Beast Taming Immortal Clan

Chapter 286 Earth Armor Dragon, Cave Dwelling [Please Subscribe]

Should Lin Hongyu be brought to Yangguo to mine the "Tuyuan Crystal Jade" vein?

When Zhou Mingde heard Zhou Chun's statement, he was slightly taken aback.

His eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but clap his hands and exclaim, "Brilliant! This plan is brilliant!"

Because of Zhou Daoyi's strong opposition, Zhou Mingde always deeply regretted not being able to invite Lin Hongyu into the Zhou family.

And he never gave up trying to persuade Zhou Daoyi and Lin Hongyu to become Daoist partners.

However, Zhou Chun's words made him suddenly realize that perhaps the only way to get Lin Hongyu into the Zhou family was to have her become a Daoist couple with Zhou Daoyi.

Clearly, the allure of achieving the Golden Core stage was far greater for Lin Hongyu than becoming a Daoist partner with Zhou Daoyi.

If Lin Hongyu could possess this [Earth Element Crystal Jade] mine, her path to Core Formation would undoubtedly be much smoother.

Therefore, even joining the Zhou family and becoming a guest elder would not be a big deal.

"That's settled! It's decided!"

Without much hesitation, Zhou Mingde quickly made the decision.

Then he and Zhou Chun conducted a detailed exploration of the reserves of this [Earth Element Crystal Jade] vein.

After this exploration, the two were basically certain that it was a small mineral vein.

Although it is only a small mine, the value of the entire mine is no less than that of the Mystic Crystal Mine in the Wilderness due to the preciousness of the Earth Elemental Jade.

If Lin Hongyu can truly hold onto this mine firmly in her hands in the future, she will have a real chance to break through to the Golden Core stage by relying on the output of this mine.

"Let's leave it at that for now. We'll deal with the rest after the insect plague is eradicated!"

In the mountains, Zhou Mingde looked at the cave entrance that had been filled and sealed again, and gently clapped his hands, saying to Zhou Chun beside him.

In all things, one must distinguish between primary and secondary matters.

Eliminating the insect infestation remains the top priority.

As long as the insect plague is not eradicated, Yang Kingdom cannot be considered a safe place, and the mining of the [Earth Element Crystal Jade] vein will naturally be out of the question.

After inspecting the scene and confirming that there were no problems, Zhou Chun and Zhou Mingde continued their search for something to subdue the demonic insects within the territory of Yang Kingdom.

Within seven days, the two members of the Zhou family had traveled to almost every part of Yang Kingdom that had been ravaged by the insect plague.

During this time, they did find some things that could restrain the demonic insects, so it wasn't a complete loss.

Even though they hadn't tried it yet, the two knew in their hearts that the things they found probably wouldn't be of much use.

So the two of them had Zhou Jiawei use what they found to study insecticides while they continued to wander around Yang Kingdom, hoping to make more discoveries.

On this day, Zhou Chun and Zhou Mingde, referring to the map of Yang Kingdom obtained from the market, arrived at a rare plain within the territory of Yang Kingdom.

It is said that the insect plague initially broke out on this plain, and the millions of ordinary people who originally lived on this plain were devoured by the insect swarm in less than half a month, which was truly horrifying.

Now this plain has been burned to the ground, and most of the cities where ordinary people once lived have become ruins.

The desolate and dilapidated scene was heartbreaking to see.

It's unimaginable how desperate those mortals who died in the insect plague must have felt before they died!

He watched helplessly as he was devoured by the demonic insects, and as the entire city's inhabitants were consumed by them.

Just thinking about it is enough to make one feel suffocated.

After exploring several city ruins, Zhou Chun and Zhou Mingde gave up on further exploration.

There was really nothing to explore in those ruins. Everything that could be devoured by the demonic insects had been completely consumed, not even a single human bone remained.

By abandoning the exploration of the city ruins, the two men's exploration speed increased significantly. In less than two days, they had explored all parts of the plain.

Unfortunately, the result was very disappointing; they found nothing noteworthy on the plains.

However, just as the two returned empty-handed and were preparing to return to the Great Yun Kingdom to rest, things suddenly took a turn for the better.

At that time, the two were leaving the plains and heading towards the Great Yun Kingdom.

Just as they were about to leave the plains, they suddenly heard a booming sound coming from afar.

The two turned to look in the direction from which the roaring sound came, but saw no sign of spiritual light.

Upon seeing this, the two immediately became interested and rushed in that direction.

