Chapter 578 — Real Treasures

"Medicine, huh? I understand. If that's the case, there isn't anything my Li Family can do for you, as the Hong Family handles most of the medicine in the Jaded Garden." Senior Li said.

"Wow, they must have a lot of medicine if they supply the entire faction…" Yuan said in a surprised voice.

"Haha… After all, they are the ones that require the most medicine because of people like Hong Xiuquan, who tempers his body around the clock almost daily." Senior Li laughed.

"Anyways, follow me. I will show you some of our Li Family's treasures." Senior Li then led Yuan and every one to another room.

"Please wait for a minute while I retrieve the treasures." Senior Li said before leaving them alone in the room.

Even if Senior Li trusted Yuan and greatly valued his presence, there was no way that he'd bring someone that isn't part of their family to their storage area where they keep all of their treasures.

Yuan patiently waited for Senior Li's return, his anticipation high.

About fifteen minutes later, Senior Li returned with three boxes in his grasp.

He placed them on the table before Yuan and the others.

"This is the first treasure."

Senior Li opened the first box, revealing a somewhat dried-up ginseng inside.

"This is… a treasure?" Yuan raised his eyebrows.

"Don't let its appearance fool you, Daoist Yuan. Try looking deeper." Senior Li said with a profound smile on his face.

Yuan proceeded to analyze the ginseng with his divine sense, and to his surprise, there was a large amount of spiritual energy within the ginseng.

"This is a 1,000-year-old ginseng. And yes, just like its name implies, it's a thousand years old." Senior Li said.

"The only reason it hasn't rotted after so long is because of the spiritual energy within. If we wait another 500 years, it will become a 1,500-year-old ginseng, but that will be its limit. If we keep it for any longer, it will become useless, so we have to use it before then."

"How come it has spiritual energy? How did it grow?" Yuan asked.

"All living things in this world— including animals and plants— have the ability to absorb spiritual energy. This means even the meat and vegetable that you eat contain spiritual energy, but the amount is insanely low— too low to affect anyone, so you cannot become a cultivator no matter how much vegetables or meat you eat."

"The reason is simply that they require a ridiculously amount of time to absorb enough spiritual energy to be qualified as a treasure, and they are usually killed or plucked before they absorb enough spiritual energy."

"Furthermore, just like how humans are not born with equal talents, plants also have their own limit, so it doesn't mean they can become treasures if given enough time."

"Wow… I never knew this…" Yuan mumbled in a dazed voice.

A few moments later, Senior Li opened the second box, revealing a piece of jade slip inside.

"This jade slip also contains spiritual energy? I thought only living things can absorb spiritual energy." Yuan quickly asked.

"Yes, but inanimate objects can also gather spiritual energy. Let me ask you this… What exactly is spiritual energy?" Senior Li suddenly asked him.

"No clue…" Yuan shook his head.

"Spiritual energy is essentially a type of oxygen that you cannot absorb normally, and they grant you more benefit than oxygen if you know how to absorb them. Just like air, they flow through the world, touching everything it passes through."

"Although rare, spiritual energy can sometimes gather inside an object and stay there. Eventually, enough spiritual energy will gather inside the object, turning it into a treasure, just like this jade slip."

"Just like that?" Yuan raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, just like that. However, they require much more time to become a treasure. Unlike plants that usually take a few hundred years to become treasures, inanimate objects require thousands of years if not tens of thousands of years before they can turn into treasures. This is why most inanimate treasures come from ancient times in the form of antiques and why they're valued more than medicine."

"…"

Yuan was speechless. He didn't think that this world would be so profound and mysterious.

After giving Yuan some time to digest the information, Senior Li opened the third box, which was also the biggest.

"This is… a dagger?" Yuan muttered in a surprised voice when he saw the weapon.

Then he said, "But I don't sense any spiritual energy from this dagger. How can it be considered a treasure?"

"Because it's not the spiritual energy that makes this dagger a treasure. Go ahead. Try picking it up." Senior Li urged him.

Yuan nodded and picked up the dagger, and to his surprise, he could feel some sort of energy entering his body, making him feel more confident and powerful.

"Wow, what is this feeling?"

"It's the dagger's aura that you're feeling, Daoist Yuan."

"Aura?"

Senior Li nodded and retrieved an ordinary dagger before handing it to him.

"Go ahead. Try holding this."

Yuan accepted the dagger, but he couldn't feel anything from the dagger.

"That is the difference between an ordinary weapon and a treasure— it's aura, which can make its wielder more powerful."

"As for how they come into existence… I'm sorry, but even I don't know." Senior Li shrugged.

"People speculate that they gather spiritual energy just like inanimate objects, but they somehow can turn that spiritual energy into a unique aura, turning it into a treasure weapon. Honestly, we might never know the truth."

Yuan looked at the dagger with the aura in his grasp.

'Now that I think about it, the weapons in Cultivation Online also give off this feeling. Whenever I wield a weapon, it would boost my confidence. Perhaps an expert in that world might be able to explain this phenomenon.' Yuan thought to himself.

"Thank you for showing me these treasures as well for the lesson. It was very informative and an eye-opener." Yuan said as he placed the dagger back inside the box.

"It was an honor…" Senior Li smiled.