Chapter 24

(First update, brothers, please give more red tickets and clicks...)

Leaving the stone hall, the young people outside, such as Zong Ya, Zong Ling, and Nan Xi, all gathered around.

"Wow, you're really something, actually killing Gulei from the Black Mountain tribe. Tell us, how did you do it?"

Chen Xun was quite speechless. Zong Ya, Zong Ling, Nan Xi, and the others were all around thirteen or fourteen years old. How could they be so excited about hearing about killing someone?

Back in the shack, Chen Xun first took out the mongoose weasel bones and asked Zong Ling to deliver them to the stone hall. Grandpa Zong Tu would naturally know what to do with them.

According to the Western Wilderness Records, the mongoose weasel is a strange beast from Mount Tushan, small like a fox. Although it is not an extremely fierce beast, it has a naturally hard and strong skeleton, the hardest thing in the world.

Looking at the snow-white, jade-like bones, Chen Xun thought, could this mongoose weasel have died in the thunderstorm more than three years ago, and its bones have been preserved intact through the storm?

Chen Xun also thought about the hundred bone pills that formed from the body of the six-armed giant demon after its death, which were eventually taken by Dao Xu. They must also be rare treasures.

Although he knew the mongoose weasel bones were precious, the saying goes, "A man without talent is not guilty, but a man with talent is in danger." These mongoose weasel bones were not treasures he could possess at this time.

Since the treasure had already been revealed, Chen Xun naturally knew that the best choice was to offer it to General Su Qingfeng.

Zong Ling, who had delivered the mongoose weasel bones to the stone hall, soon returned. However, he looked uneasy, his legs clamped together as if something was about to fall out of his pants. He opened his mouth to say something but couldn't utter a word for a long time.

"Are you mute? Did you stuff your mouth with shit?" Zong Ya asked in confusion.

"No... no, I didn't stuff my mouth with shit," Zong Ling finally caught his breath, blushing and stammering, "Miss Qingxuan is looking for Ah Xun."

"You're Ah Xun!" The beautiful Qingxuan stood outside the shack, poking her head in to ask.

Zong Ya and Nan Xi, sitting on Chen Xun's bed, were listening to Chen Xun tell the story of luring and killing Gulei in the deep mountains. When they saw Qingxuan, they jumped up like roosters with their necks pinched, poking holes in the shack's roof and not even noticing the grass on their faces as they stared at Qingxuan's flawless beauty.

Oh my God, there really are fairies!

Chen Xun sat up and said, "What does Miss Qingxuan need from me?"

"Thirteenth Master said that your mongoose weasel bones are worth a hundred talisman coins in Canglan. He asked me to come and ask if you want to exchange them for two hundred Heavenly Gang talisman coins or for Canglan goods worth a hundred talisman coins."

Heavenly Gang talisman coins?

Chen Xun remembered the two ancient copper coins with mysterious inscriptions he found in Gulei's pocket.

What could a hundred Heavenly Gang talisman coins be used for if he stayed in Wuyang? He thought it would be more practical to exchange them for useful items.

Chen Xun kicked Zong Ya and Nan Xi awake: "Let's go, we'll pick out some things."

Chen Xun stood up and followed Qingxuan out, only to realize that she wasn't short at all, almost as tall as him.

Chen Xun didn't know how much a hundred talisman coins could exchange for in Canglan. As they walked to the square in front of the stone hall, he asked Qingxuan.

"Heavy Spear, in Canglan, is worth about three to four talisman coins; the one Ge Yi gave you is probably a Yuan Gathering Pill, one talisman coin can exchange for one pill..." Qingxuan explained.

The potency of the Yuan Gathering Pill was one to two times stronger than the Wuyang Pill. Chen Xun didn't expect the mongoose weasel bones to be worth three to four hundred Wuyang Pills or about thirty Heavy Spears, which was roughly equivalent to Wuyang Village's total output for three to four years.

Thinking about this, Chen Xun realized that the Su family wasn't all like Su Ling and Su Yi, who bullied others with their power. People like Su Qingfeng and Ge Yi were still reasonable.

