Hall of the Dead

The following day, everything was quiet. No major disturbances happened, as far as I could tell. Whether the Law Enforcement Hall did anything, I didn't know. In any case, it wasn't my problem anymore, I had enough on my plate.My main concern was still finding the proper poison or pill that could soften my Soul. I already exhausted all the conventional methods I knew of, so I decided to visit the unconventional places.It was the open market in the Inner Sect where Disciples could trade or sell their findings in a more disorganized way. It was the secondary market for various low-quality pills, second-hand weapons and armor, or weird herbs and animal parts people got their hands on.It was where I got my Thunderclap Translocation Talisman the last time.I made my way through the crowd and carefully stepped over items that were placed on the ground in cloth sacks. It was even worse than the last time. Now that the Beast Tide was over, everyone was trying to sell stuff, making the place incredibly competitive. I heard at least three people selling the same thing, shouting over each other.Excess healing pills, weapons, tools, and other hunting implements were all being almost given away, so cheap was the price. Most likely the people that took the rare opportunity to hunt so close to the Sect were already done with it as the Beast Tide receded.It was like a gold rush, and when the gold was gone, most people abandoned the place and went back to their old life. I saw some Disciples that carried the badge of the blacksmithing division, buying weapons and armor in large quantities.I almost wanted to laugh. They probably sold all those weapons for an inflated price a year ago, and already they were buying them back at a discount. What a brilliant strategy. It almost made me want to open up a business to take advantage of all the shortcomings of this unregulated market.But no, I had no time for that. And besides, there were already people doing that on a daily basis. Especially that one guy I previously bought stuff from. He seemed to be doing quite well for himself.[Hello, Brother Fa, we meet again.] I greeted the cheerful merchant, Fa Tian.He smiled and opened his mouth, but no words came out. Then suddenly his eyes brightened in realization. "Ah! You are that guy that bought a Thunderclap Translocation Talisman!"[That's right!]He then scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry Brother, I seem to have forgotten your name… You know, keeping hundreds of customers in your mind is not that easy."[Hundreds of Thunderclap Translocation Talisman buyers?]"That's right!" Fa Tian nodded.[You have no idea who I am, do you?]"Nope! Not a clue."And the man admitted it with a smile! What a great merchant, always cheerful and ready to help even if his memory wasn't the best. I really wanted to sigh.[My name is Gerald, for what it's worth, and I'm looking for a special product...]"Oh, well, Brother Gerald, it's a pleasure to meet you! Now, why don't you tell me what you are looking for, and let's see whether or not I can help you find it."[Sure…] I explained exactly what I was looking for, and Fa Tian listened intently, even asking relevant questions as to the strength and duration of the poison I was looking for. He diligently wrote everything down, all the specifications and requests I had."Well, that's quite an interesting request you have there…" He finally said at the end.[So… Do you have it?]"Not at all, I haven't even heard of such a thing before in my life. Are you trying to kill an Elder or something?" He jokingly added.[Goodness no. I actually need it for…] I leaned in and whispered into his ear. [I made a mistake during my Cultivation and I was hoping that could help me solve it. It's sensitive stuff, you know?]"Ah, no problem. With me, privacy is guaranteed… for a price."I immediately placed a core of a Nascent Soul beast on his stall. He snatched it immediately and stuffed it into his pocket."Pleasure doing business with you."[So, do you know where I can get the stuff?]Fa Tian firmly shook his head. "No, but I know a guy who knows a guy whose sister knows a guy whose older brother is a personal Disciple of a Poison Master Elder. He just might know something, but a favor like that won't come cheap. You know how some people are..."[Sure.] I was expecting it wouldn't be cheap, and some bribery would go a long way. Without a second though, I took out a Spirit Stone. Fa Tian's eyebrows shot up immediately, and his excitement was unmistakable.[There is plenty more of where this came from.] I said and looked him right in the eyes. [I'll be expecting news soon.]Fa Tian sucked back the saliva that was gathering at the corner of his lips and finally noticed my clothes and badge and his eyes remained practically glued to it for a few seconds. He then took the stone and performed the bow and cupped fist combo. "Yes, Senior! I'll get to it immediately. I'll have your answer ready here before the end of the week!"I nodded slowly, and he began packing his things. He was serious about it. That was good. Money and influence did great things. Hopefully, he would be able to find what I was unable to. Having a person with many connections in the Sect working for you is great. I should do it more often.There was no doubt in my mind he would do what he said, he was a merchant after all. His reputation was everything.Besides, he was an Inner Disciple while I was a Core Disciple. He would not dare run away with my money. Where would he even go? While the Sect was large, it was not that large, and I knew his face. It was simply not worth it.Honesty and connections were often worth more than money. Just like in my situation, for example. Even though I had the cash to buy what I needed, I simply couldn't find it.There was no same-day shipping for such exotic materials, though I really wished there was. The modern world was so well made, even if it was corrupt. At least if you had money you could get whatever you wanted. The almighty dollar ruled the world, and if you had it, you were king. Here, things were a bit more complicated.I strolled through the market for a while longer, looking for something, anything that could catch my eye. Unfortunately, there was nothing suitable for a man of my power. My body was better than any weapon or armor they had on sale, and any other things, such as herbs, pills, or various concoctions, I could buy better quality from a reputable store.So I just left.I spoke with the man I needed, and all that was left was to wait.If he couldn't find the poison I needed, I really didn't know what else I could do. The last option that remained would be for me to personally burn my Soul, but that action would be very destructive and possibly cripple my ability to grow properly in the future. Still, if there was no other chance to break through to the Golden Core Realm, that's what I would have to do.It was just an idea, I had no intention of actually doing it any time soon. I would rather spend years stuck at the peak of Nascent Soul Realm than do such a thing.