Taking Over the Darino Gang

Fortunately, the consciousness severing mechanism didn't activate when leaving the treasure chest area, so Shui was able to easily escape the presence detection system using presence masking. Opening the door that appeared, returned him to Darino's room. A quick check didn't reveal any changes so he stored the items that had been laying around, and then took out the treasure chest to examine the items inside.

It was recorded that the early form of the Stalix Empire, the first nation of mortals to ever exist, appeared before the birth of angels, and by the time Calus was born, the empire had created a unified currency. The sacred gold coins within the treasure chest were part of that exact currency. Shui wasn't too clear on the worth of these coins during that age, but in the Alterna Kingdom, a single coin would be enough for him to buy an entire city. And that was just due to its historic value as one of the gold coins from the first nation. If sacred gold's ability to encourage enlightenment in proportion to its volume was considered, then unless one put divine treasures on the table, it would be nearly impossible to find someone wealthier than Shui in the Alterna Kingdom.

Due to the astronomical value of these coins, it would be difficult to liquidate them, but as he estimated the value, Shui felt less resentful and more grateful towards the Angel of Shadows. 

With a satisfied smile on his face, Shui then looked at the instruments. He wasn't well-versed in music, but he knew enough to tell that these instruments weren't simply high-quality in terms of appearance. Based on the divine aura attached to them, they were likely used to praise gods in the hands of powerful priests and shamans. They could also serve as artifacts that were super effective at restraining negative energies when played, but otherwise had little offensive use. Still Shui considered building up his musical skills to try at least one of them out.

Next, were the blessed pieces of jewelry. Though they also had special auras, these were the least valuable, since all of their worth came from their rare materials. If he had to sell something from the treasure chest, it would likely be one of these.

Finally, he looked at the two vials of blood, with one vial having a darker shade of red than the other. He didn't want to risk them reacting with the air, so he kept the vials closed and investigated the blood with his Sage God Eyes. The darker vial of blood seemed to roar as he uncovered its secrets. He had never seen a sample before, but he knew that this was true dragon's blood. True dragons were considered extinct in the Alterna Kingdom, and even on the Engrasia continent, tales of true dragons appearing only took place in myth.

Dragons were often called the strongest lifeform, and this wasn't without evidence. Although all life started with the God of Life, only dragons could naturally grow strong enough to compete with the gods. It was said that the original dragon clan fought against the natural path of life, which allowed them to evolve in a way that made them capable of god slaying. Even a young true dragon would be comparable to Kings, so humanity likely wouldn't be so prosperous if they were around. 

The blood could be very useful to Shui as a resource for his body cultivation, but there was a problem. Assuming that one was strong enough to absorb true dragon blood, they would usually end up gaining a dragon trait such as scales or claws. However, Shui's cultivation method, Heretical Ascension, placed heavy emphasis on maintaining the self, which meant that if he wanted to absorb the dragon blood, he had to ensure that he was able to suppress its mutation side-effects. No mortal creature had a bloodline more powerful than dragons and only a few sacred beast bloodlines were comparable, so Shui would have to accomplish this by having a stronger instinctive will than the dragon which this blood came from. 

Shui's soul cultivation was indeed impressive among his peers, but it would be nothing special among true dragons so using this blood wouldn't be possible for the time being.

As for the other vial of blood, Shui wasn't able to identify it. His Sage God Eyes unraveled it, but similar to when he looked at the presence detection system, he couldn't understand what he was seeing. If there was a book that he could read to figure it out he would have already read it, but unfortunately interpreting the natural laws depended on his own understanding of them. Still, he could tell that this blood didn't lose in comparison to the dragon blood.

"I won't be able to use these two for now, but they'll definitely be useful in the future."

Once he finished checking out his loot, Shui headed towards the exit. While an inviolable domain was fascinating, it would be difficult to cultivate inside so he would only return when he needed a quiet place to focus. After leaving Darino's room, Shui saw the frozen and incapacitated people who he had left near the entrance. 

They had been enemies so his first thought was to kill them, but since the Darino Gang wouldn't necessarily collapse with Darino dead, it would be better to use them instead. Once he made this decision, Shui released them from their bindings and waited for them to wake up. The non-combatants that had only been sealed, woke up first. They were all frightened when they saw Shui, but after he waited for a couple moments for them to calm down, the youngest of them nervously took a step forward.

"Pardon me, but would I be correct in assuming that since you woke us up,ulp you're not planning to kill us?"

"That depends on what I can get in exchange for keeping you alive."

Despite his apathetic tone, the non-combatants felt relief. They knew that they wouldn't be able to resist if he killed them, but if there was a chance of convincing him to let them live, then they could have hope.

"Would you mind if we had a discussion first?"

"You can go ahead, but don't take too long."

"Naturally."

Shui didn't know what role the young man played in the Darino Gang, but it seemed the others trusted him at the very least. It didn't look like any of them planned to take revenge for Darino, so this young man might have been the one actually responsible for controlling the gang. If he wanted to have total control over the Darino Gang then it might be better to get rid of the young man, but Shui wasn't that interested in the prospect so he was glad there was someone he could leave the actual work to. After all, it was much easier to get the obedience of one than many.