Warning: This chapter contains scenes of violence that may be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.
Six hours passed with Yan Changlan continually excavating. During this period, he exhausted his spiritual power and had to take breaks to cultivate before continuing. By the end, they had obtained six peculiar items in total—a clump of Tie Xu Grass, three pieces of iron essence, one Tie Gu, and one Tie Jia Chong.
Let’s set aside the Tie Xu Grass for now; it’s certainly a valuable asset for artifact refiners. The Tie Gu, formed from the essence of the bones of ancient beasts that died within iron mines, is incredibly hard and an excellent material for crafting magical tools. It can even withstand the enchantments required for middle-grade magical tools! Its value rivals, and even surpasses, that of the Tie Xu Grass. However, the Tie Jia Chong, which feeds on iron essence, can only strengthen itself, making it useless for the cultivator who unearthed it.
However, finding five useful items out of six is already exceptionally good luck.
Xiao Ming directly crushed the Tie Jia Chong and remarked, “Letting us in this time has certainly cost the mine owner dearly.”
Yan Changlan couldn’t help but smile.
Indeed.
The Tie Xu Grass alone was worth at least two to three thousand taels of silver, the Tie Gu was extremely rare and often required several hundred gold pieces to acquire, and the several dozen jin of iron essence, likely due to its peculiar nature, was all of high quality… together worth several hundred taels of silver. Roughly estimating, they spent twelve hundred taels of silver to explore the mine and ended up with nearly ten thousand taels worth of items. The mine owner definitely took a significant loss.
Although in the past few days, Ye Shu had spent several million silver like flowing water, making ten thousand taels seem insignificant, one should consider that Yan Changlan, as a direct disciple of the Baixiao Sect, received only five hundred taels per month aside from other resources. This made it clear that to ordinary people, nearly ten thousand taels was truly a substantial sum.
Just before leaving, Xiao Ming couldn’t help but ask, “Should we continue exploring the mine?”
Yan Changlan still looked to Ye Shu for a decision.
Ye Shu replied, “No need. We have already bought enough iron essence. We should go back.”
Although Xiao Ming was reluctant, he did not object.
Therefore, the group headed out directly and informed the person guarding the cave of their departure.
Upon seeing them, the cave guard smiled and asked, “I wonder what good things you all have found this time? If you don’t need them urgently, you can sell them to me.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Xiao Ming was the first to respond, “We dug up a piece of high-quality iron essence, just what we needed.”
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The person chuckled awkwardly and gave up.
Unlike the cave guard, he did not hold any significant position, and his monthly income was insufficient for normal cultivation. If those people had no background, even with the slightest hope, he would have tried to seize those peculiar items. But since the other party had strong backing, he valued his life too much to make a reckless move.
Seeing this, the cave guard snorted, “It’s good that you know when to advance and retreat. Otherwise, if something happens to you, not only will the family head not stand up for you, but you might even be punished for stirring up trouble between noble families.”
The person laughed dryly, “I won’t act recklessly, don’t worry.”
The cave guard then remained silent.
—-
The group left the mine, feeling that today’s adventure was quite interesting, and rested for the night at an inn. The next day, skilled members of the Xiao family harnessed a carriage and drove the horses away from the area.
However, while the journey there was blessed with fine weather, on the way back, the sky suddenly became overcast with dark clouds, and soon a light rain began to fall, obscuring the driver’s vision.
Before the driver could ask, Xiao Ming instructed, “Keep going, don’t stop.”
The skilled drivers of the Xiao family had the same thought—after all, it was only a hundred li, and there was no need to camp outside.
Having decided this, the carriage sped up. Unexpectedly, as they passed through a low mountain range, more than a dozen rogue cultivators suddenly rushed out from the gaps between the mountains.
The skilled drivers immediately frowned.
The Xiao family’s skilled guards numbered three, each at the fifth level of Qi Refining. Including the three people inside the carriage, there were only six of them in total. However, the number of rogue cultivators was three times theirs. If they confronted them, the skilled guards might be able to handle several opponents each, but it would be insufficient to fully protect the three people inside the carriage—one guard noticed that among these rogue cultivators, there was also one at the fifth level of Qi Refining and another at the fourth level, with the rest at the third and second levels.
Such a force was indeed not weak.
However, being carefully trained by their family, the skilled guards made a plan with just a glance at each other and immediately dispersed to engage the rogue cultivators in combat.
Inside the carriage, Xiao Ming opened the window and glanced outside, saying, “We’ve encountered robbers.”
Yan Changlan also took a look. “Robbers?”
Xiao Ming replied, “They are all rogue cultivators. I noticed one of them was selling maps earlier. He must have targeted us back then. Later, when we made large purchases of iron essence, he must have seen us as easy prey. So, he alerted others to ambush us here, intending to kill us and seize the iron essence and silver tickets.” After thinking for a moment, he added, “They probably rushed out now because of the heavy rain… If it weren’t raining, we wouldn’t be as alert while traveling.”
Yan Changlan thought Xiao Ming’s words made sense. “Now we should also go out and lend a hand.”
Xiao Ming felt a bit troubled.
