Chapter 56: Fish Pond Lv2
Seeing Qiu Qianhai’s excited back, Ji Yuan figured he really must have some kind of valuable treasure.
Otherwise, how could he have managed to gather over a pound of Cold Iron Sand in just one day?
Let alone mining it himself, even if Ji Yuan spent his own Spirit Stones to buy it, he might not have been able to get this much.
So just what kind of treasure did he have?
Ji Yuan turned back to glance at the stone house, and after making sure nothing was amiss, he followed Qiu Qianhai to the shore.
He first applied a Water-Repelling Talisman to himself, then summoned the Black Wind Boat to press down, and followed Qiu Qianhai into the Clear Wave Pool.
Qiu Qianhai was already waiting at the bottom. Ji Yuan steered his boat over to join him.
Though both of them had Water-Repelling Talismans applied, these low-grade ones merely allowed them to breathe underwater with some difficulty.
They still had to rely on hand signals to communicate.
Unless, of course, they switched to mid-grade Water-Repelling Talismans.
After putting away his Black Wind Boat, Ji Yuan saw Qiu Qianhai pointing to a small patch of sand in front of him.
Ji Yuan looked at him in confusion, but Qiu Qianhai nodded vigorously, then took out an iron rake and a sand net and handed them over.
The meaning was clear—there was Cold Iron Sand here, and he wanted Ji Yuan to dig it up.
“???”
Though Ji Yuan found it hard to believe, he still accepted the tools and started digging. But he had barely scraped the surface when he noticed a faint blue glow.
Damn, there really was something here?!
He quickly turned to look at Qiu Qianhai, only to find the latter looking back at him with a faint, knowing smile.
Even without speaking, Ji Yuan could tell exactly what Qiu Qianhai was thinking at this moment. He was probably thinking… ‘So? Am I awesome or what?’
Awesome. Truly awesome.
After Ji Yuan dug up about an ounce or two of Cold Iron Sand, Qiu Qianhai moved on, scanning the surroundings as if searching for more.
Having witnessed what just happened, Ji Yuan followed obediently, wanting to see how he was finding these spots.
But before they had gone far, Qiu Qianhai suddenly crouched down and used Object Manipulation to move a rock aside.
This time, there was no need to dig.
The moment the rock was lifted, Ji Yuan saw the faint blue glow again.
No need to ask—dig!
While Ji Yuan busied himself digging, Qiu Qianhai was already off looking for the next spot.
After Ji Yuan finished and stood up, he saw Qiu Qianhai digging away by himself in front of a small sand dune.
Ji Yuan hurried over to help.
And this time, they unearthed even more Cold Iron Sand.
Over three ounces!
By the time they finished digging, the sky had already turned dark.
At the bottom of the water, they could barely see a thing.
If not for the faint blue glow emitted by the Cold Iron Sand itself, they might not have been able to see what they were digging at all.
The two had no choice but to steer their boat back to shore.
After surfacing, Ji Yuan looked at the freshly mined half pound of Cold Iron Sand in his storage pouch.
He found it a bit hard to believe.
How long had they been down there?
It couldn’t have been more than half an hour, right? Half an hour, and they had half a pound of Cold Iron Sand?
Even if he didn’t use it himself, if he sold it… the Water Dragon Sect had just raised the price again. One pound of Cold Iron Sand now sold for twenty Spirit Stones.
So in half an hour, that was worth ten Spirit Stones.
In an hour, twenty Spirit Stones… this wasn’t mining, this was basically picking up free money!
After they returned inside, Ji Yuan gave Qiu Qianhai a thorough once-over, then asked, “Did you… awaken something?”
He had originally wanted to ask, ‘Did you also awaken something?’, but in the end, he dropped the word also.
“What do you mean awaken or not awaken?”
Qiu Qianhai clearly didn’t understand what Ji Yuan was getting at.
“I’m asking how you’re able to locate the Cold Iron Sand so accurately.”
Ji Yuan had been watching carefully earlier—Qiu Qianhai hadn’t made a single mistake. Wherever he pointed, there really was Cold Iron Sand, as if he had x-ray vision and could see through the sand.
This obviously involved Qiu Qianhai’s secret. If Qiu Qianhai hadn’t revealed anything, Ji Yuan wouldn’t have asked.
But since he had exposed himself, Ji Yuan had to ask.
“Heh.”
Qiu Qianhai chuckled.
He went to the door, checked both sides to make sure no one was outside, then came back in.
Ji Yuan, being even more straightforward, slapped a low-grade Sound-Isolation Talisman onto the wall.
With that, no sound from inside could escape the room, no matter how loud.
Seeing this, Qiu Qianhai felt reassured. He approached Ji Yuan, carefully pulled something from his chest, held it in his hand, and opened his palm.
“Here, take a look at this.”
Ji Yuan leaned in and saw that lying in Qiu Qianhai’s palm was… a finger bone?
