Were it not for Yao Shen’s divine sense, he would not be able to make out the seemingly endless flight of steps that lay before him that stretched deep underground. Thankfully, the Guardians who had been chosen to accompany Yao Shen for the auditing process had been informed in advance to carry non-flammable light sources with them.

The heavy, tense breaths let out by the guardians and the footfall of their group upon the mottled stone steps were the only sounds exchanged for the next hour, as they continued to descend into the depths of Eliria. The Guardians were understandably nervous, for if things were to go awry, they were the group least likely to survive, but they tried to combat their fear with excitement.

Another fifteen minutes passed before Patriarch Lei Weiyuan finally came to a stop before a far smaller door that was carved into solid bedrock.

“Extinguish your light sources,” the Flame Patriarch instructed, and only when the last guardian had done so did he give the command to open the door.

A warm, orange glow seeped through as the door slowly swung open to reveal an awe-inspiring sight. The first layer of the Solaris Keep stretched for as far as the mortal eye could see, it’s design more reminiscent of an arcane library than a mere treasury or reserve.

The northwestern section of the keep was dominated by an extensive collection of artifacts, whose purposes ranged from relaying information and increasing movement speed to outright weapons of war— a collection of both conventional and non-conventional implements that were designed for combat. Most were stored behind simple crystal cases, while a few select artifacts had to be kept sealed behind runic inscriptions, likely the ones that possesed an artifact spirit. There was one thing however, that they all shared in common; for information pertaining to each artifact was recorded on a metal plaque that was affixed on the displays.

The capabilities and limitations of the artifact, where and how it was acquired, the year of acquisition and any other relevant information was penned down with painstaking detail.

Natural Treasures placed in receptacles that preserved their vigour, large crates of spiritual ore organized by their purity and potency, taels of refined metals stacked on top of each other in the form of ingots that would later be utilized to forge weapon artifacts, an entire section dedicated to by-products acquired from spiritual beasts, like their horns, antlers, fangs, venom sacs and of course, beast cores, that could be used to forge various kinds of artifacts.

Such a display of wealth could move even Yao Shen, whose gaze flickered to a collection of scrolls, beast-hide tomes and dusty journals that looked like they had seen better days, let alone conniving Elders like Meili Zhu or the Guardians.

“Impressive,” Patriarch Kang Long of the Earth Division, who Yao Shen had insisted accompany them, remarked— echoing a sentiment shared by most, if not all, present.

Meili Zhu used her divine sense to convey a message, confirming what Yao Shen had begun to suspect— whilst not all of the wealth of the Flame Division could be concentrated on this one floor, especially since Spiritual Plants, Alchemical Pills and other treasures that were not suitable or necessary to be stored below ground were likely kept separately, it already exceeded their estimates. Yao Shen wasn’t surprised, for Meili Zhu’s cunning and the faceless’ existence could only fill the information gap by so much.

That spoke to the Flame Patriarch’s earnestness, though the truly priceless treasures were likely already in the possession of the Legacy Families or hidden away well in advance.

Which was fine, for now. Pushing beyond a reasonable limit would benefit no one and Yao Shen had no intention to commemorate his rule by sowing the seeds of insurrection.

“Patriarch Lei Weiyuan, I thought only Elders were allowed in the Solaris Keep?” Meili Zhu’s sickly sweet voice rang out, a hint of surprise echoing in her words. She was undoubtedly referring to the aged cultivators that clearly did not reach the Nascent Soul level, taking care of mundane tasks like cleaning display cases and organizing newly acquired resources in the correct sections of the keep, atleast at first glance. They numbered in the dozens, which would normally be a significant vulnerability.

“The Gatekeepers,” Lei Weiyuan replied. “Every decade or two, cultivators who have given up on their ascension are chosen to maintain the upkeep of the Solaris Keep. Their character and loyalty to the sect is above reproach, for the Gatekeepers are either nearing or approaching the end of their natural lifespans, and they are to live the rest of their lives in the Keep. In return, the Sect offers a great remuneration to their descendants, far beyond what an average Guardian can hope to earn in their lives.”

“Their loyalty to the sect is commendable,” Yao Shen remarked, looking at the aged cultivators with a newfound respect. Cultivators they might be, but it took more than a desire for wealth to live out their twilight years devoid of the warmth of the sun, hunkered down in a repository of unimaginable wealth yet unable to spend even a single fraction of it. Whether that loyalty was to their descendants or to the Flame Division, made little difference.

“Indeed,” Lei Weiyuan tersely replied, allowing a hint of regret to seep into his voice.

Neither Yao Shen nor Lei Weiyuan looked at the Gatekeepers with pity, for a cultivator did not offer pity to the strong of will.

The former wished to change many things, but even he did not yet dare dream of a world without sacrifice.

