A Familiar Feeling

"If this kind of goat meat could be developed, it would indeed hold immense commercial value." Cang Xu thought even further ahead.

He raised one finger. "First, the magical power contained in ordinary goat meat alone far surpasses that of Bronze-level magical beast meat under normal circumstances. The cost of raising ordinary goats and raising the same number of Bronze-level magical beasts are entirely different concepts. The gap is enormous."

Then he raised his middle finger. "Second, although the magical structure within the goat meat is strange and dangerous, when kept at low temperatures, the magical power becomes highly contained and stable. That is a natural advantage for storage."

"Under normal circumstances, once a magical beast is slaughtered, the magical power contained within its body continuously leaks away. At that point, mages and alchemists are usually needed to process the beast's body parts, seal in the magical power, and extend the stability of its magical structure as much as possible."

"Take the Great Maw Hunter Group, the largest magical beast hunting group on the entire Saint Brilliance Continent. After they kill a magical beast, specialized personnel immediately carve up every part of its body, seal them one by one, then transport them back to camp and use Magic Arrays to reinforce the seals."

"Even with layer upon layer of seals, magical materials taken from magical beasts still constantly lose magical power. Their value continuously declines with time. Therefore, for exceptionally precious magical materials, the Great Maw Hunter Group would not hesitate to use teleportation arrays for transport."

"The processing and transport costs involved are both enormous. The more powerful the magical beast, the more so."

"Therefore, when circumstances permit, the Great Maw Hunter Group tries its best to capture magical beasts alive rather than slaughtering them on the spot. They first transport the living beasts to major cities, then kill them there and sell fresh magical materials directly."

"But this also comes with a problem. The cost of feeding magical beasts is high, and guarding and suppressing them requires powerful extraordinary individuals. The manpower required for upkeep is also considerable."

At this point, Cang Xu turned the subject back to the goat meat before them. "But our goat meat is different. As long as we create a low-temperature environment, the Ice-type magical power within it will remain quite stable and leak very little. This advantage is truly enormous. It will save us tremendous storage and transport costs."

Cang Xu was highly learned and quite familiar with the industries of magical beast hunting and trade.

Zhen Jin's heart stirred as he listened.

Resources were extremely important.

Zhen Jin had originally set his sights on these goats.

His original plan had been to use the goats as mounts and develop a cavalry force.

When he became the White Sand City Lord in the future, having an elite cavalry force in his hands would greatly help him control the overall situation.

That was why Zhen Jin had not feared the trouble earlier and had personally subdued four Bronze-level White Bone Head Goats. He had also captured many young goats alive, intending to take them out and raise them.

But in the end, all those young goats had died from poison. The four Bronze-level head goats had survived, yet everyone had also been poisoned after eating the goat meat.

It could be said that Zhen Jin's goat cavalry plan had completely failed.

But now, he had discovered another possibility: directly selling goat meat and blood!

Life was like this.

Plans could never keep up with change.

Cold reality brought disaster and shattered people's ideals and plans, yet it often brought gifts at the same time, allowing hope to endure.

Hope always existed. The key was whether one could see it.

Many people could not see hope and fell into despair. Seeing hope did not simply require a pair of bright eyes, but a sound mindset or profound wisdom.

Light gleamed in Zi Di's violet eyes as she echoed Cang Xu's words. "If we can find extraordinary individuals capable of digesting this goat meat safely, then this will indeed be an enormous business. Ordinary goats are simply too easy to catch. We could even take part in it ourselves and raise them on a large scale. The breeding and transport costs would be far lower than those of Bronze-level or Black Iron magical beasts. The profits from this business would be substantial, and there is another wonderful point—if we sell in large quantities at low prices, this business could help us establish connections with the Empire's highest-ranking nobles!"

Lan Zao could not hide his excitement. "From that perspective, these goats are walking, bleating piles of gold coins."

The Purple-Eyed Girl gazed keenly at Zhen Jin. "Sir Zhen Jin, if we develop and control this business, it will undoubtedly be of great help to you. Whether you are competing for the position of White Sand City Lord or have already become the White Sand City Lord, you will need vast funds. This business would be like giving you wings! It might even bring us the support of top-ranking great nobles!"

Zhen Jin nodded. He understood the prospects and profits involved, but his expression remained calm. "This matter requires careful long-term consideration. Our priority now remains resolving the chaotic magical power within our bodies!"

Only then did the atmosphere inside the tent calm slightly.

It was absolutely unacceptable to allow that Ice-type magical power to remain hidden within their bodies. Even though its activity was low, it would still continuously and secretly erode their bodies.

They might seem fine in the short term, but the magical power was constantly damaging everyone's vitality. At the same time, once their body temperatures rose, that magical power would become a deadly killer lurking within them!

Zhen Jin did not want that.

He needed to solve his own problem while preserving everyone else's lives.

He still had to lead this small group of people across the sea to the Beastman Continent and compete for the position of White Sand City Lord.

So how could they solve this problem?

Everyone's eyes in the tent fell upon Zi Di again. It still depended on the performance of this pharmacist, especially now, when low-level magic and Battle Qi could not be activated.

Zi Di wore a solemn expression. She too felt the heavy burden on her shoulders. After pondering for a moment, she said, "I need to conduct experiments first. I cannot give an answer for now."

Zhen Jin nodded. "What do you need? We will cooperate with you fully!"

Zhen Jin directly gave his tent to Zi Di.

Lan Zao led his team to begin hunting large numbers of goats again. Cang Xu personally oversaw the dissections, and Zhen Jin even killed a Bronze-level head goat.

