Cheng Yong pulled out a few shells shimmering with a crystal sheen and said, Hua Yiyou picked up one of the shells with a puzzled look and said,
Feng Yuan saw Hua Yiyou’s perplexed expression and snickered, then Guo Huai casually picked up a shell and said,
"Although it seems like it could be easily counterfeited, or rather... it’s hard to control the exact quantity, the actual utility value of this thing is quite real."
"This thing... has value?"
Hua Yiyou was a bit surprised as he examined the shell in his hand, and Guo Huai said with amazement,
"This thing has the effect of a magical instrument, I don’t know how they managed it, but one shell can block an attack of Common Level, and if stacked up, it appears that it can block an attack of Legendary Level."
"Using money to defend? That’s quite interesting."
Liu Wenli, intrigued, picked up a shell and looked it over, and Hua Yiyou turned to Cheng Yong and asked,
"That’s right, I never thought you’d be able to tell."
"Mass-producing magical instruments..."
Mo Li held his chin, his eyes flickering, and Feng Yuan knew what he was thinking and said helplessly,
"Forget it, this thing relies purely on the power of Legendary Level Spirit Beasts, if I’m not mistaken, this defensive effect should be the result of the power infusion from the Island Jellyfish."
"Direct power infusion from a Legendary Level Spirit Beast, it’s not at all surprising to have such an effect."
Mo Li said somewhat doubtfully,
"But if that’s the case, shouldn’t there be a lifespan to its use?"
"If I’m not mistaken, that place should be where you go to exchange the old currency, right?"
Noticing a cottage with a large shell sign hanging beside it, Feng Yuan pointed there and asked, Cheng Yong nodded and said,
"That’s right, when the power in Shell Coins begins to dissipate naturally, you can go to the Shell Coin Bureau to exchange for new Shell Coins."
"Of course, Shell Coins that have had their power used cannot be exchanged."
"That’s for sure, otherwise, no amount of Island Jellyfish would be enough for them to squander."
Feng Yuan chuckled and said, everyone laughed knowingly when they heard this; everyone present was no fool and naturally understood that if even used Shell Coins could be exchanged for new ones, there would definitely be a group of people abusing them, recklessly depleting the power and then exchanging them for new.
"However, if that’s the case..."
Feng Yuan said and motioned towards the beach, many shells that looked very much like Shell Coins rose from the sand and flew rapidly towards Feng Yuan, watching the shells fall into his hand, Feng Yuan smirked and said,
"We could just mint our own, couldn’t we?"
"No, Shell Coins without power are unusable."
Cheng Yong said somewhat helplessly; those shells were originally made from local materials, and Feng Yuan managing to get shells with similar appearances from the beach didn’t surprise him at all, but the most important aspect of Shell Coins was the power within them, having only the shell was pointless.
Feng Yuan waved towards Delong Tower and said,
"Isn’t it fine if we infuse them with power?"
Only then did Cheng Yong realize, Delong Tower could also infuse power into Shell Coins. In fact, any Legendary Level Spirit Beast could infuse power into Shell Coins; it’s just that it consumes a lot, so the production of Shell Coins isn’t actually that high.
"Don’t worry, I just want to make some for our own use, I won’t cause them to devalue."
Feng Yuan thought Cheng Yong was worried about the devaluation problem caused by excessive currency and therefore offered some reassurance. Delong Tower floated over to Feng Yuan and took a look at the shells in his hand. Feng Yuan whispered his request to Delong Tower, then, with a glance at Feng Yuan, Delong Tower slightly moved its tail fin and the shells in Feng Yuan’s hand emitted a sky-blue light. Moments later, those shells became identical to Shell Coins, even prettier than the original ones.
Cheng Yong looked at the shells in Feng Yuan’s hand and said with surprise. Feng Yuan, puzzled, glanced back at Cheng Yong and said,
"Did I get it wrong? What are Sea God Coins?"
Scratching his head, Cheng Yong, beaming, said,
"No, it’s just that the Shell Coins in your hand obviously have a better effect than ours and have a special significance. I think they shouldn’t be called Shell Coins."
"That’s so, I’ll take you to the Shell Coin Bureau and ask Uncle Xia Yu about it. Such precious things shouldn’t be used as trade items."
