The ground and stone walls were covered in moss, with cobwebs hanging in the corners.

It looked like it had been abandoned for a long time.

There was nothing unusual in the cave except for a stone table and four stone chairs, all of which were thickly covered with moss.

No remains, no skeletons—seems that predecessor likely left, rather than dying here... Ji Yuan muttered to himself.

"Hm?"

As the Lighting Talisman was affixed to the deepest part of the cave wall, Ji Yuan finally discovered a stone door covered in moss and lichen.

Perhaps the moss was just too thick, Ji Yuan hadn't noticed it at first.

Who knows, maybe there's some good stuff inside...

At that thought, Ji Yuan turned to glance at the Big Toad... If I go in, what if it blocks the door?

If that Tier Two Demon Beast gets it in its giant head to trap me here, I'm screwed—nowhere to run, just waiting to die.

Sure, this big-mouthed Toad does seem docile, but I can't gamble on that.

A demon beast is still a demon beast.

You can't be too careful with people, let alone demon beasts.

So, after thinking it through, Ji Yuan came up with an idea. He summoned the Thunder Falcon Boat, hopped aboard, and then cut off two catties of Spirit Pig meat from his storage bag.

When the Big Toad saw its favorite food again, those previously gloomy eyes immediately lit up.

Gloomy?

What's there to be gloomy about!

The tasty treat is right before its nose.

But before the Big Toad could open its mouth, Ji Yuan was already flying off on the Thunder Falcon Boat—not escaping, just heading back the way he came.

"Gwa——"

The Big Toad sounded a bit disgruntled.

Ji Yuan paused after a short distance, turning back to watch the Big Toad.

Just like the way the Big Toad first greeted Ji Yuan—exactly the same.

The Big Toad instantly understood, croaked "Gwa——" again, and hurriedly hopped after him.

One man, one toad—a jump and a hop.

After a while, Ji Yuan led the Big Toad back up to the top of the cliff. He tossed the Spirit Pig meat to the ground, and the Big Toad instantly ducked its head and shot out its tongue.

Yet, when it finished eating and looked up, Ji Yuan was nowhere to be seen.

"Gwa gwa——"

Ji Yuan, controlling the Flying Boat to drop straight down the cliff, heard the calls echoing from above and sped up even more... For now, this was the best solution he could think of.

Leave the Big Toad at the top of the cliff, while he used the Flying Boat to descend and quickly check out the cave mansion.

So long as the Big Toad didn't jump directly down the cliff, he'd have time.

In just a few breaths, Ji Yuan reached the bottom, collected the Flying Boat with a thought, summoned the Hundred Fish Shield, then stooped to enter the cave mansion.

Maybe because the cave was on the shady side of the mountain, or perhaps because it was at the base, as soon as he entered, Ji Yuan felt the cave mansion was a bit damp and chilly.

The Lighting Talisman glowed on the stone wall like a lantern. Ji Yuan stepped on the slick moss as he scanned the narrow stone hall.

No surprises, and no valuables.

If that's the case, then I'll just check the small room at the back.

Ji Yuan casually tossed out another Lighting Talisman, and, driving the Qingfu Flying Sword ahead, dashed in. Both entered one after the other—nothing out of the ordinary... Seems safe in there too.

Even so, Ji Yuan still cast a Fireball spell, burning all the moss off the stone door before stepping inside.

As soon as he entered the small room, Ji Yuan felt the chill intensify.

This coldness seemed to originate from the small room itself, not the cave as a whole.

Strange... This cave mansion probably has something special. Ji Yuan kept the Hundred Fish Shield in front, watching cautiously.

If the outer hall was maybe twenty or thirty square meters, then this little room was only seven or eight square meters.

The furnishings were simpler yet—a stone bed at the far end occupied two-thirds of the room.

Other than that, nothing.

Both in the outer stone hall and the stone chamber within, it was all minimalist—absolutely nothing.

So, where exactly is the cold coming from?

Could it be something inside the stone wall? Ji Yuan glanced around and noticed some moss on the floor seemed to be growing out from under the stone bed.

The stone bed isn't attached to the floor?

Was the bed brought in and placed here?

Raising his hand, Ji Yuan sent the Qingfu Flying Sword down onto the stone bed, slicing across it.

In an instant, the surface of the bed was scraped clean, the moss stripped away to reveal its original color... a deep blue!

The entire stone bed was deep blue!

Seeing its true form, Ji Yuan suddenly felt a jolt in his heart.

He could hardly believe it, going up to touch the bed and feel it closely.

It was icy cold to the touch, like thousand-year-old black ice.

Taking a deep breath, Ji Yuan reached into his storage bag and pulled out a handful of... Cold Iron Sand.

The two felt exactly the same to the touch, only the colors differed.

The bed's color was noticeably deeper.

"Go!"

Ji Yuan sent the Qingfu Flying Sword slicing again.

This time, instead of scraping the moss, he cut a thin layer off the stone bed itself.

