Daily life of a cultivation judge

He stared at the name a few more times, almost hoping it was a mistake. But no matter how many times he looked, it didn't change. It was really there.

The Heart-Quenching Mulberry Dew.

A monarch-grade natural treasure—rare, precious, and something most people wouldn't part with, no matter the price. Its true value lay in its extraordinary abilities.

The Heart-Quenching Mulberry Dew could temper a cultivator's heart and spirit, enhancing their stability and fortitude. But that wasn't all. When used in the creation of pills, potions, or artifacts, it provided an even greater effect.

If an item developed a spirit during its creation, the dew could strengthen that spirit, dramatically improving its chances of surviving tribulation. In rare cases, it could even elevate the spirit's rank—boosting the grade of the item itself.

There were stories of artifacts initially created at the early stages of the monarch grade that, with the help of the Heart-Quenching Mulberry Dew, saw their spirits elevated to the middle or late stages of the palace realm, transforming their rank and potential in an instant.

Such cases were rare, but they did exist—and they were verifiable. That alone made the Heart-Quenching Mulberry Dew an invaluable resource. Though classified as a middle-tier monarch-grade treasure, its benefits elevated its worth far beyond its rank.

Even setting aside its ability to enhance the rank of spirits, the dew's power to temper a cultivator's heart and spirit—or to increase the survival odds of newly-formed artifact spirits during tribulations—made it comparable to ascendant-grade treasures. In some cases, it was even considered more valuable, as its effects could directly influence matters of life and death.

For cultivators, tempering the heart and spirit could mean the difference between survival and destruction. More often than not, failures during tribulation weren't due to a lack of cultivation depth but rather a lack of mental and emotional fortitude.

Tribulation lightning—whether at the core formation realm, palace realm, domain realm, or higher—all shared one terrifying trait: they induced a soul-deep dread in those who faced them. This dread was especially potent at unearthing mental and heart demons, empowering them to devastating effect.

For cultivators who succumbed during their tribulation, it was rarely the lightning that killed them. Instead, their downfall often came at the hands of their own mental and heart demons. Tribulation lightning had the unique and horrifying ability to manifest those demons into tangible forms, turning them into executioners birthed from the cultivator's deepest fears and regrets.

Having an item like the heart-quenching mulberry dew—a resource that could fortify one's heart and spirit against erupting demons during tribulation—could mean the difference between life and death for a cultivator. It could determine whether they successfully ascended to a higher realm or fell short at the critical moment.

In such dire moments, cultivators would undoubtedly value the Heart-Quenching Dew far more than even an ascendant-grade treasure. After all, while treasures could boost cultivation or enhance combat power, the dew directly influenced survival and progression.

Because of its immense significance, very few would willingly sell it or even let others know they possessed it. Entrusting it to someone else—much less allowing it to be transported by a quasi-palace-stage escort agent—was almost unthinkable.

That was why Yang Qing was so taken aback when he saw it listed among the items Jiang Hao had transported.

"Li Gang from the Vast Blue Merchant Company…" Yang Qing muttered, reading the name of the person who had commissioned the transport.

The name didn't ring a bell, but the merchant company certainly did. Vast Blue was a rank-three merchant organization led by four leaders, all in the late stages of the palace realm. Despite its considerable power, the organization was relatively young, having only been around for 700 years.

Its story was one of triumph and inspiration, especially for rogue cultivators.

The four founders of the Vast Blue Merchant Company had once been rogue cultivators whose fortunes took a dramatic turn during the exploration of an ancient ruin. Within those ruins, they stumbled upon a mysterious legacy that became the catalyst for their transformation.

Whatever they discovered there had the power to elevate four ordinary "salmon" into "golden carps"—individuals who now stood on the cusp of leaping through the dragon gates to become true dragons, should they manage to reach the domain realm.

The legacy they uncovered wasn't just extraordinary—it was formidable enough to produce four late-stage palace realm experts. Beyond that, it provided the foundation for the establishment and rapid growth of the Vast Blue Merchant Company into a rank-three merchant organization of considerable influence.

While their personal strength grew, the four rogue cultivators wisely channeled part of their newfound wealth and resources into founding the merchant company. The quality of the resources they uncovered allowed them to quickly solidify their position in the merchanting space.

It quickly gained fame, particularly within the rogue cultivator community, partially because of its origins and its treatment of fellow rogues thereafter. Its founders never forgot their roots and offered discounted prices on goods and services—whether appraisals, auctions, or other necessities—exclusively to rogue cultivators.

This approach earned them widespread goodwill among rogue cultivators, who saw the company as one of their own, something that was theirs- a sanctuary in a world dominated by sects and aristocratic factions.

That reputation not only fueled their rapid expansion but also served as a protective shield. The goodwill of so many rogue cultivators made even the major sects and clans hesitate before acting against the Vast Blue Merchant Company. After all, antagonizing a group beloved by the wildcards of the cultivation world could lead to unexpected backlash—something most organizations would rather avoid.

The rogue cultivator community was often dismissed as loose and disorganized, lacking the tightly knit structure of sects or cultivation clans. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

Faced with countless dangers daily, rogue cultivators often formed the deepest of bonds, forged through shared life-and-death struggles. Among them, the concept of favors held an almost sacred weight. A favor granted, especially one involving a life-saving act, was rarely forgotten and would be upheld even at great personal risk.

Though loosely organized on the surface, their community was tightly interwoven with an intricate web of life-saving favors, unspoken debts, and mutual respect. These invisible connections bound them in ways that ran deeper even more than that of sects and clans.

Even if such favors were never explicitly called upon, many would go to great lengths to repay them when the opportunity arose.

To rogue cultivators, the Vast Blue Merchant Company's actions were seen as no less than granting them a collective life-saving favor. For cultivators constantly strapped for resources, where every spirit stone had to be stretched, a company offering discounts and favorable treatment was akin to that of a safe harbor for weary sailors.

Such a sanctuary was invaluable, and rogue cultivators would go to great lengths to protect it, as to ensure its longevity and prosperity.

While individually rogue cultivators might not pose much of a threat, collectively, they were a force to be reckoned with. Even rank-one or rank-two organizations often hesitated to provoke them unnecessarily. Their resilience, forged through constant peril, made them dangerous adversaries.

If Yang Qing were ever asked who he considered the most dangerous group on the continent, his answer would not be the powerful sects, clans, or empires, but rogue cultivators. These were individuals who had survived by outwitting death countless times, honing skills and instincts born of necessity.

One would be wise never to make an enemy of them lightly.

For now, however, Yang Qing set those musings aside as he had a pressing question that demanded answers.

The heart-quenching mulberry dew was not an item the organization would normally entrust to an outsider for transport. Even if, by some improbable chance, they had chosen to do so, Bai Chen himself should have handled that commission, and not his disciple—considering the immense risks involved.

The dew's value alone was enough to justify an entire ship disappearing, and Bai Chen, with his experience, would undoubtedly have known this.

"Looks like I'll just have to ask them directly," Yang Qing thought after turning the possibilities over in his mind and failing to find a justifiable reason why a quasi-palace stage expert would be tasked with transporting a natural treasure whose value, depending on the circumstances, could rival that of an ascendant-grade treasure.