Earth Gold

"There are also some exotic treasures capable of sensing killing intent, which will expose you." "Therefore—" "The first line of the first chapter of the Seven Apertures Shadow Kill Art is designed to help you conceal your killing intent." Shao Qiu was inherently a "living dead" special cultivator; every time his cultivation advanced, the cultivation methods and martial techniques he acquired automatically reached the great perfection realm. At this moment, he was virtually the ideal teacher, breaking down the cultivation method bit by bit and feeding it to his subordinates hand by hand. Naturally, they achieved twice the result with half the effort. It was significantly faster than if they were to comprehend it on their own. Add to that the fact that the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion already had the effect of accelerating comprehension, their progress was swifter still. Chen Fan, who had arrived outside the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion at some point, stood off to the side. A glint of appreciation flashed in his eyes, and he couldn't help nodding. Truly professional! The Emerald Thumb Ring in his possession was an exotic treasure that could sense killing intent. Shao Qiu was plenty knowledgeable. During training, he also incorporated plenty of specialized drills. "The second line." Perhaps having noticed Chen Fan coming to inspect, Shao Qiu grew even more animated, eager to pour out everything he had learned in his life: "Listen to the wind with your ears. More often than not, do not trust your eyes too much; ears are also a major source of information." "When executing an assassination mission, the slightest carelessness means death." "You must be cautious enough." "You must learn to spread your auditory perception." "The third line: sever the breath of your nose. You must learn to control your breathing rhythm. Many top experts have an extraordinarily keen perception of the outside world, including the faintest sound of breathing. For instance, if you watch a companion fail their mission and die before your eyes, the moment your breath subconsciously quickens," "it means you are exposed." "An exposed assassin is virtually equivalent to a corpse." "Blend your breathing into the night wind or the sound of water; let yourself become one with nature." After watching for a while, Chen Fan did not speak to interrupt and quietly backed out of the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion. The man had even taught a Yellow-grade cultivation method; clearly, he genuinely wanted to forge a Dark Pavilion that would achieve renown throughout the world. He liked people with dreams. It meant they were easier to make use of. Or rather, he preferred people who had desires. Like Shao Qiu, like Wang Kui. People without desires or attachments—those he was a bit hesitant to employ. Two hours later. Having completed a round of inspection, Chen Fan returned to the sinkhole to supervise the work. He enjoyed this feeling of inspecting. He now understood why so many leaders liked going on inspection tours. It really felt great. Watching a crowd of people striving toward a shared goal, gradually building the Fan Domain into something better bit by bit, truly gave a sense of accomplishment. It felt like a lion patrolling its territory. Right at that moment—"Roar!" The ground vibrated slightly. Before long, a crocodile emerged from the pit dug out of the earth, scurried right up to him, opened its gaping maw, and then— Clatter! A massive pile of black gold cascaded onto the ground, heaping into a small mound. Chen Fan froze for a moment. He picked up a piece and examined it in his palm. At first glance, it looked like a chunk of rough charcoal, its surface covered in honeycomb-like pores. It was cold to the touch, yet exceptionally light. Like a cloud, it had virtually no weight. It gleamed with a blackish-gold hue. A status screen appeared: [Exotic Treasure Name]: Earth Gold [Exotic Treasure Grade]: Green [Exotic Treasure Effect]: A special heavenly material and earthly treasure. Can be used for artifact refining and tailoring garments. The next moment, he suddenly saw Shao Qiu rush out from the cave at extreme speed. The man snatched up a piece of Earth Gold, brought it to his nose, and took a deep sniff. His eyes instantly turned red, and dropping to his knees, he choked out in a raspy, tearful voice: "It's this! It really is!" "To think that in my lifetime, I would encounter Earth Gold again!" "Domain Lord!" "You must allocate some to the Dark Pavilion!" "Stand up first." Chen Fan gave Shao Qiu a bewildered look. Why was this fellow constantly dropping to his knees at the slightest provocation, completely wasting such a cool, aloof name? "Tell me about this Earth Gold." "Alright." Sniffling through tears and snot, Shao Qiu stood up, drifting into a daze of reminiscence: "The Immortal Slaughter Holy Land only said there was a possibility of Earth Gold forming here, but I never imagined it would actually be present. This is an extremely unique heavenly material and earthly treasure." "Its grade isn't overly high." "Yet just like the Snow Lotus, the conditions required for its formation are exceptionally harsh." "It requires gravity to compress a mass of earth together in an instant; after a century, there is a probability of forming Earth Gold—a most extraordinary heavenly material