Third Grandfather's Request

The [Gold-Eating Rat] is a highly aggressive Demonic Beast. Although Zhou Quan and Zhou Yang, the two humans present, didn't possess weak auras, they didn't project an insurmountable danger to it. Consequently, the beast was quite annoyed by these two individuals disturbing its meal and had no intention of letting them go easily.

After its initial attack on Zhou Yang was automatically blocked by the [Silver Gang Shield] protecting its master, this cunning Demonic Beast hid for about half an hour before launching another assault.

This time, the [Gold-Eating Rat]'s target was the elder Zhou Quan. The elder had deliberately retracted his protective golden aura to lure it out, making the beast believe it had found an opportunity.

However, the battle-hardened elder Zhou Quan was no novice like Zhou Yang, who had only recently descended the mountain. As soon as the beast pounced from its hiding spot in the cave wall, it was immediately knocked to the ground by a flying round shield.

Then, just as it was startled and attempted to burrow and escape again, a golden light suddenly shot from the elder Zhou Quan's fingers, swiftly disappearing into the ground of the mine.

Instantly, the ground within a radius of tens of meters became as hard as steel under the golden light's effect, instantly trapping half of the [Gold-Eating Rat]'s body in the ground as it tried to burrow away.

"What a great opportunity!"

Neither Zhou Yang nor the elder Zhou Quan had expected the "Finger Points to Steel" technique to produce the effect of "Draw Ground as Prison." Both of their eyes lit up, and they launched their subsequent attacks almost simultaneously.

The elder Zhou Quan raised his hand and beckoned. The head of the Golden Gourd Great Hammer instantly swelled to the size of a water vat and smashed down fiercely, like Mount Tai crushing down, onto the [Gold-Eating Rat] trapped on the ground.

Remembering the elder's earlier words, Zhou Yang did not unleash his artifact. Instead, he used the Tier 2 spell "Fire Serpent Technique," which he had painstakingly cultivated for years.

He quickly formed a hand seal and pointed, summoning a fiery python several meters long that lunged towards the [Gold-Eating Rat].

The Old Clan Leader had said that the [Blazing Sun Fiery Art] he cultivated was adept at combat, and it wasn't an empty boast. The "Fire Serpent Technique," a common Tier 2 spell, released through his hands, possessed at least double the power of the same spell cast by an ordinary Qi Refining Layer Six cultivator.

Rumble—

After a series of earth-shattering explosions, a significant portion of the entire mine tunnel collapsed due to the combined strike of Zhou Quan and Zhou Yang, the grandfather and grandson. The incident visibly paled their faces.

They had been so focused on eliminating the Demonic Beast that they had forgotten they were currently tens of meters underground. If the mine tunnel truly collapsed, the immense pressure from the mud and sand would be something neither of them, as mere Qi Refining Stage cultivators, could withstand. A Golden Core Stage cultivator might have been able to handle it.

"Quick, let's retreat first."

After his face paled, the elder Zhou Quan immediately made the decision to temporarily withdraw. He didn't even have time to retrieve his Golden Gourd Great Hammer artifact. He grabbed the still-shaken Zhou Yang and pulled him along the mine tunnel, retreating from the dangerous area.

Compared to eliminating the Demonic Beast, preserving Zhou Yang, the genius disciple of the Zhou Family, was naturally more important.

The two retreated dozens of meters until they were near the mine tunnel's exit before stopping.

They waited for a while longer until the tremors from underground completely subsided. Then, the elder Zhou Quan strictly ordered Zhou Yang to wait above while he went down alone to assess the situation.

A short while later, the elder Zhou Quan returned from his inspection, but he came back empty-handed.

"That beast is lucky; it managed to escape heavily wounded!" Facing Zhou Yang's questioning gaze, the elder Zhou Quan grumbled with a look of disappointment, explaining the situation.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yang sighed regretfully, "It's indeed a shame. Such a Tier 2 High-grade Demonic Beast is not commonly seen here. If we could have captured it and skinned it to present to the Old Clan Leader, several more Tier 2 High-grade artifacts could have been refined from it!"

His words, however, only made the elder Zhou Quan's expression turn even more displeased.

The elder had initially intended to showcase his strength to his grand-nephew, to show this young man that despite his age, he was still a formidable force and not to be treated like the frail and dying mortals confined to their homes.

The current outcome left the elder understandably furious.

"This matter is not over. The [Gold-Eating Rat] is a vengeful creature. We have severely wounded it here this time. Once its injuries heal, it will definitely come back to hunt humans. Next time, we will prepare the relevant treasures in advance and make sure to kill it, skin it, and dismember it!" the elder declared with deep resentment.

Hearing the elder's words, Zhou Yang's heart tightened. If the [Gold-Eating Rat] truly sought revenge as the elder claimed, would the mine still be operational?

The family had assigned him to guard Qingping Mountain, with the primary responsibility of protecting this Fine Iron Ore Vein. If mining ceased due to the Demonic Beast, the loss would be in the form of glittering Spirit Stones!

His change in expression was evident, and the elder Zhou Quan immediately understood his concerns. He couldn't help but offer words of comfort, "Little Nine, rest assured. I will explain this matter to the clan for you. The [Gold-Eating Rat] is a Tier 2 High-grade Demonic Beast, which is beyond your current capabilities. No one will look down on you for this."

