Chapter 206: Unexpected Discovery

Seizing this opportunity, Wang Changxue and Wang Mingjiang each summoned their magical artifacts and struck the black giant scorpion, producing a dull thud.

Considering the unique circumstances of Myriad Serpent Valley, Wang Changsheng held nothing back. He summoned his Diamond Brick, which quickly expanded to the size of a house, and slammed it hard onto the black giant scorpion.

The ground shook slightly. When the Diamond Brick flew up again, a large crater was left in the ground, and the black giant scorpion had been flattened into a pulpy mess.

Wang Changsheng summoned his Spirit-Gathering Gourd and collected the black giant scorpion's essence.

The Twin-Pupiled Rat jumped down from Wang Changsheng's shoulder and darted off into the distance. Wang Changsheng quickly followed.

Among a patch of weeds, Wang Changsheng spotted a pale purple flower.

"A Purple Orchid," he murmured. "It looks like it's a hundred years old."

Wang Changsheng's face lit up with joy. He carefully pushed aside the soil and dug out the Purple Orchid.

Wang Changxue and Wang Mingjiang, meanwhile, were responsible for dealing with the black giant scorpion's corpse. Unfortunately, its inner core had also been flattened by the Diamond Brick. While it could still be used in medicine, its efficacy would certainly be diminished.

The Twin-Pupiled Rat sniffed the air a few times and quickly darted forward.

"Quickly, follow it!" Wang Changsheng exclaimed. "It must have found a high-grade spiritual herb."

Wang Changsheng's eyes lit up. He hastily followed, with Wang Changxue and Wang Mingjiang trailing behind.

The Twin-Pupiled Rat was very fast; Wang Changsheng could feel its excitement.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Wang Changxue suddenly sent a telepathic message to Wang Changsheng: "Ninth Brother, look! A second-tier Spirit-Seeking Rat!"

Following the direction Wang Changxue indicated, beneath a towering ancient tree, a black rat about two feet long was gnawing on a yellow fruit.

The black rat was plump, and its small black eyes darted around, looking innocently adorable. It was practically a carbon copy of the Twin-Pupiled Rat.

Upon seeing the Spirit-Seeking Rat, the Twin-Pupiled Rat became very excited and quickly scampered towards it.

The Spirit-Seeking Rat hadn't noticed Wang Changsheng and his companions, but the Twin-Pupiled Rat's appearance startled it. It dropped the fruit it was holding, its body glowed yellow, and it burrowed underground, disappearing from sight.

The Twin-Pupiled Rat ignored the fruit. Its body also glowed yellow, and it too burrowed underground, disappearing.

Wang Changsheng watched this scene, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He had thought the Twin-Pupiled Rat had discovered a high-grade spiritual herb; it turned out it had found a Spirit-Seeking Rat. From the looks of it, this Spirit-Seeking Rat was most likely female.

Such urges affect even spirit beasts when their basic needs are met.

"Chase it! Don't let the Spirit-Seeking Rat get away," Wang Changsheng urged.

A bright green light flared beneath Wang Changsheng's feet, and he sped up. Wang Changxue and Wang Mingjiang did the same.

The Spirit-Seeking Rat burrowed very quickly. Fortunately, the Twin-Pupiled Rat's speed was also impressive.

The Twin-Pupiled Rat pursued underground, while Wang Changsheng and his two companions chased above ground.

Wang Changsheng's spiritual sense was fully extended, and his face was full of vigilance.

After about fifteen minutes, they were still within the dense forest.

A faint whooshing sound came from above.

"Watch out above!"

Wang Changsheng's expression changed slightly. He hastily warned them and simultaneously cast a protective shield upon himself.

Dozens of wind blades struck the protective shields around the three of them, producing a muffled thud.

Two black mantises, about ten feet tall, flew down from two large trees. Their eyes were green, and they had two pairs of black, membranous wings on their backs. These were two low-grade second-tier demonic insects.

Wang Changsheng's brows furrowed slightly. He took out his Azure Light Mirror and aimed it at the two black mantises. With a flash of azure light, a beam of azure light suddenly shot out, flying straight towards them.

The two black mantises flapped their wings lightly and soared into the air, causing the azure light beam to strike the ground.

"Let's finish this quickly," Wang Changsheng said. "Don't let them delay us too long."

As Wang Changsheng spoke, he summoned five second-tier giant eagle puppet beasts, which swooped towards the two black mantises. Wang Mingjiang and Wang Changxue also summoned their artifacts, surrounding the two black mantises.

