An hour later, he crossed the forest and arrived at the foot of his destination, the Nameless Volcano.
A mountain stream ran nearby.
Its rippling waters wound their way out of the depths of the forest, like a jade ribbon unfurling before Chu Yun.
"It matches my memories." Chu Yun breathed a sigh of relief, confirming that this place was relatively safe.
The stream was wide, spanning four zhang, but shallow, less than three chi at its deepest point. An adult could roll up their trouser legs and wade across.
Chu Yun stepped over the large and small pebbles to the water's edge, crouched down, and drank a mouthful of cool stream water. The refreshing water carried the faintest hint of sweetness, soothing his throat, which had grown so parched it felt smoky. Though he had a pouch full of fresh coconut milk, it was for hatching eggs, so he couldn't selfishly indulge himself.
Next, he spread out the spoils he had won after nearly dying in battle and began to inspect them one by one.
When he had gathered the items, he'd been in the dark forest and couldn't see them clearly. On top of that, the Phantom Scorpion Bat had been lurking nearby. Who knew whether it might suddenly feel like sticking him with a venomous needle? So even though Chu Yun had collected the spoils himself, he wasn't quite sure what they were worth.
He casually reached out and picked up a cleaver. Its blade had been polished to a gleam, and its hilt was stained with blood. Clearly, plenty of souls had met their end beneath it.
There were several more just like it. And since Chu Yun already had the Mountain Chopping Blade, they were completely useless to him. He tossed them aside.
Next came the money pouches. Of the eleven, two were finely made, clearly belonging to the two Spirit Beast Masters. Chu Yun picked up one of the ordinary bags. He hadn't even opened it yet, but a glimmer of delight flashed in his eyes.
His keen sense of weight told him at once that the bag contained quite a few Earth-Fiend Stone Coins.
He opened it to check, and sure enough!
There were a full eighty Earth-Fiend Stone Coins.
So much wealth?
Chu Yun grew even more eager. He set down the bag and opened the others one after another.
To his delight, he found that each bag held at least sixty Earth-Fiend Stone Coins. The two Spirit Beast Masters' pouches contained 120 coins each. Add the fifty Chu Yun already had, and he now held a considerable fortune of 992 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins!
Thirty Earth-Fiend Stone Coins could feed an ordinary family for over a month. Old Red Spear had worked hard selling salt for two days and earned only fifty Earth-Fiend Stone Coins.
"992 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins, almost a thousand. War and plunder really are the quickest ways to amass wealth." After marveling at the thought, Chu Yun shifted his gaze to the two unusual pouches.
Compared to the money pouches' bulky vulgarity, these two pouches were like emperors beside beggars, exuding an air of refinement and elegance. One was made of snow-white silk embroidered with golden thread, with a red cord threaded through its opening. The other was fashioned from glossy, ochre-colored leather and cinched with a broad jade belt, whose end bore two large, gleaming white pearls.
People called this kind of pouch an "Immortal Pouch."
Spirit Beast Masters used Immortal Pouches to capture and carry Demon Beasts. They kept the pouches with them, and when danger struck, they opened them. The Demon Beasts would emerge and fight under their command.
"Too bad both these Immortal Pouches already have owners and have been refined by someone. To use them again, I'd have to take them apart and recover the materials. Even so, the materials would be worth quite a lot. At least eight or nine hundred Earth-Fiend Stone Coins?"
Chu Yun's eyes flickered, though he wasn't sure. He didn't know much about Immortal Pouches, certainly not as much as a professional pouch-maker.
Next, he began sorting through the odds and ends besides the money pouches and Immortal Pouches.
The cleavers were worth far less than his Mountain Chopping Blade, and they were all murder weapons. Chu Yun tossed them aside.
There were also some pendants, necklaces, and other ornaments taken from the men. Most were made of stone or shells, which people wore as blessings according to local custom. But they were worth very little and couldn't be sold.
"Looks like there's nothing valuable." As he rummaged through them, Chu Yun was beginning to feel disappointed when his eyes suddenly lit up. He had found two medicine bottles.
His breathing quickened slightly. He pulled out the stoppers one by one and gently fanned the scent from each bottle toward his nose.
His joy swelled at once, and a smile spread across Chu Yun's face. "These are half a bottle of Demon Essence Pills and a bottle of Blood Qi Pills. Just what I needed!"
A single Blood Qi Pill was worth fifty Earth-Fiend Stone Coins. This small bottle contained ten pills, worth five hundred coins in total.
Demon Essence Pills were a little more expensive than Blood Qi Pills. Each sold for sixty Earth-Fiend Stone Coins on the market. Chu Yun had five of them, worth 300 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins.
"By that reckoning, my haul should be worth around 3,000 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins. This really is a windfall!" Even as he rejoiced, Chu Yun considered how to deal with the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.
They had seen treasure and turned greedy, even trying to kill him and seize it. Their practiced ruthlessness suggested this certainly wasn't the first time they'd done such a thing.
