Reaping the Fisherman's Profit, Slaughtering Chickens and Dogs

Fang Shu at the precious medicine on the ground, and suddenly a realization dawned on him.

"This place is not a den of poison, but rather a den of medicine. The combination of poison and medicine, yin and yang in balance, perfectly aligns with the feng shui principles mentioned in the Hu Family Treasure Book."

He then examined the poisonous powder permeating the cave and discerned its origins.

The poisonous moss in this cave must have been centered around the precious medicine within, drawing its medicinal power to strengthen itself, while also gathering the surrounding Spiritual Qi and infusing it into the medicine to enhance its efficacy.

The reason why the cave is filled with poisonous powder is because these mosses want to occupy the place and make it easier to poison living things for nutrients.

Fang Shu clicked his tongue inwardly. "The workings of life are truly wondrous. The long-term neglect of the formation here has ironically given these mosses an opportunity."

This also presents an opportunity for him.

Fang Shu wouldn't tolerate the moss. He immediately used his Long-Tongue Sword to pry up all the precious herbs on the ground, even scraping off a few millimeters of the stone wall.

He weighed the object in his hand and found it to be about the size of his palm, a few inches larger than the Lead-Essence Treasure Pearl in the previous cave.

Upon closer inspection, Fang Shu recognized the general category of this precious medicine. Its flesh was like solidified fat, full of vitality, belonging to the Ganoderma family, but it was not the ordinary Ganoderma lucidum or wood Ganoderma, but a flesh Ganoderma, also known as "Taisui".

Upon recognizing the category of the precious medicine, he felt even more joyful.

The fleshy fungus has both yin and yang properties, and is both poisonous and spiritual, resulting in polarized medicinal effects.

The evil one is said to cause illness upon seeing it; the good one is said to have miraculous effects, bringing the dead back to life and healing the wounded, making it an excellent remedy for health and injury.

The clump in Fang Shu was brimming with vitality and hadn't affected his Qi and Blood; it was clearly a "favorable" one among the Taisui.

Just as he was engrossed in examining it, a sudden change occurred inside the medicine cave.

A burst of spiritual light shone brightly in the cave, while the poisonous moss all around frantically spewed out dust, making it difficult to see anything inside for a moment, turning the cave into a hazy, indistinct place.

Fang Shu almost thought that the cave moss was targeting him, trying to increase its toxicity and kill him inside the cave.

But soon he discovered that the poisonous moss around him was not targeting him; it was simply spitting out poison powder, and after spitting out the powder, the poisonous moss itself would suddenly wither.

In just a few breaths, the moss, which had been a deep blue color, faded and lost its vitality, becoming like withered grass.

This made Fang Shu understand.

This is because the precious medicine of the Taisui has been taken away. These mosses have lost the continuous supply of medicinal power, their roots have been severed, and they cannot last long. So they began to frantically spit out powder in an attempt to reproduce themselves.

Whoosh!

The thick poisonous powder, floating in mid-air, began to drift out of the cave.

Soon enough, the monsters guarding outside the cave noticed the commotion inside and cried out in alarm, "Something's wrong! Something's happened to the treasure vault!"

"Immediately inform the boss and that guy surnamed Cao."

"Damn it, why do I feel so dizzy? Yesterday's alcohol really had a strong aftereffect..."

The shouts of the monsters echoed through the air.

Upon hearing Fang Shu, Fang Shu's heart tightened, and he immediately tried to crawl out through the tunnel and leave as quickly as possible.

However, after leaving the cave, he saw a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, which seemed to have been blocked. If he were to rush out along the passage now, he would most likely be walking into a trap.

With a calm mind, he stopped and looked at the densely packed skeletons on the ground.

Fang Shu changed his approach. He had Breath-Holding Insect, and the cave was covered by poisonous powder, so it was better to stay still than to move.

Even if the mine owner surnamed Cao and his gang come looking for us, fighting here is still better than fighting while surrounded by them.

Immediately, Fang Shu gathered the items. He first put the Taisui in a box, affixed Talisman to seal its Spiritual Qi, then dug a hole and buried the box and several second-stage Breath-Holding Insect inside.

As for himself, he burrowed into the skeleton, inhaling the Three-Calamity Breath-Holding Insect, pretending to be dead as well.

After the Fang Shu was removed, the concentration inside the cave increased, and most of the moss in the cave withered.

Before long, hurried footsteps appeared inside the cave, and two figures moved about inside.

The two people on the other end were dressed like beekeepers, and their voices were muffled.

"What happened? Why are all these mosses in the treasure cave dead? Could it be that we took too much medicine last time?"

"I told you long ago, cut less, cut less. The problem is, you cut it all, but you didn't even compensate us for those tinea plants."

If Fang Shu were to open his eyes, he would recognize the two figures; they were none other than the mine owner surnamed Cao and his lackey, the wolf demon.

A human and a demon were making a lot of noise in the cave.

"What can I do? The market has gone crazy lately. They say some wild Immortal cultivator are causing trouble in the town and they're cracking down on some unlicensed cultivators. They're even trying to extort money from me. And we can't afford to lose too many miners either."

"Damn it, I'm not even in town."

Soon, the human and the demon reached the center of the cave. They carefully lifted the moss on the ground to examine the Taisui medicine hidden inside.

As a result, the expressions on the faces of the human and the demon froze, and they looked at each other in bewilderment:

"Where's my huge lump of precious medicine?"

