Third Grandfather's Advice

The Gold-Eating Rat had thought that after fleeing back to its lair by the Crimson Flame Iron Ore Vein, it could rely on the Poison Fire Scorpion swarm outside for protection, nurse its wounds in peace, and escape disaster.

Unfortunately, it had underestimated the methods of human cultivators—and underestimated Zhou Yang's determination to kill it even more.

Relying on the precise positioning of the Blood Spirit Mark, Zhou Yang and Old Zhou Quan used the Earth Evasion Technique and artifacts to forcibly open a passage into the rat hole fifty or sixty meters underground. Like divine soldiers descending from heaven, they appeared before the Gold-Eating Rat as it slept and nursed its wounds.

Before the giant rat could recover from the shocking turn of events and flee underground, Old Zhou Quan had already used the Finger Points to Steel spell to seal the surrounding earth and stone.

With its greatest means of escape blocked, trapped in the cramped confines of a rat hole, and already severely injured, how could the Gold-Eating Rat possibly survive?

After a desperate final struggle like a trapped beast, the giant rat that had claimed dozens of lives was ultimately smashed alive by Old Zhou Quan's Golden Gourd Great Hammer. Its head burst apart beneath a single blow, dead beyond all doubt.

"Beast, this is the retribution for eating people!"

With a light raise of his hand, the old man recalled the Golden Gourd Great Hammer, now splattered all over with filthy blood. His face dark, he gave the Gold-Eating Rat's head another blow, only stopping after smashing it into several pieces.

Only then did Zhou Yang realize that the old man was not truly cold and heartless, nor did he genuinely disregard the lives of ordinary clan members.

It was simply that the old man had lived for more than a century and had long grown accustomed to life and death. He was able to conceal his emotions well and rarely revealed them.

But isn't this a little too affected? Isn't he putting up paper for decoration, then trying to erect a chastity arch for himself?

Remembering the old man's earlier stern words, Zhou Yang could not help feeling somewhat critical of his actions.

Of course, as a junior, even if he had opinions, he certainly would not—and dared not—voice them.

The hierarchy of age and seniority was the foundation upon which clan powers existed. Though cultivators pursued freedom and immortality, as long as one had not truly attained freedom or reached the realm of immortality, one could not completely disregard those four words.

Moreover, Zhou Yang was still weaker than Old Zhou Quan.

Just as doubts stirred in Zhou Yang's heart, Old Zhou Quan put away his artifact and lightly jerked his chin at him. "Little Nine, you can keep this beast's corpse. Add a few more materials later and ask the Old Clan Leader to refine it. You will surely obtain several fine artifacts."

Zhou Yang froze. He had never expected the old man to say such a thing. Remembering the slanderous thoughts he had just had, he was instantly overwhelmed with shame. His face flushed red as he repeatedly shook his head. "That will not do. Third Grandfather, you killed this creature yourself. How could your grandnephew possibly deserve to accept it?"

"If I tell you to take it, then take it. Third Grandfather is already this old. Even if you gave me a Third-tier Artifact or a Tier 4 Artifact, how many more years could I use it? Besides, you are about to advance to Late Qi Cultivation. Once you reach that stage, if you do not have a few presentable artifacts in hand, how will you win when fighting others?"

Old Zhou Quan glared at Zhou Yang with displeasure, looking as though Zhou Yang's refusal to accept the gift meant he was looking down on him.

Seeing this, Zhou Yang felt even more ashamed. Still, he declined. "Third Grandfather, I appreciate your kindness, but this item is truly too valuable. Your grandnephew is unworthy of it—truly unworthy!"

His expression did not seem feigned, and Old Zhou Quan could not help feeling confused.

What was going on?

Youngsters these days truly were impossible to understand!

The old man stared at Zhou Yang with a puzzled expression for a long while before finally asking, "What makes you unworthy? You and I discovered and hunted this beast together. Even Rogue Cultivators who form teams to hunt demons divide the gains among all who took part. How much more so for you and me?"

