As Chen Xi spoke, he unfolded the slip of paper and fell into silence upon seeing the numbers written on it.
After nearly the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he suddenly bristled, "One hundred thousand gold coins!? Where am I supposed to get that? One hundred thousand gold coins within twenty days, why don't they just rob us!"
Upon hearing this, the surrounding crowd, who had been complaining earlier, immediately cast sympathetic glances towards Yan Hua.
Yan Hua herself didn't feel much.
It didn't matter if she couldn't save it up; being close to the Heavenly Dao was good.
Qi Yu, however, was itching to try. "Hey, when the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a road; when the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally go straight. No need to rush, there will definitely be a way to solve it. Everyone, don't worry, just relax."
Yan Hua and Chen Xi were truly relaxed.
Si Qing wasn't worried at all.
But apart from their group, others were not doing so well.
Qi Yu was too lazy to bother with others now. She gently tapped the ground with her fingertips, secretly setting up a barrier in a place invisible to others, preventing their words from being overheard.
After confirming that no one else had noticed the barrier being set up, Qi Yu said to Yan Hua and Chen Xi, "Master, Chen Xi, I'm thinking that once we reach our destination, we should find a secluded corner to maintain contact with others first, and then figure out how to rendezvous with the rest of them."
"The rules of this secret realm are beyond my expectations. Although I can control it, it wouldn't be as fun then. So, I think we should call the others over, and then we can all brainstorm ways to save money and collect treasures before leaving this secret realm."
Qi Yu was quite enthusiastic about such challenging secret realms.
Just in case, she had tried to operate it earlier and found that her divine sense could indeed communicate with this small secret realm.
Since there was communication, it proved that this small secret realm did not have its own consciousness. All these rules were naturally formed after the secret realm left the city. Moreover, this secret realm should not have appeared recently; it had actually been around for a long time.
It's just that before this, the cultivators who first discovered this secret realm, due to its small size, had never publicized it. They all secretly entered the secret realm, thinking they could get a head start on the spoils.
But when they entered, like them, they were all too hasty. They never expected that this secret realm would control spiritual energy, restrict cultivation, and also have trial requirements.
Qi Yu guessed that the so-called natives in this secret realm were likely the first batch of cultivators to discover it.
Some of them probably never even thought about trial requirements and never discovered them, thus getting trapped in the secret realm forever.
Some probably realized it later, just like them, but by then it was too late.
Thinking of this, Qi Yu couldn't help but make a rough estimation.
Feng Mingxi, Feng Yunzui, Feng Sixian.
Yue Zhiyin, Sui You, Qi Nian, Chi Ming, Qi Yan, Ming Lou.
Wang Lanqing, Chi Shangming, Chang Ge.
Yan Hua, Chen Xi, Jin Yan, Yu Yuan.
Plus herself and Si Qing.
Among their group, Yan Hua currently had the highest known amount required, needing one hundred thousand gold coins.
Chen Xi was second, needing thirty thousand gold coins.
Qi Yu tapped her knee with her fingers in rotation, pondering that no matter how many gold coins others needed to save, if their group wanted to enter and leave together, the total amount would definitely not be small. Relying solely on finding treasures and digging for them, these nineteen days would absolutely not be enough.
Therefore, to achieve this condition, they would have to focus on making money through other means.
For example, participating in auctions.
Qi Yu's eyes darkened, and a plan gradually surfaced in her mind.
Yan Hua looked at Qi Yu and Si Qing and stretched lazily. "I don't care. I'm old now, so you two can worry about these things. I support whatever you want to do and how you want to do it. Just don't forget about me."
Qi Yu was helpless.
Chen Xi leaned over to Qi Yu. "What are you planning to do? How are you going to save money?"
In this regard, Qi Yu indeed had the most credibility.
Her previous "money-making" experiences, whether Yan Hua, Chen Xi, or Si Qing, all had firsthand experience and understanding.
They were indeed trustworthy.
Qi Yu looked up into Chen Xi's eyes and beckoned mysteriously. "What's so difficult about that? Just watch me later. After we get off the boat, we'll first try to contact the others."
"How do we contact them? If we can contact them, it will be convenient to verify," Chen Xi said, then suddenly remembered that Qi Yu's situation was different from theirs. He tapped his head. "Ah, I forgot. You're different from us two. Then you really can find a way to contact Sui You and the others."
Qi Yu patted Chen Xi's shoulder. "Leave it to me, no problem."
Chen Xi nodded.
At the same time, the captain shouted at them through the window, "We're about to reach the island! Everyone, get ready to disembark. We have a return boat every night before dark. If you want to return to the city, don't forget to have your pre-purchased return tickets ready. If you lose this ticket on the island, you won't be able to buy another boat ticket."
Hearing this, the faces of everyone on the boat changed, and they all carefully held their return tickets, afraid of losing them.
About fifteen minutes later.
The boat they were on stopped near a beach.
The captain lowered a ladder, allowing them to disembark.
Qi Yu jumped off the boat first, followed closely by Si Qing, Yan Hua, and Chen Xi.
After the captain and the others had disembarked, they left without even mentioning any precautions, and simply sailed away.
Only a group of newly arrived cultivators stood by the sea, looking at each other in dismay.
The treasure map locations drawn on the notice boards in everyone's hands only extended to the seashore.
There was no other detailed information.
Qi Yu stood still, rubbing her forehead with some hesitation, and began to think about where to start searching.
Si Qing held up the few notices in his hand. "All the treasures shown on these are on the same beach, the one we're standing on right now. So, should we walk further inland? Digging directly on the beach seems a bit too simple."
Qi Yu hesitated after hearing this. "But what if this map is actually very simple and the treasure is on the beach? If someone else digs it up, and we run so far for nothing, wouldn't that be miserable?"
Si Qing fell into thought. "That does make sense..."
Yan Hua thought for a moment and then suggested, "How about we go in pairs? You two are more capable, so you go inside to search for treasures. Our spiritual power is limited, so we'll dig by the sea. You don't need to worry about us drowning; there's no sea here that can drown us currently."
Qi Yu chuckled and nodded.
After agreeing with Yan Hua to just take a look inside and if there was nothing found, they would first find a place to contact Yue Zhiyin and the others using spells, she then pulled Si Qing and walked inland.
However, after only a few steps, Qi Yu stopped abruptly, looking in a certain direction.