9: Ice Hill Transaction, Yuanshi Clue Obtained

Half an hour later, Mo Yan and his group finally arrived at the agreed-upon trading location.

This was the highest ice hill, standing alone in the vast snowfield.

The visibility was excellent, but it also meant that any disturbance would have nowhere to hide.

Mo Yan stood at the edge of the ice hill's summit, his gaze calmly sweeping over the gray-white world below.

The ten Soldiers behind him fanned out, maintaining their vigilance.

"Lord, target approaching from the northeast direction."

A Soldier on lookout reported in a low voice, pointing towards a blurry black speck in the distant snowstorm.

Mo Yan nodded slightly, looking in the direction the Soldier indicated.

He saw a figure struggling against the wind and snow, stumbling through the thick snow, trudging towards the ice hill.

The person was thin, swaying precariously in the strong wind, as if he could collapse at any moment.

The person who arrived was Xie Yufeng.

Mo Yan recognized the trading partner, and he waved his hand, signaling the Soldiers to step back slightly.

Soon, Xie Yufeng breathlessly climbed up the ice hill.

He was only wearing a thin set of cloth clothes, haphazardly wrapped in a worn-out animal hide, his lips were purple from the cold, his body trembled uncontrollably, and his exposed hands were red and stiff.

While rubbing his hands and breathing into them, he laboriously looked up at Mo Yan at the top of the ice hill.

When he saw Mo Yan's thick, warm, and faintly glowing cold-resistant leather armor, and the faintly visible, well-equipped Soldiers behind him, Xie Yufeng's eyes instantly flashed with intense shock and disbelief.

He himself had exhausted his strength climbing this ice hill, frozen to the point of losing consciousness, yet the other party seemed as relaxed as if taking a stroll in his own backyard.

The disparity was simply too great!

Xie Yufeng's teeth chattered as he stammered, "Are...are you the big shot I'm supposed to trade with?"

"That's right."

Mo Yan replied briefly, his gaze calmly appraising the young man who was shivering from the cold.

"Your...your equipment..." Xie Yufeng's pupils constricted slightly, and envy appeared in his eyes.

"The trade is more important."

Mo Yan ignored his exclamations, cutting straight to the point, "Did you bring the notebook?"

Xie Yufeng seemed to awaken from a dream and quickly pulled out a notebook roughly wrapped in leather from his embrace.

His hands were so frozen they were somewhat unresponsive, but he carefully handed it to Mo Yan.

"This...this is the Ice Plain Topography Exploration Notebook, please...please take a look."

Mo Yan reached out and took the notebook; it was cold to the touch, and he quickly skimmed through a few pages.

The handwriting was messy, and the drawings were crude, but it did indeed record some topographical markers and resource point information.

His gaze paused for a moment on a section marked with "dangerous ice cave, suspected to contain strange crystals."

Strange crystals? Could it be Primeval Stones?

His heart stirred slightly, but his expression remained calm.

As his thought moved, hum—

A large pile of neatly stacked wood appeared out of thin air on the snow in front of Xie Yufeng, instantly forming a small woodpile.

[wood x 1000]

The sudden appearance of the resources startled Xie Yufeng, and then his eyes burst forth with a ecstasy light.

So much wood! Enough for him to reinforce his territory's walls several times over!

"Big shot! Th...thank you, big shot!" His voice was a little distorted with excitement, and he was so moved he almost knelt down.

Mo Yan looked at the pile of wood, then at Xie Yufeng, who was almost an ice pop, and spoke indifferently.

"All the wood is here. How do you plan to take it away?"

Xie Yufeng quickly unfastened a seemingly unremarkable gray cloth bag from his waist.

He pointed the opening of the cloth bag at the pile of wood and softly chanted a few indistinct syllables.

The next moment, the mountain-like pile of wood seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, transforming into a stream of light, and was completely sucked into the small cloth bag.

The cloth bag only bulged slightly before returning to its original shape.

Storage Pouch?

A hint of understanding flashed in Mo Yan's eyes.

This Xie Yufeng was quite lucky to have obtained such a spatial item, but unfortunately, his strength couldn't keep up, and he might not be able to hold onto it in the future.

Xie Yufeng put away the cloth bag, his face showing unconcealed joy and lingering fear.