The sword returned, its blade coated with pale blue sand.

Now, there was no difference between the two.

Exactly the same!

Seeing all this, Ji Yuan had to take several deep breaths just to suppress his excitement.

Patience, patience. Finish searching first. Qingfu Flying Sword flashed a few times, and all the moss on the surface of the bed was swept away.

A stone bed radiating an eerie blue glow appeared in Ji Yuan's sight.

Cold Iron Sand!

This was actually a stone bed made of Cold Iron Sand!

How many catties was this?

A thousand probably not, but at least several hundred... If it's 700 catties, using the current Cold Iron Sand price—

Thirty Spirit Stones per catty, so 700 catties is... 21,000 low-grade Spirit Stones?

Converting to mid-grade Spirit Stones, that's... 210 pieces.

Even grinding the Talisman Brush to smoke, I couldn't draw that many Spirit Stones.

"Damn, I've really hit the jackpot!!"

Ji Yuan screamed in his heart.

No way, gotta get this Cold Iron Sand out of here right now—no matter how good it is, safety first.

Besides, that Big Toad is definitely on its way down, so better hurry.

Ji Yuan lifted his right hand and dropped it; the Qingfu Flying Sword darted into the stone bed again—at first it went in easily, but after about a third of the way, the sword got stuck and wouldn't budge.

Can't cut any deeper?!

This doesn't make sense, it's all Cold Iron Sand—why jam halfway?

Switching the sword to a horizontal sweep, after a few swipes, Ji Yuan broke off a chunk of Cold Iron Sand, exposing the bed's inner core.

The Cold Iron Sand only accounted for about a third of the bed.

The rest was made of another deep blue mineral.

It wasn't as cold as Cold Iron Sand, but its hardness was on another level—Ji Yuan's top-grade Flying Sword could only leave a faint white scratch on it.

Even if it's not Cold Iron Sand, it sure looks like a treasure.

Doesn't matter—pack it up first.

Ji Yuan got busy with the sword, detaching all the Cold Iron Sand from the bed's surface—not as much as the original 700 catties, but still about 200.

6,000 low-grade Spirit Stones, or 60 mid-grade—

Already a huge fortune for Ji Yuan right now.

After storing the Cold Iron Sand, Ji Yuan freed up a special storage bag for the deep blue mineral and packed it away.

With the bed gone, a distinct mark was left on the floor. Ji Yuan double-checked the area to make sure nothing was missed, then strode out of the stone chamber.

Emerging back to the surface, nothing unexpected happened, and Ji Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

From deep within the mist, the croaking of the Big Toad could be heard, along with the sound of it smashing through the forest.

Ji Yuan glanced back, thought about it, and rolled the massive boulder back to block the entrance.

Just as he finished, the Big Toad hopped over again, but before it could start croaking, Ji Yuan tossed another piece of Spirit Pig meat its way.

This time, he gave just one catty.

Even so, the Big Toad immediately forgot its earlier annoyance.

After devouring the Spirit Pig meat, the Big Toad got even tamer, shuffling closer until it was sitting about ten meters away from Ji Yuan.

The man and the toad just sat quietly, staring into the distant mist together.

Ji Yuan figured he had things handled; as long as he fed it occasionally, he could relocate to this island and settle down without issue.

He turned to look at the Big Toad.

The toad looked back at him.

Ji Yuan pointed at himself, then at the ground, and gestured a bunch... The Big Toad didn't understand at all, occasionally croaking "Gwa gwa."

Helpless, Ji Yuan resigned himself to building a small wooden hut under the cliff.

Throughout it all, the Big Toad didn't cause any trouble, simply watched Ji Yuan work his magic.

When Ji Yuan finally lay resting on the rooftop, the Big Toad's croak sounded content... Looks like moving in on this island won't be a problem.

If he raised a few Spirit Pigs here, the Big Toad would be even happier.

To be safe, Ji Yuan stayed on the island for two days.

In those two days, nothing happened. If anything, the Big Toad stuck even closer to Ji Yuan, constantly trying to beg meat—especially after Ji Yuan grilled a piece of Spirit Pig over fire.

Now, it refused to eat anything else, obsessed with roasted pork belly.

On the third day, Ji Yuan prepared to head back to Zengtou City and move his home here.

With the escape secured, he could settle in for now and be ready to leave if he joined the Water Dragon Sect.

Ji Yuan summoned the Thunder Falcon Boat and climbed aboard.

The Big Toad, sensing Ji Yuan was about to leave, shot out its tongue to try to snatch him.

Fortunately, Ji Yuan was quick; he immediately activated the Thunder Falcon Essence inside the boat, his body flickered like teleportation—instantly breaking through the mist and soaring into the air.

The Big Toad's anguished croak echoed through the fog nonstop. Ji Yuan glanced back, made sure nothing was following him, and double-checked the island's position before flying away.

Time to head back, pack up, and leave the market to settle in on this nameless island!

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