Starting Cultivation During a Trip

Chapter 552 272: Liu Hai and the Golden Toad! Mountain Patrol Officer in the Night

"This thing is truly dangerous." Qi Delong's face suddenly changed as he tightened the rope in his hand, ready to pull Zhang Fan back.

"Bro, look..."

At this moment, Qi Delong's gaze abruptly sharpened, noticing that Zhang Fan seemed entirely unaffected, his figure moving even faster, darting through the layer of black water like a fish.

"His Primordial Spirit is actually unaffected?" Qi Delong's face subtly trembled, revealing an incredulous expression.

"Divine Demon Holy Embryo... truly deserving of the name..."

At this moment, Qi Delong finally recalled the scene when Zhang Fan battled Li Changgeng at the Imprisoned Immortal Temple.

"Bro, isn't his Primordial Spirit peculiar, hasn't he failed to achieve Divine Fusion?" Qi Dongqiang mumbled softly.

"I don't know either." Qi Delong frowned, eyes showing a thoughtful expression.

Now, Zhang Fan had reached the bottom of the pool. A strand of golden light was quite dazzling, with the golden oil forming into droplets like marbles, separating from the surrounding pool water.

Zhang Fan picked up the [Treasure Nourishing Gourd] and started filling it. As the golden oil entered the gourd, it automatically expelled the water from inside.

In no time, the gourd was filled.

Zhang Fan glanced around; there was still about half of the Dragon Toad Oil left.

He knew that even this small amount would take hundreds of years to accumulate.

Qi Delong was right, the gift of nature cannot be exhausted, otherwise, great tribulation will surely follow.

With that in mind, Zhang Fan secured the gourd and tugged the rope.

"Let's go."

Qi Delong was already waiting for Zhang Fan's signal. With a movement of the rope, he yanked with terrifying strength, pulling Zhang Fan from the pool bottom to the surface.

Huge splashes erupted as Zhang Fan landed on the shore like a large fish.

"Haha, this gourd is really heavy." Zhang Fan shook the Treasure Nourishing Gourd in his hand.

The density of the Dragon Toad Oil is extremely high, a single gourd weighs at least fifteen pounds, and the value of these hundreds of drops is conservatively estimated to be in the millions.

"You're really something." Qi Delong gave Zhang Fan a deep look and said sincerely.

"Let's split the treasure inside half each." Zhang Fan grinned; with a blink of an eye, he had made a seven-figure gain. At least he had enough to repair the [Mighty Spirit Demon-Suppressing Gold Seal], and there would still be plenty left over.

"We brothers didn't put in any effort, you keep it all." Qi Delong shook his head, unwilling to take advantage of Zhang Fan.

"How could I do that?" Zhang Fan said firmly.

"You told me about the place, and the gourd is yours too..."

Although Zhang Fan wanted to accumulate wealth, he didn't want to shortchange anyone of what they were due.

"How about this, next time leave us twenty drops of Dragon Toad Oil, and consider it a share." Qi Delong pondered a bit and then said.

Twenty drops of Dragon Toad Oil, worth around a million, probably accounted for only about twenty percent of that gourd.

"Alright." Zhang Fan agreed happily with a nod.

"Where did these reckless folks come from, running into the mountains at night?"

Just then, a voice called out, accompanied by a glaring beam of light.

Zhang Fan turned around and saw a man standing in the distance, about forty years old, with stubble, a faint scar on his face, wearing a mountain patrol uniform, holding a flashlight, suspiciously eyeing Zhang Fan and Qi Delong.

"Are you trekkers out of your minds? Running wild in unopened mountains, if you get lost and lose warmth, you're courting death." The Mountain Patrol Officer cursed as he walked over.

"Don't you know you can't just enter the mountains at night?" The patrol officer said as he approached, swinging his flashlight.

"We..." Qi Delong pursed his lips, hesitating to speak.

"You're lucky to have met me, I only come here once every two months." The patrol officer shot Zhang Fan a sidelong glance: "You'll lose temperature like this, come with me..."

"There's a ranger station not far ahead."

Generally, a ranger station is set up in the mountains for Mountain Patrol Officers to rest and resupply.

"Alright, let's rest and change clothes first." Qi Delong nodded.

"Fine."

Zhang Fan slowly stood up and followed them.

A moment later, the group reached the shabby ranger station, which was visited only every two or three months.

The not-so-spacious wooden hut had a heater turned on, and Zhang Fan sat beside it, feeling a bit of warmth, the moisture on his body starting to evaporate.

"Uncle, what's your name?" Zhang Fan asked.

"My surname is Nian, from Nian Gengyao's Nian, everyone calls me Old Nian."

As he spoke, Old Nian pulled a bottle of Erguotou from his pocket and placed it in front of Zhang Fan.

"Have a sip to warm up."

His eyes were squinted, his face rosy, indicating he had already had more than a couple of sips.

"Uncle Nian, how long have you been a Mountain Patrol Officer?" Zhang Fan asked casually.

"Can't remember, ever since I started working, I've been wandering these mountains, I've seen more mountains than people." Old Nian took the Erguotou, tilted his head back, and drank generously.

"I've seen many like you, reckless... in the past, there were trekkers who died in the mountains, when those family members came looking, their cries were earth-shattering... got numb to it all..." Old Nian sighed to himself.

Zhang Fan and Qi Delong exchanged a glance but said nothing.

This man was somewhat like Qin Ergou, with a lifetime's fate deeply entwined with the mountains."

"But sometimes, you come across interesting things..."

Speaking, Old Nian, with a hint of intoxication, squinted his eyes, showing a fascinated expression.

"What interesting things?" Zhang Fan asked casually.

"A couple of years ago, the fad of climbing influencers came around, those sights, never seen anything like it in a lifetime..."

Speaking, Old Nian grinned slightly: "Kid, have you ever seen someone rock climbing in yoga pants?"

"..."

Zhang Fan had an odd expression, how come this talk sounds so familiar?

This fellow was remarkably similar to Li Yishan.

"Haven't seen anything like that in the past couple of years..." Old Nian snapped out of his reminiscence, eyes showing undisguised disappointment.

"But last year, I did come across a great beauty, truly stunning... her name was quite special too..."

Old Nian kept drinking and talking to himself as if he were alone in the room.

"What was it... her surname was Li... her name... Li Ling... Li Ling..."

"Li Ling?"

"No, it was Li Linglong!" Old Nian slapped his forehead, suddenly remembering.