It was a small segment of a human finger bone, white and shiny, as if it had been polished by constant handling.
“You’re saying you found the Cold Iron Sand using this thing?”
Ji Yuan found it hard to believe. How could a finger bone help find Cold Iron Sand?
“Mm.”
Qiu Qianhai nodded vigorously and said with certainty, “Just take out a little Cold Iron Sand and you’ll see.”
“Alright.”
Ji Yuan really did take out a small pouch of Cold Iron Sand and spread it out on the stone table.
The moment he did so…
The previously white finger bone instantly lit up with a water-blue glow.
Qiu Qianhai brought it closer to the Cold Iron Sand, and the glow intensified.
When he moved it away, the glow dimmed.
“Well?”
Qiu Qianhai looked up and asked with a grin.
Seeing that Ji Yuan was still looking incredulous, Qiu Qianhai tossed the finger bone over.
Ji Yuan caught it and tested it over the Cold Iron Sand himself, confirming that it really worked, and only then did he have to believe it.
“This finger bone is quite the treasure.”
He handed it back to Qiu Qianhai.
The latter casually took it and put it away in his storage pouch, while Ji Yuan also put away the Cold Iron Sand.
“So, how much more Cold Iron Sand do you still need?”
Qiu Qianhai asked.
Ji Yuan sensed the contents of his storage pouch and estimated he had nearly three and a half pounds already.
“About two more pounds.”
To be safe, Ji Yuan intentionally asked for a bit more.
“No problem at all!”
Qiu Qianhai waved his hand boldly. “Get some good rest tonight, raise your pillow higher. What’s two pounds of Cold Iron Sand? I’ll get it all for you tomorrow.”
“With this treasure in hand, it’s like finding dead zones every single day.”
After saying that, Qiu Qianhai returned to his room.
Ji Yuan also came down from his short-lived excitement and astonishment… He wasn’t the only one with fortuitous encounters.
People like Dong Qian, who had already joined the Water Dragon Sect, and Qiu Qianhai now, each had their own opportunities.
And this was just in the small Yunyu Marshlands.
The number of fortunate people here was already like carp crossing the river.
Let alone the entire Cangluo Continent.
What Ji Yuan couldn’t help but wonder was where Qiu Qianhai had gotten this finger bone.
Did he only have this one piece, or had he acquired an entire skeleton?
Judging by the earlier scene, this skeleton was likely the remains of some great expert.
If that was the case, had Qiu Qianhai obtained this expert’s inheritance?
Or perhaps he had found this finger bone long ago, but had only recently discovered its usefulness?
Although Ji Yuan had many questions, since Qiu Qianhai hadn’t mentioned them, it wasn’t appropriate for him to pry.
The fact that Qiu Qianhai was willing to share the secret of the finger bone with him already showed a great deal of trust.
“Hoo—”
Still, having such a fortuitous treasure was a good thing.
With Qiu Qianhai’s finger bone, upgrading the Fish Pond was no longer a worry.
After cultivating through the night, the next day the two set out again.
Since they had already nearly exhausted the Cold Iron Sand near this island, they specifically moved to a more distant area, continuing as they had the day before.
Qiu Qianhai searched while Ji Yuan dug—this was the most efficient method.
By the end of the day, they didn’t just find two pounds… When they got home and weighed it, they had dug up a full three pounds!
If sold, that would be worth sixty Spirit Stones!
“I only need two pounds.”
Ji Yuan returned the extra pound to Qiu Qianhai.
All the Cold Iron Sand they had mined over the past few days had gone to Ji Yuan, while Qiu Qianhai had essentially worked for free without receiving a single Spirit Stone or uttering a word of complaint.
“Are you sure that’s enough?”
Qiu Qianhai weighed the remaining pound in his hand. “If you need more, just tell me.”
“It’s enough, it’s enough.”
“Alright then, tomorrow whatever we dig up, we split it evenly as usual.”
Qiu Qianhai said excitedly.
Ji Yuan had originally planned to leave as soon as he had enough Cold Iron Sand to upgrade the Fish Pond, but seeing Qiu Qianhai’s eager expression…
So be it, he might as well stay a few more days.
If the Qin family came after them again, Qiu Qianhai could use the extra help.
“Alright, as long as you don’t feel like you’re getting the short end of the stick.”
Ji Yuan smiled.
Staying to dig more Cold Iron Sand was basically him freeloading off Qiu Qianhai’s fortune.
“What are you talking about? You’ve saved my life twice already, and you even rushed here from Zengtou Market just to help me. Without you, the weeds on my grave would be taller than me by now, let alone me standing here mining.”
Qiu Qianhai sounded almost angry as he stood up and stomped off.
Ji Yuan watched his back but didn’t follow.
He looked at the Fish Pond on the panel, now marked as (Achieved), and without hesitation, he chose to upgrade.
The panel refreshed.
The Fish Pond had upgraded to Level 2, and the spiritual effects and requirements for upgrading to Level 3 appeared.