An Unexpected Joy

Xiao Ling looked at the Purple Sable King, which had already revealed its form and was staring at him with fury. Without a word, he took a single step and instantly appeared before the beast.

This startled the Purple Sable King, causing it to recoil out of pure reflex.

But it was no match for Xiao Ling's speed. A Bagua seal manifested in his right palm, and with a flash of lightning, he struck it onto the beast's forehead before it could even react.

The Purple Sable King was instantly frozen in place, and Xiao Ling grabbed it by the neck. Watching the creature struggle in his grip, Xiao Ling wore a satisfied smile and muttered to himself.

"System, how much lifespan can I plunder from a Da Dou Shi level magic beast?"

[Ding, this cannot be estimated. Does the host wish to plunder its lifespan?]

"That..."

Just as Xiao Ling was about to speak, he was interrupted by a voice that suddenly echoed in his mind.

"Spare me... Master, please spare me..."

Xiao Ling: "???"

He looked at the Purple Sable King in surprise. Logically, a Tier 3 magic beast shouldn't possess such intelligence, let alone a low-tier beast like a purple sable.

"Could it be... there is a treasure here?"

But when had his luck ever been this good?

Why didn't he have such good luck when he came out last time?

Xiao Ling looked at the Purple Sable King in his hand, which was bowing repeatedly to beg for mercy. He decided to scare the creature first, and after he got his hands on the treasure, he would decide how to handle it...

"Master, please spare me..."

The Purple Sable King looked at the white-clad youth in terror, its two small front paws bowing incessantly in an attempt to beg for its life.

It had only just gained sentience, and it hadn't even left the Magic Beast Mountain Range yet; it didn't want to die.

"Do you have any value? If not, then go die."

Xiao Ling's words were blunt, as there was no need to mince them. These magic beasts only believed in the law of the jungle; one had to be direct with them to instill fear.

"Va... value? Ma... Master, what is value?"

"???"

Xiao Ling looked at the blank expression on the Purple Sable King and felt a shift in his heart: It seems this creature's intelligence isn't high; it's only equivalent to a human child of three or five years old.

It seems I wasn't direct enough!

Several thoughts flashed through his mind as Xiao Ling looked coldly at the beast and threatened it.

"I'll give you two choices. First, offer me the treasure that gave you sentience, and I might spare your life. Otherwise, I will leave you without a corpse."

Hearing this, the Purple Sable King's tiny eyes flickered with terror. This time it understood; the human wanted its treasure, or else he would kill it. It hurriedly replied.

"Master, please spare me... I will take you there right now."

Watching the little creature bowing repeatedly, Xiao Ling said in a flat tone.

"As long as you behave, once I obtain the treasure, I will definitely 'let' you go."

"As long as Master... spares my life, I will offer all the treasures to you."

The Purple Sable King quickly promised.

Seeing this, Xiao Ling nodded with satisfaction. To him, this harvest was an unexpected joy. As for whether he would let it go, that would depend on whether the treasure was worth more than its life.

At this moment, Kagang and the others had finished collecting the spoils and quickly gathered toward them. Everyone looked at the white-clad youth with a sense of respect for the strong.

"Brother Ling Xiao, should we head back now or check the next den?"

Hearing this, Xiao Ling dangled the Purple Sable King by the back of its neck, turned to look at Kagang and the others, and smiled.

"No need. Brother Kagang, come with me. Mo Yang, you lead the men to guard the valley."

With that, Xiao Ling carried the Purple Sable King toward the depths of the valley. Following the beast's guidance, the two soon arrived at its lair.

The cave before them was very tidy and lacked the pungent odor of beasts, clearly showing that the little creature was quite clean.

"Ma... Master, the treasure is underground. There is a passage beneath my bed that leads straight down..."

Seeing the white-clad youth looking at it, the Purple Sable King hurriedly replied via telepathy.

Xiao Ling nodded slightly and raised his hand, using a Sword Finger to blast the stone bed into pieces. This scene terrified the Purple Sable King, its tiny pupils filled with fear.

It breathed a secret sigh of relief; fortunately, it had told the truth, otherwise...

Seeing the creature's reaction, Xiao Ling knew it hadn't lied, so he grabbed it and led the way toward the hole he had blasted open.

To the side, Kagang looked at the hole and guessed that there must be a treasure inside.

However, he was smart enough not to ask, instead looking at the back of the white-clad youth.

"Brother Ling Xiao, I won't go in. I'll keep watch here for you."

Xiao Ling was about to explain, but he was interrupted.

"Master, he really can't go down. There is a natural barrier below; if you aren't at least Tier 2, you can't enter."

Hearing the voice ring out in his mind, Xiao Ling swallowed the words he was about to say and spoke instead.

"Since that's the case, then I'll have to trouble you, brother Kagang. Once I obtain the treasure, if it's useful to me, I'll compensate you with other items of equal value. If it's useless, then we'll distribute it according to the old rules."

Having said that, Xiao Ling didn't give the other party a chance to respond and walked directly down the steps at the cave entrance.

Seeing this, Kagang smiled helplessly, a hint of gratitude appearing in his eyes. He had no unrealistic expectations regarding the treasure; after all, if it weren't for the other party, he would have already lost his life.

On the other side, Xiao Ling continued walking down the stone steps. In the time it took, at his speed, he had traveled at least several dozen meters, yet he still hadn't reached his destination.

According to what the Purple Sable King had said, there were about three hundred meters of stone steps.

He had to admit that the treasures on the Dou Qi Continent were truly abundant.

But what made him curious was that with such rich resources, they hadn't encountered an invasion from the Outer Realm Evil Clan; it was simply a miracle.

As Xiao Ling continued to walk downward, the sound of dripping water gradually began to appear all around him, which made his entire spirit perk up. He knew he was almost there.

I hope that treasure can be of use to me, he thought to himself. Turning a corner, the view before him suddenly opened up.

Within his line of sight appeared a massive cavern world. Huge stalactites, dozens to hundreds of meters long, hung from the rock walls above, so dense that he couldn't see the end of them. The sound of dripping water was merely the sound of streams falling from the stalactites.

"This..."

Gazing at the underground world before him, it took a long while for Xiao Ling to regain his senses. He looked at the Purple Sable King in his hand, his tone softening considerably.

"Take me to the place that allowed you to gain intelligence. As long as I can obtain it, I will let you go."

"Ji ji..."

The Purple Sable King chirped happily twice and extended a small claw, pointing in a certain direction. Seeing this, Xiao Ling immediately dashed toward that side, adjusting his direction multiple times along the way.

Only after passing a massive stalactite that had been weathered for who knows how long did he stop.

He halted before a pool of milky-white liquid shimmering with a lustrous glow.