Unexpected Changes

In the vast sea of sand, two Sand Camel Beasts galloped with all their might, urged on by their riders.

And in the desert, about ten miles ahead of the Sand Camel Beasts, a raised thin line was rapidly extending deeper into the desert, faster than a galloping horse.

The line rose and fell, weaving east and west, not entirely in a straight line. However, no matter how it turned, the two Sand Camel Beasts chasing behind could always change direction in time to catch up.

Even when the thin line stopped extending, the riders on the backs of the two Sand Camel Beasts would timely rein in their mounts and stop to rest and wait. Only after the thin line reappeared and extended forward would they set off again to follow.

The sun was scorching, and the ride on the Sand Camel Beasts was extremely bumpy. For Zhou Yang, who was riding a desert beast for the first time, this feeling was truly unbearable.

It was fortunate that cultivators had strong physiques, and he hadn't eaten anything for the past ten days. Otherwise, he would have vomited on the spot from the bumpy ride. However, the feeling of his internal organs shifting had almost made him cry out several times.

Looking ahead, Zhou Quan, the old man who was also riding a beast, seemed unaffected. He stood steadily on the camel's back as if he didn't feel any bumps at all.

If a hundred-year-old man could be so calm and composed, how could Zhou Yang, a young man in his twenties, dare to cry out?

There was no other way; he could only grit his teeth and endure the suffering all the way, hating the escaped Gold-Eating Rat in his heart.

If it weren't for the plan to "guide the rat back to its nest" to be completed perfectly, why would he have to suffer like this? He would have killed the heavily injured Gold-Eating Rat at the Fine Iron Ore Vein long ago.

After chasing for more than half a day, covering hundreds of miles, Zhou Yang, whose face was pale from the bumpy ride on the camel's back, finally saw the leading elder Zhou Quan rein in his Sand Camel Beast and stop.

"Phew! We're finally here?"

He pulled the reins of his mount with both hands, jumped off the camel's back, feeling completely drained. He sat down on the sand with a plop, gasping for breath, unable to catch his breath, looking utterly miserable.

"Hehehe, Little Nine, you have your limits too. I thought you could do anything!"

Elder Zhou Quan walked over to him, relaxed, and couldn't help but laugh heartily at his miserable state, his face full of teasing.

"Hoo hoo! I'm already like this, Third Grandfather, please stop teasing me. Let me rest for a while!"

Zhou Yang rolled his eyes. Facing the elder's teasing, he could only force a bitter smile and wave his hand, not wanting to move at all.

Seeing this, the elder's smile faded, and he said seriously, "Alright, I won't tease you anymore, kid. That beast has probably reached its destination. I'll go ahead and check the situation. You stay here and wait for me."

"Then, Third Grandfather, please be careful."

Zhou Yang nodded and did not object to the elder acting alone.

The Gold-Eating Rat had already been severely injured by them, and after hundreds of miles of travel, it was no longer a threat to the well-rested Elder Zhou Quan. He really didn't need to worry about Elder Zhou Quan's safety.

What he was worried about now was that their guess might be wrong, or that the discovered ore vein might have no mining value. That would be too disheartening.

In the following time, Zhou Yang became increasingly anxious and restless.

At one moment, he hoped that this trip would lead to the discovery of a highly valuable ore vein, allowing his family and himself to make a fortune.

At another moment, he feared that this trip would be in vain, wasting their energy and causing the deaths of dozens of mortal miners.

Under this anxious mood, he counted the time almost second by second. Several times, he almost couldn't resist following Elder Zhou Quan, who had gone ahead.

After enduring this torment for nearly half an hour, Elder Zhou Quan finally returned amidst his eager anticipation.

"How was it? Third Grandfather, how did your investigation go? Did you find any traces of an ore vein?"

He eagerly went up to the elder, his face full of anticipation as he repeatedly asked about the situation.

"I found it. We're quite lucky. It's a Crimson Flame Iron Ore Vein ahead!"

Elder Zhou Quan didn't keep him in suspense and directly revealed his findings.

"That's great!"

Zhou Yang clapped his hands excitedly, almost jumping with joy.

Crimson Flame Iron, like Fine Iron, was also a first-tier spirit gold. However, Crimson Flame Iron was suitable for refining fire-attribute artifacts. Many second-tier fire-attribute artifacts would incorporate Crimson Flame Iron as an auxiliary material. Therefore, in terms of value, Crimson Flame Iron was slightly higher than Fine Iron.

The Zhou Family's Fine Iron Ore Vein on Qingping Mountain brought an annual net profit of 500 low-grade spirit stones. As long as the Crimson Flame Iron Ore Vein was properly exploited, its profit would definitely not be lower than this amount. Then, Zhou Yang and Elder Zhou Quan, as the discoverers, would each receive dozens of low-grade spirit stones annually just from the dividends.

Dozens of stones a year, hundreds in ten years, and so on, year after year, that would be a very substantial amount.

Now that he was about to receive such a large sum of spirit stones for free, how could Zhou Yang not be excited?

