Chapter 617: Aetherium Gold
Lana quickly followed Myra into the mountains. When she arrived, she was completely stunned. Covering the entire valley were countless crimson medicinal herbs.
The fragrance drifting through the air was both sweet and refreshing. Even breathing the aroma made one’s spiritual energy circulate faster.
Myra proudly pointed toward them. "These are love roots."
Lana’s breathing paused. Love root is one of the rarest medicinal herbs in existence. Even a single mature Love Root could easily be sold for over one hundred million dollars.
Yet here, there weren’t merely one or two. There were thousands, nearly ten thousand, fully matured love roots stretched across the valley.
For several moments Lana stood there completely speechless.
’This... This is practically an entire fortune.’
However, she quickly understood why so many had been cultivated there. The witch. Everything had been secretly planted by the witch over countless years.
Since Liu Tong had already promised her ownership of any two resources, Lana accepted the entire Love Root field as repayment.
Not long afterward, Mr Crow also returned. "Lana, I found something else."
"What is it?"
"A gold mine."
Without wasting another second, Lana immediately rushed over. Sure enough, an enormous gold vein lay hidden beneath one of the mountains.
Using her mystic energy together with several excavation talismans, she quietly extracted nearly half of the entire mine.
Naturally, she deliberately left the remaining half untouched and marked it. She wanted the villagers themselves to discover it.
Otherwise, if outsiders found it first, the villagers would lose everything.
Before leaving, she even subtly hinted to Liu Tong that he should pay closer attention to the nearby mountains.
She estimated that, within two or three months, the villagers would inevitably discover the remaining gold mine.
Back in the present, Axel remained speechless after hearing everything. "If that’s the case, you should keep all of it yourself."
However, Lana stubbornly pushed the Storage Talisman back into his hands. "Uncle, take another careful look. I think you’ll notice something unusual about that gold."
Axel frowned. "Something unusual?"
He once again examined the contents using his spiritual sense. This time, his pupils suddenly contracted. "Impossible"
He immediately looked at Lana. His face was filled with disbelief.
"This... this is Aetherium Gold."
Lana nodded proudly with a smug smile. For a brief moment, Axel genuinely wanted to knock some sense into her. Taking a deep breath, he asked in a trembling voice,
"Lana... do you even understand how valuable this is?"
Lana scratched her cheek. "It should be more valuable than ordinary gold."
She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Maybe one kilogram is worth around one hundred million dollars?"
The moment those words left her mouth, Axel slowly closed his eyes. He looked as though he were trying very hard not to faint.
Finally, he reopened them. "Lana... one gram."
He emphasised every word.
"One single gram of Aetherium Gold can easily be sold for one billion dollars."
Lana blinked. "What?"
Axel repeated himself. "One gram. One billion dollars."
He pointed toward the Storage Talisman. "The amount you’ve casually handed to me is worth several hundred trillion dollars."
Lana’s smile slowly disappeared. Her eyes became blank.
Several seconds later she nearly collapsed onto the ground.
"So, you’re telling me, I just gave away several hundred trillion dollars for free?"
Axel nodded helplessly. Lana immediately puffed out her cheeks. "That’s not fair!"
Axel couldn’t help laughing.
"It’s a good thing I’m your uncle. If someone else had received this, they probably would’ve tricked you into giving away every last piece."
He gently pushed the Storage Talisman back toward her.
"Now, take it back. You’re going to need it far more than I ever will."
However, Lana didn’t take the Storage Talisman back. Instead, she simply pushed it toward Axel again before flashing him a bright grin.
"Just accept it as a gift."
She folded her hands behind her back and smiled innocently.
"Or, think of it as an advance gift. It’s for the International Mystical Cultivator Competition. I’ll probably end up doing something troublesome during the competition anyway. So, consider this my compensation in advance."
The moment those words left her mouth, Axel’s relaxed expression instantly disappeared.
His eyes narrowed sharply. "What are you planning to do?"
He stared directly into her eyes. "Tell me."
His tone became unusually serious. "And don’t you dare do anything reckless. Lana, listen to me carefully. I don’t care about money. If you’re planning to put yourself in danger, I’ll personally beat you up before letting you do it."
Lana immediately waved both hands. "It’s definitely not anything disgraceful, Master."
