Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Qiu Qianhai’s Big Treasure
A little over half an hour later, Ji Yuan and Qiu Qianhai returned to that water area.
With the guidance of the two cultivators, the three members of the Qin Family looked around, then pursued in the direction Ji Yuan had left earlier.
Ji Yuan and Qiu Qianhai, along with other cultivators, closely followed them.
A large group of people searched forward, scouring mountains and seas.
Their plan was simple: once they found Qiu Qianhai, with a multitude of spells at their disposal, if they successfully captured him, it would be far more profitable than mining.
Unfortunately, after searching all night, they saw no sign of him.
It wasn’t until dawn the next day.
With no other choice, the three Qin Family members temporarily returned to Zengtou City.
After they left, Ji Yuan and Qiu Qianhai settled down, taking a day to rest. Ji Yuan listened to Qiu Qianhai’s detailed description of Clear Wave Pool and the situation with Cold Iron Sand.
It is said that deep beneath Clear Wave Pool lies a vein of Cold Iron Sand, and every so often, an Earth Dragon Flipping occurs underwater.
When this happens, many Cold Caves appear, reaching straight to the mineral veins.
These Cold Caves emit intense cold air, deadly even to mid-stage Qi Cultivators, so any cultivator underwater must surface as quickly as possible when the Earth Dragon Flips.
Each time the Earth Dragon Flips, it brings some Cold Iron Sand out from the veins.
Most miners at Clear Wave Pool are digging up this Cold Iron Sand that’s brought out.
However, it’s called "most" because after an Earth Dragon Flip, some Cold Caves collapse and get blocked.
Once blocked, these Cold Caves become Death Caves.
Inside, there is not only no cold air rushing out from the vein, but also a large amount of Cold Iron Sand.
Encountering such a Death Cave usually means striking it rich, especially with the skyrocketing price of Cold Iron Sand.
As for digging along the Death Cave to find the Cold Iron Sand vein...without Foundation Establishment Stage strength, even reaching the vein is suicidal.
The bottom of Clear Wave Pool is mostly sandy terrain, and the light blue Cold Iron Sand is mixed within these lake sands.
Miners need iron rakes and sand nets to dig it out.
Fortunately, both Xiong Youfu and Old Dog Lin have these in their storage bags.
...
That night, in Zengtou City, at the Qin Family estate.
Having returned from Clear Wave Pool, Qin Wei met with his father, Qin Long, and recounted what had transpired.
"Qiu Qianhai is either still hiding at Clear Wave Pool or has gone back to Black Water Square."
"Personally, I believe he’s still hiding at Clear Wave Pool, attempting to play cat and mouse with us. Besides, we’ve already communicated with the Zhu family at Black Water Square; they’ll keep an eye out for us and inform us if there’s any news."
The Black Water Zhu Family is quite similar to the Zengtou Qin Family.
Between large families, there’s always more interaction and mutual support, to ensure stable standing.
Qin Wei nodded, speaking in a deep voice, "Alright, I have Zhang Kai and Huda disguised at Clear Wave Pool, and we used Flower Spirit Stone to bribe many people. If there’s any news about Qiu Qianhai, they’ll notify us."
"Hmm."
Qin Long nodded slightly, "Since your grandfather entrusted the matter with your third brother to us, we must handle it properly."
"Rest assured, father, my third brother’s revenge must be paid in blood!"
Though such words were spoken, Qin Long always felt that the old man at home had another reason for pursuing Qiu Qianhai so relentlessly...
He once asked about it.
The old man didn’t say, and he didn’t dare ask further.
"..."
Thus came the next day.
Early in the morning, Ji Yuan and Qiu Qianhai came to the shore, ready to dive today.
This was considered Ji Yuan’s first time diving for a living in the half year since he’d arrived.
He could leave the Spirit Fish catching to others, but digging for Cold Iron Sand was something he had to do himself.
Ji Yuan piloted the Black Wind Boat, and Qiu Qianhai navigated the Middle Grade Dharma Ship obtained from Old Dog Lin. Once they reached underwater, they split up.
Once on the lakebed, Ji Yuan put away the Dharma Ship.
Crouching on the sandy bottom, he sensed the chilling environment while straining his eyes to spot that hint of light blue within the murky underwater sands.
