This secret chamber had almost all the loots that the Golden Horse Riders Department had plundered in the last few years. They had extorted and robbed these elixirs (1).
A large part of these valuables had been collected by confiscating them from rich and powerful men, after raiding their houses. Post these raids, these valuables had been kept here. This was one of the reasons why the Golden Horse Riders Department was recognized as a specialized accrediting organization.
All high level individuals had been put to work in acc.u.mulating these resources. Almost all of the nation’s peak level forces had been simultaneously incorporated under the operation. Moreover, all sorts of means, whether fair or foul, had been used to gather these items. Then how many items were present here?
This place had also h.o.a.rded Diwu Qing Rou’s collections over the past years. They were even more extraordinary. Most of them had been sent to Diwu Qing Rou by the sects that guarded the Great Zhao nation. These big sects were considered as capable in undertaking a task and finis.h.i.+ng it. Hence, the items sent by them couldn’t possibly be of low quality.
However, now, this place had turned into a complete tragedy!
King of h.e.l.l Chu was like a bandit pa.s.sing through this country’s territory. He had started to carry out the ‘Three Alls policy’ - Steal, Take, s.n.a.t.c.h. Meanwhile, he was still able to maintain an innocent reputation with the bearing of someone from the number one super clan of the Upper Three Heavens.
Come to think of it, this was very difficult to pull off; to go to the extremes of villainy and still manage to keep the façade of a saint…
Minister Chu nearly swept everything out, but his face still showed a look of disapproval. He shook his head from time to time and sighed.
“This one… what a pity, if only the given year was over 300 years.”
“This… this is actually good; it’s well-preserved. It’s a pity that only its color has not turned pure. It’s still short of some essential properties.”
“This… this is not good.”
“This… unfortunately, this strain of blood lotus flower ah. If only it had bloomed after a few years. It only missed by a few years ah… What a pity.”
“This… hey, this was dug up in an unprofessional manner. So many roots are broken. What use could this be of now?”
“Ah… What a pity.”
“I am speechless… ”
“This red leaf… it’s a pity.”
“You people have wasted these natural resources recklessly ah… you say what good this is!”
On one side, he was complaining and belittling everything, while on the other, he was stealing wantonly right in front of his eyes. However, whatever rubbish was slipping out of his mouth… was. .h.i.tting the target.
Fourth King Level Master Yin, who had been complacently bragging up until now, had started to blush with shame. In fact, he had been rendered speechless.
This was extremely embarra.s.sing. He had regarded these items as treasures, but the other party was actually looking down on them. The feeling was indeed hard to describe.
Chu Yang did not take long to check the big row on the left, and afterwards moved to the right. He was still opening and shutting to steal via a coordinated process that he had created.
However, how long could he keep this act going? He couldn’t possibly continue until there was nothing left to take. The risk involved in that was too high!
Therefore…
“This… I will just take this one,” He took out the smallest root from a bundle of ten.
“Young Master Ye, you should take some more,” Yin Wu Tian said politely.
“These items that you have here… they are not abundant. Although they are not very good in quality, they are still hard to come by in the Lower Three Heavens,” Chu Yang said virtuously in a sanctimonious manner, “If I take more… that would be inappropriate.”
Saying this, Minister Chu felt himself blus.h.i.+ng in his heart, [If I took more, that would be inappropriate? This place is already empty… what can I say now ah.]
Yin Wu Tian sighed, [Indeed, Young Master Ye has the demeanor of someone from an influential clan. Only people of this level can put themselves in others’ shoes and think about other people’s interest. This is a man worth respecting.]
In no more than two hours, Chu Yang had swept all the cabinets clean. Even then, he had wished to continue.
He held 4 or 5 herbs in his hand. He turned his head in Yin Wu Tian’s direction and said, “These are barely enough.” Then as if he noticed Yin Wu Tian’s doubtful expression, he added with a smile, “King Level Master Yin, you must be unaware of Ye Clan’s extraordinary core law. The healing therapy that I am going to use is something out of the ordinary. Therefore, if a treasure such as the Nine Great Herbal Medicines was here, then I wouldn’t need to use these inferior ones.”
