Chapter 460: Chapter 386: Bloodred Eyebrows
"My knife won’t do! We must use the Hundred-refined Steel Saber!"
"The bloodletting is too slow, the meat’s about to spoil... Quickly think of a way to build a high platform, and overturn this beast for faster bloodletting! If the Second-Transformation Tooth General can’t lift it, get the Third-Turn Commander here!"
"The feathers are too sharp, we have to wear Iron Hand Guards, otherwise we’ll get cut!"
Under the night sky, Lancui Manor, located on the outskirts, was brightly lit. Thousands of Mansion Soldiers surrounded the manor in circle after circle. Inside, it was bustling with people, dismantling the buildings to clear a large space to accommodate over twenty Thunder Eagles and one Chongming Bird.
Nine veteran Dissection Workers from a nearby military town and over thirty apprentices were feverishly dissecting these dead beasts. Even though they hurried over, exhausted, they couldn’t suppress the fervor in their hearts.
Initially, they were somewhat reluctant to come, as they were all veteran Dissection Workers from various military towns. Even if they weren’t couriers, they were respected figures needed by commanders, and they were significant in their own right. But the moment they saw the Locking Dragon Bodhisattva, they willingly kneeled, not daring to directly look at the Bodhisattva’s sacred presence. Upon learning they were qualified to kiss the ground the Bodhisattva walked on, they made up their minds to complete the Bodhisattva’s task even if it killed them.
Seeing their work target, even the lowest-level Dissection Worker apprentices couldn’t help but get excited.
It’s a Foundation Establishment Demon Fiend!
And so many Foundation Establishment Demon Fiends!
The Great Zhou has dozens of military towns, with hundreds of Dissection Workers, but how many are qualified to slaughter Foundation Establishment Demon Fiends? Just as couriers have different ranks, so do Dissection Workers, with varying levels of titles. The lowest-level apprentices can only handle demons from the First-Turn Secret Realm, official Dissection Workers can handle Second-Turn Demon Fiends, and senior Dissection Workers can generally make the most use of Third-Turn Demon Fiend corpses. However, only those who can perfectly handle Foundation Establishment Demon Fiends can be called masters!
But opportunities to handle Foundation Establishment Demon Fiends are very rare, so master Dissection Workers have always been few. However, tonight, as long as they finish handling this batch of Foundation Establishment Demon Fiends, they will all become reserve master Dissection Workers. This title is not just an honorary title, but also represents a bright future. Foundation Establishment Zhenren would gladly hire such skilled workers to handle demon fiends — even a slight reward from a Foundation Establishment Zhenren would be enough for them to leave behind the life of an ordinary person and transition to a courier!
The prerequisite is that they must complete this task flawlessly. If any mishaps occur, causing the Locking Dragon Bodhisattva any loss... even if the Bodhisattva is merciful and doesn’t blame them, they’d basically have to say goodbye to the dissection trade for life.
Yan Qing watched as the Thunder Eagles transformed into countless materials under the Dissection Workers’ hands, feeling an inexplicable joy. It was hard to describe this feeling, but as he knew, many people enjoyed watching technical operations such as sword forging and horseshoe repairs. Perhaps watching someone skillfully use tools to change the world inherently held great pleasure.
"Dissection Workers aren’t butchers. They must preserve the demon materials in the best quality before the demon corpses deteriorate as much as possible," Pharmacist’s Wish said beside the Rabbit Heroine. "I also learned the art of dissection, or rather a good courier should also be a good Dissection Worker because the best place for dissection is a Secret Realm, where demons won’t deteriorate."
"The Grand Ancestor Emperor once said that couriers are not extraordinary creatures; it is simply about utilizing things well."
"’True strength does not lie in violence but in making money, saving money, and spending money,’" the True Man of Locking Dragon’s voice came from behind: "The admonition left by my uncle was so straightforward, why did they spread it so pompously, muddling it up."
The Rabbit Heroine looked at the True Man of Locking Dragon: "Is this enough? If you regret it in the future, I, the Female Knight, will not cover the difference."
"Enough," replied the True Man of Locking Dragon: "This was originally an undeveloped Secret Realm, and according to the unwritten rule of ’who develops the Secret Realm owns it’, this Secret Realm belongs to both of us. But your method of attacking the Secret Realm cannot be replicated. If not for Infinite Divine Power, squandering Divine Techniques like you do would lead to a loss even if you conquer the Secret Realm. Therefore, after tonight, although I will still occupy this Secret Realm, it will still be difficult to develop further."
"Selling a Secret Realm I can’t utilize, selling it at any price is profit." She glanced sideways at the Rabbit Heroine: "Besides, if I demand an exorbitant price, you may publicly refuse but secretly come to steal the Secret Realm, right? Anyway, I can’t possibly stay here permanently."
The Rabbit Heroine shook her head: "How could I do such a thing? If it were just me alone, I would find it hard to steal this Secret Realm."