Any surface Cold Iron Sand was surely already collected.
To make any gains, he had to use a second method. Ji Yuan took out an iron rake and sand net, using spiritual power to manipulate the rake and fiercely scrape the sand below, then used the sand net to sift through the dug up lake sand.
Repeating this process, moving forward bit by bit.
Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye, with Ji Yuan mechanically sifting through lake sand when he suddenly noticed, from the corner of his eye, a faint hint of blue.
This is...a find!
He quickly sifted the specific area more finely, and looking at the half-ounce of Cold Iron Sand in his hand, he let out a long breath of relief.
Any gain was good, even if it was rather small.
But after obtaining this half-ounce of Cold Iron Sand, Ji Yuan seemed to develop an aversion to it.
Throughout the rest of the day, he didn’t see even a shadow of Cold Iron Sand, and by dusk, he only had that half-ounce.
"Whew—"
Qiu Qianhai burst up from the water after him.
"How much did you get?"
"Half an ounce, you?"
"I got a little more, over an ounce."
Qiu Qianhai had previously stayed in this area for a while, so he had more experience, naturally resulting in more findings than Ji Yuan.
"Don’t worry; you just arrived, so it’s normal. When I first came, I too didn’t even see a shadow of Cold Iron Sand. We lack experience and knowledge of fixed Cold Iron Sand locations, so it’s perfectly normal."
That was indeed the truth.
However, after only gaining so little on the second day, Ji Yuan found it hard to muster enthusiasm.
The initially dormant desires within him began stirring again.
It took five pounds of Cold Iron Sand to upgrade the Fish Pond, and he was still over three pounds short. At this rate, he’d be digging until who knows when?
He might as well spend some Spirit Stones to buy it from others.
After all, this was the Cold Iron Sand-rich Clear Wave Pool; buying some here shouldn’t be an issue, right?
Or he could be bold and take down a few villains, seizing the Cold Iron Sand in their possession.
If everyone in the world could become a Tribulation Cultivator, surely Ji Yuan could too.
The risk in this method lies in magic combat, but it might escape the Water Dragon Sect’s notice.
After giving it some thought, Ji Yuan decided to try buying some first and, if he ends up lacking...well, then he’d see.
On the third day, Qiu Qianhai called him to go mining together, so Ji Yuan decided to try again. This time, the harvest was better, but still only about an ounce.
The yield was too low, so Ji Yuan gave up.
He didn’t dive on the fourth day, instead wandering around Clear Wave Pool. When encountering lone cultivators, he approached and asked a few questions.
Then he would inquire if they had any Cold Iron Sand for sale, offering the same price as the Water Dragon Sect.
Faced with such a giant, he didn’t dare engage in a price war.
But even spending money wasn’t easy, as everyone collected very little, and he couldn’t buy openly. By the end of the day, he’d only gathered half a pound of Cold Iron Sand.
Even so, he was satisfied.
Collecting half a pound each day, he wouldn’t need ten full days to upgrade the Fish Pond.
Provided the Qin Family didn’t return, he could then return to Zengtou City and cultivate in peace.
By evening, not long after Ji Yuan got back to his dwelling, he saw Qiu Qianhai leaping out of the water with the Dharma Ship.
Before even hitting the ground, he stored the Dharma Ship, landing heavily with a grimace from the pain.
The moment he hit the ground, he rushed into Ji Yuan’s home, with a look of extreme joy, taking a cloth bag from his storage bag and placing it on the table, opening it.
Inside was an entire pile of Cold Iron Sand, still wet.
A large pile, far surpassing what Ji Yuan had gathered that day.
Ji Yuan weighed it, estimating there was at least a pound.
"You dug up more than I bought?! Did you rob someone!"
Ji Yuan looked at him in astonishment.
Qiu Qianhai quickly put a finger to his lips to hush him, then whispered:
"Come, let’s go into the water. I’ll show you my big treasure!"
Hey buddy, there’s something off about this... Ji Yuan eyed Qiu Qianhai suspiciously.
"Come on, would I lie to you?!"
Qiu Qianhai shoved the pound of Cold Iron Sand into Ji Yuan’s hands, then darted toward Clear Wave Pool again.