Phi-Fic Chapter 293 Lizard Meat Hot Pot
Chapter 293 Lizard Meat Hot Pot
Chapter 293 Lizard Meat Hot Pot
"Grandpa Tie, before I left the canyon last time, I obtained an ice-type magic crystal in Ruimu Valley. It was as big as a brown-necked chicken egg. I put it in a storage bag. Later, for some reason, the magic crystal became colder and colder, freezing all the other items in the storage bag. I had to take it out and put it in a medium-level storage bag separately."
Three years have passed, and this magic crystal has changed drastically. Now, the entire space inside the storage bag has become an ice crystal world, with not a single empty space. I asked Grandpa Ji before, but he didn't know either. He just felt that the magic crystal was somewhat special, saying that it was neither a magic crystal nor a gemstone, and it seemed to contain a trace of life. Grandpa, you've handled more magic crystals and gemstones, and your knowledge in this area is the most extensive. Can you help me take a look and see what this is?”
On the way back to Yishi Valley, Mo Yuming took out a storage bag and said. It was a mid-grade storage bag, and a thin layer of frost had formed on the soft leather surface.
Mo Yuming took the egg-shaped magic crystal out of his storage bag. A large ice ball, about ten feet in size, floated in front of them. Within the crystal-clear ice was a deep blue gem, slowly radiating icy spiritual power. Tieqiao carefully examined the gem, whose nature he did not know, through the ice crystal.
"This is definitely not a magic crystal. I've seen the magic crystal of an Ice-type Demon Winged Dragon. Those are very high-level magic beast crystals, at least level eight or higher. Moreover, the Demon Winged Dragon is a super-large magic beast, but its magic crystal is round like ordinary magic crystals, not oval like this crystal. Also, the Demon Winged Dragon's magic crystal wasn't this big; it was at most half the size of this one. If it were a magic crystal, then this magic beast would probably be at least a hundred feet tall. It's unimaginable for a magic beast to be that big."
However, it's not an attribute gem. I've seen at least a hundred types of ice-type gems, none of which are as regular as this, nor have I ever seen an oval-shaped gem. Moreover, the attribute energy of gems is extremely pure and cannot contain any life force. The reason why magical beast crystals can be easily distinguished from attribute gems is that magical beast crystals are produced within magical beasts, and no matter how much time passes, that life force will never disappear.
This object, resembling both a magic crystal and a gemstone, I estimate to be a petrified monster egg. Only this can adequately explain everything, because even after a long time, a monster egg still clearly retains the life-giving fluid within its shell. However, this gemstone, which looks very similar to a monster egg, shows no life within its shell, nor does it reveal this structure. Yet, it possesses the aura of a magic crystal. Therefore, there is only one possibility: it's a monster egg that has existed in rock or soil for tens of thousands of years. Over this long period, the egg fluid inside has petrified, transforming into an object similar to the eggshell, hence the significant difference from a monster egg.”
Iron Bridge analyzed.
"Then what's with the constant emission of cold air? A petrified monster egg shouldn't have that much energy, right?" Mo Yuming asked, puzzled.
"That's why I'm not sure. Logically, even if a monster egg isn't petrified, it shouldn't have such terrifying energy. After petrification, life ceases, and the energy should have dissipated long ago. At most, it would contain some elemental energy like ordinary gemstones or ore. But this monster egg has the texture of ore, yet its energy is comparable to a high-grade magic crystal, but its characteristics are very different from ordinary magic crystals. That's what's strange!"
"Hey? Grandpa Iron, can you feel it? The ice crystals on the outside of this object seem to be dissipating rapidly!"
Mo Yuming suddenly noticed that the ice crystals tightly wrapped around the oval object were shrinking, as if the object was slowly reducing the release of cold air after being taken out of the storage bag.
"This is indeed unusual. I initially thought it was due to the temperature of the space, causing the ice crystals to melt and dissipate, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The dissipating cold air isn't dissipating into the space; instead, it's being slowly retracted by that object! What's going on? Could it be that this thing has signs of life? Is it really a monster egg?"
Iron Bridge was somewhat confused.
