Chapter 165 Qingxu Snake Eggs_2
At this moment, Lin Shilu's face was flushed with color, indicating a bountiful harvest.
Lin Tianming was equally excited. Seeing the expression on Lin Shilu's face, he initiated a conversation.
"Fifteenth Grandfather, how was your harvest this time?"
Lin Shilu chuckled and replied, "I've collected eleven second-order Spiritual Medicines and dozens of first-order ones, though they're all common and not of high value."
"Moreover, I found a Qiuxing Fruit Tree that bore twelve Spirit Fruits, all ripe!"
After sharing his own findings, Lin Shilu also asked about Lin Tianming's gains.
Lin Tianming grinned from ear to ear, all but his eyes was smiling.
"Fifteenth Grandfather, my gains are nearly the same as yours. However, I found not one but two Xingxing Fruit Trees. Their fruits, also ripe, have all been picked by me, and I even uprooted the trees, ready to bring them back and replant them in the family lands!"
Upon hearing Lin Tianming's report, Lin Shilu was overjoyed, his face blooming with smiles.
The two of them had collected three Qiuxing Fruit Trees and thirty-six ripe Qiuxing Fruits just by raiding the Qingxu Snake Territory, and they hadn't even explored the entire snake den yet. It was unknown what other treasures they might find inside.
"Ha ha... You're ruthless, my boy, but that's what I like about you!" Lin Shilu teased.
A smile crossed Lin Tianming's lips, yet his heart remained undisturbed.
Lin Shilu said no more; instead, he regarded the changing sky and spoke.
"Alright, it's getting late. We shouldn't linger here too long. Let's finish scouring the Qingxu Snake Cavern, and leave before dark to return to the Temporary Cave Abode where we stayed overnight. After a night's rest, we'll head back to Qianchuan Market early tomorrow morning!"
"Yes!" Lin Tianming nodded in agreement.
"We don't know what lies inside these caverns. It's better if we don't split up. We'll check them one by one, which I believe won't take long!"
After Lin Shilu made this suggestion and saw no objection from Lin Tianming, he walked towards one of the caverns. Lin Tianming did not hesitate and immediately followed.
Inside the cavern, the light was dim, but this posed no problem for the cultivators.
With caution, the two progressed along the cavern that was a bit taller than a man, covering a hundred paces before reaching the end.
The journey was uneventful, which relieved them.
They then came upon a larger cave, akin to a vast secret chamber, with enough space to fit two large rooms.
After circling inside, they found only some Qingxu Snake Scales, which seemed to have been shed by the Monster Serpents.
Collecting the Monster Serpent Scales casually, they left the cave and entered another.
Half an hour quickly passed, and they had explored most of the cavern without finding any valuable items, though they did collect quite a number of Qingxu Snake Scales.
Lin Tianming was somewhat surprised; traditionally, the probability of finding treasures within a monster's lair was much higher than within its territory.
The Qingxu Snake Cavern was filled with scales, and not even a single first-order Spirit Grass could be found, which was wholly unexpected.
Seeing the disappointment on Lin Tianming's face, Lin Shilu reassured him:
"Tian Ming, the caverns we've explored are smaller ones. The largest ones are yet to come, and I'm sure the treasures must be concentrated in the caverns of the second-order Qingxu Snakes!"
Heartened by Lin Shilu's words, Lin Tianming felt a little better.
Facing a larger cavern, anticipation filled their expressions, and without hesitating, they entered.
Likewise uneventful, their journey soon reached its end, arriving at a vast chamber.
Upon seeing the cavern, which was obviously larger than the others, Lin Tianming and his companion were certain that this was the lair of a second-order Qingxu Snake.
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With a calm demeanor, Lin Tianming quickly surveyed the interior of the cavern. Under the gaze of his Eye of Five Colors, the pitch-dark cavern was as clear as daylight; no movement could escape his eyes.
Along the cave, scales were plentiful, all of which were collected by the two of them.
