That idiot from the Sword Sect turned out to be a lucky charm.

Chapter 37 Renting the Treasure-Hunting Mouse

"So what?" Lin Zhifeng asked, "What does this have to do with us?"

Longquan almost collapsed. Aren't you Sword Sect the most righteous and compassionate?

Longquan gritted his teeth and stamped his foot, making a firm decision, and said to Lin Zhifeng, "Since this junior brother is unwilling to give up the treasure-hunting rat, then I wonder if you would be willing to lend it to me?"

Fearing Lin Zhifeng might refuse, she quickly added, "I'll pay one million high-grade spirit stones to rent it once. Around this time next year, I need it to accompany me to the inheritance site of the Divine Dragon Dynasty to help me find the item left by our ancient ancestors to awaken the bloodline of the Divine Dragon. I'll pay half as a deposit first, and if we find it, I'll pay the other half."

Lin Zhifeng still didn't want to agree after hearing this.

This place of inheritance is definitely fraught with danger. Lin Zhifeng was really worried about lending him the little mouse.

But this time, the treasure-hunting rat whispered in his ear, "You can agree to his request, but we have to make a condition—you have to go in too. And it would be best if you could persuade him to come along as well. He's highly skilled and can be our bodyguard." As it spoke, it pointed at Ding Mo.

Lin Zhifeng was speechless at this little mouse; it was risking its life for money!

Besides, it wasn't enough that it was ordering me around; it even set its sights on Ding Mo.

Lin Zhifeng said, "I'm afraid that's not a good idea. My uncle is very busy and may not have time."

The treasure-hunting rat said, "We can just give him half of the spirit stones we get, and half of the good stuff we find in that secret realm, right?"

Ding Mo: "..." It seems I have no choice but to agree.

Lin Zhifeng, spurred on by the treasure-hunting rat, also wanted to visit the inheritance site of the Divine Dragon Dynasty.

So he shamelessly approached Ding Mo and asked, "Uncle-Master, would you be interested in cooperating with me to make some extra money?"

Ding Mo glanced at him and said, "Okay."

Lin Zhifeng was surprised that he agreed so quickly.

Little did he know that Ding Mo had overheard his conversation with the treasure-hunting rat.

Ding Mo agreed mainly because he was worried about Lin Zhifeng. Lin Zhifeng was the son of his idol, Sect Master Lin Yuan; how could he not take good care of him?

Furthermore, those benefits also played a certain role.

Although Ding Mo is the number one genius of the Sword Sect and usually receives the highest monthly allowance, his master, the Grand Elder, often thinks of him when he has good things, so he's not exactly poor. However, upgrading his spirit sword is really too expensive! Moreover, the higher the level of upgrading, the rarer and higher the quality of the materials required, and the more spirit stones are needed.

So when he saw that Lin Zhifeng wanted to go, he readily agreed. He could protect his idol's son at the same time, and also save up some upgrade money for his "son" (Longyin)—it was a win-win situation.

After receiving a positive answer from Ding Mo, Lin Zhifeng went with Long Quan to discuss the terms and set a time.

After much negotiation, both parties finally reached an agreement: Party A, Longquan, would rent Party B, Lin Zhifeng's, Treasure-Hunting Rat once to search for the artifacts that represent the bloodline of the Divine Dragon Dynasty. While the Treasure-Hunting Rat searches for sacred objects in the land of the Divine Dragon Dynasty's heritage, Party B's Lin Zhifeng and Ding Mo would accompany it. Party A, Longquan, would pay Party B 500,000 high-grade spirit stones as a deposit; the remaining 500,000 high-grade spirit stones would be paid upon successful completion of the transaction.

Lin Zhifeng also requested Longquan to add a supplementary clause—anything found by Party B's two people and one rat in the land of the Tianlong Dynasty's inheritance, other than the sacred relics, including but not limited to spirit ores, spirit herbs, spirit flowers, weapons, armor, and magical artifacts, shall belong to Party B.

Longquan himself is a domineering person, and he's really seen something new today. There are people actually trying to profit from other people's heritage sites?

But since he needed their help, he had no choice but to agree with tears in his eyes.

Longquan gave Lin Zhifeng a communication artifact and made an agreement with him to contact him in advance when they were to carry out the operation next year. Then he quickly left with his men.

The disciples of the Sword Sect who witnessed the entire process felt that the Sword Sect had a good chance of escaping poverty and becoming wealthy in the future.

