Chapter 238
After visiting Crescent Village, Chu Feng went to Tianhai City.
“Boss, you’re here?” Lan Hu greeted him warmly.
Chu Feng removed Lan Hu’s slave collar, which only made Lan Hu admire him even more.
Chu Feng nodded. “Yes. I came to ask you about spatial tools—do you know about them?”
“My family has one,” Lan Hu said.
Chu Feng nearly choked. “Your family has one? Really?”
Lan Hu nodded. “Yes, it was passed down from our ancestors—a thumb ring said to be a storage tool, though no one knows for sure. It looks ordinary. I even played with it as a child. They say an ancestor left it behind long ago, and it supposedly contains a lot of gold coins.”
“How many gold coins?”
Lan Hu shook his head. “No idea! Everyone has tried to open the ring, but no one could.”
Chu Feng looked at him. “Your family’s quite something, having something like that.”
Lan Hu smiled. “Actually, storage tools aren’t that miraculous. Back in the day, ability-users who could make them produced quite a few, and they were popular among nobles for a while. But no one uses them now—they can’t change ownership. Once the owner dies, they’re useless.”
Chu Feng narrowed his eyes. “That ring—can you give it to me?”
Lan Hu blinked. “That’s hard to say.”
Chu Feng gave a wry smile. The bad habit of nobles—storage tools that can’t be opened might not be very useful, but they still wouldn’t give them away easily. Better to let them rot at home than let someone else have them.
Lan Hu said a bit sheepishly, “If I were in the capital, I could try to steal the ring for you. But I’m not there now, and my family might not be willing to hand it over.”
“Let’s talk about space equipment later. Do you know about the Void Stone?” Chu Feng asked.
Lan Hu nodded. “I’ve heard of it. All space-type tools are made from Void Stone. I think the Stone People Clan has a collection of it.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Do you know where the Stone People Clan is located?”
Lan Hu nodded again. “Roughly. Their location isn’t exactly a secret. They live in seclusion, eat rocks for food, and have little value to others, so most clans don’t bother with them.”
“That’s good.”
Lan Hu gave Chu Feng a strange look. “Boss, are you planning to visit every clan and do business with all of them?”
Chu Feng thought for a moment. “If I could, that wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
There were many races in this realm, each with their own strengths. If he could gather the best from each, the benefits would be considerable.
Lan Hu tilted her head. “If that’s the case, there might be another deal to make.”
Chu Feng raised an eyebrow with interest. “Oh? What is it?”
“The Butterfly People Clan came looking for me recently,” Lan Hu said.
Chu Feng teased, “You’re really good at business. Even managed to cozy up to the Butterfly People.”
Lan Hu gave an awkward smile. “Thanks to your blessings. They heard that the Crescent Tribe has a plant-type ability-user and want help.”
Chu Feng asked curiously, “How did the Butterfly People find out we have a plant ability-user?”
“They can communicate with bees and butterflies. Their information network is very well-connected,” Lan Hu replied.
Chu Feng was surprised. “They can do that? They’re born intelligence gatherers!”
“They want the to help accelerate the growth of flowers and plants?” Chu Feng asked.
Lan Hu nodded. “Probably. The Hundred-Flower Honey Wine they sell is actually just regular wine brewed by them. Their best is the Hundred-Flower Butterfly King Wine—a rare spirit wine, said to be quite beneficial for ability-users.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Give me the address of the Stone People Clan, and set a time with the Butterfly People. I’ll see if I can take the there.”
“Alright.” Lan Hu let out a sigh of relief. The Butterfly People had already come several times, bringing many gifts. He would’ve felt bad if he couldn’t help them.
Chu Feng turned to Illya. “Have you been to the Butterfly People’s territory?”
Illya shook his head. “No, but I’ve heard it’s very beautiful.”
Chu Feng smiled. “Then we should go take a look.” A trip could double as sightseeing.
Following the map, Chu Feng and Illya found the Stone People Clan.
They saw many stone figures lying on the mountain basking in the sun.
“These people are really laid-back,” Chu Feng remarked.
Illya nodded. “The Stone People have long lifespans. Many of them are lazy and spend most of their time sleeping.”
“I see,” Chu Feng replied.
“I’ll go talk to their clan leader,” Illya said.
Chu Feng nodded. “Alright.”
After a short discussion, Illya returned.
“How was it?” Chu Feng asked.
Illya frowned. “They don’t have any Void Stone in stock. It seems it’s all been bought up.”
Chu Feng frowned. “Isn’t the Void Stone only useful for space ability-users?”
“That’s true,” Illya said, “but many forces still buy it to research whether they can make space equipment without abilities.”
Chu Feng asked, “Do you know who bought it?”
Illya shook his head. “No.”
“The Stone People won’t say?”
“Not exactly,” Illya explained. “They’re just face-blind. Not only that, they have poor memory. If it’s not something important, they forget quickly—some even forget what their own children look like.”
“…They forget their own children’s faces?” Chu Feng was speechless. “How has this clan even survived?”
“They’re easy to sustain,” Illya said. “They eat rocks, and their bodies are extremely tough.”
