I tamed beasts and achieved immortality in the world of cultivation.

Chapter 133 Golden Scale Treasure-Seeking Insect and Silver Marrow Fruit

'

Chen Qing's lips twitched slightly.

They were just cannon fodder.

The kind of cannon fodder where one general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand.

Song Yang clearly understood as well, and snorted coldly: "No wonder these rogue cultivators are so fearless; they're used to being used as pawns."

"Stop talking nonsense, take care of these eight first." Fang Yuan changed his hand seals, and the Mountain King suddenly sprang out from underground, knocking a rogue cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Refining to the ground with a single claw.

Chen Qing stopped thinking about it and activated his spiritual power. Qingtian and Danyu rushed into the battle one after the other, while Yinyue pretended to be a "mid-grade wolf" and kept watch from the side.

In an instant, flashes of inspiration intertwined, beastly roars shook the heavens, and chaos reigned.

Inside the cave.

The burly, bearded man Jin Yue and the scholar in blue robes Qin Ziyou rushed into the depths of the cave one after the other. In a hollow covered with dry grass, they saw three furry golden tiger cubs huddled together.

Each one was only the size of a house cat, with shallow "king" lines on their foreheads and their eyes not yet fully open. They were whimpering and burrowing under each other's bellies.

"There really are three cubs!"

Jin Yue's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and his breathing became heavier.

He suppressed his overwhelming joy, made a hand seal, and three pale gray beams of light flew from his fingertips, entering the bodies of the three cubs respectively.

The three tiger cubs didn't even utter a sound before collapsing unconscious. Jin Yue swiftly took out his spirit beast pouch and put all three cubs inside. Only then did he let out a long breath, and the fat on his face relaxed a bit.

"Brother Jin is indeed cautious," Qin Ziyou said with a smile from the side.

"A guaranteed second-tier bloodline. If I'm not careful, am I just waiting for someone to steal it?" Jin Yue's hands didn't stop moving as he pulled out another golden beetle from his pocket.

The beetle was no bigger than a fist, with a round, bead-like shell and two antennae about the thickness of a finger.

At this moment, it was buzzing softly, and its two tentacles trembled slightly towards the depths of the cave, as if stirring some kind of ripples in the air that were invisible to the naked eye.

Jin Yue focused his mind and sensed for a moment, when a flash of wild joy suddenly appeared in his eyes—the joy came and went very quickly, and he suppressed it in the blink of an eye, his face returning to its rough and honest appearance.

He turned to Qin Ziyou and said, "Old Qin, my spirit insect sensed something. There's a wind moving in that direction, so there's probably another way out of this cave. Let's go around that way and avoid those plague gods from Beast Taming Peak at the cave entrance."

Qin Ziyou glanced in the direction the beetle's antennae in Jin Yue's hand were pointing, nodded, and showed no doubt on his face.

He naturally knew the abilities of this golden-scaled treasure-hunting insect.

Although this insect is not of high rank, it is naturally extremely sensitive to fluctuations in spiritual energy around it. Any unusual movement of spiritual energy within a radius of several thousand miles cannot escape the detection of its two antennae. The reason why they were able to find this secluded tiger's den in the Myriad Beasts Secret Realm and detect Chen Qing and his group as they approached was entirely due to this inconspicuous little creature.

"Walk!"

Without further hesitation, the two of them ventured one after the other into a narrow side passage deep within the cave.

Qin Ziyou led the way, carrying a moonstone in his hand. Jin Yue followed three steps behind, one hand on the axe handle at his waist, the other holding the golden-scaled treasure-hunting insect.

The insects chirped softly, their antennae trembling incessantly.

Jin Yue glanced down at the spirit insect in his palm, then looked up at Qin Ziyou's unguarded back in front of him, a subtle hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.

Less than half a cup of tea's time after the two left, four beams of light filed into the cave from outside.

"These rogue cultivators, they're quick on their feet!"

Song Yang kicked away the pebbles at his feet and looked around, cursing.

Just now, a few of the eight rogue cultivators who were quick-witted realized that their leader had disappeared. They immediately turned red with anger, cursed loudly, and scattered and fled.

There were two hotheads, who seemed to be missing a screw in their heads, and they fought to the death. In the end, one was smashed to pieces by Qingtian's punch, and the other was roasted into charcoal by Fang Yuan's Crimson Fire Python.

Fang Yuan chuckled, a cold glint in his eyes: "It's alright. There's a huge creature heading this way from the direction those guys fled. Judging by the commotion, it's most likely the Golden Tiger King has returned. If they ran into it, they're probably already dead."

"Golden Tiger King?" Song Yang's expression changed slightly.

Chen Qing, however, remained calm.

He had noticed earlier that the burly man with the bushy beard was about to say a few more words, but after hearing what the scholar in the blue robe said, he immediately took action. At that time, he guessed that one or two demonic beasts had probably escaped.

Sure enough, a deafening tiger roar came from outside the cave the next second.

The roar was as loud as thunder, shaking the entire cave and causing rocks to fall from the cave walls with a crackling sound. Just by hearing its power, one could imagine how furious the tiger king was.

The expressions of Chen Qing and the other three changed simultaneously.

Fang Yuan quickly made a hand seal with his right hand, and the Spirit-Seeking Rat's ears stood up, its nose twitched wildly, and after circling the ground twice, it darted into the depths of the cave.

