Chapter 243: The Black Treasure Beneath the Huang Jin Chao

Ying

Far from the Huang Jin Chao, there is a vast forest, its trees thick and luxuriant.

A great host of Giants guard the place; they have lingered here, for they are the Quanrong Tribe that Nan Qinghuan scared away.

They did not return to their own lands but withdrew here; originally the High Priest was terrified, the Great Head God was summoned by the Goddess, and they ought to obey the divine will to retreat, yet their leader refuses to abandon the treasure there.

Thus, unwilling to give up halfway, they had to stop here.

Fortunately the trees shade the scorching sun, so it is not very hot below; a Giant Quanrong sits by the Bonfire roasting a person's foot, sizzling and spitting oil, while Ana nearby is exceedingly attentive.

"Leader, when they are inattentive we will retake the territory; Nan Qinghuan must be faking divine tricks, how could the Great Head God obey her orders?"

The Quanrong had already been reluctant to give up the treasure and the land there; hearing Ana's words now piqued his interest even more, and he took a foot, placed it in his mouth to chew, clack clack.

Crunch!

Although Ana belongs to the Rongdi Tribe, she dislikes eating human flesh, especially human feet, which are smelly.

But this Quanrong is strange, loving to eat human feet and also enjoying having people massage his feet; he has an odd fetish for human feet.

Hearing Ana's provocation, the Quanrong turned his head and glanced at her, "Did you say that female is not the Goddess?"

Indeed, the Quanrong now wants to hear that; he does not believe Nan Qinghuan is any Goddess, only that his High Priest has been manipulating minds, and his people, frightened, could only retreat first.

But he is unwilling.

This time they agreed they could occupy the place and seize its treasure, yet a female ruined it; the Rongdi were forced to jump into the sea to commit suicide, uncertain if they survived. His allies are gone, but he does not want to give that land to Ying, nor let Ying take the treasure there.

If they obtain those treasures, his tribe can have sharp weapons.

Seeing the Quanrong listen to her, Ana shook her head like a drum, "She is not; don't be fooled. DuoLuo Grand Priest long ago said she is not a Goddess. These are all lies spread by the Ying Tribe. Ying wants to use that female to exterminate all tribes. I know her origin; she is a solitary female of the Ape Tribe."

"Ape Tribe?"

Upon hearing that Nan Qinghuan is from the Ape Tribe, the Quanrong instantly realized they had been deceived!

He tossed the foot from his hand, suddenly finding it unappetizing.

"Men!"

Someone stepped forward, "Leader."

"Is Ying's party still there?"

"Reporting, Leader, they are still there, searching for treasure."

The Quanrong brushed the remnants at his mouth, "Ying is clever, knowing my interest in that land is not for the land itself but for what lies there. How many of them are there?"

"Not many, just a few dozen. Leader, are we returning to the tribe or—"

"Why go back? I want them killed. Where are Ying and Nan Qinghuan?"

At noon, the scorching sun hung high.

When Nan Qinghuan and Ying arrived at the Huang Jin Chao Mountain Peak, the azure sea below the cliff crashed in waves, and some tribe members, seeing her arrival, hurried forward to greet her.

"Omu, is the matter of Youchao Xuan finished?"

They all knew she had gone to assist Youchao Xuan; can they now return? Nan Qinghuan saw them wielding hoes, continuously digging underground, bringing up lots of mud and stones, yet they kept digging.

"Did you find anything?"

The tribe members shook their heads, "Nothing, just mud and stones. Ying, could we be mistaken? There's no treasure here?"

Everyone has been digging for days; only mud and large stones, nothing at all!

Ying grew irritated; after days of digging with nothing, perhaps the clue was wrong? Did the Quanrong want this place only for the land?

He thought and decided to return to the tribe first, "Fine, if we can't find it, we stop. Everyone pack up; we will depart shortly and go back to the tribe."

Ying also gave up; it seemed he had overthought. There is no treasure here; they have rescued the tribe's land, and Nan Qinghuan has settled the affairs within Youchao Xuan's clan; he will take her back.

Hearing they could return, the tribe members were delighted, "Great, we can go back to the tribe."

Everyone had long wanted to go back, to live in the Tulou, eat fragrant soft rice, sleep on a warm, cozy female; this place is too bitter, not good at all.

Ying said stop digging, and indeed they stopped; everyone packed their things to leave, but Nan Qinghuan suddenly saw... a black stone emitting a mysterious light under the sun.

"What is this?"

She immediately grabbed a hoe to continue digging, wanting to see what it was; Ying, seeing her dig, said, "Qinghuan, what are you doing? Let me take over so you don't get tired."

Ying was reluctant to let her work, but Nan Qinghuan wouldn't let him, and soon her hoe uncovered a jet‑black stone, its surface shining black under the sun.

Sparkling and darkly flowing.

"This stone..."

She crouched beside the stone, reaching out to gently feel its patterns, "Omu, what use does this stone have?"

The tribe members couldn't understand why she was so interested in this pitch‑black stone.

"Yeah, Omu, why are you digging these stones? They're not rare at all."

Nan Qinghuan ignored them, murmuring to herself.

"Black Light Shines on Azure Waves..."

Nan Qinghuan glanced at the unfathomable sea below, then at the mountain peak, and suddenly stood, grabbing Ying's arm.

"Ying, I think I've found the treasure."

Ying, hearing this, was puzzled, "Found the treasure? You mean this black stone?"

Nan Qinghuan shook her head, "No, this is not an ordinary stone; it should be Iron Ore, you know, usable for making Iron Tools and weapons. Have you seen the blades of Youchao Xuan's people? They were likely forged from this."

"Iron Ore?"

Ying's tribe only has Green Copper; iron weapons are what he has always wanted. Although Yao gave him the secret formula to forge Iron Tools, he has never found material to make them.

Hearing this, he suddenly laughed, "Great, Qinghuan, you've found the treasure; this is the treasure. These stones can let Yao help forge Iron Tools."

"Youchao Xuan can too; our tribe lacks Iron Tools, so we can smelt these Iron Ores. From now on our tribe will have iron, Ying, we can make our own Iron Tools."

"Ha ha, wonderful, once the Iron Tools are ready, see who dares attack the tribe?"

A flash of world‑conquering ambition crossed Ying's eyes; Nan Qinghuan caught that gaze, knowing this barbarian would gradually rise to become a hegemon.

Unified tribe.

"Everyone, listen up: dig up all these black stones and transport them back to the tribe, not leaving a single piece."

When the tribe members heard that these black stones could be turned into Iron Tools, they were naturally delighted; they had been quite discouraged before, but now their spirits were revived.

"Quick, dig up the treasure; from now on we'll have Iron Tools to use."

Since they were all provided by the Yao Tribe, the tribe can now produce Iron Tools itself, which is a great cause for joy for them.

This Ying Tribe has Green Copper but no Iron Tools; after Yao made peace with them, he sent them the technique for making Iron Tools, but without raw material they cannot forge them.

Now it's resolved; this treasure can be used to forge new weapons.

The tribe members worked with great vigor, and Ying was naturally also very happy, grabbing Nan Qinghuan in one arm, ignoring that many people were still holding her and spinning her around; Nan Qinghuan's head was getting dizzy from the turning.

"Ying, put me down, I want to vomit…"

Hearing her say she wanted to vomit, Ying became even more ecstatic and hurriedly set her down; his eyes shone with hopeful light, his large hand cradling her small face, knowing his palm was rough yet handling her gently.

But the excitement in his heart was indescribable: "Qinghuan, you want to vomit—could you be pregnant?"