“Keep the meat for food.”
“Hides, bones, horns can all be sold for money,” Old Hao reminded.
“Does Old Hao have a way?” Chen Mu’s heart stirred, his face showing difficulty: “I’m new here, and I don’t know how to deal with them.”
“For such small things, it’s not worth the trip to Tongtian Square.”
“What if another Exotic Beast comes and ruins the Yellow Bud Rice Fields? Then these past few months will have been a waste.”
Old Hao’s eyebrows rose, a flicker of pleasure passing through his eyes: “If you trust me, you can leave it to me.”
“Old Hao, I trust you!” Chen Mu smiled brightly.
Old Hao hesitated and nodded, feeling something off about that statement.
Forget it, making money is what’s important.
Now that I’m strapped for cash, I can only resell some Exotic Beast Materials.
…
Three days later, in the evening, Old Hao folded the preliminarily processed hides and packed them together with the cleaned Exotic Beast bones.
He donned a black cloak and a piece of black cloth over his face, and carrying the bundle, he quickly vanished into the night.
In the mountains to the north of the basin plain.
Old Hao moved quickly through the dense jungle and soon stopped in front of a natural cave entrance.
A person in a similarly hooded cloak appeared abruptly.
“Who referred you here?” the cloaked person asked coldly.
“Shang Huan,” replied Old Hao cautiously.
The cloaked person scrutinized Old Hao, paying close attention to the bundle behind him, and then slowly nodded: “Go on in.”
Old Hao breathed a sigh of relief and slipped into the cave entrance, disappearing from sight.
…
Before long, another person with a gray cloth bag appeared.
The cloaked figure that was hiding somewhere reappeared.
“Who referred you here,” the cloaked person asked coldly.
“Shang Huan,” Chen Mu replied calmly.
The cloaked person immediately became suspicious, eyeing Chen Mu.
Two referrals from Shang Huan in a row—could there be a problem?
Chen Mu’s heart skipped a beat, wasn’t that what Old Hao had just said?
He casually asked as though it was nothing: “That chubby guy with the small eyes didn’t come today?”
The cloaked person’s tension eased. Being able to accurately describe Shang Huan’s appearance and stature indicated he indeed knew Shang Huan.
“Go on in,” said the cloaked person indifferently.
Chen Mu nodded calmly and slipped into the cave entrance.
“The entrance check isn’t as strict as I imagined.”
Otherwise, how could someone get through just by asking casually?
“Someone’s behind this? Not afraid of trouble?” Chen Mu understood.
Upon entering the cave, there was immediately a downhill slope.
After descending for seventy or eighty meters, he arrived at the bottom of the cave, which grew more spacious the further down he went.
Standing at the entrance at the bottom of the cave, Chen Mu looked ahead.
Inside the underground cavern was a large square lit by Glowing Algae Lamps scattered around, illuminating the interior as if it were daylight.
“The Underground Market really is underground.”
“People coming and going, lights shining brightly—so brazen?” Chen Mu was surprised.
It seemed that the people behind this were no small fries.
“Could some big shots from the Lower Courtyard be involved too?” Chen Mu speculated.
…
He soon began to wander the Underground Market.
At one vendor’s stall.
“What’s the price for Yellow Bud Rice?” Chen Mu asked.
“One hundred twenty for a pound,” the short, thin shopkeeper said cheerfully.
One White Jade Coin? Indeed, cheaper than inside Tongtian Square.
“May I have a look?” Chen Mu said skeptically, hoping it wasn’t a sub-par imitation. Stay updated through empire
“Be my guest,” the short, thin shopkeeper opened up the burlap bag.
Chen Mu grabbed a handful to inspect, full kernels of good-quality Yellow Bud Rice.
He was about to buy, but something crossed his mind, and he reached to the bottom of the burlap bag.
The almost complacent shopkeeper immediately tensed up.
Chen Mu wordlessly withdrew his hand and turned to leave.
Good stuff on top, inferior goods at the bottom.
If it hadn’t looked different, Chen Mu would have thought Jie Jia was here.
“This Underground Market really is full of all sorts.”
Chen Mu lost interest in buying anything and merely treated it as a chance to broaden his horizons.
…
At another street stall, several familiar items caught Chen Mu’s attention.
“Isn’t this the same type of leather wrist guard that Shang Huan had?”
“How much is this?” Chen Mu leaned forward unobtrusively and asked.
“`
“Thirty-six White Jade Coins,” said the shop owner, an old man with a demon mask and grizzled hair and beard.
“`
“`
Chen Mu shook his head slightly, saying indifferently, “Too expensive.”
“`
“`
The grizzled-haired old man looked up at Chen Mu and said calmly, “Scram.”
“`
“`
Chen Mu: “…”
“`
“`
How is this cursing people?
“`
“`
Just then, a burly man suddenly approached, giving Chen Mu a sidelong glance. He then deftly handed a cloth bag to the old man, “Give me a Mustard Seed Talisman.”
