Chapter 384

Chapter 384: Bah!

As the disciple from the Xuantian Sect examined the black stone in his hand, a look of confusion appeared on his face.

The black stone seemed like a mineral, its deep color embedded with some impurities; most importantly, it was not very heavy and lacked the texture and weight of a proper ore.

He had seen many treasures, but based solely on appearance, he could not discern what this object truly was.

“Fellow Daoist, do you recognize this item?”

After his inspection yielded no results, the disciple from the Xuantian Sect asked.

The Four Symbols Sect disciple took the stone in hand, first examining it overall, then bringing it to his nose to sniff.

But upon doing so, a frown knitted his brow, and his gaze toward the stone changed significantly, revealing a hint of suspicion.

To confirm his guess, the Four Symbols Sect disciple furrowed his brow and extended his tongue to lightly lick the surface of the black stone.

Seeing this reaction, the Xuantian Sect disciple felt a surge of joy, thinking perhaps he had recognized the origin of the item.

Before he could ask, he watched as the Four Symbols Sect disciple squeezed the black stone with both hands, instantly splitting it in half.

After the stone split, it emitted an extremely foul odor, causing the Four Symbols Sect disciple’s expression to darken. Without hesitation, he tossed away the two halves while cursing:

“Bah!

That damn kid, digging up feces for no reason!”

“If I see him again, I’ll make sure he pays!”

At that moment, the Xuantian Sect disciple also wore a black line on his face, having clearly seen that the black stone was not a treasure at all but rather the droppings of some unknown spiritual beast.

The reason it looked this way was purely due to the passage of time, which had made its surface smooth and altered its original appearance.

Thinking of how he had just held it and examined it closely, the Xuantian Sect disciple silently clenched his fists.

He hoped he would never see Ji Yang again!

But as he turned to look at the fuming Four Symbols Sect disciple, a strange expression appeared on his face.

He had only touched it, yet this person had sniffed and licked it.

With that thought, he felt a bit better about himself.

“Ahem, Fellow Daoist, since this item is not a treasure, then the earlier Heart Demon contract is null and void. I will take my leave, and perhaps we will meet again!”

After this unfortunate incident, the previous mutual vigilance between them had disappeared, and both of their minds filled with anger toward Ji Yang.

If it weren’t for Ji Yang’s tricks, how could they have been deceived?

The disciple from the Four Symbols Sect was even angrier than the disciple from the Xuantian Sect.

He wished he could follow Ji Yang right now and deal with him; this was truly intolerable.

However, after a moment of consideration, he decided against it.

The secret realm was full of dangers, and they had already wasted a lot of time; he might not catch up. It was all about seizing opportunities, but he would definitely not let Ji Yang go!

…

“Damn it!”

Having long left the landing site, Ji Yang clapped his hands while using the Clean Water Technique to tidy up.

It was no wonder he felt dizzy; that object looked too much like an ore.

He was captivated by the cultivation points before his eyes.

But thinking of the trap he had set while leaving, he wondered if those two would fall for it.

If they really returned, it would only show their greed, serving as a lesson for them.

He couldn’t help but wonder what expressions they would have when they discovered the true nature of the black stone.

Unfortunately, Ji Yang had no malicious curiosity to stay and observe but could easily guess that the two would not be in a good mood toward him.

On his journey, Ji Yang opened the booklet he had received from Cui.

After a careful search, Ji Yang identified his location based on the terrain he had just traversed and the corresponding descriptions in the booklet.

He found himself in the southeast of the Ancient Realm of Yuan Kong, in a place called Black Soil Marsh. This area was dark and filled with various poisonous insects.

Ji Yang had already encountered quite a few of these as he passed through.

Even high-level cultivators were at risk when facing these rare poisonous insects from the Cultivation World.

Unless a cultivator continuously activated their magical shield, which consumed too much mana, encountering an emergency situation could lead to trouble.

The closer one got to the center of Black Soil Marsh, the more dangerous it became.

Fortunately, Ji Yang observed he was lucky to be on the edge of the marsh.

Although there were plenty of poisonous insects, they posed no significant threat to him.

With his body strength, these insects were barely a danger.

As he checked the map, Ji Yang stepped hard with his right foot, crushing a fist-sized centipede underfoot.

After locating himself, Ji Yang quickly shifted his gaze to the mine he constantly thought about.

In the lower layer of the secret realm, there were two mines: obsidian and secret silver mine.

Both types of ores were rare in the Cultivation World and could fetch a good price in spiritual stones outside.

Upon seeing the locations of the two mines, Ji Yang paused again.

The reason was that these mines were not in the same place but rather separated, clearly a case of south going north.

According to the path he had just walked and his surrounding observations, the Ancient Realm of Yuan Kong was larger than Ji Yang had anticipated. While it didn’t compare to the true Cultivation World, its vast extent was significant.

This meant he could only choose one mine and not both.

Ji Yang originally planned to explore both, but now he had to abandon one.

Following the principle of proximity, Ji Yang chose the secret silver mine near Black Soil Marsh.

The distance on the map wasn’t far, but Ji Yang estimated he would need to walk for two days. If he advanced at full speed, he would likely get there faster.

To dig up the ore as soon as possible, Ji Yang no longer held back his speed and headed toward his target location.

He chose not to fly because the booklet had marked it as dangerous.

The high altitude in the secret realm was fraught with peril, often accompanied by unknown terrors.

Moreover, a cultivator’s figure stood out too much in the air, easily attracting the attention of other cultivators and some dangerous creatures in the realm.

Although Ji Yang considered himself strong, he didn’t want to take enormous risks by acting contrary to what others did.

Moving at full speed, Ji Yang’s body was like a gust of wind, stirring up waves in the ground as he passed.

Though he remained quite noticeable, he prioritized reaching the ore and gaining cultivation points, disregarding the risks.