Chapter 61: Was It You Who Lured the Demonic Beast Here?
Under the night sky, four magic boats sliced through the calm surface of Qingbo Market.
By sheer coincidence, Liu Da and Liu Er happened to flank Ji Yuan and Qiu Qianhai in the middle.
“How much further?”
Though they had only been out for the time it took to burn two sticks of incense, Liu Er could no longer hold back and urged impatiently.
He feared that Ji Yuan and Qiu Qianhai might try to pull some trick.
“Almost there, just past that stone island up ahead,” Qiu Qianhai replied.
Liu Da and Liu Er exchanged a glance and each nodded.
Having lived in Qingbo Market for decades, they were extremely familiar with the area.
They knew exactly where death caves had appeared and where cold caves still remained.
This nearby spot had produced very few death caves.
Now that one had been found, it seemed only reasonable.
“We’ve arrived.”
Ji Yuan circled around the island.
Once he confirmed that the death cave was nearby, he lowered the bow of the boat, slapped a Water Repelling Talisman onto himself, and dove back into the water.
As soon as he entered the water, he immediately looked toward the bottom.
Although most of the sediment had settled, the water still looked somewhat murky.
Silently, he stuck a Night Vision Talisman onto himself and looked again toward the entrance of the death cave.
This time, his vision immediately cleared.
The cave entrance was still there, but the Stone Armored Crab was nowhere to be seen.
It seemed it had retreated back into the cave once again.
At the side, Qiu Qianhai let out a silent sigh of relief.
Although they hadn’t discussed it, both of them shared the same thought…
Weren’t these Liu brothers looking for a death cave?
Then let them have it.
As for the Stone Armored Crab inside… what Stone Armored Crab?
I don’t know anything about that.
Liu Da casually pushed out a jade pearl. Injected with spiritual energy, it immediately lit up the surroundings, revealing the cave entrance clearly before them.
“Really now, the two of you didn’t even bother to hide this death cave? Are you afraid others won’t see it or something?”
Liu Da’s voice echoed underwater.
Ji Yuan and Qiu Qianhai exchanged a glance. They both stammered for a while but failed to utter anything coherent.
Annoyed, Liu Da tossed a talisman at Ji Yuan.
“Next time, don’t use that garbage Water Repelling Talisman. You’re already at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement. At least use a mid-grade Water Repelling Talisman.”
Ji Yuan accepted it and stuck it onto himself.
The surrounding water pressure visibly eased, allowing him to speak freely.
“Well, this little brother is poor and really can’t afford mid-grade Water Repelling Talismans. Why don’t you gift me a few, brother?”
Both mid-grade and low-grade Water Repelling Talismans served the same purpose, but the mid-grade allowed for free speech underwater, and the price was nearly double.
Being thrifty, Ji Yuan naturally chose the cheaper one.
“Heh, once we finish digging this death cave, I’ll give you a few.”
Now that the death cave was right before them, Liu Da’s tone and demeanor had shifted.
Ji Yuan didn’t mind. “In the past few days, we would always fill the death cave back up after digging. But later, when we noticed no one was coming by here and since we came early and left late, we got lazy and stopped filling it in.”
“Heh, and you weren’t discovered either. Pretty lucky. No wonder you managed to find this death cave,” Liu Er chimed in.
The four of them landed around the entrance of the cave.
Being this close, Ji Yuan truly felt a bit worried that the Stone Armored Crab might suddenly lunge out, so he held a Gold Armor Talisman in each hand, hidden in his sleeves.
Liu Da controlled the jade pearl, tossing it into the death cave.
A faint glow of Cold Iron Sand reflected from within.
His breathing grew slightly heavier as he turned to ask, “One of you, come with us into the cave.”
“I’ll go.”
Qiu Qianhai immediately stepped forward.
In his view, although Ji Yuan had a higher cultivation and greater strength, this entire matter had started because of him.
Moreover, the death cave still housed the powerful Stone Armored Crab, making it extremely dangerous. So naturally, he should be the one to go.
Liu Da glanced at him but ultimately turned to Ji Yuan.
