Mingguang Daochang waved his hand, and the hundred cloud-patterned swords were collected. While he had the assisting young Taoist priest store the wine in the warehouse, he took out a ledger, picked up a brush, and wrote as he spoke.
“Record: Yuanzheng sent one hundred top-grade mortal cloud-patterned swords, and six hundred jars of top-grade mortal fine wine in twenty-jin containers, receiving two hundred and sixty white cloud copper coins.”
Putting down the brush, Mingguang Daochang smiled. “Adding the cloud-patterned swords and wine from your previous two deliveries, you now have three hundred and eighty white cloud copper coins on account in the temple.”
Lu Zheng’s eyes lit up. “What are these white cloud copper coins for?”
Mingguang Daochang frowned upon hearing this. “Didn’t your master tell you?”
Lu Zheng shook his head. “No?”
Mingguang Daochang shook his head. “Junior Brother Mingzhang spends all day lost in thought, and he didn’t tell you anything.”
After a pause, Mingguang Daochang said, “Never mind, I’ll explain. Your offerings to the sect are your heartfelt intentions, but the sect cannot accept them for free. So, in the rear hall warehouse, besides the temple’s own assets, the items each person contributes are recorded by value for everyone. We cannot let anyone work in vain.
Of course, if you want to take items from the warehouse, aside from what the sect distributes uniformly, you must exchange them with your white cloud copper coins.”
Lu Zheng asked, “So, these white cloud copper coins in my hand can be used to exchange for things from the rear hall warehouse?”
Mingguang Daochang nodded, raised his eyebrows, and smiled. “Exactly. So, how about it? Do you want to exchange for some pills to further improve your cultivation?”
Lu Zheng grinned and nodded repeatedly. He reached behind and took out a porcelain bottle, handing it over. “Uncle Master, please take a look. This bottle contains six Renshen Yuzhi Pills. How much can they be exchanged for?”
Mingguang Daochang: ⚆_⚆?
“Won’t Uncle Master Mingzhang refine pills?” Yuanlin Daochang could not help asking.
Lu Zheng nodded and said, “Yes, this is a pill-refining method I obtained by chance, and these are the pills I refined.”
Yuanlin Daochang: o_O!!!
Mingguang was also speechless. He took the porcelain bottle, opened it, smelled the medicinal fragrance, and said in some surprise, “It uses four kinds of spiritual herbs inside? Although the spiritual herbs are not of high age, fusing four kinds fully means one pill can probably increase two years of cultivation.”
“How about it?” Lu Zheng asked.
Mingguang Daochang looked at Lu Zheng with eyes full of astonishment. “You are not using such pills yourself, but sending them to the warehouse?”
Lu Zheng smiled. “I have some left, and besides, these pills cannot be taken endlessly.”
“Although… well, that is true.”
Mingguang Daochang nodded, looked at Lu Zheng again, and confirmed, “You really want to exchange these pills for copper coins?”
“Exactly.”
“Alright, the value of these pills is much higher than those mortal long swords. I’ll calculate one hundred copper coins per pill for you, so six pills make six hundred white cloud copper coins.”
Lu Zheng raised his eyebrow. Although these spiritual pills were indeed more valuable than the cloud-patterned swords and wine, there was no qualitative leap in quantity.
This showed that those modern long swords and top-grade wines, being unique and able to help ordinary disciples while providing enjoyment to the elders and true cultivators, were truly very valuable.
But he could not produce ten thousand top-grade mortal weapons, could he? That would be rebelling.
“Yuanzheng, nephew.”
“Yes!”
“Do you have anything you need, like a whisk or a ruyi magic tool? You can have Yuanlin take you around the warehouse and look at the warehouse material catalog?” Mingguang Daochang asked.
Lu Zheng’s cultivation had advanced rapidly, so he clearly did not need auxiliary items like pills or talismans. But since he had just entered the path not long ago, he probably did not have a magic tool yet, so Mingguang Daochang asked this.
After all, with these pills added, Lu Zheng’s white cloud copper coins were nearly one thousand, which was no small sum.
“Is that possible?” Lu Zheng’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, Uncle Master Mingguang!”
“Of course, go ahead.” Mingguang Daochang smiled.
Lu Zheng bowed, then followed Yuanlin’s lead to the warehouse.
On the way, Yuanlin Daochang reminded him, “Junior Brother, since you obtained a pill-refining method again, you can look more at our sect’s pill methods later, to draw analogies and perhaps benefit your cultivation.”
“Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother.”
Lu Zheng nodded in thanks. What Yuanlin said was indeed sound advice.
The two arrived at the rear hall warehouse. Lu Zheng looked around and found it was a hall of no great size.
Lu Zheng blinked and looked at Yuanlin.
Yuanlin Daochang smiled slightly. “Junior Brother has not entered Baiyun Cave Heaven yet, has he?”
Lu Zheng’s eyes flashed. “Baiyun Cave Heaven? Junior Brother has heard of it for a long time, but unfortunately, last time I returned, I did not get to see it.”
Yuanlin Daochang smiled upon hearing this, then gestured with his hand. “Then please.”
“Junior Brother is in for a treat!”
…
Baiyun Cave Heaven, another world.
Blue sky, white clouds. Though no sun was visible, the entire cave heaven was bright as day.
Looking out, ancient trees towered, mountains and waters stretched leisurely. There were palaces and pavilions in the mountains, fields and paths in the forests, scattered birds and beasts, and Taoists coming and going.
As soon as Lu Zheng entered, he felt his mind clear a bit, his breathing smooth out, even more comfortable than on Baiyun Mountain.
It must be known that Baiyun Mountain’s spiritual energy was already much higher than ordinary places in the Great Jing Dynasty, with fresh air and pervasive Dao essence, a famous Daoist cultivation haven.
And in this Baiyun Cave Heaven, the environment was evidently superior, so the probability of herbs becoming spiritual and their age growth were likely much faster than outside.
“In Baiyun Cave Heaven, senior members of the temple and promising disciples cultivate here. It mainly grows herbs, has a backup of the scripture pavilion, and stores important assets of the warehouse.”
Yuanlin Daochang introduced, “Additionally, in Baiyun Cave Heaven, the quality of successful pills during refining is several tenths higher than outside, so the entire pill-refining hall is located in Baiyun Cave Heaven.”
Lu Zheng nodded repeatedly, then followed Yuanlin Daochang to a courtyard with several connected buildings.
“Yuanlin, nephew!” An elderly Taoist priest came forward.
“Uncle Master Mingyi!”
Yuanlin cupped his hands in salute. “I am bringing Junior Brother Yuanzheng to see the warehouse collection.”
“Please!” Mingyi Daochang stepped aside to guide them.
…
Yuanlin Daochang did not hide anything and took Lu Zheng on a general tour of the warehouse.
But the warehouse collection truly broadened Lu Zheng’s horizons.
Piles of spirit stones like mountains, endless spiritual materials at a glance, wooden shelves full of pills and stacks of countless talismans, as well as array flags emitting terrifying auras and numerous magic treasures.
Above all, such classic tropes from web novels were, of course, impossible!
In fact, the warehouse held mostly various raw materials: century-old herbs, jade ores, things that could be piled into mountains. But spiritual herbs and materials that had entered spirit, as well as finished pills, magic tools, talismans, and so on, though numerous, did not have such great visual impact.
Of course, even so, the Baiyun Temple’s warehouse, accumulated over thousands of years, absolutely deserved the term “treasury.”
For example, spiritual materials suitable for refining flying swords, from low-grade to high-grade, Lu Zheng saw fully dozens of kinds.
