Chapter 131: The Cost of Ascension
The morning sun rose from the east, casting golden light over the courtyard as Su Tianhao's eyes fluttered open. He remained seated cross-legged beneath the ancient oak, brows furrowed in quiet disappointment.
"I knew it wouldn't be so simple," he muttered.
The night before, he had been swept up by the overwhelming promise of the third layer. Without hesitation, he had thrown himself into cultivation—his heart fueled by unwavering resolve.
And he had made progress.
All through the night, he had cultivated with focused intent, pressing deeper into the technique with each passing hour. By dawn, he had successfully reached Initial Mastery of the Supreme Dragon Vein Awakening Art.
But then came the obstacle.
It wasn't a bottleneck of talent or comprehension—those were problems for ordinary cultivators. With the Heavenly Devouring Dragon Physique, Su Tianhao had bypassed such limits long ago.
No. This obstacle was far more frustrating.
It was financial.
Rebuilding one's cultivation foundation from the inside out wasn't a process that relied solely on talent or technique. It required rare spiritual herbs and a vast quantity of spirit stones—materials capable of stabilizing the energy channels while tempering spiritual energy from within.
And Su Tianhao had none of them.
'Dragonroot Ginseng... Soulvein Lotus... Verdant Marrowleaf... Crimson Origin Grass... Heavenpiercer Flower...'
The list unfurled in his mind, each name landing heavier than the last.
"Every single one of those herbs... are key ingredients in grade five pills," he thought bitterly, brows furrowing with mounting frustration.
What were grade five pills exactly?
They were the exclusive domain of Martial Soul Realm experts—refined to assist powerhouses of that caliber in breaking through bottlenecks. A mere Martial Adept had no business even dreaming of them.
And yet, even if a Martial Adept somehow got their hands on the raw herbs? Forget foundation rebuilding—just attempting to refine a single one could overload their meridians and rupture their dantian. Death would be the inevitable result.
But Su Tianhao wasn't worried about that.
With his Devouring Dragon Bloodline and the Supreme Dragon Vein Awakening Art, he had no fear of backlash. His body could absorb and refine these herbs with far less resistance than most Martial Soul Realm experts.
No—his problem was something far more practical.
'How am I going to find them in Oakwood City?'
These herbs weren't legendary treasures—obscure relics passed down through ancient scrolls. They were simply ingredients used in grade five alchemy. The fact that other cultivators couldn't use them to rebuild their foundations was a limitation of the cultivators themselves, not the herbs. The Supreme Dragon Vein Awakening Art was what made the difference.
Still, they were far from common. Especially in a place like Oakwood.
Yes, the city was lively—bustling with cultivators of varying strength. But in terms of alchemy, Oakwood was a backwater. The finest alchemist the city could boast was only a high-level grade two alchemist. That fact alone said everything.
Most powerhouses in Oakwood sourced their pills from out-of-city auctions or established alchemy organizations. The only people relying on locally produced pills were young cultivators just beginning their journey, or desperate mercenaries unwilling to leave the city.
Su Tianhao's thoughts churned in restless circles.
Rarity wasn't the only problem—it was cost. He had amassed some wealth after defeating Su Jian, and combined with Lu Ruyi's gift, his total holdings came to roughly one thousand five hundred gold coins.
An impressive sum. Nowhere near enough.
A single grade five pill cost a hundred spirit stones—and a hundred spirit stones equaled ten thousand gold coins. The herbs individually wouldn't command that full price, but each was a key ingredient across multiple grade five formulas, meaning each would still fetch at least half the pill's value.
The five herbs alone amounted to at least twenty-five thousand gold coins. And that was only the beginning.
The technique required nine resources in total. The remaining four were even more expensive.
The Bloodroot Vitality Pill. The Raging Viscera Tonic. The Ethereal Mind Crystal. And spirit stones—needed in vast quantity. Both the Bloodroot Vitality Pill and Raging Viscera Tonic were rare grade five medicines, each worth around twenty thousand gold coins. Spirit stones, though less rare, were needed in amounts that made the total cost staggering beyond imagination.
