Danwu Refining Spirit

Chapter 109 was hacked again.

Chapter 109 Hit Again

Just as Xiao Chong had predicted, once the ant king died, the remaining blood-striped ants scattered in all directions as if in an uproar, and were wiped out in an instant.

Success! Now we can clean up the battlefield and grab a share of the profits from the rescue operation. Xiao Chong felt a sense of relief and waved to the rescued people on the hillside.

Before the pioneering team arrived, Xiao Chong pointed to the corpses of blood-striped ants scattered all over the ground and asked Liu Yun, "Brother Liu, you know the most about these blood-striped ants. Do you know what other uses they have?"

“Blood-striped ants, like sandworms, don’t have a core, so these corpses aren’t very useful,” Liu Yun replied.

Unwilling to give up, Xiao Chong asked again, "Could it be used as food, like sandworms, and sold for a good price?"

"The book says that blood-striped ants don't taste very good, and they probably wouldn't sell even if they were made into food," Liu Yun continued.

"Is it worthless?" Unable to gain any benefit, Xiao Chong remained undeterred.

Liu Yun tilted his head and thought for a long time before saying, "It can only be used to make medicinal wine. I've heard it's very effective for rheumatism and bone pain. Why don't you try making some?"

"Then forget it. Martial artists are all as strong as oxen, how could they have rheumatism and bone pain?" Xiao Chong shook his head in disgust.

At this moment, the pioneering team on the hillside also came over, led by their leader. According to the previous agreement, they would give one-tenth of the spirit stones they had mined as payment to everyone.

This team was just a small mining team with few people, and they didn't mine many spirit stones. Xiao Chong and the others only received a few thousand.

However, spirit stones are the most important cultivation resource, and even if they cost several thousand, it still made everyone feel that the trip was worthwhile.

The handover went smoothly, without any of the dramatic scenes where the rescued person refused to acknowledge their identity. After the handover, it was time to part ways. The pioneering team had its own means of transportation, and as long as they didn't linger deep in the southern wilderness, they weren't worried about encountering any further danger.

It was nearly sunset, and the six members of the rescue team were exhausted after fighting for almost a day. After discussing it, they decided to return to Tiannan Town to rest.

On the return journey, there was no need to search for targets in need of rescue, so the speed was even faster than on the way there. Less than an hour later, the cloud boat finally carried the six people back to Tiannan Town.

The corner was naturally Xiao's barracks. There was no way around it; Xiao Chong was the leader of the rescue team, so he was entitled to this kind of preferential treatment.

After receiving their share of the spoils as agreed, Liu Yun and Xu Kuo bid farewell to Xiao Chong, waiting for the next summons from Xiao Chong to set off together.

After the two left, Xiao Chong was about to go back to his room to rest when he saw that Situ Mingyue and her brother were still standing there, whispering and discussing something.

Upon seeing Situ Mingyue, Xiao Chong suddenly felt a little guilty, but he couldn't just leave them there unattended.

Therefore, he walked up to the two men and said with a dry laugh to Situ Jiannan, "Brother Jiannan, our camps are very close, so I won't see you off any further."

Hearing the veiled implication in Xiao Chong's words that he was being asked to leave, Situ Jiannan didn't mind, though his expression was somewhat unnatural: "Brother, you saved Mingyue's life during the day, and I have no way to repay you. Therefore, I wanted to discuss with Mingyue about taking one less spirit stone as a reward. But Mingyue... she absolutely refuses to agree, which really makes me..."

"It's a trivial matter, not worth mentioning!" Xiao Chong quickly interrupted Situ Jiannan, saying, "Brother Jiannan, you should take your sister back to rest."

"How could I possibly accept that? After all, Brother Shi saved Mingyue. It's only right and proper that we should..." Situ Jiannan was about to say more.

"It was agreed that you and your siblings would each receive three portions, so it's three portions. There's no need to mention this again!" Xiao Chong interrupted Situ Jiannan once more.

"Brother, your kindness is truly appreciated, Jiannan will remember it." Seeing that Xiao Chong insisted on refusing, Situ Jiannan smiled sheepishly and prepared to leave with his sister.

However, Situ Mingyue showed no intention of leaving, and instead turned her gaze to Xiao Chong.

“Brother Xiao, you’ve had quite a haul today. You should give us an extra share, shouldn’t you?” Situ Mingyue asked, staring at Xiao Chong with a half-smile.

"You're extorting me, you're bullying an honest person..." Xiao Chong's voice grew softer and softer as he spoke, sounding very unsure of himself.

"Are you really an honest person? But why would an honest person do dishonest things time and time again?" Situ Mingyue straightened her chest, raised her head, and stared at Xiao Chong without letting her guard down.

"I knew it would be like this, and sure enough, we've been hacked again!" Xiao Chong sighed inwardly, his eyes gleaming as he said, "We've indeed gained a lot, far exceeding our expectations."

"If you want another 10%, that's negotiable, because you definitely have the capital, well, a lot of capital..."

"Stop talking nonsense and give it to me right now!" Situ Mingyue said sternly and without any politeness.

Situ Jiannan, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand it anymore. He felt that his sister's behavior was really too much.

"This is getting more and more outrageous! How could you be so rude to Brother Xiao? And why should Brother Xiao give you an extra portion?" Situ Jiannan said angrily to his sister.

"Yes, why should we get an extra portion?" This question is really too difficult to answer. Situ Mingyue was speechless for a moment.