Chen Xun and the others followed Qingxuan to the square in front of the stone hall, where they saw Grandpa Zong Tu and the others accompanying General Su Qingfeng to the copper cart. Zong Sang was holding the scaleskin and bones of the black-scaled weasel, following behind them as they came out of the stone hall.

The Soul Sacrifice Feast only used the flesh and blood of the black-scaled weasel, leaving the scaleskin and bones behind, with no immediate use for them.

Seeing this, Chen Xun thought, is Grandpa going to offer the black-scaled weasel's skin and bones to the Su family?

Chen Xun secretly thought Grandpa did well. The Black Mountain tribe was most familiar with Wuyang. Even if Wuyang could keep the secret of the Soul Sacrifice Feast, the significant increase in strength of Nan Liao and Zong Sang would eventually be noticed by the Black Mountain tribe.

More importantly, Wuyang had only moved to the northern slope of Pythontooth Ridge thirty years ago and had poor relations with the surrounding tribes, including the Black Mountain tribe. Even if they could temporarily suppress the Black Mountain tribe, the Black Mountain tribe might ally with other tribes on the northern slope of Pythontooth Ridge against Wuyang.

Regardless of the Su family's motives for lowering their stance to trade and befriend the Black Mountain and Wuyang tribes, the opportunity to strengthen Wuyang by aligning with the Su family was crucial.

"It's really fortunate. This black-scaled weasel was struck by lightning and washed out of the deep mountains by a flood, and it was Ah Xun who discovered it. If General Su Qingfeng hadn't come to Pythontooth Ridge to find this black-scaled weasel, Wuyang would have offered it, including its flesh and blood, to the Su family..." Witch Zong Tu, still looking relaxed, told the story of how Wuyang obtained the black-scaled weasel to Su Qingfeng, and asked Zong Ling and Zong Ya to take out the two long fangs of the black-scaled weasel.

Zong Ya and Zong Ling looked pained.

"Oh, I see. Wuyang has many young men with strong blood and qi, originally nourished by the flesh and blood of the black-scaled weasel. No wonder," Su Qingfeng nodded, satisfied with Zong Tu's attitude, and said, "But the most valuable part of the black-scaled weasel is its bones and scales, worth about three to four hundred talisman coins in Canglan. What do you want to exchange for?"

"The black-scaled weasel was obtained by Ah Xun. We have already eaten the meat, which is already more than enough. The remaining bones and scales should be decided by Ah Xun himself..." Witch Zong Tu said.

Ge Yi directed his men to open the last copper cart. With a "click," several large copper racks extended from the bottom of the cart, displaying various Canglan goods, including pills, cloth, tea, salt, weapons, and bows. Surprisingly, there were even dozens of hand-copied silk books, which were extremely rare in Pythontooth Ridge.

Chen Xun was dazzled, thinking that Su Qingfeng's trip south on behalf of the Su family was indeed sincere.

Five hundred Heavenly Gang talisman coins could exchange for one hundred fifty to sixty Heavy Spears or five hundred Yuan Gathering Pills.

This was a huge sum in Wuyang.

Chen Xun was momentarily at a loss and looked at Grandpa Zong Tu.

Grandpa Zong Tu turned to look elsewhere, giving no hint. Zong Sang and Nan Liao were secretly anxious but couldn't speak openly in front of General Su Qingfeng.

Chen Xun realized that with the trade route open, more Canglan trade caravans would come in the future. Ordinary goods would be easier to obtain, but some goods, especially the pills and weapons made by the Canglan Su family, would be harder to bring into Pythontooth Ridge.

Wuyang could make witch potions, and the deep Pythontooth Ridge was not short of medicinal herbs. What they lacked most were weapons to quickly enhance their combat strength.

Chen Xun didn't think too much. Listening to Qingxuan's detailed introduction of the prices of each item, he estimated and immediately exchanged for thirty Heavy Spears, thirty black-sheathed knives, ten iron-core giant bows, a hundred quivers of iron arrows, and ten sets of scale armor.

