Playing with fantasy beasts in the martial arts world

Chapter 52 Major Upgrade of the Outpost

After Cha Nan was pulled down the cliff by the jellyfish Yin Ji and stood below the cliff again, he realized how presumptuous his idea was to clear all the open-pit mines at once.

After putting about four or five hundred pieces of Paru ore into his backpack, Chanan felt an immense pressure, as if he couldn't breathe.

Only after hurriedly pouring out more than a hundred pieces of Paru ore did the pressure ease and disappear.

Got it!
We'll have to move it in trips.

However, the problem is that it's not safe to store so many Paru ore fragments in the base!
They constantly release intense primordial energy, which is as obvious as fireflies in the dark to magical beasts that are sensitive to primordial energy.

Putting aside the mythical beasts, even for martial arts masters like Guo Jing, Huang Rong, and Shui Mu Yin Ji, the Yuan Qi fluctuations emanating from these Paru ore fragments are incredibly alluring.

If they weren't also people of unwavering resolve, and if Guo Jing and Huang Rong weren't absolutely lawful and good, and if they weren't now bound by their 'equal contract' with Cha Nan, they probably would have tried to steal it.

At this moment, the aura around Jellyfish Yin Ji was fluctuating, with two emotions alternating: greed from her own heart and the desire not to harm Cha Nan influenced by the Palu Ball. It wasn't until she saw Guo Jing standing smiling beside Cha Nan that this hesitation finally stabilized, and her greed subsided.

"Please stay here for now, senior. We'll collect the remaining ore after we bring it back to the base," Cha Nan said with a smile to Jellyfish Yin Ji, seemingly oblivious to Jellyfish Yin Ji's earlier hesitation.

Jellyfish Yin Ji sneered, "You're quite willing to do this. Aren't you afraid I'll take all the Yuan Qi Stones you left here?"

Cha Nan said, "This world is so vast, and there are many, many more mining areas like this. Only I can open the gateway to this world... I think someone like you, senior, wouldn't be so short-sighted!"

After saying that, he smiled and said, "Besides, there are so many Yuan Qi Stones here. Even if I need more, I have enough for now. If you seniors need any, please feel free to take them. My interests are already intertwined with yours, and we are not distinguished by who is who!"

Cha Nan's words were quite eloquent, which made Shui Mu Yin Ji's expression quite pleasant, and even Huang Rong nodded frequently.

She didn't like practicing martial arts, so she wasn't very interested in the Yuan Qi Stones that could help improve her internal strength. In the past, she only kept the ones that Huang Yaoshi gave her for her disciples and children, or used them to exchange for supplies.

But her lack of interest doesn't mean that Cha Nan can refuse to give it to her.

Being too stingy, while it won't change her stance, will dampen her enthusiasm.

Whether or not there is subjective initiative makes a huge difference.

Even a completely subdued Palu still has a 'trust level'; the higher the trust level, the greater the potential that Palu can unleash.

"Fine! I won't covet your Yuan Qi Stones."

"With these Yuanqi Stones, you should have no problem transporting the grain back, right?" Huang Rong said, looking at Cha Nan with a half-smile.

Cha Nan had mentioned to her that a trip between the fantasy world and the martial arts world would require eighteen pieces of Paru ore fragments. She suspected that the amount was exaggerated and that a round trip would only require seven or eight pieces at most. With so much ore here, it would be enough for Cha Nan to make hundreds of trips.

Cha Nan said, "It's enough, but if you want to improve efficiency, I have a better way."

"What method?" Guo Jing asked.

"We'll discuss this in detail after we've transported all the ore back," Cha Nan said, laying the groundwork beforehand.

Afterwards, Cha Nan filled his backpack with fragments of Palu ore, and Guo Jing and Huang Rong also wrapped themselves in their outer robes and carried large bags, following Cha Nan back to the stronghold.

After Cha Nan and the others finished transporting the Paru ore fragments and returned to the cliff waterfall, Jellyfish Yin Ji was manipulating the water flow, using her powerful palm strikes to scoop up the exposed ore. Beside her was a mountain of Paru ore fragments and crystals, a vast expanse of sky blue, seemingly shrouded in a misty aura. "This mining ability must be at least level two or three!"

"And this water control ability, wouldn't it be just right for watering?" Cha Nan seemed to have immediately discovered the use of the Jellyfish Yin Ji.

Unfortunately, these were mercenaries, not directly subordinate slave soldiers, so they couldn't be used as ruthlessly as Yun Zhonghe.

"Come and help! Roll up the ore first. While you were away, two groups of ignorant beasts came looking for trouble, but I dealt with them both!" said Jellyfish Yin Ji.

Cha Nan glanced around and finally spotted the carcasses of two purple deer and three wild boars on one side of the cliff.

These are all relatively common mid-to-low-tier mythical beasts found in the forest, possessing relatively strong combat abilities.

Cha Nan wasn't disappointed that she missed the chance to 'rescue' them from the merciless clutches of the Jellyfish Yin Ji. There were always some mythical beasts whose combat, defense, support, and work abilities were only so-so. Unless you had a collecting obsession, they weren't really worth taming.

Cha Nan said to Guo Jing, "Please go and help me, Uncle Guo. I will go with Chief Huang to deal with those magical beasts so we can have a big meal later tonight."

Cha Nan has unlocked the campfire technology, and the campfire comes with some simple recipes that can cook the monster meat into food with certain buffs.

We can try it tonight.

Upon hearing this, Guo Jing naturally cooperated.

Subsequently, Guo Jing and Shui Mu Yin Ji worked together and, in about half an hour, they had almost completely mined all the open-pit ore.

It took another hour to transport the mountain of ore back to the base and bury it underground. Cha Nan counted it carefully and found that there were more than 4,500 pieces in total, enough to keep Cha Nan from worrying about Paru ore fragments for quite some time.

The unprecedented wealth put Chanan in a great mood, so he first allocated two hundred pieces of Palu Ore fragments to the Mischievous Cats, instructing them to do their best to create low-level Palu Balls.

Cha Nan then began upgrading the stronghold, expanding its territory and adding more work slots.

Cha Nan has currently unlocked four work slots, consuming a total of fifteen Paru Ore Fragments. When the fifth slot is unlocked, it will consume sixteen Paru Ore Fragments, the sixth slot thirty-two, the seventh slot sixty-four, the eighth slot one hundred and twenty-eight, and the ninth slot two hundred and fifty-six.

Gritting his teeth, Cha Nan simply spent another 512 yuan to unlock the tenth slot before stopping.

The base has now expanded from its initial radius of 35 meters to a radius of 350 meters.

Cha Nan also placed most of the useful magical beasts he had collected under the work column, so that they could work instead of continuing to lie in the storage space and slack off.

The expansion of the outpost area means that Cha Nan can set up more wheat fields.

For the rest of the afternoon, Cha Nan didn't straighten her back, spending all her time creating wheat fields, sowing, and harvesting wheat.

Guo Jing, Yun Zhonghe, and Qi Shaoshang continued cutting down trees and mining. When they got tired, they would grab a piece of Palu ore to absorb vital energy, restore their internal strength and energy, and then continue working.

Huang Rong and Shuimu Yin Ji also worked together to water and harvest the wheat, piling the harvested wheat in the center of the stronghold to prevent some magical beasts from coming to plunder it.

The entire base was bustling with activity, so when night completely fell, if it weren't for the cold wind blowing, no one would have realized what was happening.

(End of this chapter)