She looked at him helplessly. "Why do you always assume the worst whenever I say something? Can’t you trust me for once?"
Axel rolled his eyes. "If I trusted every word coming out of your mouth, I’d probably become the biggest fool alive."
Lana puffed out her cheeks. "So mean..."
She muttered under her breath before turning her attention back to the pile of precious metals. Meanwhile, Axel quietly made up his mind.
"Fine. If you refuse to take it back, then I’ll simply keep it for you as part of your future dowry."
However, Lana suddenly shook her head. "No. If it’s Aetherium Gold, you shouldn’t keep it. You should absorb it."
Axel froze. "What?"
He looked at her in disbelief. "Absorb it?"
Lana nodded as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Of course. Aetherium Gold has the ability to increase a cultivator’s strength, as long as Spirit Summoners, Mystical Cultivators, or Spiritual Cultivators absorb the energy stored inside it. Their cultivation should improve much faster."
Axel blinked several times. Then, he slowly gritted his teeth. "Who exactly told you that?"
Lana instinctively opened her mouth. Then, she froze.
’Oh no, that knowledge belongs to my previous life. Uncle shouldn’t know this information yet.’
Taking a slow breath to steady herself, she quickly made up an excuse. "I once heard it from the old priest. He mentioned it while telling me stories about ancient cultivation treasures."
Axel continued staring at her for several moments. His sharp eyes seemed to be trying to determine whether she was lying.
Finally, he asked, "Are you absolutely certain? Can Aetherium Gold really be absorbed?"
Lana nodded confidently. "I’m sure."
Axel fell silent. Up until this moment, everything he knew about Aetherium Gold came from ancient records.
According to those records, its only purpose was forging legendary artefacts. That was precisely why it was so unimaginably expensive.
After hesitating for a while, he finally decided to trust Lana. Carefully, he took out a single kilogram of Aetherium Gold. His heart ached the entire time.
’’My heavens’, I’m about to consume something worth an unimaginable fortune.’’
Closing his eyes, he slowly began circulating his cultivation technique. The golden ore immediately trembled.
Streams of dazzling silver-golden energy continuously flowed into Axel’s body. Several moments later... crack.
The once solid ore quietly crumbled into fine grey ashes. Axel slowly opened his eyes. The next second, he stood there completely frozen.
His cultivation had advanced. Not by a tiny amount. Not by a slight improvement.
He had directly broken through an entire level. "Impossible"
His breathing became uneven. From everything he knew, once someone reached the Spirit Monarch Realm
Breaking through even a single level normally required at least ten years of painstaking cultivation.
Yet, one kilogram of Aetherium Gold had allowed him to skip an entire decade.
For several long moments, he simply stood there in silence.
Then, a terrifying realisation slowly surfaced in his mind.
’Perhaps the higher authorities have been hiding the truth all along. Maybe Aetherium Gold isn’t expensive because it’s merely useful for forging artefacts. Maybe its true value has always been its ability to increase cultivation.’
He slowly turned toward Lana.
She remained completely focused on examining the remaining pile of precious ores, seemingly unaware that she had just revealed a secret capable of shaking the entire cultivation world.
Looking at her carefree expression, Axel suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to protect her.
’This foolish girl, she casually revealed something this important without realizing its consequences.’
He looked at her seriously. "Lana."
She raised her head. "Hmm?"
"In the future, think carefully before telling anyone information like this."
His expression was unusually solemn. "Not everyone deserves your trust."
Lana nodded obediently. "I understand."
Then she smiled mischievously. "But don’t worry, old man. I’ll continue cultivating until I become much stronger. Eventually, I won’t need your protection anymore."
Axel couldn’t help chuckling.
"You, I have a feeling you’ll keep making me worry for the rest of my life."
Lana laughed. "That’s alright. As long as you’re around, I can act as arrogantly as I want."
Hearing that, Axel simply shook his head with a helpless smile.
Soon afterward, Lana returned to her room and began cultivating.
Meanwhile, Axel carefully examined the remaining Aetherium Gold inside the Storage Talisman.
After making a rough estimate, he discovered there were nearly one hundred kilograms of Aetherium Gold.
His breathing almost stopped again. Mixed together with it were ordinary gold, white gold, rose gold, and several other valuable metals.