Chapter 93 - 81: Selling Monsters in the Mountain Town, A Body Full of Treasures, 560 Taels, Fish Dragon Transformation, 24-Section Great Dragon Bone

Chapter 93: Chapter 81: Selling Monsters in the Mountain Town, A Body Full of Treasures, 560 Taels, Fish Dragon Transformation, 24-Section Great Dragon Bone

For one, he frequently transported goods from the mountains to Anning, and his usual trade channels were with the former Cattle and Sheep Market and Chai Market—now part of the Wind and Cloud Association. So naturally, he was no stranger.

And second...

...the name ’Ji Xiu’ had simply become too famous recently.

So much so that word of him had even reached the Eighteen Rings Mountain Town and the Hunting Manors, far from the main mountain path!

"We’ll buy, of course we’ll buy!"

"So, you’re Master Ji in the flesh..."

A smile spread across Song Chai’s face as he sized Ji Xiu up, marveling,

"Enlightened Demons at the Skin Refining and Bone Tempering levels... we’re talking decades, even a century’s worth of cultivation. It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten a haul like this!"

"It’s just a shame the Heart Blood and Demon Pills are gone."

"Otherwise, just the Heart Blood from a Bone Tempering demon, used in a Secret Medicine, would be worth a hundred taels of silver. And a Blood Pattern Demon Pill from a Skin Refining demon? That would be worth several hundred taels, and it’s the kind of thing you can’t buy even if you have the money!"

"Even so, the rest of the bodies—flesh, blood, and bone—are still treasures."

"If carefully prepared and consumed daily, it can strengthen a Martial Artist’s muscles and bones. Whenever something like this appears on the market, it causes a buying frenzy..."

"Eight of them. Generally speaking, for a demon, once you remove the Heart Blood and Demon Pill, the value of its flesh and bones in taels is about equal to its years of Dao Practice. Then I have to process it for resale..."

"Master Ji, I’ll offer one hundred taels for each Skin Refining corpse and a flat sixty taels for each Bone Tempering one. What do you say?"

Ji Xiu glanced at Gu Baichuan, who gave a slight nod, indicating the price was fair.

So, Ji Xiu smiled and said,

"Then I’ll gladly accept Song Boss’s five hundred and sixty taels of fine silver."

Just like that.

Five hundred and sixty taels earned in a single day!

Although, he’d have to figure out a way to give half of it to Lord Gu, who had accompanied him the whole time. Otherwise, his conscience wouldn’t be clear.

But even so, this income...

...was a mythical sum he could only have dreamed of back when he was just a Groom.

On the road back to Anning.

Only Cai Ling’er, the young lady from the Prefecture City, pouted as she watched Ji Xiu on horseback, unable to conceal his grinning face.

’Country bumpkin. He’s never seen real money.’

’All those Enlightened Demons... if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have defeated a single one!’

She grumbled inwardly, her heart aching. The Qi Dao Demon Pill she had worked so hard for, which had been practically in her grasp, was just... gone. She gnashed her teeth in frustration.

At the same time... a sliver of curiosity sparked within her.

So, as they neared Anning, she tried to ask indirectly,

"Hey, Ji—"

"It’s ’Young Master’."

"You!"

"A bet’s a bet. I didn’t force you. You’re the one who agreed to it, so how can you blame me?"

Ji Xiu spread his hands, feigning innocence.

Cai Ling’er’s face flushed crimson.

’He’s never even been to the Prefecture City, yet he’s already picked up the arrogant habits of a young master there? Does he really think he’s some big shot?!’

’Just you wait. Once I achieve Golden Bone, if I don’t beat you so hard you’ll be looking for your teeth on the ground...’

’...I’ll take your surname!’

"Y-Young... Master."

She practically spat the words out through clenched teeth. After a deep breath, she forced a smile.

"Who is your Master?"

’I’d really like to see what kind of person could produce a disciple like you!’

