Immortal Pouch, Unexpected Spoils

An hour later, he crossed the forest and arrived at the foot of his destination: the nameless volcano.

There was a mountain stream here.

The babbling water meandered out from the depths of the forest like a jade ribbon, unfolding before Chu Yun.

It matches my memories. Chu Yun breathed a sigh of relief, confirming that this location was relatively safe.

The stream was quite wide, spanning four zhang, but it was shallow; the deepest point was less than three feet. An adult could simply roll up their pant legs and wade across.

Chu Yun stepped over pebbles of all sizes, reached the bank, crouched down, and took a sip of the cool stream water. The refreshing water carried a faint, elusive sweetness that greatly soothed his parched, smoke-dry throat. Although he had a full pouch of fresh coconut milk, it was meant for hatching eggs; he could not indulge himself.

Next, he spread out the spoils of war he had obtained at the risk of his life and began to examine them one by one.

While collecting the items, he had been in the dark forest where he couldn't see clearly. With a Phantom Scorpion Bat lurking nearby, who knew if it might take a fancy to him and deliver a sting? Thus, even though Chu Yun had collected the loot himself, he wasn't quite sure of its value.

He reached out and picked up one of the machetes. The blade was polished to a gleaming shine, but the hilt was stained with blood, clearly having claimed many unjust souls.

There were several more of these blades. Furthermore, since Chu Yun already had his Mountain Chopping Blade, these were useless to him. He tossed them aside.

Next were the money pouches. Of the eleven pouches, two were crafted with exquisite care, clearly belonging to the two beast tamers. Chu Yun picked up one of the ordinary bags, and before he even opened it, a flash of joy appeared in his eyes.

Relying on his keen sense of weight, he immediately knew the bag contained a significant number of Earth-Fiend Stone Coins.

He opened it to look, and sure enough!

There were a full 80 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins.

So wealthy?

Chu Yun grew even more expectant. He set down the money bag and opened the remaining ones in succession.

He was pleasantly surprised to find that each bag contained at least 60 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins. The two beast tamers' pouches each held 120 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins. Counting the 50 already on his person, he now held a not-insignificant fortune of 992 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins!

Thirty Earth-Fiend Stone Coins could support an ordinary family for over a month. Old Red Spear only earned 50 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins after two days of hard labor selling salt.

"992 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins—nearly a thousand. Truly, war and plunder are the fastest ways to amass wealth." After a moment of inner reflection, Chu Yun shifted his gaze to the two unique leather pouches.

Compared to the bloated, vulgar money pouches, these two were like emperors standing beside beggars, exuding nobility and elegance. One had a base of snow-white silk embroidered with gold thread, with a red drawstring at the mouth. The other was made of a glossy, earth-yellow leather, cinched with a wide jade belt tipped with two large, pristine pearls.

People in this world called these bags "Immortal Pouches."

Beast tamers used Immortal Pouches to capture and carry their spirit beasts. They kept the pouches on their person, and when facing a crisis, they would open them to release their beasts, which would then emerge to fight under their command.

"It's a pity these two Immortal Pouches are already owned and have been refined by others. To reuse them, one would have to dismantle them and recycle the raw materials. But even so, the value of the recovered materials is quite high. They should be worth at least eight hundred to a thousand Earth-Fiend Stone Coins, right?"

Chu Yun's eyes flickered, uncertain. He hadn't studied Immortal Pouches much and couldn't compare to a professional pouch-maker.

Next, he began to clear out the miscellaneous items besides the money and Immortal Pouches.

The several machetes were far less valuable than his Mountain Chopping Blade and were nothing more than murder weapons. Chu Yun tossed them aside.

There were also some pendants, necklaces, and other ornaments taken from their bodies, mostly made of stone or seashells, which carried connotations of blessings in local customs. However, their value was negligible, and they would be impossible to sell.

"It seems there is nothing else of value." As he rummaged through them with slight disappointment, his eyes suddenly lit up when he found two medicine bottles.

His breathing quickened slightly. He pulled out the stoppers one by one and fanned his hand over the bottle mouths to waft a trace of the medicinal scent into his nose.

His joy intensified instantly, and a smile blossomed on Chu Yun's face: "This is actually half a bottle of Demon Essence Pills and a full bottle of Blood Qi Pills. It's exactly what I needed; just as I was getting sleepy, someone brought me a pillow."

One Blood Qi Pill was worth 50 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins. This small bottle contained 10 pills, totaling 500 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins.

The Demon Essence Pills were even more expensive than the Blood Qi Pills. A single Demon Essence Pill sold for 60 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins on the market. Chu Yun now held 5 Demon Essence Pills, worth 300 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins.

"By this calculation, this haul should be worth around 3,000 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins. This can truly be considered a windfall!" Beyond his surprise, Chu Yun was also considering how to deal with this Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

The other party had been blinded by greed and had actually wanted to kill him for his treasures. Especially given the ruthlessness they displayed, it could be inferred that this was certainly not the first time they had done such a thing.

