7: The Hidden God Sect is poor? My floor tiles are all Enlightenment Stones!

The wind howled, the horses neighed, and Xiao Chen roared.

Having just made a Breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Stage, Xiao Chen felt as if he had inexhaustible energy. That feeling of power filling his entire body made him feel like he could kill ten bulls with a single punch.

"Wuhu—!"

Like an ancestral monkey, he dashed wildly across the bare plaza of the Hidden God Sect.

With one step, he covered several yards.

Spiritual Qi surged within him, and the wind rose beneath his feet.

"I've become stronger! I've also become bal—bah, more handsome!"

Xiao Chen was so excited he couldn't tell north from south.

This sense of power, lost and then regained, almost moved him to tears of joy.

He couldn't help but want to test his limits, so he suddenly accelerated, preparing for a cool, sharp drift turn.

However.

The coolness didn't last three seconds.

Because he was too fast and his feet hadn't yet adapted to the newly broken-through Realm, his left foot tripped over his right.

"Thud!"

A dull sound rang out.

The high-spirited Xiao Chen of a moment ago fell flat on the plaza in front of the main hall in a perfectly standard "five-body-to-the-ground" posture.

Face-first, that is.

"Cough, cough... Ow, ow, ow..."

Xiao Chen lifted his head, grimacing, feeling as if his nose was about to be knocked crooked.

Fortunately, he was now in the Foundation Establishment Stage and had thick skin; otherwise, this fall would have definitely disfigured him.

Just as he was about to crawl up, his gaze was suddenly drawn to the floor tile right under his nose.

Because of the fall, his face had scraped off a thick layer of old mud and moss from the tile's surface, revealing a corner of its true appearance beneath.

It was a deep bluish-gray.

It looked unremarkable, even having a few cracks.

But at this moment, with Xiao Chen's face pressed against it, he felt an indescribable coolness rush from his forehead straight to the crown of his head.

The Spiritual Qi that had been somewhat restless due to the recent Breakthrough instantly calmed down.

His cluttered thoughts were cleared, and his mind became crystal clear.

He even forgot the pain from the fall.

"This is..."

Xiao Chen was stunned.

He subconsciously reached out, his fingertips gently stroking the texture of the floor tile.

A faint, ethereal Dao Charm flowed through his body from his fingertips.

That feeling was like having a Revered Master of the Dao whispering scriptures in his ear, causing his comprehension of cultivation to soar!

Xiao Chen's pupils constricted violently, and his heart pounded wildly.

"Enlight... enlightenment stone?!"

He had seen records of it in ancient books.

The enlightenment stone was a rare treasure of heaven and earth! Just a thumb-sized piece worn on the body could prevent Heart Demons from arising and double one's cultivation speed!

In the outside world, a tiny piece like that was worth a fortune, enough to make countless Sects fight to the death over it!

And now.

Xiao Chen looked up with trembling hands, his gaze dull as he scanned the entire plaza.

A hundred pieces?

A thousand pieces?

No.

The entire plaza, several thousand square meters in size, was paved entirely with this kind of stone!

And looking at the thickness, they weren't just inlays; they were solid, massive blocks!

"Hiss—"

Xiao Chen sucked in a breath of cold air, feeling his very teeth ache from the shock.

Extravagant!

Too extravagant!

Using the legendary enlightenment stone for paving? If those Holy Lands outside knew about this, they'd probably die of shame!

"Wait, if the floor tiles are all enlightenment stones, then the other things..."

As if discovering a new continent, Xiao Chen scrambled over to the dilapidated wooden pillar supporting the main hall.

The paint on this pillar had completely peeled off, and a few mushrooms were even growing on it. It looked like it could snap at any moment.

With trembling hands, Xiao Chen carefully picked off a piece of bark.

A vitality so dense it was almost tangible hit him in the face!

The purple-black wood grain emitted a faint, delicate fragrance. Just one sniff made him feel as if his Lifespan was increasing.

"Ten-thousand-year... soul nurturing wood?!"

Xiao Chen's legs went weak, and he almost knelt down again.

soul nurturing wood!

That was a Heaven-Defying divine wood that could nourish the Divine Soul and allow remnant souls to reunite!

A palm-sized piece could be made into a top-tier Magic Treasure, and yet it was being used as a pillar here? And it was even being used to grow mushrooms?!

Xiao Chen felt his worldview collapsing.

He then rushed to the ragged pond where Da Huang usually drank water.

The pond water was murky, with a few rotten vegetable leaves floating on top.

But he didn't dare to look down on anything now.

He dipped his finger in and put a drop of water in his mouth.

"Boom!"

