“Do we really have to deal with Gongsun Sheng?” Yu Lin voiced his concerns.
Lu Ku squinted his eyes towards the direction where Shang Huan had vanished.
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“Not for now, but this is an opportunity.”
“It’s an opportunity for us to further our understanding of Gongsun Sheng.”
Everyone fell silent.
“Once we decide to make a move, the more we know now, the greater our chances of winning will be,” said Lu Ku in a soft voice.
…
Thirty li to the north of Peng Yue Mountain, beside a pond as big as a basketball court.
Plop plop…
A little black wooden horse, with springs beneath its hooves it seemed.
Its front and hind legs taking turns hitting the ground, it clumsily yet rapidly circled the pond.
Boom!
The surface of the pond suddenly exploded.
A blood-red shadow shot towards the wooden horse but was deftly dodged by the little horse.
The red shadow unwillingly contracted back into the pond.
The next moment, an even larger splash erupted.
A red-skinned toad as tall as a basketball hoop abruptly leaped out of the pond.
Splat!
The red shadow appeared again, this time as the toad’s blood-red tongue.
A tree thick enough to be embraced by three or four people was pierced through by the toad’s tongue, almost hitting the hopping wooden horse behind it.
Suddenly, the sky went dark.
A mass of black arrows rained down from the sky abruptly.
Pupupu…
The toad, with red skin and brown nodules all over its body, was instantly turned into a sieve.
Croak!
The toad let out a thunderous roar, and the trees within a five-meter radius were shattered by the shockwave.
The little wooden horse was also blown away by the powerful wind.
The next moment, the red-skinned toad could no longer resist its injuries and lay trembling on the ground. Soon it ceased to breathe completely.
Plop plop…
The little black horse hopped around the red-skinned toad several times before being picked up by a large hand.
“With this thing, investigating exotic beasts is indeed much simpler,” said Zhang Jin in a complex tone as he looked at Wood Spirit Boy before him.
With this, their plan to lure exotic beasts was bound to undergo an unexpected change.
“A monthly rent of twenty white jade pieces, the Administrative Affairs Institute really knows how to make a good deal!” Zhang Jin snorted coldly.
He immediately furrowed his brow.
The Administrative Affairs Institute plans to start renting and will probably hoard a batch of Wood Spirit Boys. Individual buyers will likely find it difficult to purchase.
“Looking for that Artifact Refiner through Wood Spirit Boy, not so easy now.”
Zhang Jin pulled out a folded square piece of paper from his sleeve.
Unfolding it, he ignored the indigo cloud patterns at the corners, disregarded the curse commands and introductions at the front, and looked at the list of more than thirty names at the bottom.
“Drawing spiritual pulp, this might also be a direction,” Zhang Jing, staring silently at the corpse of the red-skinned toad, said to himself.
…
In the Underground Secret Chamber beneath Chen Mu’s wooden hut in Yiyou District of Peng Yue Mountain,
On a low table beside a cushy couch stood a fist-sized copper incense burner from which faint green smoke wafted into the air.
Chen Mu held the Exquisite Jade Plate in his arms, sitting with his eyes closed.
The mana, originally like schools of fish, disappeared and scattered into smoke, filling the air within the Jade Seed.
He activated the Primordial Talisman, and a wisp of mana emerged, slowly seeping into the Jade Seed and swiftly turning into white smoke.
But the next moment, a wisp of white smoke surged back into the Primordial Talisman, transforming into a thread of mana of the same size.
“Finally filled it up,” Chen Mu opened his eyes, his face filled with relief.
After completing the order for Wood Spirit Boys, Chen Mu finally had the time to fully condense his mana.
He pulled up the grey wall and looked it up and down carefully.
Now that there was no need to condense mana for the time being, a large chunk of his evening became free.
He needed to re-plan his experience farming strategy.
Writing: 7876/10000/Second Rank;
Drawing: 5967/10000/Second Rank;
Cooking: 4920/10000/Fifth Rank;
Pharmaceutical Technique: 7217/10000/Fifth Rank;
Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse: 3911/10000/Eighth Rank;
Shape-shifting Technique: 7597/10000/Fourth Rank;
Planting: 6933/10000/Third Rank;
United Heart Curse: 102/10000/Ninth Rank;
Fire Cloud Curse: 161/10000/Second Rank;
Manipulation: 2436/10000/First Rank;
From writing to planting, seven entries.
