Keep It Up

"However, these demon cores are not easy to retrieve!"

The elder of Tianbi Sect said.

The others nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

Indeed, it wasn't just one or two cores that could be taken quickly and left.

Even though they were powerful, they still couldn't ignore the existence of the black fog.

Without any protection or preparation, none of them dared to venture into the black fog alone.

"Everyone, I think we should focus on our main task first," one of the elders suggested. "Let's leave these demon cores here for now. Since they're within the black fog, no one will take them. We can come back for them after we finish our main mission."

After obtaining everyone's consent, the spirit boat slowly advanced deeper into the black fog.

What they never expected was that shortly after moving forward, they encountered another small mountain made of demon corpses.

"What in the world is going on?"

The people on the spirit boat were utterly unsettled.

Based on their knowledge and understanding of demons, this was something that had never happened before.

The black fog was the stronghold of demons, and nothing could pose a threat to them, let alone cause such mass deaths.

Another wave of fire was cast, revealing a dense cluster of demon cores.

"Everyone, have you noticed? These piles of corpses are all of the same type, one type per pile. What if the other types are also..." one elder remarked.

This comment alerted everyone.

They quickly steered the spirit boat toward even deeper areas.

However, as the spirit boat flew through the sky, a bouncing figure could be seen holding a torch in one hand and a shovel in the other, digging in the ground.

At the same time, Elder Ling Yunzhang of the Yunjie Sect was standing by the window of the spirit boat.

The window had been pitch black, but suddenly a flash of light illuminated the scene, and he saw what was happening.

Although it was just a fleeting glimpse due to the speed of the spirit boat, he had seen it clearly.

"What the hell!"

Ling Yunzhang choked, almost dropping his eyeballs in shock.

What had he just seen?

He had actually seen Su Yu'er, the youngest disciple of the Yunjie Sect, holding a torch and digging in the black fog?

"It must be an illusion!"

Ling Yunzhang slapped himself twice.

This couldn't be possible.

Digging in the black fog, and it was the youngest disciple of the Yunjie Sect? It was unthinkable.

Su Yu'er had dug out a rusted storage ring from the ground. It was unclear how long the ring had been buried, but along with the others she had found earlier, she had hit the jackpot for the day.

She happily returned to Dark Shadow Island with the storage rings and handed them over to Yi Feng.

Yi Feng opened each of the storage rings one by one.

The first things to appear were a few divine weapons, but there were only a few dozen Celestial Crystals.

"What kind of junk is this?"

Yi Feng tossed the divine weapons aside, frowning.

"But, back at the sect, when I dug up things like this with my uncles and masters, they were always so happy," Su Yu'er couldn't help but say.

"That's because your uncles and masters don't know any better. Remember, only money is king. Only money is omnipotent," Yi Feng lectured Su Yu'er. "What use are these pieces of junk? Collecting trash?"

As he spoke, Yi Feng snapped the divine weapons in half.

"Understand the bigger picture, got it?"

Yi Feng added.

Su Yu'er listened attentively and then nodded solemnly.

Her admiration for Yi Feng had reached the heavens.

She believed that everything Yi Feng told her was the result of his vast experience as a seasoned veteran.

Whether she fully understood or not, it was definitely useful.

"Pfft. Trash!"

Su Yu'er stomped on the weapons a few times with her foot.

"Master, don't worry. From now on, I'll only dig for Celestial Crystals," Su Yu'er said earnestly. "I won't dig up any more junk."

"Good."

Yi Feng patted her head. "Go and rest now!"

After Su Yu'er left, Yi Feng stood up with his hands behind his back and walked toward the beach.

On the beach, a row of people lay sprawled out.

At their feet, a wild man was scrubbing their toes.

"Ah, Qing, I really miss the colorful world outside!" Lu Benwei sighed.

"Brother, but we've already spent all our Celestial Crystals. We don't have a single one left," the dog couldn't help but say. "And this guy, he couldn't even produce a single Celestial Crystal, just a bunch of useless junk."

As he spoke, the dog got so angry that he kicked Zhao Gu, sending him flying.

"Beauties, I just want beauties..."

Lu Benwei moved his jaws, muttering to himself.

As if sensing something, he suddenly rolled over and tried to run.

"Where do you think you're going, you dog?"

With his hands behind his back, Yi Feng took a swift step and grabbed Lu Benwei's black robe.

"Ah-ba ah-ba!"

Lu Benwei lifted his head, making pitiful sounds.

"Don't give me that act."

Yi Feng held him up and said leisurely, "I'll give you a chance to prove yourself. Want it?"

Lu Benwei looked at him with a pitiful expression.

"Help me retrieve some things. I'm afraid someone might steal them," Yi Feng said, looking at him. "If you do this well, I'll reward you with ten... no, five Celestial Crystals. A whole five. Deal?"

"Eight!"

Lu Benwei opened his mouth.

"You dog, bargaining with me?"

"You've been eating and using my stuff all these years. Have I ever complained?" Yi Feng scolded. "All these years, I've taken care of you without a single word of complaint. Have I ever said anything to you?"

Being lectured by Yi Feng, Lu Benwei looked utterly pitiful.

Seeing Lu Benwei like this, Yi Feng softened a bit and spoke in a more understanding tone. "It's not that I'm being stingy with you. You know our family's situation has always been tough. As the pillar of the household, I have a lot of pressure and difficulties. Sure, I've taken some of your gold coins before, but I've been saving them for you!"

"If you need them, I'll return every single one to you right now."

With that, Yi Feng took out a storage bag and solemnly placed it in Lu Benwei's hand. The bag was filled with gold coins.

Lu Benwei looked at the storage bag full of gold coins, his face unreadable.

"Go on, I won't argue with you anymore. You said eight Celestial Crystals, so I'll give you eight. After you finish the task, I'll give you three first, and the remaining five will be saved for you, just like the gold coins."

Yi Feng then handed Lu Benwei a map he had drawn.

"These four points have some demons I killed. You don't need to do much, just retrieve all the cores from their bodies. It's not a big job."

"Of course, you can bring your lackeys along."

"Good luck."

Yi Feng smiled, gently letting go of Lu Benwei and straightening his black robe. He then made a fist and gave a thumbs-up gesture.