Chapter 140: Chapter 140: Yuan Stone Village, Searching for Mystic Crystal Stone
"We’ve met a tough opponent."
The three remaining men were caught between a rock and a hard place. After hesitating for a while, they gritted their teeth, lifted the bulky man who dared to be angry but didn’t dare to speak, and left the dilapidated temple.
There were also people living outside the dilapidated temple, but they all had been expelled by the people inside.
"Young master, your martial skills are impressive."
An old man, accompanied by a young man and woman, approached.
"Elder, how may I assist you?"
Shi Xiaole opened his eyes.
In his perception, there were three people in the temple who posed a threat to him, and this old man was one of them.
"I take it you’ve come to Yuan Stone Village to find the Copper Stone? The Copper Stone is hard to find, especially when you’re on your own. Even if you do find it, it’s likely to get stolen. If you don’t mind, we can cooperate. If a Copper Stone is found, we split it 70-30."
The old man offered a seemingly generous proposal.
Shi Xiaole, who defeated a fourth-stage Qi Absorption warrior in one move, certainly reached the top level of talent in the Floating River Area. Plus, he had an upright and clear aura, which indicated he wasn’t a malicious person.
Such a person is worth cooperating with, the old man thought to himself.
"Yuan Stone Village?"
At the mention of these three words, Shi Xiaole’s heart skipped a beat.
Not because Yuan Stone Village was especially famous. In fact, this place evolved from an iron ore mine. The Copper Stone that is essential for refining lower-grade strange weapons often appears here, which attracts the attention of many in the martial world.
The reason for Shi Xiaole’s astonishment was that he had seen a record of Yuan Stone Village in the Illusory Form Great Method given by Wu Taishan.
According to the Wu Family’s ancestors who had practiced the Illusory Form Great Method, they had discovered dozens of Mystic Crystal Stones in Yuan Stone Village of the Floating River Area. He speculated that a long time ago, this place might have been a vein of spirit stones.
"Could there still be Mystic Crystal Stones?"
A wave surged in Shi Xiaole’s heart.
Because of his superior insights, Shi Xiaole’s cultivation progress was much faster than others, but he still felt his pace was somewhat lagging.
If he could obtain enough Mystic Crystal Stones, wouldn’t they allow him to rapidly improve his cultivation and rectify this problem?
However, since the Wu Family’s ancestors had found Mystic Crystal Stones, other Stone Touching Masters might have discovered them too. He was uncertain if there would be any Mystic Crystal Stones left in Yuan Stone Village after all these years.
"Hey, my master asked you something, why aren’t you answering?"
The young girl with big eyes behind the old man huffed in annoyance.
Her master, Peng Donglai, known as Broken Palm Elder, was a renowned expert with late-stage sixth-stage Qi Absorption cultivation. How dare this young man to show such an aloof attitude - who did he think he was?
Snapping out of his thoughts, Shi Xiaole said, "Elder, sorry, but I prefer to operate alone."
He wasn’t interested in searching for Copper Stones and saw no reason to cooperate. Shi Xiaole realized there were quite a few small factions in the temple. Joining one hastily would only invite trouble.
He wasn’t afraid of trouble, but he hated it.
"I see. Then I won’t force you."
With a sigh, Peng Donglai left.
"He’s so full of himself. Even if he finds something valuable in Yuan Stone Village, without enough helpers, it will still be stolen from him."
The big-eyed girl stomped her foot, showing a hint of disappointment. She stormed off.
The young man offered a calm smile.
"This youngster really refused Elder Peng’s offer of cooperation..."
On the left side of the Buddha sculpture, a barefooted old man sneered inwardly. His green eyes kept shifting on Shi Xiaole, as if plotting something.
Deep inside the temple, a middle-aged man with a sword seemed to be in deep sleep, but his chest made no movement.
Many others were whispering, their expressions changing.
Everyone present was a solo practitioner in the martial world, none of them with simple-minded nature.
All of Shi Xiaole’s actions exuded an air of grace and prominence, making him a prime target in the eyes of the martial artist. Naturally, to be safe, no one made a move.
This wasn’t only because of the strength Shi Xiaole demonstrated, but also because his origin was unclear and kept everyone guessing.
"Sigh, the young man has been marked. I’m afraid he’s in for trouble."
On the other hand, Peng Donglai shook his head.
If the young man had chosen to cooperate with him, others would at least have had some apprehensions. But now...
"Master, let’s not worry about him for now. Let him suffer a bit, then we can see how he reacts and decide whether or not to help."
The big-eyed girl was still a little annoyed and spoke her mind.
She wanted to see just how long this young man in the green robe could maintain his arrogance.
Although his eyes were closed, Shi Xiaole was fully aware of all the ill-intended gazes. He merely responded with a cold smile.
In the entire temple, only Peng Donglai, the barefoot old man, and the middle-aged man with the sword seemed noteworthy to him. They were clearly more than ordinary sixth-stage Qi Absorption experts.
His intuition told Shi Xiaole that he wasn’t their match in a one-on-one fight. However, even if all three attacked him together, he could easily escape, so what was there to fear?
A night rushed past.
The following day, like many others, Shi Xiaole began to search among the piles of stones. His pace was extremely fast and he only stayed in one place for a moment.
"Can he find Copper Stones like that? Is this kid stupid?"
Many people giggled.
The exterior of the Copper Stone was no different from ordinary grey rocks. It could only be distinguished through meticulous observation and handling. Considering Shi Xiaole’s method, he probably wouldn’t find anything even in a hundred years.