"They kill and rob from the shadows, then sell the stolen goods in the open to launder the money. This Heavenly Treasure Pavilion has a thriving business that costs it nothing. It's no simple outfit." Based on his experience and instincts, Chu Yun felt that the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion was far from simple.
"In my previous life, I never learned the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's true nature. Now that I know, I can't let it keep endangering Shu Family Island. Once Father returns from patrolling the sea, I'll report this to him."
"Father" was, of course, Shu Tianhao, the island lord of Shu Family Island and Chu Yun's adoptive father. He owed Chu Yun a great debt. Though they weren't related by blood, Shu Tianhao was the only family Chu Yun had in this world. Chu Yun was deeply grateful to him and loved and respected him.
After packing up his belongings, Chu Yun left the stream and continued toward his destination.
In the night sky, the bright full moon hung high, gazing tenderly down at everything and scattering its moonlight without reserve.
Chu Yun was in a pleasant mood. He silently thanked the bright moonlight for widening his field of vision and keeping danger at bay. Shu Da and Shu Er were just as happy.
"The moon's shining bright tonight. Perfect! I'll hatch the Sea Burst Crocodile tonight. Someone! Bring my egg to my bedroom!" Shu Da returned from the dining hall, glanced up at the night sky, and was already bellowing impatiently as he walked.
"But, Young Master, Madam just said not to rush when hatching a Demon Beast egg. It takes both physical strength and mental focus. You'd be better off resting tonight and starting tomorrow," the maid beside him advised carefully in a soft, lilting voice.
"Hm?" Shu Da's face twisted with rage, his eyes flashing viciously.
He stopped and suddenly kicked out, landing a hard blow to the maid's soft stomach and sending her sprawling to the ground.
Shu Da roared viciously, "You're just a lowly maid. How dare you tell your master what to do! You've got some nerve! Do I need you to teach me what to do? Get out of here and make the arrangements. If everything isn't ready within a quarter of an hour, I'll lock you in the woodshed out back for three days and three nights without food!"
"Yes, yes." The maid's face turned deathly pale, and her delicate body trembled as she struggled to her feet. She lowered her head and hurried away to make the arrangements.
"These servants need a beating every day, or their bones start itching. They're just asking for it!" Shu Da snorted. The vicious look on his face slowly eased.
Though Lady Shu had indeed warned the two brothers at dinner, Shu Da had sneered at her advice. He thought he was full of energy and wasn't like that good-for-nothing Shu Er. It was only hatching a Demon Beast egg. How hard could it be?
What lack of stamina? Making a mountain out of a molehill. Just watch me!
With that impatience burning in him, Shu Da began hatching the Demon Beast egg as soon as he returned to his bedroom.
Half an hour later, Shu Da was drenched in sweat, his body trembling slightly. His eyes were wide open, fixed on the Demon Beast egg before him.
He couldn't believe that after all that time and effort, he still couldn't communicate with the Sea Burst Crocodile inside the egg. Instead, he was as exhausted as a dead dog, panting for breath.
No matter how hard he tried, the Demon Beast egg before him remained completely still.
"Damn it! Sea Burst Crocodile, get out here!" He flew into a furious rage and roared. By some twist of fate, his violent emotions instead stirred a response from the Demon Beast inside the egg. Blue light radiated from its surface.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
The blue light rippled through the bedroom like seawater. From inside the Demon Beast egg came the sound of the tide rising and falling.
"Fetal movement spirit light, and fetal movement wonder-sound, too! Excellent, excellent!" Shu Da's face flushed, his eyes shone, and his expression was wild with joy.
Under his eager gaze, the spirit light faded and the wonder-sound drifted away. The Sea Burst Crocodile's egg began to tremble incessantly. A moment later, tiny cracks appeared across the eggshell.
Suddenly, Shu Da felt dizzy. The effects of his lack of stamina were catching up with him.
"Too slow! By the time the Sea Burst Crocodile crawls out, I'll have passed out. No way!" He hardened his resolve and began prying open the cracked shell by force.
The creature inside let out a roar, and its movements quickened. A quarter of an hour later, a newborn Sea Burst Crocodile crawled out through the hole Shu Da had broken in the shell.
It looked much like a crocodile, with pale blue skin. But unlike a crocodile, which walked on all fours, it stood and walked on its hind legs, its two foreclaws swinging in the air. It had a huge head, a jutting snout, and a mouth full of sharp teeth.
Though it had only just been born, the Sea Burst Crocodile already carried a hint of savage, domineering power.
It gave a low growl, swept its tail, and began absorbing the elemental energy in the surrounding air. Blue water-element energy formed a vortex. At its center, the Sea Burst Crocodile opened its jaws and gulped down the endless stream of water-element energy.
Shu Da's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. He watched the Sea Burst Crocodile tensely, knowing they had reached the crucial moment. A Demon Beast's growth potential was judged mainly by how much elemental energy it could absorb the first time it did so, right after hatching.
"One year of cultivation." Shu Da watched closely, murmuring.
"Two years of cultivation." His eyes brimmed with eagerness.