As Cheng Yong spoke, he didn’t wait for Feng Yuan to say anything and directly pulled him towards the Shell Coin Bureau. The group glanced at each other, and Guo Huai helplessly said,
"This guy... causes trouble wherever he goes."
"Isn’t that just his style~"
Yao Yin said with a light laugh, and Mo Ling nodded in agreement.
The bespectacled elder looked at the shell coin in his hand with a mix of surprise and skepticism. Seeing this, Cheng Yong quickly explained,
"That is a Sea God Coin made by the Divine Lord Himself..."
"Sea God Coins? I’ve never heard of such a thing. However, the power contained within is indeed a bit strange..."
The elder said, closing his eyes and falling silent for a moment.
"This item is certainly more valuable than ordinary shell coins, only... it’s difficult to set its value."
"But this is from the Divine Lord..."
"Don’t talk to me about any Divine Lord. Even if I acknowledge it, can you make others acknowledge it too? It’s not enough for me to just say so; a majority need to recognize its value, or else I will not allow it to be added to our shell coins."
The elder said loudly, glaring at Cheng Yong. Feng Yuan seemed to have found something interesting, and curiously scrutinized the elder, who pushed his glasses up while he continued to observe the shell coin in his hand and said,
"The clarity and hardness are both superior to ordinary shell coins, and the strength of the power is about five times that of ordinary ones."
"But does it actually make a difference in practice... Only five times the power strength, yet it can achieve about twenty times the effect... The value is difficult to estimate..."
When the elder used some of the power of the shell coins, Cheng Yong said with distress,
"Uncle Xia Yu, that’s the power of the Divine Lord..."
"Stop babbling! How can I evaluate its value without trying it out?"
Xia Yu did not actually believe that it was a shell coin made by the so-called Divine Lord. In his view, the Divine Lord would not be so pointless as to make shell coins for fun. But after a moment, Xia Yu said with some bewilderment,
"The power within can actually recover on its own?!"
Looking at Cheng Yong, Xia Yu continued to inspect the shell coin with disbelief before finally addressing Cheng Yong,
"Is this... really the work of the Divine Lord?"
"Why don’t you doubt that it might be made by some other Spirit Beast?"
Feng Yuan asked curiously. Beside him, Mo Ling pulled Feng Yuan aside and warned him in a low voice not to speak carelessly. She did not want Feng Yuan to cause any trouble here, especially since the elder referred to as Xia Yu didn’t look like an ordinary person.
Glancing at Feng Yuan, the elder pushed up his glasses and said,
"Spirit Beast? Calling them that wouldn’t be wrong..."
"As for why it wouldn’t be the work of another Divine Envoy, honestly, other than the Sea God, I know of no stronger existence. A Divine Envoy wouldn’t be able to produce such miraculous methods."
"Shell coins that can be used repeatedly..."
Xia Yu closed his eyes and fell silent for a while before staring at Cheng Yong and asking,
"Did you encounter the Divine Lord?"
Can Can glanced at Delong Tower curiously observing the interior decorations of the Shell Coin Bureau, and Cheng Yong said in a low voice,
"Not only did we meet Him, but the Divine Lord is also here now..."
Xia Yu exclaimed, standing up from his chair and looking around in astonishment until his gaze finally rested on the previously overlooked Delong Tower. His expression changed as he said nervously,
"The... Divine Lord!"
Delong Tower looked at Xia Yu with some confusion. In its eyes, the price list hanging in the Shell Coin Bureau was more attractive than the elder, since it sometimes interacted with the people above the sea. It could completely understand that price list, which is why it found it intriguing.
Besides listing recommended prices for commonly used goods, the price list also indicated the recommended prices between the currencies of the land countries and shell coins. Indeed, it said prices, not exchange rates—at least that’s how it was written on the list.
"If this is truly made by the Divine Lord..."
Xia Yu, seeing that Delong Tower paid him no attention, was not embarrassed. He sat down quickly, grabbed a pen, and started writing and drawing. Feng Yuan spoke with some confusion,
"Why insist on using it as a currency? If it’s not suitable as currency, can’t it be considered as a product?"