CHAPTER 151: CHAPTER 151 SALT (FIRST UPDATE)

[Who is the newly selected bride for the River God in Riverfront Village?]

[How many Gold Coins does Qiao Mei, a villager of Riverfront Village, have?]

[During the sacrifice to the "River God," how many people died in total?]

The first two questions are simple, especially since the Gold Coins were originally given to the Lin Chunxi siblings by Jiang Yuan, so the amount is naturally remembered clearly.

But the last question was a bit difficult. When he got involved, he drowned He Yaozu and the village chief in the river, but he wasn’t clear about other situations. Had the three major families forced anyone else to death before that?

Reluctantly choosing "2," the answer was, unsurprisingly, wrong, resulting in only two types of buffs, with no attack bonus like yesterday. Then the system gave a hint to the answer: Ding Zhuzi was drained of blood to use for a Blood Curse to summon the deity, and his death should also be included.

"With so many busy things going on each day, how much gossip do I have to know to get this info?" Jiang Yuan complained softly before re-entering the instance.

It was the familiar cutscene CG, but there were only four options left to choose from, as the vinegar factory, which had been completed, was not among them.

Since all tasks involved fighting monsters in full sequence, it didn’t matter what came first or last. Without thinking, Jiang Yuan chose salt.

"Honored guest, please follow me. The salt from Yong’an Square is exceptional from selection to craftsmanship, and it is also my favorite part." The ridge beast led the way, but upon reaching the gate of Yong’an Square, the key was "missing," prompting him to search within a specified area for the key first.

Jiang Yuan treated the instance entirely like a game, killing minor monsters while NPCs’ words went in one ear and out the other, trying not to let them affect his mood.

After spending some time killing corpse demons and clearing debris, he finally found the key needed for the task and returned it to the ridge beast.

The opponent then transformed into a bald strong man, opened the door, and invited him inside.

"This is the salt field of Yong’an Square, honored guest, please take a look!"

Following his pointing finger, a breathtaking scene unfolded — resembling the tourist attractions seen online.

The white salt, calm water surface, and deep blue sky, with the reflection of the blue sky and white clouds in the lake, created a celestial mirror, a beauty unlike that of the Mortal World.

However, the bald strong man obviously wasn’t there just for him to appreciate the scenery. As his finger shifted direction, Jiang Yuan saw sporadic little ghosts walking unsteadily in the salt lake.

"They are making salt. Honored guest, please come closer to see the exquisite nature of the raw materials clearly."

Jiang Yuan realized there might be other disgusting scenes, feeling a bit of resistance internally, yet followed over to do the task. Sure enough, he saw the little ghosts constantly walking, seemingly entangled by something beneath the salt lake, which made their movement challenging.

As a result, layers of sparkling salt crystals formed on their feet.

The more the salt accumulated, the more difficult walking became, and the entanglement by the lake’s forces worsened, a vicious cycle that eventually rendered them immobile, with layers upon layers of salt crystals enveloping them, forming a giant unrecognizable salt crystal stone in the salt lake.

The big ghosts wielded hammers and chisels to remove the complete salt crystal stones, carried them away, and threw them into the furnace for refining and purifying, subsequently grinding them into snow-white salt.

Suppressing curiosity, Jiang Yuan hastily completed all tasks before leaving the Netherworld salt field, yet he asked, "What is it that binds them in the lake?"

"Who knows?"

The bald man grinned cheekily and said, "Perhaps it’s desire, obsession, or maybe even hope. The more you want, the more you can’t let go, the slower you go. If one could awaken and realize that their feet are entangled in salt, unable to move and had the courage to break free by cutting off their feet, they would gain the hope of escaping. Yet how many little ghosts can have such awakening and determination?

The honored guest hasn’t yet seen the salt factory in the Mortal World. They are entangled in bloodlines, responsibilities, obligations, morals, and even customs, struggling and suffering, yet still sinking into it without the ability to extricate themselves, even becoming accomplices in binding and oppressing others.

