Zhu Yong's ordeal had affected no one. The stone chamber returned to normal, and everyone went back to hammering away with all their might.
But Xu Yang noticed that many of them had begun dragging their feet, putting in time rather than effort. Clearly, they hoped to prolong their stay this way. Once the ore had all been refined, they would have to leave.
Xu Yang was slacking off a little too. His attention was mainly on the Golden Astral Skill, and he cared little about contribution points.
At noon, everyone left the stone chamber to eat. Only then did they learn that Zhu Yong's fire toxin poisoning was severe. It had damaged his meridians and internal organs, leaving him unable to continue and forcing him to leave early.
"What a useless fool. He didn't even realize he'd been poisoned."
"He got greedy and rushed ahead, thinking the Earth Vein Spirit Fire's poison was a joke."
"Enduring hardship alone won't get you far on the martial path."
Few sympathized with Zhu Yong. Some even mocked him, while Liu Youzhen and Song Runshu seized the opportunity to sell more Meridian-Guarding Pills and Ice Spirit Pills. A few looked sorrowful, however. Like Zhu Yong, they had long since run out of money and were enduring the heat with astral qi alone. They had no idea when they might suffer the same fate.
"Where did that mud-legged peasant get so much money?" Nearby, Yun Feng kept glancing at Xu Yang.
Xu Yang's ability to produce over two hundred taels of silver at the outset had already surprised him. He had never expected Xu Yang's supply of Ice Spirit Pills and Meridian-Guarding Pills to remain uninterrupted for more than ten days.
Bit by bit, he had actually spent over a thousand taels.
*Could he