Crow Immortal: I Can Duplicate Infinite Resources

Chapter 191: Unexpected Gains

It was past midnight, flirting with the gray edge of dawn, when they finally returned to Elder Lü’s courtyard.

Elder Lü didn’t rest. He immediately emptied the storage bags of the four captured Little Sky Net Sect disciples onto the table.

Alongside the two Heavenly Secret Spindles confiscated from Li Xuan and the pockmarked woman, Elder Lü retrieved two more spindles from the other disciples. Four silvery, enigmatic artifacts now sat in a row.

He also found three Jade Slips: Heavenly Secret Qi Cultivation Method, Resolving Calamities, and Rough Interpretation of Celestial Phenomena.

The rest—Spirit Stones, basic technique manuals, and generic pills—were ignored.

Han Yu scanned the Jade Slips with his Divine Sense. They were interesting, but ultimately of little practical use to him.

The Heavenly Secret Qi Cultivation Method conflicted violently with his own Green Grain Qi Cultivation Method. Trying to practice both would be inviting Qi Deviation.

The other two manuals were essentially guidebooks on how to interpret omens through celestial phenomena and the vibrations of the Heavenly Secret Spindles. They confirmed that the entire Little Sky Net Sect was deeply, fanatically superstitious.

Recalling Li Xuan’s genuine shock at the lack of a “warning sign” before his capture, Han Yu shook his head. They are so obsessed with prophecy that they forgot basic operational security. Being caught is a risk of the job, not a failure of the stars.

“Can you sense these four spindles now, disciple?” Elder Lü asked, gesturing to the table.

Han Yu closed his eyes, extending his senses. “No. When they are dormant like this, they are silent to me.”

“I could sense Li Xuan’s spindle earlier because he was actively trying to transmit a signal. The activation creates a resonance I can track.”

Elder Lü nodded, satisfied. “That makes sense. You are only at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining. If you could sense every dormant spindle within a hundred miles, you would be a monster, not a genius. But detecting active transmissions? That is already a terrifying advantage.”

He pushed the four spindles toward Han Yu. “Refine them.”

Han Yu sat cross-legged on a large bluestone in the courtyard. He summoned his Star Luo Threads, guiding seven invisible tendrils to wrap around the first spindle.

Spiritual Energy surged.

Clang.

A moment later, the spindle dissolved, leaving behind a slender, metallic rod that fell onto the stone with a dull ring.

Elder Lü picked it up, disappointed. “Just Spirit Iron? I hoped refining them would grant you four invisible artifacts. It seems the spindles used by Qi Refining disciples are just cheap mass-produced foci, not true treasures.”

Han Yu felt a similar pang of disappointment. He had hoped to add four more autonomous weapons to his arsenal. It seems only the Golden Core versions are the real deal.

He proceeded to refine the other three.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Three more rods of Spirit Iron hit the stone.

However, the process wasn’t a waste. As the last spindle dissolved, the seventh Star Luo Thread on Han Yu’s wrist flared with a cold, silver light. It tightened, solidifying into a perfect, complete loop.

Perfection.

The seventh thread was fully condensed. Starting tomorrow, he could begin forming the eighth.

“There is another gain,” Han Yu noted, flexing his wrist. “My sensitivity has increased.”

He could feel the resonance of the technique deepening. Now, he wouldn’t just detect active transmissions. If any Heavenly Secret Spindle or Heavenly Secret Thread came within a thousand zhang (approx. 2 miles) of him, he would sense its location, active or dormant.

He was now a walking radar for Little Sky Net Sect spies.

Elder Lü swept the Spirit Iron and the empty storage bags into his own sleeve. Han Yu didn’t need the scrap materials, and he certainly wasn’t lacking in basic resources.

By now, the eastern horizon was turning white. The night of purging and interrogation was over.

Han Yu returned to his room, intending to rest before his shift at the Battle Hall.

On the windowsill, the Little Crow and the Flame Crow were waiting for him, their dark golden eyes fixed on his face.

Han Yu smiled. “Right. I almost forgot the big guy.”

He tapped his Spirit Beast Bag. The Boss Crow—now five feet long and looking slicker than ever—hopped out. It had fully digested the Clear Heart Qi Gathering Pill.

“How is it?” Han Yu asked. “Close to the late stage?”

Caw.

The mental image came back clear: Need more pills. Three more, at least.

Han Yu nodded. He thought back to the beast rearing techniques he had looted from the Spirit Beast Sect disciples.

Until now, his crow army had grown organically. They scavenged for Spirit Blood Vines, Spirit-Stealing Rats, and Moon Gazing Herbs on their own, slowly evolving into early-stage Spirit Beasts. But that method was too slow.

Han Yu wanted a formidable air force. He needed the Boss Crow and Little Crow at the late stage of Qi Refining, and the rest of the flock at the mid-stage. That kind of growth required industrial-scale resource injection, not just scavenging.

He mentally tallied his schedule.

Wood Spirit Body Refining Technique: Novice level. Needs grinding.

Soul Condensing Sword Art: On hold for ten days until I can replicate a Sword Heart Spirit Crystal.

Green Grain Qi Cultivation Method: Must maintain daily cultivation.

Blood Refining Technique: Currently at Level 7. Needs to purify essence blood.

Star Luo Traction Technique: Critical priority.

Thousand Illusions Secret Art, Yin Style Sword Art, various techniques: Maintenance training.

Technique Pavilion: I have free access now. I need to study Formations and Artifact Refining.

And now, Crow Rearing.

Han Yu sighed. I’m going to be busy. Teaching at the Battle Hall is going to be my only break.

He stroked the Boss Crow’s feathers, which felt harder than cold steel. “I’ll get you to the late stage first.”

The crow leaned into his touch, squinting happily.

Morning arrived, bringing a grim, killing chill to Wanchun Valley.

Sect Leader Qi sat in the main hall, waiting like a spider in the center of a web.

The purge began at the top.

Elder Yan and Elder Mu led the other Elders in a rigorous inspection of every Foundation Establishment Deacon. Then, they moved to the Inner Disciples.

The results were clean. No spies in the upper echelon. Even Bai Seventeen, Elder Bai’s disciple, passed without issue. Han Yu was inspected as a formality, cleared instantly.

Next came the massive sweep of the Outer Disciples.

Supervising Deacons, backed by Inner Disciples, moved through the ranks, checking dantians, meridians, and storage bags.

Han Yu, as Elder Lü’s personal disciple, joined the supervision team.

They checked the Medicine Garden staff: Zhong Yue, Sun Kang, Liu Lan. Clean.

They checked the usual suspects: Bai Lingyun, Wang Teng, Meng Bao.

Bai Lingyun looked miserable, his eyes red from crying over Li Xuan’s betrayal. He was cleared and immediately dragged back into confinement by a furious Elder Bai.

Finally, the inspection team arrived at the line where the one-armed Hua Qi and the new dual-spirit root prodigy Qi Feiyan stood waiting.