Li Lin read on with great interest. The subsequent sections introduced mountains and rivers, various races, human customs, spiritual roots, monstrous beasts, spirit fruits, and rare medicinal herbs.
When he saw the introduction for the "Nine-Curtain Emerald Immortal Fruit", a slight smile appeared on his face.
He could not help exclaiming, "Who would have thought my luck could be this good? But I also have my master to thank for helping me refine the medicinal power."
Li Lin felt a warm, very comfortable sensation in his Dantian.
He thought to himself, "Could this be the reason why I haven't felt hungry or thirsty for so long?"
Then, remembering that his master had just passed away like this, a trace of sorrow inevitably arose in his heart.
Continuing to read, he discovered further introductions regarding pills, runes, arrays, medicinal herbs and spirit fruits, and artifact crafting.
Seeing this, Li Lin could not suppress his curiosity. He stopped and read carefully.
…………
The materials for crafting artifacts were varied, bizarre, and even mind-boggling.
When speaking of artifact crafting, one had to mention a profession: the "Artifact Refiner". Such people were one in a hundred thousand, and very few knew how to forge them.
To become an Artifact Refiner, a cultivator's Divine Sense first needed to be extraordinarily stronger than ordinary people. Secondly, cultivating fire-attribute techniques as a primary focus was best. Lastly, one had to possess spirit stones, since this was a profession that burned through spirit stones.
Building upon that foundation, an "Alchemist" was even rarer, and this profession was far more demanding than an Artifact Refiner. One in a million, extremely few people became true high-level alchemy masters, as the requirements for a cultivator's innate talent were extremely high.
They were broadly categorized into several common types: disposable spirit talismans, Dharma Artifacts, Spirit Artifacts, Dharma Treasures, and Spirit Treasures.
Of course, there were also Heaven-Defying Spirit Treasures passed down from ancient times with peerless might, but their crafting methods had long since been lost, annihilated in the long river of history.
As for naturally formed ancient treasures, they only existed in legends. It was said they possessed extremely high spiritual intelligence and could even transform into human form, yet possessed the might to destroy heaven and earth.
There were also various auxiliary items, such as those that could assist a cultivator's cultivation speed, or temporarily allow a cultivator to burst forth with immense strength.
There were spirit beast bags and spirit beast rings to assist cultivators in raising spiritual beasts. There were storage bags, storage rings, and Storage Bracelets to assist cultivators in carrying items.
There were small flying carpets, flying shuttles, flying carriages, flying boats, and palaces to assist cultivators in travel.
There were even fortresses and warships to assist in battle.
Li Lin flipped through some more pages, but did not find anything that particularly interested him.
He could not help putting down the "Tianyuan Continent Topography".
He picked up the folding fan resting on the stone table.
With a "clack" sound,
he unfolded the fan to take a look. One side depicted a colorful fire phoenix, lifelike and possessing astonishing coercion.
On the other side was a painting of picturesque mountains and rivers, except for the bizarre feature that there were nine blazing red suns hanging above. A searing wave of heat rushed toward his face, carrying astonishing coercion.
Li Lin quickly closed the folding fan, and the sensation vanished.
He saw small characters clearly inscribed on the handle of the fan: "Nine-Sun Fire Phoenix Fan".
This was an offensive Spirit Treasure; with Li Lin's current cultivation at Qi Condensation Level 5, he could not even dream of driving it.
He shook his head and looked at the palm-sized bell in the middle. The impression it gave was one of ancient grandeur and heaviness—a very solid feeling.
When he picked it up for a closer inspection, countless birds and beasts of all kinds were painted across its surface, each one lifelike, though unfortunately, a corner of the base was broken, presumably damaged during a spell battle.
Engraved along the inner wall were the small characters "Myriad Beast Bell". This was a somewhat damaged defensive Spirit Treasure.
Lastly was a "sandalwood necklace". It was very strange; calling it a necklace, it was actually just eighteen wooden beads strung together, and it even looked somewhat crude. It was utterly ordinary, devoid of any spiritual energy fluctuations, resembling a completely mundane piece of jewelry.
However, Li Lin knew that anything placed alongside Spirit Treasures could not possibly be an ordinary object. He picked it up and observed it closely for a while, yet still found nothing peculiar about the necklace.
Only, Li Lin suddenly felt a trace of coolness drilling into his body, leaving him clear-headed and refreshed. It suppressed the lingering feverish restlessness in his heart, instantly turning it as still as stagnant water and his spiritual platform crystal clear.
Li Lin guessed that this must be an auxiliary treasure for cultivation used to calm the mind and steady the spirit. As for its exact grade, he did not know, but it could refresh the mind, soothe the heart, banish distracting thoughts, and resist the intrusion of inner demons.
After all, the greatest taboo for those on the path of cultivation was an unstable state of mind; a single misstep could lead to Qi deviation and cause one's body to explode and die.
Li Lin immediately put the "sandalwood necklace" around his neck, since this treasure was the only one he could currently use.
He picked up the animal skin book, the Nine-Sun Fire Phoenix Fan, and the Myriad Beast Bell,
and walked outside. He remembered seeing a bracelet while searching the cave earlier, and Li Lin wanted to try his luck and see if it was a Storage Bracelet.