Spiritual Qi of extreme purity exploded in his mouth, even purer than the Marrow Cleansing Pill he had just taken!

"In... innate spirit fluid?!"

Xiao Chen was completely dumbfounded.

He slumped on the ground, staring at this Sect that appeared dilapidated but was actually wealthy beyond measure, his mind a complete blank.

So.

The clown was actually myself.

He had always thought the Hidden God Sect was a ninth-rate School on the verge of bankruptcy and that his Revered Master was a destitute pauper.

Looking at it now, how was his Revered Master poor?

This was clearly being low-key to the extreme! It was the highest Realm of returning to one's true self!

This was the true hidden Holy Land!

"Using enlightenment stones to pave the road, soul nurturing wood to build houses, and innate spirit fluid to feed the dog..."

Xiao Chen muttered to himself, his eyes gradually becoming fanatical and full of worship.

"Revered Master's Realm is too high!"

"Treating money like dirt and divine objects like weeds! Is this the state of mind of a Great Emperor?"

Just as Xiao Chen was lying on the ground, sticking his butt in the air like a pervert, frantically picking at the gaps between the floor tiles to study the mysteries within...

A helpless voice sounded above his head.

"Disciple, what are you doing?"

Li Daoxuan had just woken up from his nap and came out to see this eyesore of a scene.

The corners of his mouth twitched.

What was wrong with this kid?

He had just finished his medicine; was he having another episode?

Hearing the voice, Xiao Chen whipped his head around, his eyes shining with the light of having discovered a shocking secret.

"Revered Master! You've kept me in the dark so cruelly!"

Li Daoxuan was taken aback. "What have I kept from you?"

Xiao Chen pointed at the floor tiles beneath him, so excited he was incoherent.

"This floor! This is actually enlightenment stone!"

"And that pillar! It's soul nurturing wood!"

"And the water Da Huang drinks! That's innate spirit fluid!"

"Revered Master, our Sect is too rich, isn't it? You've actually been pretending to be poor!"

Li Daoxuan looked where he was pointing.

Weren't those just the broken stones and rotten wood that came with the System's renovation?

When he first bound the System, it had renovated the Sect. He had felt it was too flashy, so he specifically had the System adjust it to the 'Syrian War-Damaged Edition Skin'.

As for enlightenment stones and soul nurturing wood... the System probably felt that a Great Emperor's residence couldn't be too shabby, so even if it was 'junk,' the materials were top-tier.

But in Li Daoxuan's eyes, this stuff was everywhere and wasn't worth anything at all.

"Oh, you mean this."

Li Daoxuan yawned and walked over, kicking the floor tile.

"Stop picking at it; that stuff isn't worth anything."

"They're just stones for paving the floor, just a bit hard. If you like them, go dig in the back mountain later. There's a whole pile of them; they're just leftover scraps from when the house was built."

"As for that water..."

Li Daoxuan glanced at Da Huang's bath basin. "That's what's left over from Da Huang's bath. If you want to drink it, go get some yourself."

After saying that, he shook his head and walked away with his hands behind his back.

He was still muttering to himself: "Such an unsophisticated look. It seems I'll have to take him out more in the future."

Leaving Xiao Chen alone, dazed in the wind.

Not... not worth anything?

Scraps?

Bathwater?

Looking at his Revered Master's dismissive back, the shock in Xiao Chen's heart was like a magnitude ten tsunami.

Is this the world of the big shots?

Treasures that the outside world fights over are just paving stones and foot-washing water in Revered Master's eyes?

Humblebragging!

Such a massive humblebrag!

"Revered Master, you are too strong!"

Xiao Chen clenched his fists, the admiration in his eyes almost overflowing.

"I must Cultivate hard! I must reach Revered Master's Realm of viewing all things as nothing as soon as possible!"

Just as Xiao Chen was still rationalizing things for himself and falling into deep delusion...

Suddenly.

Da Huang, who had been sleeping nearby, suddenly twitched its ears.

It raised its head and looked toward the mountain gate, its nose twitching.

"Woof. (Someone is coming.)"

Xiao Chen also came back to his senses.

His Foundation Establishment Stage perception allowed him to keenly capture the abnormality in the air.

Outside that dilapidated mountain gate, on that weed-choked mountain path.

A series of very, very light footsteps could be heard.

Sneaky.

Stealthy.

They didn't seem like they were here to pay respects to the mountain, but rather like... thieves.

Xiao Chen's eyes turned cold, and his palm subconsciously reached for the fruit knife in his robe.

"Having just sent away a pack of wolves, a few mice have arrived?"

"Do they really think my Hidden God Sect is a public toilet, where they can come and go as they please?"