bookbashuk Chapter 152 Inquiry
Chapter 152 Inquiry
The death of the Stone Demon in the Tower of Prisons is a major event. Granny Tianjing is already three hundred years old. With her strength at the Wandering Soul Realm, the Stone Demon's lifespan should be nearing its end in the next few years.
Fu Liunian, this cultivation fanatic, had no choice but to pause his cultivation for the night. He sat cross-legged on the futon, closed his eyes, and waited. He couldn't practice his skills; he could only wait.
He would open his eyes every now and then to check on the changes in the crystal disc on the wall.
He stayed up all night and only confirmed one thing at dawn.
This old demon probably won't die, but he hasn't recovered either.
The crystal disc on the wall was a burnt yellow color. The surface cracks were gone, but shallow marks remained. It was divided into dozens of hexagonal grids, which could originally display the scenes inside the various transmission rooms of the entire tower in turn.
Now the grid is filled with blurry images.
If the original image was vibrant with green mountains and clear waters, the current image is hazy and obscured by fog, appearing blurry at first glance.
"Another night wasted!"
Fu Liunian threw the communication jade talisman in his hand to the ground, cursed angrily, and went to rest helplessly.
-
Outside the martial arts hall.
Yang Silang waited in vain all night in the rented room. He knew he couldn't help much, so he could only wait anxiously, while staring at the small pebble on the table all night.
Even as the sun rose higher, the aunt remained completely calm and composed, showing no change whatsoever.
Even the demon race's instinctive reaction to absorb moonlight was absent.
"Hmm..." Yang Silang stroked his chin, quite puzzled. "Could this aunt be someone whose grandmother gave birth to her at an advanced age and is therefore underdeveloped?"
"Unfortunately, She Nu is a native demon from a secret realm, not from the human world, and she doesn't know the birthing habits of crystal demons. My grandmother gave birth in a hurry and was exhausted at the time, so she didn't have time to tell me anything."
"Oh, right..." He slapped his forehead, "She Nu might not understand, but who knows if Ji Jinliang and Su Zhixiu might!"
He finally remembered the two men: one was knowledgeable and the other came from a family that owned a large trading company. Neither of them were outstanding in martial arts, but their knowledge far surpassed that of ordinary people.
The three of them had just come out of the secret realm and arranged to meet.
The two had already invited him once before.
However, at that time, Yang Silang was busy refining the Yellow Jade Fruit into his body with the help of She Nu, and he did not have time to keep the appointment. Today is a good day to meet the two of them.
"Da Niu... Da Niu..." Yang Silang called out loudly to Da Niu, asking him to ride Da Qing and run errands for a few families.
"Go and invite two groups of people, Pei Zhuangbai and Ji Su, and book a private room at Zuixianlou."
"However, we'll arrange for Ji and Su to arrive a short time in advance so we can chat for a while."
When the sun is high in the sky.
Inside a private room at Zuixianlou Restaurant.
Yang Silang, Su Zhixiu, and Ji Jinliang reunited.
Ji Jinliang carried two wooden crutches, his lame leg wrapped in layers of bandages and secured with a kind of ointment. However, he was a martial artist, and he could move freely by using his arms and one leg, walking much faster than ordinary people.
"Fourth Brother..." Ji Jinliang greeted Yang Silang with a smile.
He thought he was doomed to a fruitless harvest due to the typhoon, but unexpectedly, following Yang Silang, he made a fortune. The harvest amounted to tens of thousands of taels of silver. How could he not be overjoyed to see his benefactor?
"Fourth Brother..."
Su Zhixiu changed into a plain white dress today. Her outfit was elegant but showed that she had put a lot of thought into it. She wore light makeup and didn't even apply any face powder.
The excessive amount of perfume I wore that day was truly frightening.
Upon seeing Yang Silang, she blushed before she even spoke, her eyes brimming with tears, and her tone, unlike her usual forthright manner, carried a hint of coquettishness.
Yang Silang coughed and nodded in response.
The fact that the three of them arrived a full incense stick early was also a matter of social etiquette. After all, they were partners who shared the profits and were comrades who would live and die together. There were some things that could only be discussed privately within their small group, and it was not convenient for Pei Zhuangbai and the other two to hear them.
They used to call each other "Brother Silang" while in the secret realm, but after leaving the secret realm and dividing the spoils, they had already started calling each other "Fourth Brother".
The three chatted for a few minutes.
Su Zhixiu coughed once.
"Fourth Brother, the arrangements for our goods are as follows..."
Aside from the three master-level materials and weapons—the fanged bone knife, the bone-jointed whip, and the single-headed spear—that the three of them privately divided, Su Zhixiu's Sanjiang Chamber of Commerce was responsible for selling the other items.
The most valuable item is the tortoise shell on the back of the bell. Its material is neither stone nor gold, making it suitable for making musical instruments and ritual implements to ward off evil spirits.
"Fourth Brother, my father plans to have that tortoise shell displayed at the treasure appreciation event organized by the four great families in half a month. It should fetch a good price."
"This tortoise shell is a genuine treasure from the Imperial Realm."
"Materials for Daoist cultivation are extremely rare, and selling them for tens of thousands of gold coins shouldn't be a problem."
After listening to Su Zhixiu's introduction, Yang Silang asked curiously, "What about the treasure appreciation event?"
The person in charge of weighing and measuring explained the situation tactfully from the side.
"The fact that those members of the four great families who organized this hunting trip have not yet returned can only be inferred to be that they have died in the secret realm."
"In total, a full 15% died, and most of the harvest of the survivors was destroyed in the typhoon. Add to that the lost mounts, and it's a pure loss."
"However, a small number of people have reaped considerable profits, but lack suitable channels to monetize them."
