Chapter 342: Not Again
"Please follow me, Lord Gahrat." Old Zen said as he accompanied Compass Carburettor to an underground tunnel below the auction house, travelling on foot for an hour before they entered a building.
Taking a flight of stairs there, they walked through a heavily guarded corridor before entering an underground cellar, one whose door itself seemed to be made using a dozen tons of steel. It was damn heavy as even Old Zen's face flushed red to open it.
"This is our auction house's treasury. Every treasure of our Gaoan City is safeguarded here." Old Zen said in pride as he showed him around.
Compass Carburettor looked at the items as he closed his eyes, recalling information about them that he had obtained from the Hatchling System.
'Most of them are battle oriented.' He thought. There was an array of treasures that consisted of weapons, armours, fusion materials, etc.
The weapons and armours were created to be suitable to wield for those in the Origin Refinement Stage according to the attributes of their Origin Essence.
There were mysterious pills too, those whose functions Old Zen patiently explained. 'But, all of them have robust Origin Essence in them. A cultivator has to circulate the Origin Essence through them furiously after ingesting such pills. Otherwise, their bodies would burst due to the energy overload. They aren't useful for Stencil.'
He continued to look through the items one after another, not finding anything of value.
Old Zen had been focused on his expression from the start, sweating internally upon noticing his dissatisfaction, 'There are many treasures here that even those from the Martial Providence Stage would like. How come he's not even batting an eye to that?'
Finally, he had no choice but to ask directly, "Lord Gahrat, is there something on your mind that you're seeking? If it's something I'm able to procure, I'll do my best."
"That might be better," Compass Carburettor nodded, saying, "It can either be a material or a treasure. What I'm seeking should be something that can affect the mind or soul, preferably to heal it. For my second choice, I'm looking for a material suitable for a Pill Refiner to fuse at the Martial Origin Stage."
"Mind or soul" Old Zen sighed helplessly upon hearing it, "I'm afraid I've never encountered a treasure of such a calibre."
"But, as for the material suitable for a Pill Refiner, I should be able to procure it in a few months." Old Zen said, "There are some ruins where it's available. I'll send my men there to procure it."
"That's good enough. Let's return now." Compass Carburettor turned around and began to leave.
Old Zen observed his actions, sighing when he noticed that Compass Carburettor didn't even bat an eye at the treasures situated all around, 'He's even more unfathomable.'
Though, Old Zen had misunderstood Compass Carburettor.
Had Compass Carburettor arrived at the Gaider Realm normally, he would have been attracted to such treasures. But presently, curing Stencil was all that was on his mind. So, if that treasure was unrelated to the task, their properties didn't even register in his mind.
That was why he was nonchalant about all the treasures around him.
Old Zen locked the treasury as he accompanied Compass Carburettor to the courtyard, intending to lead him to the underground tunnel once again when suddenly, he stood rooted to the spot, astounded.
Boom!
A pillar of light streamed from the ground and spanned into the clouds, emanating a terrifying aura as everyone in Gaoan City was alerted.
"A Heaven Spirit" Old Zen muttered in shock, "To think I'll witness such a feat of the legend."
"Heaven Spirit?" Compass Carburettor frowned. Of course, he knew what they signified.
Martial Spirits were segregated into four Tiers based on their potency and power. Higher Tier Martial Spirits were capable of suppressing Lower Tier Martial Spirits easily.
Trash, Human, Earth, and Heaven; these were the four Tiers of Martial Spirits. Trash Martial Spirits were pretty much useless as they didn't generate any attribute in the Origin Essence of the respective cultivators.
That meant, they didn't possess the basic power that everyone in the Origin Refinement Stage wielded, making them the weakest of the bunch. Typically, those with a Trash Martial Spirit became servants. Trash Martial Spirits were object types, ranging from simple brushes to swords and spears.
This was why the guard, despite being a Martial Origin Stage cultivator could only become a guard. If he had a stronger Martial Spirit, he could have been an important figure wherever he went.
Following it were Human Martial Spirits, those capable of imbuing an attribute to the Origin Essence of the respective cultivators. The imbued attribute was pretty powerful and if they reached the Martial Origin Stage and fused with a fairly precious material, they would turn powerful.
Human Martial Spirits typically consisted of mysterious beasts that not only strengthened the body of the cultivator but the imbued attribute made them even more terrifying. Cultivators possessing Human Martial Spirits formed the bulk of the cultivator world's power structure.
Above that were Earth Martial Spirits, with each possessing tremendous power. Earth Martial Spirits conformed to the elements available in nature like fire, water, poison, thunder, etc.
Those possessing a Fire Martial Spirit had an innate resistance and control over fire. Cultivators with Earth Martial Spirits were geniuses that were heavily nurtured by Clans and Sects as pillars that would inherit the respective Clan/Sect in the future.
Moreover, cultivators with Earth Martial Spirits were casually able to defeat dozens of Human Martial Spirit cultivators at the same power level. As for Trash Martial Spirit Cultivators, they would be naturally suppressed to such an extent they weren't even able to circulate their Origin Essence.
And then there was the Heaven Martial Spirit, something only the children of heavens attained. They were so rare that at most one cultivator had that in the entire Gaider Realm.
A Heaven Martial Spirit was special in that it had the properties of two other Tiers of Martial Spirits. A simple example would be a Fire Tiger, allowing the cultivator to obtain the attributes of both fire and a tiger, making them overpowered.
"Lord Gahrat, we definitely cannot miss this occasion. Let's head there now!" Old Zen said before turning into a giant eagle as he took off into the air and headed straight towards the beam of light in the distance.
Compass Carburettor, on the other hand, was silent upon gazing at the beam of light, sighing, 'In stories, when such a talented cultivator appears, there are two possibilities. One, either it's a System Host whose talent has now become heaven-defying.'
'Or second, it's either the brother or lover of this cultivator that's a System Host.'