The Celestial Realm salt field is even more interesting!

If those cultivators striving for Ascension and falling short knew that they are not even a side dish, merely a seasoning, wouldn’t they feel like a joke?"

Jiang Yuan took a deep breath to suppress his slightly fluctuating mood and said calmly, "Who knows. Are you not a fish, how do you know the pleasure of fish? Perhaps they find joy in this, after all, the delight of grappling with the heavens is endless. It seems it’s you, Wufeng City, that is interesting, crafting five flavors for the Celestial Realm and playing mighty Ascension cultivators like pawns, yet filled with corpse demons and not even a single True Immortal in sight—why is that?"

The other party was evidently not expecting him to retort, and was momentarily stunned before grinning, "Without True Immortals, how could Wufeng City have the virtue or capability to craft five flavors for Celestial Realm Immortals? However, can True Immortals ever be easily seen by us? If you, esteemed guest, can truly gather all five flavors across the Three Realms, perhaps you might indeed have the chance to meet a True Immortal."

Oh? Could it be the final big boss?

Upon leaving the salt field, Jiang Yuan made a point of closely examining the statue in Riverfront Village. He remembered seeing the rough craftsmanship of the statue before, unable to discern gender, but now, for some reason, the statue’s posture remained yet its facial lines seemed much smoother, appearing more like the figure of an old man from afar.

He thought for a moment, and during the task, took out a Corpse Poison Pill given by the Yin Mountain female corpse from his Storage Bag and stuffed it into the crevice where Ding Zhuzi was hidden.

If this thing were indeed to transform into the final big boss as the instance progressed, the Corpse Poison Pill could serve as a bomb for easier future battles; if the guess was wrong, it was no big deal, it could still be pried out later. This thing wasn’t a one-time-use item, after all—it could be used again once taken out and left aside.

Maybe because his emotions weren’t affected, he completed today’s tasks much faster, clearing both the salt and sauce factory tasks before exiting the instance. Jiang Yuan found he handled time quite well, with entirely enough free time left to go mining in Old Dragon Cave for a while.

Once he accumulated enough iron ingots to repair the slaughterhouse, he could obtain a random Pill Formula to brew new Elixirs in the Alchemy Room.

It seems tomorrow he should be able to finish the instance, and with rewards like oil, salt, and vinegar, he could make more delicious food at the stove!

...

Wan An slept for a long time before waking up. After sitting up from the bed, he saw that the Dream-Inducing Talisman beside his pillow had faded, turning into a light yellow blank slip. He carefully recalled the dream scenarios and pondered over Bai Yunqi’s proposal to mine.

He felt his decision in the dream had no problems.

Having lived for decades, died, transformed into a ghost, and experienced several tribulations, he understood the principle of seeking fortune amidst danger.

The worst-case scenario was that the mine could be exploited, yet discovered and coveted by other ghosts, leading to a struggle. But so what? At worst, he would die! If without a little Immortal’s rescue, wouldn’t this be the same ending? Not to mention dying a miserable and silent death at the lowest level of Luoshan, enduring endless suffering.

Now that these divine days are earned, at his age, with the chance to pave a path for his grandson, why hesitate? Even if he died, it was for the sake of helping them mine, and by then, in favor of this old ghost’s life, they should treat his grandson better.

But what should be done with Lin Dayou?

It’s not that he distrusts him, but with matters as crucial as this, it’s not children’s play where winning or losing doesn’t matter. What if there were hidden inner motives, and he betrayed for greed?

Before, they could rely on each other because both were poor, helping each other without much loss;

Now he is trustworthy because he has benefited from following him, with no involvement in interests nor any means to maintain the relationship?

After pondering briefly, Wan An decided to spend money to rent a shop for Lin Dayou to start a small business. This way, he could keep himself occupied and busy; and with Wan An funding it and Lin Dayou handling the work, there could be daily income to mislead others.