Look at these two. One has super strong fighting skills and no one dares to mess with him; the other is full of cunning and scheming, always plotting and calculating.

If they become the top two leaders of the Sword Sect, and the two of them work together, the Sword Sect will probably be on a roll!

Having successfully resolved this minor incident, the Sword Sect disciples continued their exploration of the grassland.

As darkness approached, the meadow had been completely looted by the crowd.

Ding Mo chose a location near the edge of the grassland as his campsite for the night.

Tomorrow we can leave the grasslands and continue heading north.

The same camp was set up again that night, except the grassland had been cleared clean, and no more beasts came to attack.

The next day, everyone got up early and headed to the next area.

To the north of the grassland lies an endless desert.

The desert has the harshest climate conditions: during the day, the sun shines directly and the temperature is extremely high, almost scorching people to death; at night, the temperature drops sharply and almost freezes people to death.

Furthermore, the desert sandstorms were also unpleasant. This wasn't ordinary sand; it was a light gray, poisonous sand. To avoid being covered in dust and grime and contaminated by the toxic fumes, everyone channeled their spiritual energy to protect themselves.

In this way, the sandstorm was blocked, but the consumption of spiritual energy was a bit too great.

Apart from Ding Mo, the others' spiritual energy recovery couldn't keep up with the rate of consumption. Everyone was forced to desperately break through their limits, and occasionally, when they couldn't hold on any longer, they would take a Zhongyuan Pill to replenish their spiritual energy.

That cost a lot of money!

If we can't find anything of value in this desert, we'll be in big trouble, even worse than crossing the grasslands a few days ago!

Fortunately, the desert is relatively productive.

In this gloomy, poisonous sand, a gigantic scorpion monster often suddenly emerges.

This scorpion monster was three to five meters tall, with its tail flashing red and pointing high into the sky.

When it attacks, it first charges straight at its target. If it knocks the target down or stuns it, it will turn around, plunge its stinger into the target's body, and then inject venom. Once the target is poisoned and lying on the ground, it's time for the scorpion monster to enjoy its meal.

They typically use their giant chelicerae to hold onto their food, then use their mouthparts to crush and swallow it.

However, this time they encountered disciples of the Sword Sect. Not only did they fail to obtain food, but they also became spoils of war for the Sword Sect disciples.

Yes, this scorpion monster is a treasure trove from head to toe!

The giant claws can be forged into magical artifacts; the hard shell on its body can be used to make armor; the scorpion meat is edible and tastes exceptionally delicious. The shelled scorpion meat can be sold to restaurants or consumed to replenish spiritual energy; and the scorpion venom is a top-grade toxin needed for cultivation by the Five Poisons Sect, fetching a very high price on the market.

The disciples of the Sword Sect didn't care about fairness with the Scorpion Monster; they would swarm him whenever they encountered him.

Now, the elite disciples, like Lin Zhifeng and Lin Jun, drew lots to determine their order of arrival. Then, when they encounter the scorpion monster, they gang up on it, and the monster's corpse is collected in turn according to the order drawn.

As everyone got into the frenzy of the killing, the screams of the scorpion monsters echoed across the desert.

Lin Zhifeng put away the giant scorpion monster's corpse and said jokingly to Lin Jun beside him, "What a beautiful sound that is!"

Lin Jun chimed in, "Yes! What could such a beautiful sound be?"

Feng Ping said, "I know, it's the voice of the spirit stone."

Everyone else burst into laughter upon hearing this.

Indeed, when we go out to gain experience, fighting side by side is the best way to strengthen our bonds.

Not only among them, but also among the elite disciples, and even between the elite disciples and them, the relationship has changed significantly compared to before.

Only Ding Mo, far away, was fighting the scorpion monster alone, looking somewhat lonely.

However, Lin Zhifeng wasn't presumptuous enough to sympathize with Ding Mo. Look at how fast he killed the scorpion monster—I won't say who's envious!

As the disciples of the Sword Sect ventured deeper into the desert, they encountered a new desert monster—the Sandworm Monster.

This sandworm monster is ugly; its body is made up of segments stuck together. It looks like a pile of old car tires glued together, except these tires are a dirty pink color.

The sandworm monster attacks by spitting sand at its enemies through a huge mouth at one end of its body. This sand is likely light gray, poisonous sand that it forages for on the desert.