“`
“`
The shopkeeper gave the bag a shake, satisfied, and slipped it into his sleeve. He casually took out a leather wrist guard and handed it to the burly man.
“`
“`
The burly man examined the wrist guard and, satisfied, nodded his approval, giving Chen Mu a glance: “You must be new here, huh… “
“`
“`
Then, he turned and strode away.
“`
“`
“Have I been exposed?” Chen Mu wondered, astonished.
“`
“`
“What is this thing?” He decided not to pretend anymore and simply asked.
“`
“`
“Mustard Seed Talisman,” said the old man indifferently, “something that holds Mount Sumeru in a mustard seed.”
“`
“`
“My Mustard Seed Talismans can be opened and closed thirty-six times, hence I sell them for thirty-six White Jade Coins,” he said, casting a sideways glance at Chen Mu.
“`
“`
“So that’s how it was exposed,” realized Chen Mu suddenly.
“`
“`
But a Mustard Seed Talisman? Something that holds Mount Sumeru in a mustard seed? Is it like the Five Ghosts Bag, a space storage item?
“`
“`
“Is there also something inside the Mustard Seed Talisman from Shang Huan?” Chen Mu instantly felt amused.
“`
“`
After all this time, the leather wrist guard is the real treasure.
“`
“`
“How does it open and close?” Not one to dwell on setbacks, Chen Mu immediately started asking.
“`
“`
The old man looked at Chen Mu in surprise, his pupils shrinking slightly.
“`
“`
He doesn’t recognize a Mustard Seed Talisman yet has one?
“`
“`
This newcomer is quite a tough cookie.
“`
“`
I wonder which unfortunate soul fell into this man’s hands.
“`
“`
This one is dangerous, the old man sighed internally, resignedly said, “One White Jade Coin.”
“`
“`
Chen Mu: “…”
“`
“`
…
“`
“`
Having slipped a palm-length scroll into his sleeve, Chen Mu reluctantly left the old man’s stall.
“`
“`
He couldn’t help feeling like he had been swindled.
“`
“`
After another stroll around the subterranean square, he spotted Old Hao haggling with a vendor.
“`
“`
Chen Mu also discovered that the Underground Market didn’t consist only of individual vendors, but had permanent shops as well.
“`
“`
Around the square were dozens of passageways, leading to an extensive network of pathways, much like a spider’s web.
“`
“`
The permanent shops were located within these passageways.
“`
“`
They sold a variety of items, legitimate and otherwise.
“`
“`
Chen Mu didn’t look closely, instead retracing his original path and quickly departing.
“`
“`
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to keep looking, but the Ghosts he left at Low Mountain were sending back some disturbing images.
“`
“`
…
“`
“`
Below Low Mountain, in the Yellow Bud Rice Fields, beetles the size of a fingernail and vibrant green in color flew up unexpectedly.
“`
“`
They landed on the leaves of the Yellow Bud Rice and began to gnaw voraciously.
“`
“`
The tough, rubber-like Yellow Bud Rice leaves were quickly punctured with big holes.
“`
“`
And once the beetle ate through a palm-sized leaf,
“`
“`
it suddenly split in two, creating two beetles.
“`
“`
One became two, two became four, and four became eight; a patch of beetles as big as a flat basket in no time became as large as a double bed.
“`
“`
Chen Mu’s face turned grim as he observed the Yellow Bud Rice leaves riddled with holes.
“`
“`
It seemed they could only morph three times, but their feeding never ceased.
“`
“`
He reached out to grab a green beetle, which, infuriated, turned and fiercely bit at Chen Mu.
“`
“`
Chen Mu’s neck and scalp tensed as he instinctively contracted his muscles, preparing to bear the pain.
“`
“`
Crack!
“`
“`
The mouthparts, shimmering with a cold light and resembling that of a weapon, shattered.
“`
“`
Chen Mu looked at his fingers, now laced with silver threads, in amazement.
“`
“`
He hadn’t felt the slightest thing from that bite, powerful enough to crush stone.
“`
“`
“Spirit Armor Technique is indeed no trivial matter,” he thought. His skin had been transformed long ago to be impenetrable to blades and spears.
“`
“`
Even without Gather Strength, his skin was already tougher than Shell Soul’s defenses.
“`
“`
“We can’t let these bugs continue to wreak havoc on the Yellow Bud Rice,” he resolved.
“`
“`
Clang!
“`
“`
A sound like that of a giant bell being struck suddenly filled the air.
“`
“`
Chen Mu suddenly rang the Heartless Bell.
“`
“`
The sound wave swiftly spread through the area.
“`
“`
The bold beetles, just moments ago, shuddered and fell like drunks to the ground.
“`
“`
Black smoke billowed within the Yellow Bud Rice Fields.
“`
“`
And the green beetles vanished instantly.
“`
“`
“Good thing I returned just in time,” Chen Mu exhaled in relief.
“`
“`
If left unchecked, these pests could have completely devastated his ten acres of Yellow Bud Rice overnight!
“`