"Yu Ming, I don't think this object is suitable for storage in a storage bag. I suspect it might be a magic crystal of a level higher than an eighth-grade magical beast! It's said that magic crystals of level eight and above have the ability to self-level up, and their characteristics are equivalent to acquired spiritual treasures. If they can be refined, they become rare spiritual treasures, and it's very likely that they will develop a spirit and advance to become innate spiritual treasures. However, such treasures are very rare, and even I don't have the knowledge in this area, so I can't be sure. If it's this kind of treasure, it can't be placed in a storage bag, at least not in a storage bag below the intermediate level, because storage bags below the intermediate level don't contain spiritual energy, and treasures that can self-absorb spiritual energy cannot be placed in storage bags of this level."
Now I understand why it releases ice crystal spiritual energy in the storage bag. It's because the storage bag isolates it from the outside world, causing it to continuously release its own energy. Over time, this spiritual treasure will lose its quality. Only by placing it in a place with abundant spiritual energy can it continue to advance. But leaving such a treasure outside is too unsafe! However, it's relatively safe here in Yishi Valley, but in that case, you won't be able to familiarize yourself with it in order to refine it in the end.
If you have a high-grade storage bag, that would be great. High-grade storage bags can gather spiritual energy and can even store living things, so storing them there won't be a problem.
"There is one, but I still can't open it!"
"I can only look at that high-grade storage bag; it's the first treasure I acquired in this world," Mo Yuming said, frustrated.
"Hehe, just pretend I didn't say anything!"
"Even you, Master Tie, can't identify this treasure. It seems we have no choice but to leave it here for now. We'll put it in the spaceship, where there are many cargo holds made of meteorite iron. Even if it mutates, there's no danger!"
"That's a good idea. Even if it's a dragon egg and hatches into an ice dragon, it won't be able to damage the meteorite cargo hold in a short time."
"There are many legends about divine beasts and dragons on the Tianxuan Continent. Are there really divine beasts and dragons in this world? Or are they just legends?"
"Divine beasts and dragons are actually two concepts. Divine beasts are a collective term for a group of advanced species, including dragons. They are born with extraordinary power, unmatched by other races, including humans. Dragons are just the most representative of this group. Other types of divine beasts include phoenixes, unicorns, kui, yu lian, nine-headed birds, qiongqi, and xu hao. Among them, dragons, phoenixes, and unicorns are relatively friendly and easy-going, do not kill indiscriminately, and are relatively close to humans. In human perception, they are labeled as symbols of justice and auspiciousness."
The Kui and Yuqi are known for their violent tempers and are considered to be neither entirely good nor evil. However, they are generally well-behaved and will not harm other races unless provoked. The Nine-Headed Bird, Qiongqi, and Xuhao, on the other hand, are not only violent but also extremely bloodthirsty. They will attack any other race that appears in their territory, regardless of its origin, without question. Therefore, these races are categorized by humans as evil deities.
Although few people have ever seen these high-level species, they were not fabricated by humans; they truly existed. Many powerful families have records of their lineages with these divine beasts, and some families even possess treasures related to them. Furthermore, the remains of these divine beasts can be found in many ruins. Especially in the periodically appearing domain tombs, there are even more relics left behind by these powerful species, and even their legacies.
Iron Bridge said seriously.
"In the last few hundred to nearly a thousand years, the number of powerful humans appearing in various regions of the Tianxuan Continent has been decreasing, and the number of geniuses dying young has been increasing, even among the great families. The lineages of the major families, kingdoms, and hidden sects are weakening, and many sects are disappearing or diminishing due to a lack of successors. The Five Great Nations, the Six Hegemons, and the Seven Families have not been spared, to the point that many fragments of combat techniques, cultivation methods, or records found in ancient ruins are incomprehensible to modern people, many written records are incomprehensible, and the levels of alchemy and weapon crafting vary greatly. But no one knows the reason for this, as if an invisible black hand is sealing off the lifeline of the entire Tianxuan Continent. Once an outstanding young talent emerges, he will be destroyed. This sign has become particularly evident in the last hundred years. But the only one that has remained prosperous is the Feather Emperor Palace. The black hand that has swept across the entire continent has never dared to shake the Feather Emperor Palace. It is rare to hear of any young talent from the Feather Emperor Palace meeting an unfortunate end."
