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Chapter 30: Inventory of Gains!_1
Chapter 30: Inventory of Gains!_1
Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Inventory of Gains!_1
Translator: 549690339
“Dead?”
Lu Changsheng’s heart thumped hard as it followed the vibrations of the golden light brick plummeting down.
He stared fixedly at the location of the three people in front of him, where the golden light brick loomed like a small mountain.
Under that strike, not even a shriek escaped from the three of them.
Several defensive spells and the Black Shield Artifact crumbled instantly as if they never existed when the golden light brick smashed down.
“Huff! Huff! Huff!”
After a moment of shock and confirming the three were undoubtedly dead, Lu Changsheng also relaxed, his emotions fluctuating slightly as he gasped for breath.
Although talismans don’t consume much spiritual power, they heavily drain the mental spirit. Using a stack of nearly twenty talismans took a considerable toll on him.
The main drain was from activating the Talisman Treasure, the golden light brick, which siphoned away most of his spiritual power.
With a thought, Lu Changsheng withdrew the Talisman Treasure.
The enormous golden light brick immediately retracted its dazzling glow, returning to its original form, resembling a talisman, and flew back into Lu Changsheng’s hands.
Where the golden light brick struck, it left a massive pit dozens of feet wide and deep.
The three Robber Cultivators had, in an instant, been reduced to three lumps of bloodied, indistinct pulp.
As for the Black Shield Artifact, it had been flattened and deformed under the golden light brick’s force, turning into a lump of iron.
“Is this the power of a Talisman Treasure? It’s terrifying!”
“I’m only at the Third Level Energy Refinement, and can only trigger part of its power.”
“If I were at the Energy Refinement Late Stage, or even the Foundation Establishment Stage, and could unleash the full power of the Talisman Treasure, how astonishing that would be…”
Lu Changsheng looked into the pit at the remains of the three people, now just meaty muck, and licked his somewhat dry lips, feeling utterly shocked.
This was his first time using a Talisman Treasure and witnessing its mighty power.
His initial barrage of more than ten talismans was blocked by the three of them.
But once the Talisman Treasure was deployed, it crushed everything in its path with overwhelming force.
The three stood no chance of fighting back.
This not only opened Lu Changsheng’s eyes to the power of a Talisman Treasure but also gave him a faint glimpse into the strength of a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator.
With the power of the Talisman Treasure, triggered by his Third Level Qi Refinement, he guessed it was roughly equivalent to a strike from a Foundation Building Great Cultivator.
Without daring to linger, for fear that the recent commotion might attract others, Lu Changsheng, fighting against nausea, jumped into the deep pit and fished out the three storage bags from the bloody mess.
He used a Cleansing Technique to clean the storage bags of blood and flesh, then destroyed the remnants of the meaty muck with a Flame Bullet Technique talisman.
Picking up the damaged and deformed iron lump of a shield and the Flying Dagger Artifact, he used a Wind-Commanding Charm on himself, soaring out of the pit and quickly leaving the area.
An hour later.
Having reverted to his original appearance, Lu Changsheng rode his horse away from Bullhead Mountain, over a hundred miles away, and only stopped to rest and recover his spiritual power after making sure no one was following him.
“Huff!”
“It’s good that I didn’t think about conserving and used the Talisman Treasure immediately after triggering the talismans.”
“Otherwise, with just Lower Grade and Middle Grade talismans, it would have been impossible to kill those three.”
“The Cultivation World really is fraught with danger; despite being so cautious, I was still targeted.”
“It seems I’ll have to be even more careful in the future.”
Lu Changsheng found a grove to rest in, and thinking back to the earlier events, he felt a lingering fear and let out a long sigh of relief.
The fact that he had been so cautious and yet still had been targeted made him even more aware of the dangers within the Cultivation World.
He felt as if the Cultivation World was a stark place governed by the law of the jungle, where only the strong survive.
Without strength, danger and accidents could come at any time.
“It seems that joining a faction and leaning on a strong backer is the way to go.”
“Although living under the Lu Family’s roof means relying on others, at least there is some guarantee of safety.”
Lu Changsheng mumbled to himself, also realizing the benefits of having a family power backing him.
In a family or a sect, although contributions to the collective are expected, at least in the early stages one has others to fend off the elements and take the brunt for you.
After meditating for a while, Lu Changsheng couldn’t help but shake his head.
The spiritual energy was too sparse in this mundane world.
It was far too slow to recover through meditation; he had no idea when it would be restored.
He took out a Spirit Stone and began meditating to recover.
Some time later, the once translucent Spirit Stone had become much more dull.
Spirit Stones were mostly used as currency, but they could also be used for Cultivation, drawing the spiritual energy within to accelerate one’s Cultivation.
But for most Cultivators, directly using Spirit Stones for cultivation was too extravagant.
It was more economical to buy Spirit Rice, Spiritual Tea, Spiritual Wine, and other such Spirit Food.
