The Gold-Eating Rat is a highly aggressive demon beast. Although the auras of Zhou Quan and Zhouyang were not weak, they did not make it feel an insurmountable danger. Therefore, it was very annoyed by these two humans who interrupted its feeding and would not let them off easily.
After the attack on Zhouyang was automatically blocked by the Silver Gang Shield, this cunning demon beast hid for nearly half a quarter of an hour before launching another attack.
This time, the Gold-Eating Rat targeted Elder Zhou Quan. Elder Zhou Quan deliberately withdrew his Protective Golden Light to lure it out, making it think it had found an opportunity.
However, the battle-hardened Elder Zhou Quan was not a newbie like Zhouyang. As soon as it leaped out from the hiding hole in the cave wall, it was immediately knocked to the ground by a flying round shield.
Then, just as it was startled and attempted to escape into the ground again, a golden light suddenly shot from Elder Zhou Quan's fingertips, rapidly sinking into the mining cave floor.
In an instant, the ground within dozens of meters turned as hard as steel under the influence of the golden light, instantly trapping half of the Gold-Eating Rat's body in the ground as it tried to burrow away.
A good opportunity!
Neither Zhouyang nor Elder Zhou Quan anticipated that the Earth-to-Steel technique could be used to create the effect of Draw a Circle as a Prison. Both of their eyes lit up, and they almost simultaneously launched their follow-up attacks.
Elder Zhou Kui raised his hand, and the head of the Golden Melon Hammer instantly expanded to the size of a water jar, crashing down on the Gold-Eating Rat trapped in the ground like Mount Tai collapsing.
Zhouyang remembered the elder's earlier words and did not use a magical artifact to attack. Instead, he used the Tier Two Magic, Fire Snake Technique, which he had cultivated diligently for years.
He quickly formed a hand sign and pointed, summoning a several-meter-long giant flame serpent to pounce at the Gold-Eating Rat.
The Clan Leader at the time said that the Golden Sun Fiery Flame Technique he was cultivating excelled at magical combat, and it was not just empty words. The ordinary Tier Two Magic Fire Snake Technique, when released by him, had at least twice the power of the Fire Snake Technique released by a typical Sixth-Layer Qi Cultivation cultivator.
With a rumbling explosion, a part of the entire mine tunnel collapsed due to the blow from Zhou Quan and Zhouyang's grandfather-grandson duo, scaring them pale.
They had only focused on exterminating the demon, forgetting that they were deep within the earth, dozens of meters underground. If the mine tunnel really collapsed, billions of grains of sand would fall, which they, as Qi Cultivation Stage junior cultivators, could not withstand. It would take Golden Core Stage cultivators to handle it.
"Quick, let's withdraw first."
Elder Zhou Quan immediately decided to withdraw temporarily after his face went pale. He didn't even have time to retrieve the Golden Melon Hammer magical artifact. He directly pulled the terrified Zhouyang along the mine tunnel, retreating from the dangerous area.
Compared to exterminating the demon, preserving Zhouyang, the Zhou family's talented young member, was more important.
They fell back several dozen meters in succession until they were near the mine cave entrance before stopping.
Then they waited for a while until the underground shaking completely stopped. Elder Zhou Quan strictly ordered Zhouyang to stay above ground while he went alone to check the situation.
Before long, Elder Zhou Quan returned from his inspection but came back empty-handed.
"That beast was tenacious and managed to run away heavily injured!" Facing Zhouyang's puzzled gaze, Elder Zhou Quan explained the situation with an annoyed expression.
Zhouyang, hearing this, also sighed with regret, "It is indeed a pity. Such a Tier Two High-Grade demon beast is not commonly seen here. If we could capture it and skin it, handing it over to the Clan Leader would surely allow us to refine several Tier Two High-Grade spiritual artifacts!"
It was fine before he said this, but once he said it, Elder Zhou Quan's face looked even worse.
The elder originally wanted to show his strength in front of this nephew-grandson, to tell this young person that even though he was old, his Treasure Saber was not, and not to truly regard him as those among the mortals who could only sit at home waiting to die, weak and decrepit.
Now, the situation turned like this, and one could imagine how frustrated the elder felt in his heart.
"This matter is not over. The Gold-Eating Rat is most vengeful. Now that we have severely injured it here, it will surely return to eat people once it heals. By then, we must prepare relevant treasures in advance and be sure to skin it and disassemble it!" The elder said with a face full of hatred.
Hearing the elder say this, Zhouyang's heart tightened. If the Gold-Eating Rat, as the elder said, truly returned for revenge, should the mining cave still be excavated?
The clan sent him to guard Cyan Ping Mountain, with the main duty being to protect this Refined Iron Ore Vein. If the excavation had to stop because of a demon beast, the loss would be the shiny Spirit Stones!