And then the Ethereal Mind Crystal—the most troublesome of all. Unlike the others, it couldn't be purchased with gold. It was a treasure—something acquired only by chance, not commerce.
Su Tianhao felt his chest tighten as the weight of it all settled on his shoulders.
"Where do I even start," he muttered, rubbing his forehead as he leaned back against the oak.
He sat there for several long minutes, his analytical mind turning over plans, calculations, and dead ends in silence.
Then—
His golden eyes snapped wide open.
"How could I forget? The spatial ring!"
The realization hit him like lightning through a clear sky. The ring left behind after Blood Grin's death—damaged spatial runes and all. But with Blood Grin's standing as a Blood Shadow assassin, the contents were almost certainly worth a fortune. Possibly enough to resolve his financial crisis entirely.
"The only problem is how to repair it," he muttered.
Repairing a damaged spatial ring was no small feat—nearly unheard of in ordinary circles. But Su Tianhao wasn't operating in ordinary circles. The formation dao inheritance passed down from his father gave him both the knowledge and the foundation to attempt it. It wasn't a question of capability. It was a question of resources.
And resources required gold.
"Right now, I only have about one thousand five hundred gold coins," he said, frowning to himself.
"Not nearly enough."
He sighed.
"I don't get it. How can I be so rich and still feel broke at the same time?"
One had to remember—Su Tianhao had grown up on the streets, spending more than half his life among mortals. He knew exactly what one thousand five hundred gold coins meant to them. A single gold coin was worth a hundred silver coins, and a silver coin worth a hundred bronze. Ordinary mortals lived their entire lives counting bronze coins.
That sum could sustain an entire household for a lifetime.
But as the saying goes—a fortune for mortals is a mere stepping stone for cultivators.
Su Tianhao didn't want to admit it. But he couldn't deny it either.
He tapped his finger rhythmically against his chin, thinking—quiet and deliberate, like a war drum marking time in an empty battlefield.
Then his eyes lit up.
Without a word, he reached into his robes and retrieved his storage pouch. He probed it with his senses for a moment, eyes gleaming with renewed focus.
"This could be it."
Whoosh!
A dozen or so spiritual herbs materialized in the courtyard, each one glowing faintly with concentrated spiritual energy.
These were the herbs he had gathered during his hunt for Blood Grin across Dragonspire forest—harvested quickly, driven by the urgency of that pursuit, with no time for proper appraisal. Blood Grin was dead now. Everything else had been set in motion.
It was finally time to take stock.
Su Tianhao crouched before the scattered herbs, eyes sharp and focused.
"Fire-bloom roots," he murmured, reaching for a twisted crimson root that pulsed faintly with heat. The moment his fingers brushed its surface, a soft warmth surged into his palm. "Dense fire attribute. Vitality intact. Definitely an outstanding grade two herb."
He set it aside carefully.
Although there were no formal tiers within herbs of the same grade, quality varied considerably—just as fruits on the same tree could all be ripe, yet only a few would be flawless enough to command the highest price at market.
Next, he lifted a cluster of shimmering white petals—delicate, yet oddly weighty. A faint, soothing energy drifted from them the moment he held them, stilling his thoughts like calm water settling after a disturbance.
"Soulleaf petals. Outstanding grade two as well." He turned them over carefully in his hand. "With its ability to ease mental turbulence during cultivation, this will sell for a good price."
His gaze shifted to the next herb—a coiled, thorny stalk tinged with dark red.
"Bloodvine stalks."
His voice carried a note of genuine surprise. The Bloodvine thrived on the blood essence and lingering vitality of fallen beasts, feeding silently in shadowed groves. It was prized for its immense vitality and powerful healing properties—and rare even among grade two herbs.
"I never thought I'd come across one of these," he murmured.
He sat back, scanning the remaining herbs. Some unfamiliar. Others common, but still holding decent value.
"I might not have what I need," he said quietly. "But I've got something worth trading."
For the first time since dawn, a small smile settled at the corner of his lips.
"Sell these herbs, repair the spatial ring, and see what Blood Grin was actually carrying." He rose to his feet, brushing dust from his robes, his gaze steady with quiet resolve.
"It's about time I left Fei Wu Quarter."