[Gold-Eating Rat] originally thought that after escaping back to its old nest near the Red Flame Iron Ore Vein, it could rest and heal in peace under the protection of the Poisonous Fire Scorpion Swarm outside.
Unfortunately, it underestimated the methods of human cultivators and, even more so, Zhouyang's determination to kill it.
Using the precise positioning of the "Blood Spirit Mark," Zhouyang and Elder Zhou Quan, with the help of the "Earth Escape Technique" and magical artifacts, forced open a tunnel and descended into the rat hole, which lay fifty to sixty meters underground, appearing like divine soldiers before the slumbering and injured Gold-Eating Rat.
Before the massive rat could awaken from its shock and use its earth-escaping technique to flee, Elder Zhou Quan had already sealed the surrounding earth and stone with the "Earth-to-Steel" spell.
Its most potent escape method blocked, and being in such a confined space already gravely injured, how could the Gold-Eating Rat possibly survive?
After a desperate struggle like a trapped beast, this rat, which had claimed dozens of human lives, eventually had its head smashed and exploded by Elder Zhou Quan's Golden Melon Hammer, dying utterly defeated.
"Beast, this is your retribution for devouring humans!"
The elder gently lifted his hand, retrieving the Golden Melon Hammer covered in foul blood, and his face darkened as he struck the Gold-Eating Rat's head again until it shattered into pieces before ceasing.
Only then did Zhouyang realize that the elder was not truly cold and heartless, treating the lives of ordinary clan members as insignificant.
It's just that the elder had lived for over a century, grown accustomed to life and death, and learned to conceal his emotions well, rarely showing them.
"But it seems somewhat hypocritical; isn't it like making a show of strength while secretly hedging one's bets?"
Zhouyang thought of the elder's stern words from before and couldn't help but feel a bit critical of his actions.
Of course, as a junior, even if he had comments in his heart, he would certainly not dare speak them out loud.
The hierarchy between senior and junior is the foundation of clan power; even if cultivators pursue freedom and immortality, as long as they haven't truly achieved those, they cannot completely disregard these principles.
Moreover, Zhouyang's current strength was not yet superior to Elder Zhou Quan's.
Just as Zhouyang was pondering these things, Elder Zhou Quan had already recovered his magical artifact and motioned to him with a slight nod, saying, "Xiao Jiu, you keep the corpse of this beast. Add some materials later and ask the old Clan Leader to help refine it; you'll surely get some good magical artifacts."
Zhouyang was startled, entirely not expecting the elder to say so. Recalling the disparaging thoughts he had about the elder earlier, he instantly felt deeply ashamed, blushing fiercely as he shook his head repeatedly, saying, "I don't deserve this. This vile beast was slain by you, Third Grandfather, how can this nephew dare accept it?"
"I tell you to take it; you take it. At my age, even if I have Third Tier or Fourth Tier magical artifacts, how many more years can I use them? Moreover, you're about to advance to late-stage Qi Cultivation soon. Once you're there, if you don't have a few useful magical artifacts, how will you win in magical combat against others in the future?"
Elder Zhou Quan, looking displeased, glared at Zhouyang, as if not accepting this gift meant he was looking down on him.
Seeing this, Zhouyang felt even more ashamed, still insisting, "Third Grandfather's favor, I understand, but this item is truly precious, and I am too ashamed to accept, too ashamed indeed!"
His expression didn't seem deceitful, and Elder Zhou Quan, observing it, couldn't help but be puzzled.
What is going on?
Youngsters these days are truly incomprehensible!
The elder watched Zhouyang in confusion and finally couldn't resist asking, "Why are you ashamed to accept it? This beast was discovered and hunted by both you and me. Even those loose cultivators call for equal shares when hunting demons in groups, let alone us?"
What he found most incomprehensible was this; though the Zhou Clan had a good family education, with members united and loving, there was no rule that only elders could enjoy benefits while juniors were left empty-handed.
The elder, having lived over a century, was well-versed in dealing with numerous cultivators; he could distinguish between genuine sincerity and false intent.
He could see that Zhouyang's expression of shame was indeed genuine, without a trace of deceit.
Of course, Zhouyang wouldn't reveal his internal criticisms of the elder earlier. Faced with the elder's inquiry and glare, he could only lower his head silently, wishing for the matter to pass quickly.
Seeing this, the elder also didn't feel right forcing him further. In the end, he could only helplessly say, "If you really feel uneasy, consider this an advance favor from your Third Grandfather for you to care for your second brother in the future!"
After speaking, afraid that Zhouyang still wouldn't agree, the elder directly used an "Earth Escape Technique" to leave the mouse hole. The hasty departure could easily make those unaware believe the elder felt guilty for not wanting to face Zhouyang!
This outcome was completely unexpected for Zhouyang, leaving him momentarily stunned.
After a while, he snapped out of his daze, then couldn't help but show a bitter smile and sighed, "Well, as the saying goes: 'When a senior bestows, one does not decline,' just as Third Grandfather said. Let this favor be accepted today, and I shall find a chance to repay it to my second brother and them in the future!"
Collecting the corpse of the Gold-Eating Rat, Zhouyang searched around the rat hole again and found some excrement left by the Gold-Eating Rat previously.
The droppings of the Gold-Eating Rat are also treasures. Due to their innate tendency to devour metals, sometimes these droppings contain special spiritual gold that the rats cannot absorb or digest. Adding this special spiritual gold during the refinement of certain magical artifacts can slightly improve the success rate of refinement, and it's also excellent material for repairing damaged magical artifacts.
