Chapter 157: Chapter 110: Water Eye (3)

He laughed and added, “Since Junior Brother Wu has spoken up so sincerely, I have no objections. Junior Sister Lin, what do you think?”

Lin Wei deliberately teased, “One Profound Water Snake already takes up a lot of my energy. If you’re interested, Junior Brother Wu, the eggs are yours. But let me give you fair warning: Exotic Beasts grow slowly and consume a massive amount of resources. You might just go bankrupt in the future. Don’t blame your Senior Sister for not reminding you.”

Her words were half-sincere, half-jest, as if she were doing Wu Yuanhua a great favor.

Wu Yuanhua was overjoyed, but his expression grew even more solemn. “Thank you, Senior Sister Lin, for your generosity! And thank you, Brother Song and Brother Chen! I appreciate the reminder, Senior Sister. I understand.”

After speaking, he carefully stepped forward, took off his outer robe, and wrapped the two dark-green snake eggs as if they were a priceless treasure. He held them to his chest, his face showing unconcealable satisfaction.

Chen Qing watched coolly from the side, seeing right through the three of them.

’Wu Yuanhua seemed to be conceding and taking a loss, but his goal was clear. He was advancing by retreating, easily taking the snake eggs—the items with the greatest potential value—by declaring he would give up everything else. Lin Wei not only saved herself some trouble but also earned a favor from Wu Yuanhua, a promising prospect. Song Ming appeared generous, but his eyes kept darting to the Jade Scale Fruit. He was the most senior member, and it was his Treasure Ship they had used for this exploration. If he spoke up, the others would surely have a hard time competing with him.’

“Junior Brother Chen, Brother Song.”

Lin Wei turned to the remaining treasures and Treasure Medicine. “This Black Python’s corpse is quite valuable. Its Scale Armor, Poison Fangs, and Snake Gallbladder are all Top Grade materials. How about I take them? As for this treasure and the remaining Cold Pool Orchid, you two can split them.”

She quickly claimed the materials from the Black Python for herself.

The entire body of an Exotic Beast was a treasure, its value not necessarily lower than that of a Treasure Medicine.

Chen Qing glanced at the pile of gold, silver, and Jewelry, his gaze finally sweeping over an inconspicuous, dark iron plate among a heap of rusted weapon fragments.

The iron plate was mixed in with the rusted iron, completely inconspicuous, and seemed to have some faint engravings on it.

The Black Python had mostly collected shiny treasures; only that iron plate looked rather odd.

A thought flickered through his mind, but his face remained impassive as he said, “Brother Song is experienced and has contributed a great deal. Please, go ahead and choose first.”

He directly yielded the right to choose first to Song Ming.

Song Ming had been waiting for just that. His smile widened upon hearing Chen Qing’s words. “Junior Brother Chen, you’re so straightforward! In that case, I won’t be polite. This Jade Scale Fruit is somewhat beneficial to my Li Huo True Qi Cultivation, so I’ll take it. As for these valuables…”

He pointed at the pile of gold, silver, Jewelry, and rusted Weapons. “And this Cold Pool Orchid, they’ll all go to Junior Brother Chen! I’m taking a slight advantage of you, I’m afraid.”

He appeared to generously give the rest to Chen Qing, but he knew full well that the Jade Scale Fruit’s value far exceeded what Chen Qing was getting. He was the one who had truly come out on top.

He quickly stepped forward and carefully picked the jade-green plant with its crimson fruit, stowing it away.

Chen Qing didn’t call him out on it, simply saying calmly, “Thank you, Brother Song.”

He walked over and first carefully picked the Cold Pool Orchid, putting it away safely.

Next, he took out a leather pouch he had prepared and began to gather the pile of gold, silver, and Jewelry.

In the process, he nonchalantly scooped the gold, silver, and Jewelry into the pouch, along with that iron plate. His movements were smooth and natural, attracting no one’s attention.

The amount of Jewelry was considerable, worth at least a few thousand taels of silver by a rough estimate. Adding the Cold Pool Orchid, what he received was, on the surface, quite a substantial haul.

Meanwhile, Lin Wei directed her Profound Water Snake to efficiently process the massive Black Python corpse, extracting its most valuable parts with practiced ease.

Once the spoils were divided, the atmosphere in the cave seemed relaxed and harmonious, as everyone felt they had gotten what they wanted most.

Wu Yuanhua, holding the wrapped snake eggs, couldn’t hide his excitement. He began to humbly ask Lin Wei for advice on the incubation and Early Stage feeding of Exotic Beasts.

Lin Wei was also happy to share her experience. The two spoke in low voices, their relationship seemingly growing a little closer.

After a short while, Lin Wei said, “I’m done packing up. Let’s keep going. The core of the Water Eye isn’t far ahead.”

The four of them boarded the Water-Splitting Shuttle once more.

The shuttle had traveled less than a hundred zhang when the waterway ahead suddenly opened up. A massive whirlpool, over several dozen zhang in diameter, appeared in the center of their view.

The whirlpool spun slowly, its center unfathomably deep.

This was the core Water Eye of the Ping River System, and the main objective of their exploration.

Chen Qing, however, walked over to Song Ming and asked, “Brother Song, this Black Python should logically be in deeper waters. Why would it come to the vicinity of an outer Water Eye? And the previous attacks on the Fishery… their frequency and intensity far exceeded the past. What do you think happened deep within Qianchuan Marsh?”

Song Ming’s smile vanished. He frowned, staring into the dark, deep waterway. “I find it strange, too. In past years, some Exotic Beasts would occasionally stray into the outer regions, but this year’s frequency is truly rare. A predator of the Black Python’s caliber has an extremely strong sense of territory. It would never easily leave the core waters and come to a place like an outer Water Eye unless something major happened near its lair. I suspect… perhaps some Overlord Level existence deep within Qianchuan Marsh has run into trouble, causing an ecological imbalance. Or…”

He paused, his voice dropping low. “Something is stirring up trouble in the depths, driving them out.”

Just then, the Profound Water Snake on Lin Wei’s arm began to tremble violently. It frantically tried to burrow into her sleeve, letting out rapid, faint hisses.

“Wait!” Lin Wei’s expression changed drastically as she immediately cried out a warning. “Brother Song, everyone, look!”

Song Ming brought the shuttle to an abrupt halt, the Water-Splitting Shuttle stabilizing precariously at the edge of the powerful suction.

Everyone’s gaze followed the direction Lin Wei was pointing.

On the shallows near the stone wall at the edge of the Water Eye, the sight was enough to make one’s skin crawl!

The corpses of several different kinds of Exotic Beasts were piled there in disarray.

There was a strange fish, two zhang long and covered in Bone Spikes; a monstrous, crocodile-like water beast with three eyes; and a behemoth resembling a giant turtle with a snake’s tail, its entire body covered in thick armor… Without exception, their bodies were all in an advanced state of decay. Flesh was peeled back to reveal stark white bone, and they emitted a stench so thick it was nauseating.

Even more bizarrely, the corpses were crawling with a dense swarm of black, venomous insects, all greedily gnawing on the putrid flesh.

HISS…

Wu Yuanhua sucked in a sharp breath.

Song Ming carefully observed the rotting beast corpses and said in a grave voice, “Their Essence Blood… has been completely drained! Look at that Ironback Alligator Turtle. The area around its heart should be where its qi and blood are most vigorous, but now it looks like a shriveled wineskin!”

…

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