The Storage Room

The storage room was situated lower underground than the rest of the sect, and was hidden behind a secret passage which required one to show proof of identity in the form of a drop of blood. Once several thick walls of stone moved out of the way, a path opened up.

This place was one large room filled with high shelves, which were themselves filled with items of all kinds. Refined tools, talismans, alchemical products, and even pieces of arrays waiting to be assembled.

“As you can see, Young Master, our sect has accumulated quite a lot of stock over time. So, while we can not produce very quickly–Since we couldn’t unload our stocks–We could theoretically offer quite a lot of goods if necessary”

The sect leader stepped forward between the shelves. They were each so tall and filled to the brim that it felt as though they could come crashing down at any possible second. Yet, they held firm, not even emitting a single creak or squeak, even as Falmax removed items from them.

“This here is one of our most common refined tools. It is a simple, hollowed-out horn that can be blown into. It consumes inner energy to use and has an in-built cooldown of about one hour, but it is quite handy when in a pinch, as it can summon horned creatures to fight alongside the person using it”

“The sort of entity summoned depends on the horn, while the strength and numbers of the summons depend on both the talent and intentions of the tool refiners. The one I am holding right now, for example, will only summon a single creature. However, it is a powerful one… Additionally, the creatures that are summoned by these horns are creations of the Horned One, so enemies are unlikely to be familiar with them”

He placed the horn back in its original spot and instead went over to what looked like a human skull with tangled horns growing from its surface. This included two horns that grew from its sides, but curved around to stab into its hollow sockets.

“This skull can cause blindness to an enemy when injected with inner energy. It doesn’t have any cooldown per se, but it loses efficiency if used too much in quick succession”

Falmax showed many of the stored items to Anoteros, but even then, it was merely a minuscule portion of the stock. The refined items had all sorts of effects, with some being of great utility, like the summoning horns, and others being a bit more niche in their purpose.

The alchemical products were a bit more typical in their effects overall. The arrays were definitely powerful, but the most impressive of the bunch were the talismans.

Except in rare cases, talismans were one-use items. They contained a single spell that could be utilised by simply holding the talisman and willing it. They were common items given to weaker cultivators for protection, as they could contain spells far more powerful than what someone at their level should theoretically be capable of–And also they cost nothing to cast.

The only issue with them was that unless one was a Velvet Pixie, a talisman maker needed to be a spell cultivator, and preferably be familiar with the spell they were trying to imbue into their talismans.

The first hurdle was basically insurmountable, while the second required a highly skilled craftsman to be bypassed… Since not all spell cultivators were talisman makers, it made talismans a somewhat rare kind of item.

In this storage room, they were quite abundant, however–And they contained spells unique to the Sect Of The Horned One.

All of it was very horn-themed, but that was to be expected.

“If you desire, Young Master, part of our deal could involve the making of custom items. This is especially possible with refined items”

“If it isn’t too much of a bother for you, I would indeed appreciate it”

Edrick placed his hands behind his back, looking around at the tall shelves.

“All that you have here is very interesting and could definitely sell well on the market. Some of them are perhaps a bit too powerful, though. We wouldn’t want them to circulate and possibly end up in the hands of enemies”

“However, since your methods of craftsmanship are very particular and are non-replicable, we can nonetheless sell quite a lot without worries. But we shall see”

They spent quite a while inside the storage room, so long that night had fallen by the time they emerged.

“Young Master, it would seem that I held you back. May I offer to spend the night with us? You will be able to witness our ceremony as well”

“Sounds like a good idea”

Anoteros quickly found himself standing at the very back of a large congregation of robed figures. There wasn’t much that differentiated the outer disciples from the inner disciples, and the core disciples from one another. The design of their robes was very similar to one another.

Even the elders and sect leader looked a lot alike, making it so that once they were all gathered in the same spot, they resembled a sea of hoods.

Falmax directed the ceremony as he stood atop the pyramidal podium, just below the large horn. He was speaking in a language Edrick could not understand, but his speech prompted all of the others to chant in unison. Before they all went silent, they brought their hands together close to their chests, their hands unseen beneath their ample sleeves.

They stayed completely quiet for ten whole minutes.

Anoteros was able to sense both their inner energies and the ambient energy of the room moving toward the great horn, where it disappeared as though consumed. The scion could only assume that the large horn was actually an intermediary between them and the Horned One.

Soon after, a different kind of energy Edrick did not recognise appeared within the horn and flowed toward all of the cult members.

They accepted the gift without moving, and after ten more minutes, it seemed as though their worship and cultivation session had come to an end as Falmax spoke up once more, causing everyone to start scattering.

‘Interesting…’

The sect leader stepped down from the podium.

“What did you think of this, Young Master?”

“It was quite the intriguing event, I must say. It made me more curious than ever about the Horned One. He must definitely be a fascinating individual to be capable of participating in the cultivation of so many people”

“Ah, you were able to sense the motions of energy? Indeed, the Horned One is directly responsible for our ability to cultivate–Though this is only one aspect of how we do it here. There is the communal cultivation session that you just saw, and also the two individual cultivation sessions”

“In any case, let me guide you to a room, Young Master. We don’t use them often, but we have guest rooms for important visitors like yourself…”