"Fellow cultivator, please hold your step!"
A voice that seemed to come from nowhere made Jiang Yuan stop in his tracks and look around.
After searching for a long while, he finally spotted a stranger beckoning to him from behind a massive tree that would take several people to wrap their arms around.
"Hey, uncle, was it you who called me just now?"
Jiang Yuan quickly walked over and asked the middle-aged man before him.
"Fellow cultivator, may I have a word in private?"
The man named "Wu Mincai" cautiously glanced around, then pulled Jiang Yuan behind the tree trunk, as if afraid someone might overhear their conversation.
"What do you want with me?"
Seeing Wu Mincai's sneaky demeanor, Jiang Yuan immediately looked at him warily and asked.
"I can see that you have a full forehead and a square jaw—clearly a person of extraordinary bone structure..."
"Stop right there!"
As soon as the man started, Jiang Yuan cut him off and turned to leave without looking back!
The best way to deal with these smooth-talking swindlers was to keep your distance!
"Fellow cultivator, wait!"
Wu Mincai grabbed Jiang Yuan and dragged him back behind the tree, speaking quickly: "I feel a connection with you, fellow cultivator, and I'd like to gift you a treasure!"
"A treasure? What treasure?"
Seeing the man's earnest expression, Jiang Yuan frowned, half-believing and half-doubting.
"Just give me 25 gold coins for a drink, and I'll tell you where the treasure is!"
Wu Mincai winked at Jiang Yuan. So he was just a drunkard!
"No way!"
Jiang Yuan refused immediately and started to leave, but Wu Mincai grabbed him again.
"Fellow cultivator, I swear I'm not lying to you, or may lightning strike me dead!"
After saying this, Wu Mincai actually began to swear an oath right in front of Jiang Yuan.
"Really?"
Even after hearing the oath, Jiang Yuan was still uneasy, so he asked again.
"Absolutely true, just 25 gold coins!"
After Wu Mincai finished, Jiang Yuan thought it over. Twenty-five gold coins were neither here nor there for him, so he nodded, took out 25 gold coins from his backpack, and handed them over.
"To be honest with you, I've been watching for days. Recently, divine light has been appearing under a pile of rubble southeast of Big Bamboo Peak on Qingyun Mountain. There must be some incredible immortal treasure hidden beneath!"
"Ding! Triggered adventure quest [Treasure]. Accept?"
As soon as Wu Mincai finished, a system prompt popped up. Jiang Yuan accepted without a second thought!
After all, he'd already spent the money—wouldn't it be a total loss if he didn't?
"Alright! Stay right here. I'll be back soon!"
Hearing Jiang Yuan's words, Wu Mincai nodded cooperatively. Jiang Yuan immediately summoned his Frost Wolf mount, opened the map to check the location of Big Bamboo Peak, and headed off.
Big Bamboo Peak was in the center of the Qingyun Mountain map, a vast bamboo forest. Jiang Yuan arrived quickly.
Looking around, he spotted the pile of rubble Wu Mincai had mentioned in the southeast corner.
Dismissing his mount, Jiang Yuan jogged over, crouched down in front of the rubble, and peered into the gaps.
It was pitch black inside, impossible to see anything. So Jiang Yuan rolled up his sleeves, stuck his hand into the crevice, and fumbled around for a while, only to pull out a handful of stinking mud and a few small stones!
"Damn it!"
Jiang Yuan cursed in disgust, looking at his right hand covered in foul-smelling sludge.
Without bothering to clean his dirty hand, he immediately summoned ten thousand Sand River Turtles, fused them into a single Heaven-tier Sand River Turtle, and ordered it to slam hard into the rubble!
"Boom!"
The rubble turned to dust under the immense force of the Heaven-tier Sand River Turtle, revealing an empty space beneath—nothing at all!
"Motherf*cker, you tricked me!"
Jiang Yuan's anger flared. He leaped onto his mount and raced back, thinking all the while that he'd smear that disgusting mud all over Wu Mincai's face!
But when he returned to the big tree, Wu Mincai was nowhere to be seen!
Feeling insulted, Jiang Yuan was furious. He silently vowed to find that swindler even if he had to dig three feet into the ground!
So he summoned his Clear Frost Flying Sword, soared into the air, and began a thorough search of the entire Qingyun Mountain area!
Qingyun Mountain wasn't large, about a hundred miles in circumference. Jiang Yuan pushed his speed to the max and soon spotted Wu Mincai sitting under a tent outside a tavern in a village near the mountain's base, drinking heavily.
"You big liar, stop right there!"
As Jiang Yuan landed his flying sword, Wu Mincai spotted him too, grabbed his wine jug, and bolted. Jiang Yuan shouted, mounted his Frost Wolf, and gave chase!
They ran for over ten miles, but Wu Mincai on two feet couldn't outrun the four-legged Frost Wolf. Jiang Yuan grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up!
"Trying to fool me, huh!"
Jiang Yuan dismounted, grabbed Wu Mincai's collar with his left hand, and smeared the wet, stinking mud from his right hand all over the man's face!
"What is this? So stinky! Ugh...!"
The black mud covered Wu Mincai's face, some even dripping into his mouth. He screamed and bent over, retching violently!
"What is it? It's the treasure I found under that rubble you mentioned! How does it taste? Not bad, huh?"
Jiang Yuan wiped his hand on Wu Mincai's robe and gave a cold smirk.
After a bout of vomiting, Wu Mincai wiped the mud off his face with his sleeve and said with a look of disbelief, "Impossible! I've been watching for four or five days. Could you have looked in the wrong place?"
"Save it! Give me my money back!"
Seeing Wu Mincai still trying to fool him, Jiang Yuan glared and said angrily.
"Calm down, fellow cultivator! I can't return the money—I've already spent it all on wine!"
Wu Mincai shook his wine jug and grinned at Jiang Yuan like a deadbeat.
"Damn it! You think I won't kill you?"
Jiang Yuan's anger boiled over. He let go of Wu Mincai's collar and summoned the Sacred Beast Vermilion Bird!
"Caw!"
The Vermilion Bird let out a piercing cry, its terrifying pressure spreading everywhere as its phoenix eyes coldly fixed on Wu Mincai below.
"Spare me, fellow cultivator! Spare me! I'm willing to tell you another piece of information that can get you a Taiji Golden Pill!"
Feeling the terrifying pressure from the Sacred Beast Vermilion Bird, Wu Mincai panicked, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed to Jiang Yuan while speaking.
"Taiji Golden Pill? Are you trying to fool me again?"
Jiang Yuan said angrily, looking at the kneeling Wu Mincai.
"No, no! This time I'll go with you, I guarantee you'll get the pill!"
Wu Mincai repeatedly said "no," looking at Jiang Yuan with fear. He could tell from Jiang Yuan's tone that he wasn't joking—he might actually kill him!
"Lead the way!"
Jiang Yuan summoned his mount, got on, and said to Wu Mincai, while ordering the Vermilion Bird above to lock onto him.
"Yes!"
Wu Mincai nodded in terror, then stumbled off toward the northeast.