I Reloaded the Save File! [Transmigration] - Chapter 39

After examining it from all sides, Mo Xiao stopped moving, her eyebrows slightly lowered, and her eyes showing a hint of confusion.

“What’s wrong? Is there anything unusual about this stone?” Yun Yu asked nervously. Could there really be a problem?

Mo Xiao shook her head. “I didn’t find anything strange. The ductility and spiritual conductivity of this ore are indeed good.”

Sometimes, no abnormality is the biggest abnormality. The timing of this Gold Scale Ore’s appearance was so coincidental, and it attracted the attention of so many cultivators. There was no reason for it to be completely harmless.

“Let me take a look,” Yun Yu also looked puzzled. Taking the Gold Scale Ore from Mo Xiao’s hand, she repeated Mo Xiao’s actions just now.

“It really doesn’t seem to have any abnormality,” Yun Yu’s tone was filled with confusion. “Were we overthinking it? Is this simply a new kind of ore?”

Zuo Wuyi stood aside without saying anything, instead starting to search through her own memories for relevant information.

“System, tell me the information related to the Gold Scale Ore,” Zuo Wuyi had a vague impression of this stone, but she couldn’t recall when she had encountered it.

[Host, have you forgotten?] The System whispered weakly. [This so-called Gold Scale Ore is the very thing that the Host suffered a huge loss from when you first entered the Demon Realm…]

The System didn’t finish its sentence. After a brief reminder, it quickly retreated back into Zuo Wuyi’s sea of consciousness.

When I first entered the Demon Realm? Zuo Wuyi was stunned, then her expression became strange. “Senior Martial Sister, I think I read about an ore very similar to this Gold Scale Ore in a book.”

This thing was precisely what caused her a huge setback when she first arrived in the Demon Realm! She really had become too complacent to have forgotten even this!

“Oh? A very similar ore? What was the name of that ore?” Yun Yu asked.

Zuo Wuyi pursed her lips, then said clearly, one word at a time, “Soul Eater Stone.”

“Soul Eater?” Mo Xiao raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t sound like a good thing.”

Zuo Wuyi glanced around. Before she could speak, Mo Xiao immediately cast a barrier around the five of them, isolating them from outside scrutiny.

Yun Yu seemed to realize something upon seeing this. Just to be safe, she added another layer to the barrier, ensuring it could block all prying eyes. “Little Junior Sister, go ahead and speak.”

“I saw it by chance. According to the records in that book, this kind of Gold Scale Ore does not seem to be an ore found in the Cultivation World; it is something unique to the Demon Realm,” Zuo Wuyi said carefully.

She could disclose the origin of the ore, but she couldn’t reveal her own background to so many people.

“What is the function of this ore? To devour souls?” Yun Yu pressed. Yun Yu trusted her Little Junior Sister, so she did not delve into where Zuo Wuyi had seen the information.

Zuo Wuyi hesitated. “The book didn’t seem to have detailed records. It only said it was very dangerous and that if a cultivator carried it for a long time, it might affect their sanity.”

Hearing Zuo Wuyi’s words, the expressions of the four people present instantly changed. Even Qiu Wu, whose reaction was a beat slower, recognized the seriousness of the situation.

“Wuyi, look again carefully. Are you sure this is the Soul Eater Stone you mentioned?” Yun Yu asked, her expression very serious.

Zuo Wuyi nodded. “The book also said that confirming whether it is a Soul Eater Stone is very simple. Senior Martial Sister, you can break off a small piece and try to place your blood on it. If it can absorb the blood, then it is the Soul Eater Stone.”

Yun Yu nodded, directly breaking off a piece of the Gold Scale Ore the size of a soybean and placing it in her palm. Then, she used her spiritual energy to cut her finger and squeezed a drop of fresh blood onto it.

Five pairs of eyes stared intently at Yun Yu’s palm. They watched as the soybean-sized Gold Scale Ore slowly fused with Yun Yu’s fresh blood, turning from gold to red, and finally returning to gold.

“There are a great number of external cultivators in Nanfeng City. If the Gold Scale Ore is allowed to circulate, the impact will surely not be limited to Nanfeng City alone,” Yun Yu’s face was solemn.

“I’ll go and inform the City Lord of this first to see if she has any countermeasures,” Mo Xiao said. This matter was of great importance. It would be unwise for just the few of them to act alone, thinking themselves clever.

“Should I write a letter to inform Master?” Yun He scratched her face, voicing her thoughts. “If the opponent is the Demon Race, wouldn’t it be better for the major sects to unite?”

Yun Yu nodded upon hearing this. “Junior Sister, you and Little Junior Sister take this Gold Scale Ore and go see the City Lord. Yun He, you write a letter to Master, and then…”

Saying this, Yun Yu looked at Qiu Wu. “Fellow Daoist Qiu, I have an unreasonable request. Could you please help us buy back the Gold Scale Ore from the cultivators as much as possible?”

“I will reimburse Fellow Daoist Qiu for every bit of money spent,” Yun Yu said.