Although Chen Xun was confident in his future cultivation after killing Gulei in the deep mountains, he also knew that the path of cultivation was vast and profound, and he was just a tiny grain in it.

Not to mention facing the powerful Su family, without the protection of the Wuyang tribe, people like Guhu and Gu Chen from the Black Mountain tribe could kill him in the wilds of Pythontooth Ridge.

To become stronger, he first needed to make Wuyang stronger.

Although the hand-copied silk books were in Yanzhou script, which Chen Xun didn't fully understand, and each scroll cost ten Heavenly Gang talisman coins, he still exchanged for ten volumes of "Canglan Miscellany."

In addition, he exchanged some salt, tea, and twenty Yuan Gathering Pills for himself.

The twenty Yuan Gathering Pills were for emergencies, and Chen Xun had eaten too much meat in the past three years in Wuyang, needing tea to reduce the greasiness.

Although Wuyang also ate salt, the stone salt produced in the deep Pythontooth Ridge was bitter and toxic, and could not be consumed in large quantities. The green salt from Canglan was the real deal. Zong Sang's eyes lit up when he saw the green salt, knowing its value.

Although a small jar cost one talisman coin, Chen Xun still indulged himself and exchanged for a small jar.

Guhu's face turned green when he saw Chen Xun exchange for these weapons.

Even if his two top lieutenants were not dead or injured, the weapons obtained by Wuyang would ensure that the Black Mountain tribe would be suppressed by Wuyang in the future, with no chance of revival.

A slight misstep could even lead to the destruction of the tribe.

Guhu deeply regretted not exchanging for more weapons with the Su family the other day. The six Heavy Spears he exchanged for, one of which became this little brat's trophy.

After the matter was settled, Su Qingfeng had no intention of staying longer.

There were three to fifty tribes in the northern Pythontooth Ridge, and he needed to visit each of the larger tribes with more than four thousand people to ensure that the Canglan trade caravans would not be harassed by these tribes in the future.

He originally didn't plan to visit Wuyang, which had only a thousand people, but unexpectedly, Wuyang's gains were the greatest.

Before leaving, Su Qingfeng said to Zong Tu, "I also asked the clan leader for a favor, which is that the Xusi Military Camp can recommend the children of the tribes north of Pythontooth Ridge to the Canglan Academy. If Wuyang is willing to recommend outstanding children to serve in my Xusi Military Camp, I will send Ge Yi here again next spring."

Before leaving, Su Qingfeng also said to Chen Xun, "If you think of anything and are willing to go to Canglan, you can come find me."

Seeing the unfriendly faces of Su Ling and Su Yi, although Su Qingfeng had intentions to recruit him, Chen Xun thought he would be crazy to go to Canglan, but he bowed gratefully and said, "Ah Xun thanks General Xusi."

**************

The scale horses pulled the copper carts slowly westward on the mountain path overgrown with wild grass, which could hardly be called a road.

Guhu had already returned to the Black Mountain tribe, and Witch Zong Tu led the Wuyang people to see them off at the ridge entrance before returning to the stone village.

Su Qingfeng sat on a brocade couch, looking at the place where the Wuyang stone village had disappeared behind the mountains, and asked Ge Yi, who was sitting at the front of the cart:

"What do you think of the truth in what that boy Ah Xun said?"

"Ge Yi is not sure, but I feel that it's quite remarkable for a thirteen or fourteen-year-old to reach the True Yang Foundation Stage Fifth Level just by practicing from a few boxing manuals," Ge Yi said, "And the Black Mountain tribe exchanged many goods with us using the Pythontooth Ridge's resources, but he alone could exchange so many weapons and silk books for Wuyang, showing great insight."

"Yes, the key is his insight. Since the trade route is open, green salt and cloth can be continuously transported in, but the trade of weapons will still be strictly controlled. Seeing that he has such insight at thirteen or fourteen, I feel that I still haven't fully understood him," Su Qingfeng said, "Next spring, you can skip the other tribes, but you must come to Wuyang specifically."

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