Chapter Forty-Two: A Bountiful Harvest

One breath, two breaths… Half a quarter of an hour passed. After the giant scorpion unleashed its self-destructive killing move and lay motionless for a long time, the brothers and sisters, enduring excruciating pain throughout their bodies, gathered around the scorpion's corpse. Those with lighter injuries crawled into the gaping wound in its abdomen.

“Senior Brother Gu, wake up!”

“Little Fatty, it’s me, your brother Changzhi. Can you hear me?”

“Stop shaking him, he’s badly wounded.”

“His breath still lingers. I’ve already fed him a healing pill.”

With this reminder from a senior sister, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Under the anxious gazes of his peers, Gu Xiaopang slowly regained consciousness, spitting out a mouthful of old blood. The spoils—the giant scorpion’s corpse—were left unclaimed; no one dared or was qualified to contest Gu Xiaopang for it, lest they incur everyone’s wrath. After all, their lives had been saved by him.

After chatting idly for a while, Gu Xiaopang had recovered about twenty percent and could move about simply. Since this was the training ground for his peers, they had no intention of risking their lives elsewhere. Thus, Gu Xiaopang entrusted the line of sand scorpions—including the golden core giant scorpion—to Senior Sister Lu, whose cultivation was currently the highest, to keep safe. Then he bid farewell to everyone.

“Old Qin? Master?”

“You brat, what are you yelling for?”

“Master, you’re too stingy. Why didn’t you lend me more strength? I nearly lost my life!”

“You know nothing. The amount I lent you was exactly at your limit—it was the most suitable.”

“Fine, I’ll concede you’re right.”

“But after finally winning, why not let me delve deeper to find the Earth Essence?”

“By the way, what happened to the giant scorpion’s golden core? Did you take it for yourself again?”

“Heh, lucky brat!”

“The giant scorpion only broke through to golden core because it partially fused with Earth Essence. Didn’t expect that, did you? Hahaha…”

Chatting all the way as he ran, Gu Xiaopang, though still not fully recovered, avoided the territories of powerful mystical beasts thanks to Old Qin’s guidance.

“I really wish I could collect all the other elemental essences as well.”

“When I return to the sect, if I’m in a good mood, perhaps I’ll gift one to someone I take a liking to.”

“You rascal, always squandering treasures.”

“Gifting? Giving away? Wouldn’t it be better to keep good things for yourself?”

“For myself? Aside from earth and fire, would I really need the others?”

“Isn’t that obvious?!”

“You mean… I can cultivate all five elements? Impossible, right?!”

“That’s right! You can’t!”

“Then why say so! All my excitement for nothing!”

“I haven’t finished. You yourself can’t! But with me—who am I? Back in the day…”

Suddenly, as if discovering a new world, Gu Xiaopang sprinted even faster. Half a month had passed in the secret realm, and now, with a new goal, he worried time would run out.

Afterwards, towering peaks of spiritual plants, vast oceans, and mysterious weapon tombs—all were places Gu Xiaopang set foot in. On the third-to-last day of the month within the secret realm, he finally gathered all five elemental essences, and even collected two rare ones: Swift Wind and Lightning.

Overjoyed at such gains, Gu Xiaopang hid in a deserted cave, laughing madly for a long, long time.