Previously, in the Refined Iron Ore Vein at the Gold-Eating Rat nest, Zhouyang collected a considerable amount of droppings formed after the rats devoured the refined iron ore. Now, here, he has gathered some droppings formed after the rats devoured the Red Flame Iron.
Once he returns, using artifact refining skills to extract the special spiritual gold from these droppings, it will surely be of great use when refining Tier Two or even Tier Three magical artifacts in the future.
Ripping through the rat holes methodically, Zhouyang soon used the Earth Escape Technique to return to the surface and reunited with Elder Zhou Quan waiting above.
"Xiao Jiu, you mentioned you wanted to kill the Gold-Eating Rat earlier. Now that this fiend is dead, what do you plan to do next?"
The elder glanced at the bulging storage bag on Zhouyang's waist as he came up, and then brought up the earlier test.
"What to do next, isn't your decision already made, Third Grandfather?"
Zhouyang gazed at the elder, who looked slightly surprised, and smiled confidently, revealing the elder's plans aloud.
"Regardless of whether there's a Tier Three Poison Fire Scorpion King here, hundreds of Poisonous Fire Scorpions are not something the two of us can handle. Given that, why take the risk to investigate whether there is a Poison Fire Scorpion King or not? Of course, we should return to Cyan Ping Mountain first, and let Third Grandfather report the event to the old Clan Leader to decide on this matter."
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Applause rang out as Elder Zhou Quan looked at Zhouyang with gratitude, applauding while sincerely praising him, "Well said! Truly worthy of being the Zhou Clan's Qilin'Er, proclaimed by the old Clan Leader himself. Xiao Jiu, I've long heard of your precocious reputation, and today I realized you are not only precocious but also strategic, knowing when to advance and retreat, discerning importance, and possessing the ability to assess the situation. Among the cultivators of our Zhou Clan across these two generations, no more than three can match you!"
After saying this, the elder's expression sharpened, and he looked at Zhouyang solemnly and said, "Indeed, my thoughts are exactly as you mentioned, Xiao Jiu. Today, I'll give you some advice: for any situation where opportunity and risk exist together, unless there's an unavoidable reason to take a gamble, you must restrain all greed and curiosity and prioritize preserving your life. Remember, only when one is alive does the opportunity become an opportunity. Otherwise, if you die, no matter how great the opportunity, it has nothing to do with you!"
"Third Grandfather's advice, nephew takes it to heart, thank you for your guidance."
Zhouyang respectfully bowed to the elder, thanking him for his advice.
Although he already understood this principle, the elder's advice was not only the distillation of a lifetime's experience but was also filled with sincere love and care from an older generation to the younger, deserving of gratitude for this heartfelt affection.
Elder Zhou Quan accepted his bow cheerfully, but then thinking of something, he sighed deeply with a complicated expression:
"It's good that you remember, the future of our Zhou Clan relies on you junior members. We elders have aged, and now all we can do is pass on these insights and experiences accumulated with our lives to you, hoping that on your cultivation path, you'll take fewer detours that we once did and not end up like those uncles and great uncles of yours who died young on those detours!"
Upon hearing this, Zhouyang understood the elder was speaking from the heart, recalling those Zhou Clan members who had died abruptly over the years.
The Boundless Desert Sea is fraught with dangers, not only natural disasters and demon beasts but also human threats.
Amidst the endless desert, there are numerous oases. Apart from cultivation clans like the Zhou Clan occupying one oasis for cultivation, many small oases unsuitable for large populations are occupied by lone loose cultivators.
These loose cultivators do not have systematic cultivation techniques and artifact refining and alchemy inheritance like clan cultivators or sect cultivators, nor do they receive sect or clan benefits. To obtain talismans, elixirs, spirit stones, and magical artifacts, they must hunt demon beasts or gather spirit elixirs to take to the Cultivator Marketplace, selling them to shops run by cultivation clans or sects for exchanges.
With trade comes murder.
Hunting demon beasts and gathering spirit elixirs can be exchanged for spirit stones and elixirs, and hunting cultivators can also get these.
Therefore, many loose cultivators have simply formed gangs to become sand bandits in the desert, specializing in robbing other cultivators' wealth to assist their cultivation.
Some powerful loose cultivators even deliberately leave spiritual objects in the desert to set traps, then spread rumors of treasures, waiting for those cultivators who think they've stumbled upon fortune to come willingly.
In the vast desert sea, as long as one's actions are discreet, or if after success they hide in a little-known oasis, no one can identify the culprit, and even if known, they're hard to find.
There are 13 cultivators from the "Guang" generation and 18 from the "Xuan" generation on the Zhou Clan genealogy, but now, only 18 are alive in total!
Of the missing 13, besides 3 who accidentally died at the mouths of demon beasts, the other 10 disappeared without a trace while leaving the clan for tasks or traveling adventurously, with no trace of their bodies found.
Compared to destitute loose cultivators, wealthy clan cultivators and sect cultivators sometimes become even easier targets for villains.
For this reason, the Zhou Clan and many cultivation clans specifically established family rules: no clan cultivator is permitted to travel adventurously outside the clan alone until reaching late-stage Qi cultivation.
Elder Zhou Quan, having lived over a hundred years, has naturally faced numerous ambushes by loose cultivators and experienced many tempting traps. His survival to this day attests to the numerous people whose lives he's taken.
Thus, when he claims to have summarized experiences and insights with his life, there's no exaggeration whatsoever.