His senior brother was currently only at the second level of Qi Refining. Although his progress was astonishingly fast, his cultivation level was still low. If he faced opponents at the second level, it would be manageable, but if he encountered those at the third level, wouldn’t it mean certain death? If only he returned from this trip while his senior brother perished, the sect would surely punish him severely. His senior brother possessed extraordinary talent with dual variant spiritual roots, far surpassing his own ordinary three spiritual roots. Additionally, there was also Taoist Shi, whose cultivation level was similar to his own. If Taoist Shi were to die, it would greatly offend the weapon refiner backing him. Fortunately, Taoist Shi had not offered to help either…
Yan Changlan saw why Xiao Ming was troubled and, after some thought, said, “Life and death are determined by fate. Since I have embarked on the path of cultivation, I cannot always rely on others for protection. If I were traveling alone and encountered robbers stronger than me, I would have to fight them to have a chance of survival.”
Xiao Ming naturally understood this principle, but still… He suppressed his thoughts and said, “Then I will follow Senior Brother’s orders. Just remember, if you can’t win, retreat immediately. Do not force yourself to resist.”
Yan Changlan replied, “Of course.” He bore a deep-seated blood feud and was not willing to die at the hands of a group of robbers. Once he reached the third level of Qi Refining, he would find a way to locate that cultivator named Li and personally kill him to avenge the massacre of the City Lord’s family!
Ye Shu glanced at Yan Changlan and said, “Don’t hesitate to use spirit talismans.”
Yan Changlan felt a warmth in his heart. “Don’t worry, Azhuo.”
Ye Shu nodded. “I’m not good at fighting, so I won’t go.”
Yan Changlan’s expression became serious. “I will protect the carriage well.”
After a brief exchange, Yan Changlan grabbed two wooden swords from his waist and prepared to jump out.
Xiao Ming, feeling very anxious, quickly took out his own magic sword and handed it to Yan Changlan. “Senior Brother, this is a matter of life and death. Please use my sword for now.”
Yan Changlan understood Xiao Ming’s concern and accepted the sword. “Do you have any other magical tools?”
Xiao Ming said, “I had one before, and it should be usable now.”
Only then did Yan Changlan leap out of the carriage.
In his heart, he thought that when he returned, he must ask Azhuo to forge him two good swords. Otherwise, borrowing his junior brother’s sword every time would weaken his junior brother’s strength….
Outside the carriage, the three skilled guards of the Xiao family each possessed a top-notch magical tool, their strength increasing several times compared to before. The rogue cultivators were extremely poor, except for the leader, a fifth-level Qi Refining cultivator; none of the others wielded magic tools. Now, seeing the power of the three magical tools, they were extremely envious, and their attacks became even more fierce.
In an instant, spells flew.
Rogue cultivators had difficulty finding advanced techniques. Even if they learned spells, they were mostly mediocre, not comparable to the exquisite techniques passed down by sect disciples or family inheritances. However, rogue cultivators were survivors in the midst of blood and fire. Being able to reach their current level in extremely scarce resources showed their ruthless nature. Although their learned spells were ordinary, their cunning techniques often suppressed those with inheritances. Unfortunately, the skilled guards from the Xiao family were accustomed to protecting the family and had not only received exquisite family inheritances but also had rich experience. No matter how ruthless the rogue cultivators were, they could hardly outwit them.
However, just as the skilled guards of the Xiao family were about to systematically drive away the rogue cultivators, suddenly, someone jumped out of the carriage. One of the skilled guards noticed this and couldn’t help but think: this is bad!
The other two also noticed. The first person to jump out was Young Master Ming’s senior brother from the sect, and then even Young Master Ming himself… They are young and probably lack experience. Although their intention to help is good, wouldn’t they just add chaos? For a moment, they felt a bit anxious.
After Yan Changlan came out, he didn’t act arrogantly. Instead, he directly confronted a second-level Qi Refining rogue cultivator.
Despite his young age, since his days as the Young City Lord, he had developed considerable martial skills. He had been taken by his father to face dangerous adversaries and had seen bloodshed firsthand. Later, traveling to the imperial capital with Ye Shu, he had slain many fierce beasts, accumulating a fair amount of killing intent. Admittedly, he wasn’t as ruthless as these rogue cultivators who fought for survival, but he was no stranger to combat. Otherwise, how could he dare to act recklessly in such a melee?
Yan Changlan wielded his long sword, and his sword technique, once unleashed, created a mighty spectacle. Wherever the sword wind passed, the air burst open with thunderous roars. The sound of shattering continued unabated, and in an instant, Yan Changlan shattered the weapon of the rogue cultivator he was fighting. Seizing the opportunity while the cultivator was in panic, Yan Changlan used his lightness skill to close in and thrust his sword through the cultivator’s chest, blasting his entire chest cavity apart!
One of the skilled guards from the Xiao family witnessed this scene and felt relieved, involuntarily exclaiming, “Excellent!”
Thanks for the chapter!! I dont think this one part makes sense. “They probably rushed out now because of the heavy rain… If it weren’t raining, we wouldn’t be as alert while traveling” shouldnt it be “If it weren’t raining, we would be more alert of our surroundings/we wouldnt be as careless” ?
The raw version is 若是无雨，我等行走时必不如大雨时警惕. The author implies that the presence of rain makes the travelers more cautious or alert. Without the rain, their level of vigilance decreases.