Chapter 71: Unprecedented Harvest

Zhu Gang’s fate.

It had been sealed the moment he stepped through the door!

After he entered the courtyard.

Everything he saw, heard, and perceived was nothing more than an Illusion created by the Thundercloud Annihilation Array.

The real Li Chang’an had been hidden deep within the Array the entire time, quietly watching his every move.

At this moment, Li Chang’an looked down at him and asked coldly, "Elder Zhu, I don’t believe the Zheng Family possesses a Tier Two Beast Taming inheritance. What Zheng Lingfeng gave you was just a promise, wasn’t it?"

"Yes..."

Zhu Gang’s face was deathly pale, whether from blood loss or sheer agony.

The immense pain made his voice tremble.

"So you’re saying you got nothing? You threw your life away for an empty promise?"

Li Chang’an shook his head slightly.

’Greed blinds people.’

A mere promise had clouded Zhu Gang’s judgment, making him overlook many potential dangers.

If Li Chang’an were really that easy to deal with, Zheng Lingfeng would have done it himself. Why would he need to find Zhu Gang?

At this point, Zhu Gang understood as well.

He was filled with regret.

’If I had known it would come to this, I never should have agreed to help Zheng Lingfeng!’

"Chang’an..."

Zhu Gang fought through the pain, his voice trembling as he spoke.

"I was momentarily foolish, deceived by that Zheng Lingfeng. In truth, I never wanted to move against you. I have no descendants, and I’ve always thought of you as a nephew."

At a time like this, he had no other choice but to try and appeal to Li Chang’an’s emotions.

But Li Chang’an was unmoved.

With a casual wave of his hand.

The Storage Pouch and Spirit Beast Bag on Zhu Gang’s body flew into his hand.

"Elder Zhu, you are the number one Beast Master in Qinghe Marketplace, after all. There must be quite a few Treasures in your Storage Pouch, right?"

Li Chang’an glanced at him and erased the restrictions on the two bags.

Then, he opened the Storage Pouch and inspected it carefully.

’There really is a lot!’

Li Chang’an’s eyes lit up.

Inside the Storage Pouch, there were over three thousand Spirit Stones alone!

Such a large pile of Spirit Stones, glittering brightly, was a tempting sight.

’The Treasures in this Storage Pouch are even more numerous than what was in Zheng Jinbao’s!’

Li Chang’an mused to himself that living a long life really made a difference.

Although Zhu Gang didn’t have Zheng Jinbao’s authority and couldn’t use the Marketplace’s rules to make money, he was a Top Grade Beast Master and had lived more than twenty years longer than Zheng Jinbao.

The longer one lived.

The more Treasures one accumulated!

’The Beast Taming Ring he used earlier is a Tier One Top Grade Magical Artifact of extremely high quality, considered a High-quality item among Top Grade Magical Artifacts.’

’The Beast-Binding Lock is a bit special. It has four components. Combined, they form a High-quality Top Grade Magical Artifact, but separated, they’re just ordinary Top Grade Magical Artifacts...’

In addition, there were several other Top Grade Beast Taming Magical Artifacts with varying effects.

Li Chang’an did a quick calculation.

The total value of all these Top Grade Magical Artifacts likely exceeded three thousand five hundred Spirit Stones!

Besides these Top Grade Magical Artifacts, there were also numerous Beast Taming-related Middle Grade and Low Grade Magical Artifacts.

The sheer number of them was dazzling to Li Chang’an.

’These Magical Artifacts are all useless to me. I’ll find some time to sell them at the Black Market.’

Li Chang’an had no desire to become a Beast Master.

He had learned from his previous conversations with other Beast Masters that every one of them needed to invest a great deal of energy into their Spirit Beasts.

For now, he only wanted to focus on himself.

Having Dahuang and the Profound Water Turtle as his two Spirit Beasts was enough.

’Hm? I might have a use for this Magical Artifact.’

Li Chang’an picked up a long, shuttle-shaped Top Grade Magical Artifact.

The Beast Slaying Shuttle!

This type of Magical Artifact was very special. It could change size according to the wielder’s will and was extremely sensitive to the aura of Demon Beasts.

It could track and kill Demon Beasts by following their aura.

Gu Insects were also a type of Demon Beast, so the Beast Slaying Shuttle would be effective against them too.

"Go!"

With a thought from Li Chang’an.

The Beast Slaying Shuttle instantly zipped back and forth across the courtyard several times. It was like a wisp of wind, its form impossible to see clearly, its speed astonishing.

’Not bad!’

Li Chang’an nodded slightly, very satisfied.

He raised his hand, gesturing.

And recalled it into his Storage Pouch.

This thing might be surprisingly effective against Fourth Lady Mei’s Gu Insects from Black Wind Mountain.

Besides these Magical Artifacts.

There were also plenty of Elixir Pills and Talismans.

Li Chang’an took stock of them one by one, estimating their value and considering which ones he could sell.

Furthermore, inside the Storage Pouch.

The most numerous items were the various Demon Beast Materials.

Demon Beast Skeletons, Demon Beast Furs, Demon Beast Flesh and Blood, and so on...

’This is the Turtle Shell of a Tier One Late Stage Demon Beast, a Red Armored Turtle. It’s a good material for making Puppets.’

Li Chang’an picked up the thick, heavy shell and tested its durability.

’And this Cold Nether Crow... its corpse is perfectly preserved. The Essence Blood can still be extracted.’

’The arm of this One-Eyed Ape isn’t bad either...’

The materials were numerous and dazzling.

Li Chang’an felt as if he had walked into a shop specializing in Demon Beast Materials.

Some of the Demon Beast Materials were so rare that he couldn’t even determine their value.