’If he’s from one of the Four Great Halls of Anning, specializes in Sword Skill, and his teacher is Instructor Liao of the ’Whale-Slaying Saber,’ a fighter sponsored by my family’s Jade Shop...’

’...then you just wait!’

’I might not be able to deal with you, but I can get your Master to!’

But in the next moment...

"Duan Chenzhou."

Ji Xiu uttered the name softly.

Cai Ling’er, thinking she must have misheard, froze.

"Who?"

At that moment, Gu Baichuan, who was beside Ji Xiu, offered a helpful reminder.

"The very one you’re thinking of."

"You see, young lady, I told you before. That master and his apprentices, they don’t play by the rules. For you to fall into this kid’s hands..."

"...you’ve had some truly rotten luck."

Cai Ling’er’s face stiffened. An old memory surfaced—the most memorable banquet she had ever attended as a child...

And it seemed the man responsible for that whole affair had the very same name.

...

「Under the moonlight, in the Medicine Hall.」

[Tutor has used the Heart Blood of an ’Enlightened Demon’ as medicine, acting as a Fish Dragon to charge the Dragon Gate. Advance Progress: +2!]

[Tutor has used the Heart Blood of an ’Enlightened Demon’ as medicine, acting as a Fish Dragon to charge the Dragon Gate. Advance Progress: +2!]

Suddenly!

In the backyard of the Medicine Hall, within a large Soup Tripod!

A bare-chested young man sat cross-legged within. As the Heart Blood of the Ancient Ape, fused with Mountain Ginseng, coursed through him, it repeatedly scoured and reforged his bones and sinews.

His body was undergoing an unprecedented metamorphosis.

He was completely immersed in a state of epiphany, his true form... He became a Fish Dragon, constantly transforming, constantly leaping.

Suddenly, a series of CRACKLE CRACKLE sounds erupted from his bones and sinews, like the legendary Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound!

Once the sound began, it became an unstoppable cascade. Force circulated from his spine, straight through the Twenty-four Section Dragon Bone, reaching the very tips of his extremities before sinking into his Blood Marrow, where it finally, slowly, subsided...

Afterward.

Beneath the youth’s skin, in time with his breathing and pulse, his golden skin took on a deeper sheen. His bones seemed like silver, his marrow like sand.

This was the so-called...

’Jade Marrow Silver Sand’!

Another hallmark of having successfully cultivated ’Silver Bone’!

The Bone Tempering Realm is divided into three steps: Spinal Dragon, Force Infused in Marrow, and Blade and Spear Immunity.

He had now completed the first step, ’Spinal Dragon’, and the second step, ’Force Infused in Marrow’!

For an ordinary person, so-called "Blade and Spear Immunity" is achieved by merely coating the entire body with Iron Bone, which is considered Great Success in Second Refinement.

But... that was the lowest grade, the absolute bottom tier.

The highest level of attainment, known as the ’Golden Body Indestructible’, was proof of having cultivated Golden Bone!

It was the pinnacle of achievement just below Second Refining Perfection’s ’Mercury Blood Silver Marrow’—the state achieved after breaking through the second ’Flesh Secret Treasure’!

[Mortal Transformation: Soaring Dragon Gate — Fish Dragon Transformation: (6/6)]

[’Fish Dragon Transformation’ advance successful!]

[Body becomes a Fish Dragon, Blood Marrow undergoes Six Transfigurations, achieving Jade Marrow Silver Sand. Can now produce the Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound, extend Force to the extremities, and unleash power throughout the body with the crack of a whip!]

As Ji Xiu’s body cracked like a whip and his bones were suffused with silver...

At his side, holding a towel, was Cai Ling’er. She had shed her dusty, grimy appearance. Now, her black hair draped over her shoulders, her skin was delicate, and her small face was exquisite. Her body was lithe, without a trace of fat, suffused with the noble air of a Mansion Maid.