Chapter 394: Treasury of the Dao Seeking Sect

Yun Zhi had indeed forgotten all about the matter of patent fees. The Dao Sect possessed two primary fonts of revenue: first were the patent fees from the Peak of a Hundred Refinements, and second were the medicinal elixir fees from the Peak of the Cauldron. Combined, these two streams were sufficient to sustain nearly half of the Dao Sect's entire operations.

The Fifth Elder and Seventh Elder were required to hand over spirit stones to her, the Acting Sect Master, every month. The Fifth Elder in particular submitted patent fees under a myriad of categories, among which Lu Yang’s own dues had been mixed.

In a moment of distraction, Yun Zhi had simply overlooked it.

She flipped through the ledger and located the patent fees belonging to Lu Yang.

"There are two months' worth of patent fees for the flying carriages, totaling one hundred and eleven thousand spirit stones."

The flying carriages had only recently been conceived and were not yet widely popular, so the initial patent fees were meager.

"Come with me to the treasury to fetch them."

Lu Yang’s patent fees had already been turned over to the public coffers, so naturally, they had to be withdrawn from the official accounts.

"The treasury?"

Both Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy were profoundly astonished; neither had expected the Dao Sect to possess such a place.

Yet upon reflection, it made sense. Even a place as destitute as the Nine Serenity Sect maintained a treasury; there was no reason for the Dao Sect to lack one. If they did not, where would the Dao Sect's money be kept?

It was merely that Lu Yang had never come into contact with it before.

"Is it very far?"

"It is right here on Heaven’s Gate Peak."

After exiting the pine forest and walking for about two hundred meters, they arrived.

Yun Zhi traversed a winding sheep-gut path and passed through another stretch of pine woods, which was the very place where the Unspeaking Daoist had once been imprisoned.

"It is here."

Under the watchful eyes of the Immortal Fairy and Lu Yang, Yun Zhi tapped lightly upon the stone wall. The stone surface erupted into a dense web of fractures and shattered with a resounding crash, scattering pieces across the ground.

"This is it."

Lu Yang was amazed, having never imagined that the treasury resided right on Heaven’s Gate Peak. However, what struck him as even stranger was that, logically speaking, as the very foundation of the sect's existence, the treasury should either be guarded by elders or enveloped in defensive arrays to ensure its safety. Why did their Dao Sect's treasury lack even a single gatekeeper?

Even if the Dao Sect possessed a grand protective array and feared no external enemies, were they not afraid of insiders sneaking into the treasury?

The Eldest Senior Sister did not stay on Heaven’s Gate Peak every single day either; she traveled away on business quite frequently.

The Immortal Fairy gave a sly chuckle: "Who says there is no one guarding it?"

"Who is it?"

The Immortal Fairy smirked mischievously, refusing to answer no matter how much Lu Yang questioned her.

The two shared a single body, bickering and bantering as they stepped into the treasury, eventually falling silent.

Displayed within the treasury were all manner of treasures that Lu Yang had never set eyes upon before. There were natural materials and earthly treasures, as well as refined magical artifacts whose functions and grades defied his discernment.

The Immortal Fairy, however, recognized them all.

"That landscape painting contains rivers and mountains within its canvas, left behind by a grand master of ink; it possesses the power to stabilize the realm. It is of ancient origin, and since its function conflicts with national destiny, it might very well be a treasure of the Great Yu Dynasty."

"Do you see that small red cauldron? It was forged from Blood-Veined Iron. Blood-Veined Iron exists only in the most perilous and extreme lands—the depths of the ocean floor, the origins of glaciers, the deepest core of a stellar nucleus... it could appear anywhere. It is a creation of nature, though some say the blood veins on the iron are the blood of the heavens, which is an exaggeration. Blood-Veined Iron is rare across the world and is primarily used for offensive warfare; a piece the size of a fingernail could incite Body Integration Stage experts to frantic battle, let alone a chunk this large."

"And look at this fruit. Do not be deceived by its translucent, jade-like appearance; it is indeed a fruit. Its name is the Cyan Nether Jade Fruit. A single one can transform a completely mediocre, chaotic five-element spiritual root into the purest single-attribute spiritual root, and one can freely decide which element it becomes."

"The Sea Soul Crystal, the quintessence of oceanic spirits..."

"A shield forged from the Dark Yellow Qi..."

"All excellent things," the Immortal Fairy remarked with slight surprise, the treasures stored in the treasury exceeding her expectations.