In an instant, the eyes of the human and the demon changed; they stared intently at each other, both filled with suspicion.

"It might not be too late to come back now."

"That's true. Sir, why are you killing the goose that lays the golden eggs? If you keep them here, you can harvest them every month. If you take them all, you'll cut off the roots."

This situation was somewhat unexpected for Fang Shu, who was hiding among the corpses.

The two opponents hadn't even investigated, let alone looked into outsiders or those minor demons, yet they were already suspicious of each other.

To Fang Shu's surprise, two auras surged up in the cave, and it seemed that the wolf demon had made the first move.

The mine owner, surnamed Cao, was furious. "You bastard! I've raised you for so many years, and this is how you repay me?"

The wolf-like demon spoke up, "Old man, I've wanted to take you down for a long time. You've wanted to run away for a long time, haven't you? If you run away, won't we monsters become the scapegoats?"

Bang bang bang!

A surge of Law Power reverberated violently within the thick fog of the cave, interspersed with howls of wolves and other sounds.

Fang Shu was even more astonished by the attack between the human and the demon.

For a moment, he suspected that the two were feigning a fight to lure out the thieves hiding in the shadows.

When he mustered his courage and used the Gold-Seeking Insect on his forehead again to search for the dragon's aura, he discovered that the two auras in the cave had been severely depleted, and one of them was already weak and at a disadvantage.

At the same time, a bloody smell rose up inside the cave, and some moss that had been exposed to this smell immediately stopped withering.

"This human and this demon are really fighting!" Fang Shu thought to himself.

Hehe!

The mine owner, surnamed Cao, lay on the ground, muttering incredulously, "When did you become a Second Tribulation Old Demon, and even reach the pinnacle of cultivation...?"

The wolf demon's shrill voice rang out, coldly replying, "Of course, it's all thanks to you, sir, that it was refined using precious medicine."

These words made the mine owner, surnamed Cao, widen his eyes. He broke out in a cold sweat, first questioning the man with resentment, and then beginning to plead in a low voice.

The wolf demon's laughter rang out:

"Those in charge of the mine are all monsters, you're the only human. It's not difficult for you to do anything."

Hurry up and take your things out, or don't blame me for being impolite!

The mine owner, surnamed Cao, spoke humbly, "It really wasn't me who took it. Spare my life, and I'll let all you monsters leave this place."

Immediately, a chorus of doubts, interspersed with sounds of interrogation and curses, echoed through the cave.

"I've wanted to make a move for a while, but I didn't expect you, with your big, burly build, to get there first!"

"You little bastard! You beast..."

Having witnessed this, Fang Shu's doubts vanished. No matter how good the other party's acting was, he was determined to give it a try.

Taking advantage of the wolf demon's interrogation, he suddenly opened his eyes, then leaped up from the corpse, spitting out Long-Tongue Sword from his mouth.

Slurp!

With a single sound, the Tongue Sword lunged forward, shattering the wolf demon's neck.

Amidst the thick poisonous fog, the wolf demon's ferocious face froze; it could hardly believe that someone could be hiding so silently in such a poisonous abyss.

The demon's throat throbbed as it struggled to breathe, but the poison powder seeped in, and it died even faster than Fang Shu had anticipated.

The blood spurting from its neck was absorbed by the moss on the ground, and more moss spread and grew, locking it to the ground.

However, Fang Shu did not waste the demon's corpse. He flicked his Tongue Sword, and Tongue Sword pierced into the demon's body, plundering all its Treasure Blood.

This sudden scene stunned the mine owner, surnamed Cao, who was lying on the ground.

In a flash, the man immediately realized that someone was indeed watching him.

Startled, he had no time for regret and hurriedly exclaimed, "Well done! Thank you, brave warrior, for killing this master-devouring wolf demon. I have money and provisions to offer you..."

This fellow spoke fluently, promising a host of benefits, and even added, "I'm willing to share this mine with you, brave warrior, and will mine for you every month."

To be honest, this guy surnamed Cao first promised huge profits, and then used the promise of a steady stream of mining income to lure people in; he really managed to fool quite a few people.

However, Fang Shu's trip was only to make quick money, and he would soon be participating in the Immortal Sect selection. The idea of a steady, long-term approach held no appeal for him.

"Oh, tell me again?" Fang Shu said.

The mine owner, surnamed Cao, was overjoyed.

But then—with a hiss!

The Long-Tongue Sword, having drunk its fill of the wolf demon's Essence Blood, pierced through the throat of the mine owner surnamed Cao with another flick of its wrist. The thick stench of blood made the moss in the cave restless.

Thus, the demon and the human were easily killed by Fang Shu, the "fisherman," and both died in this treasure cave.

Having dealt with the human and the demon, Fang Shu himself was momentarily stunned. The matter had gone extremely smoothly; killing these two Immortal cultivator was as easy as slaughtering chickens and dogs.

Unbeknownst to me, he has grown to such a level.

Fang Shu quickly realized what was happening.

Such people, who gather because of treasure and then fight amongst themselves because of it, are as fragile as chickens and dogs; they will scatter at the first kill. Moreover, he also has the treasure worm, so he is in the dark while his enemy is in the light.

Having dealt with the mine owner, Fang Shu's eyes flickered.

He looked around, his thoughts instantly shifting from this treasure cave to the entire mine.