Harvest! (Seeking Collections!)

Across the vast, boundless wilderness, a colossal Night Owl flapped its wings, soaring high amidst the clouds.

Two figures sat cross-legged upon the back of the Night Owl; the one in front was none other than Motai Xiao.

"Qianxue, with your aptitude for the 'Taiyin Body,' you are certain to have a promising path to immortality once you enter a true cultivation sect during this recruitment by the Fire Worship Sect Main Altar! With this, I can finally consider myself to have honored my debt to Brother Ling."

Motai Xiao sat in the front, his gaze fixed upon the endless wilderness in the distance.

His voice was gentle, far removed from the harsh and cold demeanor he displayed toward his son, Motai Jie.

"Father has raised me for sixteen years and allowed me to take the surname Motai; I have kept all of this in my heart. If I achieve success in my cultivation in the future, I will surely make our Motai Clan the greatest hegemon of the Great Wild Plains." A cold, clear voice drifted from behind him.

Even without seeing her, one could imagine a peerless beauty appearing in one's mind just by hearing that voice.

Especially here, high above the clouds, the cold and detached temperament in her voice felt like a celestial being descended to the mortal realm, causing even Motai Xiao to feel a moment of trance.

However, being a man who had been a formidable leader his entire life, Motai Xiao regained his clarity after a brief lapse.

The Taiyin Body is truly formidable; this innate charm alone makes one willing to die just to be near her... Motai Xiao sighed inwardly.

As Qianxue grew older, even he dared not see her easily, fearing that a momentary lapse in composure would ruin the schemes he had spent years crafting.

"Hm?" Motai Xiao's heart skipped a beat; his soul connection with his spirit beast, Black Wind, had been severed.

There is a soul contract between a spirit beast and its master, allowing for direct mental communication even at close range.

Because they were traveling by Night Owl this time, Motai Xiao had not brought Black Wind along.

Now that their soul connection was broken, there could only be one possibility.

"Who killed Black Wind? It went out with Motai Jie this time; could they both be dead?" Motai Xiao's eyes sharpened. "The Miao Clan? The Liu Clan? The Yang Clan?"

Only those hegemon clans of the Great Wild Plains would dare to disregard the Black Hand Tribe and show no fear of him, Motai Xiao.

Sensing the sudden, chilling aura radiating from Motai Xiao, Motai Qianxue spoke softly: "Father?"

"My spirit beast, Black Wind, is dead." Motai Xiao said with a trembling voice. "It left the city with your brother today. Since Black Wind is dead, I fear your brother is also..."

"Motai Jie is dead?" Motai Qianxue was startled.

She did not like Motai Jie; in fact, she found him somewhat annoying.

When she first met Motai Jie at the age of thirteen, she had seen endless desire in his eyes.

Fortunately, her father, Motai Xiao, had always protected her, so Motai Jie dared not overstep his bounds.

Yet, Motai Jie would still come to pester her from time to time, until she gave him a cultivation manual and stated directly: "If you want to see me again, first cultivate the Chiming Nine Heavens Map to the Xiantian Lifeform realm."

Only then had she enjoyed some peace over the past two years.

But no matter how much she disliked Motai Jie, he was still her father's son.

Her eldest brother was dead, her third brother had such a personality, and now even Motai Jie, the only one capable of succeeding as the leader of the Black Hand Tribe, was dead...

"Does Father wish to turn back?" Motai Qianxue asked.

"No." Motai Xiao seemed to be struggling to suppress the grief in his heart. "Qianxue, this is your best opportunity; I must personally deliver you there. As for your second brother's revenge... let us settle that in the future."

"Father." Motai Qianxue felt moved.

"Qianxue, remember: once you arrive there, do not reveal the magic treasure I gave you until you have stepped into the Purple Mansion. You must know that the world is full of greedy and treacherous people; countless lives have been lost over treasures..."

Seeing that her father still remembered to give her earnest teachings even after losing a son, Motai Qianxue felt a warmth in her heart.

Yet, she did not see that Motai Xiao, who had not turned his head once, had a voice that remained gentle, while his eyes held not a shred of emotion.

...Iron Ox Tribe.

"Hurry."

"Pack up quickly."

"Forget about all the Wild Oxen; once we're ready, let them wander off in another direction."

The people of the Iron Ox Tribe were all busy, and the women and children of the tribe had also come out to help.

Although the men of several families had died, there is no battle without casualties; the people of the tribe had seen and experienced death far too often.

"Some of you, come here! Strip the leather armor off these corpses, gather the bodies in one place, and we will burn them all together later."

The leather armor of the great tribe's guards was high-quality gear; the black leather armor of the Black Armor Army was tanned from the hides of Great Demons, making it both lightweight and sturdy.

The knife-coins and gold nuggets scavenged from the corpses excited the people, who usually relied on bartering and rarely saw money.

With money, even if the Wild Oxen were gone, they could buy more.

With money, even if the men of the house were gone, at least the wives and children could survive.