Only then did he notice the figures of Soldiers, faintly visible in the wind and snow behind Mo Yan, clad in armor, holding spears and shields, and exuding a formidable Aura; his pupils suddenly constricted, and he gasped in cold air.

This big shot actually had Soldier guards!

And looking at their equipment and Aura, they were definitely not just for show! And there were quite a few of them!

This strength... it was simply unfathomable!

Cold sweat instantly seeped into Xie Yufeng's palms, and he clutched his Storage Pouch tightly, then quickly loosened his grip, fearing to cause a misunderstanding.

That bit of self-satisfaction brought by the Storage Pouch and the successful transaction had long been crushed by the glimpse of the iceberg that the man before him had revealed.

"Big shot, this notebook of yours..." Xie Yufeng rubbed his hands, trying to make conversation, his tone becoming even more respectful.

"I accidentally found it when I was exploring an ice cave before. The information inside should...should be real."

"I've cross-referenced a small part of it. I didn't dare to go to the good place marked, but that extremely dangerous area..."

"I saw it from afar, and it indeed felt very wrong; the cold Qi there was much colder than here..."

His eyes flickered as he spoke, clearly holding back some information, but his warning about the notebook's contents didn't sound false.

Mo Yan nodded slightly, not pressing for details.

Everyone had their own secrets and trump cards; there was no need to pry.

"Is there anything else nearby that needs attention?"

Mo Yan asked casually, giving the other party a chance to show goodwill and also to see if he could extract more information.

Xie Yufeng was stunned for a moment, then reacted and quickly said, "Big shot, about five or six li to the west, there's an Ice Rift Valley. It seems to have Ore inside, but I'm not sure what kind of Ore it is.

"And...and it seems there's more than one type of exotic beast inhabiting it; I almost didn't make it back last time. Also, to the north...the snowstorm to the north is particularly heavy, it's easy to get lost..."

He quickly rattled off some scattered intelligence he knew, hoping to leave a good impression on Mo Yan and forge a good connection.

"Understood."

Mo Yan put away the notebook, the transaction was complete.

Seeing this, Xie Yufeng dared not linger any longer; staying in this dreadful place for an extra second was torture, let alone facing this unfathomable big shot, the pressure was too great.

"Then, big shot, I'll head back first. I still need to quickly reinforce my territory...May we meet again!"

With that, he bowed deeply to Mo Yan, then turned and scrambled down the ice hill, quickly disappearing into the snowstorm.

Watching Xie Yufeng's disheveled retreating figure, Mo Yan withdrew his gaze and weighed the Ice Plain Topography Exploration Notebook in his hand.

Primeval Stones, Butchering Platform, Tavern... I hope this notebook can bring a turning point.

"Return to the territory."

"Yes!"

The Soldiers quickly assembled, guarding Mo Yan, and returned along the way they came.

Back in the territory, the heavy wooden gate slowly closed behind him, shutting out the wind and snow outside.

However, before he could meticulously study the notebook, a cold System notification sounded in his mind without warning.

[Global Emergency Notice: High-intensity energy fluctuations detected are converging. The second wave of exotic beasts will arrive in 6 hours.

All Lords, please prepare your defenses!]

Six hours?

Mo Yan's pupils constricted slightly; the biting cold did not come from outside, but from this impending crisis.

He immediately put the notebook into his spatial storage; now, he must increase his strength at all costs!

"Lord Panel."

Mo Yan thought, and a light blue virtual panel unfolded before his eyes.

Lord: Mo Yan

Talent: SSS Resource Collector

Rank: Lv2

Territory Rank: 1 (100 meters x 100 meters)

Prosperity: 59 / 50 (Upgrade conditions met)

Population: 17 / 20

Wealth: Gold Coins 2368

Buildings: Ice Crystal Cabin Lv1, Simple Wooden House * 6 - Lv1, Wooden Wall Lv1, Warehouse Lv1, Barracks Lv1, Technology Research Institute Lv1, Basic Arrow Tower * 2 - Lv1

Resources: food 3200, wood 2580, stone 1830, iron ore 1500, Primeval Stone 8

The Prosperity column had already exceeded 50 points, meeting the conditions for upgrading the territory.