Han Yu extended his spirit sense briefly, counting out of habit.
Nearly thirty thousand low grade spirit stones.
Ten thousand mid grade spirit stones.
And three thousand high grade spirit stones.
Han Yu's eyes narrowed slightly, not in shock, but in appraisal. This was no small fortune, even by sect standards.
Then Fen Dugong opened the final chest.
Inside were dozens upon dozens of pill bottles, each carefully sealed and labeled. Han Yu could imdiately recognize several types at a glance. Qi Recovery Pills, Bone Tempering Pills, ridian Clearing Pills, and even so higher grade supportive pills that were rarely sold openly in markets.
Han Yu looked up slowly.
"What is all this?" he asked.
Qing Luan t his gaze calmly. "Your share."
"My share?" Han Yu echoed.
She nodded. "Of the profits. I had it prepared long ago, for the day you returned. The Fen Clan would not be where it is now without you. This is only fair."
Han Yu stared at the chests for a few seconds, then broke into a grin.
"Good," he said, nodding several tis. "Good, good, good."
He did not pretend to refuse, nor did he feel any sha in accepting it.
This was paynt long earned. More importantly, this would be extrely useful once he returned to the sect. He already knew that his pill business would likely be sluggish at first after such a long absence. With these resources, restarting operations would be effortless.
Spirit stones could open doors. Pills could build connections.
This was not rely wealth. It was leverage.
But Qing Luan was not finished.
"There's more," she said, reaching into her pouch and taking out a small, rectangular box. She placed it gently on the table between them.
"These are things I found recently," she continued. "Books that I don't fully understand. I thought you should see them."
Han Yu's curiosity was imdiately piqued. He opened the box and found four books inside, all well preserved. Even before touching them, he could sense faint fluctuations of Qi lingering around the covers.
Cultivation manuals and Qi skills.
He took out the first book and read its title.
Dark Wick Smoke Technique.
Han Yu's eyes widened slightly.
"A Dark Elental cultivation technique?" he muttered.
This imdiately caught his attention.
Dark elental affinity was rare to begin with, and Dark elental cultivation techniques were even rarer. In the Slaughtered Moon Divine Blood Sect, there were indeed quite a few dark techniques, but Ju Fan suddenly displaying dark affinity would have raised far too many questions.
It was one thing if he did it while he was still a bit obscure but there were people paying attention to him now. And outside the sect, such techniques were almost never seen, and when they were, they fetched absurd prices.
Han Yu skimd through the contents quickly.
His excitent faded just as fast.
"This one is useless to ," he said, shaking his head lightly. "It has to be practiced from the very beginning, with a fresh cultivation foundation. It cannot be integrated after other techniques have already been established."
Qing Luan nodded. "That's what I suspected, but I wasn't sure."
Han Yu placed it aside and picked up the second book.
Flowing Grass, Rising Forests Technique.
As soon as he read the title, his interest returned. Dual elental cultivation techniques were notoriously difficult to create. Balancing two elents within a single cultivation frawork often led to instability or incompatibility.
He read through several sections, his expression turning thoughtful.
"This is a Water and Wood dual elental technique," he said. "Very rare. Whoever created this knew what they were doing."
He flipped a few more pages.
"It would be ideal for an alchemist," Han Yu continued. "Water for control and moderation. Wood for vitality and growth. Unfortunately, I don't et the requirents either."
Still, he did not dismiss it.
"This one is valuable," he added. "Very valuable."
The third book was next.
Thousand Steel Spool Art.
Han Yu skimd it quickly. tal elental Qi threads, capable of forming offense, defense, and support structures. It was a versatile skill, but his expression barely changed.
"tal elental," he said. "Not compatible with ."
He placed it aside without much thought.
Then he picked up the final book.
Sooty Sky Mystic Art.
The mont his eyes landed on the title, sothing stirred within him.
Dark elental Qi skill.
Han Yu's breathing slowed as he opened the book.
From the very first page, he could tell this was different.
This was not a cultivation technique, but a Qi skill. That alone made it far more flexible. Qi skills could be learned and integrated without rebuilding one's foundation, as long as elental compatibility existed.
And he had Dark elental affinity.
Han Yu began reading, his eyes moving faster with each line.
The Sooty Sky Mystic Art focused on the manifestation of Dark Qi through particulate control. It allowed the user to condense Dark Qi into fine, ash like particles that could obscure vision, erode defenses, and silently infiltrate enemy Qi constructs and defenses.
It was subtle.
Insidious.
Perfectly suited for ambush, misdirection, and battlefield control.
Unlike crude dark techniques that relied on overwhelming corruption, this art emphasized restraint and precision. It did not announce itself with dramatic displays. Instead, it turned the battlefield into a suffocating field, where enemies slowly lost their senses, their Qi circulation disrupted without them even realizing why.
Han Yu felt his heartbeat quicken.
"This…" he murmured.
He continued reading, ignoring everything else around him. The more he read, the more impressed he beca. The creator of this skill clearly understood Dark Qi on a deep level. The technique even included thods to avoid self contamination, sothing many dark skills failed to address properly.
This was not a reckless art.
This was a refined one.
Han Yu closed the book slowly, a sharp glint in his eyes.
"This one," he said, looking at Qing Luan, "is extrely useful to ."
She smiled faintly, clearly pleased.
"I thought it might be," she replied.
Han Yu leaned back slightly, his mind already racing with possibilities. Between the wealth, the pills, and this Dark elental Qi skill, this visit had been far more fruitful than he had expected.
And more importantly, it reinforced sothing he had long suspected.
Leaving the sect, enduring the dangers of the Harrow Mountains, and forming connections outside had not been mistakes.
They were shaping him into sothing far greater than he would have beco had he stayed within the sect's walls.
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