Chapter Forty-Three: The Storage Pouch

Next, Lin Yanghao’s foremost task was, of course, to destroy all evidence of the bodies. The best way to do so was by burning them, leaving no trace or clue behind. Before setting the corpses of Li Xuan and Zhang Heng ablaze, Lin Yanghao thoroughly searched their bodies. As he had expected, he found a storage pouch on each of them. The sight of these pouches nearly drove Lin Yanghao mad with excitement. At last, he had obtained the storage pouches he had long dreamed of. After another careful search, he found nothing else of value on their persons; everything they owned must be inside those pouches.

To avoid further complications, Lin Yanghao quickly incinerated the bodies of Li Xuan and Zhang Heng, then meticulously erased all signs of the battle in the surrounding area. When he finished, there was no hint that a fight had ever taken place. With everything in order, Lin Yanghao departed swiftly.

He ran almost the entire way back to his thatched hut, relieved that he encountered no one along the route; in his current state, he would certainly have aroused suspicion. Back in his hut, Lin Yanghao breathed a silent sigh of relief before excitedly retrieving the two storage pouches to examine them.

He knew that, with the deaths of Li Xuan and Zhang Heng, the original owner imprints on the pouches would have been lifted. The imprint vanishes automatically upon the owner's death; otherwise, only a cultivator at the Core Formation stage or above could remove it. As both pouches’ owners had died by his hand, they were ready to accept a new master.

Lin Yanghao carefully made a small cut on his hand, drawing a drop of blood to drip onto each pouch. Immediately, he felt a mysterious connection form between his mind and the pouches. He knew the bond was established and, elated, he hurried to inspect their contents.

After checking both pouches, Lin Yanghao smiled in satisfaction and hid them carefully. After all, these were ill-gotten gains—he dared not flaunt them in public, lest someone recognize them as belonging to Li Xuan and Zhang Heng. Even if that didn’t happen, Steward Cao’s notice alone would spell trouble; should he be questioned about the origin of the pouches, Lin Yanghao would have no plausible explanation.

With that settled, Lin Yanghao began to cultivate. He could not afford to waste a single opportunity, especially with Wang Shaohui waiting for him in the inner sect. Although presently—

Inside the two storage pouches, he found a total of thirty-two low-grade spirit stones. There were no medium-grade stones, but Lin Yanghao was content. Besides the spirit stones, there were a few sets of clothing and several Spirit Cleansing Pills.

He touched the mysterious ring on his left hand, his mind turbulent with thoughts. The ring had been a source of both curiosity and anxiety for Lin Yanghao. Carefully, he slipped it off and threaded it onto a fine cord, wearing it around his neck instead. After recent events, he dared not wear the ring openly. In a world teeming with cultivators, it only took the notice of one powerful being for disaster to strike—by then, regret would come too late. Better to keep it hidden.

Having finished his preparations, Lin Yanghao began his cultivation. He took a Spirit Cleansing Pill and started meditating. Only through diligent effort could he hope to stand against Wang Shaohui.

The pill aided the absorption of spiritual energy during cultivation, greatly enhancing the effect of his efforts.

Thus, the days passed by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the third day since Lin Yanghao had killed Li Xuan and Zhang Heng. The sect made no move to investigate their disappearance. It was common for disciples to venture out to train, and the sect paid little attention to minor outer disciples like Li Xuan and Zhang Heng.

In these days, the pair had vanished without a trace, as if they had evaporated from the world. Wang Shaohui was growing frantic, searching high and low throughout the sect, yet to no avail, while Lin Yanghao remained unscathed and went about his days as usual.

“Boss, I think Li Xuan and Zhang Heng are most likely dead. Frankly, even ten Lin Yanghaos wouldn’t be a match for either one of them. Beyond that, I know nothing,” said a subordinate beside Wang Shaohui.

“Then what are you standing here for? Hurry up and find the killer for me!” Wang Shaohui’s furious roar echoed once more.

...

“Records of Marvellous Events in the Spirit Realm—this one’s not bad!”

“A General History of the Spirit Realm—this one’s good too.”

For the past few days, Lin Yanghao had spent all his time on the first floor of the library, reading. He needed to better understand the Spirit Realm; ignorance would not do. During these days, he had read extensively on the realm’s history and unusual events.

Only those at Foundation Establishment or higher could access the second and third floors. As an outer disciple, Lin Yanghao was limited to the ground floor.

Through his days of reading, Lin Yanghao had learned much: the Spirit Realm’s history stretched back several million years, at least according to the records, and there were countless tales of wonders, mysteries, and perilous regions.

That evening, Lin Yanghao emerged from the library, satisfied. He felt he now had a sufficient grasp of the Spirit Realm. There was no need to delve deeply into its history and strange tales—a general understanding was enough, as those details would not be of much use to him. He only needed a broad overview.

Back in his hut, Lin Yanghao took out another Spirit Cleansing Pill and a low-grade spirit stone from the storage pouch. He sensed he was close to reaching the peak of the Qi Refining stage; perhaps after tonight’s cultivation, he would achieve it. With a Foundation Establishment Pill, he was certain to succeed in breaking through.

Each major stage of cultivation was divided into three minor stages: early, middle, and late. The pinnacle of the late stage was called “Great Perfection.” Each minor stage, likewise, had its own subdivisions. Lin Yanghao was now on the verge of reaching Great Perfection in the Qi Refining stage.