’With so many materials, I have enough to upgrade my two Top Grade Puppets.’

Li Chang’an’s two existing Top Grade Puppets—one focused on Defense, the other on Speed—were made from impressive materials.

Both were considered quite good among Top Grade Puppets.

But neither had reached the High-quality level.

He had already been planning to modify and upgrade the two Puppets, but before he had a chance to buy materials from the Black Market, Zhu Gang delivered them right to his door.

Besides all this.

The Storage Pouch also contained a large amount of Demon Beast Essence Blood that Li Chang’an valued.

’This is the Essence Blood of a Tier One Top Grade Demon Beast, a Striped Tiger. I need it for the Sixth Stage of Body Refining.’

’As for this Iron Armor Rhinoceros’s Essence Blood, it can be used for the seventh and eighth stages of Body Refining...’

Li Chang’an’s expression was focused as he took out the Small Jade Bottles sealing the Essence Blood and identified them one by one.

About a quarter of an hour later.

He finished his inspection, looking at the vials of Essence Blood with satisfaction.

’So much Demon Beast Essence Blood... If I had to trade for it all bit by bit, I can’t imagine how much time and effort it would have taken. The amount of Spirit Stones required would have been massive, but now it’s all mine.’

Li Chang’an thought to himself, and not for the first time.

Killing for treasure really was a convenient and efficient method.

No wonder Tribulation Cultivators could never be completely wiped out.

With a wave of his hand, he collected all the Essence Blood and stored it away safely.

After that.

With a thought, he retrieved a Jade Scroll.

’A Tier One Top Grade Beast Taming inheritance!’

This was the third Top Grade inheritance Li Chang’an had obtained.

He held the Jade Scroll and quickly skimmed its contents.

Although he had no intention of becoming a Beast Master.

Parts of the inheritance were still quite helpful to him.

For example, there were notes on raising Water Element and Earth Element Demon Beasts, including specific sections dedicated to the Profound Water Turtle and the Yellow Sand Dog.

In addition, at the end of this inheritance, there were records concerning bloodline mutation.

’The "Huang He Master" from Yellow Crane Immortal City... his Yellow Crane Spirit Beast has a mutated bloodline.’

A look of surprise appeared in Li Chang’an’s eyes.

He had never heard of such a thing before and was surprised to find it recorded in a Spirit Beast inheritance.

According to the records.

The Huang He Master had discovered that Yellow Crane in a Secret Realm in his early years. It should have had only a Low Grade Bloodline, but for some unknown reason, it mutated into a Top Grade Bloodline.

Now, that Yellow Crane had grown into a Tier Three Spirit Beast, comparable to a Human Race Golden Core Cultivator!

Besides the Yellow Crane.

The inheritance also recorded several other cases.

Without exception, all of them were discovered in Secret Realms.

Therefore, many people speculated that a method for elevating bloodline grades existed in Ancient Times.

’So, I’m not the only one who thought so.’

Li Chang’an nodded to himself.

According to this inheritance.

To this day, no one had figured out the reason for bloodline mutation.

’The Secret Realms that exist today still have vast, unexplored mysterious areas. Perhaps one day, the method for bloodline mutation will be found, and maybe even... a way to improve one’s Spiritual Root will appear.’

Li Chang’an felt a sense of anticipation.

A moment later.

He put down the Inheritance Jade Scroll and continued to inspect the other Treasures.

Next to the Demon Beast Essence Blood.

Was a large pile of treasures for nurturing Spirit Beasts, all sorted according to their Five Elements Attribute.

For example, for nurturing Water Element Spirit Beasts, there were "Li Water Pearls," "Jade Heart Lotus Seeds," "Rain Bath Pills," and so on.

’The Profound Water Turtle and Dahuang are in for a treat.’

Li Chang’an smiled, immediately taking out some of the Treasures and tossing them to his two Spirit Beasts.

Besides these.

There were also many Treasures needed by Cultivators for their cultivation.

Even if Li Chang’an couldn’t use them, he could exchange them with other Cultivators.

After he finished cataloging all of these items.

Li Chang’an began to sift through the remaining miscellaneous items.

’I need to be careful and not miss anything. There might be a Treasure that can only be controlled with Spiritual Power.’

He focused his attention, carefully sorting through everything for a long time.

In the end.

He didn’t find any Spiritual Power-based Treasures.

But he did discover a small, useful booklet—the Demon Taming Manual.

This booklet recorded the numerous Demon Beasts Zhu Gang had discovered outside the Marketplace. Some of them he had already killed or subdued, but there were others he had not yet managed to acquire.

’Huh, there really are Mountain-moving Apes!’

Li Chang’an was delighted.

The Essence Blood of the Mountain-moving Ape was needed for the Sixth Stage of Body Refining.

He had been trying to purchase it for a long time.

But he had never managed to buy any.

He had originally planned to ask Xu Fugui to help him find it in Yellow Crane Immortal City.

But...

This booklet recorded the territory of a group of Mountain-moving Apes.

The reason Zhu Gang hadn’t succeeded in hunting them was that the Ape King of the group was too powerful, and he was unwilling to provoke it recklessly.

’Besides the Mountain-moving Apes, there are many other Demon Beasts whose Essence Blood I need.’

Li Chang’an read through it carefully, committing all the contents of the booklet to memory. He planned to go outside the Marketplace to hunt them one by one in the future.

Afterward, he continued to take inventory of the remaining items.

About an hour later.

Li Chang’an finished his inventory and let out a long breath.

"PHEW..."

He rubbed the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes to rest for a moment.

In his more than ten years of Cultivation Immortality.

This was the first time he had ever felt tired just from taking inventory of his Treasures.

There was just so much!

This Zhu Gang was practically a walking Treasure Vault.