The goats' magical flesh, bones, and hides were transported into the tent in batches.

The lamps in the tent remained lit from dusk until deep into the night. Then, near dawn, Zi Di emerged from the tent, lifting the flap with heavy dark circles beneath her eyes.

"I need grass."

"Grass?" Zhen Jin had been waiting outside the tent the entire time.

"The grass the goat herd eats. The more of it, the better. Remember, dig it up with the roots attached," Zi Di instructed.

Zhen Jin nodded and immediately issued the necessary orders.

Fortunately, he had these subordinates and sufficient manpower. Otherwise, he alone could not have met Zi Di's urgent demands.

Standing outside the tent, Zhen Jin watched the sky gradually brighten at the horizon and knew the night was nearly over.

He did not know how much progress Zi Di had made. Though he was worried, he did not reveal the slightest hint of it on his face.

He stood outside the tent with one hand resting on the hilt of his rough wooden-bladed sword, his body straight as a spear. Whenever members of the Exploration Team passed the tent and saw Zhen Jin's figure, their restless hearts calmed, and the hope in their hearts grew stronger.

Everyone dug up green grass with the roots intact. After removing the soil, they sent the grass into the tent in pile after pile.

The tent was like a bear that had just awakened from hibernation, endlessly devouring food and displaying an astonishing appetite.

Zhen Jin could smell all manner of strange odors wafting out of the tent.

When sunlight illuminated the east and morning clouds filled the sky, Zi Di's voice came from within the tent. "Sir Zhen Jin, are you still there?"

"I am," Zhen Jin immediately answered.

"Then please come in."

Zhen Jin's spirits lifted. He immediately turned, raised the tent flap, and entered.

The smell inside the tent was even more pungent, and a faint mist lingered in the air.

Zi Di's face was full of exhaustion, but a trace of exhilaration shone in her crystal-clear eyes.

"I have not failed my mission." Zi Di raised the glass bottle in her hand. It contained an azure liquid, like seawater.

"It turns out that these goats, like us, are victims."

"What truly contains Ice-type magical power is this green grass."

"The life force of this grass appears utterly ordinary, but it actually contains an extremely abundant amount of Ice-type magical power. After the goats ate the grass, the magical power entered their bodies. Then we ate the goats' flesh and blood, and that was how we became contaminated by this special magical power!"

The truth Zi Di revealed shocked Zhen Jin.

"So this grass is comparable to magical plants, with astonishing value?" Zhen Jin asked.

Zi Di nodded. "The juice within this grass is extremely plentiful, especially in the roots, which are comparable to berries. But I still recommend that we sell the goat meat. This grass is too easily replicated. Whether it is master druids or the Empire's Life Temple, as long as they obtain a certain amount of this grass, they possess the ability to cultivate it on a large scale. Not to mention figures such as the Empire's Sen Xu Grand Duke."

The potion had been made, but its actual effects still needed to be tested in practice.

Naturally, Zhen Jin would not be the first to drink it. He first gathered a small group of people.

Upon hearing the news, Huang Zao immediately shouted that he wanted to be the first to try it.

Lan Zao scolded him for it, and Huang Zao could only give up. As the younger brother, he did not dare defy his elder brother.

Thus, beneath everyone's watchful eyes, Lan Zao swallowed the first bottle of potion in one gulp.

"Urk, urk, urk..."

After swallowing the potion, Lan Zao's entire face immediately turned blue. At the same time, he grabbed his throat with both hands, opened his mouth wide, bulged his eyes, and retched.

But painfully, he could not vomit anything out.

"Brother!" Huang Zao cried out in alarm.

The others were also somewhat uncertain.

"It is all right. This is a normal reaction," Zi Di reassured everyone.

The moment her words fell, Lan Zao suddenly bent over and vomited a large mouthful of blood onto the ground.

The blood was red mixed with blue. More notably, it contained several thumb-sized chunks of ice. These ice chunks emitted dense cold air and displayed a strange blue-violet color.

After vomiting them out, Lan Zao immediately felt much lighter all over. The strange blue color on his face swiftly faded, returning to the natural color of flesh.

Zi Di went over to inspect him, then smiled. "Very good. The Ice-type magical power within your body should all have been expelled. This potion I made can absorb and gather the Ice-type magical power inside your bodies, then induce vomiting to expel it. As long as you do not continue eating that goat meat, you will not suffer poisoning again."

To verify this, everyone deliberately accompanied Lan Zao away from the camp.

Not only did they return to the place where they had previously been poisoned, they also went even farther ahead.

Lan Zao was full of energy and showed no abnormalities whatsoever.

Everyone rejoiced. The second and third doses of potion were made one after another.

By the time it was Zhen Jin's turn to drink, it was already the sixth dose.

Zi Di had arranged this deliberately.

Only after the potion's effects had been fully proven through the earlier testers did she feel at ease letting Zhen Jin take it.

After Zhen Jin drank the potion, his reaction was no different from Lan Zao's.

He vomited a large mouthful of blood and ice chunks, and all the Ice-type magical power within his body was pulled out.

"This is?!"

Yet at that instant, Zhen Jin's expression changed.

"Is something wrong?" Zi Di hurried forward in concern.

"It is nothing." Zhen Jin shook his head, though the shock in his heart remained.

At the moment he vomited blood, he had felt an inexplicable sense of emptiness.

That feeling of emptiness had left too deep an impression on him. He had even deliberately recalled it several times before.

He knew it too well!

Not long ago, when he killed the Blade Spider, he had felt the same emptiness after the claws formed from his hands disappeared.

"What is going on?" Zhen Jin wondered.