Ji Zhuoye nodded. “What you said is not bad, but you didn’t mention the most incredible thing about Jade Cicada Palace.”
Yan Tianhen asked curiously, “What is it?”
Ji Zhuoye explained, “The Jade Cicada King raised by Jade Cicada Palace is a guide who can find the mysterious lands on Thousand Stars Island. The higher the level of the Jade Cicada King, the higher the rank of the mysterious land it can find and the more hidden the mysterious land is. Every ten years, Jade Cicada Palace will release information about a mysterious land. If someone wants to enter the mysterious land, they will need to buy the news from Jade Cicada Palace or obtain the Jade Cicada Palace’s transportation talisman.”
Lin Xuanzhi remarked with a little interest, “This business is sure to make a steady profit.”
“Naturally,” Ji Zhuo replied. “Information from Jade Cicada Palace is always very expensive. They’re the typical ‘won’t make a business deal for three years but will have enough money for three years after each transaction ah.”
“If it’s so easy to make money, why don’t they do this every year?” Yan Tianhen asked.
“Let’s first leave aside the matter of whether there are actually so many mysterious lands for them to open; it’s said that the Jade Cicada King raised by the Jade Cicada Palace should be nurtured with the utmost care from young and should be fed every day with dew and honey from a hundred flowers. When it grows older, they should also find spiritual insects without any contamination or blood for it to snack on. The Jade Cicada King can grow up only after several decades of this diet. Furthermore, if even a little wind blows or if the grass moves slightly, it might catch a cold, and all the effort they spent raising it will naturally have been in vain.” Zhuoye leisurely shook the cup as he continued, “Moreover, do you think that the Jade Cicada King has such a good temper that it’ll find a mysterious land for you if it merely says it would? It’s said that Grandpa Jade Cicada handles matters entirely based on its mood. If it’s not happy, no matter how you beg like you’re begging your grandparents, it’ll still just lie there motionlessly. There was a time ten years ago when a disciple was feeding it, he threw an insect that had previously drunk blood to the Jade Cicada King. As a result, the Jade Cicada King threw a temper tantrum and almost didn’t point out the mysterious land that year.”
Yan Tianhen listened with keen interest and couldn’t help laughing. “This Jade Cicada King is really interesting. It’s actually a foodie.”
Ji Zhuoye nodded. “Exactly. Look at this plate of Golden Cicada Sugar Threads. People created this dish based on the Jade Cicada King’s preferences, tracking the clues along the way to find the most edible insects and cooking them.”
Yan Tianhen couldn’t help clicking his tongue in wonder. “Golden Cicada Sugar Threads, if the Jade Cicada King hears this name, will it be angry ah?”
Ji Zhuoye smiled. “Well, I don’t know about this. If you have the opportunity to meet the Jade Cicada King, you can ask him.”
Yan Tianhen rubbed his hands and spoke enviously, “I also want to raise a Jade Cicada King. This way, I won’t have to worry about a lack of mysterious lands anymore.”
Ji Zhuoye replied faintly, “This kind of thing takes an enormous amount of effort. It’s even more expensive than providing for you.”
Thus, Ji Zhuoye called the waiter and ordered another plate.
The waiter said awkwardly, “It’s already enough for three people to eat a single plate of Golden Cicada Sugar Threads. If you eat too much, your spiritual Qi will become too abundant and give you a stomachache. We can’t afford to take responsibility for that.”
Ji Zhuoye pointed to Feng Jingyu. “Our family’s bird hasn’t eaten yet.”
The corners of the waiter’s mouth twitched as he looked at Feng Jingyu, who was acting like an uncle, turned to add another plate. Feng Jingyu continuously pecked and swallowed an entire plate of Golden Cicada Sugar Threads into his stomach. After finishing the plate, he gave a full burp and nearly overturned his chubby and round body. Yan Tianhen’s eyes were full of joy when watching this.
Ever since Ji Zhuoye found out from Yin Xinghan’s mouth that Maomao was that West Phoenix Monarch, he could no longer look Feng Jingyu straight in the eye. However, he would try his best to satisfy Feng Jingyu’s demands. After all, although Feng Jingyu looked a little timid now, he was nevertheless a golden thigh that Ji Zhuoye couldn’t afford to provoke.
After eating and drinking to their heart’s content, the three of them went to stay in the inn next door. Early in the morning on the second day, there was no trace of Zhuoye anymore, so Lin Xuanzhi leisurely wandered around Tailan City with Yan Tianhen and Feng Jingyu, buying many trinkets that Yan Tianhen had never seen before, as well as a lot of food.
As for Gu worms, Yan Tianhen also went to the marketplace to take a look. It’s just that Ji Zhuoye was away, and Yan Tianhen as a half-amateur couldn’t tell which young Gu worms were better. In the end, he didn’t buy anything. They returned to the inn at night, and Ji Zhuoye also came back.
“I received a pretty useful piece of information today.” Ji Zhuoye came to Lin Xuanzhi’s guest room. “Regarding the Jade Cicada Palace’s directions to the mysterious land, this year it will officially be sold starting on the 15th of next month.”
Yan Tianhen leaned on the table and tilted his head. “Can we afford it?”
Ji Zhuoye answered, “We must still think of a way to obtain it even if we can’t afford it. According to inside information from Jade Cicada Palace, the mysterious land this time is Heavenly Swamp Mysterious Land, which only opens once every hundred years. The last time this mysterious land was opened, several people mistakenly entered and cultivated in there. By the time they came out, they were already powerhouses capable of moving unhindered throughout the Five Continents. It’s just that Heavenly Swamp Mysterious Land is difficult to find, and it’s hard to estimate when it will open each time, so no one has been able to find it since then.”