After flying more than a hundred miles, the two finally discovered the source of the roaring sound.

In a secluded valley, several cultivators were engaged in a fierce battle around a pangolin-like monster.

The monster, like a pangolin, was covered in fine scales, had a large, curled tail and a long, pointed head, and was yellowish-brown in color. It was about the size of a water buffalo.

The aura emanating from this demon was also extremely powerful; it was actually a mid-grade third-tier demon beast.

As cultivators from a family of beast tamers, Zhou Chun and Zhou Mingde recognized the origin of the demonic beast as soon as they saw it.

They recognized it as a very rare, high-level demonic beast, the Earth Armor Dragon.

The Earth Armor Dragon is a type of monster that likes to live underground, and its main diet consists of insects such as bees and ants.

They are masters of earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of burrowing technique), and their noses are extremely sensitive, allowing them to easily smell underground beehives and ant nests through thick layers of mud, and then rush in for a feast.

Moreover, this beast has another special characteristic: it never leaps into the air or wade through water, and it never puts itself in a dangerous place.

Logically speaking, it's unlikely that a monster like the Earth Armor Dragon would be surrounded by people on the ground.

But now it's surrounded and can't get away.

Coincidentally, Zhou Chun and Zhou Mingde recognized the cultivators surrounding the earthen armored dragon; they were Shen Borong and Ruan Hongzhuang, Qi Kingdom cultivators who had previously fought against the insect swarm with them.

At this moment, Shen and Ruan also noticed the Zhou family members who had come over.

When they saw that the visitors were actually the Zhou family members they had met once before, Shen and Ruan were both slightly taken aback, somewhat surprised and astonished.

Then their expressions darkened, and they suddenly looked very unhappy.

Zhou Chun and Zhou Mingde quickly found out why they looked so unhappy.

As the two were observing the situation in the valley, they easily discovered a collapsed cave through their divine sense. After their divine sense entered the cave, they found obvious traces of a human cultivator's dwelling.

Clearly, a cultivator's cave dwelling is hidden deep underground in this valley.

That earth-armored dragon is very likely the guardian beast of the cave.

Upon realizing this, the two exchanged a glance, and then Zhou Mingde, with a smile, said loudly, "Fellow Daoist Shen, Fellow Daoist Ruan, would you two like my assistance?"

These words were remarkably similar to what Shen Borong had said to him some time ago.

Upon hearing this, Shen Borong's face darkened, and he didn't know how to respond.

Compared to Shen Borong, who was in a terrible mood, Ruan Hongzhuang, though a woman, reacted much better at this moment.

Seeing that Shen Borong remained silent with a dark expression, she immediately spoke, her lips slightly parted: "If Fellow Daoist Zhou is willing to help, Fellow Daoist Shen and I will naturally be extremely grateful."

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Ruan, you're too kind. I, Zhou, am coming right now!"

Zhou Mingde laughed loudly and immediately released the Fire God Jackal to join the battle.

Only then did Zhou Chun realize that the reason why the earth-armored dragon could not burrow underground was because of a silver-gray bracelet magic artifact on its tail.

That silver-gray bracelet seemed to have the ability to interfere with the spellcasting of demonic beasts. Whenever the Earth Armor Dragon tried to burrow underground, this object would emit spiritual light to interrupt it.

With its most powerful ability crippled, the Earth Armor Dragon, whose combat strength wasn't particularly outstanding among high-level demonic beasts, was no match for Shen Borong and Ruan Hongzhuang.

Even if Zhou Mingde hadn't joined, its defeat was almost inevitable.

With the arrival of Zhou Mingde's servant, it could barely hold on for a moment and was soon forced to spit out its inner core.

Once the inner core was revealed, Zhou Mingde and the others slowed down their attacks.

During the fight against the beast tide, Zhou Mingde had personally witnessed the power of a monster's inner core exploding more than once.

Many cultivators at the Purple Mansion stage have been dragged down with them by demonic beasts using this trick for various reasons.

So when the Earth Armor Dragon spat out its inner core, it not only retreated a distance, but also caused the Fire God Jackal to give up its close attack.

Unexpectedly, the Earth Armor Dragon's spitting out of its inner core was just a feint.

While Zhou Mingde and the others were focused on the inner core, it actually used the method of a gecko cutting off its own tail to forcibly sever it!

With the tail separated from the body, the silver-gray bracelet artifact controlled by Ruan Hongzhuang could no longer restrict the Earth Armor Dragon.