Chu Yang was quite baffled, [The quality as well as the quant.i.ty of medicinal ingredients present here is very good; almost all of these are rare to find. However, the legendary Nine Great Herbal Medicines are nowhere to be seen.]
[As a matter of fact, it ought to be present here ah.]
[Previously I had consumed a piece of Spirit Jade Ginseng. Where did it go?]
“So that’s how it is,” Yin Wu Tian felt relieved. His face immediately showed an expression of awkwardness, “The Nine Great Herbal Medicines… I remember that the Prime Minister has it in his possession. After all, it is a lifesaving item, and so he generally carries it along with him. I don’t know where it is now. Moreover, the Prime Minister is not present here at the moment. He is in Lotus Lake right now. How about Young Master Ye waits for the Prime Minister to return? I’m certain that he would be willing to provide you some.”
“I see, so that’s how it is,” Chu Yang smiled generously and said, “No harm, these are also sufficient. No need to trouble Prime Minister Diwu.”
He had a guilty conscience. In addition to it, his ident.i.ty was also highly susceptible. How could he dare to face Diwu Qing Rou?
“First, let us go take a look at the good sword materials,” Chu Yang said peacefully with a laugh. “I hope to make a harvest,” he urged, so as to avoid the guy from inspecting the interior of the treasury or any such thing.
“Right. Please come this way, Young Master Ye,” Yin Wu Tian clapped his palms happily and said in a genuinely happy mood. “The materials on this side are highly unlikely to disappoint Young Master Ye.”
“I hope so,” Chu Yang smiled indifferently. In his heart he said, [Actually, I was not even disappointed by this side’s efficacies. In fact I was extremely satisfied. I wonder if Diwu Qing Rou would cry later-on once he finds out.]
They came out and then Yin Wu Tian carefully began to set the locking mechanism back in place; he remained busy for a while.
At this time, Chu Yang was standing on the side and waiting with a smiling expression. He wanted to say, [You need not make so many efforts. This place doesn’t have anything inside it now. Even if you open this big gate for everyone to see, you still need not be worried about anything.]
Following this, Yin Wu Tian opened the gate on the other side and said, “Young Master Ye, please come inside.”
Chu Yang took a look inside and suddenly sucked in a cold breath.
This side was bigger than the other. A long pa.s.sage extended into several rooms. Inside these rooms, there were heaps of various kinds of materials and ores.
Meteoric iron, Star steel, Golden Dragon Jade, Black steel, Red stone, White Crystal and Heavenly Soul Jade. As soon as the gate opened, all kinds of brilliant rays of light shone together. Chu Yang had a dazzled look in his eyes.
“The materials are indeed quite a lot!” Chu Yang smacked his lips and sighed.
Yin Wu Tian was happy at first, but then he wondered, [If there are a lot of materials, why did you sigh?]
Little did he realize that Chu Yang’s sigh was actually that of the depression of finding so many treasures within his reach, but not being able to do anything about it. There were definitely many eye catching materials stored here. However, how could he steal these materials when he was being constantly followed by an unwanted third guest (2)?
Thus, Minister Chu was left to sigh incessantly.
This was the first time that he had found himself at the end of his wits.
[It seems like I can only select a few pieces.]
This was indeed the height of greed! He had already stolen so many ingredients for medicines. That alone could be considered as a ‘super return from a journey with a full load of rewards’. Moreover, even if these ores were rare and precious, he would have plenty of opportunities in the Middle Three Heavens and Upper Three Heavens to obtain them later on; more so than here.
However, after he had seen the overflowing bright lights, he could not help but drool. He couldn’t just walk away from it. It really was a depressing matter.
Chu Yang took a step inside, and was followed by Yin Wu Tian. This time, Minister Chu had to come up with a new strategy; he had to make a careful choice.
“This one,” Chu Yang said, pointing towards the Golden Dragon Jade. “I would be troubling King Level Master Yin to take it out for me.”
“Sure,” Yin Wu Tian went without demur to bring over the big piece of the Golden Dragon Jade to the gate.
