Chapter 55: Nightlight Jade

On the ruins of Tiger Mountain Stronghold, more and more people gathered.

There were merchants from the Four Seas Consortium itself, as well as hired laborers from the city; as they came and went, they loaded every valuable item left in the ruins—grain, metal, cloth, herbs—onto carts.

Those who paid close attention carefully counted and found a full thirty-two large carts filled!

Several hoodlums who usually boasted of their martial prowess grew envious, but then they saw one after another bandit corpse dragged from various places and piled together, heads severed and pickled in lime, stacked atop several specially emptied carts.

It was as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over their heads—all greed vanished.

“Has the Tiger Mountain Stronghold, which ruled the east for over a decade and called itself ‘Flying Tiger of Dongshan,’ really fallen so easily?”

An elderly man hauling goods muttered to himself, his gaze distant.

The once-terrified members of the Four Seas Consortium now strutted about with heads held high, each step carrying a breeze.

“The Four Seas Consortium is a major merchant house of Yue Province—never provoke them…”

The gazes of the crowd toward them were filled with reverence.

As for the young man in blue robes seated cross-legged by the cliff, gazing at the sea of clouds, some glanced curiously, then returned to their tasks and soon forgot him.

…

“Master, we seized three thousand two hundred and seventy-two weapons, most grain was burned, leaving only one hundred and twenty thousand jin, cloth…” Long San had a ledger placed before him, occasionally licking his fingers to turn pages.

Jiang Ding sat with eyes closed, cultivating quietly as he listened.

“Excluding these miscellaneous items, there are nine magic-grade weapons, mostly belonging to bandit leaders like Lu Jingtian and Zhou Kun, plus one from Yang Dongsheng of the Yiqi Gang.”

Long San sneered and continued: “Two hundred-year ginseng roots, thirty-seven other medicinal herbs aged several decades…”

Jiang Ding opened his eyes, finally showing a flicker of interest.

Long San secretly exhaled in relief.

No wonder he came from a great family—so much wealth, and he himself had grown parched and his blood surging, yet the young master remained as unmoved as if staring at a pile of wood and stone.

“If Master is interested, perhaps our consortium could exchange all these herbs for more ginseng? It would require time to source them from elsewhere.”

“Then, thank you.”

Jiang Ding bowed.

“No need for thanks—it’s a minor matter.”

Long San stroked his beard, his spirits high after avenging their great Chou , and continued: “Thirty-two martial arts manuals—fists, palms, blades, swords, spears—all present. Three are particularly noteworthy.”

“First, Lu Jingtian, the ‘Flying Tiger of Dongshan,’ practiced the ‘Five Tiger Soul-Cutting Blade’ and the ‘Five Tiger Scripture.’ Zhou Kun, the ‘Supporting Heaven Tiger,’ practiced the ‘Thirteen Hardening Great Protector’—an exceedingly rare hardening art. When fully cultivated, and worn with three layers of magic armor, it made one nearly invincible on the battlefield. Many great families would find this of great interest…”

“One top-grade Nightlight Jade, forty-two rare jewels, gold and silver…”

“Nightlight Jade?”

Jiang Ding’s expression turned strange—he wondered if this was the pearl he had sold.

“Master, wait a moment.”

Long San gestured, whispering to a running apprentice who hurried over.

Soon, the apprentice returned with a small redwood box, no bigger than a palm, offering it with both hands. He opened it.

Before them lay a blue gem, the size of a baby’s fist, teardrop-shaped, perfectly translucent, emitting a faint blue glow even in the shadow of the lid.

“Please, Master, take a look.”

Long San explained: “Found in Lu Jingtian’s secret treasure chamber. It glows in darkness—slightly dimmer than your own Night Pearl, but larger in size and better shaped. Even uncarved, it’s top-tier jewelry—sure to win the heart of nine out of ten women.”

Jiang Ding was instantly drawn to the blue gem.

He didn’t recognize it, lacked knowledge on such matters, but by instinct, he felt it was valuable—there was a faint illusion of seeing a Blue Fluorescent Butterfly.

“I’ll take it. How much?”

Since they agreed to a fifty-fifty split, he’d hold them strictly to it.

“Non-cultivation items rarely exceed a thousand taels. For something more valuable…” Long San, professional to the core, didn’t flatter—after a moment’s thought: “Fifteen hundred taels?”

“Fine.”

Jiang Ding nodded, closed the lid, and tucked it into his robe.

This wasn’t a lucky find—the stronghold was his to claim.

“Livestock… rewards for Lu Jingtian, Zhou Kun, and others in the city…”

Long San meticulously tallied every minor item, leaving nothing out—even Jiang Ding’s own microcomputer spreadsheet showed no discrepancies.

Finally, he concluded: “Master, if all gains were converted to silver, the total is two hundred twenty-six thousand two hundred thirty-four taels and seven hundred seventy-one wen.”

Upon hearing this number, Long San himself felt dizzy.

“The hundred-year ginseng is mine. The thirty-seven other decades-old herbs are mine too. Let me read the martial manuals for a few hours.” Jiang Ding didn’t hesitate: “How much remains?”