After using a Spirit Stone, Lu Changsheng’s Spiritual Power had mostly recovered.
He took out the Storage Bags he had taken from the three men and began to count his spoils.
“Thankfully, the three of them had Storage Bags; otherwise, this would have been a huge loss.”
“I wonder what’s in these Storage Bags. I hope it’s enough to recoup my losses.”
The Talisman he used earlier was worth thirty to forty Spirit Stones alone.
As for the consumption of the Talisman Treasure with one strike, Lu Changsheng couldn’t even estimate.
But at the very least, it was worth over a hundred Spirit Stones.
If these three were broke, it would be a huge loss indeed.
A moment later, Lu Changsheng sorted out one hundred and three Spirit Stones from the three Storage Bags.
A Flying Sword Magic Artifact and a bell Magic Artifact.
Three bottles of Fasting Pills, one bottle of Yellow Dragon Elixir, one bottle of Pure Spirit Elixir, and three bottles of unrecognizable potions and containers.
Fifteen Lower Grade Primary Level Talismans, six Middle Grade Primary Level Talismans, and one Superior Grade Talisman.
As well as various books and a number of miscellaneous things.
“This Flying Sword, bell, and Flying Dagger all seem to be Lower Grade Magical Instruments; they should each fetch around fifty Spirit Stones or so.”
“Although this shield is a Magic Artifact, all of its prohibitions have been broken. It can only be sold as scrap; I wonder how much it’s still worth.”
“However, these three Storage Bags can be worth about one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones.”
“Plus all these miscellaneous things, the total should also be around five hundred Spirit Stones.”
Having accounted for the belongings of the three men, Lu Changsheng’s mood improved considerably.
He smacked his lips and sighed contentedly, “Killing people and setting fires really tightens your belt with gold. No matter where, murder and looting is always the fastest way to make money.”
Thinking back to when he first arrived at the Lu Family and became a live-in son-in-law, he only got two Spirit Stones per month.
As a Talisman Master, he got barely ten Spirit Stones a month.
The hundred Talismans he sold today were equivalent to a month’s worth of making, but after deducting costs, he only made a little over a hundred Spirit Stones.
Nothing compares to the simplicity and speed of killing for treasure.
However, Lu Changsheng did not have the slightest interest in making a living through murder and plunder.
Not to mention his moral principles prevented him from committing senseless killing.
It was also too dangerous, which did not fit his style.
With the system on his side, he didn’t need to engage in such risky and treacherous acts.
Marrying, taking concubines, and having children is the righteous path!
Moreover, he was just a weak, Third Level Qi Refinement cultivator who had relied on Talismans and a Talisman Treasure to win this battle.
After organizing all the items, Lu Changsheng took the foot-long Flying Sword Magic Artifact and attempted to wield it.
A Cultivator can wield a Magic Artifact through ‘Object Manipulating Technique’ after reaching the Third Level of Qi Refinement.
Back at the Lu Family, because he was the first to have a child, he was rewarded with a Flying Sword.
But before he had a chance to experience it, he had sold it for Talisman Making.
Now with a Flying Sword in his hand, he couldn’t resist the itch to try and play with it.
“Whoosh”
Under Lu Changsheng’s control, the Flying Sword immediately transformed into a streak of silver light and shot out.
Ordinary Magical Instruments can be wielded with Object Manipulating Technique without the need for consecration.
A Spiritual Artifact used by a Foundation Building Great Cultivator, which harbors its own spirit, must be consecrated and acknowledged by its owner before it can be controlled.
There are also some high-end Magic Artifacts crafted by Artifact Refiners that require special Object Manipulating Techniques to wield.
But those kind of Magic Artifacts are quite high-end, and this Flying Sword obviously does not fall into that category.
Under Lu Changsheng’s manipulation, the Flying Sword, like a silver dragon, exhaled Sword Qi, slicing through the surrounding trees as effortlessly as cutting tofu.
Then, with a ‘plop,’ it easily pierced through a large rock, turned into a streak of silver light, and returned to Lu Changsheng’s side.
“No wonder it’s a Magic Artifact!”
“It’s no less powerful than Primary Level spells, but it consumes much less Spiritual Power. If two Cultivators were dueling, the difference between having a Magic Artifact and not having one is like heaven and earth!”
Having briefly experienced using the Flying Sword, Lu Changsheng showed delight and exclaimed in admiration.
If he were to use spells like the Flame Bullet Technique, he could use it four or five times before running out of Spiritual Power.
But by wielding the Flying Sword, he estimated he could control it for a full fifteen minutes, allowing for multiple attacks.
Due to his limited Spiritual Power, Lu Changsheng didn’t try the other Magic Artifacts. He put away the Flying Sword and mounted his horse to head towards the Crimson Whale Gang.
He planned to meet up with Li Feiyu and then arrange to secure his family home before returning to Qingzhu Mountain early.
The outside world was still too dangerous. It was better to hunker down at the Lu Family to boost his power and focus on having more children—that was the real way to power.