Chapter 733: Dividing the Gold

The late Lord of Chishan's collection extended far beyond these items; besides the weapons depot, Jiang Mingtian led Li Yi and the others to the depot storing chijin, which now lay unguarded. To prevent looting during the chaos, Zhao Fangji had been standing watch outside the depot the entire time.

"Li Yi."

Seeing Li Yi arrive, Zhao Fangji immediately greeted him.

Li Yi nodded and said, "Zhao Fangji, long time no see."

"This time, we owe you greatly. Without you defeating the Lord of Chishan, we'd still be slaves here." Zhao Fangji expressed his gratitude, then added, "This is one of the late lord's depots. There are two more at the Chishan mine."

"I don't know how much chijin is inside, but since people in this world lack storage artifacts, any chijin owned by Chishan must be stored here—it wouldn't just vanish without reason."

As he spoke, he opened the heavy depot door.

The moment it opened, a wave of warm air rushed forth, followed by a blinding crimson glow that instantly illuminated the surroundings.

Inside, chijin was piled high, nearly filling half the depot, too numerous to count, each piece refined to purity, utterly unlike raw chijin ore just mined.

"So much chijin." Jiang Mingtian's eyes narrowed: "How many pieces is this? The lord was truly filthy rich—this much chijin could buy several major cities."

"Killing this lord was definitely the right choice." Li Yi's throat went dry—he knew better than anyone the value of chijin. With this wealth in hand, he would have limitless resources in the Wildlands.

His cultivation would no longer be limited by resources for a long time to come.

"Li Yi, how do we divide this much chijin?" Zhao Fangji couldn't hold back: "I know I contributed little in this battle, so I don't ask for much—just a small share will do."

Even a small share would make Zhao Fangji instantly wealthy.

Jiang Mingtian beside him also looked at Li Yi, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Li Yi's gaze shifted slightly as he considered, then said: "If we're dividing, let's treat the entire Chishan's wealth as the total pool—it's fairer, and avoids future resentment over money."

Zhao Fangji and Jiang Mingtian both nodded.

Li Yi's words were indeed sound.

Dividing only the depot's chijin leaves the mine itself as a vast untapped fortune—even if unmined, it's inevitable.

"For this strike against the Lord of Chishan, Xianyuezi and Xiangxiangzi contributed the most. Let them take six tenths—what do you think?"

"No objections. That's fair." Jiang Mingtian said at once.

Zhao Fangji also nodded.

These two were equals to the Lord of Chishan—taking the lion's share was only right. Though Li Yi invited them as allies, you don't send allies away empty-handed.

Besides, without these two holding Chishan, no one could take this wealth.

Many were already eyeing Chishan greedily.

"Then Xianyuezi and I thank you, Taiyi." Xiangxiangzi smiled with narrowed eyes.

Xianyuezi said nothing, only smiled.

Li Yi continued: "Of the remaining four tenths, I take two, Jiang Mingtian takes one and a half, and you take half a tenth—how's that?"

He looked at Zhao Fangji.

Zhao Fangji didn't hesitate: "Half a tenth is already more than I deserve—I have no objections."

"Neither do I," Jiang Mingtian grinned. He was only half a tenth behind Li Yi—this division was fair.

Zhao Fangji received the least, and rightly so—he played no key role and had no lord-level strength. Getting half a tenth was already due to their friendship.

"Since no one objects, it's settled." Li Yi tossed Zhao Fangji a storage artifact: "Here, take this. Store your share of chijin and other items yourself."

"Thank you," Zhao Fangji said.

Li Yi then turned: "Xianyuezi, please distribute the weapons, armor, and chijin from the governor's mansion. These treasures shouldn't stay here—too risky."

"Agreed."

Xianyuezi nodded and cast a minor spell. Instantly, countless pieces of chijin, weapons, and armor from the previous depot—even the entire grand hall—began to be divided as wealth.

Soon.

Everyone received their allotted share.

Li Yi didn't hesitate—he directly absorbed the pile of chijin, chijin-forged weapons, and armor into his Five Elements Bracelet.

Xiangxiangzi and Xianyuezi received the largest shares; they accepted them, planning to later hand over any excess to Taiyi after this matter concluded.

Even Zhao Fangji's half-tenth was substantial—his pile of chijin, weapons, and armor was enough to last him years.

"There are two more depots at the Chishan mine," Zhao Fangji said, gazing excitedly at the chijin in his storage artifact.

Li Yi said: "We must visit the Chishan mine. I also need to verify Jiang Mingtian's earlier theory—I've found clues to the legendary Divine Blood within Chishan. Come with me."

With that, he activated the Cloud-riding Art and flew the group back toward Chishan.

Along the way, he located the two depots Zhao Fangji mentioned. Following the earlier division, each took their share.

Thus, the chijin distribution was complete.

Li Yi then led the group back to the previously excavated Chishan range.