"Little Nine, don't get excited yet. I haven't finished speaking!"

Elder Zhou Quan looked at the jumping-with-joy Zhou Yang and said in a low voice, "It's true that we found a Crimson Flame Iron Ore Vein, but besides that Gold-Eating Rat, this vein is also inhabited by a large number of Poison Fire Scorpion demonic beasts. There are at least several hundred of them, with dozens of second-tier Poison Fire Scorpions, and we're not sure if there's a more powerful Poison Fire Scorpion King!"

What?

Zhou Yang's expression changed, and he was greatly shocked by the news the elder had given him.

Poison Fire Scorpions were also common desert demonic beasts in the Boundless Sea of Sand. These demonic beasts existed in both first and second tiers. First-tier Poison Fire Scorpions only had fire poison in their stingers. As long as one was careful not to be stung, even Innate Cultivators could easily kill them.

However, once a Poison Fire Scorpion advanced to the second tier, it would immediately gain the "Poison Fire Bullet" spell, allowing it to attack enemies from a distance by spitting fireballs. If it fought desperately, it could even shoot its stinger towards enemies, with a power equivalent to a second-tier Flying Needle Artifact, and it contained a potent fire poison.

Cultivators below Late Qi Cultivation who were stung by such a stinger would, unless they immediately took a specially made second-tier Detoxifying Spirit Pill, die from the burning fire poison within a quarter of an hour, leaving no intact corpse.

This was not the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying thing was that once the population of Poison Fire Scorpions reached hundreds or thousands, there was a certain chance that they would evolve into a third-tier Poison Fire Scorpion King, equivalent to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

The Poison Fire Scorpion King was a third-tier low-grade demonic beast, but with the assistance of a scorpion swarm, it was much more troublesome than many third-tier mid-grade demonic beasts. Even Late Foundation Establishment Cultivators would not dare to claim victory against it.

"That's right. Poison Fire Scorpions prefer heat and have a habit of consuming fire-attribute spirit ores to strengthen themselves. It's not strange for them to be attracted to Crimson Flame Iron, a fire-attribute spirit gold, to breed and settle here."

Zhou Yang recalled the records of the Poison Fire Scorpion demonic beast he had read in the book "Illustrated Guide to Desert Demonic Beasts" and immediately believed Elder Zhou Quan's words.

However, as he thought of this, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he suddenly thought of something more important. He widened his eyes and exclaimed to Elder Zhou Quan:

"Third Grandfather, the Poison Fire Scorpion King is a third-tier demonic beast. Third-tier demonic beasts are incomparable to first and second-tier demonic beasts. When demonic beasts reach the third tier, they must occupy Spirit Veins to continue progressing, just like us cultivators. If there really is a Poison Fire Scorpion King here, doesn't that mean that besides the Crimson Flame Iron Ore Vein, there is also a natural third-tier Spirit Vein underground?"

"Indeed, you are quite perceptive. It took me a long time to realize that after discovering the Poison Fire Scorpion swarm," the old man said, nodding with admiration for Zhou Yang's sharpness.

Most Qi Refining cultivators would be intimidated by the mention of the "Poison Fire Scorpion King" and wouldn't bother thinking about anything else.

Even he, a Ninth Layer Qi Refining cultivator who had lived for over a hundred years, was quite startled when he first saw the dense swarm of Poison Fire Scorpions. He hadn't thought of this at all then.

It was only after retreating to a safe zone and calming down that he, due to his profession as a Beast Tamer, came up with this idea.

Zhou Yang paid no mind to the old man's praise. He had heard similar compliments many times over the years and was immune to them.

What concerned him more was their next course of action, so he couldn't help but look at the old man and ask, "Third Grandfather, what are your plans now? Should we return directly and ask the Old Clan Leader to come personally to investigate the situation, or should we take the risk to investigate ourselves and then report back to the family to inform the Old Clan Leader?"

"What are your thoughts? I want to hear your opinion," Zhou Quan replied, not answering directly but using the question to test Zhou Yang.

Zhou Yang frowned at this and lowered his head in thought.

After thinking quietly for about half an hour, he suddenly looked up, his gaze sharp as he looked at the old man and said, "If Third Grandfather is asking for my opinion, then we shouldn't worry about whether the 'Poison Fire Scorpion King' is there or not. Let's go kill that big rat first. We can't let our Zhou Family miners die in vain, nor can we let our half-month wait yield no tangible rewards."

Ultimately, he still felt guilty towards those miners who had died unjustly and wanted to do something for them. Even if he couldn't save them, he at least wanted to avenge them.

Fortunately, this time, Zhou Quan did not object to his proposal.

"Good, we'll do as you say. We'll go destroy that beast's lair now and skin it and dismember it to appease the souls of the deceased miners!" the old man agreed with a slight nod.

Thus, the two immediately found a sheltered, safe place to settle their two Sand Camel Beasts. Then, guided by Zhou Quan's sensing of the "Blood Spirit Mark's" location, they headed straight for the lair of the escaped "Gold-Eating Rat."

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