According to his speculation, the two golden rats likely wouldn’t be weaker than top-tier advanced Heavenly Sun experts.
If Han Jinhe and the others were here instead of Zhou Yuan, they would have likely been eaten.
Zhou Yuan and Qin Lian met each other’s gaze, then nodded simultaneously.
Swish!
Zhou Yuan was the first to transform into a shadow, and he vanished into thin air. When he reappeared, he was already in front of the two golden rats with his hand spread open. Hair rapidly shrouded his hand, and a mysterious light flashed in the center of his palm.
“Heavenly Yuan brush, Spirit Devour…Spirit Burial!”
Boom!
At that moment, a terrifying shock wave erupted from Zhou Yuan's palm. That shock wave wasn’t formed from Genesis Qi, but it specifically targeted the Spirit!
The ancient beasts possessed terrifyingly tough bodies, but they also had flaws, and that was their weak Spirit. Therefore, as the Spirit Burial approached, the two golden rats fell into a lifeless state.
Zhou Yuan stamped his foot, and white hair broke out from the ground around the two golden rats’ feet and tightly wrapped around them.
Swish!
While Zhou Yuan suppressed them for a moment, Qin Lian appeared above one of the golden rats, and a scarlet sparrow blade flashed out from her slender hand.
Top Heaven Genesis Weapon, Scarlet Sparrow Blade
The sword whizzed down like a red sparrow incinerating the sky, and its terrifying blazing aura distorted space. The fiery aura snapped the two golden rats out of their lifeless state. Their hair stood on end, and they made ear-piercing noises.
Swish!
The blade swung down.
One of the golden rats was directly sliced in half, and blood splattered in all directions as the rat crashed into the ground. But the other rat, the male golden rat king, was only inflicted with a hideous wound. Infuriated, it broke free of the snow-white hair’s binding and shot out.
"A pity." Qin Lian descended with a regretful look on her face. She should have killed both with her previous blade strike, but the rat king was too cunning and had moved back a little, resulting in her blade slashing more towards the female rat.
Chi!
The golden rat king screamed furiously, and the scarlet color in its small eyes intensified. However, it knew how dangerous the two people in front of it were, so it spun around to flee.
Zhou Yuan and Qin Lian unhesitantly gave chase.
The three shuttled through the underground palace.
Bang!
Under their pursuit, the golden rat king suddenly rammed into a boulder. It smashed the boulder apart and charged through it.
Zhou Yuan and Qin Lian followed and rushed into the cave almost at the same time. As they entered the cave, their field of vision suddenly widened. At this moment, in the center of the cave, several white stalactites were hanging down from the ceiling.
Clusters of faint light were gathered at the tips of the stalactites, and within them were mysterious objects. They radiated an ancient, pure, mysterious wave of energy.
“That’s…” Zhou Yuan’s pupils shrank.
Qin Lian drew a deep breath, and shock and joy gushed forth from her beautiful eyes.
"Zhou Yuan, those are mysterious treasures! They are formed from the nourishment of ancestral qi over many years, and they are essential to refine Saint treasures!”
Zhou Yuan's heart trembled, and his eyes similarly gleamed covetously. It should be said that not every ancestral qi vein gave birth to such mysterious treasures!
As expected, this ancestral qi vein contained treasures.
Swoosh!
While Zhou Yuan’s and Qin Lian’s attention was drawn to the mysterious treasures, the golden rat king suddenly shot out and pounced towards a stalactite. It swallowed a mysterious treasure along with the stalactite in one bite.
Roar!
As it screamed, its body began to swell and emit a fiendish aura. Evidently, it wanted to use the mysterious treasure to increase its strength.
But Zhou Yuan was greatly enraged. With crimson red eyes, he took a large step forward.
Heavenly Yuan Brush, Promotion!
Boom!
A storm of terrifyingly powerful Genesis Qi suddenly raged from his body, causing the cave to shake violently.
“Great Flame Devil!”
Amidst his roar, Zhou Yuan's body suddenly expanded, and lava flowed over his body. He looked like a fierce flame devil.
His roar rumbled like thunder in the earth’s depths: “Beast, spit out my treasure!”
