Chapter 98: Zongli Market
The ground and stone walls were covered with moss, and the corners were filled with cobwebs.
It looked as if it had been abandoned for a long ti.
Inside the cave, there was nothing unusual, only a stone table and four stone chairs, all of which were also covered with a thick layer of moss.
There were no skeletal remains or bones, suggesting that the predecessor likely left rather than died here, Ji Yuan thought to himself.
"Hmm?"
As he affixed a lighting talisman to the stone wall at the deepest part of the cave, Ji Yuan finally noticed a stone door covered in moss and lichen.
Perhaps due to the dense growth of moss, he hadn't seen it clearly at first.
There might be sothing valuable inside. With this thought, Ji Yuan turned to look at the large toad.
What if it blocked the entrance after he went in?
If this second-tier demonic beast were to trap him inside the cave, it would be troubleso, leaving him with nowhere to escape.
He would have no choice but to sit and wait for death.
Although this big-mouthed toad seed docile, he couldn't take the risk.
After all, a demonic beast was still a demonic beast.
One must be cautious of others, especially demonic beasts.
After so consideration, Ji Yuan ca up with an idea.
He summoned the Thunder Falcon Boat, leaped onto it, and then took out two catties of Spiritual Pig at from his storage pouch.
Upon seeing the delicious at again, the previously sowhat dejected toad's eyes lit up imdiately.
Dejected?
What was there to be dejected about!
The tasty food was right in front of it.
But before the toad could open its mouth, Ji Yuan had already activated the Thunder Falcon Boat and flew away, not to escape, but to retrace his steps.
"Croak—"
The toad's voice carried a hint of displeasure.
After flying a certain distance, Ji Yuan stopped and looked back at the toad.
He mimicked the way the toad had greeted him earlier.
The toad imdiately understood, let out another "Croak—," and quickly hopped after him.
Man and toad, one jumping, one hopping.
After a while, Ji Yuan led the toad back to the top of the cliff.
He threw the Spiritual Pig at onto the ground, and the toad imdiately lowered its head and stuck out its tongue.
But when it looked up after finishing the at, Ji Yuan was nowhere to be seen.
"Croak croak—"
Piloting the flying boat straight down the cliff, Ji Yuan heard the toad's calls from above and had to accelerate.
This was the best thod he could think of.
By keeping the toad on top of the cliff, he could descend along the cliff with the flying boat to quickly explore the cave.
As long as the toad didn't jump straight down from the cliff, he would have enough ti.
In just a breath's ti, Ji Yuan reached the bottom of the cliff. He put away the flying boat, released the Hundred Fish Shield, and then bent down to enter the cave.
Perhaps because the cave was on the shady side of the mountain or at its base, Ji Yuan felt a damp chill upon entering.
The lighting talismans on the stone walls still glowed like lanterns. Ji Yuan stepped on the slippery moss, observing the narrow stone hall.
There was nothing unexpected, nor anything valuable.
Given that, he could only check the small room inside.
Ji Yuan casually threw another lighting talisman, simultaneously sending the Qingfu Flying Sword ahead.
Both actions revealed nothing unusual, indicating the inside should be safe.
Even so, Ji Yuan still cast a fireball spell to burn off the moss on the stone door before stepping inside.
As soon as he entered the small room, the damp chill beca even more pronounced.
This coldness seed to emanate from the small room itself, rather than the cave.
Strange, this cave likely held sothing valuable—Ji Yuan held the Hundred Fish Shield in front of him, cautiously observing his surroundings.
If the outer stone hall was about twenty to thirty square ters, then this inner room was only about seven to eight square ters.
The furnishings were simple, with only a stone bed at the end, occupying two-thirds of the room.
Apart from that, there was nothing else.
Both the outer hall and this inner room followed an extrely minimalist style, practically devoid of any items.
Given that, where was the coldness coming from?
Could it be sothing within the stone walls? Ji Yuan's eyes casually scanned the area and noticed so moss seed to be growing from beneath the stone bed.
Was the stone bed not part of the floor?
Was it moved here later?
Ji Yuan raised his hand, and the Qingfu Flying Sword transford into a three-foot-long blade, landing on the stone bed and slicing across it.
Instantly, the surface of the stone bed was cleared of moss, revealing its original color—a deep blue!
The entire stone bed was deep blue!
Upon seeing the stone bed's true appearance, Ji Yuan was suddenly startled.
He couldn't quite believe it and stepped forward to touch the stone bed carefully.
It felt icy cold, like touching a piece of millennium-old profound ice.
Ji Yuan took a deep breath and then retrieved a handful of Cold Iron Sand from his storage pouch.
The texture was similar, but the color was slightly different.
The stone bed's color was noticeably darker.
"Go!"
Ji Yuan activated the Qingfu Flying Sword again.
