GASP

A collective hiss escaped the group.

The sheer implications hung in the air like a storm. This was not merely a valuable pill. It was the seed of a future powerhouse, the kind of treasure that could dictate the rise or fall of sect fortunes.

For the Inner Court disciples present, the temptation was unbearable.

Their eyes flickered with desire, their breathing grew shallow, and their hands trembled at their sides. Each one knew what this pill meant. For them, standing at the threshold of greater cultivation, it was the difference between obscurity and supremacy.

Yet none dared make a move. They were not fools. The hall was filled with witnesses. Even more dangerous, the sect politics loomed large in their minds. To seize such a treasure for oneself would not only draw envy, it would invite disaster.

Though they had the right of first discovery, the reality was harsher.

Once word reached the sect, the elders would certainly claim it. A pill of this caliber would never be left in the hands of ordinary disciples, no matter their talent. The sect would bestow it upon someone they considered more worthy, someone whose breakthrough would strengthen the sect as a whole.

After all, giving this pill to an average disciple who might not even reach the Nascent Soul realm on their own was a waste, when compared to a Genius with a unique Physique and bloodline who could bolster their ranks and reach the Dao Shell realm faster.

It was a matter of considering the raw potential and future gains of the sect.

The air thickened with tension as everyone stared at the pill. The silence dragged until one of the senior disciples finally let out a bitter laugh.

"We cannot keep this," he admitted. "The moment the sect learns of it, it will be taken. None of us here are qualified to claim it for ourselves."

Another nodded grimly. "But if we present it to the sect willingly, we will not leave empty-handed. A contribution like this would be rewarded with more merit points and resources than we could hope to earn in years."

Their words calmed the others, who slowly nodded in reluctant agreement. The hunger in their eyes dimmed, replaced with cautious acceptance. To claim the pill would be suicide. To offer it to the sect was the only path that led to survival and reward.

Han Yu said nothing, though his mind burned.

He knew they were right. He also knew this discovery confirmed his earlier suspicions. The repository was not merely a storehouse of forgotten herbs and formulas. It was a vault that contained legacies capable of reshaping destinies.

He let out a slow breath, closed the case carefully, and resealed it with the talisman.

His hands shook as he passed it to Xuan Qing, who tucked it away with solemn care. The disciples around them straightened, their expressions a mix of reverence and lingering greed.

The pill was too valuable to joke about. Too dangerous to mishandle. But its discovery also electrified them with new anticipation.

If such a treasure could be found here, what else might lie hidden among the pedestals and shelves?

The hunt for treasured pills was far from over.

The hour dragged on in silence as Han Yu carefully examined every bottle, jar, and container one by one.

His eyes gleamed with concentration, his spiritual sense spread thin as he tried to draw out what little information he could without breaking the seals.

Piles of jade slips he used to record his observations were stacked neatly beside him, while the others watched, sometimes assisting by passing containers or arranging the items in a more orderly fashion or simply helping him take down notes.

By the end of that hour, Han Yu leaned back against a shelf, his breathing steady but his expression weary. He had worked tirelessly, but even with all his training and the sharpness of his soul sense, he had only managed to identify around forty percent of the pills.

The remaining sixty percent were beyond his current means.

Some were contained in heavy boxes sealed with formations that pulsed faintly when touched, warning that tampering could be dangerous. Others were held in glass jars reinforced with ancient alchemical wax that had hardened into something tougher than stone. There were also pill bottles covered in talismanic scripts that shimmered faintly with restrictive energy.

"These will need a alchemical full laboratory to analyze," Han Yu said at last, closing his eyes for a moment to let the fatigue ebb away. "I cannot risk opening them here. The seals are too strong and too delicate at the same time. If we force them open, we could ruin what is inside… or unleash something dangerous."

He tapped one of the boxes beside him, where faint inscriptions curled along its surface like veins of silver. "This one, for example, carries a protective seal that would resist even a full-force strike from a Core Condensation cultivator.

I would not be surprised if some of these containers hold pills more valuable than even the Nascent Seed Invoking Pill. Or they might contain failed concoctions, toxins, or volatile powders. Until the sect's elders study them, we will not know."

The group exchanged glances, and a heavy silence settled over the hall.

They had found treasures beyond what any of them could have imagined, yet their joy was tempered by a growing dilemma.

"We cannot even carry this many pills back," She Ming said after a long pause, running a hand through her hair.

Her eyes wandered over the rows of shelves that stretched endlessly across the walls, each stacked with sealed boxes and jade slips. "Even if we all used our storage tools, there is no way to take everything with us."

Xuan Qing frowned, folding her arms. "Spatial storage rings and bags are limited. Not everyone here even has one. All of the Inner Court disciples carry them, of course, and I know She Ming has one as well. But Fatty Kui, Wu Shuan… neither of you do, correct?"

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