novelraw Chapter 608 - 607 I Want to Live
Chapter 608 - 607 I Want to Live
"Finally found you!"
Now that he had a direction, mining had become much more energetic than before. Jiang Yuan huffed and puffed as he dug for quite a while, and finally, the familiar, enticing sheen emerged from the stone wall.
The light source flowed softly, as if there really was mysterious life energy wandering within it.
He swung the mining pickaxe with a "clack" and dislodged the light source. A golden glimmer flashed before his eyes, and the system popped up a notification—[Life Stone Origin +2]
"Hey! It’s a double hit!" His efforts paid off as he obtained two life stones under the luck buff, and Jiang Yuan was simply delighted!
The disappointment from a brief failure earlier was swept away. He thought that not only did he have enough for his urgent quest, but if he could dig out one more life stone origin, even his next resurrection charm would be assured.
Of course, officially forging the second one would require a Silver-footed Snow Netherworm, so he’d need to talk with the genius refiner Leng Yutang and inquire about the situation in his hometown, Sand Hill City.
That thing was even harder to come by, so he decided to seize the rare opportunity of the 50% increase from the luck buff and keep mining, aiming to dig up a few extra life stones as spares!
With renewed vigor, he picked up the mining pickaxe and continued clinking away tirelessly.
When his physical strength bar was depleted, he would have some tea and enjoy the delicious foods batch-prepared from his storage bag until the three-hour buff countdown ended and he couldn’t find any trace of life stones anymore.
He did manage to mine quite a few crystal stones, and even fought several small boss-level ghosts, dropping some commonly used materials and herbs to feed his Soul Refining Banner, but still didn’t find any more life stones.
After a brief analysis, Jiang Yuan understood the reason—they had to be sparsely distributed, with only one or two within a certain area. Once mined, to find more would require leaving this area and moving to another where life stones were present.
The problem was that the map in the mine only marked depth but didn’t indicate whether one had reached a "danger zone," making mining life stones with his limited Earth Mirror Book skill quite challenging.
"So, where exactly is the second volume of the Earth Mirror Book?" he sighed.
Upon finding the last diary of his predecessor, he read that all the treasures were hidden in the mysterious cave, but up to that point, he’d delved fifty to sixty layers into the cave, occasionally finding a couple of chests with gold coins, spirit stones, herbs, special materials, and such, but never any items that could truly be called treasures.
It should be deeper in, or perhaps it required searching for materials to upgrade the Divine Mountain Statue, allowing the mysterious cave to yield more good items as its level increased.
The urgent question was whether to consume the remaining Clear Dew Pill or not.
To rely on the luck buff to mine materials for the second resurrection charm required some technique. He thought to dig deeper into the area closer to the next life stone region, so the luck bonus could take effect.
"Forget it, best to save it." After three seconds of contemplation, Jiang Yuan decided to keep the more practical luck elixir for a few more days.
Hu Zhile’s side quest involved acquiring a Void Teleportation Talisman and making a resurrection charm, thus the danger level evidently would rise the further he went, and he might need to settle old scores in the void to fully resolve the curse.
Good items should be used wisely to reveal their miraculous effects!
Having made his decision, he activated the courtyard communicator to remotely command the placement of the mined life stone origin in the melting workshop queue for refinement.
The previous stone would take another day and a half to finish, and once the second was refined, placing them in the treasure forging workshop to forge the resurrection charm would require four days, with the ten-day deadline barely sufficient.
"My good friend Jiang Yuan, are you returning with a bountiful harvest?" As he emerged from the mine, the elf You Meng flew over with her golden wings, pleading, "The World Tree has sprouted many useless branches again; they will compete for nutrients from the trunk. For the tree to grow better, please remove the excess branches."
Jiang Yuan looked in the direction she pointed, indeed seeing many new shoots on the trunk of the World Tree.
"Alright, I’ll clean them up right away."
"Thank you! With your care, the World Tree is thriving!" You Meng flew around loop-de-loops like an NPC, scattering a shower of golden light. "Although they’re burdensome to the World Tree, make sure to keep them well, as these branches and leaves are rare treasures.
In the future, as our friendship deepens, I’ll gift you many treasure blueprints, and you can even use them to craft divine artifacts and holy artifacts!"
His eyes lit up hearing this, "What kind of divine artifacts?"
The little elf giggled, covering her mouth, "I can’t tell you now, but rest assured that as long as you take good care of the World Tree, it will never treat you badly."
In that case, he should take time to mine rainbow gems in the second layer, enhancing goodwill speed even daily until reaching enough to claim the next phase reward.
After chopping off the branches and storing the loot, Jiang Yuan teleported back to his little courtyard.
It was already dusk, and the summer dusk was gradually refreshing. The golden sunlight no longer blindingly glowed on the vibrant little courtyard, filling one with joy at the sight.
"Master has returned!" Yun Shu saw his figure from the window, excitedly holding up a freshly drawn Teleportation Talisman like showing off a treasure.
Jiang Yuan waved and greeted her with a smile, even though he didn’t understand it, still giving a thumbs-up to praise her work.
Hu Zhile, hearing the news, swiftly emerged from her cultivation state, grabbing her skirt and quickly exiting the cave, dropping to her knees with a plop, "Hu Zhile thanks the Venerable family for saving my life!"
She had heard Yun Shu recount the full story after waking up, understanding how hard the Venerable family had worked to save her, feeling deeply moved beyond words, only able to express her gratitude face-to-face.