Mayhaps though, this particular sacrifice was no longer required. The Gatekeeper’s existence was primarily to guard against espionage, but with the three sect’s united under one banner their existence became rather redundant.

But if he simply ended the system, he would dishonor their sacrifice, their dream of a better, more prosperous future for their descendants. And Yao Shen knew that Lei Weiyuan would always keep one Gatekeeper stationed within the sect, for it would be foolish to let go of the greatest bargaining chip he had over Yao Shen— the Solaris Keep could not be forcibly taken, as long as there remained atleast one man stationed within.

He had no intention to seize the resources of the Keep, though he would be lying if the thought did not cross his mind for a second— his old self, the mind of a calculating, shrewd Patriarch had mellowed with his awakening, but he was still the same man. The Gatekeepers had lived a full life and now they deserved to spend what little remained of it with their children and grandchildren.

Yao Shen internally nodded, having made up his mind.

“How do you keep a record of the Keep’s assets?” Yao Shen asked,

A small smile made his way to the stoic Patriarch’s face, as he hollered at one of the Gatekeepers to bring him ‘the artifact’.

A portly old cultivator with a genial smile walked over with a bulging sheaf of papyrus that was held together by a thin write spiralled over multiple times to serve as a binder that seemed… woefully inadequate.

“Honorable Patriarchs,” The cultivator bowed gracefully, his face devoid of any reproach as he held the papyrus logbook forward.

“Thank you, Yunru.”

“It is a pleasure to be of service, as always,” he bowed, the smile never leaving his face as he took his leave. Yao Shen had utilized his human sight to glance at the man’s departing silhouette, and he found nothing but the elusive golden cloud of contentment. It was not that his concerns for the Gatekeepers were misfounded, but as Yao Shen had found through years of observing both mortals and cultivators, some people managed to find inner peace regardless of what hand fate dealt them— to simply be happy with how the world was, how their life had been and to desire no more. A simple enough concept, yet one Yao Shen doubted he would attain in this lifetime. His desire for change, after all, was the very antithesis of contentment.

His expression turned into a perplexed frown, for the sheaf of papyrus in Lei Weiyuan’s hand was quite simply blank.

“Log,” the Flame Patriarch stated out loud, surprising the bystanders.

Words began to blossom on the topmost sheet of papyrus, before the logbook rapidly started flicking through pages at an astonishing speed. Soon, there was only one, solitary sheet remaining as the writing began to taper off a quarter of the way through,

Upon taking a closer look, it was revealed that a record of every item in the keep was written down in the artifact, along with its categorization and the date it was acquired.

“Cease,” Lei Weiyuan muttered, and the writing instantly disappeared.

Next, he withdrew a piece of charcoal from his storage space and wrote down upon it.

‘Spiritual Ore’

Yao Shen watched on curiously as a response was scrawled back by the artifact.

‘Grade?’

‘Nascent Soul’

‘Purity?’

‘Low’

The topmost sheet of papyrus tore itself out from the binder with a burst of wind qi, before it began to hover away towards the east.

“What a fascinating artifact,” Yao Shen’s eyes had already lit up with surprise, and even moreso, shock as he immediately understood the artifact’s purpose. It reminded Yao Shen of Earth and it’s capabilities, even though the effect was very rudimentary and limited in comparison. His shock stemmed from the fact that few would expend time in designing a utility based artifact such as this one, especially their militant ancestors.

“As you all have likely guessed, the sheet of papyrus will us to our desired item. It does help in managing the keep, but this artifact has too many limitations,” Lei Weiyuan explained, dampening some of Yao Shen’s initial excitement.

“The artifact spirit?” Yao Shen asked, guessing at the root of the problem.

“It is unresponsive and the artifact was designed to work with the metal plaques that are affixed to each item. We ran out a decade ago, and since then we have been forced to rely on manual records.”

Yao Shen almost clicked his tongue at that, his disappointment obvious. Though if the artifact really was that useful, the Flame Division would have already utilized it across the sect. As for creating an artifact spirit, that was an art none of the forces in the Azlak Plains possessed, so replicating it was also a lost cause.

“Very well,” Yao Shen muttered, before shifting his attention, “Guardians?”

“Yes, Patriarch,” they echoed in unison, with slightly too much enthusiasm.

“For now, make one copy of the logbook and the manual records each, and verify them to the greatest extent feasible. “

“Yes, Patriarch!” they bellowed in unison, and soon split away with their respective tasks. Some spoke to the gatekeepers and enlisted their aid, but those were all logistical matters Yao Shen need not be concerned with.

Only Yao Shen, the two Patriarchs, and Meili Zhu remained, watching the Guardians and the Gatekeepers work in tandem with each other.

“I have made a decision.”