Yan Tianhen was more interested now. “What treasures are there in this Heavenly Swamp Mysterious Land?”
Ji Zhuoye thought about it and answered, “I heard that the density of spiritual Qi in Heavenly Swamp Mysterious Land is several times that of the outside world, which is conducive to cultivation. Moreover, the spatial structure of this small world is extremely unique; it can temper someone’s body and is a good place for body cultivators. As for rare treasures, this depends on chance. There will likely be a large amount of treasures. The most important thing is that rumors say that Jade Cicada Palace’s Palace Master brought the Jade Cicada King out of Heavenly Swamp Mysterious Land a hundred years ago.”
Yan Tianhen’s eyes suddenly brightened to a terrifying degree. He turned his head and looked at Lin Xuanzhi with a burning gaze. “Dage, let’s also think of a way to enter and try our luck in this Heavenly Swamp Mysterious Land. Maybe, we can also find another Jade Cicada King!”
Lin Xuanzhi thought for a moment and asked Ji Zhuoye, “Where did you hear all this information from? Is it reliable?”
Ji Zhuoye rubbed his nose. “At the very least, I’m someone who has friends inside Jade Cicada Palace. This information was fished out with much difficulty after inviting that friend out for wine for the entire day.”
Yan Tianhen asked, “Is your friend reliable?”
Ji Zhuoye nodded. “Jade Cicada Palace’s eldest disciple — do you think he’s reliable or not?”
Yan Tianhen exclaimed, “Wow! Sure enough, people can’t be judged by their appearances. With your thick eyebrows and big eyes, I didn’t expect that you can actually engage in this kind of shady business.”
Ji Zhuoye, “…”
Lin Xuanzhi smiled. “Since the news is reliable, we can try and see if we can buy entrance to the mysterious land.”
Ji Zhuoye sighed. “I’ve also inquired about that. Just a single transportation talisman to the entrance alone costs 8.888 million gold.”
“What?” Yan Tianhen suddenly froze.
Ji Zhuoye added, “This is still the discount price they can give me for our friendship. If I didn’t know the eldest disciple, I’m afraid the price would be many times the current price.”
Lin Xuanzhi asked, “How many people can be teleported with a single transportation talisman?”
Ji Zhuoye answered, “At most one person. However, Jade Cicada Palace has also prepared a teleportation array. A single teleportation array can transport ten people, but I’m afraid that the price will reach hundreds of millions of gold. Besides the deep-pocketed sects and families, absolutely nobody can afford this price.”
Yan Tianhen frowned. “The biggest advantage of a teleportation array is that it can guarantee that everyone will be transported to the same location. Who knows where we will land with transportation talismans?”
Ji Zhuoye looked at Lin Xuanzhi. “I don’t care either way whether I enter or not. It’s up to you two whether you want to go.”
Lin Xuan also had some scruples. He naturally wanted to go inside and take a look. It wasn’t a bad idea to try his luck, but he didn’t have much money left in his hands — ever since he ran away from home in disguise, he had deliberately avoided selling magic treasures that could reflect his personal style. However, the spending along this journey was also large; they only consumed but didn’t make much money. After a while, he was naturally cash-strapped.
Yan Tianhen suddenly realized this problem too. His eyes showed a touch of regret, but he quickly perked up. “Forget it. Heavenly Swamp Mysterious Land might not necessarily be so great either, and it’s even so expensive. Who knows if we can earn back the money we spend? We’d better not go.”
After hearing this, Lin Xuanzhi looked up and smiled slightly. “Since it’s such a rarely-seen mysterious land, of course we must find a way to enter and take a look. The money problem is a small matter. Ah Hen need not worry, just let me handle it.”
Yan Tianhen shook his head. “Dage, if you still want to sell magic treasures, forget it. As soon as you do that, it will easily attract people’s attention. We’re still on the run right now, so we have to keep a low profile.”
Zhuoye cut in, “There’s no need for you two to appease each other like this. Speaking of which, although there is not enough money, it’s not like there’s no other way to obtain the transportation talisman.”
Yan Tianhen asked, “What method?”
Zhuoye leisurely replied, “My friend said that recently, their Young Palace Master has lost his appetite and can’t eat anything. This has already gone on for many days. The group of people we met at Thousand Flavors Restaurant yesterday was asking the Ji family to refine a medicinal pill to whet their Young Palace Master’s appetite. If you can also refine such a medicinal pill and restore the Young Palace Master’s appetite, they are willing to give a teleportation array as a reward.”
Yan Tianhen was so stunned that his chin almost fell off. He opened and closed his mouth, then said incredulously, “They’re making such a big fuss over a mere loss of appetite? Jade Cicada Palace is perhaps too good to this Young Palace Master.”
Zhuoye nodded. “Who let them be so rich?”
Yan Tianhen remarked, “Even if they’re rich, they still shouldn’t spoil him like this ba. It makes people quite jealous.”
Lin Xuanzhi raised his hand and rubbed Yan Tianhen’s head, smiling. “Is Ah Hen envious?”
Yan Tianhen sighed. “I can’t envy him ah. I’ve never lost my appetite. I only experience times when I’m so hungry that I can’t sleep.”
Zhuoye, “…”
However, Yan Tianhen had some thoughts about helping to restore the Young Palace Master’s appetite. It’s just that for the time being, he still didn’t understand what caused the Young Palace Master to lose his appetite, and Yan Tianhen also didn’t dare to rashly refine a pill. Zhuoye immediately decided to take the two of them together to find Jade Cicada Palace’s eldest disciple tomorrow. While they were at it, they planned to walk through the backdoor to visit that Young Palace Master and see why he had poor appetite. Early next morning, the three people went to Jade Cicada Palace together.
