Translator: CinderTL

"Ten catties?"

Song Wen scoffed, shaking his head slightly.

"Ten catties isn’t nearly enough! Ten thousand catties would be more like it. I’m not one to bully others with my status; I’ll pay every spirit stone I owe you."

"Ten thousand catties!"

The man named Ke Feng’s eyes suddenly lit up. He strode forward several dozen feet, stopping before Song Wen.

"Young Master Guan Liang, are you truly planning to purchase such a vast quantity of Netherworld Sand?"

"Of course! Otherwise, why would I have come to this remote backwater?" Song Wen replied.

"Four high-grade spirit stones per catty. Does that price meet with your approval, Young Master Guan Liang?" Ke Feng asked.

Song Wen’s lips curled into a cold smile.

"Considering the scale of my purchase, wouldn’t that price be a bit steep?"

"Three high-grade spirit stones per catty. I can’t go any lower," Ke Feng insisted.

"Very well," Song Wen agreed.

"Excellent!" Ke Feng’s face lit up with joy. He turned to look at Wen and Di Cang, who remained impassive, their gazes filled with suspicion as they scrutinized Song Wen.

"Young Master Guan Liang, as a disciple of the Spirit Jade Palace, why do you need so much Netherworld Sand?"

"This is an internal matter of the Spirit Jade Palace. Knowing too much won’t benefit you," Song Wen replied, his tone tinged with a subtle chill. "Just give me the Netherworld Sand, and I’ll pay you in spirit stones. Once the deal is done, we’ll go our separate ways. This is best for both of us."

"Ten thousand catties of Netherworld Sand requires three hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones. Can you really produce that much?" Wen Hua challenged.

"A mere three hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones? I wouldn’t even bat an eye," Song Wen scoffed, flipping his hand to reveal a storage ring. "Here’s one hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones as a deposit. Once you’ve gathered enough Netherworld Sand, I’ll pay the remaining spirit stones. Furthermore, the more Netherworld Sand, the better. Even if you bring me twenty thousand catties, I’ll take it all."

"Young Master Guan Liang, may I inspect this storage ring?" Ke Feng, standing closest to Song Wen, asked ingratiatingly.

Song Wen didn’t say a word, simply tossing the storage ring to the other party.

He appeared to be throwing spirit stones around like they were nothing, but in reality, this storage ring contained nearly all of his spirit stones. Aside from these, he only had a few thousand high-grade spirit stones left.

Ke Feng caught the storage ring and probed it with his divine sense. His eyes immediately lit up with delight.

"Young Master is truly generous! This deal, we will definitely handle perfectly!"

With that, he tossed the storage ring to Wen Hua behind him.

After inspecting the ring, Wen Hua’s eyes also gleamed with pleasure.

Though all three of them were Void Refinement Stage cultivators, as rogue cultivators, they rarely saw ten thousand high-grade spirit stones right before their eyes.

"Young Master Guan Liang, please rest assured. Within three months, we will deliver the full ten thousand catties of Netherworld Sand," Wen Hua said.

"All three of you, I’ve already proven my sincerity. Shouldn’t you do the same? What if you can’t produce enough Netherworld Sand when the time comes?" Song Wen said coldly.

Wen Hua said, "Young Master Guan Liang, rest assured. As a distinguished disciple of the Spirit Jade Palace, how could we dare deceive you? To be frank, we stumbled upon a Netherworld Sand vein in Yin Misfortune Valley and have already mobilized people to begin mining it. Later, Ke Feng can take you to Yin Misfortune Valley to see the vein with your own eyes."

"Excellent!" Song Wen’s tone shifted as he asked, "Fellow Daoist Wenhua, earlier at your shop, I overheard the old steward mention that you have some connection with the Myriad Swords Pavilion. Could you tell me more about your specific connection with them?"

Wen Hua’s expression turned slightly awkward, and she forced a dry laugh.

"Young Master is joking. I’ve only met a few Outer Sect Stewards from the Myriad Swords Pavilion. It’s hardly a significant connection."

"So that’s how it is." Song Wen didn’t press further. Turning to Ke Feng, he said, "Fellow Daoist Ke Feng, shall we set off for Yin Misfortune Valley now?"

"Certainly! Young Master Guan Liang, please follow me."

After replying, Ke Feng exchanged a glance with Wen Hua and Di Cang before speeding eastward.

"Fellow Daoists, farewell!"

Song Wen clasped his hands in a gesture of farewell to Di Cang and Wen Hua before hurrying after Ke Feng.

On the barren desert, a massive chasm stretched before Song Wen.

The chasm was roughly a thousand miles wide, its depths shrouded in darkness. Wisps of Yin Energy swirled from within, cooling the scorching desert slightly.

Song Wen glanced left and right before asking, "Fellow Daoist Ke Feng, how long is this Yin Misfortune Valley?"

Ke Feng replied, "Around seven or eight million miles. However, the Yin Energy is relatively thin at both ends. Only the middle section, about two million miles long, has concentrated Yin Energy, nurturing high-grade Yin-attribute spiritual objects but also breeding unique demon beasts. These demon beasts dwell deep within the Yin Misfortune Valley year-round, their movements mysterious and unpredictable. Young Master, you must be cautious once we descend into the chasm."

With that, Ke Feng plunged downward into the depths of the chasm.

Song Wen followed closely behind.

As they descended deeper, the light gradually faded, while the concentration of Yin Energy intensified.

After falling for nearly two thousand miles, they still hadn’t reached the bottom of the chasm.

Suddenly, Ke Feng subtly changed direction, flying toward the cliff face.

As they approached the rock face, Song Wen noticed a cave several dozen feet high carved into the cliff.

Led by Ke Feng, the two entered the cave and proceeded for several miles until they were blocked by a gray barrier.

Ke Feng produced a token, activated it, and two beams of spiritual light shot forth, landing on himself and Song Wen respectively.

With that, they passed through the barrier without any resistance.

Continuing deeper, they traversed three more barriers before the path suddenly opened up.

Before them lay a massive vertical shaft a thousand feet wide.

The shaft extended nearly a hundred miles downward, its edges carved with spiral stone steps that descended like a coiled dragon.

The steps connected to a series of platforms.

On each platform, dozens of raggedly dressed mortal youths worked tirelessly, their tools striking the rock face with a constant "ding-ding-dang-dang" rhythm.

Several Golden Core Stage ghost cultivators hovered in the air, their cold gazes like predatory hawks scanning each mortal. Whenever they noticed someone slowing down, a whip-like shadow would crack through the air.

The mortals’ flesh split open instantly, though not fatally, the pain was excruciating.

Song Wen hovered in mid-air, looking down at the ant-like figures below, toiling ceaselessly. Occasionally, a mortal would discover a grain of Netherworld Sand and joyfully tuck it into a small jade box at their waist.

These jade boxes were clearly specially made to prevent the leakage of Yin Energy from the Netherworld Sand.

Moreover, the four barriers Song Wen had just passed through clearly served to isolate Yin Energy. The Yin Energy here was far thinner than outside, less than one percent as dense, but still unbearable for mortals.

Song Wen estimated that even if these mortals didn’t die from the exploitation of the Golden Core Stage ghost cultivators or from accidents during the mining process, they would succumb to Yin Energy corrosion within a year at most.

"Fellow Daoist Ke Feng, this place is indeed rich in Netherworld Sand, but can we really extract a hundred thousand pounds within three months with only tens of thousands of mortals?" Song Wen asked, his tone tinged with dissatisfaction.

(End of the Chapter)

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