"With our relationship, is there really any need for this?" Jiang Yuan quickly helped her up, thinking that since she was a living person and they had such a harmonious relationship, he could never just stand by and do nothing.
Moreover, anyone who has ever raised a pet knows that even if it’s just a cat or dog, the cost of treating them when they’re sick can exceed that of a human. Owners who truly love their pets would rather endure eating instant noodles themselves just to ensure their pets are treated first.
Besides, I didn’t invest much effort— the system guided me while also giving me rewards.
"I understand your intentions, no need to express thanks repeatedly." He had Hu Zhile sit by the Spirit Pool, and carefully considered, "Right now, I’m merely using an array to temporarily isolate part of the curse within you, preventing it from further consuming your Life Energy.
However, this is not a long-term solution. If you wish to completely eliminate the hidden danger, you might need to venture into the void to find... the source of the curse on you. At that time, can you..."
Hu Zhile, being as clever as a fox, immediately understood the implication.
She promptly stated, "Venerable Family, I wish to live. Although our parents did give us life, when they took our other siblings and left me and my little sister to nearly starve, our lives were already repaid.
The life afterward was given by Lady Yin Mountain.
She brought us to the Wilderness World on an Immortal Shuttle, allowing us to survive by chance. To repay this kindness, I endured years under her with wind and rain, unafraid of suffering, tirelessly doing my duties and many times teetering on the brink of life and death. This grace was returned through my loyalty.
Now, this life of mine is from the Venerable Family. From now on, I, Hu Zhile, only acknowledge the Venerable Family!
I want to live, to live wonderfully! No matter who cursed me, they have no right to claim this life given by the Venerable Family. If I truly need to settle this once and for all, I will personally sever their neck, sever the curse!"
With her words, it was enough; Jiang Yuan quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
In such complex situations, one fears most a person driven by severe neglect seeking to prove with filial piety or strive for something. As the saying goes, even a fair official finds it hard to resolve family affairs— if the involved aren’t determined, it’s even harder for an outsider like himself to intervene.
"Alright, you want to live, and I want you to live well. Since our goals align, let’s completely resolve this issue together!" He patted the shoulder of his contracted pet, reminding, "It’d be best to prepare your little sister too; she should know the cause of such important matters."
Hu Zhile nodded in agreement, watching the Venerable Family’s back as he went to inspect the fields, suddenly feeling a surge of fear inside.
When tormented by the curse and weakly unconscious, she had an incredibly long dream.
In the dream, she seemed still adrift in the void yet as if she had ascended to that continent. She saw the blurred, heartless man’s eyes, blood-red staring fixedly at her, countless black tentacles extending from him hovering at a near distance.
She fought desperately to escape, but no matter how, she couldn’t get away!
Until those tentacles penetrated her body, gradually draining her into a dried corpse...
"What realm is he in now?" Hu Zhile slightly furrowed her brows; many memories from back then were blurred, she couldn’t recall the exact power of the couple who abandoned her.
For years she had cultivated frenziedly, yet still not powerful enough now—could she really bring them down when it’s time to settle the score?
Asking the Venerable Family for help... she worried, despite being so resolute, would it trouble him to kill them himself, making him hold any grudge?
From any angle considered, her handling this herself would be best.
Hu Zhile thought, if worst comes to worst, the Venerable Family could heavily injure them for her to deal with afterward!
Nightfall came swiftly. After dinner, Jiang Yuan first compared prices of excess Demon Cores at the Floating Market, discovering the highest prices at the Golden Carp Lake Market, and placed them there to sell.
Then he turned to Wo Hu Temple Market, taking a stroll through the Treasure Pavilion.
Pavilion Master Cang must have gathered more accurate information, discovering a Demon Envoy was indeed searching for hidden Demon Cultivators in the Market, worried and unsure if the newly offered Demon God could lend a hand, even distracted while chatting with God of Wealth Mr. Jiang.
Jiang Yuan thought, you’re under my protection. Even if you’re a relatively new believer with few sacrifices, with Du Yiyun having set the example, I know how to operate. Isn’t it just consuming some Faith Value? You’re worth it!
Unfortunately, Cang Lingdong was unaware the so-called Demon God was right before him and was still contemplating whether to first temporarily borrow some of the treasury’s treasures to sacrifice, seeking the Demon God’s aid in a critical moment.
Finding no signs of Qu Luming arriving at the Wo Hu Temple Market, Jiang Yuan returned to the Floating Market, spun the wheel, and instantly reached Golden Chicken River Market.
"It’s been raining every day; this year’s rain is excessive."
"Oh, we’re all cultivators, not afraid of rain, so why bother?"
"Rainy days always bring such gloom; I just feel sleepy and lack energy for cultivation."
"Looks like the fellow cultivator is of the Fire Attribute, not fond of water..."
......
The familiar liveliness hit him head-on; indeed, it was raining again in Golden Chicken River Market. Tea patrons congregated in threes and fives under the corridor, chatting idly, occasionally eliciting laughs from the crowd at someone’s unknown comment.
How should he approach talking to Qu Luming when they meet?
Jiang Yuan closed the store door, aimlessly walking toward the corridor, pondering if he should first find a shop to custom-make a name card.
Last time, he didn’t understand why he was pursued by Qu Luming to deliver a name card, but to inquire about the Alchemist Yao Wuchen, he needed an excuse to converse a bit—exchanging name cards seemed a good reason.