The sorrow of losing loved ones and abandoning the Wild Oxen was significantly dulled by the presence of this wealth.

Iron Ox, Zhamu, and Qingshi were feeling particularly overwhelmed.

They stared at the corpse of the Black Panther Great Demon on the ground, not knowing where to begin.

"I will use the Cold Iron Dagger to cut off some hide and get some panther meat for us to eat on the road; we won't take the rest," Zhou Hao said.

The Black Panther was simply too massive; lying flat on the ground, it was three or four stories high, and a single sharp panther claw was longer than a man.

"We'll listen to Brother Zhou," Iron Ox said with a nod and a smile. "You killed this Great Demon, so you decide how to handle it."

Squelch!

The Cold Iron Dagger plunged deep into the Black Leopard's soft underbelly, struggling as it carved a path toward the beast's neck.

It's fortunate I managed to stab its eye with the Cold Iron Dagger, Zhou Hao sighed inwardly. Otherwise, even with my ability to control objects with divine sense, I might not have been able to kill it. At the very least, if the Black Leopard had decided to flee, I would have been helpless to stop it.

The Cold Iron Dagger was, after all, a damaged flying treasure, and it likely wasn't of a high grade even when intact; otherwise, it wouldn't have fallen into Zhamu's hands, only to be traded away to Zhou Hao for a dozen Wild Oxen.

"My Lord, My Lord."

Renzha trotted over from the distance, his hands cradling a cylindrical, deep-green crystal.

The crystal was roughly the size of an ordinary man's finger, cut with exquisite precision.

"Is this the Mustard Stone?" Zhou Hao's eyes lit up.

While continuing to manipulate the Cold Iron Dagger to carve up the Black Leopard's carcass, he split his focus, reaching out to take the Mustard Stone.

Iron Ox and the others also cast their gazes over; they had only heard of such miraculous items, but had never seen one in person.

"Yes, indeed." Renzha nodded repeatedly. "This is a naturally formed crystal containing a tiny space within, which can be used for storage.

Usually, only the direct descendants of large tribes possess such treasures before they reach the Xiantian realm.

You only need to drip a drop of blood on it, and this Mustard Stone will belong to you, My Lord. Everything Motai Jie owned is inside."

"Mm." Zhou Hao smiled at Iron Ox and the others. "Let me see what kind of good things the young master of the Black Hand Tribe has."

Taking the short sword handed to him by Xiangcao, Zhou Hao lightly sliced his finger against the blade, and a bead of blood rolled onto the Mustard Stone, quickly soaking into it.

The deep-green stone instantly took on a hint of crimson, and Zhou Hao immediately sensed the space within.

It was a small space only about half a zhang in diameter, packed with various items that nearly filled it to capacity.

"Come out." Zhou Hao's hand sank as a piece of gold cast in the shape of a dog's head appeared out of thin air.

This was Dog-Head Gold, each piece weighing ten jin. Zhou Hao had heard from Iron Ox and the others that a single piece could buy ten Wild Oxen.

"Go back." The Dog-Head Gold vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"Truly amazing."

Zhou Hao grinned from ear to ear, making the gold appear and disappear several times before he was satisfied.

Having transmigrated to this strange world, aside from the Great Demons, this was the first time he had seen something that resembled a treasure of the immortals.

After having his fill, Zhou Hao took all the Dog-Head Gold from the Mustard Stone space and laid them out on the ground one by one.

"For the young master of the dignified Black Hand Tribe, is this all the Dog-Head Gold there is?"

There were only four pieces of Dog-Head Gold in Motai Jie's Mustard Stone, which left Zhou Hao greatly puzzled.

For the young master of such a large tribe, was this all the wealth he carried?

"My Lord, you may not know," Renzha explained. "This kind of natural Mustard Stone, which contains a space, is not like the storage treasures refined by immortal cultivators; the space inside is very small.

Since the space is small, one naturally only stores the most precious treasures. These four pieces of Dog-Head Gold were merely what Motai Jie carried to hand out as casual tips."

"So that's how it is." Zhou Hao nodded.

It seemed sparing this middle-aged man was the right choice.

He had just arrived in this world and was ignorant of many common facts, and the level of society Iron Ox and his men had been exposed to was, after all, limited.

Keeping such a person alive, capable of answering many questions, was quite convenient.

"Empty it all out and let's see what's inside." With a thought from Zhou Hao, a large pile of items appeared out of thin air before him.

Renzha also realized that this mysterious youth, who could slay a Great Demon, was powerful but lacked knowledge of basic common sense.

For Renzha, who had just defected, this was naturally an excellent opportunity to prove his worth and save his own life.

"This is Thunder Gold. Its density far exceeds that of gold; a piece the size of a fingernail weighs one jin. One jin of Thunder Gold can be exchanged for ten pieces of Dog-Head Gold."

Renzha first picked up a small pouch wrapped in beast hide containing gold that shimmered with a cyan light.

"This bag contains fifty jin, equivalent to five hundred pieces of Dog-Head Gold."