Long San swiftly calculated on his abacus.

“You own half of over two hundred thousand taels. The hundred-year ginseng can’t be priced in silver—it’s too rare. Let’s value it at twenty thousand taels?”

Jiang Ding nodded.

Hundred-year ginseng was already a spiritual herb, and among first-tier spiritual herbs, ginseng ranked among the highest—this was reasonable.

“The thirty-seven decades-old herbs are valued at fifteen thousand taels. Since you’re only reading the manuals and not taking them away, we won’t count them.” Long San tapped his abacus a few times and replied: “That leaves fifty-eight thousand one hundred eleven taels. This sum is too large for the city to gather—we’ll need to wait for silver drafts from Yue Capital.”

“No problem.”

…

The place that once terrified the people of Dongling Prefecture had become ruins, fading into the distance, now just a shrinking black dot.

Dozens of carts resumed motion, slowly returning toward the city.

Jiang Ding sat in the central cart, holding the manual for the “Thirteen Hardening Great Protector,” flipping pages occasionally.

In the end, he decided to return to Dongling Prefecture.

The Blue Gold Serum must not be lost!

Moreover, if one were to pick the one place in Dongling Prefecture where a cultivator was least likely to be found, it would surely be the city.

First, decades of continuous human activity—mountain excavation, canal digging, wall and house construction—had severely disrupted the land, destroying any possible spiritual veins. Cultivation sects rarely settled in densely populated areas for this reason.

Second, hundreds of thousands of people breathing daily unintentionally absorbed the already scarce spiritual energy in the air, turning the city into a “spirit-poor zone” spanning a hundred li.

For a cultivator to temporarily stay here was tolerable, but to live here long-term would be torture.

Conversely, the more remote the mountains and forests, the more likely a cultivator might be found.

As for the threat from the Marquis’s army,

With drone surveillance, it would be difficult for large forces to surround him, especially since his Lesser Concealment Technique was nearing mastery.

“The ‘Thirteen Hardening Great Protector’ uses external pounding to toughen the body, aided by internal qi and herbs. When fully cultivated, save for one vulnerable spot, the entire body becomes like steel and iron, impervious to blades and spears… Exaggeratedly speaking, a qi-refining martial artist wielding a magic weapon might pierce it—but if clad in full-body magic armor, it becomes plausible.”

“Useless. External pounding damages minor meridian branches.”

After flipping through it, Jiang Ding set it aside and picked up Lu Jingtian’s “Five Tiger Soul-Cutting Blade.”

This was normal—cultivation sect manuals had been refined to perfection, forged from the wisdom of countless greats; reading them merely broadened his knowledge.

“Young Master Jiang, this old man Long Zhengwu seeks an audience.”

Outside the cart, an aged voice rang out, drawing curious glances from the Four Seas Consortium members.

Old Master Long was a qi-refining master at the peak of his realm—why was he being so humble to a boy?

“Old Master Long, you’re too courteous—you flatter me.”

Jiang Ding lifted the curtain and invited him in.

“Thank you, Young Master, for avenging our Four Seas Consortium! I shall never forget it!” As soon as he entered, Long Zhengwu bowed deeply.

“Nonsense, nonsense…”

“There is one matter… I beg your pardon.”

After pleasantries, Long Zhengwu lowered his voice: “Young Master, Long San is merely a youth—he doesn’t understand many things. His promises to you may not hold.”

“Oh?”

Jiang Ding’s smile slowly faded.

Did the Four Seas Consortium think his long-standing courtesy and repeated concessions meant he was easy to deceive?

Long Zhengwu’s spine instantly chilled.

He suddenly understood why Lu Jingtian and Yang Dongsheng, whose strength rivaled his own, had died despite layers of bodyguards—sweat poured down his back.

“Young Master, you misunderstand! You misunderstand!”

Long Zhengwu abandoned all pretense of seniority: “It’s not that our consortium breaks its word—it’s that the Celestial Mechanism Tower exists, and we are powerless against them!”

“The Celestial Mechanism Tower? The Long Feng List?”

Jiang Ding frowned.

“Precisely.”

Long Zhengwu used his internal qi to wipe the sweat from his brow: “Though obscure in reputation, it has survived the collapse of several dynasties and the destruction of multiple martial holy sites—and still endures. Its spies span the entire realm; few secrets escape its notice.”

“Many elder masters have tried to uncover its origins, but all efforts ended in failure.”

“Our consortium’s strength, our locations—none escape their eyes. This great event may evade others, but not them.”

“For other matters, they usually ignore them—but you are too young, and this concerns the Long Feng List. They will surely expose you within months.”

“Our consortium cannot stop them. We must revert to the original twenty percent split.”

Long Zhengwu spoke respectfully, treating the young man before him as a senior master.

“Months?”

“Yes. The Long Feng List updates every six months. The next update is two months away.”

“Then… it’s not the Four Seas Consortium’s fault.”

Jiang Ding’s expression softened: “Accounting is too troublesome. Fifty percent stays fifty percent. The agreement stands.”

“This… as you wish, Young Master.”

Long Zhengwu showed a look of deep emotion; among all the senior experts he had met, this one was by far the most principled.