The drawings have long been stagnant, and the Pharmaceutical Technique is temporarily useless.
The other items have all been integrated into daily routines and do not require deliberate scheduling of large blocks of time.
“Manipulation needs a venue, and flying back and forth to work each day can also be practice,” Chen Mu mused.
“So, that leaves only the United Heart Curse and the Fire Cloud Curse as projects I can schedule.”
“The United Heart Curse is high leveled; the experience value has diminished again, grinding it isn’t cost-effective.”
“Practicing the Fire Cloud Curse?” Chen Mu hesitated.
I could increase the time a bit, but to use the whole night just for practicing the Fire Cloud Curse, um … it’s a bit tedious.
“Maybe I could learn a new secret technique.”
“If only I had the Spiritual Eye Secret Technique.”
He was extremely envious of Mo Wuzhou’s Spiritual Eye Secret Technique.
During the last attack by Lin Su, the enemy used the Fog Spirit secret technique to turn invisible, and the Five Ghosts Yin Spirit failed to detect him.
Although the enemy died, it served as a wake-up call for Chen Mu. He needed a more sensitive method for detection.
“Offensive secret techniques …” Chen Mu hesitated again.
“Although I’m kindhearted and not fond of killing, having more means to protect the way is also good,” Chen Mu consoled himself.
Bang!
Over thirty copies of jade secret technique scrolls suddenly fell onto the low table beside him.
“Yin Sha Secret Arrow? Stealthy activation, a bit underhanded.”
“Triple Yin Slaying Demon Technique? The Qi Blade is sharp, swift in killing? This one’s good, this one’s good!”
“Giant Spirit Divine? A charged blow with immense power? This is not bad either!”
…
Two days later.
Chen Mu was in the Underground Secret Chamber, conflicted about which secret technique to choose.
A slight vibration suddenly came from the United Heart Rope above him.
“Shang Huan?”
Why would this fatty contact me out of the blue? It couldn’t be that there’s an issue with my payment!
He immediately initiated sympathetic resonance.
…
Inside the fourth pioneering team’s camp in the Yiyou District,
Shang Huan sat cross-legged in his tent.
An illuminating algal crystal lamp, the size of a fist, hung from the top of the tent.
“Mr. Gongsun!” Shang Huan called out cautiously.
“Speak!” A flat voice suddenly resounded in his mind.
The voice reached straight to the core, abrupt and direct, startling Shang Huan so much that he couldn’t help but shiver.
“Elder Brother Mo sent me a message saying that the Lower Courtyard wants another batch of Wood Spirit Boys.”
Chen Mu was mildly surprised; they wanted a second batch so soon?
Thinking of the accelerated pace of land development these past few days, Chen Mu was somewhat relieved.
It seems the Wood Spirit Boys really are effective against Exotic Beasts.
“How many?” asked Chen Mu calmly.
“Two hundred!” Shang Huan said excitedly.
That many?!
Two hundred Wood Spirit Boys? That’s a profit of 16,000 White Jade!
Chen Mu trembled with excitement.
Don’t panic! Stay composed!
He struggled to suppress his fluctuating emotions, trying to sound as calm and breezy as possible, “Understood.”
And then he quickly severed the sympathetic connection.
Shang Huan opened his mouth but sighed helplessly.
He had also wanted to report on the reserve situation of the Spiritual Pulp.
“Mr. Gongsun really has great composure,” Shang Huan thought admiringly.
Spending four to five thousand White Jade without even a question!
“Should I stock up on more?” Shang Huan contemplated eagerly.
After all, with the increasing number of Wood Spirit Boys, the consumption of Spiritual Pulp would visibly grow.
…
In the Underground Secret Chamber, it took Chen Mu quite some time to regain his composure, his eyes slightly glazed.
If this deal went through, his assets would soar to over 24,000 White Jade!
That’s almost one-fourth of what’s needed for the Condensing Aperture Technique!
But when he thought about the torment of consuming his spirit while refining artifacts, Chen Mu couldn’t help but look distressed.
“Two hundred, eh!”
“Dear power banks, you’d better give me some strength!”