The Thorne of Destiny-Chapter 101: Ground Floor

After resting for a while, the two men finally focused their attention on the castle in front of them. Well, they called it a castle, but it wasn’t very large. From outside, they could only see about three floors.

However, the design of the building was incredibly ornate. One could tell that the building was very detailed and was made to look refined and opulent.

However, time had laid its hands on the building. After who knows how long, most of the intricate designs had withered away. Leaving only an ancient-looking building behind.

However, it seemed that the building was made with good quality materials. Even though most of the intricate designs had been eroded due to the passage of time, the building still stood strong, with no sign of crumbling anytime soon.

The two approached the entrance, where they faced two gigantic doors. The doors were like the rest of the building. Faint traces of intricate design could be seen on them, but most of them had faded away with time.

Julian stepped forward and pushed the two doors open. The doors gave little resistance and were quickly forced open by Julian.

The moment they stepped inside, the massive doors groaned shut behind them, sealing with a finality that made the young man flinch. But no trap sprang. No hidden mechanism activated.

Only silence.

The castle’s interior was vast but eerily empty, no guardians, no formations, just a staircase at the far end, leading to a different floor. A faint, golden light emanated from above, illuminating the dust motes drifting lazily in the air.

Julian’s sharp eyes scanned the ground floor. There wasn’t much here. There were five shelves that were filled with books and scrolls. In the corner was a large pile of Qi stones. On another wall was a rack filled with different kinds of weapons.

Julian immediately went to the shelves and started inspecting them. He took one of the books on it, and sure enough, it was a cultivation technique. He quickly read through it and found out it was a cultivation technique that could help someone reach the Foundation Establishment realm.

In other words, it was completely useless for him. He immediately tossed it aside when he realised this, losing interest in the technique completely. He began checking each of the books one by one.

The frown on his face kept deepening as he continued reading through them. Trash! They were all trash. At least according to him. Even the young man was not in a good mood when he inspected the books.

In a fit of rage, Julian kicked one of the shelves, sending it flying across the room, destroying it completely. He wasn’t very happy right now.

He went over to the pile of Qi stones and found out that they were all low-grade Qi stones. After a brief estimate, there were about ten million low-grade Qi stones.

For an ordinary cultivator, that amount would have been life-changing. But for someone like Julian, who came from a large noble family, the amount wasn’t that much.

The more powerful one becomes, the less useful money becomes. Most of the things that powerful cultivators required couldn’t be bought, and would have to be sought out by themselves.

Plus, Qi stones weren’t just used as currency. They were also used as cultivation materials. Cultivators absorbed the Qi present in them in order to speed up their cultivation session.

If a cultivator simply relied on absorbing the Qi from Heaven and Earth, it would take countless years for him to progress a single level. It would also increase the difficulty exponentially.

As a Golden Core realm cultivator, Julian didn’t require low-grade Qi stones anymore. The amount of Qi present in them was simply too little for him to gain anything meaningful from them.

A Golden Core realm cultivator would have to use a large amount of low-grade Qi stones in order for them to affect his cultivation. That wasn’t the only reason stopping them.

The Qi present in low-grade Qi stones was too impure. As their cultivation increases, Golden Core realm cultivators require increasingly purer Qi. This was one of the reasons why cultivation speed tends to slow down as one grows stronger.

Cultivators at Julian’s level used mid-grade Qi stones. The amount of Qi present in them, as well as the purity, was appropriate for their use. Well, he wouldn’t say no to more money.

He called over the young man and asked him to bring out the storage rings with him. The young man didn’t hesitate and immediately produced four silver grade storage rings.

These were the storage rings belonging to their four teammates who had passed away.

He had tasked the young man with keeping them just in case. It seemed that was the right decision as they would come in handy now.

He collected all the storage rings and began filling them up with the Qi stones. The young man’s eyes flashed with envy and greed, but he quickly suppressed them before Julian noticed it.

Unlike Julian, the young man was only from a small noble family. He was lucky enough to be talented and entered the War Machine Sect. There, due to his diligence and hard work, he was able to reach the Golden Core realm before thirty years of age.

It was then that he was noticed by Julian and became a lackey for him. Honestly, he didn’t have much choice when Julian approached him. As someone from a small noble family, he could not afford to offend Julian.

He could only lower his head and work diligently for him. That had been the case until this trip to the Misty Mountain. He knew Julian had another agenda for entering the Mountains, but he wasn’t privy to the details.

Only when they entered the mystic realm did he realise what they were here for. He and the rest of the team were initially excited at the prospect of exploring this unknown mystic realm.

However, after experiencing the dangers within this mystic realm, the excitement had been washed away and replaced with the desire to leave immediately. Still, they couldn’t leave.

None of them knew where the exit was, except maybe Julian. He was the one who brought them here after all. Surely, he wouldn’t enter the mystic realm without having the method to leave.

They had no choice but to obey Julian’s every order. That was how everyone else lost their lives, leaving only him. When they entered the castle, the previous excitement of entering a mystic realm had been reignited within him.

Especially when he saw the huge pile of Qi stones in the corner of the room. He almost salivated when he saw the absurd amount that was present there.

He had never seen that amount of wealth in his entire life. Even if he was now a Golden Core cultivator, it was still difficult to accumulate that amount of wealth on his own.

That amount would be equivalent to half of a small noble family’s entire net worth. If he were able to get his hands on this wealth, he would be able to significantly improve his family’s situation.

However, he knew that it was just a pipe dream. Julian’s personality, he probably wouldn’t receive any of that money. Watching the pile of Qi stones disappear into the storage ring, he felt a lump in his throat.

He gulped audibly before quickly turning his attention towards the rack of weapons on the wall. In order to avoid further turmoil in his heart, he decided to distract himself with something else.

He went towards each of them before inspecting them one by one. There was a large number of weapons just piling up here. He picked up a sword and realised that it had already begun to rust.

In fact, most of the weapons here had rust marks on them. However, a good number of them could be found among the pile that were still in good condition. Still, even if they were in good condition, he wasn’t too happy.

That was because they were all Silver rank weapons. All the weapons that had survived the test of time turned out to be Silver rank weapons, completely useless to them.

Julian, who had already finished storing all the Qi stones into the four storage rings, came up behind the young man, startling him a bit.

"What did you find?" Julian asked from behind, making the young man jump in fright.

"A-Ah, Senior Brother. Most of these weapons are already rusted. It seems they have been here for quite a long time. Even those that are still in good condition seem to only be of the Silver rank."

He said while handing over a spear that was still in good condition. Julian took the spear and started inspecting it himself. Realising that the young man’s words were true, he cursed under his breath.

Damn it. All that work only for some shitty cultivation techniques and weapons?