Chapter 1091 Mysterious Treasure
When Zhou Yuan suddenly erupted with full strength, Qin Lian was startled for a moment, but when she heard Zhou Yuan’s roar, she couldn’t help laughing. This guy already thinks the mysterious treasures are his.
Shouldn’t the golden flying rat king be their rightful owner? After all, it had lived here for many years.
Qin Lian could tell that the mysterious treasures were maturing under the ancestral qi vein’s nourishment and that the golden rat king hadn’t swallowed them yet because it was waiting for them to mature completely. Unfortunately for the rat king, who would have thought that Zhou Yuan, the demon star, would come?
Boom!
While thoughts whirled in Qin Lian's mind, Zhou Yuan, in the Great Flame Devil transformation, shot out. He appeared above the golden rat king as though he had teleported. The aura of the golden rat king, who had swallowed the mysterious treasure, was soaring drastically.
Hss!
The golden rat king unleashed a fierce roar and grinned threateningly at Zhou Yuan.
Bang!
Zhou Yuan responded with an iron fist wrapped in lava. As his fist slammed out, the intense heat distorted space, and two striking Heavenly Suns emerged behind him. His Genesis Qi foundation directly soared to 2.3 billion!
Rumble!
Zhou Yuan slammed his fist into the golden rat king's head, causing lava to spew out like a volcanic eruption. The golden rat king screamed in anguish as it blasted into the ground, forming a deep crater.
The skin of the golden rat's head was split, and its flesh was torn. Blood rapidly flowed down its head, but the rat king’s strength had obviously soared after it had swallowed the mysterious treasure. Thus, Zhou Yuan had failed to kill it with his fierce punch.
“You still want to fight?” Zhou Yuan sneered. His ghost-like figure sped down again, leaving behind many blurred shadows.
The golden rat king turned into a stream of golden light and swiftly evaded Zhou Yuan.
Boom!
Inside the cave, one chased frantically while the other madly fled. Their constant berserk attacks turned the place upside down.
Qin Lian didn’t join the chase. Instead, she appeared between the stalactites and circulated her Genesis Qi to form a shield to protect them from the battle’s shock waves. If they were damaged, both she and Zhou Yuan would be heartbroken.
Bang!
Inside the smoke- and dust-filled cave, Zhou Yuan's mighty demonic shadow descended from the sky. His feet, wrapped in mountainous power, crashed into the rat king’s back.
Rumble!
A deep hole split open in the ground and firmly trapped the rat king.
It struggled frantically, trying to escape, but Zhou Yuan frantically thrust out his fist again. The snow-white hair around his hand shone coldly like thorns.
“Genesis Breaker!”
The snow-white hairs instantly turned a heart-chilling jet-black color.
Boom!
Zhou Yuan’s crimson eyes flashed with a cold, ruthless look, and his fist transformed into countless fist shadows and bombarded the rat king’s incomparably tough body.
The cave rumbled, and the ground crumbled. After a few minutes, the deafening booms gradually stopped.
Qin Lian peered down and watched the smoke and dust disperse and reveal a giant dark pit. In the depths of the pit, Zhou Yuan’s b
ody had resumed its original appearance, and his demonic body had vanished. The ferocious golden rat king was crushed like mud beside his feet, its blood splattered across the deep pit.
Zhou Yuan looked a little helpless at the rat king’s miserable appearance. The rat king’s bodily strength was too tyrannical, and Zhou Yuan had no choice but to attack with full-strength. Otherwise, given the rat king’s tenacious nature, Zhou Yuan wouldn’t be able to kill it even after one day of fierce battle.
“Sorry…”
Zhou Yuan apologized without much sincerity, and then, with a wave of his hand, a chunk of the rat king's flesh floated up. He crushed it to a pulp, and a mysterious shimmering treasure revealed itself.
It was a deep yellow crystal with nine eye-like holes. It radiated an indescribable feeling of mystery. From the nine-hole crystal, Zhou Yuan could feel an ancient aura identical to ancestral qi.
"Is this a mysterious treasure nourished by ancestral qi?" Zhou Yuan opened his hand and curiously studied the crystal. It was rumored that this kind of mysterious treasure was needed to refine Saint treasures. Thus, this object was incredibly rare and precious.
