PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!

In an instant, the surging Sword Qi attached to the Sword Pill’s Flying Sword burst through the scales and pierced straight through the serpent’s body. In a flash, the massive snake’s body was riddled with countless holes, as if it were a sieve, before it was violently torn to shreds.

The Flying Sword, its momentum unabated, then pierced through three more great serpents before finally coming to a stop.

The sight filled Meng Changtu’s eyes with utter shock. Just moments ago, Chen Che had used this very sword to shatter Tang Youliang’s Red Dragon Array. Now, in a single instant, he had annihilated four of the great serpents.

However, he immediately realized that activating this sword consumed an extraordinary amount of energy.

"Che... Che’er!"

Seeing Chen Che’s face turn deathly pale, completely drained of color, his body swaying as if a gust of wind could knock him over, his father-in-law couldn’t help but cry out in alarm.

"I’m fine!"

Chen Che shook his head slightly.

His Divine Soul was drained from activating the Sword Pill repeatedly.

One had to reach the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer to activate the Sword Pill even once. He had activated it multiple times within just a few short hours today. Even though his Divine Sense Level had reached the Golden Core First Layer, he felt utterly exhausted.

Of course, the results were also extraordinary.

With four great serpents eliminated in an instant, the pressure on the two of them lessened dramatically.

But even with only five great serpents left, it took them a full two days of fighting together to destroy them, and they even had to activate the Sword Pill one more time during the battle.

Afterward, both men turned their gazes forward in unison.

’What kind of treasures might be inside True Master Chilong’s Cave Mansion?’

The two of them stepped inside.

The entire valley was enormous, clearly beyond comparison to the Cave Mansion Chen Che had found before. This was True Master Chilong’s real Traveling Palace.

The buildings were as magnificent as an Immortal Palace.

There was a council hall, a Library Pavilion, a Martial Arts Arena, a Beast Taming Chamber, and even a massive Dragon-Breeding Pool...

"This Dragon-Breeding Pool must be where his Red Flame Flood Dragon lived!"

Meng Changtu deduced, glancing at the giant, bottomless pool that was a hundred zhang across and filled with churning lava.

Chen Che swept the area with his Divine Sense.

There were actually some Demon Beasts still in the Dragon-Breeding Pool, but the moment his Divine Sense touched them, they scattered in all directions like a startled school of fish.

"Let’s not waste time here. The Dragon-Breeding Pool is connected to the ley lines of the nearby volcano; it leads everywhere. These Little Demon Beasts were probably just food for the Red Flame Flood Dragon."

Holding back Chen Che, who wanted to investigate further, Meng Changtu headed toward the Beast Taming Chamber.

The huge Beast Taming Chamber was like a warehouse.

It was filled with hundreds of shelves holding thousands of strange and exotic Beast Eggs, a sight that nearly overwhelmed Chen Che. But after just one glance, the look of pleasant surprise on Meng Changtu’s face fell.

"These Beast Eggs have been here for too long. Almost none of them have survived..."

"It’s the same for these Beast Sleep Stones..."

As he spoke, he picked up a Beast Egg the size of a washbasin. It was covered in mold spots, and when he shook it lightly, he could tell it was empty inside.

Moreover, the life force of the Demon Beasts sealed within the Beast Sleep Stones, each one as clear as amber, had also been extinguished. After all, even a Golden Core Great Demon might not survive after being sealed in hibernation for five hundred years.

In a corner, Meng Changtu found a single Beast Egg that still had some life force remaining. It had been sealed with a special technique.

"If I’m not mistaken, this must be from a Golden Core Great Demon!"

Meng Changtu studied it for a moment, then turned to Chen Che.

"I already have Jingfeng. I can’t raise another one..."

Chen Che waved his hand dismissively.

The Little Chick was a Gold-devouring Giant Beast. He had been constantly feeding it Pills from the very beginning, and its appetite only grew as it got bigger.

’It’s better to focus all my resources on raising one Demon Beast than to split them between two.’

"Then it’s mine. If we find anything else good, I’ll give it to you."

Meng Changtu didn’t refuse.

After searching a while longer, they confirmed that this was the only Beast Egg in the entire Beast Taming Chamber with any life force left.

Next, the two of them went to some of the other locations.

Unfortunately, many things had already decayed with the passage of time.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness... These books on Beast Taming are still here."

Inside the Library Pavilion, Meng Changtu’s eyes were glued to the dazzling array of well-preserved Secret Manuals. To him, this was the most precious place in the entire Cave Mansion. With these Secret Manuals, one could easily cultivate a Golden Core Race!