The Golden Dragon Jade was fabled to have some kind of a strange power. Generally, this type of jade was found deep underground, and was hard to come by.
Chu Yang thought inevitably in his heart, [Could it be that this strange power is actually from the dragon race that existed several thousand years ago? It is just not possible to confirm this theory.]
“This is also pretty good,” Chu Yang said pointing towards the Heavenly Soul jade, which was the size of a fist.
“No problem,” King Level Master Yin replied. He was very happy. [It seems that his eyes have taken a liking to many materials here.]
“This one,” Chu Yang said pointing at a large chunk of Purple Jade, which was almost half the size of a pig’s b.u.t.tocks.
“Alright,” Yin Wu Tian moved diligently.
“Also, this one,” Chu Yang held back his inner excitement with great difficulty. At present, he had arrived at the innermost part of the small room. His eyes settled on a piece of the Red Cloud steel. Surprisingly, it was the size of a human’s head.
This indeed was a pleasant surprise!
“Also?” Yin Wu Tian asked. (3)
“These are enough to forge the handle of the sword,” Chu Yang smiled as he patted his forehead and said, “I forgot I still need materials to make the main body. I will take this Star iron bar.”
Since King Level Master Yin appeared to wish him to continue further. It seemed like he had not reached the boiling point yet. Chu Yang thought that he had to take advantage of this since it meant that he could take a few more treasures without losing face. [An opportunity such as this may not arise later.]
“These!” Minister Chu said clapping his hands.
“No problem. I will help you in taking them out,” In his heart he thought, [This Young Master Ye was being reserved after all. He actually wanted to select so many materials. They are already sufficient to forge quite a few swords. But who would dislike such good materials ah… ]
[I must try to put my whole might in moving these chunks out.]
“I am taking so many items… my payback must be many in numbers,” Chu Yang said smiling elegantly, “I must compensate for these things in the future. I have always adhered to one principle - I never take advantage of other people.”
“So that’s how it is!” Yin Wu Tian suddenly realized something and said with admiration, “Now that is how morals should be in this world. People like Young Master Ye are really too few… ”
Chu Yang nodded and smiled. In his heart he thought, [In the entire Nine Heavens Continent, I will steal only from this group — no other.]
Yin Wu Tian puffed hard since he was carrying several chunks of ore. Under no condition would he have allowed Chu Yang to give him a hand. He played the host’s role all along until they reached the Temporary Headquarters. There, Chu Yang bid him farewell outside the Temporary Headquarters, and they parted ways.
Chu Yang was resolute about leaving, while Yin Wu Tian was desperately trying to make him stay. He just could not let go of this honored guest. He personally undertook the task to find a carriage to send off ‘Young Master Ye’ to forge a sword.
Chu Yang climbed into the carriage and sat down. The carriage driver popped the whip and the carriage slowly started.
Yin Wu Tian stood at the entrance of the headquarters as he waved reluctantly, yet with etiquette. Minister Chu gratefully waved back and bade him farewell, [Indeed a good man.]
As soon as the carriage took a section of the road, the ore chunks vanished and entered the Nine Tribulations s.p.a.ce with a whoos.h.i.+ng sound.
Ahead of them, the sound of men shouting and the neighing of horses could be heard. A team of troops was meandering to arrive — Prime Minister Diwu had returned.
“You need not care about them. We are going out of the city,” Chu Yang groaned as he instructed the carriage driver.
Thereafter, the carriage moved out of the way, and to the side of the road. It waited for Diwu Qing Rou’s fleet to pa.s.s. Afterwards, the horses were spurred to go out of the city as fast as possible.
Elixir is the term used for ‘spirit medicines’ which contain medicinal efficacy or medicinal power. Chu Yang can absorb the medicinal efficacies out of the elixirs and store them in his meridians for future use.
Unwanted third guest is a slang to denote that someone is a nuisance.
Yin Wu Tian is confused because the way Chu Yang says ‘Also’, it seems as if he is done picking stuff and doesn’t need more. So, Chu Yang confirms in the next paragraph by saying that he is only done selecting materials for the handle.