What puzzled him most was precisely this. The Zhou Family's discipline was excellent, and its members were united and caring toward one another, but there had never been a rule saying elders could eat the meat while juniors were not even allowed a sip of soup.

The old man had lived for more than a century. He had seen much and dealt with countless cultivators. He could still tell whether someone's expression was sincere or hypocritical.

He could see that the shame on Zhou Yang's face came straight from the heart, without the slightest trace of falsehood.

Yet Zhou Yang naturally could not reveal the things he had just been thinking about the old man. Faced with the old man's questioning gaze, he could only lower his head and remain silent, hoping the matter would pass as soon as possible.

Seeing this, the old man could not press him any further. In the end, he could only say helplessly, "If you truly feel bad about it, then consider this a favor Third Grandfather is leaving in advance for you to look after your second brother in the future!"

Afraid that Zhou Yang would still refuse, the old man immediately used the Earth Evasion Technique and left the rat hole. He hurried away so quickly that anyone unaware of the circumstances might have thought the old man himself felt guilty and did not dare face Zhou Yang.

This outcome was completely beyond Zhou Yang's expectations, leaving him utterly stunned.

Only after a long while did he recover. Then, unable to hold back a bitter smile, he sighed, "So be it, so be it. As the saying goes: when an elder gives, one must not decline. I shall accept this favor from Third Grandfather today, just as he said, and find an opportunity to repay it to Second Brother and the others later."

After putting away the Gold-Eating Rat's corpse, Zhou Yang searched around the rat hole for a while longer and found some droppings the Gold-Eating Rat had left behind.

Gold-Eating Rat droppings were also treasures. Because these creatures naturally loved to devour metal, their droppings sometimes contained special spirit metals that their bodies could not absorb or digest. Adding such special spirit metals when refining certain artifacts could slightly increase the success rate, and they were also excellent materials for repairing damaged artifacts.

In the Gold-Eating Rat nest at the Fine Iron Ore Vein earlier, Zhou Yang had collected quite a bit of dung produced after the rats devoured Fine Iron Ore. Now, he had collected more droppings left after they consumed Crimson Flame Iron.

Once he returned and used the Artifact Forging Art to extract the special spirit metals from these droppings, they would surely prove immensely useful when refining second-tier or even Third-tier Artifacts in the future.

After scouring the rat hole clean as though scraping three feet off the ground, Zhou Yang soon used the Earth Evasion Technique to return to the surface and rejoined Old Zhou Quan, who had been waiting above.

"Little Nine, you said earlier that you wanted to kill the Gold-Eating Rat. Now that this demon has died, what do you plan to do next?"

When the old man saw Zhou Yang emerge, his gaze briefly flicked toward the bulging Storage Bag at Zhou Yang's waist before he brought up the earlier test again.

"What should we do next? Didn't Third Grandfather already make up his mind?"

Zhou Yang looked at the surprised old man, a confident smile appearing on his face as he spoke the plan already in the old man's heart.

"Whether there is a third-tier Poison Fire Scorpion King here or not, several hundred Poison Fire Scorpions are not something the two of us can handle. Since that is the case, why should we risk investigating whether there is a Poison Fire Scorpion King? Naturally, we should first return to Qingping Mountain. Third Grandfather can report what happened to the Old Clan Leader, and the Old Clan Leader can decide the matter."

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Applause rang out. Old Zhou Quan looked at Zhou Yang with a pleased expression as he clapped and sincerely praised, "Well said! Worthy indeed of being the Zhou Family Prodigy personally proclaimed by the Old Clan Leader. I had long heard of your reputation for early wisdom, Little Nine, but only today did I learn that you are not merely precocious. You possess strategy in your breast, know when to advance and retreat, and understand what is light and what is heavy. Looking across the cultivators of the Zhou Family's Xuan and Yuan generations, there are absolutely no more than three who can compare to you in judging the situation!"