“Then, Brother Changsheng, we’ll trouble you to accompany us.”
With one at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement and one at the sixth, of course Liu Da preferred the sixth-layer cultivator to follow him.
Otherwise, leaving a sixth-layer cultivator at the entrance didn’t make Liu Da feel secure at all.
“Alright.”
Ji Yuan didn’t hesitate.
Since one of them had to go, it was indeed more appropriate for him to go.
With formations in hand, whether to fight or flee would all be up to him.
“I’ll go first, you follow, and Er, you bring up the rear,” Liu Da ordered.
With that, he leapt into the death cave.
Ji Yuan followed closely behind, with Liu Er jumping in last.
Once inside, Ji Yuan became even more cautious.
Holding two Gold Armor Talismans in his hands, he also prepared the Dragon Armor Shield inside his storage pouch.
He watched the depths of the cave warily.
Illuminated by Liu Da’s treasure pearl, Ji Yuan could clearly see the surrounding environment.
The cramped, narrow cave walls were formed by piles of dark, broken stones, some of which had faint blue fragments on them.
Given a few hundred or thousand years, these would likely transform into Cold Iron Sand.
There was no sign of the Stone Armored Crab in sight.
As they walked, Liu Da kept scanning the ground.
From time to time, he muttered,
“You two cleaned this place better than a dog licking a bowl.”
“Big brother, up ahead!”
Suddenly, Liu Er called out from behind.
Instinctively, Ji Yuan thought they had spotted the Stone Armored Crab and was ready to make a move. But when he looked up, he only saw a layer of blue sediment covering the ground ahead.
Qiu Qianhai had mentioned he had only dug about ten feet deep, so it was normal to encounter large quantities of Cold Iron Sand shortly after entering the cave.
“Damn, that’s a lot!”
Seeing the thick layer of Cold Iron Sand, Liu Da couldn’t help exclaiming in shock.
Without another word, he hurried forward.
Even Liu Er behind Ji Yuan did the same.
The brothers crouched down, scooped up a handful, and clicked their tongues in amazement.
“This death cave seems to have quite the yield. If we dig it all out, we might end up with dozens of jin. Big brother, we’ve struck it rich! We’ve really struck it rich!”
Liu Er said excitedly.
“Yeah, enough talk. Start digging.”
Liu Da, though excited, managed to stay somewhat composed.
Still, even as they started digging, both Liu Da and Liu Er summoned their protective magical artifacts, letting them spin around their bodies.
Damn, no wonder they’ve managed to survive in Qingbo Market for so long—they’re really this cautious… Ji Yuan cursed inwardly but still stepped forward.
However, just as he crouched down, Liu Da and Liu Er simultaneously turned to glare at him, asking suspiciously, “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Digging, of course. Isn’t this the death cave we found?”
Ji Yuan replied matter-of-factly.
“Heh, wait. Once we’re done, we’ll give you your share,” Liu Da said, then added, “Stand back a bit.”
Ji Yuan pretended to be frustrated, his face flushing with anger. But seeing the brothers slowly stand up, he “reluctantly” stepped back a few paces.
He glanced toward the depths of the cave again.
Still no movement.
So he waited patiently until Liu Da and Liu Er had dug more than twenty feet deep, nearly losing themselves in greed for the Cold Iron Sand.
Only then did Ji Yuan shout loudly,
“You two are going too far!”
“Back outside, you didn’t say it would be like this!”
“Yapping, yapping—what are you shouting for? You want others to hear us or something?” Liu Da turned around and roared.
Ji Yuan was about to retort when he faintly heard the sound of something knocking against stone.
He immediately shut his mouth.
Liu Da turned back and continued digging.
Ji Yuan’s gaze fell on the treasure pearl.
He silently flicked his finger, sending a hair-thin strand of spiritual light toward it.
“Pa—”
The brightly lit cave instantly plunged into darkness.
Ji Yuan summoned the Yin Ghost Flag and planted it firmly into the ground.
Black mist surged forth, instantly enveloping the two Qingbo Twin Heroes—along with the Stone Armored Crab that had just lunged out.