CHAPTER 137: CHAPTER 137 RECLAMATION! (SECOND UPDATE)

"Master, there’s really an abandoned house!"

Wan Mingchuan, with his simple thoughts, always does what the master says without much questioning. He dealt with the stones blocking the road with his mining pickaxe, then rushed forward shouting, "Auntie from the Lin Family said Shuiyun Lake is haunted, and people have mysteriously disappeared there. Could this be the house they lived in? There’s even a statue over there!"

Jiang Yuan used a shovel bought from the marketplace to handle the dilapidated building and was stunned when he walked over and saw it.

The once abandoned house that caught a fleeting glimpse between the skewed trees during strong winds was still shocking. From the remaining carved doors and windows and the brightly colored decorations, it was not hard to see that those who once lived there enjoyed a prosperous life.

[Abandoned Demon Cultivator Statue: Level Six Guardian Treasure, bestowed to believers by the fallen demon cultivator Soul-devouring Beast Xu Xian... lifespan exhausted, devoured all believers in a failed attempt to forcibly ascend...]

The detailed information was quite long, and Jiang Yuan was filled with emotion upon reading it.

The former residents of Shuiyun Lake revered the demon cultivator as a True God, who indeed provided protection allowing them to live in peace and abundance. But when the demon cultivator needed them, the former believers became kept grain.

After exhausting even the native residents to the last strand of hair, the itinerants coveting good houses and fertile lands also found themselves under the control and influence of the statue, meeting their end in dreams.

"Looks like it’s probably a demon cultivator." Bai Yunqi muttered softly as he chopped down nearby trees with ease, eyeing the moss-covered statue. "Did you see the patterns on its body and the strange horns on its head? Most demon cultivators have such characteristics. It’s best to keep a distance if you encounter them in the future. It’s not like they require immediate elimination due to racial differences, but demon cultivators are too strange; try to avoid dealing with them."

Yun Mo also joined in the spectacle, then slightly frowned and said, "I’ve seen guys with patterns like this on their necks at the Cyan Fish Mountain market auction house. Do you think it’s that guy’s doing with the evil curse?"

Bai Yunqi continued chopping trees at a steady pace and replied, "It doesn’t matter who cast the curse, the cause lies with the traitor who sold out his subordinates. To the auction house, it doesn’t count as wrongdoing. If you want to stay at the small courtyard, don’t cause trouble for the Venerable Family.

Cats have their ways, and dogs have theirs; survival in troubled times depends on one’s abilities. Since they chose to establish relationships, they have to accept the risk of being sold off. Eagle Twenty-One, having participated in the auction, must accept the rules of the game. No matter how you look at it, Eagle Twenty-One is the chief culprit, unrelated to others."

After being admonished, Yun Mo hung his head and quietly went to cut grass. Jiang Yuan didn’t intervene; he thought from the auction house’s perspective that perhaps the prices were inflated and methods tough, but without forced buying and selling, there was no great error. If one can’t afford to play, they can choose not to; no money means no bidding. If everyone called out a price they couldn’t pay with Spirit Stones, how would the business continue?

From Yun Mo’s perspective, having fought side by side for so many years, it was hard to let go even if betrayed. It’s understandable to want revenge after learning about the subordinate’s tragic death.

Anyway, Xiaobai’s warning was right. What he wants to do, he should do himself without involving the small courtyard.

Carrying the shovel to the ruins of the house, Jiang Yuan began digging without caring where exactly to dig as long as the progress bar moved forward. Moments later, the ruins suddenly disappeared.

[Stone +65; Wood +112; Gold Coins +3000; Teleportation Talisman +1]

A heap of materials automatically collected into the storage bag with a clatter. Jiang Yuan took out the teleportation talisman, feeling very pleased as he prepared to store it in the storage box for a rainy day.

"I heard the Shennong Sect practices many cultivation techniques related to the Earth Element, able to swiftly dismantle ruins, truly astonishing!" Bai Yunqi watched as the Venerable Family worked for a moment and such a large pile of ruins vanished, sincerely admiring the intricacy of its skills.

He smiled without saying anything, adhering to a principle of neither explaining nor rebutting nor taking responsibility. Anyway, explanation wouldn’t make sense.

Yun Mo, however, eyed that teleportation talisman with immense envy. "Mr. Jiang really has good luck, even finding a teleportation talisman while clearing out ruins. I’ve had only one for many years, reluctant to use it. The night I sent Eagle Fifty-Third and others away, I still don’t know where they ended up..."

"Huh? Doesn’t the teleportation talisman you used allow you to determine where they’re sent?" Jiang Yuan found it strange.

The other party shook his head, "Of course not, using a teleportation talisman consumes a large amount of spiritual power. If you further choose a specific location, it requires even more time and spiritual power. In urgent situations, just leaving the danger randomly suffices, no time for specifics.

So, I’m very worried whether they were teleported to an even more dangerous place.

Additionally, without reaching a certain realm in cultivation, you cannot fully and accurately control your own spiritual power. Often, misjudgments occur, causing insufficient resources when you need spiritual power.

For self-preservation, I didn’t dare to consume more at that time. Even so, after sending them away, I couldn’t even open the storage bag to retrieve some spirit fruit for supplementing spiritual power and had to flee in embarrassment."

So that’s how it was!

Jiang Yuan looked at his system interface. Using the teleportation talisman seemed simple: just input the destination and click use, then wait for the loading bar. There weren’t many restrictions. Perhaps there was a difference in loading speed based on teleportation distance.

He removed the abandoned statue and moved on to the next ruin. This time, besides the regular materials, he surprisingly found a tattered diary.

It was still familiar handwriting, but there was no timestamp, nor did it note the weather, with a more casual tone in writing.

"Hahaha, this is too interesting. I must jot down these valuable experiences—chewing on peanuts and dried tofu together tastes like ham; chewing cooked bananas and winter dates together tastes like crap, hahaha! Who first ate crap to summarize this flavor, huh? Hahahaha..."

The string of ’haha’s at the back was distorted, clearly demonstrating the joy of the person recording this "diary".

Jiang Yuan also felt amused, thinking he also knew that rubbing two hands together produced a chicken dung smell, wondering if he should write it down someday and bury it for future generations?

Casually flipping the yellow parchment over, there were still a few lines written hurriedly: "Are all mermaids such jerks? I sang to her for an hour, thinking she would be attracted to my voice and want to trade some treasures, but she told me my singing was awful only after my throat went hoarse. Not only was there no trade, but she also splashed water on my face, ptooey! Beautiful on the outside, evil inside!"

He put the parchment away, thinking of the flash of a beautiful fish tail at Crescent Lake. Could it have been a mermaid?

Both the men and the demons worked together industriously. It took half a day to clean up the newly unlocked area entirely, leaving only four slightly damaged yet not collapsed buildings.

Jiang Yuan touched the fallen tree on the ground, which turned into green light and disappeared. A few more axe swings, and the root vanished entirely. The disorderly trees, stones, and weeds were collected, revealing a flat, clean, and fertile land, inexplicably pleasing to the eye.

[Task 1: Repair the livestock pen and collect three servings of milk. Reward: Automatic Sprinkler Blueprint]

[Task 2: Repair the poultry house and gather five eggs. Reward: Automatic Feeder Blueprint]

[Task 3: Repair the warehouse. Reward: Random Weapon Blueprint +1]

[Task 4: Repair the slaughterhouse. Reward: Random Elixir Pill Formula +1]

...