Chương 17: Adaptation, Preparation

Smiling widely at the confirmation of what she had felt before, Yun picked up her spear once again. The bracelet wasn't any one thing, it was multiple things, but every one of those things was absolutely a massive benefit to her current self.

Within the spiritual space of the bracelet was recorded the information that the refining master had stored for future owners:

This tool is my greatest work. Within this seemingly simple device are everything a warrior could want. A pocket world has been sealed within this device measuring two kilometers on each side, additionally this item has had runic inscriptions put on it that are sustained by Array Stones that gather Heavenly Qi on their own. Finally, the pocket world within this item is a living space. While it may be small, it is capable of supporting minor life such as spiritual plants, but not intelligent creatures. The Array Stone on this item can change the size to fit the current owner with a slight nudge from their spiritual energy, and also provides Qi to the inner dimension.

After absorbing all of this information about her new treasure, Yun first looked into the inner world. Within was a very small amount of materials, namely some Heavenly Stones, but also a few decent quality weapons and a set of metal armor similar to the leather she was already wearing, but once again possessing special stones and lines that reinforced the ability for this armor to resist striking and aid the wearer. Obviously this full armor set was quite valuable, else the expert who previously owned it would have been wearing it instead of storing it, but lastly there was also a few small stone slips that caught her attention. These were information storage stones made of a special kind of spiritual stone that were rarely used in the Cradle due to how difficult it was to find the materials. Unfortunately for the Lynhär, their fear of encountering the Volvaka underground caused them to only fight for resources at the surface, thus making best use of their own advantages and the weakness of the cold-blooded Volvaka.

After a moment of consideration Yun decided not to inspect the storage stones now, and instead used her spiritual strength to organize the space. Placing all the materials in their own specific spots and clearing the majority of the space for the new items she would bring in. First she reached out to the cut Dragon Lizard and tried to use her spiritual strength to guide half of it into the storage space, after a few moments of focus she saw the material item stretch impossibly and fly into her bracelet. After the half lizard was put into her bracelet she actually nearly dropped to her knees, the amount of spiritual strength needed to move an object that size was nearly too much for her. After resting a few moments she chose to move something smaller, and went to the Volvaka and first deposited it's axes, then it's corpse, into the space. After this she stored her spear before resting by the tree.

A few hours later, feeling refreshed, Yun once again used her spirit to move the other half of the Dragon Lizard into the spatial storage, then she finally started walking back to the tree hollow where she left her pack. Storing her pack away as well, Yun decided it would be safest to sleep above-ground, so she quickly climbed a tree and found a little nestle where she could use the ropes that she brought with her to create a simple sling before she leaned back safely and slept for a few hours.

Come sunrise Yun had already left her nestle and moved on through the forest. This time she traveled quickly with the lack of extra weight on her body, covering as much ground each day as she could in order to attempt to find more opponents.

After half a month of exploring the River Wood she finally began returning to the city with her spoils. As she neared the city she suddenly had the thought that she probably shouldn't reveal her spatial storage ability to others, so she took out her pack and put all the Neidan she had collected into it as well as the two axes from the Volvaka. Having done this, she then took her spear out as well and put it on her back. Over the past half month she had encountered a number of ferocious beasts, most of which she had defeated, but a few of which she fled from. She had accumulated a good deal of experience in combat and pushed her cultivation to the very limits of the nascent stage of Neidan Forging, ready to break through into the First Change.

Arriving back at the city she presented her pack to the guards for inspection. Their eyes nearly flew out of their heads when they saw how much she had acquired, even more so at the sight of the distinctly Volvaka twin axes. They looked back up at this petite child that couldn't even be ten years old yet in awe. Each of the city guards dreaded the possible encounter with a Volvaka in the woods, but this child had not only slain one, she had slain dozens of vicious beasts as well! The guards respectfully stood aside and allowed her in, thanking her for her great service to the city. Soon enough she stealthily entered the secret passage back to the sect and jogged along the hallway all the way back.

Back in the sect at last, Yun went directly to the mission desk to turn in her job and spoils for resources with the sect. After slightly scaring the attendant at the desk with how much she had brought back she then was told that she would be awarded based on quality tomorrow and that an elder would assess such a large number of items. After dropping off her spoils she directly went to find Elder Lei to speak with him. Walking down to the lower levels, she came to a stop outside the cavern where the elders had their rooms and called out to Elder Lei respectfully. After a few moments the Elder could be seen exiting his space and walking towards Yun. About halfway there he stopped and waved her forward, walking them both to a side room and sitting down.

"Welcome back from your excursion, Yun. I take it from your appearance that you were quite successful, and also haven't been back for long."

"Yes Elder Lei, I've only just arrived back and wanted to ask you about something important, and private."

"Do not worry young one, no others can hear what you tell me in this room. It was specifically created for private conversations to be had with disciples. Ask me what you want."

"Thank you, Elder. While I was out on my mission in the River Wood I found an item that I believe has a good deal of value, but I don't have very much experience yet and am not sure if I should reveal it or keep it to myself."

At this time, Yun had gestured to her bracelet, drawing Elder Lei's sharp eyes to her wrist. He looked at it for a few moments before responding.

"Child, the item i see on your wrist does not appear to be valuable from the outside, can you tell me why you are concerned with it?"

"Yes Elder, this item contains a storage space, and seemingly a large one. I have no concept of what a normal storage space would look like or what size it would be. Can Elder help me with this information?"

"An inner storage space? That is uncommon. Typically these things are around a kilometer across and are spherical and void, hosting no life or energy within them and preserving things as they were when they entered for a very long time. Rarely a space can be found that supports spiritual energy and can nourish things that are put within it. No material will degrade within these spaces, but some materials can improve."

Yun's eyes lit up at this last part as she unwittingly reacted to Elder Lei's mention of spiritual spaces, "I take it by your reaction then that the one you are wearing is the latter, and that it's larger than average. I would be careful not to reveal the size, but smaller storage spaces are not terribly rare among elites in the world of cultivation. You are one such elite, and so eventually you would have acquired such an item. Take good care of it."

"Yes, Elder Lei." Answered Yun, then, hesitating, she asked another question, "Elder, I have also brought back the corpses of the beasts and Volvaka warrior I slayed in the Wood, what use would these have to me?"