But seeing Xiao Chong's eyes darting around, he suddenly had a bright idea and pointed at Xiao Chong, saying, "You, give me an explanation, why did you give us an extra share?"

Is this encouraging me to speak frankly? Xiao Chong really wanted to explain the reasons to Situ Jiannan in detail, but seeing Situ Mingyue's unpleasant expression, he finally forced himself to hold back.

After pondering for a while, he said, "Brother Jiannan displayed great power today, killing the Ant King with a single sword strike. He deserves the greatest credit, so it is only right that he receives an extra share."

Situ Mingyue nodded in satisfaction and turned to her brother, saying, "That's right, just like that. With your performance today, even if you got one or two more portions, it would still be..."

"That's impossible. One portion, we can only have one more portion!" Xiao Chong really didn't dare let Situ Mingyue continue speaking.

"Alright, one order it is, deal!" Situ Mingyue seemed to be thinking of stopping while she was ahead.

"Yin Feng, give Miss Mingyue an extra portion of spirit stones!" Seeing that Situ Mingyue was no longer pressuring him, Xiao Chong quickly agreed, then ran into his room and stayed inside.

Upon receiving the spirit stones from Yin Feng, Situ Mingyue's expression finally brightened, and she strode away with an air of triumph, forgetting even to greet her brother.

This is unbelievable! I was just the one who finished off the enemy; why should I deserve an extra share of spirit stones? No, I need to go back and discuss this with Mingyue!

Seeing that his sister's figure was almost gone, Situ Jiannan finally came to his senses and hurriedly chased after her, completely bewildered.

In the town mayor's residence of Tiannan Town.

Yokoyama lay half-reclined in a rattan chair with his eyes slightly closed, legs crossed, listening to Liu Yun recount the day's battle.

Liu Yun's account was very detailed, detailing when the rescue team encountered the pioneering team, how they fought the blood-striped ants, how they found the ant queen in the battle, and how they worked together to kill the ant queen—leaving no detail unmentioned.

After Liu Yun finished speaking, Hengshan pondered for a long time before opening his eyes and asking, "Are you sure Xiao Chong is really only at the Martial Apprentice level?"

Liu Yun thought carefully and said, "His martial arts cultivation is indeed only at the Martial Apprentice level. This is evident in both his understanding of martial arts techniques and the Yuan energy fluctuations he emits during battle."

Yokoyama then asked, "Is it possible that he deliberately suppressed his martial arts cultivation?"

Liu Yun shook his head and said, "Impossible. He's been in extremely dangerous situations several times; it's impossible for him to be hiding it. It's just..."

"Just what?" Yokoyama leaned forward and asked.

Liu Yun recalled, "His body is incredibly strong, able to withstand the bites of ordinary blood-striped ants. When he rescued Xu Kuo, he even broke the teeth of a blood-striped ant with his arm. Even Xu Kuo and I can't match his physical strength."

"That might mean he practiced some kind of body-strengthening technique, or he might have consumed some rare and precious herbs that can enhance his physical strength. By the way, tell me again about his final battle with the Ant King, the more detailed the better."

"He jumped into the air at that time..." Liu Yun recounted the story again.

This time, Yokoyama thought for a long time before saying, "Did you see clearly? Did he really not have any contact with that ant king at all?"

Liu Yun nodded vigorously and said with certainty, "There really was no contact. At that time, the ant king was still several feet away from it when he let out a loud roar, and the ant king fell to the ground as if it had lost its soul."

"Did he say how he did it?" Yokoyama asked with interest.

Liu Yun's lips twitched slightly as he said, "He said... that ant king was frightened by him."

"What? Scared?" Yokoyama tightened his grip, squeezing off a piece of the rattan chair's armrest.

“That’s exactly what he said,” Liu Yun replied softly.

"This is just trying to fool a child." After a while, Yokoyama came to his senses and chuckled, "It would have been fine if he hadn't said anything. But if he really is a martial arts apprentice, then there's only one explanation."

"What explanation?" Liu Yun asked curiously.

"He possesses a rare treasure that can influence the Ant King's mind," Yokoyama said with great certainty.

"Should we find an opportunity to bring the treasure over?" Liu Yun asked tentatively.

"Don't act rashly!" Yokoyama hurriedly said. "This person's background is unfathomable. We can only befriend him, not make enemies."

Seeing Liu Yun nod, Hengshan added, "Alright, you can go now. Remember, in any rescue missions, follow his instructions completely, and don't cause me any trouble."

Liu Yun nodded again, then turned and left.

After Liu Yun left the house, Hengshan recalled the scene when Xiao Chong conjured up a bag of beast cores out of thin air last time, and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "It seems that this Brother Xiao is really not simple. Fortunately, he was quick to react at the time, otherwise who knows what kind of old monster would have been attracted?"

Yokoyama lay in the rattan chair, guessing continuously, but he only guessed half of it correctly.

Xiao Chong could indeed influence the Ant King's mind, but that was entirely due to his telekinesis, and had absolutely nothing to do with any special treasures.

Yokoyama never imagined that Xiao Chong was not only a martial artist, but also a practitioner of the Mind Master's Way.

In Yokoyama's simple worldview, martial arts and mind control must never be practiced at the same time, a principle that every practitioner knows.

So, as the old monster behind Xiao Chong, a peerless master who has lived for over a thousand years, wouldn't he be unaware of this principle?