Chapter 189

Chapter 189: Rong Shu’s Private Stash

A short while later, Xiao Zi An returned and immediately asked the two of them: “Is that kid really the son of the former city lord of Scarlet Sun City?”

“He is,” Rong Shu said, then asked: “Fourth Senior Brother, how is Yan Zi Mo?”

Xiao Zi An shook his head: “Ruined. Yan Zi Mo’s spiritual root has withered, his cultivation has regressed, and his meridians are nearly severed. If not for pills keeping him alive, he would likely be dead. His mind also seems to have problems. He mutters to himself, always repeating the name ‘Yu Ruan Ruan.’ That is your sect’s senior sister, is it not?”

Clicking his tongue, Xiao Zi An marveled: “Tsk tsk. Could it be a deep, obsessive love? Mad and still in love?”

Rong Shu’s heart tightened as she listened: “Fourth Senior Brother, is there a way to restore his sanity? I cannot shake the feeling that something is behind Yan Zi Mo becoming like this.”

“There is a way,” Xiao Zi An sighed: “But there are not many high-grade alchemists here in the Southern Wilds. High-grade healing pills and spirit herbs cannot be transferred here in a short time. Still, since little junior sister has spoken, I will do my best to help him recover.”

As the young master of the Alchemists’ Guild, Xiao Zi An naturally carried quite a few precious treasures on him.

Hearing this, Rong Shu let out a small breath: “Thank you, Fourth Senior Brother.”

It was not that she cared deeply for Yan Zi Mo. It was just that he had had more contact with Yu Ruan Ruan, and with all the investigations into Yu Ruan Ruan of late, Rong Shu could not help a nagging suspicion that Yan Zi Mo’s state had something to do with her.

Seeing the little girl frowning again, Xiao Zi An blinked his peach-blossom eyes and said: “If you really want to thank me, then work hard at the alchemy convention. The prizes this time are generous. Do not let the goodies go to outsiders. Try your best to win as much as you can, so I do not feel too heartbroken.”

At that, Rong Shu could not help but smile: “Mm, I will give it my all.”

With the Yan Zi Mo interlude concluded, the three strolled for a while longer. Soon, feeling it was dull, Rong Shu headed directly to the Myriad Books Tower at the branch of the Alchemists’ Guild.

With Xiao Zi An’s permissions, Rong Shu accessed many more alchemy texts and spent half a day immersed in the Myriad Books Tower.

…

Night.

In the guest room, Rong Shu had shut doors and windows tight and was inventorying the items in her Han Chuan Cosmos Pearl.

At the beginning, when she first entered the sect, she counted her private stash every day. Later, she did so less and less. The space inside the Han Chuan Cosmos Pearl was large, but too many things were piled about in a jumble. With a tiny bit of compulsiveness, Rong Shu wanted to organize it.

After more than an hour, Rong Shu sorted everything and recorded it all in a little notebook.

[Spirit Stones]: 5.8 million

[Types of Pills]: 190

Grade 1: 5 types; Grade 2: 20 types; Grade 3: 50 types; Grade 4: 65 types; Grade 5: 22 types; Grade 6: 13 types; Grade 7: 10 types; Grade 8: 5 types

[Prescriptions]: 630 slips
Grade 1: 60; Grade 2: 80; Grade 3: 70; Grade 4: 80; Grade 5: 100; Grade 6: 150; Grade 7: 50; Grade 8: 25; Grade-less: 15

[Types of Spirit Herbs]: 940

Grade 1: 320; Grade 2: 500; Grade 3: 60; Grade 4: 30; Grade 5: 12; Grade 6: 8; Grade 7: 5; Grade 8: 5

The low-grade pills, prescriptions, and spirit herbs were basically those Rong Shu refined herself and those she recited from memory or purchased at the Alchemists’ Guild branch. The high-grade pills, prescriptions, and spirit herbs were mostly harvested in the Scorchfire Secret Realm, with a portion gifted by Senior Brother Wu Hua and Senior Brother Xiao Zi An.

[Alchemy Books and Handnotes]: 3,000 volumes

[Arts and Techniques]: 30 volumes

[Weapons]: 15

One Spirit Sword, treasure artifact, mid-grade (gifted by Qin Yuan)
One wooden sword, common wooden tool (obtained via sect exchange)
One pair of sabers, treasure artifact, high-grade (gifted by Wu Hua)
One pair of sabers, treasure artifact, mid-grade (purchased on the black market)
Three pairs of sabers, common iron weapons (purchased outside the sect)
One pair of wooden practice sabers, common wooden tools (self-made)
One dagger, common iron weapon (obtained via sect exchange)

[Talismans]: 172

Defensive Talismans: 50; Speed Talismans: 50; Stealth Talismans: 50; Offensive Talismans: 20
Note: two single-use Defensive Talismans effective below Golden Core, obtained by sweet-talking her nominal master

[Formations]: 35

Defensive formations: 10; Speed formations: 10; Stealth formations: 10; Offensive formations: 5

[…]

Looking at the page crammed with entries, Rong Shu felt a deep satisfaction from the bottom of her heart, like someone who had long suffered hunger and cold suddenly tasting what it meant to have ample food and clothing and full granaries.

“The treasure-grade weapons should be upgraded,” Rong Shu murmured, eyeing the 5.8 million Spirit Stones and feeling bold enough to covet a pair of spirit-grade sabers. “Hmm… a pair of sabers will probably cost about 1.2 million.”

“And talismans and formations… I have several high-grade formations gifted by Senior Brother Wu Hua, so those do not need replacing for now. But the talismans do. At best they can block an attack from a Golden Core Stage cultivator.” She counted again. “So for those… five hundred thousand? That should do.”

“Also, I am a bit short on Grade 3, 4, and 5 spirit herbs. I need to buy a batch. Hmm, let’s set a budget of one million first.”

After another calculation, she set aside five hundred thousand Spirit Stones as untouchable reserve funds. That left only about 2.5 million Spirit Stones for her free use. Those 2.5 million would go toward training her archery and formation work.

When all was totaled, even with 5.8 million Spirit Stones, it did not feel especially abundant.

“Sleep, sleep. Tomorrow I have a hard battle to fight,” Rong Shu said as she finished putting things back into the Han Chuan Cosmos Pearl and climbed onto the bed.

Before sleeping, she glanced at the Little Hamster snoozing sweetly in his nest, then flopped down and fell asleep.

…

The next day, with Wu Hua accompanying her, Rong Shu went to the competition grounds of the alchemy convention.

The convention was divided into five divisions, from Grade 1 to Grade 5. The higher the grade, the richer the prizes. Alchemists were allowed to challenge higher-grade divisions, but high-grade alchemists were not allowed to compete in lower-grade divisions.

Rong Shu currently held a third-grade alchemist certification from the Alchemists’ Guild. She could enter the third-grade division and could also challenge the fourth and fifth-grade divisions.

Because the convention was hosted by her own Fourth Senior Brother, it would be easy for Rong Shu to participate under a false identity.