Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 746 - 722: Only Out, No In!

"Let me tell you, our neighbor, that good-natured old bear, once he was afflicted with cold poison, he even considered jumping into the sky pit to crush himself to death and then burn into ashes. Luckily, he listened to reason and stayed in the sky pit to resist the cold poison, and guess what, he was cured and went home just yesterday! It seems he can easily live for another hundred years!"

"Really? I didn’t manage to squeeze in to watch the fun yesterday; I only heard that the cold poison can be cured, but is there any possible hidden danger?"

"No hidden danger! I didn’t get in either; all I know is from that old bear, who said after taking the divine doctor’s elixir, he spat out such a big insect demon! The source has been eradicated, what hidden danger could there be?"

"It’s strange indeed, how can there be an ice attribute insect demon in our Flaming Sand Hill City?"

"I heard the City Lord accompanied the divine doctor to the sky pit to handle the earth fire and also seemed to have discovered the insect demon’s lair. Let’s listen carefully later, the City Lord will explain in detail."

"That’s fantastic! Knowing the root of it means we can solve it in advance, and we will never be infected with cold poison without reason again..."

......

The residents of Sand Hill City gathered in the square, bustling with excitement.

Seeing fellow tribes who’ve been cured from cold poison return healthy to their families, the earlier worries, anxiety, and fear of despair were swept away.

The key was that the divine doctor treated them for free, so there’s no need to worry about money, nor are there concerns about losing lives. Today, after understanding the source of the cold poison and tackling it at the root, it’s a huge good news!

Looking at the jubilant citizens, as soon as Ming Qingyan took to the stage, she did something disappointing - she explained the source of the cold poison in detail.

And repeatedly emphasized: "The spores are blown out from the valley bottom by wind through the sky pit, scattered into every corner of the city. If you’re unlucky to encounter a surviving spore, you will be infected with cold poison.

In other words, as long as you’re in Sand Hill City, even I could be parasitized by the insect demon and develop cold poison symptoms.

But the good news is: The celestial fire in the sky pit retains divine attributes, capable of inhibiting insect demon growth, providing time to use medicine to expel mature insect demons from the body, thus healing..."

She explained the reasons aloud on stage, making persuasive arguments with references, and the city’s bear demons heard it clearly. Some insiders instantly relayed the latest news through communication stones to their secret masters.

In the distant Silver Valley, the Five Great Merchants, who monopolized the city’s business dealings, almost simultaneously received the news. Their faces darkened, and they hurriedly set aside trivial matters to gather and discuss countermeasures.

In Sand Hill City, fire stones are bought at extremely low prices and sold at extremely high prices, making it the easiest and most profitable industry.

In those long years past, their families got rich by exploiting the blood of the Furious Fire Bear Race, and they had to quickly eliminate the hidden dangers to maintain the lucrative industry for generations to come.

In the Wilderness, being weak is a sin. Once that mother bear Ming Qingyan’s lifespan is exhausted and no bear can replace her, the entire Sand Hill City would become a slave to the Five Great Merchants. How can such a good thing be delayed?

"It’s simply alarmist! I saw that sky pit with my own eyes. If not for the hard-skinned Furious Fire Bear Race being born able to mine inside, ordinary demon cultivators would be burned to ashes, how could there be any spore-carrying insect demon with cold poison? This isn’t trying to fool a fool?"

"Brother Liang is right. In that case, let’s personally send Brother Liang for the negotiations. Everyone knows that mother bear is not easy to deal with. If we don’t show up, none can intimidate her."

"Exactly, exactly, we haven’t got much left of the fire stones we bought cheap and sold high a few years back; we need to replenish stock quickly, that’s sensible business."

"Previously, Sand Hill City was in chaos with cold poison, and people were panicking. Now that cold poison can be treated for free, what is there to fear? Please do the honors, Brother Liang!"

Unexpectedly, his casual complaint brought so much trouble, and Liang Li frowned, "What? Is fooling a fool to worry and work hard for you as you sit back and enjoy the rewards?