On that note, even if he was lucky enough to find something, could he hold onto it all by himself? Even a high-level expert like Peng Donglai couldn’t.
Suppressing their restless thoughts, the others started busying themselves.
Operating the Illusory Form Great Method, an invisible wave of mental power radiated from Shi Xiaole, enveloping everything within a 15-meter radius, leaving no corner untouched.
Under the probing of his mental power, the appearances and the subtle differences of the stones turned into images in Shi Xiaole’s mind, much like pictures taken from a satellite.
While others were still busily turning over stones, Shi Xiaole had already completed his check of a small area.
However, running the Stone Touching Qi Cyclone continuously would ultimately damage the Qi of the mind. Therefore, Shi Xiaole rested every fifteen minutes.
Regrettably, he did not find any Mystic Crystal Stones throughout the day. On the other hand, he found three small pieces of Copper Stone.
At night, there were people in the broken temple continually approached and talked to Shi Xiaole, appearing courteous, but between their words were probing for his background.
If Shi Xiaole were just a newbie, he might have fallen for it.
"My family has been trading for generations, and I accidentally met a mysterious man who taught me some skills,"
Shi Xiaole said lightly.
"What is the name of the mysterious man?"
A glimmer flitted through the man’s eyes.
"I don’t know either. He refused to be my master. After imparting his knowledge, he disappeared."
"I see."
The man rose and left.
"The poor fool, he’s done for!"
The big-eyed girl looked at Shi Xiaole, anxious and angry.
My master kindly wanted to cooperate with you, but you ignored him and opened up to those with ulterior motives. How could anyone be so naive?
However, for some reason, she found herself worrying about him unintentionally.
The people in the broken temple did not take action, as they felt that Shi Xiaole was equivocal and appeared to be holding something back.
Over the next few days, many people were green with envy.
Because the number of Copper Stones that Shi Xiaole found was beyond everyone’s imagination.
Ten, a total of ten.
To put it in context, many people had been searching for over half a year without even touching a Copper Stone.
While others were excitedly looking at the Copper Stones, Shi Xiaole was excitedly touching the five Mystic Crystal Stones in his sleeve.
Today, using the Illusory Form Great Method, he finally found a Mystic Crystal Stone in a corner heap. Although there were only five, it was a significant gain.
Closing his eyes, running the Purple Light Divine Skill, Shi Xiaole began to absorb the spiritual Qi from the Mystic Crystal Stones.
Unknowingly, the moon was high in the sky.
Phew!
"Getting closer and closer to the second level of Qi Absorption."
The spiritual Qi of the five Mystic Crystal Stones, of course, was not enough for Shi Xiaole’s skills to take a quantum leap, but after settling down, he could sense the increase in his internal power.
Compared to the daytime, his skills had undoubtedly improved somewhat.
"Young man, it’s not a good habit to hog things. I’m not asking for much, just eight Copper Stones,"
A deep voice came to his ears, speaking was indeed the barefoot old man.
"I can’t just give them away, but I can sell them."
Shi Xiaole replied similarly.
As he knew, a single piece of Copper Stone could fetch about ten thousand silver pieces on the market. Due to its rarity, it could even fetch as high as thirty to forty thousand to a desperate buyer.
"Sell? Hehe, my friend, it seems you can’t see the situation clearly."
The barefoot old man, clutching his broken cane, said coldly.
If he could get six pieces of Copper Stone, not only could he repair his cane, but he could also make it into an inferior-grade strange weapon, greatly enhancing his combat power. The surplus could be sold in the Dark Alley, making him a fortune.
Therefore, in his eyes, Shi Xiaole’s Copper Stones were a must-have.
But he couldn’t act rashly, or else draw out Peng Donglai and the middle-aged swordsman. In the end, he wouldn’t know how many pieces he would get.
"I usually don’t care about the situation. If you want to talk nonsense, please spare yourself."
Shi Xiaole refrained from speaking further.
"Damn mongrel!"
The barefoot old man was full of resentment.
Originally, he thought of using intimidation to scare Shi Xiaole into giving up his items. Now that Shi Xiaole was not cooperating, he couldn’t blame him anymore.
Indeed, not only the barefoot old man but most of the people in the broken temple had their sights set on Shi Xiaole, yet nobody made the first move.
The atmosphere in the broken temple was strangely tense.
Several more days passed in such a way.
Shi Xiaole had absorbed a total of twenty-five Mystic Crystal Stones, and his internal power had advanced greatly. He was now on the verge of breaking through.
Once he got past this, it would be the second stage of Qi Absorption.
"Boy, let’s talk."
That night, a group of people suddenly came over, looking down upon Shi Xiaole from a high position.
They were the barefoot old man’s subordinates.
Observing for several days that almost everyone had their eyes on Shi Xiaole and finding no opportunity to act in secret, the barefoot old man decided to act openly.
Shi Xiaole ridicule them inwardly. He slowly stood up and said, "If you want to buy my Copper Stones, you are welcome. But if you try to rob me, get lost!"
If it had been before, he might have felt somewhat intimidated by the barefoot old man. Now, however, Shi Xiaole was eager for the opportunity to prove his strength.
"We represent Elder Barefoot, are you sure you want to refuse?"
The man leading them narrowed his eyes.
"And us."
Another group of people who couldn’t bear to watch any longer also came forward.
They were the subordinates of the middle-aged swordsman.