Five hundred pieces of Dog-Head Gold?

Iron Ox and the others nearby felt their breathing quicken.

If they were to use all of that to buy Wild Oxen, that would be five thousand head.

Their entire tribe only had a few hundred Wild Oxen; was this small bag of Thunder Gold worth more than ten times their tribe's total wealth?

"This is an Origin Stone." Renzha pointed to a dozen jade stones that seemed to have water vapor swirling within them.

"An Origin Stone is a crystal containing the essence of heaven and earth. If it is a High-Grade Origin Stone, a Qi-refining immortal cultivator can use it for cultivation, with one day of use equaling ten days of bitter practice.

These are all Low-Grade Origin Stones, which can only be used for setting up arrays or powering puppets, but a single Low-Grade Origin Stone is more valuable than ten jin of Thunder Gold."

A single Origin Stone, more valuable than ten jin of Thunder Gold?

Wouldn't that mean one Origin Stone could be exchanged for a thousand Wild Oxen?

Heavens!

Iron Ox and the others felt as if their hearts were about to leap out of their chests.

Zhou Hao observed the group in secret.

Seeing that Iron Ox, Zhamu, and the others were shocked by the immense wealth before them, yet their eyes remained free of greed or other impure thoughts, he felt reassured.

Xiangcao merely picked up an Origin Stone out of curiosity, clearly more interested in the flowing water vapor within it.

Zhou Hao nodded slightly.

If people who had just experienced life and death together were to turn on each other over some wealth, it would truly be meaningless.

Aside from the Thunder Gold, Origin Stones, and various miscellaneous items, there were also weapons like swords and daggers on the ground.

It was unclear whether Motai Jie enjoyed collecting weapons or intended to trade them for other goods.

Regardless, every piece was considered a divine weapon in the eyes of Iron Ox and his companions.

Among them were six pitch-black flying knives, their quality far surpassing the Cold Iron Dagger; when Zhou Hao used these newly acquired knives to carve up the Black Leopard's carcass, his speed increased more than tenfold.

Of course.

What attracted Zhou Hao the most was a thick, crimson-tinted book.

It was none other than the Chiming Nine Heavens Map, hailed as the supreme cultivation method among the techniques of the Gods and Devils.

Although he felt a vague sense of familiarity, now was not the time to delve into it, as they needed to relocate immediately.

After stowing the book, Dog-Head Gold, Thunder Gold, Origin Stones, and other items into his Mustard Stone Space, Zhou Hao spoke up: "Brother Iron Ox, I will hold onto these Dog-Head Gold and Thunder Gold for now. We can trade them for Wild Ox or other necessities the tribe needs once we reach Jade Dragon City."

Zhou Hao then pointed to the weapons: "As for these, pick out what you can use and divide them among yourselves."

"That won't do." Iron Ox and the others all shook their heads.

"You killed Motai Jie, so his belongings are naturally yours."

"We took the leopard meat and hides because you couldn't carry them, but we cannot accept these."

"Brother Iron Ox, when I first arrived at the tribe, you shared your Wild Ox with me; back then, no one drew lines between 'yours' and 'mine'." Zhou Hao looked at Iron Ox.

"Now that we've just made enemies with the Black Hand Tribe, you want to draw a line between us? If they come for revenge later, will you try to distance yourselves from me then?"

"How could we!" Iron Ox glared. "If not for Brother Zhou, the Iron Ox Tribe would have been wiped out today. We would never do such beastly things."

"Exactly."

"The men of our tribe would never abandon their own brothers."

Zhamu and Qingshi were also flushed with anxiety, chiming in repeatedly.

"Then there you have it." Zhou Hao smiled. "I can't use all these weapons myself; should I just let them gather dust? If you distribute them, you'll be better able to protect the tribe, whether in battle or against beasts and bandits on the road."

The group fell silent.

"Brothers, just listen to Zhou Hao." Xiangcao also urged. "There are still tens of thousands of miles to Jade Dragon City, and who knows how many dangers we'll face along the way. If nothing else, you can just return them to Zhou Hao once we arrive."

"...Alright." After some thought, Iron Ox and the others finally stopped refusing.

Watching Iron Ox and the others strapping on swords and blades, happily calling the tribespeople to distribute the leopard hides and meat, a smile appeared on Zhou Hao's face.

Compared to the cold, modern society, he found he preferred these simple, honest tribesmen.

"My Lord, are you heading to Jade Dragon City?" Renzha stood to the side, bowing slightly. "I accompanied Motai Jie to Jade Dragon City a few years ago and know it quite well; I could serve as your guide."

"That is quite a coincidence." Zhou Hao looked at the middle-aged man who was trying his best to prove his worth. "What was your name again?"

"This one is called Renzha."

"Renzha?" Zhou Hao couldn't help but chuckle; that was certainly a resonant name.

"You can follow me for the time being. As for your name... 'Renzha' doesn't sound very good; from now on, you shall be called Ren Liang."

First update is here. Another chapter coming at 6 PM.