It quickly flashed with yellow light and disappeared underground right under Zhou Mingde and the others' noses, vanishing from their senses.

"You beast!!"

Zhou Mingde's face darkened, and he couldn't help but curse aloud.

Shen Borong and Ruan Hongzhuang also had gloomy faces, and they almost gritted their teeth.

Three cultivators at the Purple Mansion stage were actually tricked by a beast right in front of them, which made them furious.

But as infuriating as he was, once the Earth Armored Dragon went underground, it was like a dragon returning to the sea, and there was no way to catch it again.

After gritting their teeth for a while, the three of them turned their attention to something else.

Shen Borong's eyes narrowed, and he suddenly looked at Zhou Mingde and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, let's be frank. This cave was first discovered by me and Fellow Daoist Ruan. We also devised a plan to lure the Earth Armor Dragon to the surface. Although we haven't managed to kill it, the cave should rightfully belong to us."

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Mingde shook his head repeatedly and said, "Fellow Daoist Shen, you are mistaken. Since it is an unclaimed cave dwelling, there is no question of who it belongs to. It should be that whoever finds it should have a share!"

"Then, according to Fellow Daoist Zhou, how should we ensure that everyone who sees it shares in the benefits?"

Ruan Hongzhuang stared intently at Zhou Mingde and asked in a deep voice.

In fact, both she and Shen Borong knew that since Zhou Mingde had also discovered the cave in the valley, it was impossible for him to distance himself from the matter.

In particular, neither of them was confident of defeating Zhou Mingde, and they didn't have the strength to use force to drive him away.

However, since they were the two of them who discovered the cave first, how could they be willing to share it with Zhou Mingde?

Faced with Ruan Hongzhuang's question, Zhou Mingde replied without hesitation, "Of course, it will be done according to the rules of the cultivation world. Whoever contributes more will get more. If everyone's contribution is roughly the same, then the spoils will be divided equally!"

"But we two were the ones who discovered this cave first!"

Shen Borong couldn't help but speak up, his words filled with anger.

"So what? None of you are relatives or friends of the original owner of this cave, nor are you even from the Yang Kingdom. So what if you discovered this cave first?"

Zhou Mingde met his gaze calmly and said indifferently, "If I had discovered this cave first, would you two swear that you would have willingly remained bystanders?"

These words shattered the previous politeness and revealed a sinister true nature.

Originally, the two were just strangers who met by chance and had only met once.

Shen Borong and Ruan Hongzhuang helped fight the insect swarm that time, but they had ulterior motives and were eyeing the treasure underground.

Zhou Mingde was forced to accept their help at the time because he had no other choice.

However, they were ultimately unlucky and failed to discover the [Earth Element Crystal Jade] vein hidden underground.

Now, facing a cave dwelling left behind by a senior cultivator, Zhou Mingde certainly wouldn't back down just because the two had helped him in the past.

Besides, didn't he help the two of them fight the Earth Armor Dragon before?

Therefore, after saying those words that had torn off all pretense of civility, Zhou Mingde didn't even look at Shen Borong and Ruan Hongzhuang's ugly expressions. He immediately waved his hand and said, "Fellow Daoists, there's no need for you to spout any more grand principles. We've all lived for hundreds of years. Those deceptive words are nothing but a waste of breath and have no chance of convincing anyone."

He then added a meaningful warning: "If we continue fighting here, it will only attract more people. If a Golden Core cultivator arrives, I'm afraid none of us will benefit at all!"

It was obvious that after Zhou Mingde finished speaking, Shen Borong and Ruan Hongzhuang's already unpleasant expressions became even more unpleasant.

The two exchanged a glance and communicated telepathically for a while. Then, Shen Borong nodded with a grim face and said, "Alright, let's do as Fellow Daoist Zhou says. Let's explore the cave together and each gain what we need based on our own abilities!"

"That's right! This was an unexpected bonus. Earning three cents is earning, earning one cent is earning, and earning something is better than earning nothing!"

Zhou Mingde smiled faintly and instead offered words of comfort to Shen Borong and the other man.

Shen Borong and Ruan Hongzhuang could only chuckle at his words of comfort.

Only they themselves know the bitterness in their hearts!

After a series of changes in their expressions, the two finally managed to control their emotions and restore their normal appearance.

Then Shen Borong looked at Zhou Mingde and asked, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, how do you plan to explore the cave?"

(End of this chapter)