"Killing people for treasure in the shadows while laundering money in the light. Running such a 'no-cost' business so successfully—this Heavenly Treasure Pavilion is no simple matter." Based on his experience and intuition, Chu Yun felt the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion was far from ordinary.

"In my past life, I didn't know the true face of this Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. Now that I do, I cannot let it endanger Shu Family Island. After Father returns from his sea patrol, I will report this matter to him."

"Father" was naturally the master of Shu Family Island, Shu Tianhao, Chu Yun's foster father. He had shown great kindness to Chu Yun; although there was no blood relation, he was the only family Chu Yun had in this world. Chu Yun was deeply grateful and held him in high esteem.

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 down gently upon everything, never stingy in scattering her lunar radiance.

Chu Yun felt quite pleased, secretly thanking the bright moonlight for providing him with a wide field of vision, keeping him far from danger. Equally happy, naturally, were Shu Da and Shu Er.

"Tonight, the moon is bright and clear—it's perfect! Tonight, I will hatch the Sea Burst Crocodile. Someone, bring my egg to the bedroom!" Shu Da had just returned from the dining hall, and as he walked, he looked up at the night sky and roared impatiently.

"But Eldest Young Master, Lady Shu just instructed that one must not be hasty when hatching a spirit beast egg. It consumes both physical strength and mental energy. It is best to rest for the night and act tomorrow," the maid beside him advised cautiously in a soft, melodic tone.

"Hmm?" Shu Da's expression turned savage instantly, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.

He stopped in his tracks, suddenly lashed out with a kick, and struck the maid's soft lower abdomen, sending her crashing to the ground.

Shu Da roared viciously: "You lowly maid, how dare you talk back to your master! You have some nerve—do I need you to teach me how to do things? Get out of my sight and get everything arranged! If it's not ready within a quarter of an hour, I'll have you locked in the backyard woodshed without food for three days and three nights!"

"Yes, yes." The maid's face turned deathly pale, her delicate body trembling slightly as she struggled to climb to her feet. She lowered her head and hurriedly retreated to make the arrangements.

"These servants, if you don't discipline them for a day, their bones start to itch. They really are asking for a beating!" Shu Da snorted coldly, his savage expression slowly softening.

Although Lady Shu had indeed cautioned the two brothers at the dinner table, Shu Da felt nothing but disdain. In his mind, he was full of vigor, unlike that waste Shu Er. Hatching a spirit beast egg—how big of a deal could it be?

What "physical exhaustion"? Making a mountain out of a molehill. Just watch what this young master can do!

Carrying this impatient mood, the moment Shu Da returned to his bedroom, he began the process of hatching the spirit beast egg.

Half an hour later, Shu Da was drenched in sweat, his body trembling slightly. His eyes were wide as saucers, fixed intently on the monster egg before him.

He could not believe that after expending so much time, he still could not communicate with the Sea Burst Crocodile inside the egg. Instead, he had exhausted himself like a dying dog, gasping for air.

No matter how hard he tried, the monster egg remained completely motionless.

"Damn it! Sea Burst Crocodile, get out here!" he roared in a fit of rage and embarrassment. By some twist of fate, his violent emotions triggered a resonance with the creature inside. A blue light began to radiate from the monster egg.

Swish, swish, swish...

The blue light rippled through the bedroom like seawater. The sound of tides rising and falling emanated from within the egg.

"Fetal movement spiritual light, and even the wondrous sound of fetal movement—good, good, good!" Shu Da's face flushed, his eyes gleaming with wild ecstasy.

Under his eager gaze, the spiritual light faded and the wondrous sounds drifted away. The Sea Burst Crocodile's egg began to tremble incessantly. Shortly after, tiny, fine cracks appeared on the surface of the shell.

Shu Da suddenly felt a wave of dizziness; the aftereffects of his physical exhaustion were manifesting at this very moment.

"Too slow. If I wait for the Sea Burst Crocodile to crawl out on its own, I'll have passed out long ago. This won't do!" He steeled his heart and began to take action, forcibly prying open the cracked shell.

The creature inside let out a roar, its movements quickening. A quarter of an hour later, a newborn Sea Burst Crocodile crawled out through the hole Shu Da had broken in the shell.

It resembled a crocodile and was pale blue in color. However, unlike a crocodile's four-legged gait, it stood upright on its hind legs, its front claws waving in the air. It had a massive head with a protruding snout filled with sharp teeth.

Although it was just a newborn, it already possessed a hint of a violent and tyrannical aura.

It let out a low growl and swept its tail, beginning to absorb the elemental energy from the surrounding air. The blue water elemental energy formed a vortex. The Sea Burst Crocodile stood at the center of the vortex, opening its maw wide to swallow the endless stream of water elemental energy.

Gulp. Shu Da's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. He watched the Sea Burst Crocodile nervously, knowing that the critical moment had arrived. The primary way to evaluate a monster's growth potential was to see the extent of its first absorption of elemental energy upon hatching.

"One year of cultivation," Shu Da observed carefully, murmuring to himself.

"Two years of cultivation." His eyes were filled with urgency.