434: Chapter 434 Han Li Arrives

Han Li arrived on the afternoon of the third day of the base construction.

When she stepped out of the portal, she had a cloth bag on her back and was carrying a wooden box in her hand.

Inside the cloth bag were the tools she used for Alchemy—a medicine mortar, a medicine sieve, a medicine cutting knife, and a set of porcelain bottles.

Inside the wooden box were the rejuvenation pills she had refined over the past few days.

After all, when going to explore unknown things, it was inevitable that someone would get injured.

"Han Li." Su Mingyuan greeted her at the entrance of the Command Center.

Han Li put down her things and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"How is the progress on the rejuvenation pill refinement?" Su Mingyuan asked.

"It's temporarily stopped," Han Li said. "Master Sun Liang can continue to refine some basic Medicinal Pills, but the Pill Formula and furnace temperature control for the rejuvenation pill are only mastered by me. If I leave, it has to stop."

Su Mingyuan didn't say anything.

Putting the production capacity of the rejuvenation pill on hold for the time being was a decision he and Han Li had discussed.

The reason was simple—Han Li had to come to the Skeleton World.

The pill king cauldron recognized Han Li as its Master, and the Randan Spirit was bound to Han Li.

And for the upcoming exploration of the main vein of the Danding Heavenly Palace, the Randan Spirit was the only guide who understood the internal structure. Without it, they would be like blind men feeling an elephant if they entered the main vein.

Moreover, Han Li's Ten Thousand Wood Spirit Ruins Body's ability in identifying and processing Spirit Medicine was irreplaceable by others.

"What's the situation with the Randan Spirit?" Su Mingyuan asked.

Han Li closed her eyes for a moment, as if communicating with the artifact spirit inside her body.

"It says it hasn't been back in a long time." Han Li opened her eyes. "It can sense the direction of the main vein of the Danding Heavenly Palace, but it's not sure what the internal structure has become. It only remembers the layout from before it left."

"That's enough." Su Mingyuan said. "That's still better than us going in alone."

—

That evening, Su Mingyuan gathered all the members of the exploration team at the Command Center.

Seven people sat in a circle around a folding table.

Spread out on the table was a hand-drawn map, which Tao Zhe had pieced together based on the last reconnaissance data and the information provided by the Randan Spirit.

The map marked the approximate location of the main vein of the Danding Heavenly Palace—in a mountain about eight kilometers north of the medicine field valley.

The mountain was not high, but it covered a large area, and the entire interior of the mountain had been hollowed out by the building complex of the Danding Heavenly Palace.

"How much of the internal structure of the main vein does the Randan Spirit remember?" Su Mingyuan looked at Han Li.

Han Li closed her eyes again.

A few seconds later, she spoke, her tone different from usual, carrying a bit of stiffness—this was the Randan Spirit speaking through her.

"The main vein is divided into three layers. The outer layer is the Disciple Cultivation Zone and daily living area, the middle layer is the Alchemy room and the Scripture Pavilion, and the inner layer is the Palace Master's Hall and the core Forbidden Ground. When I left last time, I was familiar with the layout of the outer and middle layers, but I have never been to the inner layer; that is a place only the Palace Master can enter."

Su Mingyuan drew three concentric circles on the map.

"Our target is the Alchemy room and the Scripture Pavilion in the middle layer." He said. "Pill Formulas, written records of Alchemy techniques, and potentially high-Rank Spirit Medicine—these things are highly likely to be in the middle layer. We won't touch the inner layer for now; we aren't sure what's inside."

"The Tomb Guardian Beast we encountered in the Cauldron Tomb last time, will there be one in the main vein as well?" Zhao Cheng asked.

Han Li closed her eyes again, and this time the pause was a bit longer.

"There will be." Her voice carried a hint of hesitation. "And the Tomb Guardian Beast in the main vein is of a higher Rank than the one in the Cauldron Tomb. The two in the Cauldron Tomb were at the Nascent Soul Stage, and the ones in the main vein... it says it's not sure, but it definitely won't be lower."

There was silence around the table for two seconds.

"Personnel organization." Su Mingyuan didn't dwell on this topic for too long and went straight to the next point. "There are seven people in the exploration team, each controlling mechs through the Spirit Control Technique. Chen Rong will bring ten, Lin Wan will bring ten, and Zhao Cheng, Zhou Jian, and Tao Zhe will each bring five. This way, we can concentrate our energy on controlling the mechs and exert the maximum combat power of the mechs. Han Li will not bring a mech and will focus on Spirit Medicine identification and communication with the Randan Spirit."

He patted the Storage Pouch hanging at his waist.

"There are 120 spare mechs in the Storage Pouch. If the combat loss is high, we can replenish them at any time."

Chen Rong calculated: "Including the spares, that's 145 in total."

"Right." Su Mingyuan said. "Zhang Dabiao is responsible for peripheral support. He will lead 300 mechs and stand by at the foot of the main vein mountain. If we need to retreat, he is responsible for the extraction."

He looked at the people around the table.

"For this mission, we are not taking any ordinary cultivators."

Zhao Cheng was a bit surprised: "Not taking any?"

"We aren't sure of the danger level inside the main vein." Su Mingyuan said. "All six of you have activated your spirit bodies, and your strength is above Foundation Establishment. If ordinary cultivators go in, they can't fight and they can't run, which would only distract us. It's better not to take them."

No one objected.

"Departure time." Su Mingyuan glanced at the watch on his wrist. "We will depart immediately after the blood moon sets tomorrow. It's a twelve-hour window. Subtracting the travel time, we have about nine to ten hours inside the main vein."

He put down the marker in his hand.

"Get some good rest tonight."

—

The six people left the Command Center one after another.

Su Mingyuan was the last to walk out and stood at the door for a while.

There were no stars in the night of the Skeleton World; the sky was a uniform dark gray, just a few shades darker compared to the gray-yellow of the day.

In the distance, one could hear the footsteps of the mech patrol; the metal stepping on the hard soil was very rhythmic.

He took out his mobile phone and opened the encrypted communication.

Elder Qin had sent a new message two hours ago.

"The Eagle Nation has officially submitted a request to purchase the rejuvenation pill through diplomatic channels. Amount: 500 million eagle dollars per pill, with an initial purchase of 50 pills. Condition: Settlement in eagle dollars."

Su Mingyuan read this message, thought for about three seconds, and replied with two words.

"Refused."

After sending it, he added one more sentence.

"The rejuvenation pill only accepts daxia currency. There are no exceptions to this."

After the message was sent, he checked the exchange rate data that Elder Qin had sent earlier.

The exchange rate of daxia currency to the eagle dollar had risen to 1 to 1.8.

At this rate, it would break 1 to 2 in less than two weeks.

That is to say, one unit of daxia currency would exchange for two eagle dollars.

By that time, the status of the eagle dollar as a global reserve currency would not just be "shaken", but would completely "collapse".