After saying that, the old man's expression turned solemn as he looked seriously at Zhou Yang. "That is right. What I had in mind was indeed exactly as you said, Little Nine. Today, I will give you a piece of advice. Whenever you encounter a situation where opportunity and danger coexist, unless you have a reason that leaves you no choice but to gamble, you must restrain all greed and curiosity. In all things, preserving your own life must come first. Remember this: only when a person is alive is an opportunity truly an opportunity. Once a person is dead, no matter how good the opportunity is, it has nothing to do with him!"

"Your grandnephew will remember Third Grandfather's advice in his heart. Thank you, Third Grandfather, for your guidance."

Zhou Yang respectfully bowed to the old man, thanking him for the advice.

Though he had long understood this principle, the old man's advice was not only golden words distilled from a lifetime of experience—it also contained an elder's deep love for a junior. That affection alone was something he had to thank him for.

Old Zhou Quan calmly accepted the bow. Then, as if he had thought of something, he let out a complicated sigh.

"It is good that you remember. The Zhou Family will depend on juniors like you in the future. We old men have grown old. All we can do now is pass on these insights and experiences, bought with our lives, and hope that on your path of cultivation, you will take fewer of the detours we once took. Do not be like those uncles and granduncles of yours who died in their prime, throwing away their lives early upon those winding roads!"

Hearing this, Zhou Yang knew the old man was speaking from emotion, having remembered the Zhou Family members who had died violent deaths over the years.

The Boundless Sea of Sand was fraught with dangers. There were not only natural disasters and demon beasts, but also man-made calamities.

The vast sea of sand held countless oases. Aside from Cultivation Families like the Zhou Family, which occupied an oasis for cultivation, many smaller oases unsuitable for supporting large populations were occupied by solitary Rogue Cultivators.

These Rogue Cultivators lacked the systematic cultivation inheritances, artifact-refining inheritances, and alchemy inheritances of Family Cultivators and sect cultivators. Nor did they receive sect benefits or family benefits. If they wanted talismans and pills, spirit stones and artifacts, they could only hunt demon beasts or gather spirit herbs, then bring them to cultivator marketplaces and sell them to shops opened by Cultivation Families and sects.

Where there was trade, there was naturally killing.

Hunting demon beasts and gathering spirit herbs could be exchanged for spirit stones and pills. Killing cultivators could obtain the same things as well.

Thus, many Rogue Cultivators simply formed gangs and became sand bandits in the sea of sand, engaging in ventures requiring no capital. They specialized in slaughtering other cultivators and plundering their wealth to aid their own cultivation.

Some particularly capable Rogue Cultivators even deliberately left spirit treasures in the desert and set traps, then spread news of the treasures everywhere, waiting for cultivators who thought they had stumbled upon an opportunity to deliver themselves to the door.

And in the vast sea of sand, as long as one cleaned up properly afterward—or hid in some unknown small oasis after succeeding—no one would know who the culprit was. Even if they did know, finding them would be difficult.

There had been thirteen cultivators of the Zhou Family's "Guang" generation and eighteen of the "Xuan" generation recorded in the genealogy. Yet only eighteen of them remained alive now!

Of the thirteen who had vanished, aside from three who had accidentally died in the jaws of demon beasts, the other ten had disappeared without a trace while leaving the Lineage to carry out family missions or venture out on travels. Not even their bones could be found.

Compared to impoverished Rogue Cultivators, Family Cultivators and sect cultivators with substantial wealth were sometimes even more likely to become targets for such villains.

For this reason, the Zhou Family, like many Cultivation Families, had specifically established family rules: any Family Cultivator who had not reached Late Qi Cultivation was absolutely forbidden from leaving the Lineage alone to travel and seek adventure.

Having lived for more than a century, Old Zhou Quan had naturally encountered many assassination attempts by Rogue Cultivators and endured many traps and temptations. The fact that he had survived until now meant his hands had also been stained with many lives.

Therefore, there was not the slightest exaggeration in his claim that these insights and experiences had been summed up with his life.

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