It was second only to a deity's storehouse.

Though she was the head of the five ancient immortals, she was the poorest among the five, possessing fewer planets, a smaller domain, and fewer tributes; sometimes she even had to feign death to scam people out of condolence money.

Even so, she had been wealthier than the Dao Sect.

In the ancient era, besides the five immortals, there were many in the Tribulation Transmutation Stage, and these experts had established factions of various sizes; the Dao Sect's storehouse could actually rival those of the largest factions among the Tribulation Transmutation experts!

Lu Yang spoke with a hint of pride, his tone rising: "Our Dao Sect has stood tall for a hundred and twenty thousand years, traversing eras guided by our Founding Ancestor, the Heavenly Daoist, the founder of the Immortal Gate concept, Sovereign Gui Yuan, and the Ancestor of Resurgence, Daoist Master Hanhai. It is no surprise we possess these treasures!"

The Immortal Fairy thought about it and found his logic sound.

Hearing Lu Yang’s proud tone, Yun Zhi offered a reminder: "Our Dao Sect was not this wealthy in the past. Daoist Master Hanhai belongs to an era fifty thousand years ago; his venerable eminence's legacy could not have sustained us until now. Furthermore, two or three thousand years ago, the sect experienced a period of decline. To maintain normal operations, many fine things were consumed. Most of the treasures you see now were swindled from the hands of the Nine Serenity Sect nine hundred years ago."

Lu Yang: "......"

This was merely the outermost perimeter of the treasury. Yun Zhi continued to lead the two forward, and the further into the depths they ventured, the more staggering the value of the items became.

Arriving at roughly the halfway point of the treasury, Yun Zhi came to a halt. To their left and right stood two mountains piled high with supreme-grade spirit stones.

From the mountain of supreme-grade spirit stones, Yun Zhi fished out ten high-grade spirit stones. The highly valuable high-grade spirit stones appeared utterly unremarkable amidst the two mountains of supreme-grade stones, resembling mere impurities.

The market price for ten high-grade spirit stones was equivalent to one hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones.

However, that was merely the market price. In actual transactions, converting low-grade spirit stones into high-grade ones incurred a premium; roughly ten high-grade spirit stones could be exchanged for one hundred and eleven thousand low-grade ones.

Currently, it was still the Immortal Fairy controlling Lu Yang’s body. The Eldest Senior Sister handed the high-grade spirit stones over, only to find the Immortal Fairy staring blankly into the depths of the treasury.

She realized she had been careless; the foundation of the Dao Sect was far more astounding than she had imagined, and it might well be worth more than her own private stash!

If the outer perimeter of the treasury contained items used by the Body Integration and Tribulation Transmutation Stages, then these two mountains of supreme-grade spirit stones were the watershed; the inner treasury was entirely filled with half-immortal grade treasures, talismans, and natural materials that were effective even for half-immortal figures!

At the deepest recesses of the treasury, faint specks of light glimmered, blurring the vision. The Immortal Fairy could not discern what it was, but judging by the aura, it resembled an unprecedented embryonic form of a Dao Fruit—no, this aura was far more intense than an embryonic Dao Fruit...

"Fairy, Fairy?" Lu Yang called out twice, snapping the Immortal Fairy back to her senses.

"What is wrong with you?" Lu Yang asked curiously.

"It is nothing. This Immortal merely feels that your sect's foundation is barely worthy of this Immortal’s title as the First Throughout the Ages!" The Immortal Fairy lifted her chin, brimming with confidence.

Leaving the treasury, the Immortal Fairy relinquished control of the body back to Lu Yang, whose face instantly turned pale.

"Oh no, I was maintaining the Village in the Palm all this time!"

Even if maintaining the Village in the Palm consumed little spiritual energy, it could not withstand such prolonged use.

He hastily dissolved the spell, pouring out all the contents held within his palm—stones, branches, and a loudly quacking duck...

Lu Yang stared at the duck flapping its wings as it flew about, falling into a silent speechlessness.

Having an Immortal Fairy on Heaven’s Gate Peak was already troublesome enough; he certainly could not raise a duck as well.

As night descended, the aroma of roast duck assailed the senses.

After a brief struggle, Lu Yang first conquered the duck, then conquered the Immortal Fairy, and finally earned the right to cook.

He served the freshly roasted duck before the Eldest Senior Sister, who had been waiting for a long time.