Everything that Ryu found in these spatial rings seemed to follow the same pattern. The grade was low, but the quality was high. If any of these things appeared in an auction on Sacrum, the wealth Ryu could make would be astronomical. Even if it wouldn't rival what he had made from his Tatsuya and Ice Phoenix Clans, it wouldn't be a small amount even to him.
It was to the point where even the Qi Stones were on another level. Ryu was certain that his judgment was correct and that these were just Immortal Qi Stones, but they shone brighter than any Ryu had ever seen before. In fact, some, rather than just being a crystal stone with a fog of white within, shimmered with rainbow colors.
After cross referencing the information Sarriel had left behind with these Qi Stones, Ryu learned that in the Martial World, Qi Stones weren't counted by number, but rather by weight and purity.
'This system makes much more sense.' Ryu nodded to himself. The number counting system of Sacrum was inherently flawed, but it was close enough so people just accepted it.
The purer the Qi Stone, the heavier it was, and thus the more valuable it was as a result. The Qi Stones that shimmered with rainbow colors in the possession of these two were the heaviest and were about twice the weight of Ryu's current stash each.
All things considered, this wasn't too bad, it just meant that his wealth was basically cut in half. But, half of what he had was still an astronomical amount. It was just unfortunate that the hit he took when it came to weapons, pills and other such things was likely much greater. In the Martial World, they were likely worth only what they could be separated into scraps for.
Still, Ryu would be far from poor when he stepped into that world, and he could be happy about that much.
After Ryu went through this, he got to the part that he was most excited about: techniques. He was all too eager to see how what they had here differed from what he was accustomed to. If Sarriel's experience was anything to go by, it should feel almost magical.
As expected, the first thing Ryu found left him silent.
<Qi Stone Accumulation Technique>
It was a ragged and cracked White Jade, the very lowest grade. It had likely been passed down through so many hands that no one remembered who it was that had original inscribed it. And yet, this technique alone made Ryu speechless.
'You can… Make Qi Stones? What the hell is this?'
Ryu had truly prepared himself for the most shocking things possible, but this was already too much. The idea of printing your own money was absolutely baffling to him and it was to the point he didn't even quite know what to say for a very long time.
If it wasn't for the fact their life and death was in Ryu's hands, the instinct of the two disciple brothers would have definitely been disdain. To feel shock over such a simple technique, how much of a country bumpkin could you be? However, Ryu wasn't the type of person who cared about such things, the perspective of others was irrelevant. He only cared about his own thoughts and that of those that loved him and this…
This was a game changer.
'I see. So that's why it's so common. It's a ubiquitous technique, but it's tedious and it takes a long time. Though it's relatively easier to form lower grade Qi Stones than your cultivation level, by the time you can form those Qi Stones easily, they would be useless to you. What use is a Mortal Qi Stone to an Immortal? Unless you had a Clan and had to supplement your juniors, you wouldn't even waste your time.
'Plus, from what it looks like here, there are multiple forms of this technique. There's a version where you take action personally, and there's also a version you can lay down as a large scale formation and allow it to accumulate qi from the surroundings for you. This second version is probably the most widely used. It's technically slower than doing it personally, but the scale is so much wider that it's still more efficient overall.
'Interesting…'
Ryu absentmindedly stretched out a hand, grasping at air and causing a strong surge of qi to violently whip toward him. The two souls shuddered. They feared Chaos Qi enough while they had their full bodies, let alone now that they were nothing more than mere souls.
There were two methods of using this technique. The first was to draw from your own qi and the second was to draw from the atmosphere. The first method was easier and faster, but a normal person would only be able to make one or two before they were completely drained. This was the inherent inconvenience of the technique.
The second method was more difficult, required more control and took much longer. In addition, it was generally frowned upon to use in a public setting as it could disrupt the cultivation and moods of others.
Many higher class cities also had qi accumulation formations set up to heighten the concentration of qi and attract tourists. So, using atmospheric qi in that fashion was just a form of stealing that could get you in a lot of trouble with enforcement officers.
Ariad and Leolar couldn't help but give Ryu weird looks. While they had disdained Ryu's lack of knowledge just moments before, this wasn't a technique you could just pick up because you wanted to, and it was especially so if you were using the most difficult form instantly.
Unfortunately, they had hardly finished the thought when the Qi Stone began to take shape. The two froze, their eyes not quite believing what they were seeing until the point a Qi Stone swirling with dark rainbow colors formed.
That wasn't just a Qi Stone. That was a Chaos Qi Stone. It was worth easily a hundred to a thousand times more than a Qi Stone of equivalent rank. And yet, it had only barely taken Ryu 15 minutes to form it… On his first try.
'Not bad.' Ryu thought. 'My Meridians have direct access to the Chaos Plane. That means I can use the inner accumulation method without worrying about my stamina and also at a much faster rate. Doesn't that mean I can make an endless supply of Chaos Qi Stones so long as I'm willing to put in the time?'
It seemed that Ryu would most definitely not be poor on the Martial World. In fact… He would be very, very, VERY, rich.
Ryu had already thrown this to the back of his mind, though. He was already focused on the next jade technique, his excitement still bubbling.