After all, with so many things his master had left him, relying solely on his hands was definitely out of the question.
The deadwood torch was about to burn out completely.
Li Lin hastily looked toward the glittering gemstones and night pearls on the walls.
He went up and casually pried off two large night pearls; they felt cool in his hand, not dazzling, and their glow was very soft.
Then he lifted his feet and walked outside.
In his heart, he thought, "Any one of these taken outside would be a priceless treasure. From now on, I'll never have to worry about going hungry again. If I give a few to Tong'er, she'll surely be very happy, right? I'll give a few to Dad and Mom too, so they can eat well, dress well, and live well."
He could not help feeling warm with excitement and extraordinarily thrilled.
Only, he had no idea how long he had been out here. Mom and Dad might think he had fallen off a cliff and died, and they must be heartbroken and grieving.
He had to quickly tidy things up here and go home.
Lost in his thoughts, as he just stepped into the cave, a wave of coolness swept over him, giving Li Lin a start.
He remembered there was a stone gate covered in runes inside, and this chill was emanating from within.
The night pearls were very bright, illuminating the entire cave brilliantly and making everything visible at a glance.
He glanced once more at the strange rune-covered stone gate. His master had said that inside was a cultivation chamber used for cultivation and closed-door meditation, and the token to open the stone gate was right on Li Lin's person.
For now, he ignored it; after all, he still couldn't make sense of it yet and needed to handle the important matters first.
Li Lin walked straight toward the stone table. Those few items were still quietly resting there: a wolf-hair brush, an inkstone, two bamboo slips, a small knife, and an antique bracelet.
Li Lin picked up the bracelet directly and examined it closely. Its exterior looked very ordinary, even somewhat aged, with some ancient lotus patterns carved onto it, appearing thoroughly plain without any flashy features.
He could not help muttering inwardly, "How does this bracelet look anything like a Storage Bracelet?"
However, he did not give up his exploration. Instead, he concentrated his mind and slowly poured a strand of his Divine Sense into the bracelet.
As his Divine Sense entered the interior,
suddenly,
he saw a patch of misty gray fog that startled him; he could not see clearly what was inside at all.
Helplessly, he increased the force of his Divine Sense by a few notches.
Only then did he manage to see clearly.
He saw that the space was extremely vast, appearing far away and seemingly boundless.
In the distance, on the left, was a pile of glittering spirit stones in various colors. There were all sorts of hues, and a sweep of his Divine Sense revealed over 1.2 million Low-grade Spirit Stones, over 33,000 Mid-grade Spirit Stones, more than 160 Upper-grade Spirit Stones, and even 5 Top-grade Spirit Stones.
Li Lin muttered to himself, "Master truly lives up to being a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator; he is so wealthy. These spirit stones are the universal currency of the Cultivation World."
Looking to the right, there were spiritual herbs, mostly Rank 5 spiritual herbs numbering fully over a thousand plants, each stored in individual wooden boxes. Rank 4 spiritual herbs numbered only a few dozen, and anything below Rank 3 was entirely absent.
There were seventeen Rank 6 spiritual herbs, and three that should be Rank 7 spiritual herbs, resting inside exquisite, peerless jade boxes.
There was also a pile of various materials that Li Lin could not fully recognize; they were all materials below Rank 4, with very few of Rank 5 or 6. Aside from those, there was nothing else, and his Divine Sense withdrew from the Storage Bracelet.
He put away the wolf-hair brush and inkstone from the side. The bamboo slips were blank, with nothing written on them at all, while the small knife, upon closer inspection, was a Low-grade Spirit Artifact, presumably used for carving bamboo slips.
After all, since his master was a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, at the very least his old man must have used Dharma Treasures to fight enemies.
Li Lin muttered, "This Storage Bracelet is really useful; it feels amazing, and the space is so big. Wonderful! It truly lives up to containing Mount Sumeru in a mustard seed—how miraculous."
He arrived at the alchemy room, and the first thing Li Lin put away was the pill furnace. Strangely enough, such a huge pill furnace was stowed away in an instant and fit right into the tiny bracelet.
All sorts of bottles and jars naturally were not spared either; without examining them closely, he simply scooped them directly into the Storage Bracelet.
Li Lin went on a massive looting spree, sparing none of the cultivation technique bamboo slips, Dharma Treasures, Spirit Artifacts, prayer mats, and chests from the other chambers, stuffing all of them into the Storage Bracelet.
Returning to the original immortal cave, Li Lin bowed once more toward the memorial tablets and said, "Master, Mistress, your disciple still has his parents and younger sister at home, and having been out for quite a long time, I fear they will worry, so I am heading home first. I will come back to pay my respects to you both in the future."
With that, he swept everything around him that he deemed useful into the Storage Bracelet, including a dozen or so gold bricks he dug up from the floor, as well as some of the gemstones and night pearls on the walls.
There was simply too much; even though Li Lin had taken quite a bit away, the immortal cave remained as bright as day.
Hesitating no longer, Li Lin turned and walked out of the cave.