The change in his expression was without any concealment, and upon seeing it, Elder Zhou Quan understood immediately what he was worried about and hurried to comfort him, saying, "Xiao Jiu, rest assured, I will explain this matter to the clan on your behalf. The Gold-Eating Rat is a Tier Two High-Grade demon beast, already beyond the scope of your ability to handle, and no one will look down on you because of this."
"Thank you, Third Grandfather, for your guidance. However, nephew still has some doubts. Our Zhou Family has been mining this refined iron ore vein for decades, and although many desert demon beasts have been attracted by human presence to attack miners, no one has ever discovered demon beasts like the Gold-Eating Rat."
"And just now, that Gold-Eating Rat was clearly an adult demon beast. If it had been active around this refined iron ore vein all along, it wouldn't have left no traces at all."
Zhouyang looked at the elder with a puzzled expression and slowly voiced the question that had just occurred to him.
He knew the elder was a Tier Two Beast Tamer, and in terms of understanding demon beasts, apart from the old clan leader, no one in the Zhou Family could compare to this centenarian.
"Hmm, what you say is true. The Gold-Eating Rat always prefers to nest and breed in metal ore veins. We've been mining this refined iron deposit for decades. If there were Gold-Eating Rats, the family elders and Brother Zhou Qian, who explored the ore vein back then, shouldn't have missed it unless..."
"Unless it migrated here recently!"
The grandfather and grandson exclaimed almost simultaneously, then exchanged a glance filled with joy.
"That's right. As far as I know, in order for a Gold-Eating Rat to advance to Tier Three, it needs to consume a large amount of metals with different attributes. That creature that escaped must have recently migrated here from another ore vein!"
Elder Zhou Quan excitedly tugged his beard, repeatedly exclaiming with a glowing face.
Zhouyang was no less excited. As soon as the elder finished speaking, he nodded repeatedly, his face flushed with enthusiasm, and said, "Since Third Grandfather says so, it must be true. I'm just unsure how far the ore vein that this Gold-Eating Rat originally came from is. If it's not far, our Zhou Family might be in for a big fortune!"
No wonder the two were so overjoyed. Ever since the clan was established by the ancestor Zhou Yuquan, there has been a family rule.
That is, any descendant of the Zhou Family who discovers an unowned ore vein or a natural spiritual vein in the Boundless Desert Sea and reports it to the family will receive a tenth of the output dividends each year after the family occupies and develops these resources. This dividend will continue until the discoverer passes away or the mineral resources are exhausted.
If the situation is truly as the two of them guessed, that the Gold-Eating Rat migrated from another undiscovered ore vein nearby, as long as they find that vein and report its location to the family, they can collect dividends in the future without doing anything.
Given such circumstances, how could the two not be happy?
However, they were both cultivators with years of experience. Despite their happiness, they maintained the demeanor of cultivators rather than jumping for joy like ordinary mortals.
Moreover, everything was still just their speculation and hadn't been truly confirmed.
However, just as Zhouyang calmed down and pondered how to find the possibly existing ore vein, Elder Zhou Quan suddenly looked at him hesitantly and said in a low voice, "Well, Xiao Jiu, could I discuss something with you?"
"Please, Third Grandfather," Zhouyang reflexively replied, then looked up in surprise at the elder. This wasn't the tone a senior would use with a junior!
The elder blushed when he saw Zhouyang's gaze, a hint of guilt flickering in his eyes, but he gritted his teeth and said, "If we do discover an ore vein, I can let you take credit for it and enjoy the entire tenth of the dividends by yourself. Then every year, you take out three-tenths from your dividends for your second brother. What do you think?"
"This..."
Zhouyang's expression changed, and he immediately understood what the elder meant.
According to family rules, if multiple people discover an ore vein together, they share that tenth of the family dividends. When someone passes away, their share goes back to the family.
Elder Zhou Quan was already over a hundred years old. Even if Zhouyang shared that tenth with him, he wouldn't be able to enjoy it for many years. It was very possible he might pass away before the family even utilized that ore vein.
But if Zhouyang, alone, took that tenth of the dividends, not to mention that he has a good chance of reaching Foundation Establishment in the future, even if he fails, at his current age of twenty, he could enjoy those dividends for decades.
Calculated this way, even if Zhouyang annually gave three-tenths of his dividends to his cousin Zhou Bao (Elder Zhou Quan's grandson), it would still be a huge gain for Elder Zhou Quan's family.
However, strictly speaking, Elder Zhou Quan's proposal harms the family's interests. It's a self-serving act, especially considering he's an elder of the family.
Elder Zhou Quan was obviously aware that his idea was improper. Seeing Zhouyang's face change without responding, the guilt in his eyes deepened, but some internal beliefs still pushed him to continue, saying:
"I know what I'm doing is wrong, but Xiao Jiu, you also need to empathize with your second brother. He's just a low-grade spiritual root, and his parents are gone. Once I pass away, how hard will it be for him to support the family I leave behind? I've lived over a hundred years and never done anything to betray the family, but just this once, consider it a request from the old man!"
By the end, the elder's face was streaked with tears.