and earthly treasure. A night-travel suit made from Earth Gold can absorb most of the surrounding light, sound, and even spiritual energy fluctuations." "This means that even if someone doesn't know how to stealth, putting on this suit can grant them near-invisibility. And if they already know stealth, it would be adding wings to a tiger!" "And weapons forged from Earth Gold," "possess a natural destructive property against protective spiritual energy, exotic treasure shields, formation barriers, and the like. Even if the mission target carries an exotic treasure for defense, the success rate will increase substantially." "I once had a dagger forged from Earth Gold. That dagger only used a tiny piece like this, but it was confiscated by the Immortal Slaughter Holy Land." "If I had possessed a night-travel suit crafted from Earth Gold back then, I might have succeeded in that mission." "The Earth Gold here is enough to forge a night-travel suit and exclusive weapon for everyone in the Dark Pavilion!" Chen Fan cast an odd look at the pile of Earth Gold. "Is this batch of Earth Gold that valuable?" "Of course." Shao Qiu gazed intently at the large mound of Earth Gold on the ground. "That small piece I used to have was brought out from an ancient ruin at the cost of my life; I nearly died in there." "With this much..." "If word leaked out, it would be enough to stir up a bloodbath." He now felt that the Fan Domain truly carried the aura of destiny. Even in their region, this kind of thing was an extraordinarily rare and precious existence. "Mm..." Chen Fan furrowed his brows and calculated for a moment before speaking. "In other words, if that senior had swung his hammer a few more times, more Earth Gold could have been produced?" "Theoretically, yes." Shao Qiu nodded. "But how could someone like that be ordered around? Besides, it only forms by chance. The primary objectives of the Immortal Slaughter Holy Land were still the Snow Lotus and Mountain Embryo; checking whether Earth Gold had formed was merely secondary." "What was that senior's name?" "I don't know. Everyone only dared refer to him as 'that one.' All we know is that he was a powerhouse of terrifying strength." "What was his specific cultivation level?" "I don't know that either." "Which faction did he belong to?" "Unclear." "Is he dead?" "Probably not, but supposedly he became trapped in a crisis from which he can hardly extricate himself in the short term." "Someone that powerful could also get trapped in a crisis he can't get out of?" Chen Fan paused for a moment. Not being stingy, he readily agreed to Shao Qiu's request: "Store it in the warehouse first. Then go apply to Wang Kui to craft a night-travel suit and exclusive weapon for each member of your Dark Pavilion. The rest will be kept as reserves." "Do you know how to refine artifacts?" "Uh..." Shao Qiu froze in place, as if he had completely forgotten about this. "Well... no. To forge artifacts with Earth Gold requires at least a Level 7 artifact refiner." He suddenly came to his senses. The Fan Domain didn't have an artifact refiner. Taking something like this outside to find someone to craft it—unless they were someone of absolute trust, should word leak out, it would easily bring disaster upon themselves. Chen Fan fell silent. After a moment, he said, "Then we'll revisit this later." "There is one more matter." "Speak." "Cultivating my Seven Apertures Shadow Kill Art causes one's emotions to gradually grow indifferent. It requires long-term consumption of Heart-Clearing Pills to keep things in balance. I noticed that the Fan Domain has plenty of Heart-Clearing Grass used for concocting Heart-Clearing Pills, but I asked Pavilion Master Wang Kui, and among the pills seized from the Dan Sect, there were no Heart-Clearing Pills." "What level of alchemist does this require?" "The requirement isn't high; a Level 4 alchemist is enough." "Understood. You may go." After Shao Qiu left, Chen Fan sat down in his chair and let out a soft sigh. Building a faction really wasn't easy. A Level 7 artifact refiner. A Level 4 alchemist. Where was he supposed to find an artifact refiner and an alchemist to join the Fan Domain? Practitioners at those levels already belonged to established factions; they wouldn't easily jump ship. Right at this moment— Perhaps sensing his mood, Weiwei lay at his feet, repeatedly nuzzling its head against his calves. Chen Fan chuckled helplessly and patted Weiwei on the head, but soon realized that Weiwei was gesturing for him to head down into the pit dug into the sinkhole's floor. "Hmm?" Puzzled, he walked over to the edge of the pit. It was pitch-black, leading straight into the subterranean depths. "You mean you want me to go down?" Weiwei nodded. "Fine, let's go down and see. Lead the way." Before long, Chen Fan rode on Weiwei's back and leaped into the pitch-black hole before him. His face turned slightly pale as he gripped its scales tightly, listening to the roaring wind rushing past his ears. This beast had no sense of moderation when digging—it had dug a vertical shaft! How the hell was this different from jumping off a cliff?! A few breaths later, Weiwei braced its front claws against the tunnel walls, rapidly decelerating. The space ahead opened up. At the end of the tunnel, he saw an excavated cavern where the black gold must have previously accumulated before Weiwei dug it all out. In another