmatic Spiritual Herb, especially such a rare one, would appear in Edwin's possession? The reason all tied back to the very technique Ryu used [Lines of Fate] to learn.
Both Ryu and Ailsa realized that Edwin's constitution was far too weak to make use of this technique. He was constantly trying to jam its abilities into the keyhole that was his body, but he was damaging the lock in the process.
If Ryu and Ailsa could guess such a thing, how could Edwin, the victim himself, not realize?
'Freezing Thyme to numb his pain and stop the biological process of the rest of his body… Decomposition Root to break down the inner pathways of his body… Gate Leaping Lotus to snatch luck from the heavens and reform a better, stronger body… He's a madman.'
Ryu closed the lid of the Sorbic Grain vessel, a deep frown setting in. He didn't even notice Ailsa's gaze was looking toward him with near infatuation.
Other women might fall for Ryu's looks, or his kingly demeanor, maybe even his battle prowess. However, Ailsa hardly cared about these things.
Yet, whenever Ryu spoke of Herbology, especially when he broke down something so complex that anyone else would have struggled to see through, Ailsa felt her heart leap to her throat.
'He's not smart enough to think of this.' Ryu said after a few moments. 'This is an application of Herbology I've never read about.'
Ailsa giggled, her eyes still filled with a hazy light. 'You didn't read about it, but didn't you forge a new path very similar to it?'
Ryu's gaze flashed. Ailsa was right. His unique corpse refinement method was very similar to this. Except instead of restructuring a living human into a stronger living him, he restructured a living human into an undead, but much stronger, Spiritual Herb.
'But you are right. I don't believe this Edwin can think of this on his own. He didn't have an intelligent bone in his body. Hmph.' Ailsa pouted. 'Daring to attack my Little Ryu.'
Ryu's eyes widened. 'An inlaid spatial ring?'
Ryu had never seen a spiritual ring with two pockets of space before. However, this was the scene his Heavenly Pupils laid bare before him.
He had been certain that Edwin couldn't think of this method himself, but no matter how much he scoured his ring, he couldn't find anything more valuable that the Sorbic Grain vessel.
How could he have expected that there was a secondary pocket of space hidden within the first?!