However, while Zhou Yuan examined the nine-hole crystal in his hand, snow-white hair broke out from his palm without his control, wrapped around the crystal, then vanished like lightning.
The sudden change stunned Zhou Yuan.
“Heavenly Yuan Brush?!”
He immediately looked inside his Divine Dwelling and saw the Heavenly Yuan Brush quietly suspended inside with its snow-white hair hanging down and twisting to form a sphere. Rays of light bloomed from the inside of the sphere.
It was the crystal.
Zhou Yuan could clearly feel the white hair instilling a bizarre force into the Heavenly Yuan Brush. Moreover, under that force, the Heavenly Yuan Brush’s mottled body seemed to become even more abstruse.
Even the eighth rune on the Heavenly Yuan Brush was releasing wisps of light.
“The Heavenly Yuan Brush can swallow these kinds of mysterious treasures to evolve itself?!" Zhou Yuan exclaimed. The Heavenly Yuan Brush’s power had already surpassed ordinary top-level Heavenly Genesis Weapons and could even be considered a Quasi-Saint Genesis Weapon. However, he understood there was still a huge gap between the Heavenly Yuan Brush and a true Saint Genesis Treasure.
But as the Heavenly Yuan Brush’s grade increased, its awakening and evolution had become increasingly difficult. But the mysterious treasure from Guyuan Heaven made Zhou Yuan see an opportunity.
As though it felt Zhou Yuan's gaze, the Heavenly Yuan Brush vibrated and hummed.
Zhou Yuan understood its meaning—it wanted more ancestral qi treasure.
Zhou Yuan grinned. It seemed he would need to start working hard to support this little brat.
“Okay, okay, I’ll help you get more,” Zhou Yuan uttered helplessly, but he was still happy about it. After all, as the Heavenly Yuan Brush awakened and evolved, it would also improve his strength.
Zhou Yuan was about to withdraw from his Divine Dwellings. But at that moment, he stopped abruptly, and surprise flashed across his face. He had felt a strange fluctuation of energy within his body. It was just that this wave was extremely weak and could easily be overlooked.
Zhou Yuan, who was always very cautious, didn't overlook it and instead began to interact with it. Under his sensing, the slight wave of energy indeed appeared again. His heart trembled, and large amounts of silver liquid suddenly gathered within his Divine Dwellings, gradually turning into a silver sphere in front of him.
The silver sphere was as smooth as a mirror, and its surface occasionally bloomed with faint ripples.
Zhou Yuan stared dazedly at the silver sphere.
“Silver Shadow?!”
Zhou Yuan's expression changed drastically. He didn't expect the faint wave to be from Silver Shadow! This had never happened before. It was the first time that the Silver Shadow had actively sent him a message. Of course, this was because Silver Shadow was a lower grade than the Heavenly Yuan Brush.
"Have you also developed a trace of spiritual intellect?" Zhou Yuan reached out curiously and held the silver sphere in his hand. It seems that, after nurturing it for so many years, he had developed a connection with Silver Shadow.
Silver Shadow’s rounded surface rippled, but its spiritual intellect was evidently inferior to the Heavenly Yuan Brush’s.
“What is it that you want?” Zhou Yuan asked.
There had to be a reason for Silver Shadow to suddenly produce a response.
Silver Shadow couldn't clearly express its thoughts and could only make its surface ripple continuously.
Zhou Yuan pondered for a moment, and suddenly understanding dawned on him. He peered at the Heavenly Yuan Brush not far away and said thoughtfully, "You also want ancestral qi treasure?”
That ancestral qi treasure was the only thing unusual in his Divine Dwelling.
Silver Shadow immediately trembled violently, and the ripples turned even more hurried.
Zhou Yuan smiled and quickly comforted, "Okay, I know, don't worry, I won't treat you badly.”
Zhou Yuan also had fond feelings towards Silver Shadow, which had followed him since he started his cultivation. It was unknown how many times he had relied on the Silver Shadow to help him reverse the tides.
However, as Zhou Yuan’s strength increased, he felt that Silver Shadow couldn’t keep up with him. But he felt that perhaps the ancestral qi treasure in Guyuan Heaven would provide an opportunity for Silver Shadow to evolve.