However, Chen Che was indifferent to these. He went on to find several more stone chambers.

Aside from a pile of about two hundred thousand Low Grade and Middle Grade Spirit Stones, there were nearly a hundred vials that had once contained various types of Pills. But when he opened them, he found they were long empty.

The two of them then checked the remaining stone chambers but found no other unexpected treasures.

"True Master Chilong probably carried most of his valuables with him back then."

Meng Changtu slowly shook his head.

The last stone chamber was half-open. Chen Che hadn’t paid it much mind, but when he casually pushed the door open, his pupils constricted and he let out a gasp of surprise.

In the center of the chamber sat a peach-shaped Spirit Fruit.

The fruit was placed on an Array Stone Platform, and it remained perfectly preserved. A radiant Spiritual Light pulsed from its surface, spreading out in gentle ripples and transforming the ordinary stone chamber into a dazzling world of rainbows.

"What is this?"

Chen Che turned to his father-in-law.

His father-in-law also looked bewildered. After a moment, he shook his head.

"True Master Chilong was a Beast Master, so this Spirit Fruit is likely related to Demon Beasts. I’ve heard that some Celestial and Earthly Treasures can purify bloodlines... perhaps this Spirit Fruit is one of them. But like a Foundation Establishment Pill, it can only increase the probability of success; it can’t guarantee it."

"Then I’ll take this fruit!"

Chen Che decided immediately.

...

「One day later.」

In a vast mountain range, inside the hibernating den of a bear,

Chen Che and Meng Changtu were sitting cross-legged on a bearskin, carefully laying out all the spoils from their trip.

This place was several thousand li away from Ten Thousand Fire Mountain, with the Mortal World just down the mountain. It was very safe now.

First was the loot from True Master Chilong’s Cave Mansion.

Besides the Beast Egg and Spirit Fruit they had already divided, there were over two hundred thousand Spirit Stones, a Spirit Stone containing the Soul of the Red Flame Flood Dragon, and a few Ores of unknown purpose.

"I’ll take half the Spirit Stones, and the rest is yours. Consider the Red Flame Flood Dragon’s Soul and the Ores as compensation for you. As for True Master Chilong’s Secret Manuals, I’ll make a copy for you to help strengthen Jinyun Valley’s foundation."

Meng Changtu laid out the distribution.

"This is too unfair to you."

Chen Che furrowed his brow.

Based on their earlier assessment, the Spirit Fruit was at least Tier Four, the Red Flame Flood Dragon’s Soul was Tier Three High Grade, and the Ores were also Tier Four. Although he had no use for them now, if he found an opportunity to sell them in the future, their total value would be several times higher than that of the Golden Core Beast Egg.

"Che’er, you and I are the same kind of person. As long as people don’t let me down, I won’t let them down."

Meng Changtu said earnestly,

"Besides, you are my son-in-law and the pillar of Jinyun Valley. Your chances of successful Core Formation in the future are much greater than mine. I should do everything I can to pave the way for you, not compete with you for Cultivation resources."

"Thank you!"

Chen Che clasped his hands and said sincerely.

Whether his father-in-law was doing this for Meng Qingxuan’s sake or for other reasons, he accepted the favor.

The rest was the fortune from Tang Youliang and his men: six Storage Rings, over a hundred Magical Artifacts, and fifty thousand Spirit Stones.

As they had previously agreed, Chen Che took seventy percent, and Meng Changtu took thirty percent.

Then, Chen Che sorted the items into a Storage Ring and handed it to Meng Changtu. Taking the ring, his father-in-law grinned from ear to ear. One hundred twenty thousand Spirit Stones, thirty Magical Artifacts, plus a Golden Core Beast Egg—it was a truly bountiful harvest.

Not to mention, he had also obtained the lifetime’s worth of knowledge from a Golden Core True Master.

Of course, Chen Che’s haul was also substantial: one hundred fifty thousand Spirit Stones and over seventy Magical Artifacts. And then there was the Spirit Fruit, the Ores, the Soul...

With the treasures divided, the two men looked at each other and smiled.

Such was the allure of fortuitous encounters.

This single trip had yielded so many resources, equivalent to decades of accumulation.

"Let’s go, back to the clan!"

Stepping out of the cave, Meng Changtu swung himself onto his Black Tiger and called out.

"Let’s go!"

Chen Che stepped onto the Little Chick’s back.

...

Just as the two were heading back to their clan, a figure set foot on Ten Thousand Fire Mountain.

It was Sun Hao, the very person Chen Che had been searching for for days.