Chapter 35 I am worse than an animal
"This… so many iron lumps?"
Lu Bai was stunned!
He took out the Xunjin Plate again.
It really worked!
Even when pressed against it, there was no reaction.
This material is called grey scale iron. Among the more than three hundred items in the Jialan Sand Land, its value can be ranked in the middle. A fist-sized piece can be exchanged for ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
Lu Bai estimated that the lump under his feet should be worth several hundred thousand Spirit Stones!
He was weighing whether it would be more cost-effective to sell it at the market or exchange it for contribution points.
Ultimately!
Lu Bai decided to exchange it for contribution points.
Because contribution points not only represent wealth, their intangible value is the most important.
Puff puff puff!
Lu Bai covered the dirt, then took out a Jade Talisman and sent a message to his Senior Brother.
The distance shouldn't be too far, right?
After sending it, Lu Bai found a hidden spot and waited while Cultivating. With his Senior Brother's pace, he should arrive in half a day.
An hour later.
A movement appeared in the distance, and Lu Bai thought his Senior Brother had arrived! Unexpectedly, it was a group of strangers.
They held Xunjin Plates and probed everywhere.
When Lu Bai saw this scene, he thought they were particularly stupid.
Uh! He couldn't use that word, after all, he used to be just like them.
As the group flew closer, Lu Bai became a little nervous.
Although the Xunjin Plate was useless, what if they had other means to discover the grey scale iron mine? It was not easy to find one, and he couldn't let others benefit from it.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The group arrived above the iron mine, and one of them said, "Senior Brother, there are signs of disturbance here!"
Lu Bai couldn't help but clench his fists!
"So what? The Jialan Sand Land is full of disturbances, what does that represent?" The Senior Brother said dismissively.
"You're right!" That person scratched his head.
Then, the group stared at their Xunjin Plates and went off to search in the distance, gradually disappearing from sight.
Lu Bai breathed a sigh of relief!
If a conflict really broke out, he would most likely not be their opponent.
Because the other party had many people, and everyone's Cultivation was higher than his, he only had hope if every strike was a Critical Strike.
Another two hours passed.
A golden light appeared in the distance, speeding like a meteor, arriving in the blink of an eye.
"Xiaobai!" Lin Mu looked towards Lu Bai's hiding place.
Lu Bai 'whooshed' out, saying happily, "Senior Brother, you're finally here!"
"And this is?"
He saw a middle-aged man standing beside Lin Mu.
"He is Steward Pei Changyong," Lin Mu said with a smile. "When I received your message, I knew you had found a mine, so I simply called Steward Pei along to save time."
"You're really something, kid! You've already found something in just a few days! Hang Qingyue has been here for half a month and is still empty-handed. She even brought a Spirit Beast, but she can't beat you with your bare hands!"
"Senior Brother, you flatter me! How could I possibly beat Senior Sister Hang Qingyue!" Lu Bai said modestly.
"Let's go look at the goods first!"
Pei Changyong surveyed the surroundings. In his experience, it should be very difficult to find anything here.
This kid wouldn't just find some random Materials and make him come all this way, would he?
"Alright!"
Lu Bai led the two to where the grey scale iron was buried, took out his tools, and prepared to dig.
"Move aside."
After Lin Mu finished speaking, he grabbed with his large hand from a distance, then lifted it sharply, and all the loosely covered dirt above was cleared away.
Lu Bai was secretly startled, a Golden Core expert could probably just blow a breath and it would be stronger than his Critical Strike!
Pei Changyong looked at the large pit, his eyes immediately lighting up.
What a huge piece of grey scale iron!
He jumped down, touched it, and patted it, seemingly verifying its quality.
After a long while, he returned to the surface and said with a smile, "This piece of grey scale iron, both in size and quality, is very good! After my calculation, I can give a reward of three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, plus 487 contribution points!"
Lu Bai's eyes lit up!
Spirit Stones were secondary, but 487 contribution points!
Has such immense fortune just fallen upon my head?
The Songhe Country treatment mission he took last time initially only had 3 contribution points. Later, when it was defined as an evil Cultivator incident, it only increased to 50 points. There was no comparison to this ugly, broken iron.
He secretly rejoiced that he hadn't chosen to swallow it!
"Steward Pei, you have always been a straightforward person, couldn't you just round it up to 500 points?" Lin Mu said.
Pei Changyong was troubled for a moment, but finally gritted his teeth and said, "Alright! Consider it encouragement for the young man!"
"Thank you, Steward Pei! Thank you, Senior Brother!" Lu Bai was very sensible and immediately expressed his gratitude.
Pei Changyong waved his large hand, putting the grey scale iron into his Storage Ring.
"The contribution points will be immediately credited to your personal account and Chixiao Peak's name. As for the Spirit Stones, you will have to wait until you return to the sect to collect them at Qinwu Hall."
"Understood!" Lu Bai nodded.
"Steward Pei, you go first, I need to give my Junior Brother a few instructions," Lin Mu said.
"Alright!" Pei Changyong returned along the original path.
After Pei Changyong left, Lin Mu took out a Storage Ring and handed it to Lu Bai.
"Ah!"
Lu Bai was dizzy from this huge surprise; his Senior Brother was too generous!
"Don't misunderstand! It's just temporarily lent to you. When you find more mines, you can put them back and settle them at the stronghold."
Uh… what a waste of emotion!
Lu Bai pouted as he took it.
He thought, once it's in my hands, do you still expect to get it back?
He probed with his Divine Thought and found that the space was more than ten times larger than a Storage Pouch. It would be no problem to store three to five pieces of grey scale iron like the one he just found.
"Keep up the good work! Chixiao Peak's contribution points for this year depend on you!" Lin Mu encouraged Lu Bai before leaving.
Lu Bai gave him the middle finger behind his back!
…
After seeing his Senior Brother off, Lu Bai had to start working again.
He recalled the scene when he discovered the grey scale iron before; it should be said that the Swallowing Skill made a great contribution.
If it weren't for that faint trace of energy coming from below, he wouldn't have dug down at all.
So, can the Swallowing Skill be used to find mines?
Whether there's anything underground, he'd know by just taking a breath!
Of course!
This was just Lu Bai's guess and needed more verification. What if that time was just a coincidence?
So, Lu Bai would fly for a bit, then land and try to absorb.
Nothing!
Continue forward.
Nothing!
Still nothing!
Hmm?
This time, there seemed to be something!
Lu Bai's face lit up with joy, and he quickly dug down.
Just one zhang deep, he dug out something resembling a red agate.
It was a bit small, but at least it verified one thing: his Swallowing Skill could indeed find mines.
Wouldn't he get rich then?
Lu Bai was instantly full of energy!
And so, he walked and absorbed, finding some more items.
Unfortunately, the quantities were very small, not worth turning in.
Lu Bai thought, haven't I become a treasure-hunting Spirit Beast?
No!
I'm more useful than a treasure-hunting Spirit Beast!
Hmph! Why am I comparing myself to those things!
He remembered a joke from his previous life: Don't compare yourself to beasts! If you win, you're more beastly than a beast! If you lose, you're not even as good as a beast!
…
Xuanqing Sect, Qinwu Hall.
Ji Fuyao came to turn in a mission again.
As usual, after completing the mission, she asked the Elder, "How many contribution points does Chixiao Peak have?"
"Wait a moment, I'll check for you," the Elder
said.