In the deep pit, Zhou Yuan opened his eyes, staring at his empty palm. He couldn't help smiling bitterly.
It seems that I not only have to provide for one little brat but two…
Chapter 1092 Harvest
Zhou Yuan leaped out of the deep pit in a flash and appeared next to Qin Lian.
Qin Lian swept a glance across the deep pit and said with a smile, “Really ruthless.”
Zhou Yuan was helpless towards her mockery. After all, the scene was indeed reeking of blood. So, he didn't respond and shifted his gaze to the stalactites, his eyes blazing.
Many stalactites hung from the cave’s ceiling, but only very few had refined ancestral qi treasures. Zhou Yuan counted the stalactites containing treasures, and not counting the one the golden rat king had swallowed, five were left.
“I didn’t expect there to be ancestral qi treasures here,” exclaimed Qin Lian. She clearly understood their value. However, she suddenly cast an astonished glance at Zhou Yuan and said, "Could this be the reason you told me to choose this area?”
Zhou Yuan smiled and didn't deny it because he had indeed instructed Qin Lian to make that choice. Moreover, given how clever Qin Lian was, she would no doubt connect the harvest they had made this time to Zhou Yuan and come to that conclusion.
“Our supreme sovereign gave you some kind of means to do this?” Qin Lian stared excitedly at Zhou Yuan.
In her opinion, it was impossible for Zhou Yuan to possess that kind of strength. The only explanation was that supreme sovereign Zhuan Zhu had given him some means that ordinary people didn't know about.
Zhou Yuan gave a mysterious smile. Since he could shift the reason to his senior brother, it would save him from explaining too much and risk exposing the Decoder Saint Rune.
“Let’s get the treasures first.” Zhou Yuan waved his hand and then flicked his finger. A light sphere hanging above the five stalactites floated in front of Qin Lian and him.
Its rays of light gradually faded, revealing its true appearance. There were five mysterious treasures of varying shapes and sizes, but all exuded an ancient aura.
Looking at them, Zhou Yuan felt the Heavenly Yuan Brush in his body cheer and leap about again. Additionally, there was another weak wave of energy, which presumably was from Silver Shadow.
Zhou Yuan pondered for a moment, then looked at Qin Lian and asked, "How should we divide them?”
After a deep thought, Qin Lian said indifferently, �
��For the time being, you don’t need to bring them out. After all, they’re too few and can’t be distributed evenly. They will easily lead to disagreements.
“Furthermore, we only got them mainly because of you and me. The others aren’t qualified to share such treasures. So I suggest that you take four, and I, if grand elder Zhou Yuan is willing, will be satisfied with one.”
Zhou Yuan couldn’t help chuckling when he heard this. But Qin Lian was right. It was impossible to distribute the five treasures amongst the 2,000 people outside. More importantly, in terms of contribution, they weren’t eligible to receive such treasure.
“There will surely be more ancestral Qi treasures, and team members with outstanding contribution can be rewarded with them.” Zhou Yuan flicked his finger, sending two of the five ancestral qi treasures floating towards Qin Lian. "I am a grand elder of the Tianyuan Region. I can’t be so stingy and only give out one.”
Qin Lian didn't know that Zhou Yuan had retrieved the ancestral qi treasure the golden rat king had swallowed, but Zhou Yuan didn't take advantage of this fact. He knew there would be more opportunities in the future.
Qin Lian stared blankly at the two ancestral qi treasures suspended in front of her. She didn’t expect Zhou Yuan to be so generous. After all, they both knew about the value of such ancestral qi treasures.
Qin Lian swept a glance over Zhou Yuan, who just smiled at her. His expression was sincere and contained no other intention. So, she didn’t hesitate anymore and accepted them. “Thank you, grand elder, for your generosity. If there’s anything you need me for in the future, I wouldn’t even hesitate to go into boiling water or tread on fire for you.”
Zhou Yuan couldn’t help chuckling. He stored the remaining three ancestral qi treasures with a wave of his hand and said, “Let’s head out.”
Since the rat king and queen had been killed, the rat tide outside should have receded. And after this, they had another important matter to deal with, and that was to digest the ancestral qi vein, their top priority.
Dragon Prince Yuan c1-1251 Page 563