95: Chapter 95 Wealth

Wang Yaowen was no better off than him, his forehead covered in sweat, and his sword-gripping hand still trembling slightly.

Wang Shouyi leaned against the rock wall with a pale face, but stared fixedly at the slowly sinking snake corpse in the magma, as if afraid it would come back to life.

Wang Chongyang landed steadily on the lake shore without turning red or breathing heavily, only a few black spots formed by congealed magma splashed on his Daoist robe.

He glanced at the slowly sinking snake corpse in the magma, then glanced at Master Qingfu by his side who was sheathing his blade, and nodded slightly.

The reason why he dared to completely entrust his back to his old friend just now was because he knew better than anyone that this old fellow Qingfu had lived for nearly two hundred years and had seen all sorts of battles; he didn't need to waste words.

Without even turning his head, Master Qingfu continued to squat by the lake to process the snake corpse, merely letting out a hum from his nose as an acknowledgment.

The Ridge-backed Fire-scaled Python was a treasure from head to toe.

Master Qingfu personally wielded the blade, stripping off the dark golden rock armor piece by piece. Each piece was the size of a palm, and sparks flew when the blade cut into it, its hardness comparable to a High Grade defensive Magical Artifact.

Wang Chongyang took a piece, weighed it in his hand, and said, "This rock armor, remelted with fire marrow crystal, is enough to forge a few High Grade defensive Magical Artifacts."

The snake gallbladder was carefully extracted by Master Qingfu. It was as big as a fist, entirely crimson, and emitted a dense fire Qi fluctuation, making it an excellent medicinal guide for refining fire-attribute Medicinal Pills of the Foundation Establishment Stage.

The snake bones were hollow and tough, each section as thick as an arm. Cutting off both ends made them natural Artifact Refining pipes, and Wang Qingcheng's earth fire Artifact Refining pipelines happened to need such high-temperature-resistant bone materials.

The snake meat contained pure fire spiritual power. Cultivators consuming it over a long period could slowly temper their Physical Bodies, while Mortals eating it could strengthen their bodies and remain immune to all diseases. The six people categorized the snake carcass and stuffed a full three Storage Pouches.

As for the two snake fangs, Wang Chongyang personally sawed them off and weighed them in his palm, saying, "Take these two snake fangs back to Lotus Pier to use as a trump card at the bottom of the box."

Wang Shouren received the snake fangs with both hands, feeling heavy in his hands. A trace of undissipated fire miasma venom still lingered on the tips of the fangs.

With the harvest distributed, Master Qingfu put the last bottle of snake blood into his sleeve, stood up, patted the dust on his knees, and said.

"Old Wang Tou, the Yao Beast has been slain, and the treasures have been distributed. From now on, this earth fire branch vein belongs to your Wang family. This old man takes his leave."

Wang Chongyang stood with his hands behind his back, looking at his old friend's lean face. After a moment of silence, he said, "Not staying to drink a few jars of yunli wine?"

Master Qingfu had already turned and walked towards the cave entrance, waving his hand without looking back upon hearing this.

"Save it for now; I'll come drink it at your longevity banquet. Don't die, this old man doesn't want to drink your funeral wine."

His figure disappeared at the end of the cave passage, and his last sentence came from afar, "Don't die, Old Wang Tou."

Master Qingfu's figure disappeared at the end of the cave passage, but that shout of "Don't die" still echoed back and forth between the stone walls for several turns, the lingering sound gently echoing and not dissipating for a long time.

Wang Chongyang stood in place with his hands behind his back, looking at the direction where his old friend left. A very faint smile surfaced on his aged face—a smile containing gratification, emotion, and even more of an indescribable warmth.

He had lived too long, and his peers and old acquaintances had long since withered away. Of that batch of people who roamed the world together back then, the ones still breathing today were probably only left with himself and Qingfu.

One was hiding in the market's Daoist temple playing dead, while the other lingered in Lotus Pier refusing to breathe his last. These two old immortals hadn't seen each other in decades, yet bickered the moment they met, tearing each other down verbally to worthlessness. Yet in their hearts, they knew better than anyone that the only one who could come to accompany the other in burial when their Lifespan was near its end was precisely this one.

"This old fellow." He withdrew his gaze, his voice very soft, as if talking to himself, "Lifespan is determined by the heavens, what can this old man do?"

He turned around and beckoned to Wang Yaowen: "Yaowen, make a trip to Qingfu Market yourself. Bring some aged wine from the clan, catch a few of the fattest Cloud Carps, and send half of them to the Qingfu Daoist Temple. That old fellow loves this bite."

Wang Yaowen smiled and said, "Rest assured, Sixth Uncle, I guarantee it will be delivered. Should I also bring a few jars of yunli wine? Senior Qingfu was still muttering about it when he left last time."

"Bring some." Wang Chongyang stroked his beard and smiled, "Let him drink his fill. In the future, no matter who becomes the head of the family, half of the clan's yunli wine must be sent to this old ghost every year. That can barely be considered repaying today's favor."

Wang Yaowen accepted the order and left, his steps somewhat lighter than when he came.

It was rare for Sixth Uncle to show such a smile. On this trip to slay the Yao Beast, what was harvested was not only a full bag of Yao Beast materials, but also the heavy friendship of the older generation.

After Wang Yaowen's figure disappeared into the cave passage, Wang Chongyang withdrew his gaze and turned towards the magma lake.

The snake corpse had sunk to the bottom of the lake, and the churning magma had returned to calm, but everyone knew that the real Treasure Trove was not on that snake, but in the vein at the bottom of the lake that had been covered by magma for an unknown number of years.

He stood on the edge of the lake shore with his hands behind his back, his gaze passing over the churning magma and falling on the faint, dark red light at the bottom of the lake.

During the fierce battle just now, the Ridge-backed Fire-scaled Python had swung its tail and stirred the bottom of the lake. Beneath the churning magma, large areas of dark red crystals paved the entire lake bed, dense and stacked layer upon layer, as if someone had crushed an entire starry sky and hidden it deep underground.

"Shouren, go down and check it out." Wang Chongyang's voice was as steady as usual, but the sharp glint in his eyes could not be concealed, "Be careful."

Wang Shouren acknowledged, a faint flash of thunder light around his body covering his skin with a thin layer of red-gold thunder membrane, and he leaped down.

Magma surged and churned around him, but was steadily blocked three feet away by that layer of thunder membrane, only able to vainly burn circles of distorted heat waves at the edge of the thunder light.

Wang Yaowu and Wang Shouyi stayed behind on the shore, their nerves tensed as they stared at the lake surface.

That battle just now had given them a thorough taste of the terror of a Tier 2 Yao Beast. Although the old python was dead, no one dared to guarantee whether there was anything else in this lake.

Wang Shouyi leaned his sword in front of him, the tip inserted into a rock crevice, ready to strike at any time.

The magma was deeper than Wang Shouren had anticipated.

He sank for about ten zhang before his feet touched the hard lake bed.

Even separated by the protective barrier formed by that fierce thunder, the surrounding magma remained scorching hot, dyeing his field of vision into a distorted dark red.

Utilizing the thunder light, he finally saw the situation at the bottom of the lake clearly. Under his feet was an endless mine of fire marrow crystals.

Some were as large as millstones, others as small as fists, densely embedded in the rock layer of the lake bed. The crimson light flickered uncertainly amidst the churning magma, resembling a sea of fire sleeping deep underground.

He squatted down and reached out to touch the fire marrow crystal closest to him; the surface was scalding hot, yet its texture was as delicate and warm as jade.