Chapter 45: Entering the Mountain (1/2)
Chapter 45: Entering the Mountain
After returning from the Hundred Refinements Pavilion, Su Chen took Cloud Leopard and Iron Cliff with him and headed for the agreed-upon rendezvous point.
Because they had arrived a bit early, not a single person was there yet.
After waiting for a while, Zheng Xia, Du Qing and the others also appeared.
Su Chen made an introduction once everyone had gathered. “Iron Cliff is my servant. I’ll be taking him with me on this expedition. Of course, he and I are considered together.”
Upon hearing that Iron Cliff was basically free extra strength, everyone was quite happy and gave Iron Cliff a warm welcome.
Zheng Xia was still a bit worried. He asked, “How is his strength? If it’s too dangerous, I’m worried that……”
“Don’t worry. You won’t need to spend your energy watching over him,” Su Chen replied.
Zheng Xia finally nodded.
To the side, Sun Jizu asked, “Why hasn’t Wang Doushan come yet?”
“He’s probably still on his way,” Cloud Leopard piped up. “Let’s wait a bit longer.”
After quite some time, Wang Doushan’s round body finally came into view as he ran towards them.
As he ran he yelled, “Sorry, I’m late again!”
His appearance screamed that he had just woken up. Everyone was rendered speechless.
Zheng Xia sighed to himself. He was already worried about taking along Su Chen, but now it seemed that their Bloodline Nobility Clan member wasn’t very strong either.
They all seemed to be useless!
Although he felt regret in his heart, the matter had already been decided. He could only harden his forehead and continue to press on.
The eight member group was finally gather together and began to set out for the Thousand Ashes Gorge.
Before leaving, Su Chen pulled out a vial of medicine.
“What is that?” Du Qing asked with curiosity.
Su Chen replied, “Bug repellant. There are many insects within the mountains. With this, you won’t have to worry about being bit.”
“That’s pretty good.” Du Qing reached her hand out to grab it.
“Every bottle is ten Origin Stones,” Su Chen said.
Du Qing instantly withdrew her hand as her eyes opened wide. “Ten Origin Stones? Are you trying to rob us?”
Su Chen replied seriously, “It costs money to concoct medicine. This medicine usually goes for fifteen Origin Stones outside, and it’ll only be more expensive once we’re in the mountain – perhaps more than twenty. Ten Origin Stones per bottle is not much. Of course, you can also choose to go without it.”
Yan Fuxing harrumphed, “Everyone here is a cultivator. If we protect our bodies with Origin energy, how could a few insects affect us?”
“That’s right! Only idiots would spend ten Origin Stones on that,” Sun Jizu also said.
“So be it. I just wanted to let you all know.” Su Chen didn’t mind. He put away the medicine.
Sun Jizu, Zheng Xia, and Du Qing all shook their heads and gave up on it. Only Wang Doushan and Cloud Leopard bought it.
Cloud Leopard knew how useful the bug repellant could be. In all honesty, the medicine had been his suggestion in the first place. Wang Doushan was giving his friend face and trying it out.
But after entering the mountain, their party very quickly began to realize how frightening the bugs were.
The Falling Eagle Mountain’s bugs had seemingly also cultivated. They were extremely vicious when biting others. Even Origin Qi Scholars who cultivated body tempering Origin Skills could feel the sting, not to mention regular Origin Qi Scholars. Upon being bitten, a large welt would appear.
While a broken finger would heal in a day, these welts wouldn’t disappear even after half a day.
Setting up an Origin Energy Barrier was the only way to defend themselves, but that consumed Origin Energy.
Not long after, Zheng Xia began to complain incessantly.
Du Qing was the first one who couldn’t take it anymore. While the insects in the mountains were truly vicious, they were also extremely precise. One bit her on her face, causing a massive welt to appear in its place.
Not only did these welts hurt, but they also ruined her complexion.
She hurriedly went over to Su Chen and bought a vial.
Zheng Xia was the second one.
Yan Fuxing and Sun Jizu were hell-bent on preserving their face. After all, they were the ones who had said that only idiots would buy that medicine.
But as more and more welts accumulated on their faces, they finally couldn’t take it anymore and went to Su Chen to buy the bug repellant. If they had to be idiots, then so be it.
Su Chen didn’t haggle with them about it. He also pulled out a vial that could treat these insect bites.
That vial was more expensive. It was thirty Origin Stones.
They could only helplessly pull out their money. However, there was a bit of dissatisfaction in their hearts. They felt that this person was too stingy and didn’t have a sense of camaraderie, even charging members of the same team for basic medicine.
Humans were usually like this. As long as there was some form of relationship, they would feel that using someone was expected and even justified. If they were still charged for it, naturally that person was greedy and lacked camaraderie.
Naturally, the effort, care, and monetary cost that someone paid were not considered.
Of course, this was just a small matter that didn’t mean too much. It didn’t even really affect the interactions between the group.
The main difference between entering the mountain range as a group and entering as an individual was that it was a lot more lively. There were always conversations going on.