spot, nearly blended into the surrounding soil, stood a... house? Only a single door was exposed, gleaming jade-white. A panel floated before his eyes: [Level 10 Jade Cabin, Ownerless] Chen Fan jumped down from Weiwei's back and stood at the bottom of the tunnel. Looking up at the near-vertical shaft, he could spot the blue sky and white clouds through the opening. Then he looked at the jade cabin buried deep underground. He quickly deduced what had transpired. This Level 10 jade cabin had been that senior's former residence on Nameless Mountain. The large cave up on Nameless Mountain was the lair where he kept the two Heaven-Swallowing Crocodiles. Before leaving, unable to take the jade cabin with him and unwilling to let anyone rummage through his home, he simply slammed the jade cabin deep underground with a single hammer strike. "A Level 10 jade cabin..." Chen Fan's expression grew solemn. That senior certainly hadn't been an architect, so there must have been an architect among his followers back then. But could a Level 10 jade cabin truly be this sturdy? Besides, didn't wooden cabins become workshops once upgraded to Level 4? Was there another upgrade branch for residences? A jade cabin wasn't even a city defense structure. Could it actually withstand that hammer strike? He stepped to the side and tentatively poked the door of the buried jade cabin with his emerald cane. It was unlocked, swinging open easily. Nothing stirred. He poked his head in tentatively to look. The interior was empty, bearing few signs of habitation. There was a jade bed and some ordinary furniture like tables and chairs. Perhaps because the departure had been hurried, the tables and chairs inside were not neatly arranged, but scattered somewhat haphazardly across the floor. After confirming there was no danger, Chen Fan stepped into the jade cabin and surveyed his surroundings. The space was not particularly large, about forty to fifty square meters. He touched the table and the bed; they were just ordinary furniture, with no status screens and no special effects. "Nothing at all?" Somewhat disappointed, he scoured every corner with care. For a figure of such stature, whatever happened to slip through the cracks of his fingers would have been more than enough to feast on, but unfortunately, he found nothing. Hurried though the departure had been, the packing had been thoroughly done. Refusing to believe his bad luck, he continued to inspect every corner meticulously. Surely something had been left behind. At last, heaven helps those who persevere! "Finally found something." With a surge of excitement, Chen Fan found several loose bamboo slips in the corner of a cabinet—pieces of an unstrung bamboo scroll. On one of the slips were carved the characters for "Diary." Yet the moment his fingers brushed against the slip, he yanked his hand back as though struck by lightning. He looked down at his bleeding index finger. Pulling a vial of altar holy water from his robes, he dipped his finger inside. The wound closed and healed swiftly. "This is..." Frowning slightly, he stared at the fiercely sharp characters inscribed on the bamboo slips. They had likely been carved with sword qi; even after so many years, a mere touch could still wound. Didn't you wield a hammer, old man? Did you minor in sword qi as well? Moreover—he had kept a firm grip on the emerald cane the entire time. His body was bolstered with the defensive strength of a Level 3 wall, yet a hairline crack had already appeared on the emerald cane. The sword qi on the bamboo slips had instantly breached the maximum defensive threshold of the emerald cane and cut his index finger. Had he not been cautious enough to hold onto the emerald cane throughout, he would have dropped dead on the spot the moment he touched the bamboo slip. "This thing is non-repairable..." Chen Fan looked down with a twinge of heartache at the hairline crack on the emerald cane in his hand. Its effect hadn't changed, but its durability had decreased, and it was no longer pristine. "Phew..." After a long while, he calmed his emotions and took a deep breath. Not daring to touch the bamboo slips directly, he swiftly dismantled the cabinet, letting the slips tumble to the ground, and leaned forward to peer at the characters carved upon them. This once again made him realize that person's true strength. It had already been 180 years. Nearly 181 years now. Yet the residual power lingering on the diary carved into bamboo slips could still surpass the defense of a Level 3 wall. One had to know that a Level 3 wall could withstand several full-powered strikes from a ghost king. Even a Martial King could do nothing against it. Yet before these bamboo slips, it had been so fragile. If this senior had been at his peak, wouldn't a casual strike have easily destroyed a Level 3 wall? How was this an elder? This was a damn immortal! With methods like that, old man, you still couldn't put an end to the Eternal Night? He took a deep breath and carefully read the words recorded on the bamboo slips. The first bamboo slip was an introduction, bearing only two characters: "Diary." The second bamboo slip had a line of text: "Year 176 of the Eternal Night Calendar. My fifth year stationed in Jiangbei. Rather bored; spent today spacing out again. Big Croc and Little Croc haven't shown affection in a long time either; they must be sick of each other by now."