"Keep up!"

The four filed in.

at the same time.

Deep underground, in a vast underground space.

Qin Ziyou crawled out of a narrow crevice in the rock, straightened up, and was about to catch his breath when the suddenly open view in front of him made him freeze in place.

This is an extremely spectacular underground cavern.

The dome hangs high, about several tens of feet above, with a natural rift above it through which sunlight pours down, illuminating a lake in the center of the space. The lake water is crystal clear, and in the center of the lake rises a small island with a lone, low-lying tree growing on it.

-

The sapling was only about three feet tall, entirely silvery-white, with branches that coiled like silver snakes and leaves that resembled carved jade.

And among the branches and leaves, three fist-sized fruits were hanging prominently.

The fruit is shaped like a peach or plum, with a faint white glow on its skin. A unique fragrance permeates the entire underground space. Just a whiff of it makes one feel completely comfortable, and even increases the speed of one's spiritual energy circulation.

"This is a Silver Marrow Fruit?!"

Incredulous light flashed in Qin Ziyou's eyes, and his lips trembled slightly.

Silver Marrow Fruit is one of the eighteen spiritual items required to refine Foundation Establishment Pills, and like the Ice Heart Lotus, it is one of the most precious ones!

Even without refining the pill, simply swallowing one can cleanse the marrow and instantly increase one's cultivation by two years.

"Brother Jin! We're going to be rich!" Qin Ziyou turned around with a face full of joy, wanting to call out to Jin Yue, the burly man with a bushy beard, behind him.

However, what awaited him was a gleaming, cold-looking axe.

The axe blade pierced through the protective aura, and warm blood gushed from the gash in his chest. Qin Ziyou staggered back several steps.

Qin Ziyou looked down at the hole in his chest, then looked up at the all-too-familiar face in front of him, his eyes filled with disbelief and deep bewilderment.

"Brother Jin—you—"

Jin Yue slowly released the axe handle, a complex smile appearing on his face: "Old Qin, we've known each other for over thirty years, have you forgotten how we first met?"

Qin Ziyou's self-awareness began to fade, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Jin Yue continued speaking to himself: "Back in Huanfeng Ridge, you personally pushed your fellow disciple into the Demon Serpent's Cave for half a bottle of pills. I happened to be passing by and saw it all. That's when I knew that you, Qin Ziyou, were the same kind of person as me. That's why I sought you out and have been your brother for so many years."

"You're good at everything, ruthless, decisive, and meticulous in everything you do."

"But since you're this kind of person, why should I expect you to show me any loyalty or affection?"

"Moreover, with a Foundation Establishment spiritual treasure right before us, it's truly—" Jin Yue gestured with his chin towards the spiritual tree on the island in the lake, "My Golden Scale Treasure-Seeking Insect has already discovered the Silver Marrow Fruit here. With each additional person, I'll have one less, not to mention the three golden tiger cubs. If you were me, what would you choose?"

Qin Ziyou gave a bitter laugh, making a hoarse sound in his throat: "How hateful—how hateful that I always—treated you—as a true brother—"

As soon as he finished speaking, his body fell straight forward and died.

Jin Yue stared at the corpse on the ground, a hint of reluctance flashing deep in his eyes, but it was only for a moment.

The next second, he extinguished that trace of reluctance, and his face returned to its cold, hard state.

at the same time.

The golden-scaled treasure-hunting insect emitted another urgent low chirp, and more than one spiritual energy fluctuation was rapidly approaching from the vicinity.

Jin Yue frowned, then flew towards the small island in the middle of the lake on a large flying axe. He landed on the island in the blink of an eye, and with trembling hands, he picked the three silver marrow fruits and carefully put them into a jade box before letting out a long sigh of relief.

Carefully putting away the jade box, Jin Yue looked up at the crack above his head—the sky was bright, and as long as he could fly out, the sky was the limit.

however.

Just as he activated his flying axe and his figure shot into the air—

A white shadow, like a bolt of lightning, shot out from the crevice in the rock and hovered steadily directly below the crack.

It was a six-foot-long red-crowned crane, pure white with a faint glow at the tips of its wings. Its long neck was slightly raised, and its pair of bright black eyes looked down at him.

His eyes were full of aloofness and disdain.

Dan Yu opened its long beak, and a blazing white pillar of flame roared out, heading straight down on Jin Yue's head!

Jin Yue's pupils contracted sharply, and he barely managed to dodge to the side. The white flame grazed his shoulder, and although it didn't hit him directly, the aftershock still burned large scorch marks on his robes, and his shoulder burned with pain.

He had to stumble back to the island, a chill running through him.

Oh no!

Those idiots outside couldn't hold back these few people from Beast Taming Peak; all his calculations were in vain!

In the next instant, four beams of light shot out from the crevice of the rock, and four figures and a dozen spirit beasts appeared in the sky above the lake, forming a semi-circle that completely blocked all his escape routes.

The round-faced cultivator in the blue robe, standing on the flying boat, was surveying the small island below and the bare, silvery-white dwarf tree on it with an almost indifferent gaze.

Then, Fang Yuan looked down at Qin Ziyou, who was lying dead on the ground. He lowered his head and said coldly, "Brother Jin, is that right? Your brother is dead. Now it's your turn."

2