This ti, instead of scraping off the moss, he shaved off a thin layer of the stone bed.
When the sword returned, its blade carried a layer of light blue fine sand.
With this, there was no difference between the two.
Exactly the sa!
Seeing this, Ji Yuan couldn't help but take several deep breaths to suppress his excitent.
No rush, no rush, better to finish checking first. Then, with a few flashes of the Qingfu Flying Sword, all the moss on the stone bed's surface was removed.
A stone bed emitting a deep blue glow appeared before Ji Yuan.
Cold Iron Sand!
This was indeed a stone bed made of Cold Iron Sand!
How many catties must this be?
Perhaps not a thousand, but certainly several hundred—estimating around 700 catties, and at the current price of Cold Iron Sand.
Thirty Spirit Stones per catty, 700 catties would be—21,000 lower-grade Spirit Stones?
Converted to mid-grade Spirit Stones, that's 210.
Even if he overworked his talisman pen, he couldn't draw that many Spirit Stones.
"Damn, I've struck it rich!!!"
Ji Yuan shouted inwardly.
No, he had to take this Cold Iron Sand away first.
No matter how good the item, it had to be secured.
Moreover, the toad was likely still on its way, so he had to hurry.
Ji Yuan raised and lowered his right hand, and the Qingfu Flying Sword once again embedded itself into the stone bed. Initially, it penetrated easily, but about a third of the way in, the sword suddenly got stuck.
Couldn't cut further?!
That shouldn't be. It's all Cold Iron Sand; how could it stop halfway?
Ji Yuan switched the sword to a sweeping motion.
After several swings, a piece of the Cold Iron Sand bed was removed, revealing its interior.
Inside, the Cold Iron Sand only occupied about a third of the bed.
The rest was made of another deep blue mineral.
Though not as cold as Cold Iron Sand, its hardness was significantly higher.
Even Ji Yuan's top-grade flying sword could only leave a faint white mark.
Damn, although it's not Cold Iron Sand, it definitely looks valuable.
No matter, better to store it first.
Then, Ji Yuan used the flying sword to dismantle the Cold Iron Sand from the bed's surface.
Though not the original 700 catties, it was still about 200 catties.
6,000 lower-grade Spirit Stones, or 60 mid-grade ones.
For Ji Yuan at this stage, that was already a substantial amount.
After storing the Cold Iron Sand, he emptied a storage pouch specifically for the deep blue mineral.
With the stone bed removed, a clear imprint was left on the ground. Ji Yuan checked around to ensure nothing was overlooked before stepping out of the stone room.
Back on the surface, nothing unexpected occurred, and Ji Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
From the depths of the mist ca the toad's calls, along with the sound of it crushing through the forest.
Ji Yuan looked back, thought for a mont, and pushed the nearby boulder back to block the cave entrance.
After finishing this task, the toad finally hopped over again.
Before it could croak, Ji Yuan threw another piece of Spiritual Pig at.
This ti, it was only one catty.
Even so, it made the toad forget its earlier displeasure.
After eating the at, the toad seed even more docile, gently moving its body and finally crouching about ten ters away from Ji Yuan.
Man and toad quietly watched the distant mist.
Ji Yuan estimated that as long as he occasionally fed it, settling on this island shouldn't be a problem.
He turned to look at the toad.
The toad looked back.
Ji Yuan pointed at himself, then at the ground, and made several gestures—the toad didn't understand anything, only occasionally croaking.
Helpless, Ji Yuan decided to build a small wooden house at the foot of the cliff.
Throughout the process, the toad remained still, just watching Ji Yuan work.
Finally, when it saw Ji Yuan lying on the roof resting, it even made a contented sound from its throat.
It seed that settling on this island wouldn't be an issue.
If he raised a few Spiritual Pigs here, it would probably be even more welcoming.
To be cautious, Ji Yuan stayed on the island for two more days.
During those two days, nothing happened. Instead, the toad always stayed near Ji Yuan, trying various ways to get at.
Especially after Ji Yuan roasted a piece of Spiritual Pig at for it.
It couldn't eat anything else afterward, only wanting roasted pork belly.
On the third day, Ji Yuan prepared to return to Zengtou Market to move his ho.
Having secured a retreat, he needed to manage it well for a while. Once he joined the Water Dragon Sect, he could escape at any ti.
Ji Yuan summoned the Thunder Falcon Boat and boarded it.
The toad seed to realize Ji Yuan was leaving and imdiately extended its tongue to try to bind him.
Fortunately, Ji Yuan reacted quickly, activating the Thunder Falcon Boat's lightning essence, and his figure vanished like teleportation, piercing through the mist and ascending into the air.
The toad's mournful cries echoed through the mist. Ji Yuan looked back, confird nothing was following him, and after verifying the island's location, departed.
This ti, he would pack up and leave the market to settle on this naless island!
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