"The four great families simply held a treasure appreciation event, which was actually an auction, to make it easier for everyone to sell the treasures they had acquired."
'
"They are responsible for providing the venue and ensuring security, and they also strictly protect the privacy and safety of both buyers and sellers during the meeting."
Yang Silang nodded.
Huang Shouren and his colleagues were preparing to patch up the mess that had been done.
hiss……
The hunting party was a way to patch up the mess that had been made at the Flying Immortals Gathering.
Thinking about it this way, I wonder if there will be any unexpected problems with this treasure hunt?
Su Zhixiu then gave a brief introduction.
In the past few days, the armor and weapons looted from those caves, after having their markings removed, have been bought by the Sanjiang Chamber of Commerce at market prices since they were easy to sell.
She took out a thick stack of silver notes from her bosom and gave them to the two men, three hundred taels of silver each.
Yang Silang and Ji Jin were well aware that Su Zhixiu had made things convenient for them.
After all, no matter how well a product sells, it's not like there's a shortage of supply and everyone is rushing to buy it.
Su Zhixiu essentially gave the two of them a head start in cashing out.
Yang Silang took the silver notes without counting them and put them in his pocket. To calculate the weight, he simply twisted the silver notes in his hand into a fan-shaped paper flower, and he knew the amount. He smiled very happily.
Su Zhixiu finally said that she had already communicated with the people in the workshop about those pangolin scales. They would make full-body armor according to the three people's body sizes. They only used most of the materials. There were still a few more materials left, more than one person's worth but not enough for two people. She asked how to deal with them.
"Put armor on Daqing too!" Yang Silang made the decision.
He remembered that Huang Shouren's winged horse had armor, which looked very imposing, so he took the opportunity to get a set for Daqing.
With demonic energy protecting him and his armor, Da Qing could probably withstand a single blow from a Grandmaster of Golden Marrow.
In addition, Yang Silang hasn't yet taken stock of the loot he robbed from the Hu in his own inventory. He'll have to check what he has another day so he can sell it on the black market for a good price.
After recounting the gains from the secret realm, Yang Silang coughed.
"I saw in the secret realm that Brother Ji's treasure-hunting rat, though weak, possessed supernatural abilities and could save lives in critical moments."
"I recently found something on the black market, but I don't know if it's real or fake. Can you guys help me decide?"
He took out his aunt's clothes and put them on the table.
"The person who sold it to me said it's a newly born crystal elf, and it only reacts slightly to demonic energy stimulation, but otherwise it's just like an ordinary stone?"
"How should I care for it? Or what methods can I use to accelerate its transformation, awaken its intelligence, and allow it to communicate with me? How can I be sure it's alive and not dead?"
Yang Silang's face was full of worry.
Other people's children cry, fuss, get hungry, and are afraid of getting hurt.
My aunt is fine; she doesn't cry, doesn't eat, and isn't afraid of bumps or falls. Yang Silang is really afraid she'll turn into a stubborn rock.
He used to be able to kill even the smallest plants, so raising a child who turned out to be a monster was a first for him. It was a real headache.
Ji Jinliang frowned and thought for a long time before shaking his head and saying he had never seen it before; it was a rare item.
Su Zhixiu tilted her head and thought for a long time before slowly saying.
"Crystal demons are very rare. I heard that when my Shun Dynasty was founded, the founding emperor ordered a batch to be collectively cultivated using secret methods. Wild crystal demons can only be produced in specific crystal mines. In the end, only one or two demons may be born in an entire mining area."
"However, since it reacts to demonic energy, it means it is still alive."
"Most stone demons share similar temperaments. Young demons like to devour the stone energy of various kinds of stones because they are often born in dark, sunless mines and do not depend on moonlight or sunlight, at least not in their infancy."
"So, you young demon, buying more stones of various kinds might be helpful."
Yang Silang felt relieved upon hearing this. He had originally planned to buy some stones for his aunt to try, and it seemed that this method would work.
Grandma Tianjing gave me a list with a complete range of items last time. She told Da Niu to buy some square-cut stones and prepare a few more sacks. As long as my aunt can finish them, she definitely won't go hungry.
After dealing with the little stone demon.
After chatting for a while, Su Zhixiu said she would send the invitation to the treasure appreciation event to the two of them in a few days.
Not long after.
A welcoming voice came from outside the door, and the curtain was lifted as Pei Zhuangbai and his two companions entered.
When everyone met, they all sighed with regret.
The fates of the group of people are all different.
Yang Jisu sought wealth and fortune through peril. Although he made a fortune, he truly risked his life and narrowly escaped death.
Pei Zhuangbai and his two companions were swept into the sky by the hurricane, but they managed to land safely. However, the three iron-hoofed horses were not so lucky and disappeared without a trace.
The three had no storage bags and lost all the materials they had collected. After landing, they were chased by monsters. Fortunately, they managed to huddle together and, supporting each other, returned to the real world like deserters, having lost their armor and weapons.
The three of them had already spent a considerable sum of money to become officials, and with the addition of investments in buying horses, they were burdened with even more bad debts, leaving them with furrowed brows and worried expressions.
But these three are not the worst off.
Pei Buqi brought news of Zhu Hecheng's disappearance. A patrol team found his headless corpse. His identity was determined from his armor, weapons, and personal belongings. His neck was broken in a jagged manner with bite marks from a monster, and his armor plates were torn to pieces.
The six men lamented the impermanence of life and death, drank some wine, and then dispersed.
After leaving the restaurant, Yang Silang and Pei Zhuangbai walked together, with Yang Silang telling Pei Zhuangbai that if they were short of money, he could lend them some.
Pei Zhuangbai and the other two were extremely grateful, but they didn't mention the loan at all, saying they could manage on their own. Only then did they say their goodbyes.
There's always a story waiting for you to uncover.