Gao Wu: Oh no! Young Master Zhen is a cultivator!

Before long, the golden toad had seven or eight burns on its body.

It seemed to realize that it was not going to gain any advantage, and began to slowly retreat.

Seeing this, Lin Ran knew something was wrong.

If the golden toad escapes into the pool, then I will be trapped in this hole.

Once he's in the water, his fire control technique won't work, and he won't be able to defeat the golden toad.

After a moment's thought, Lin Ran decisively abandoned Jinlian's protection and leaped out.

He first cast a golden light spell on himself, then drew his training longsword, leaped into the air, and charged toward the golden toad.

Seeing this, the golden toad stopped retreating and turned to pounce on Lin Ran.

when!

The long sword, used in training, struck the golden toad, producing a metallic clang.

The golden toad opened its mouth, as if to spew out golden light, but Lin Ran raised his hand and threw a fireball into the toad's mouth.

"Croak!"

A cloud of black smoke billowed from the golden toad's mouth, and it let out a painful cry.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lin Ran activated his fire control technique, causing his longsword to ignite into a raging inferno.

Lin Ran slashed down, tearing open the golden toad's skin and flesh.

"Snap!"

The blade struck the bone with a crisp sound.

The golden toad tilted its head, as if sticking out its tongue at Lin Ran.

when!

The tip of her tongue struck Lin Ran's protective golden light, but ultimately failed to break the golden light spell.

Lin Ran pressed his advantage, stabbing the golden toad in the mouth with a knife that pierced through the gap in its skull and into its brain.

"Gurgle..."

The golden toad tried to croak, but it was too weak to continue. With a splash, it rolled into a puddle next to it.

"call……"

Lin Ran breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally, it's resolved."

He stepped forward and used his long knife to pry open the golden toad's skull.

What catches the eye is a crystal nucleus the size of an egg, with a golden sheen on its surface, and it is in excellent condition.

A fifth-tier mutated beast core—this one alone is worth more than all his gains today.

With this crystal core and the assistance of the Nine-Rank Golden Lotus, it might help him reach the fifth or even sixth level of Qi Refining.

Lin Ran walked back to the Nine-Rank Golden Lotus, and once again showed hesitation.

This place is isolated from the outside world, which is why this golden lotus was not discovered by others.

If he takes Jinlian away now, it will probably be difficult to preserve her.

If someone with malicious intent targets us, who knows what kind of trouble it might cause.

His current cultivation level is too low; he hasn't mastered the Pot Heaven Technique yet, so he can't freely store items.

"If only I had a storage solution."

The moment this thought arose, the Xuanhuang Cauldron in his sea of ​​consciousness trembled violently.

A golden light shot out from between Lin Ran's eyebrows, enveloping the entire ninth-grade golden lotus, uprooting it and transforming it into a stream of light that entered between Lin Ran's eyebrows.

Lin Ran subconsciously looked into his sea of ​​consciousness and saw the Xuanhuang Cauldron floating quietly, with a miniature version of a nine-grade golden lotus floating above its mouth.

The nine petals still shimmered with golden light, just as they had when they were in the puddle.

He looked at the empty puddle and confirmed that the Golden Lotus had indeed been taken into the Xuanhuang Cauldron.

"This thing can actually store items?"

Thinking of this, he turned and walked to the corpse of the golden toad, staring at its enormous golden body, and silently uttered, "Collect!"

However, the Xuanhuang Cauldron did not react at all.

Seeing this, Lin Ran was still not giving up. He tried the pebbles on the ground and the training longsword in his hand, but the Xuanhuang Cauldron still did not react.

"It seems only treasures that meet the requirements of the 'Myriad Treasures Forging Spirit Technique' can be included. This guy is quite picky."

Lin Ran shook his head: "Fine! We've got the treasure and the crystal core, it's time to head out."

He glanced at the golden toad on the ground again, then turned and leaped into the pool.

He raised his hand, made a water-repelling gesture, and quickly left.

Now that he has reached the third level of Qi Refining, he no longer needs to worry about drowning.

In the mine tunnel, Zhang Jiafei leaned against the rock wall, his face buried in his knees.