"So, once the girl achieves Foundation Establishment, you’ll become reckless?" The True Man of Locking Dragon shook her head after speaking: "It’s not just the two of you. If even this little ghost can reach Foundation Establishment, your brother surely can too. By then, with three at Foundation Establishment... haha, you’d be able to openly steal from me, this old aunt, and I’d just have to swallow it in silence, wouldn’t I?"
The Rabbit Heroine chuckled, acknowledging the True Man of Locking Dragon’s guess.
After the Rabbit Heroine suggested buying the Secret Realm, she didn’t urge the True Man of Locking Dragon to make an immediate decision. Instead, she first fought the first half of the Secret Realm for six hours, slayed twenty-four sets of Thunder Eagles, and collected nearly five thousand True Spiritual Jades. They found a total of twenty-four Fourth Turn Rare Treasure Tokens "Palm Heart Bead" and Fourth-Transformation Curiosities "Palm Thunder Bead". The bat demon group dropped a total of ten sets of Fourth-Turn Ordinary "Night Pendant".
As for the distribution of treasure chests, Yan Qing mostly took the "Thunder-cutting Knife" and Secret Technique Mastery Manual, while the True Man of Locking Dragon took the Earth Fiend - Wind Leaf. In theory, the Fourth Turn Rare Treasure Token’s value is higher than that of the Earth Fiend, but the "Thunder-cutting Knife" is an unusual type of token that requires a lot of time and effort to sell at a good price, whereas Earth Fiends are easier to dispose of.
After six hours, the True Man of Locking Dragon finally made up her mind: all the earnings from the demons’ corpses in the Secret Realm during this period would belong to her, and then for a thousand True Spiritual Jades, she would sell the Secret Realm.
This price wasn’t expensive at all for Yan Qing. After all, he couldn’t utilize the demons’ corpses, and a thousand True Spiritual Jades were just a drop in the ocean for him.
However, the True Man of Locking Dragon proposed a very special condition: She hoped that the force behind the Rabbit Heroine could trade with her, as the Pharmacist Royal Family’s century-old stockpile contained many valuable items.
Yan Qing was initially puzzled as to why the True Man of Locking Dragon would seriously propose such a condition, but he quickly realized: the group of Foundation Establishment are very eager for a stable trade partner.
Although the group of Foundation Establishment employed their Divine Techniques to minimize the cost of conquering the Secret Realm, making the earnings exceed the costs, this was based on the premise that they sell their harvest. As the Three Central Plains Kingdoms were in opposition, trade took a long time, and by the time they sold their harvest and exchanged it for True Spiritual Jades, years might have passed.
From the True Man of Locking Dragon’s perspective, the force behind the Rabbit Heroine undoubtedly inherited an ancient orthodoxy, abundant with True Spiritual Jade. Even if they don’t overcharge them, simply selling their accumulated goods at a normal price would greatly improve the True Man of Locking Dragon’s financial situation.
Such a good thing Yan Qing certainly wouldn’t refuse, but not now; for now, he was also just a poor being in the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Nonetheless, seeing how promptly the True Man of Locking Dragon agreed to sell the Chongming Cave Secret Realm, Yan Qing breathed a sigh of relief.
As she said, if her asking price was too high, Yan Qing would come to steal it later. The Secret Realm, nurtured by nature, becomes yours just because you occupy the entrance?
But looking at it another way, now that the True Man of Locking Dragon knew all the intelligence on the Chongming Cave Secret Realm, to her, finding the perfect strategy was just a matter of time. If Yan Qing stole the Secret Realm, he would cut off one of her financial sources.
This is why Heirs of Calamity become hated, destroying financial paths that everyone could utilize is simply too loathsome.
After all, the True Man of Locking Dragon was the first Foundation Establishment they established amiable bilateral relations with, so negotiation was preferable if possible. Moreover, with the True Man of Locking Dragon’s help, Yan Qing could purify the Chongming Cave Secret Realm right now, not having to wait until later.
On the thirtieth entry into the Secret Realm, the Antlered Maiden glanced at the Rabbit Heroine: "Your eyebrows are getting redder. Lucky you; this Secret Realm just happens to help you gather fate. Your Dao Foundation is related to your eyebrows, how peculiar."
"You’re not bad," the Rabbit Heroine replied. "A Dao Foundation related to the deer."
The True Man of Locking Dragon twitched her lips, sardonically said: "Those are dragon horns!"
After slaying so many Thunder Eagles, her Dragon Blood Hua Mei Dao Foundation leveled up to level 43. Dao Foundation upgrades can lead to appearance changes; besides small changes like the Rabbit Heroine’s eyebrows turning red, substantial changes like the True Man of Locking Dragon growing antlers are also common. However, these can be controlled, though prohibiting Dao Foundation changes slightly decreases the efficiency of gaining Dao Foundation experience.
Some care more about appearance, others prefer fierceness, and some emphasize efficiency. It’s up to everyone to choose.
Pharmacist’s Wish gently stroked the Rabbit Heroine’s head without speaking. She probably felt sorry for the Rabbit Heroine, since in two more hours she would fall from Foundation Establishment, and no matter how well her Dao Foundation fate condensed now, it would be meaningless.
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