This time it’s different. Sand Hill City was too ravaged by cold poison, shut its doors for more than three years without showing face. Now that they are finally reopening for business, whoever doesn’t want to go can sit out, but no share for them, whoever goes will have a share."

Another elder stroked his beard and chuckled, "I say, don’t be hasty. That foolish bear has had no income for over three years, merely sitting idle.

Now they are the ones who should be worried. No matter what, they need our Silver Valley’s teleportation array to transport the fire stones out. As long as we lock down the source, what do we have to worry about?

Hehe, since the cold poison is really solved, they next have to think about filling their stomachs. At that time, the mother bear would probably have to come to visit us with a smiling face, and we can press the price down more, wouldn’t that be beautiful?"

"That’s justified! The Furious Fire Bear Race is strangled by us and can’t possibly produce another Ming Qingyan, they can’t jump too high. At this moment it’s a covert contest, whoever shows up first loses the edge, why not wait until they are cornered? I know everyone is in a hurry, but don’t rush, those foolish bears are more anxious!"

Five of them gathered around a table, with only one not expressing an opinion.

The impatient Liang Li teased, "Brother Shi, normally you are the most knowledgeable and reasonable, why don’t you say something about such an important matter today?"

Seeing the others all looking at him, Shi Kesong smiled and countered, "Do you gentlemen know the origin of our Silver Valley?"

A sudden change of subject left everyone with perplexed expressions.

Discussing important business matters, and now bringing up the origin of Silver Valley, showing off his knowledge, yet not necessarily at this time, right?

However, due to Shi Family Elder’s high power and prestige, no one challenged his face over such trivial matters.

"Everyone knows, the Shi family has been rooted in Silver Valley from the beginning, being one of the most enduring families locally." Shi Kesong fanned himself as he spoke, "Therefore, leaving many ancient texts behind.

Silver Valley originated from the time of the god-demon war. Ancient texts record, at that time, an enormous snow worm demon was sent by the evil demon to destroy the world, releasing numerous demon seeds that drained the vitality of all creatures, leaving desolation and ice in its wake.

The celestial gods above battled with the evil demon, and after slaying the demon behind the scenes, descended celestial fire to burn the snow worm demon.

Ice and fire counteract each other; during this period, the snow insect demon attempted but failed to shed its skin like a golden cicada. Its silver shell was burnt by the Celestial Fire, turning into a silvery liquid that flowed into a canyon thousands of miles away. Once cooled, it became the legendary cold silver ore.

Although it was fully mined out tens of thousands of years ago, the name Silver Valley remains to this day.

As for the snow insect demon, it burrowed deep underground trying to hide but was ultimately consumed by the Celestial Fire. The great fire burned for tens of thousands of years, turning the once icy ground into a vast yellow desert."

He paused slightly, but received no response, and seeing that the others ignored his explanation, Shi Kesong angrily said, "I’ve wasted so much breath and even told you my family’s secret, yet you still don’t understand?

There are ancient texts from my family to prove it, which match perfectly with what that mother bear said! Otherwise, why do you think there’s always a cold toxin problem in the fiery Sand Hill City?"

Concerned about their interests, the other four finally listened, "Right! My informant says that those cured of the cold toxin all spit out insect demons wrapped in ice layers. If the source is indeed the snow insect demon, that makes sense."

"So, we really can’t go to Sand Hill City casually. The deeper we mine into the valley, the more frequent the winds become. If we’re unlucky enough to get parasitized by an insect demon, we’re done for."

As they spoke, someone else received an update and their face changed immediately, "Oh no, that Divine Doctor doesn’t want to risk frequent visits to Sand Hill City either. He’s taught the antitoxic elixir and techniques to that mother bear."

"Damn! With so many bears, any of them could take a bribe. Why did it have to be her?"

"Then we really can’t go over there easily. That mother bear hates us to the core. If we’re really infected with the cold toxin, would she give us the antidote? Impossible! If she got a hold of some dirt on us, she’d skin us alive!"

"If we don’t go, who can deal with the mother bear? How will we negotiate prices?"