Qiu Wu was a person keen on collecting artifact refinement materials, a fact that had spread throughout the commercial district. So, her desire to purchase as much Gold Scale Ore as possible would be justifiable.

“I can do that. Dealing with the Demon Race is the responsibility of cultivators. Fellow Daoist Yun, there’s no need to be so polite. Just tell me what you need me to do,” Qiu Wu said. “However, the Gold Scale Ore has been discovered for a short time already, and quite a lot must have flowed out of Nanfeng City.”

Yun Yu knew this as well, but their abilities were limited. Before the major sects became involved, this was all she could do.

Thus, the five people split into three groups. Yun He went straight back to the inn to send the message. Yun Yu, to protect Qiu Wu’s safety, chose to stay by her side and assist her in buying back the Gold Scale Ore.

“There is still this kind of thing in Nanfeng City?!” The City Lord’s face changed instantly upon hearing this, and she abruptly stood up from her chair. “I will immediately issue a ban and blockade the river!”

“City Lord, there must be a great demon pulling the strings behind this. Please be sure to prioritize safety when taking action,” Mo Xiao advised.

“If possible, City Lord, you should first investigate in secret, or contact nearby sects and City Lords to discuss countermeasures together,” Mo Xiao suggested, subtly proving her identity to the City Lord.

Mo Xiao added, “If there are no surprises, the Dao Inquiry Sect should intervene in this matter. We hope the City Lord does not mind.”

Hearing that the Dao Inquiry Sect would intervene, the City Lord, instead, let out a sigh of relief. “So you are Fellow Daoists from the Dao Inquiry Sect. No wonder you few are so righteous. Now I understand.”

“Since Fellow Daoist has already sent a message back, I will remain inactive for now and wait until the elder from the Dao Inquiry Sect arrives before discussing countermeasures, to avoid alerting the enemy,” with the backing of the Dao Inquiry Sect, the City Lord also relaxed.

The Demon Race was clearly well-prepared this time: first using black eggs to cause the demon beast anomaly and induce a demon beast tide, then intending to distribute cultivation materials tainted with Demonic Qi to cultivators, and finally meticulously selecting a seemingly very useful but actually highly poisonous ore.

With these steps one after another, if the people of Nanfeng City hadn’t discovered the anomaly in time, it would have been a huge blow to the cultivators living in Nanfeng City! Who knows how many people would have died because of it.

“Wuyi, do you remember what happened at this point in your past life?” Mo Xiao asked after returning to the inn. “Or, did you hear any news about the fall of Nanfeng City?”

Mo Xiao had carefully searched her memory. In her past life, she hadn’t met Zuo Wuyi, so she must have chosen to travel nine years ago. After traveling for seven years, she had an epiphany and returned to seclusion for almost ten years. When she emerged after breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, she didn’t seem to have heard any relevant news.

“Let me think…” Zuo Wuyi also didn’t have any related memories in her head. After all, in her past life, she was still diligently playing the role of Rong Xue and listening to the System.

“In my past life, I should still have been in the Foundation Establishment stage, mostly focusing on cultivation,” Zuo Wuyi recalled. “I only remember Xuan Min seemed to have discovered a good secret realm at that time and sent me in to cultivate for a few years.”

“However, I did visit Nanfeng City later. I can’t remember the other details, but I can confirm that the City Lord of Nanfeng City at that time was a male cultivator with very high cultivation,” Zuo Wuyi added. “And I’m sure I’ve never seen the current City Lord.”

Saying this, Zuo Wuyi looked at Mo Xiao. The two exchanged glances, both understanding in their hearts: if there were no surprises, in the past life, the current City Lord must have perished.

“The Demon Race’s plot must have been discovered, but correspondingly, Nanfeng City must have suffered great losses,” Zuo Wuyi finally continued after a long silence.

“Mo Xiao, if the Demon Race is well-prepared, the force behind them is certainly not ordinary demons. It might be a Demon General in the Transformation stage orchestrating everything,” Zuo Wuyi said.

Currently, the strongest among the five of them was only in the early-Nascent Soul stage. The Nanfeng City Lord’s cultivation was much higher than theirs, but only in the late-Nascent Soul stage. If they were to face a Transformation stage demon, their combined strength would not give them much of a chance of winning.

“I know. I won’t act rashly,” Mo Xiao said. “Yun He has already sent a message to Master. If the speed is fast enough, Master should arrive in Nanfeng City within seven days. We will make plans then.”

“Okay,” Zuo Wuyi nodded.

Although the City Lord did not impose any official blockade openly, Mo Xiao noticed that the number of cultivators trying to buy back the Gold Scale Ore increased, and there was an extra checkpoint for entering and leaving the city gates these days. When trading in the commercial district, an additional registration step was also implemented.

The official reason was to protect the rights of both buyers and sellers, but in reality, this was to record the details of every Gold Scale Ore transaction. When the time came to track down people and recall the Gold Scale Ore, the process would be much faster.

To be able to come up with countermeasures in such a short time, the City Lord’s courage and leadership were undeniable.