Before the five giant eagle puppet beasts could get close, they all opened their mouths and each spewed out dozens of azure light swords, slashing towards the two black mantises.

The two black mantises dared not meet the attack head-on. They crossed their forelimbs in the air, and dozens of black wind blades flashed forth.

"Boom!"

After a series of explosive sounds, the azure light swords and black wind blades nullified each other.

The five azure eagle puppets swooped in from different directions. The black mantises hastily unleashed black wind blades, but these wind blades only left faint white marks when they struck the azure eagle puppet beasts.

Under the combined assault of the five azure eagle puppet beasts and several magical artifacts, the mantises were overwhelmed. Wang Changsheng seized the opportunity. He shone his Azure Light Mirror at one of the black mantises, and a wave of azure light flew out, accurately enveloping it.

The black mantis was instantly immobilized in mid-air, unable to move. Seizing this chance, several shimmering magical artifacts struck, cleaving into its head.

A pained shriek rang out, and the black mantis's head was shattered.

The other black mantis saw the unfavorable turn of events. It fiercely flapped its four wings and flew away into the distance.

Wang Changsheng did not give chase. He put away his artifacts and puppet beasts and led the pursuit. Wang Changxue and Wang Mingjiang quickly disposed of the black mantis's corpse and followed.

Delayed by the two second-tier demonic insects, the Twin-Pupiled Rat was already three miles away. Fortunately, it had not left the range of Wang Changsheng's spiritual sense.

In less than fifteen minutes, Wang Changsheng and his companions caught up.

Through the connection he had with the Twin-Pupiled Rat, Wang Changsheng could sense that the Twin-Pupiled Rat was several hundred feet ahead. However, the Spirit-Seeking Rat had burrowed too deep, and he couldn't sense its exact location from the surface. Nevertheless, the Twin-Pupiled Rat continued to move quickly; perhaps the Spirit-Seeking Rat's scent was attracting it.

Three hours later, Wang Changsheng and his companions emerged into a narrow valley.

The stone walls on both sides were uneven, and the ground was covered with scattered rubble.

Before long, they reached the end of the valley, where a steep stone wall blocked their path.

The ground beneath the stone wall suddenly bulged, and the Spirit-Seeking Rat burst out from underground.

After chirping excitedly, its body glowed yellow, and it dashed towards the stone wall.

With a dull thud, it was surprisingly unable to burrow into the stone wall.

Seizing this opportunity, a thick beam of azure light shot forth and enveloped it in a flash.

The Spirit-Seeking Rat was instantly immobilized, unable to move.

At this moment, the Twin-Pupiled Rat also burrowed out from underground.

It quickly rushed towards the Spirit-Seeking Rat, chirping excitedly and showing great excitement.

Wang Changsheng walked over quickly, grabbed the Spirit-Seeking Rat, put it into a spirit beast pouch, and handed it to Wang Changxue. The Twin-Pupiled Rat chirped, seemingly protesting.

Wang Changxue accepted the spirit beast pouch, her gaze fixed on the stone wall at the end of the valley. "Ninth Brother," she said, "could there be a mineral vein here? A second-tier Spirit-Seeking Rat couldn't burrow into the stone wall. This only happens with certain metal ore veins or restrictive formations, right?"

"Whether there's a mineral vein or not," Wang Mingjiang said, "we'll know if we try, won't we?"

Wang Mingjiang summoned two blue short swords and hacked at the stone wall, producing a clanging sound of metal striking rock.

Hearing this sound, Wang Changsheng's eyes lit up with fervor. Could their luck really be this good?

He recalled the Twin-Pupiled Rat to its spirit beast pouch, summoned two golden flying swords, and struck the stone wall, also producing a clanging sound of metal.

Strangely, despite the three of them using their artifacts to hack at the stone wall, they couldn't chip off a single piece of stone; only a series of clanging sounds of metal striking metal echoed.

Could it be a second-tier metal ore vein? Logically, it shouldn't be! Even a second-tier metal ore vein would have impurities. Yet, several artifacts couldn't chip off a single piece of stone. Could it be a third-tier metal ore vein?

Second-tier metal ore can be used to refine magical artifacts, while third-tier metal ore can be used to refine magical treasures.

If it truly was a third-tier metal ore vein, even if they could only mine for a year, it would be an immense fortune.