"Wasn’t Old Qi’s speech for nothing? There’s only one way; if we don’t go over there, she’ll have to come to us!"

"Exactly, Ming Qingyan has only mastered the detoxification method, not the parasite demon; what’s there to be afraid of..."

......

The secret negotiations of Silver Valley are almost like a sub-venue of the Sand Hill City Lord’s meeting. Whatever Ming Qingyan says, they hear about it shortly thereafter.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve explained the cause of the cold toxin and the solution, as well as the follow-up. If any of your clansmen wish to completely rid themselves of the cold toxin and move to other cities, they may leave freely, provided they pass Mr. Jiang’s personal inspection to ensure they’re not carrying parasite demons."

Ming Qingyan glanced around and announced: "For those willing to stay, nothing will change. Continue mining fire stones and cultivating as usual; if contracted with the cold toxin, wait patiently for the antidote. I will still be in charge of fire stone sales affairs as the liaison.

From now on, the Sand Hill City Teleportation Array will only export fire stones and won’t allow imports! Otherwise, if the cold toxin spreads to the Wilderness World and casts calamity over all beings, our Furious Fire Bear Race would be cursed forever.

Everyone, go back and have a good discussion with your families. Once you choose to leave, you can’t come back. Let’s state things plainly upfront; take responsibility for your decisions. The deadline is two days; no waiting beyond that!"

Though they finally knew the cause of the cold toxin, the bear demons in the city couldn’t be happy.

As the saying goes, blessings and misfortunes go hand in hand; the Sky Pit provides resources and cultivation grounds for the Furious Fire Bear Race but also comes with the cold toxin threat, which not only can’t be eradicated at the root but worsens with continued mining.

Though it can be cured now, the hard-earned fire stones sold just barely suffice, and life is difficult. But where could they go if they left Sand Hill City?

The people in the city are worried, while the Five Great Merchants of Silver Valley are grinning from ear to ear.

Only exporting and not importing is great! The rolling sands for thousands of miles make transporting fire stones impossible; they’ll have to come begging us to sell, which is a perfect chance to squeeze the price down. A bunch of miners thinking they can sit at the table to eat? Let them eat dirt!

Jiang Yuan stayed in Sand Hill City for another two days, during which quite a few bear demons, after passing a system check, left with their families to blend into the rolling sands outside, heading into the outside world.

On occasion, those parasitized but not yet showing symptoms were stopped, only allowed to leave after the insect demon matured and was expelled from their bodies.

The sound of clanging in the Sky Pit was incessant, while Jiang Yuan left Ming Qingyan with some elixirs and capture nets, their Storage Bag full of acquisitions, and transported back to the small courtyard.

At this time, it was the Wilderness Ascension. The swirling white clouds lifted the Cloud Prairie higher and higher.

The bright morning light shone in the courtyard, and with the help of the courtyard communicator setup, the automatic sprinklers obtained from a lucky draw began to evenly spray a curtain of water, ensuring every crop in the covered farmland was thoroughly watered.

As the curtain of water in the cloudlets descended, the crops in the farmland refreshed data and matured simultaneously, with ripe golden wheat ears swaying in clumps, making a rustling sound.

The scent of ripe wheat filled the air, dry and with a hint of wheat aroma and earthy smell, reminding Jiang Yuan of when he was a child and the schools would take a wheat holiday during harvest, with students and teachers going home to help with the farm work.

"Pop!"

Reaching out, he gently plucked, automatically storing a portion of wheat in the Storage Bag, with the stems and roots disappearing from the neat farmland.

Jiang Yuan sighed softly in his heart: If only farming in the real world were this simple, with such high yields, then there wouldn’t be a need to endure backbreaking toil against the elements. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

He had to quickly complete the main quest, upgrade, and cultivate more farmland.

If Sand Hill City wants to avoid being throttled, they must guarantee supplies of food, clothing, housing, and transportation, and can use the small courtyard’s produce and Spirit Stones to trade for fire stones, then look for sales channels to secure the long term.

An initial in-depth cooperation deal was struck with City Lord Ming, and he couldn’t afford to drop the ball!