Ryu entered the bounds of the Natural Order Sect once more for the first time in months. By now, the foul stench of rotting corpses had disappeared due to Ryu digging a mass grave for the fallen disciples and families. This left the Sect smelling of its normal natural air, the kind only possible when dense qi congregated in an area.
Knowing he didn't have much time, Ryu sped to the upper echelon gardens of the Sect, finding a familiar scene of sweet water and refreshing nature. However, what dampened this atmosphere were the over fifty barrels, each standing at over one meter tall. It wouldn't have been so bad had it not been for the fact that all fifty were filled to the brim with beast blood and Spiritual Roots.
These barrels were initially what Granny Miriam left for Ryu in her spatial ring. They were what had once held his water, an amount Granny Miriam claimed would last five years. Given the amount, it was clear she hadn't exaggerated. If anything, she went a bit overboard, but that only brought warmth to Ryu's heart.
Due to the fact he didn't have an exact destination after accomplishing his goals here, Ryu planned to head to the Immortal Plane immediately following the Coronation Games. Although other cultivators had to wait until they reached the Divine Vessel realm to breach the Immortal Barrier, one had to understand that this was just a sort of trial for lesser talented mortals.
In reality, the Immortal Barrier wasn't a simple gate. Instead, it was a road that increased with added pressure as one walked along it. To make a complex matter simple, it was normally impossible for anyone below the Divine Vessel realm to survive this pressure. In fact, even those above the Divine Vessel realm struggled as the pressure increased proportionate to cultivation.
However, Ryu's Ancestral Great Circle allowed him the ability to ignore the pressure of the Immortal Barrier. Even the far more difficult Barriers on higher Planes were nothing but a joke to him. He wouldn't even feel it. Essentially, all that was keeping him here was revenge for his Granny Miriam.
After filling the final barrels with the blood and Spiritual Root of the wolf alpha, Ryu took out fourteen Spatial Rings.
When compared to the ring Granny Miriam gave him, the space within these rings was pitiful. However, they were still the private possessions of the upper echelon of the Natural Order Sect. Before Ryu gave them a proper burial, he took the liberty of taking them for himself. Although this made Ryu feel slightly uncomfortable, when he thought of the hardships his family was likely going through right now, he ignored his pride and took them. He needed whatever he could to improve as quickly as possible.
With a thought, he erased the Spiritual Markings on the rings. This should have been more difficult, after all, he was a mere Pulse Opening expert while even the lowest of their owners was of the Spiritual Severing realm, but Ryu's Mental Realm was on another level. While he had started on the road of true Mental Realm cultivation, none of these fourteen men and women had.
Soon, piles of resources grew before Ryu, causing him to nod slightly. Of the fourteen experts, ten were of the Peak Spiritual Severing realm, three were Half-Step Divine Vessel experts, and their Sect Master was of the Lower Divine Vessel realm. As such, given his current circumstances, Ryu couldn't turn his nose up at their possessions.
'Mortal Qi Stones. Good…' Ryu thought to himself.
Within the martial world, there were three forms of Cultivation Qi. The first was what Ryu made use of now, Mortal Qi, the second was Immortal Qi, and the last was Chaotic Qi. In order to step into the Connecting Heaven realm, it was necessary to comprehend Immortal Qi, while Chaotic Qi was something far from Ryu currently.
These so-called Mortal Qi Stones were filled with Mortal Qi and were the basic currency of the martial world. Actually, the reality was that these Mortal Stones were invaluable on the Mortal Plane. It was to the point where the vaults of the Natural Order Sect were filled with gold and silver instead of these stones. This was a basic difference of the Mortal and Immortal Planes.
'So the upper echelon monopolized the Qi Stones and only distributed gold and silver to their disciples. Considering their scarcity, this makes sense.'
Luckily for Ryu, the lowest Immortal Plane – the Pedestal Plane – used these Mortal Qi Stones as their currency. Gold and silver were useless to them. Unluckily, as expected of a rare resource, the upper echelon of the Sect hardly had much.
'One thousand Inferior Qi Stones and twenty Medial Qi Stones. This should be enough for now.'
What Ryu didn't know was that although the Immortal Plane used Qi Stones as their basic currency, this was mostly for the inner regions. For the Outer Ring, which would be his first destination, gold and silver was still highly prevalent. This fortune he had accumulated would make him among the richest in the Outer Ring. Especially considering that one Medial stone was worth one hundred Inferior stones.
Aside from these Qi Stones, Ryu found three Lower Earth Grade treasures. Unfortunately, they were all swords, so he set them aside to sell.
Continuing on, he found a few precious spiritual plants of the Earth Grade as well. These were treasures these elders likely fought Fourth and Fifth Order beasts for, but in the end, they landed in Ryu's hands. There were six Qi Whispering stocks, but what caught Ryu's attention was the singular stock of Bone Separating Root. This was the first valuable body tempering spiritual plant Ryu had found!
Although Ryu had spent months in the beast forest, he had only fought a single Fourth Order beast. At that time, he was forced to abandon his training and use his full power. Even then, he almost died and was forced to take half a month to recover. Back then, all he received in return was yet another three Qi Whispering stocks. He only hadn't used them yet due to certain restrictions he was facing.
'This is good. Once I find a body cultivating technique, this Earth Grade Root will definitely help me at a crucial time.'
Ryu carefully put the Spiritual Plants away before carelessly tossing the endless piles of gold and silver into one of the fourteen rings and into a corner of his own.
Just when he was prepared to begin tailoring clothes for himself, he froze. Beneath his feet, the crunching that undeniably meant he stepped on something caught his attention. Ryu's eyes shot open, he had gotten used to pretending to blind for his own protection, but what could have escaped his senses?