"Thank you for your guidance, Third Grandfather. However, your grand-nephew still has a question. Our Zhou Family has been mining this Fine Iron Ore Vein for decades. Although many desert Demonic Beasts have been attracted by human auras to attack miners before, no one has ever discovered a Demonic Beast like the [Gold-Eating Rat]."

"Moreover, the [Gold-Eating Rat] from earlier was clearly an adult Demonic Beast. If it had been active in this Fine Iron Ore Vein before, it should not have remained completely undetected."

Zhou Yang looked at the elder with a puzzled expression, slowly articulating the question that had occurred to him.

He knew the elder was a Tier 2 Beast Tamer. In terms of understanding Demonic Beasts, no one in the Zhou Family, except for the Old Clan Leader, could compare to this centenarian.

"Hmm, what you say is indeed true. [Gold-Eating Rats] typically like to nest and breed in metal ore veins. Our Zhou Family has been mining this Fine Iron Ore for decades. If there were [Gold-Eating Rats] in the vein, the family elders who surveyed the vein back then, and my elder brother Zhou Qian, should not have failed to discover them. Unless..."

"Unless it migrated here recently!"

The grandfather and grandson exclaimed almost simultaneously, then exchanged glances, their eyes filled with joy.

"That's right. To my knowledge, for a [Gold-Eating Rat] to advance to Tier 3, it needs to consume a large amount of metals of different attributes. That escaped beast must have recently migrated here from another ore vein!"

The elder Zhou Quan excitedly tugged at his beard, his eyes shining as he repeatedly exclaimed.

Zhou Yang was no less excited. As soon as the elder finished speaking, his face flushed, and he repeatedly nodded, "Since Third Grandfather says so, it must be true. I just wonder how far away that original ore vein of the [Gold-Eating Rat] is. If it's not far, perhaps our Zhou Family will strike it rich again!"

It was no wonder the two were so happy. Ever since the founding of the Zhou Family by the ancestor Zhou Yuquan, a family rule had been established.

That rule stated that any Zhou Family disciple who discovered an unclaimed ore vein or natural spirit vein in the Boundless Sea of Sand and reported it to the family would receive a ten percent share of the output as a bonus once the family occupied and developed the resource. This bonus would continue until the discoverer passed away or the ore vein's resources were depleted.

If their current speculation about the [Gold-Eating Rat] migrating from a nearby, undiscovered ore vein proved true, then all they had to do was find that vein, report its location to the family, and they could then live off the dividends for the rest of their lives.

Under such circumstances, how could the two not be elated?

However, as cultivators who had been practicing for many years, despite their inner joy, they did not jump and skip like ordinary mortals. They still needed to maintain their composure as cultivators.

Moreover, at this point, everything was still their speculation and had not been truly confirmed.

However, just as Zhou Yang calmed himself down and began to consider how to search for the potential ore vein, the elder Zhou Quan beside him suddenly looked at him with a hesitant expression and said in a low voice, "Well, Little Nine, how about we make a deal?"

"Please speak, Third Grandfather." Zhou Yang replied reflexively, then looked up at the elder with surprise. This was not the tone of an elder speaking to a junior.

His gaze made the elder's face flush, and a flicker of shame crossed his eyes. However, he gritted his teeth and said, "If we really discover an ore vein, I can give this credit entirely to you, allowing you to enjoy the ten percent dividend alone. Then, you can give three percent of your annual dividend to your second brother."

"This..."

Zhou Yang's expression changed, and he immediately understood what the old man meant.

According to family rules, if multiple people discovered a mine vein simultaneously, they would share that ten percent family dividend. Then, whoever died or passed away would have their share of the dividend reabsorbed by the family.

Elder Zhou Quan was over a hundred years old. Even if Zhou Yang shared that portion of the dividend with him, he wouldn't be able to enjoy it for many years. It was even highly probable that he would pass away before the family could even develop and utilize the mine vein.

However, if Zhou Yang alone took that ten percent dividend, setting aside the high probability of him achieving Foundation Establishment in the future, even if he failed in his Foundation Establishment attempt later on, given his current age of twenty, he could still receive dividends for decades.

Calculating it this way, even if Zhou Yang only gave thirty percent of his annual dividend to his cousin Zhou Bao (Elder Zhou Quan's own grandson), it would still be a massive profit for Elder Zhou Quan's family.

It was just that Elder Zhou Quan's method, strictly speaking, was detrimental to the family's interests. It was a selfish act of prioritizing personal gain over public good, especially since he himself was an Elder of the family.

Elder Zhou Quan clearly knew his actions were not good. Seeing Zhou Yang's expression change drastically and his silence, the shame in his eyes intensified. However, certain beliefs within him still supported him as he continued to speak:

"I know my actions are not good, but Little Nine, you must also be considerate of your second brother. Your second brother only has a low-grade Spiritual Root, and his parents have already passed away. Once I pass away, how difficult will it be for him to support the large family I leave behind by himself? I have lived for over a hundred years and have never done anything to betray the family. This one time, please consider it my plea to you!"

By the end, tears were streaming down the old man's face.

Requesting recommendation votes, requesting to join the new book investment group, sincerely requesting!