Chapter 223 Taking Stock of Gains and Planning!

Someone?

Jiang Yun frowned slightly.

His footsteps paused for a moment at the gate of Yunqi Courtyard.

He wasn't a Spirit Beast.

His Mental Energy had not yet fully Awakened.

He was far from possessing the Nine-Tailed Fox's formidable perception.

But out of caution and instinct.

He immediately followed Su Qingxue's hint, quietly activating his talent ability, and looked in the direction of her gaze.

Within his field of vision.

data entries appeared as expected.

[Target]: Human Beast Tamer

[Rank]: Gold Rank One

[Status]: Lying in ambush, aura concealed.

[Affiliation]: Su Family Inner Guard

...[Target]: Human Spirit Beast

[Rank]: Gold Rank Three

[Status]: Lying in ambush, aura concealed.

[Affiliation]: Su Family Inner Guard

Two Gold Rank Beast Tamers.

And clearly marked as belonging to the Su Family Inner Guard!

Jiang Yun's eyes darkened.

People from the Su Family?

He had just entered the Su Family.

Apart from the Family head Su Yuntian and a few stewards, he had almost no interaction with other members of the main Su Family branch, let alone offending anyone.

These people were lying in ambush near his residence late at night.

Obviously, they weren't just passing by.

It seemed they had been stationed there for a long time.

"Are they waiting for me?"

Thoughts raced through Jiang Yun's mind.

They were well-hidden. If not for the Nine-Tailed Fox's warning, he likely would have returned alone without noticing them at all.

But now that they were discovered.

Their intentions became something to ponder.

"Let's ignore them for now."

Jiang Yun said softly to Su Qingxue beside him.

His voice was calm.

"These people are clearly acting under orders. Exposing them now is meaningless and might alert the enemy. Since they've sent people to watch me, they must have a plan. We'll wait and see what they really want to do."

As things stood now.

With the Nine-Tailed Fox as an invisible trump card by his side and the identity of Dong Xuan as a powerful backup that could overturn the table, he indeed had the confidence to watch and wait calmly at the Su Family level.

Upon hearing this, the Nine-Tailed Fox Su Qingxue.

Just gave a faint 'mm' in acknowledgment.

Signaling her agreement.

For her.

Two Gold Rank insects truly weren't worth worrying about. If not for her contract with Jiang Yun and the need for low-profile behavior deep within Human Race territory, she wouldn't have even bothered to remind him.

The two of them paid no more attention to the hidden gazes.

As if nothing had happened.

They pushed open the courtyard gate and entered Yunqi Courtyard.

The courtyard was silent.

Moonlight flowed like water.

Su Qingxue walked straight towards the side room where she was temporarily staying. Before pushing the door open, she turned her head and said to Jiang Yun, "Human boy, this empress is going into seclusion. If there's nothing urgent, do not disturb me."

As she spoke.

Although her tone remained cool and detached, Jiang Yun keenly caught the flash of irrepressible excitement and anticipation in her eyes.

"Understood."

Jiang Yun nodded.

He understood perfectly well.

Obtaining a treasure like the five-colored origin divine seed, which perfectly matched her own Five Elements Origin, was absolutely a Heaven-Defying Opportunity for any Nine-Tailed Fox.

The Nine-Tailed Fox must be feeling surging emotions right now, eager to study and even attempt to fuse with the Divine Seed, hoping to break through her Bottleneck and advance further.

With the Fox Heart Moon Vow as a constraint.

He wasn't worried she would cause any uncontrollable trouble during her seclusion.

Watching the Nine-Tailed Fox's door close gently.

And faintly sensing a weak energy barrier rising to isolate the inside from the outside, Jiang Yun then turned and walked towards his own room.

Returning to his side room.

Closing the door securely.

Only then did Jiang Yun truly relax.

It was time to take stock properly.

The immense gains from this trip to the Starfall District Appraisers Guild.

At the same time.

He also needed to carefully plan his next steps.

