A Rich Harvest, Resolving Grudges

"Good stuff!"

A thought stirring in his heart, Xu Yuan hurriedly put away the magic sword. It might be a piece of junk, but he had the attribute system. After repairing it, even if it only retained half its former power, that would still be enough for him to swagger through the early stages of Qi Refinement.

Xu Yuan knew perfectly well how precious a magical artifact was within the Hidden Moon Sect. Basically, only cultivators with ample wealth could afford one, and most of them wielded artifacts a full realm below their own cultivation.

Take Tu Fang from the Immortal Slave Mining District, for example. That old bastard squeezed the immortal slaves dry every day, yet in the end, he still could not bear to buy a magical artifact for self-defense. That alone showed how precious such cultivation resources were.

After putting away the magic sword and spirit fruits, Xu Yuan continued searching through Yaksha Cave. By now, he had automatically ignored the stench. To his eyes, the withered bones, filthy mud, and black blood all looked like treasure chests waiting to be opened.

Unfortunately, after searching all around, he found nothing else of much value—only some miscellaneous ores. It was quite a while later before he reluctantly climbed back up.

That made sense. If there had truly been anything especially good, Rong Ling probably would not have left it for him.

Following the path he had taken before, Xu Yuan headed back. Rong Ling really had been reliable in this regard. Along the way, let alone demonic beasts or vicious ghosts, he barely encountered any living creatures at all.

Holding his identity token, Xu Yuan entered Biyou Market and breathed a slight sigh of relief. Once he was here, his life was safe at the very least.

He hurried home, immediately bolted the front door, and only then took out the magic sword and spirit fruits.

Repairing the magic sword required refined black iron ore. Xu Yuan did not have any for the time being and would need to buy it at the mining site.

If this had been before this morning, Xu Yuan might have worried about Zhang Chao's reaction. But now? Heh.

Sitting cross-legged, Xu Yuan placed the two washed spirit fruits before him. Earlier, he had briefly consulted the Hundred Herbs Compendium he had bought and identified them as Red Spirit Fruits. They usually grew in red earth, were nonpoisonous, and could be consumed directly.

At the same time, because they were quite beneficial to cultivators, the Hundred Herbs Compendium had specifically noted that such spirit fruits were usually valuable but unavailable on the market.

He tried placing one fruit in his mouth and gave it a light bite. The peel burst instantly, juice and pulp filling his mouth. The indescribable sweetness made him lose himself in it for a moment, until waves of spiritual qi rose from his abdomen and he finally focused on guiding it.

"What domineering medicinal power."

Muttering to himself, Xu Yuan felt much the same as he had when absorbing Jade Marrow Crystal in the mine tunnels of the Immortal Slave Mining District. After eating both spirit fruits, the gain was nearly equal to more than half a month of bitter cultivation.

"Awesome!"

With a low shout, Xu Yuan opened his eyes, then could not help fiddling with the Little Blue Mountain Essence-to-Qi Art again. Only after the spiritual qi within his body had been completely refined, leaving him utterly exhausted, did he lie down on the floor in satisfaction.

The second level of Qi Refinement should not be far away.

The next day, early morning.

With his outer robe slung over his back and a mining pick in hand, Xu Yuan headed toward the mine tunnels within Biyou Market, just as he had on countless ordinary days.

Sure enough, the moment he arrived at the mine entrance, he discovered that Zhang Chao's subordinate was watching him closely.

As soon as Xu Yuan entered, that subordinate immediately went into the stone house to report to Zhang Chao inside.

"You're saying Xu Yuan came?"

One brow lifting, Zhang Chao's face immediately darkened again.

Biyou Market did indeed forbid murder, and the sect's prohibitions also forbade fellow disciples from killing one another. But did that brat really think Zhang Chao had no way to deal with him?

"Go. Invite him in!"

Meanwhile, Xu Yuan went to his usual familiar area and raised his mining pick to strike down.

