Chapter 110: The Treasure-Seeking Golden Toad

Inside the secret chamber, the golden toad sat high, bathed in the fragrance of incense.

Liao Yonghuai, plump and round-faced like a large pancake, with tiny eyes resembling those of a giant toad, crouched cross-legged among piles of gold and silver, his face etched with inner turmoil.

“A rare opportunity; one more try,” he muttered to himself.

Greed ultimately triumphed over reason. Fixing his gaze on the golden toad, Liao Yonghuai steeled his resolve.

In the next instant, his true energy flowed, and three golden coins appeared in his hand. Each coin was about the size of an egg, round on the outside and square within, intricately engraved with the image of a golden toad, exquisitely crafted.

“Three golden toad coins might be too many...”

Just as he had finally made up his mind, hesitation crept in the moment he actually took out the coins.

His cultivation method was the Golden Toad Qi. These golden toad coins were the physical manifestations of his cultivated power, each representing one meridian. Refining one coin meant a permanent loss of a meridian’s cultivation; not only would the true energy of that meridian vanish, but the previously opened acupoint would close again.

To regain his cultivation, he would have to reopen the acupoints, but with each regression, the barriers within the acupoints thickened, making reopening increasingly difficult. Yet, the power of the golden toad coins was extraordinarily potent.

In a sense, with enough golden toad coins, he could unleash strength far beyond that of ordinary practitioners. For example, even if he possessed a complete spell inheritance but his own elemental affinity was incompatible—rendering him unable to cultivate it—he could still use the coins to evolve that spell into a magical talisman-like currency.

Moreover, by investing more coins, he could further enhance the spell's power. This was the profound secret of the core cultivation technique he practiced, the Golden Coin Spellcraft. One method could surpass myriad others.

“Opportunities abound now; calculating one shouldn’t be difficult. Two, no—one golden toad coin should be enough...”

His thoughts swirled. After a moment’s hesitation, Liao Yonghuai withdrew two coins back into his possession.

“Treasure Toad, Treasure Toad, please reveal to me where the greatest opportunity nearby lies...”

Muttering prayers, burning incense, offering the golden toad coins as sacrifice, Liao Yonghuai began to invoke his secret method.

As the method activated, the golden toad coins in his hand gradually turned ethereal, transforming into a wisp of smoke that drifted into the golden toad’s mouth. At that moment, a faint message appeared in Liao Yonghuai’s mind.

“Is this direction... Mistbewitch Bay?”

“Yes, it is Mistbewitch Bay.”

Sensing the vague information, Liao Yonghuai suddenly focused his gaze on Mistbewitch Bay, where the Taiping Sect resided.

“The Treasure Toad’s message is hazy, but judging by the treasure’s brilliance, it should be a rare first-grade artifact. Could it be that the Spirit Fruit Tree has truly appeared and fallen into the hands of the Taiping Sect...?”

Recalling previous rumors, many thoughts surged in Liao Yonghuai’s mind at this moment.

Within Qinghe County, the Taiping Sect now reigned supreme. If the Spirit Fruit Tree had indeed appeared, there was a high chance it lay in their possession. The Spirit Fruit Tree, although a first-grade item, bore Spirit Fruits that were the primary ingredient for forging Acupoint Opening Pills, reputed to open one meridian per pill—an extremely precious material.

Even though a cultivator could consume at most ten such pills, effective only before reaching the pinnacle of Qi Refinement, their value remained immense. For cultivation families or sects, the Spirit Fruit Tree’s worth exceeded that of ordinary second-grade spiritual items, representing a profound foundation.

Thinking of this, Liao Yonghuai’s greed surged uncontrollably. If he could obtain the Spirit Fruit Tree, he could hardly imagine how elated he would be.

As for the Treasure Toad’s information, he trusted it without doubt. He had tried similar divinations before, but due to the limited range the Treasure Toad could sense and the vagueness of the information, it only pointed roughly to a direction. It offered no clue about the treasure’s type or whether danger was involved.

Thus, the actual rewards were few and mostly of low value, often not worth the risk. He had even encountered danger because of it.

Over time, he seldom used this method. Although theoretically, offering more golden toad coins could yield more information, the Treasure Toad’s revelations were never entirely accurate—only relatively so. It seemed there was some unseen limitation.

For him, this was of little consequence. The main issue was the poor overall environment: unclaimed treasures were scarce, and genuine valuables were either in the hands of others or monsters. To seize them would inevitably require violent confrontations.

This time, only because of the upheaval in the Qingyuan River’s water vein, which brought many typically hidden spiritual items to the surface, had his interest been piqued anew.

“Taiping Sect, always the Taiping Sect... Looks like something must be done...”

His mind consumed by thoughts of the Spirit Fruit Tree, Liao Yonghuai stepped out of the secret chamber.

For him, the treasure’s presence in the Taiping Sect was not a bad thing. Compared to unknown lands, a clear location was preferable, for knowing one’s opponent allowed risk assessment.

Yet, as Liao Yonghuai pondered how to deal with the Taiping Sect and seize that opportunity, new undercurrents stirred in Qingyuan County.

In the Nameless Valley, an illusionary formation silently spread, severing inside from outside. About twenty cultivators gathered there, all clad in identical yellow Taoist robes and wearing masks that concealed their faces. Many were Qi Refinement cultivators.

They were all members of the Yellow Wind Sect. Before joining, most had been scattered wanderers. They should have been entangled with the authorities in Changfeng County but had instead quietly appeared here.

“A great disaster is looming, and all factions in Qingyuan County are too busy to care, especially the Lu family—they have scattered their forces...”

“Heaven itself seems displeased. These weaklings in Qingyuan County have taken possession of such a splendid land...”

Voices rose and fell. The eyes of all Yellow Wind Sect cultivators burned with fire: greed and discontent.

Among the four southern counties, Qingvine County was the strongest and richest, being the only upper county in the south. Changfeng County was the harshest and poorest in resources.

Regarding spiritual acupoints, Qingyuan County openly boasted four, held by the county governor’s office and the Lu, Wen, and Gao families respectively.

Changfeng County had only two, both relatively inferior, barely stronger than a minor acupoint recently cultivated by the Gao family.

Because of this, Changfeng cultivators had developed a wolfish nature—fiercer and more prone to fighting.

As the Yellow Wind Sect cultivators murmured among themselves, a figure clad in a yellow robe, wearing a greenwood mask and bearing silver hair, appeared.

At his presence, all fell silent. This was Huang Feng Sanren, the sect’s leader, a master of complete Qi Refinement with outstanding combat prowess, undefeated in battles of one against two.

“Let’s depart,” Huang Feng Sanren commanded, scanning the crowd.

At his words, excitement lit every face.