He had been waiting here for who knows how long; he had finished the dry rations he brought, and his water bottle was empty.

He would peek out towards the pool every now and then, but he never saw the senior come out.

Was my newly acquired powerful patron destined to die in the water?

I shouldn't have brought him here. We didn't even get half a percent of the profits, and we waited for over ten hours for nothing.

Just as he sighed countless times and was about to get up and leave, the water suddenly surged, and a figure leaped out of the water and landed steadily on the shore.

Zhang Jiafei was taken aback at first, then his face lit up with joy, and he quickly went to greet him: "Senior, you're finally out!"

"I encountered a bit of an accident." Lin Ran looked a little disheveled, but his spirits were better than before he went into the water.

Clearly, the fourth-tier mineral crystal toad did not cause this senior too much trouble.

"It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright." Zhang Jiafei's gaze swept over Lin Ran's tattered clothes, and he wisely refrained from asking any further questions. "I'll take the senior out first."

Lin Ran nodded: "Let's go."

The two returned along the same route.

The mine tunnels were unusually quiet in the early morning, with only the occasional roar of mutated creatures coming from afar.

After walking for about twenty minutes, faint starlight appeared at the end of the mine tunnel.

The guards at the mine entrance have been replaced, and now they are changing night shifts.

Stepping outside the cave, Zhang Jiafei stopped in his tracks: "Senior, look..."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but rub his hands together.

Lin Ran understood, took out two third-tier crystal cores from his backpack, and then took out all the first-tier and second-tier crystal cores he had hunted along the way, and stuffed them into Zhang Jiafei's hands.

"Thank you so much, senior!" Zhang Jiafei's hands were trembling.

These crystal cores are worth at least five or six hundred thousand at market price, which is an incredible surprise.

He worked as a guide at the mine. When he was lucky, he might earn 100,000 to 200,000 yuan a month, but he also had to risk being swallowed by mutated beasts every day.

This time, it's worth half a year's income for him.

"You deserve it," Lin Ran said calmly.

Zhang Jiafei put the crystal core into his backpack, bowed deeply to Lin Ran, and thanked him repeatedly.

"Thank you, senior. If you come again next time, please feel free to look for me."

"Mm." Lin Ran nodded.

"Then I won't bother you any longer, senior."

After saying that, Zhang Jiafei turned and left, quickly disappearing into the woods.

Lin Ran glanced at the guards at the mine entrance who had already completed the handover, then tugged at his mask and walked away.

He found a secluded corner, raised his hand to form a hand seal, and used the Earth Escape Technique to disappear into the ground.

A few minutes later, he emerged from the lawn in the backyard of the Lin family villa, used the Dust-Avoiding Spell to clean off the dust on his body, and stepped into the villa's living room.

It was already past midnight, but the lights were still on in the villa's living room.

Mr. and Mrs. Lin Hongbo sat on the sofa, looking worried.

Seeing Lin Ran return, Song Yishu immediately jumped up from the sofa: "Ran! Where have you been? Why are your clothes like this?"

She rushed to Lin Ran, grabbed his arm, and looked him up and down.

Although Lin Ran had used the Dust-Avoiding Technique to clean the dirt off his clothes, there were still many tears that could not be covered up.

"Me?" Lin Ran glanced at his clothes, gently pulled his arm away, and casually made up a story: "I went to the orphanage."

"Now that I'm the young master of the Lin family, I can't forget the old director's kindness. I did some work for the orphanage, and that's why my clothes are like this."

He couldn't just admit that he went to the abandoned mine; that would only cause more trouble.

However, since the orphanage was mentioned, he should indeed make a trip there.

If you've taken over someone else's body, you should at least repay the debt of gratitude you owe them.

Upon hearing this, Song Yishu paused slightly.

All the warnings he had prepared were stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word.

She took a deep breath, her voice still trembling slightly: "I'm glad you're alright."

Seemingly hearing the noise downstairs, Lin Zhiyao came down in her pajamas.

"Hmph! And Mom and Dad were worried about you all day! You went out without a word, and didn't answer the phone. Your second sister even thought you went to the abandoned mine and went looking for you there!"