44: Chapter 44 An Unexpected Joy

The scene beneath the pool appeared before his eyes. This pool was actually over forty meters deep. Aside from normal aquatic life, no large creatures were found underwater, though there were quite a few large soft-shell turtles at the bottom. Cao Xiao's mind wasn't on them; he wanted to know why that python had appeared in the pool so silently. There was nothing unusual in the water, but on the stone wall ten meters deep, he discovered a cave entrance. It showed no signs of being man-made; it was a natural, irregular opening about one meter in diameter.

After such an incident, he no longer had the appetite to eat. He had to ensure his safety, or it would be disastrous if another sudden attack occurred. If that python earlier hadn't tried to constrict him first but had bitten him directly instead, he would be seriously injured even if he didn't die. Heaven knew if that python was venomous.

He investigated along the direction of that small opening to see where the snake had come from and if there were any others. This small tunnel led upward, and the surface terrain above was also an uphill slope. Ignoring the roasting wild boar meat, Cao Xiao walked along the direction of the tunnel. The further up it went, the larger the tunnel became. It took Cao Xiao more than ten minutes of walking to finally reach the end.

The end of the cave was on a cliffside, where there was a cavern exit. However, the focus wasn't on the exit, but inside the cave. There was a massive cavern hall containing more than ten large pythons, some of which were much larger than the one that had attacked him. The largest one reached sixteen meters in length, a size that shattered world records. The longest snake currently discovered is less than fifteen meters long. Amazon anacondas, green anacondas, and reticulated pythons can all reach over ten meters, but those exceeding twelve meters are rare. Yet, here, there were several of these unidentified pythons reaching fourteen meters, and it was unknown if they had even reached their growth limit; it would be terrifying if they could keep growing. Besides those large pythons, there were many smaller ones ranging from tens of centimeters to several meters long, as well as many snake eggs. It was a hair-raising sight. No wonder no larger animals could be seen nearby along the way; they had all fallen prey to the snakes. It wasn't surprising that the python that attacked him had appeared in the pool; when food was scarce, eating some fish was acceptable. It was because it had swallowed the fish that had already been hooked that the subsequent attack happened.

At this moment, Cao Xiao's gaze was drawn to something else in the cavern hall. Everywhere inside were translucent purple crystalline pillars, and the light shining in from the cave entrance made them appear radiant and colorful. These crystal pillars were raw amethyst ore. Amethyst isn't particularly valuable; even if made into jewelry, selling it for several thousand or ten thousand yuan would be quite good. As raw stones, the price is so low it could be called dirt cheap. Nowadays, synthetic crystals are everywhere, and natural crystals aren't rare either, being produced all over the country. A large deposit had even been discovered in this province.

Even if it's not very valuable, it's still a gemstone. The amethyst here is of high quality; selling it for dozens of yuan per gram wouldn't be a problem, which is comparable to the price of silver, and the sheer volume is staggering. With its high purity and vibrant color, even if he didn't sell it, processing it into decorations for his home would look great—he might even be able to create a crystal palace.

This was an unexpected surprise. He hadn't expected such a harvest from tracking the pythons. However, he still had to clear out those snakes first. He had just scanned their bodies; they were free of parasites and bacteria and were edible. They had nearly cost him his life, and he wouldn't be satisfied until he had skinned them, pulled out their tendons, drunk their blood, and eaten their meat to vent his hatred. These pythons were highly aggressive, possessed venom glands, and were large enough to pose a fatal threat to humans and large animals. He had consulted the AI's database but couldn't figure out what species they were, and they weren't on the list of protected animals. It was very likely a new species. It was normal for Baiyun Mountain, being isolated from the world and rich in biodiversity, to have some new species undiscovered by humans.

Pythons are usually non-venomous, but these were an exception. They would actively attack humans and had a large population. Would a real-life version of "Anaconda" play out one day in the future? In his view, anything that seriously threatened human safety should not be classified as a protected species. With their large numbers, strong reproductive ability, and position at the top of the food chain, was there any need to protect them? When encountering one, it's better to protect oneself first.

So, he got to work. Starting with the largest ones, the giant pythons vanished from the cavern hall one by one. In less than two minutes, not a single living snake could be found. Only piles of white snake eggs remained in the cave. Aside from keeping a few snake eggs in his personal space for future research, he threw all the others into the energy space. Snakes under five meters were also thrown in, while over thirty snakes longer than five meters were kept. He put them into the processing space to be skinned, deboned, and butchered. The internal organs, bones, and blood were thrown into the energy space. Unknowingly, his energy had actually reached 2.5. These pythons and the wild boar had made quite a contribution.

The crystal mine was easy to excavate; he just had to cut them out directly. All together, large and small, there were actually over a hundred tons. The scale of this crystal deposit could only be considered small; larger ones can reach thousands of tons. Crystal mines are distributed all over the world, which explains why they aren't very valuable.

Out of these hundred-plus tons of amethyst, not much was pure; some could only be used as smelting crystal. Cao Xiao cut out all the pure parts, obtaining nearly thirty tons of amethyst. The rest he threw into the decomposition and synthesis furnace of the processing space to be melted at high temperatures and stripped of impurities, then condensed into a massive purple crystal ball. He planned to place it in the living room of his Tianxing Garden villa as a feng shui ball. This feng shui ball would definitely be the largest solid crystal ball in the world. The sphere was over three meters in diameter and weighed over eighty tons. After smelting and processing, the color was even purer. Although there were no patterns or textures inside or on the surface, it would look beautiful when light shone on it.

After finishing the crystal mining, he stuffed the soil and rocks from his space into the cavern hall. As he walked back, he released them to fill the cave passage until all the debris in his space was cleared. Back at the pool, the wild boar meat had already burned. After all that exertion, he had consumed a lot of energy and was incredibly hungry. He could only take out some prepared food to tide himself over while he replaced the meat and continued roasting. He had wanted to eat fish but didn't get any and was even given a good scare. While investigating the pool, he had found many soft-shell turtles, crabs, fish, and shrimp. He didn't bother using a fishing rod; he just killed them directly and collected them into his space. Even the eels in the silt didn't escape his grasp. These things had grown here for who knows how many years and were massive. He collected quite a few eels as thick as an arm and soft-shell turtles as large as basins.

He took out two crucian carp as long as chopsticks, cleaned them, and boiled a pot of water with some scallions, ginger, garlic, oil, and salt before putting the fish in to simmer, adding more wood to increase the flames. Half an hour later, the fresh white fish soup was ready, and the wild boar meat was roasting until it sizzled with fat. He had a wonderful meal, drinking the fish soup and chewing on the wild boar meat.

Having eaten and drunk his fill, he changed into clean clothes and crossed the waterfall to explore toward the source of the stream. Fortunately, the source wasn't far, or he would have given up. His feet were already starting to ache; he had walked no less than ten li today. Having lacked exercise these past few years, his physical fitness was too poor, and his legs would feel even worse once he got back.

The source of this stream was in a crack in a mountain wall. Cao Xiao tested the water quality and found that it was rich in beneficial minerals and trace elements, with no substances harmful to the human body and almost no microorganisms or bacteria. This water quality was better than most bottled mineral water on the market; it was perfectly fine for domestic use and could even be drunk directly. It was also a top-tier choice for brewing tea. Even without purification treatment, it could meet the requirements for bottling and sale. Many people would be willing to buy water of this quality and taste for three or four yuan a bottle.