Ji Xinghuo left the great hall where Chie Han Qiu resided and, once there were no Snow Ape Giants nearby, he finally couldn’t help but curse and swear.
"The Giants, just like the Void Spirit Guests, are all crooked merchants!"
The price Han Qiu quoted for hiring the Snow Ape Giants was simply unaffordable for him.
A Giant Guard consisting of ten Snow Ape Giants, all Fourth Rank Elites, required daily payment, each demanding one Ether Crystal per day.
Converted to Ya Yuan, that amounted to twenty million a day.
If one were to hire a Legendary Level Snow Ape Giant, just one per day would cost an Ether Crystal, which was a tenfold increase.
For Heavenly King Level, the price would increase by another tenfold, with the daily wage for a Sixth Rank Giant being ten Ether Crystals.
That was equivalent to one Red Emperor Blood Crystal a day!
Ji Xinghuo rejected the offer on the spot.
The Heavenly King Level Snow Ape Giants were indeed formidable, unattainably strong for him, but they were absolutely not worth that price. The so-called "investment" by the Void Spirit Guest turned out to be nothing but an empty promise, and Naive Ji Xinghuo had actually thought he was generous enough to offer some advantage.
Ji Xinghuo saw through the true nature of the Void Spirit Guest; he was definitely no great philanthropist.
Before leaving, Han Qiu gave him a piece of white fur as a token, which would grant him entry to the tribe and an audience with the Chie whenever presented to the Snow Ape Giants.
He didn’t head straight back, but instead started wandering around Sky Falling Cliff.
The city district atop Sky Falling Cliff, along with the multi-racial villages sprawled below, had a total population of over a million. Well-ordered and brimming with various races, it was the most important trading hub in the eastern part of the Bloody Plateau, with trade hugely flourishing, and many valuable treasures could be seen at the street vendors.
Ji Xinghuo kept strolling until night fell, gaining quite a bit of insight.
Firstly, he saw many races he had only heard about but never seen with his own eyes, including a diverse array of Alien Species.
Secondly, he gained a decent understanding of the value of many treasures.
Most transactions in Sky Falling Cliff were settled with True Dragon Coins, occasionally one would see an Ether Crystal.
He made some inquiries.
He found that people were unclear about the source of Ether Crystals, and those who were willing to share usually mentioned them as booty acquired by chance.
There were no Ether Mines on the Bloody Plateau.
A few had obtained their Ether Crystals from within the True Dragon Dynasty.
It was said that the True Dragon Dynasty controlled most of the Ether Mines in the Star Domain, but each mine’s location was top secret, completely unknown to outsiders.
Additionally, some Ether Crystals were produced by Alien Species, but they were artificially made and extremely costly.
None of this surprised Ji Xinghuo.
Ether Crystals were one of the most important resources in the Star Realm, and as the overlord of the Star Domain, the True Dragon Dynasty would, of course, not let others have a share, needing to maintain an absolute monopoly. Despite his craving for Ether Crystals, even the Shepherd Star Saint, Void Spirit Guest, had to obtain them through trade, not daring to provoke the True Dragon Dynasty.
After all, Ji Xinghuo was nothing more than an Advanced Mutant; he should not have such lofty expectations.
He returned home in the middle of the night.
Xia Qingyu and Misha had disappeared, whereabouts unknown, and Ji Xinghuo could guess the two were definitely off fooling around somewhere.
If they didn’t hit it off, they wouldn’t be hanging out together.
In the following days.
Most of Ji Xinghuo’s time was spent at home cultivating, with his Star Power steadily growing. When resting, he would also go out and stroll on Sky Falling Cliff, gathering information and understanding the prices.
Xia Qingyu and Misha spent their days either drinking or having a romp, living quite happily.
However, they had their embarrassing moments too.
That red-haired woman called "Ayatu" somehow got wind of their affairs and showed up to catch them in the act. She hadn’t come alone, but with her brothers and elders, nearly trapping Xia Qingyu inside the house. If it weren’t for Ji Xinghuo’s reminder, allowing Xia Qingyu to quickly escape with the oblivious Misha, a farce would have been inevitable.
Ji Xinghuo didn’t want to interfere and would rather enjoy the show.
But considering that Xia Qingyu would be joining him in entering the Blood Fury Tribe later, he couldn’t just ignore the situation, so he gave the warning.
Neither returned after that, staying outside.
In the Cultivation Room, Ji Xinghuo was sweating profusely when he suddenly stopped and walked out, seeing the door to the courtyard being pushed open.
Xia Qingyu snuck a look inside, relieved to see only Ji Xinghuo there.
"Dare to come back now?" Ji Xinghuo laughed.
"That woman has gone crazy!"
Xia Qingyu came in and closed the door behind him, looking helpless, "I originally thought she was just a mixed-race child from the True Dragon and Red Species, without much status, just to have a bit of fun. It turns out her family has quite considerable influence, descending from a branch of the Blood Prison Family, and these past days they’ve been searching everywhere for me on Sky Falling Cliff."
Ji Xinghuo couldn’t help but revel in schadenfreude.
The families of the True Dragon Race were determined by bloodline inheritance. Their surnames typically derived from some Dragon Species of an ancestral Dragon Lord.
Like the Linyan Family affiliated with the Linyan Dragon.
The Blood Prison Family, a surname that indicated the family tamed the Blood Prison Dragon. This was a Dragon Species far more powerful than the Linyan Dragon, even within the True Dragon Dynasty, it was one of the very top True Dragon Families.
Even if the bloodline was diluted and it was only a branch family, their accumulated strength was not to be underestimated.
Xia Qingyu had walked a dark path and finally encountered a ghost.
Ji Xinghuo laughed openly, without reservation.
"You laugh, damn it!" Xia Qingyu glared irritably at him, "Pack up quickly, the Blood Fury Tribe has already notified Misha, we’re heading out today."
Ji Xinghuo’s smile faded, and he nodded, "Understood."
No wonder Xia Qingyu snuck home with a hint of glee; it turned out it was time to leave Sky Falling Cliff and avoid the pursuit of Ayatu’s family.
He turned back to his bedroom to change into his clothes, donned his pottery steel Armor, and slung his bow, Sword, and other weapons on his back. There was no need for further preparation; all his important possessions were in his and Qing Hong’s Dimension Stomach, ready to depart at a moment’s notice.