Of course, the main issue is that the Cave Mansion can't be upgraded right now; otherwise, once it reached Level 3 and gained the 'Star Spiral Cloud Barrier' array, he wouldn't have to worry about anything at all.

Fortunately, after this round of inspection, there were no problems at all.

Tu Yue takes great care of the house.

After checking up on things at home, Ji Yuan once again went to stand in front of the Big Toad.

Having finished off three Spirit Pigs, its belly was round and bulging, and it was clearly very satisfied; as soon as it saw Ji Yuan approach, it wanted to snuggle up to him.

Ji Yuan pushed it away, sighing bleakly, and finally just flopped down to sit on the ground.

A late-stage Tier Two Big Toad naturally had a bit more intelligence.

It didn't know what had happened, but it could tell Ji Yuan wasn't happy.

"Gwaa——"

It was asking Ji Yuan what was wrong.

Ji Yuan just shook his head and said nothing, looking up at the sky, his expression growing even more troubled... Was he being a bit shady tricking the Big Toad like this?

The main thing was Ji Yuan was worried the toad wouldn't willingly stay inside the Storage Bag.

If it was his contracted Spirit Beast, he wouldn't need to worry; a single heart thought and he could summon it back.

But since it wasn't a contracted Spirit Beast, he'd have to rely on whether the other party was willing.

"Gwa gwa——"

The toad moved even closer, its croaks clearly full of confusion.

This time, Ji Yuan stopped hiding and started gesturing and speaking, explaining to the Big Toad.

Basically, he described how when he went out to buy meat, he bought lots of Spirit Pigs and caught the eye of someone.

This person was powerful, jumped out and beat Ji Yuan up, and took away all the Spirit Pigs he'd just bought.

This made Ji Yuan feel useless, failing to protect the food the Big Toad liked to eat.

So that's why Ji Yuan came back looking so miserable.

Ji Yuan animatedly explained for ages before the Big Toad finally understood.

"Gwa————————"

The Big Toad was furious.

It threw its head back and roared, soundwaves rolling forth.

This was the first time Ji Yuan had seen the Big Toad so fierce—just the sound of its bellow was enough to shake the Mist Array on the island.

Its roar was powerful enough that the nearby fog was largely dispersed.

Standing right in front of it, Ji Yuan felt a jolt of shock in his heart.

Most days, the toad acted like a pushover around Ji Yuan, easy to mess with.

Ji Yuan almost forgot this was a late-stage Tier Two Demon Beast.

What was late-stage Tier Two? That was basically equal to late-stage Foundation Establishment...

Among the Foundation Establishment Island Masters of the Water Dragon Sect, that status was nothing to sniff at.

The Big Toad finished venting its anger, then lowered its head to look at Ji Yuan and croaked again, "Gwa."

The meaning was clear enough.

'Where is that guy? I'll help you get revenge!'

Ji Yuan hesitated for a long while before finally taking out the Tier Two Spirit Beast Bag he'd prepped from his Storage Bag.

He injected Spiritual Qi into it, and a bit of suction came from inside.

The Big Toad hesitated for a few breaths, then leapt in, hiding itself inside the bag.

Seeing this, Ji Yuan immediately put the Spirit Beast Bag away.

Now that he had the first time, next time he wanted the Big Toad in the Spirit Beast Bag, it would be a lot easier.

With the toad stashed away, Ji Yuan didn't linger and immediately summoned the Scarlet Skies Skiff, heading straight for Red Leaf City.

Compared to Cyan Leaf City, Red Leaf City wasn't as big; not just the land area was smaller, even the layout inside the city looked a bit messy.

The Yang Family had business inside and outside the city, and Ji Yuan had no idea where Yang Shunan might actually be.

So he spent a whole day asking around for news in the city, paving the way with Spirit Stones and using the excuse that he wanted to join the Yang Family. Sure enough, things went smoothly, and by the end he even managed to accidentally befriend a 'brother' from the Yang Family.

The guy was only at Qi Cultivation Level 9, and seeing Ji Yuan—who was at the peak of Qi Cultivation—saying he wanted to join the Yang Family, he instantly took Ji Yuan out to Qingyang Manor outside the city.

"Brother Qiu, you've got a good eye. Our Yang Family, you know, won't be long before we're the number one clan in all of Red Leaf City."

"Oh?"

Ji Yuan's face looked properly delighted. "That's amazing."

"Naturally. Our Second Manor Lord, you know about him? He's the Island Master of the Water Dragon Sect, a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. The folks he usually hangs around with are all bigshots from Water Dragon Sect."

"Even the Sect Leader of Water Dragon Sect has visited our Yang Family."

The young man, Yang Dianfeng, said with a huge sense of pride.

As for this spiel, Ji Yuan didn't believe it one bit.

After more than a year in Water Dragon Sect, he'd heard these lines at least a hundred times, if not ninety-nine.

Especially the shops on All Things Island—once you stepped in, if you had your eye on something but hesitated, the shopkeeper would start hyping things up.

Either the Sect Leader, Master Xuan Shui, had used the item and praised it, or the Great Elder strongly recommended it.

Yang Dianfeng was obviously just using a script here.

So Ji Yuan exaggerated a gasp, "My goodness, that must be a Golden Core Zhenren!"

"Of course."

Yang Dianfeng was even more boastful, and then looked Ji Yuan up and down. "Brother Qiu, for you to reach the peak of Qi Cultivation at your age, odds are you'll soon break through to Foundation Establishment. When that time comes, don't forget about your little brother here."

"Of course, of course."

Ji Yuan nodded repeatedly.

"Hey, and since you're bringing your peak Qi Cultivation self to join our Yang Family, the Patriarch himself will definitely meet you in person. When that happens, be sure to put in a good word for your brother here."

Yang Dianfeng leaned in and whispered.

Bringing a peak Qi Cultivation cultivator into the family would absolutely earn him some rewards.

Free perks from the clan—no reason not to take them.

"No problem, if it wasn't for Brother Yang, I wouldn't have a chance to meet Patriarch Yang at all."

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