But before he had taken more than a few swings, that little tail appeared again. This time, however, he did not come over to watch Xu Yuan. Instead, he coldly said, "Come with me."

His expression unchanged, Xu Yuan put away the mining pick without asking anything and directly followed the man.

When he entered the stone house again, there was no longer a table laden with fine food and wine before him. There was only Zhang Chao, seated firmly at the head, his face livid.

"Brother Xu, I know things have not been easy for you, so I'll ask you one final time. Are you truly unwilling to offer up your secret art and contribute your share to the sect's development?"

His fingers lightly tapping the armrest, Zhang Chao looked down at Xu Yuan with the bearing of a superior.

After asking, Zhang Chao saw that Xu Yuan did not answer at once. A flash of impatience appeared in his eyes before finally turning into open irritation.

"Daoist apprentice Xu Yuan, you have repeatedly refused to obey the mining site's rules. Now, as the person in charge, I, Zhang Chao, have decided that you will no longer... Hm?"

His expression tightening slightly, Zhang Chao watched Xu Yuan take something from his sleeve and hang it at his waist.

[Rong]

He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not seeing things. Then the impatience, irritation, anger, coldness, and all the words he had yet to say abruptly vanished together, transforming entirely into a warm spring breeze.

"Look at this, look at the mess we've made. Hahahaha!"

Rising from his seat, Zhang Chao hurried down in several strides and warmly patted Xu Yuan on the shoulder.

"Your old brother here drank a few cups too many just now. It was like a ghost possessed me—I said the wrong things. I hope Brother Xu won't take offense."

Having said that, he viciously shouted at his two subordinates, "What are you still standing around for? Get Brother Xu a seat! And bring out that bottle of spirit wine of mine, hurry!"

"You're too polite, Brother Zhang Chao."

Smiling, Xu Yuan nodded, but he did not sit in the chair Zhang Chao's subordinates brought over. He merely continued looking at Zhang Chao.

That gaze made Zhang Chao's scalp prickle. His eyes involuntarily flicked once more toward the iron token at Xu Yuan's waist. After confirming that it truly carried the aura of that ferocious figure from Inner Mountain, he could not help groaning inwardly.

How in the world had this brat, a mere first-level Qi Refinement cultivator, gotten involved with Rong Ling?!

Seeing that Xu Yuan still gave no indication of his stance, Zhang Chao could only grit his teeth and turn to order, "And bring out those spirit fruits I bought yesterday as well. Serve them all up so Brother Xu can have a taste too."

"Brother Xu, please, have a seat." Forcing down his heartache, Zhang Chao squeezed out a smile and invited him again. Only then did Xu Yuan sit.

As Xu Yuan sampled the other man's spirit fruits and spirit wine, he found that while they were hardly premium goods, they had to be worth at least a dozen or so low-grade spirit stones. Otherwise, Zhang Chao, a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator, would not be so pained by it.

"Brother Xu." Personally pouring Xu Yuan a cup of wine, Zhang Chao probed, "I wonder about this of yours..."

As he spoke, he flicked his eyes toward the iron plaque at Xu Yuan's waist. The character [Fusion] shone especially brightly in his eyes.

One had to know that among the hundred-odd disciples in the Inner Mountain, this person was likely among the very best. Even the great figure behind Zhang Chao stood a head shorter than her.

Xu Yuan merely smiled without speaking or answering. Yet his refusal to answer was, in itself, an answer. Zhang Chao took a deep breath inwardly, knowing that he had truly fallen flat today. Still, the blame lay with this brat for hiding himself so deeply.

You had ties with an Inner Mountain prodigy, so why not just show it outright? Why hide it away and play the pig to eat the tiger here?

After the spirit wine was drained and the spirit fruits finished, Zhang Chao rose with a smile, intending to personally see Xu Yuan out. Just then, Xu Yuan seemed to recall something and suddenly asked:

"Oh, right. That person instructed me to find a piece of refined mystic iron ore. I wonder whether there are any such mineral deposits here?"