He sat down at the table by the bed.

Took a deep breath.

Calmed his mind.

Then, with a thought.

Light flickered repeatedly.

One item after another flew out from his storage ring.

Hovering in the air before him.

First to catch his eye were several storage rings of various styles.

These were gifts from various factions or monthly supplies, mainly containing vast amounts of Attribute Spirit Crystals. He roughly scanned a few; inside, Spirit Crystals were piled up like mountains, of various attributes: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, thunder, light, dark... covering almost all Common attributes.

However, water, fire, and thunder attributes made up the vast majority.

The total number was probably already over ten million!

This was a terrifying fortune that would make any Falling Star Rank force covetous.

Apart from Spirit Crystals.

There were also a large number of other items.

A dazzling array of Medicinal Pills for healing, recovery, and aiding cultivation for Beast Tamers and Spirit Beasts; Spiritual Plants and Spirit Medicine of considerable age; some decent quality forging Materials; and even a few weapons and armor pieces with passable appearance.

Jiang Yun's gaze swept over these.

Most failed to spark much interest in him.

Medicinal Pills?

His Beast Taming Space possessed a life attribute.

Its healing effect was Heaven-Defying.

Far more reliable and safe than these pills.

Spiritual Plants and Materials?

Temporarily not useful.

And their grade wasn't top-tier for him.

Weapons and armor?

These might occasionally come in handy.

Moreover, Jiang Yun still had the Eclipsing Moon Rank mystic tortoise spirit armor from Vice Dean Yan Song's compensation, so he naturally looked down on these ordinary goods.

With a wave of his hand, he put away the vast majority of useless pills, Materials, and those storage rings containing ordinary items, leaving only a few containing core items.

Next.

He took out three treasures exuding extraordinary auras.

The first.

Was a palm-sized scale of deep, dark gold, with blood-red patterns flowing along its edges.

flood dragon reverse scale!

It felt cool and heavy to the touch, faintly emanating dragon majesty. It was precisely one of the key Materials needed for Little Fire's second evolution.

The second.

Was a ruler-long feather, nearly transparent, with silver spatial ripples swirling around its edges.

void plume!

Light as if weightless, yet seemingly connected to an unfathomable void. It was the essential material for Little Skylark's second evolution.

The third.

Was the beast taming armor condensation piece that was only the Armguard component.

This was a component of an ancient suit of armor.

A special battle armor component that could integrate into the body and evolve along with the growth of the Spirit Beast, possessing immense potential.

If the entire set could be gathered.

What effect it would have, Jiang Yun couldn't even imagine.

But this didn't seem like an easy task.

Looking at these three treasures.

Satisfaction finally appeared in Jiang Yun's eyes.

These were his most core gains from this trip,

aside from the massive amount of Spirit Crystals!

"With the flood dragon reverse scale and void plume obtained, only one material is missing for Little Fire and Little Skylark's second evolutions."

Jiang Yun calculated in his mind.

Little Skylark still needed a thunder soul crystal.

This item was a crystal condensed from thunder attribute essence, containing pure thunder Soul Power, and was quite Rare.

He currently had no leads on it.

"It seems I'll have to visit the Liufeng District later."

Jiang Yun remembered Elder Su had mentioned.

The Liufeng District's intelligence network was extremely extensive.

Perhaps there would be leads there.

Or even.

He could try using his newly acquired Dong Xuan identity to post a bounty or inquire for related information within the Appraisers Guild.

Little Fire still needed the heart of molten fire and dragon blood bodhi.

The clue for dragon blood bodhi clearly pointed to the Molten Fire Grotto Secret Realm, just waiting for the Secret Realm to open.

As for the heart of molten fire... This item was formed from the condensed essence of earth's core molten fire over a long period, usually found deep within extremely deep earth vein magma or certain special volcanic Secret Realms. Finding it would be similarly difficult.

It also required seeking clues from multiple sources.

Currently, he had no leads at all.