According to popular legend, strange phenomena frequently occur in the region where the Feather Emperor Palace is located, but anyone who knows even a little about the inside story is suppressed by the Feather Emperor Palace. Therefore, some people boldly speculate that the Feather Emperor Palace is the culprit behind the overall weakness of the Tianxuan Continent, but they are unable to find any evidence and can only speculate in secret.
Although the Feather Palace often vowed to punish such assassination forces, it always remained just talk and never actually took any action. All indications suggested that the Feather Palace was definitely not as righteous as it appeared; everyone was simply intimidated by its power and dared not challenge it.” Iron Bridge then voiced his doubts.
"Since everyone already has doubts, why are they still so enthusiastic about the Dragon Chef Competition initiated by the Feather Palace? If the assumption is true, isn't this Dragon Chef Competition clearly just a way to harvest the best talents in the world?"
"Those who have reservations are all wise and insightful individuals, but they lack solid evidence, making their arguments somewhat weak. Moreover, the Dragon Chef Competition is undoubtedly the only grand event in the Tianxuan Continent that everyone can enjoy together, and it's a rare opportunity for the younger generation to showcase their talents, broaden their horizons, and hone their martial arts skills. Furthermore, the prizes of the Dragon Chef Competition are very attractive to many martial artists. So even if they have reservations, they still can't refuse!"
"Such a grand event is indeed hard to refuse. Any cultivator with ambition will go all out and give it their all."
"The brilliance of this mastermind lies in the fact that it will never strike during the competition. It will always wait until after the competition is over, either to ambush or kill people on the way, or to assassinate them after a period of time. This creates the illusion that these people's deaths or accidents may be due to revenge from enemies, jealousy, or murder by villains for money, etc."
But even the most meticulous plans have their flaws, and over time, many doubts and loopholes have been exposed. We, the lucky survivors of the canyon, are the best proof of that.
Huang Rongrong, Ji Xianlin, Gan Ran, Sikong Nong, Liu Mingxiu, Si Rongnong, and I all fell into the valley between fifty and seventy years ago. Although we were not in the same Dragon Chef Gathering, and each Dragon Chef Gathering was five years apart, the reason for falling into the valley was the same. After achieving certain results in the Dragon Chef Gathering, we were ambushed and killed by bandits on our way back or while traveling. The bandits we encountered were similar in terms of clothing, weapons, style of doing things, and even the mysterious martial arts techniques they used.
Over the past few years, after we left, we secretly investigated this matter and obtained a very important piece of information: all the talented individuals who were intercepted were rising stars who refused to sign agreements with the Feather Palace after participating in the Dragon Chef Conference. This speaks volumes!
"Haven't the powerful figures of the Tianxuan Continent reacted after all these years? Many of these talented individuals who died young were their descendants!"
"The reaction is certain, but these killers vanish into thin air after committing their crimes, making it very difficult to find any trace of them. Moreover, they never appear normally, only showing up after each Dragon Chef Competition. Furthermore, their whereabouts are elusive, making it extremely difficult to find any clues."
As time went on, the higher-ups of various aristocratic families became more vigilant. They either dispatched their family's top-tier experts to secretly protect their culinary talents or prevented their juniors, who had little interest in cooking, from participating in the competition. Therefore, the situation has improved somewhat in recent years, but the results have been less than ideal. It is rumored that after the last Dragon Chef Competition, many geniuses, even under the protection of their family's experts, were still attacked, and even their accompanying top-tier experts were killed. This demonstrates just how terrifying these assassination organizations are!
Despite these circumstances, we will not give up; we must bring the mastermind hidden in the shadows to justice! This is no longer merely a simple gangland feud; the mastermind behind it has become the enemy of all humanity. The forces of justice across all continents must unite closely to confront this crisis together.
"Iron Bridge said in a deep voice."
"Let's not talk about that now. Let's hurry back to Yishi Valley and savor the mouthwatering lizard meat hot pot. Fresh blazing lizard meat like this is truly rare, so we must treat ourselves to a good meal!"
"I wonder where Xiaoxiao and the others are now? I'd like to invite them to come and try this new thing!"
"Haha, don't worry, I've already contacted Xiaoxiao. What a coincidence! They've been staying at the Wushuang Hotel recently. I believe they'll be here by tonight!"