Yuantian Pidao

Chapter 479 Refining Gold
Deep in the desert, undercurrents surged. A monster about three zhang long, yellowish-brown in color, and shaped like an earthworm opened its huge mouth full of sharp teeth and tore a large chunk of flesh from the body of a catfish.

With a hum, the flesh and blood were swallowed, and the creature, which resembled an earthworm, shimmered with an eerie light. A look of satisfaction appeared on its face.

In the shadows, a gaze silently observed it.

"Dragon Earthworm, I never expected it to be such a demonic creature. What a pleasant surprise."

Upon confirming Long Qiu's identity, Jiang Chen's face showed a strange expression.

Dragons have powerful bloodlines and have given birth to many subspecies, one of which is the dragon earthworm. However, compared to other subspecies, the dragon earthworm is indeed relatively rare. This is mainly because the earthworm race is inherently impure, which is despised by the dragon race. In most cases, they will not have offspring with the earthworm race.

"From the current observation, this dragon earthworm's bloodline is quite pure. The only pity is that its cultivation is a bit weak, only at the Qi Refining level, and it has not even achieved the Dao Foundation."

"However, it's not without a chance. After all, dragon earthworms are social creatures. Since one has appeared, there are likely others. There might even be dragon earthworms at the Dao Foundation level, given their pure bloodline."

As his gaze swept over the earthen-yellow scales on the dragon earthworm, a variety of thoughts flashed through Jiang Chen's mind.

At this moment, he did indeed have thoughts about the dragon earthworm. The dragon earthworm is a special creature. Although it seems filthy, it plays a great role in cultivating spiritual fields and improving the land. According to the records of the Wuchang Sect, there were sects that raised such demons to cultivate spiritual fields.

“Dragon earthworms are creatures that are full of life. This desert is lifeless and not suitable for them to live in for a long time. Since the dragon earthworm has appeared here, it means that there is a place with vitality nearby. Only such a place can serve as its nest.”

"All I have to do now is wait patiently for this dragon earthworm to show me the way to their lair."

With a sudden thought, Jiang Chen activated the secret technique.

The next instant, the yellow sand flowed, inadvertently leaving a mark on the dragon earthworm. The dragon earthworm was completely unaware of this, still immersed in the joy of a successful hunt, devouring its prey.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the dragon earthworm swallowed its entire prey, twisted its body, and burrowed into the sea of ​​sand.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen transformed into quicksand and followed far behind.

Three days later, after following the dragon earthworm through the desert, Jiang Chen finally found the dragon earthworm's nest.

The sands parted, revealing a breathtaking view. A cave, submerged deep within the sands and resembling an earthen hill on the outside, with its own hidden world within, appeared before Jiang Chen.

"A cave, indeed a cave. In this desolate desert, only a cave like this is the most suitable place for dragon earthworms to survive."

Using the yellow sand as his eyes, Jiang Chen saw the appearance of the underground cave and a smile appeared on his face.

Upon discovering the dragon earthworm, his first thought was of the underground cave. Now, everything was exactly as he expected. In the Western Desert, underground caves were known as places of extraordinary life, each one a treasure trove, often containing precious gems. "With dragon energy emanating from the cave and protected by an array, it seems this underground cave is occupied by the dragon earthworm clan. In that case, we need to be cautious."

"To be able to monopolize such a cave, the Dragon Earthworm clan must be quite powerful."

With his smile fading, Jiang Chen carefully examined the underground cavern, refraining from making a rash move.

Over the next period of time, Jiang Chen infiltrated the underground cave through various means to gather information, and finally gained a certain understanding of the cave.

This underground cave is indeed dominated by the Dragon Earthworm Clan, and is protected by multiple large formations, including one third-order formation, making its defense extremely tight. In addition, the Dragon Earthworm Clan is also quite powerful, with three Dao Foundation cultivators that he has detected.

Most importantly, deep within that cave, an extremely powerful aura slumbered, no weaker than his demonic body, and perhaps even stronger, faintly touching the threshold of the Purple Mansion realm.

"This underground cave has been fortified by the Dragon Earthworm Clan and is protected by multiple magic arrays. It will probably not be easy for me to take it down with the power of my Fiendish body alone."

"Moreover, that Dragon Earth Ancestor is extremely powerful, at least at the Dao Foundation Perfection stage, and may even possess some kind of Purple Mansion technique. Even if I could defeat it in a direct confrontation, it would be extremely difficult to keep it alive. The best approach is to outsmart it."

As his thoughts raced, Jiang Chen pondered many things. The Dragon Earthworm Clan was much stronger than he had originally anticipated, especially with the appearance of the third-order formation. This was something that ordinary demon races could not master, which meant that the Dragon Earthworm Clan had likely produced powerful figures in the past.

"The Dragon Earthworm Clan has a strong dragon bloodline, which is both their advantage and their weakness. My dragon fishing rod can be used to its advantage. The only troublesome thing is how to get around the great formation. If Rat Prodigy were here right now, that would be great."

As his thoughts drifted, Jiang Chen thought of Rat Prodigy. With Rat Prodigy's racial talent, if he cooperated with him, it would be possible to break through the opponent's protective formation silently.

"It seems we still need to rely on the power of the main body. However, if we succeed, the gains will be substantial. At the very least, there is a third-tier spiritual vein here. If we can successfully seize it, the last weakness of Lanyun City will be addressed. Taking some risks and wasting some time is entirely acceptable."

With a flicker of his eyes, leaving behind some surveillance methods, Jiang Chen's figure disappeared once again.

Just as Jiang Chen was gathering his strength to deal with the Dragon Earthworm Clan, deep within the Golden Spirit Mountain, Rat Prodigy's transformation was also at a crucial moment.

Ah, the residual power of the Rat King entered its body, and Rat Prodigy couldn't help but let out a painful howl. At this moment, all the muscles and bones in its body were being reforged. An invisible hammer was constantly hammering its body, allowing it to absorb the essence of various spiritual minerals and complete its transformation. This was the profound mystery of the Rat King's supernatural power of melting gold and refining it a hundred times.

This supernatural power is a treasured technique passed down by the Gold-Gnawing Rat clan. It excels at smelting various metals, and its mystery lies in its ability to fuse the properties of different precious ores, thereby creating an even more profound power. It can be used not only externally but also for refining physical form.

With a hum, the power of supernatural abilities flowed, and as time passed, the radiance of the Rat King's body gradually dimmed, eventually turning from a brilliant golden body into a stubborn rock. However, after being tempered a hundred times, the radiance on the Rat Prodigy's body became more and more intense, gradually giving birth to a unique aura belonging to the Treasure Body. That was the Ruyi Treasure Body, the highest achievement of the Gold-Gnawing Rat Clan's Gold Fusion and Body Refinement Method at the Dao Foundation level.

The moment this acquired treasure body truly took shape, Rat Prodigy's aura surged.

(End of this chapter)