Though the battle had collapsed the mine tunnels and flattened the peak, Li Yi remembered the exact location—hidden deep within the mountain was the massive, unbreakable chijin stone.

After searching, he finally pointed at a weaker spot.

He unleashed the Dao Art: "Split Rivers into Land."

Instantly.

The mountain's body was pierced by a straight tunnel, extending deep inside—until, for some reason, it struck an unyielding object, causing the Dao art to collapse.

"Found it." Li Yi's spell had been precise—he saw again the chijin stone hidden deep within the mountain.

Others saw the massive chijin stone and sensed an unusual life essence leaking from the tunnel.

Though the life essence quickly dissipated into the ancient heavens and earth, all still captured a trace of it.

"Incredible life energy—just leaking out, it's like a great medicinal herb, nourishing the body," Xiangxiangzi said, surprised: "What is sealed inside this mountain?"

"Definitely worth investigating," Xianyuezi said, now intrigued.

Li Yi said: "I don't know what's inside. When the Lord of Chishan was alive, I dared not probe—not just from danger, but to avoid him discovering this and letting others benefit."

"Now that the Lord is dead and we've seized everything, the entire range is ours. That's why I dare to investigate boldly. Come inside and see."

Li Yi spoke, then led the way through the tunnel carved by "Split Rivers into Land," heading straight into Chishan's depths.

"Let's go," Xiangxiangzi said, excited, following immediately—she sensed opportunity.

This world was vast and powerful.

Some opportunities stirred even her, a Peak Three-Petal cultivator.

Soon.

All entered the depths of Chishan.

The closer they got, the stronger the leaking life essence became. Near the chijin stone, the essence was potent enough to trigger physical evolution.

Staying here long might awaken extraordinary bloodline powers.

"A chijin stone fused with the mountain?"

Soon, they halted. A massive chijin crystal blocked their path—the source of the surging life essence.

Faced with this essence, Jiang Mingtian and Zhao Fangji greedily inhaled several deep breaths.

They felt their bodies, depleted during slavery, being nourished; their emaciated frames slowly plumping, their dark skin peeling away, revealing fresh, renewed flesh.

"It's hollow inside—something is sealed," Xianyuezi observed closely, yet remained wary.

She'd once traveled to the Dark World with Li Yi and encountered many malevolent entities, so she remained cautious toward unknown things, fearing a misstep might—

"Divine Blood! This massive chijin stone must contain Divine Blood!" Jiang Mingtian grew excited.

He had long sought Divine Blood.

In Wildlands legends, Divine Blood could transform a commoner, granting a godlike physique and turning one into a direct descendant warrior of Divine Blood.

This was deeply tempting to Jiang Mingtian, of ordinary bloodline.

Even Zhao Fangji had become a Divine Blood warrior—given effort and the Evolution Art, becoming a regional lord was possible. But Jiang Mingtian's potential lagged far behind. Though he now tamed a Lord-level beast, Qiongqi—

He would never match Zhao Fangji on the cultivation path.

"Whether it's Divine Blood remains uncertain—we must break open the chijin stone and enter to know for sure," Li Yi said.

"Chijin stone is hard to destroy," Zhao Fangji said. "It's unbreakable—that's why the Wildlands use it to forge divine weapons."

"Use the Black Gold Arrow—it will shatter this chijin stone," Li Yi had already planned his solution.

He withdrew a Black Gold Arrow from his Five Elements Bracelet—he'd once used it with the Precious Moon Bow to pierce the chijin armor of the Divine Blood warrior Beigong.

Breaking this chijin stone would be no problem.

"Taiyi, before breaking the chijin stone, I suggest sealing this area to prevent massive life essence leakage. If word spreads, powerful enemies will come. We've just become Lords of Chishan—our reputation is unestablished, our foundation weak. We can't afford another battle," Xianyuezi warned.

"Makes sense."

Li Yi nodded, heeding her advice, then took out Tianyi Palace.

He transformed the Dao Artifact into the shape of a massive gate, sealing the tunnel's exit.

Any leaking life essence would be instantly absorbed by Tianyi Palace—no risk of escape.

"Good. This is safer," Xiangxiangzi nodded approvingly.

Though she could seal the area with Dao arts, those left obvious traces and could fail. Dao Artifacts had no such risks.

After Li Yi sealed the tunnel with Tianyi Palace, he handed the Black Gold Arrow to Xiangxiangzi.

"Please, Xianyuezi, break the chijin stone." He didn't act himself—Xiangxiangzi, a Peak Three-Petal cultivator, was strong enough to respond instantly if anything went wrong.

Xiangxiangzi took the arrow and said: "Watch me. Taiyi, step back—don't get caught in the backlash."

Li Yi immediately retreated into Tianyi Palace. Jiang Mingtian and Zhao Fangji didn't hesitate—they also quickly withdrew. They'd just struck it rich; they didn't want to die from collateral damage—that would be idiotic.

(End of Chapter)