***I returned home and saw Elder Li just coming out of the underground. His expression was somber and he seemed deep in thought."Ah, Gerald… I was just looking for you."I bowed. [You were looking for me, Master?]"Yes, come. Follow me."We left the place and went deeper into the Core part of the Sect. We walked along a cobblestone road and came to a mountainside, an unassuming entrance carved into the exposed bedrock, and Elder Li placed his hand on a pedestal beside the front door.Nine massive stone beams moved like latches, and one after the other, released the door. The massive, one-piece stone structure shifted forward and then opened to the outside, revealing an entrance into the underground.Elder Li stepped in and I followed right behind. Not long after, the door shifted back in place, and I could hear the stone beams shift, and lock the entrance once more. We were sealed and I felt as if we just entered a secure bank vault.The hallway was angled slightly downward, with metal braziers on both sides and blue flames flickering inside. Soon we came to an open space, a hall, and my eyes went wide.The walls were full of white bones. The pillars holding the ceiling were made of hundreds, even thousands of white skulls, stacked on top of each other, with the faces facing outward. Layers upon layers of bones were stacked in intricate patterns that took my breath away.The place carried an Aura I couldn't quite describe, but it felt… sacred.I shivered despite not feeling any cold."These are the catacombs beneath the Sect. Here, the remains of our brethren have their final resting place. Here the heroes sleep, from ages passed, and those yet to come. Every last Core Disciple or an Elder lay in this place." Elder Li said.I finally understood why we came. It was for Shao Lin's burial.Elder Li went silent once more and I followed him through one of many passageways lined with old bones on all sides. Even the archway was made out of large pieces of human remains. Most likely Cultivators that focused on strength and size. They were giants.Based on the number of bones, there had to be millions of corpses stored in the underground chambers. Each of them from a Golden Core Cultivator or above. The Myriad Beast Sect had to be extremely old.We came to the end of the hallway and came to a pair of golden doors with blue and silver decorations depicting some kind of event. A battle. I had no clue what it meant, but it seemed important. Elder Li took three incense sticks out of his pocket and lit them. He swirled them around, the smoke flowing around us like a cloak.He then handed two of them to me and kept the last one for himself. He straightened his robe and took a breath, before placing his hand on the side of the door and pushing them open.We stepped into a grand hall, and an immense pressure enveloped me, and my eyes naturally squinted as I looked around."Hall of the Ancestors." Elder Li said in a somber voice. "Be respectful, and don't drop the incense. The Soul pressure will kill you."My hands subconsciously tightened around the wooden sticks, yet at the same time, my heart skipped a beat in excitement at his words.The place was large, about a third the size of the arena, though the feeling it gave was much more intense as we went deeper. In the middle were large elongated pedestals about half a meter high. Some of them held stone coffins, with golden and white threads coming out of them and slowly floating higher.On all sides of the Hall of Ancestors were statues of wild beasts carved into the rock. They appeared like silent guardians watching over the dead.Elder Li placed his incense on an incense holder plate that was in the middle of the room on a hip-height pillar. He then clasped his hands and bowed toward it, or the coffins behind it. I couldn't tell.The white smoke lingered around him as he took a few steps forward and came one of the empty pedestals. He extended his hand, and a stone coffin appeared on top of it. The top was opened and I could see Shao Lin's… I mean Li Shao's corpse inside.Elder Li took a few Spirit Stones out of his pocket and placed them into depressions on the pedestal. I saw a beautiful flowery pattern light up on the coffin for a brief moment but it dimmed just as quickly, and tiny golden threads began rising towards the ceiling.[Is that… Essence?] I gasped in realization. I looked up and my eyes went wide. The entire ceiling was a shimmering golden lake, and sparkling like a diamond.Elder Li somberly nodded. "The Essence is returned to the Sect. The Formation here extracts the maximum possible amount of Essence in its purest form, leaving only hollow bones behind. The body is stripped of all vital Essence and the bones are added to eternal rest with the others. But that's just Body Essence. The Myriad Beast Sect has been gathering it since the very beginning nearly a thousand years ago."I was rendered speechless. All those bones, all those Cultivators, both Golden Core and Spirit Realm, had their Essence extracted and collected into the massive pool on the ceiling?! For centuries?![Is the Sect trying to create a God?]Elder Li smiled bitterly and shook his head. "You underestimate how much Essence is required to reach the Divine. No, with the amount here, you might be able to reach the peak of Sky Realm, however, to advance, and turn all that into Divine Essence, is simply impossible. Not even the strongest Sects managed to do it."[I see… But isn't it dangerous to keep all this Essence here? What if someone tries to steal it?]Elder Li actually smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I know what you are thinking, Disciple, however, if an outsider manages to breach this place and steal the Essence Pool, it would mean the Sect has already fallen. None of us can reach the Essence Pool alive. Only the Sect Master, together with ten Grand Elders, can open the Sealing Formation keeping this place protected. Now come."He then turned back around toward the front and kowtowed with his forehead reaching the floor. In the distance, I saw another bunch of massive statues, but those were of old human Cultivators, silently sitting in meditation."Those are the Ancestors that built this Sect." Elder Li said and pulled me down. "Pay your respects!"