In addition to that, some incomplete bones and fragments of Spiritual Artifacts lay scattered amidst the soil.
It seemed this Qingxu Snake had swallowed many cultivators, along with their Spiritual Artifacts. Over time, both bones and fragments were no longer intact, nor could the identity of the unfortunate be discerned.
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Walking along, Lin Tianming suddenly pointed to a deep pit at the far end of the cave and shouted,
"Fifteenth Grandfather, look there!"
Lin Shilu followed Lin Tianming's pointed direction and saw several oval eggs in the pit more than ten meters away, each as large as a water bucket.
The two hurried over and began examining the eggs in the pit, circling the cave.
"These are Qingxu Snake eggs!" Lin Shilu exclaimed with delight.
Lin Tianming was also overjoyed and reached out to touch the eggs, feeling the warmth and assessing the condition inside the eggs.
After three breaths had passed, he said excitedly,
"Fifteenth Grandfather, these eggs are viable, they should be able to hatch!"
Hearing this, Lin Shilu quickly reached out and picked up an egg to investigate.
"Indeed, they hold life force!"
Overjoyed, Lin Shilu then said,
"These eggs must have been here for a while, and if it hadn't been for this great battle, they would likely have hatched soon. Now that we have found them, we must quickly take them back to the clan to be incubated, and then feed them with Lifeblood Essence. This cannot be delayed!"
Lin Tianming nodded, fully aware of the importance of this matter.
Taming demonic beasts is not easy. Besides those with great strength forcefully bonding, and giving sufficient benefits to prevent being devoured by a Spirit Beast, there is still the possibility of being devoured if the Spirit Beast's cultivation is too high.
However, a Spirit Beast hatched from an egg with one's Lifeblood Essence, under any circumstances, will not turn on its master.
Moreover, acquiring a Spirit Beast egg is difficult. They're either found dead, unable to hatch a Spirit Beast, or the potential of the Spirit Beast is too low, making the egg meaningless. A hatched beast that cannot significantly assist its master is a burden.
Considering the strength and talent of the Qingxu Snake, though not particularly outstanding, such an opportunity is rare and cannot be sought.
The two then collected all the eggs and searched the entire cave.
In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the vast cave had been meticulously searched by the two, and they collected numerous scales, but still no other treasures.
The two left the snake cavern and quickly moved on to search another cave.
An hour passed in this way, with every cave being searched thoroughly, and soon all caves had been scoured.
Emerging from the caves, their faces brimmed with broad smiles.
In the subsequent twenty-odd caves, they found six more serpent eggs, all with powerful life force and all likely to hatch successfully.
In addition, they collected a vast number of Qingxu Snake Scales, which serve as the best food for young Qingxu Snakes.
With these scales, the newly hatched snakes would not lack for food for quite some time, and it is believed that they would grow rapidly, possibly reaching the first-order late stage easily sustained on the scales.
After exploring the caves, they found no other treasures of the earth but were not the least bit concerned, because the eleven serpent eggs and the huge number of scales were invaluable, almost comparable to a dozen cultivators in the late stage of Qi Refining.
Outside the cave, the setting sun cast its residual glow in the valley, and the sky gradually darkened.
With a smile on his face and his heart pounding with excitement, Lin Shilu managed to calm himself and then said,
"Tian Ming, it's dusk now, and we should not linger here. Let's set off immediately, return to the Temporary Cave Abode where we rested last night, spend the night, and set off for Qianchuan Market first thing in the morning to plan our next move!"
"Hmm..."
Lin Tianming nodded, and the two immediately leapt up and hastened toward the direction they came from.
With practiced ease, they made good progress and returned to the Temporary Cave Abode before dark.
Lin Shilu sat down on the floor and said to Lin Tianming,
"Tian Ming, you will take the first watch tonight as before, and I will take over in the second half of the night!"
Lin Tianming nodded, sat at the entrance of the abode, closed his eyes, and his Divine Sense constantly monitored the surroundings.
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