"I never expected the flood dragon reverse scale and golden scale skeleton, the two hardest Materials, would be gathered first."

Jiang Yun looked at the dark gold scale in his hand.

Feeling somewhat emotional.

The hardest to obtain flood dragon reverse scale.

Had actually come to him in this unexpected way.

From Su Yuntian.

"The Su Family... why would they possess such a treasure?"

This question couldn't help but surface in his mind.

A second-rate Family in a provincial city.

Possessing a flood dragon reverse scale with Sun-Level potential.

This in itself was unusual.

Could it be that the Su Family ancestors had ties with the flood dragon race?

Or had a powerful ancestor who possessed a flood dragon race Spirit Beast appeared in the past?

Jiang Yun shook his head.

Temporarily suppressing these speculations.

At present.

Improving his own and his Spirit Beasts' strength was the top priority.

He carefully put away the three treasures.

As for the effect of the beast taming armor condensation component.

Jiang Yun wasn't in a hurry to test it immediately either.

After all, the current location wasn't suitable.

It wouldn't be good if it caused some huge commotion and attracted attention.

Then.

Light flashed in his hand again, and a short bone about half a foot long appeared. Its surface was covered with complex, profound pale golden runes, emitting a faint but ancient and mysterious aura.

true dragon bone!

This was something he had unexpectedly obtained at the C City Myriad Beast Pavilion auction. Its interior was sealed by a peculiar Formation, and the data entry information hinted at a connection to the True Dragon Ruins.

After arriving in the provincial city.

He had never found a suitable Opportunity or means to crack the Formation Seal within it.

"I forgot today, I should have directly asked President Yun Xi about it."

Jiang Yun felt some regret.

Today, due to the visits from various factions.

He had forgotten about this matter.

President Yun Xi was knowledgeable and had godly Appraisal skills. Perhaps he had some involvement with Formations too, or at the very least could point him in the right direction.

"It seems I'll have to find a way to inquire about it myself."

Jiang Yun thought to himself.

"The provincial city is so prosperous, with many powerful professionals of all kinds. There must be institutions or Great Masters proficient in Formations, right?"

Jiang Yun pondered.

"Sky Dome Academy might have related subjects? Or... the Liufeng District might also have intelligence on Formation masters. I need to figure this out quickly, to see what information is sealed inside."

He vaguely felt.

That the clue to the True Dragon Ruins mentioned by this true dragon bone.

Might bring Little Fire an unexpectedly huge and great Opportunity.

Putting away all the items.

Jiang Yun let out a long breath.

The inventory of gains was complete.

The direction of his plans for the near future was also roughly clear.

Search for the remaining evolution Materials, unravel the secret of the true dragon bone, use the massive resources to accelerate his cultivation, and simultaneously deal with possible prying eyes from various parties.

"Right, there's also the matter of the Liu Family. This Liu Family doesn't seem to be an easy one to deal with. Since I've accepted their benefits, I still need to do the job."

"After reporting for enrollment at Sky Dome Academy the day after tomorrow, I'll find a time to meet this Liu Family!"

Jiang Yun calculated secretly.

Suddenly thinking of Little Fire and Little Skylark.

"Two days have passed now, I wonder how Little Fire and Little Skylark have been these past two days."

Jiang Yun suddenly remembered that since going to the Appraisers Guild, he hadn't carefully checked on the two little ones' condition in his Beast Taming Space for two or three days. They wouldn't be fighting again, would they? Or... With a trace of curiosity and faint expectation, Jiang Yun calmed his mind and slowly extended his Divine Sense into his own Beast Taming Space.

In an instant.

His consciousness entered a vibrant world.

He didn't know if it was because his Beast Tamer Realm had improved.

But Jiang Yun noticed it had expanded considerably compared to the beginning. The sky was clear, the ground covered with resilient green grass, with faint shadows of hills and a small stream in the distance. The air was filled with pure Spiritual Qi and a rich life aura.

His gaze quickly swept across the space.

Soon locking onto the positions of the two little ones.