Chapter 29: Walnut Boat

The wooden boats of this size could hardly be called massive vessels, but they were more than enough to accommodate seventy or eighty people. Furthermore, there were three of them, which was plenty to hold the entire party.

Everyone looked up in admiration, letting out a long, collective "wow."

Even though they already knew Sun Fuping was the State Preceptor and possessed extraordinary means, the sight was still profoundly shocking.

However, He Lingchuan heard Zeng Feixiong whisper a single word: "Is that... Mysterious Crystal? First time seeing one." His voice was filled with wonder.

"It's green; it's just low-grade Mysterious Crystal," He Lingchuan said dismissively.

This remark was immediately overheard by Nian Songyu, who turned around instantly to ask, "Do you have mid-to-high grade ones?"

"No, of course not!" He Lingchuan laughed it off. If he admitted it, wouldn't it just be confiscated?

But who could blame him for actually having some?

Inside He Lingchuan's storage bag lay a single Mysterious Crystal at that very moment. It was a deep green, with a quality slightly better than the one State Preceptor Sun had used to power the Walnut Boats.

Mysterious Crystals are the solidified form of heaven and earth spiritual energy, typically produced only during periods of spiritual outbursts. Once humans collect them, they can be purified, refined, or combined with various materials to become all sorts of different types and grades of crystals.

The uses for these things were numerous: they could replenish the true essence of practitioners or demons, serve as the power source for mechanical puppets, drive formations, and more. These three small Walnut Boats might look unremarkable, but the cost to power them was not low.

It had been a long time since the last great spiritual outburst, so Mysterious Crystals were becoming increasingly scarce and their value was skyrocketing. State Preceptor Sun had casually produced one to power the Walnut Boats, whereas He Lingchuan held only one—a grand gift sent to him by an envoy from the Northern Demon Kingdom in the past to handle a matter.

One used a luxury item as a tool, while the other used it as a tribute; the difference in their status and wealth was immediately apparent.

While he was observing closely, Nian Songyu was questioning the sand bandits: "What other tricks do you have to help?"

Situ Han was also admiring the Walnut Boats. Hearing the question, he shook his head repeatedly. "There are too many people; our crude methods probably won't be of much use."

Nian Songyu had only asked out of curiosity; he didn't truly believe they had a great solution. He Lingchuan, however, smiled and asked, "Did you not bring your incense balls this time?"

"We did." Situ Han hesitated for a moment, glancing at Sun Fuping with a hint of embarrassment. "It's just... not quite suitable for such a... refined setting!"

"Survival is what matters. Whether it's refined or not isn't important."

Nian Songyu asked Situ Han, "Is it useful? Is it effective?"

"Usually, it works well." Situ Han patted the hull of the boat. "How do we get this treasure moving?"

Nian Songyu did not hide it from him: "Mysterious Crystals."

Every second spent was money burning. Situ Han thought for a moment. "If we're lucky, perhaps you two gentlemen won't need to consume any Mysterious Crystals."

This piqued even Sun Fuping's interest: "Oh?"

Mysterious Crystals were rare and should be saved whenever possible; they were items that money alone couldn't buy.

Situ Han emphasized modestly, "If we're lucky!"

"Give it a try," Nian Songyu said indifferently. "If it doesn't work well and causes a delay in official business, I will throw you overboard to feed the monsters."

*Why did I open my mouth!* Situ Han desperately wanted to slap himself. "Then, everyone, please cover your noses."

Cover...?

Seeing his eldest son and the bandits all raising their face cloths to cover their mouths and noses, He Chunhua followed suit.

With a command from Situ Han, the sand bandits carried out a chest. Upon opening it, they revealed a soft cushion inside, with a bulging, bubble-like object sitting in the center.

Nian Songyu looked at it, confused. "What is this?"

"Commander Nian, have you never seen a pig slaughtered?" He Lingchuan laughed heartily. "This is a pig's bladder. You just blow into it and it inflates. Right now, it's far from its maximum size."

Seeing his smugness, He Chunhua couldn't help but grumble inwardly. This fellow had been raised with the best food and comforts in Blackwater City—a textbook rich second generation and young noble. Logically, he shouldn't have seen a pig's bladder. Unfortunately, he had been far too mischievous; in the past, he loved to fill pig bladders with water and hang them from the old trees on the main street, waiting for someone he disliked to walk underneath so he could launch a metal skewer at them...

Nian Songyu had always been accustomed to fine dining and luxury; how could he have seen such a thing? He rarely even ate low-grade meat like pork. Hearing this, he frowned in disgust. "What is it for?"

"It has excellent airtightness; otherwise, we'd have to suffer self-inflicted wounds first." As He Lingchuan explained, the sand bandits brought out a large piece of cured meat tied with coarse rope. They then untied the knot at the opening of the pig's bladder and poured the contents inside onto the meat.

It was a viscous, dark green liquid that not only bubbled incessantly but also seemed to occasionally emit wisps of white smoke.

The moment it was exposed to the air, the sense of smell of everyone nearby suffered a heavy blow.

The scent was like severe athlete's foot that had been trapped in an unventilated boot for a month, mixed with the body odor of someone who hadn't bathed for half a year, topped off with the unique stench of rotting fish and shrimp piled up for years in the dark corners of a smuggling pier.

It was a masterpiece of fishy, pungent, and rancid smells—a stench that was both stylistic and professional.

Soldiers in the army who didn't have time to cover their noses immediately gagged and vomited.

The most terrifying thing about this smell was that once you caught a whiff, your body would remember it forever; it was unforgettable.

Affected by this, even those who were originally holding it in could no longer endure, clutching their stomachs and vomiting in clusters.

Fortunately, the sand bandits quickly threw the meat into the sand and covered it with several handfuls of sand. Combined with the powerful desert winds, the stench was blown away in no time.

Everyone struggled to breathe, never having felt that breathing was so beautiful.

Nian Songyu's face changed. "Ridiculous! What on earth is this used for?"

He also felt nauseous and had to exercise extreme self-control to avoid vomiting. But when he turned to see He Lingchuan looking so jubilant, he seriously suspected whether this little brat was taking the opportunity to mess with him!

With a smell this foul, who wouldn't be hit by it?

"Just watch," He Lingchuan said unperturbed, pointing casually at the sand pit where the meat was buried.

As everyone looked, they saw that starting from the sand pit, lines of cracks were appearing on the ground, varying in depth but all rapidly extending outward. Clearly, many creatures had been hiding beneath the sand, and they had all fled in terror after being blasted by the scent of the meat.

It wasn't just effective against humans; the substance was also highly lethal to mutated monsters and demons.

In fact, because the latter had a more sensitive sense of smell than humans, the trauma to their spirit and flesh was even more severe.

"It can even drive away exotic beasts. Not bad. What else can it do?" This move actually surprised Sun Fuping a little. He had never considered a chemical attack when making his plans; it seemed the crude methods of country folk could sometimes be quite useful.

"That alone is far from enough!" Nian Songyu cracked his knuckles. These sand bandits were acquainted with the He family; were they teaming up against him?

Seeing his expression turn unfriendly, Situ Han was confused. "Wait, just wait a little longer. The key to crossing the desert is coming!"

Coming? What was coming?