“…Alright then.”
“But it’s not a complete loss,” Illya continued.
Chu Feng’s eyes lit up. “You found useful information?”
“Yes. The first Void Stone was discovered in a nearby mine. The Stone People’s leader suspects there’s still some left unmined. The rock there is very hard and tastes bad, so they don’t like mining it.”
Chu Feng took a deep breath. “Mining difficulty isn’t a problem. We’ll just bring Shi You.”
At last, Shi You’s abilities would be put to good use.
Illya nodded. “True.”
…
Chu Feng brought Shi You to the mining site.
Shi You was excited. Recently, several ability-users in Crescent Village had been using witch stones for cultivation, and Chu Feng hadn’t left him out. But taking such valuable resources without doing anything made him feel guilty. Finally being sent out on a task filled him with enthusiasm.
“Is this the place?” Chu Feng asked.
Illya nodded. “The Stone People pointed us this way. Do you feel anything?”
Chu Feng shook his head. “No. The Stone People don’t seem too bright. Could they have given us the wrong location?”
Illya thought for a moment and said, “That’s possible.”
Chu Feng blinked and thought to himself, Possible?
“Well…” Illya puffed her cheeks. “But we don’t have any other clues!”
Chu Feng: “…” That… actually made sense. He couldn’t refute it.
Chu Feng glanced at Shi You. “Are you ready?”
Shi You, who had been staring at the mountain, froze for a moment and muttered, “Do I need to split the entire mountain apart?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yes.”
Shi You: “…” Although his power had grown significantly lately—even Shaman Qiu Luo had praised him—it was still nowhere near that level!
Seeing Shi You’s expression, Chu Feng smiled. “Don’t worry, I just need to borrow your ability. Illya will assist you.”
Shi You nodded with some difficulty. “I’ll give it a try.”
Chu Feng took Shi You to the top of the mountain. Shi You took a deep breath and pressed his hand against the peak.
Illya released gray mist, enveloping Shi You completely.
Shi You immediately felt an endless surge of power filling his entire body. Cracks spread from under his palm, snaking from the mountaintop all the way down to the base.
Chu Feng waved his hand. “That’s enough.”
Shi You withdrew his hand. Even with Illya’s assistance, shattering a mountain consumed far too much energy for him.
“The mountain’s about to split. I’ll get you out first.”
Chu Feng waved his hand and used a space transfer technique to teleport Shi You a kilometer away.
Illya looked at Chu Feng. “You can feel the aura of the Void Stone, can’t you?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yes.” The Void Stone had been sealed deep inside the mountain before, so he couldn’t sense it. Now that the mountain was cracked open, he could feel it clearly. “Same feeling as the one from the auction, but much stronger.” There must be several pieces hidden inside this mountain.
Illya took Chu Feng and stopped midair.
Chu Feng unleashed a spatial attack, slicing along the cracks. Under the assault of his spatial blades, the fissures widened rapidly, and the whole mountain split apart like a cut fruit, collapsing outward.
He kept sending out blade after blade, breaking the mountain into several massive chunks with deafening booms.
Illya glanced at him. “Your strength has improved quickly.”
Chu Feng smirked. “Guess I’ve had too many good things to eat lately.”
Life essence, ginseng fruit, Void Stone—so many treasures. If his power didn’t grow after all that, it would be a waste.
“The Stone People seem to be coming,” Illya said.
Chu Feng nodded. “I see them.”
The commotion had apparently startled them. Several Stone People, who normally lazed around, had come out to watch the spectacle.
Chu Feng mused, No matter the race, everyone loves a bit of excitement. Even these lazy Stone People woke from their slumber to watch.
They lurked clumsily nearby, their “stealth” laughably poor.
“One, two, three, four.” Chu Feng smirked. “Looks like there are four pieces.”
Illya said, “Store them for now.”
Last time, Chu Feng had recklessly absorbed a space stone and nearly got himself killed. This time, he didn’t have any life essence left as backup.
Chu Feng nodded. “Exactly my plan.”
After collecting the four Void Stones, Chu Feng searched the rubble a bit longer and found another one.
“That’s enough for today. Let’s head back,” Illya said.
Chu Feng agreed. He suspected there were still more Void Stones in the mountain, but the battle had drained him considerably. Better to save his strength and return another time.
Illya frowned slightly and lowered his voice. “I think there are other ability-users nearby.”
Chu Feng was unconcerned. “Don’t worry—it’s probably just two A-rank ability-users.”
Illya looked puzzled. “You sensed them earlier?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yes.”
Illya tilted her head. “A-rank ability-users from here? They might be survivors from the last century. Living legends.”
Hearing the admiration in her tone, Chu Feng asked, “Want to go say hello?”
Illya shook his head. “No need.”
Privately, he thought that if this were before he’d entered the modern world, meeting such seniors would have thrilled him. But now… he wasn’t so sure. They might not even be stronger than him.
Chu Feng chuckled. “Then forget it.”
He packed the Void Stones into a box and took Shi You and Illya back to Crescent Village.
