Chapter 93: A Treasure Trove

"Master, are we hunting a protected animal here?"

As he played the role of a babysitter, Su Xiaofan said, "If this thing were a protected animal, wouldn't we have to hand it over to the relevant department?"

"What protected animal? Can it eat us, but we can't kill it?"

Hearing his disciple's words, Jing Shizhen was instantly furious, "I worked hard to take this thing down, and you want someone else to reap the benefits? No way!"

"Cough, Uncle Jing, this is easy to handle."

Seeing Jing Shizhen about to lose control, Tong Dongjie quickly said, "Let's leave the mountain first, bring the tools to dissect this giant python, and then I'll have a refrigerated truck waiting at the mountain entrance to transport it out. I'll take care of the arrangements."

For this project, Tong Dongjie's company had been working in the area for several years, and mobilizing such resources was a piece of cake for him.

"Alright, I trust you, Dongjie. Just make sure the news doesn't get out."

Jing Shizhen nodded, estimating the weight of the giant python, and said, "Have them prepare more insulated boxes, and the truck should be over three tons."

"Don't worry, Uncle Jing, this area is under my contract, and no one usually pays attention to it."

Tong Dongjie confidently patted his chest, but then switched to a fawning tone, "Uncle Jing, can you sell me some of this python's parts?"

"Sure, Dongjie, you know the drill, you have to buy it."

Jing Shizhen laughed and said, "Tell me, what do you want to buy? Just so you know, the python skin, python pearl, python blood, and python bones are not for sale!"

Jing Shizhen's string of "not for sale" left Su Xiaofan stunned, as if the only thing left to sell was the python meat.

"Uncle Jing, I don't dare to ask for the python skin or pearl, but can you give me some of the python blood, bones, and skin?"

Hearing Jing Shizhen's words, Tong Dongjie was on the verge of tears.

The meat of a super creature, while beneficial to the human body, wasn't very useful, but the python blood and bones were truly valuable.

As for the python pearl, whether this giant python had one or not was uncertain, but even if it did, Uncle Jing wouldn't sell it to him, as it was the essence of the python.

Jing Shizhen said irritably, "What do you need the python blood and bones for? You can't use them."

"Uncle Jing, I can't use them, but my family can. This project has been delayed for five or six years, and the pressure from home is immense. If I bring back some of this stuff, it will help me navigate the situation."

"That's true, your family's cultivation techniques focus on strengthening the body, so they can use it."

Jing Shizhen thought for a moment and said, "Dongjie, you know that the parts of a super creature are always in high demand but hard to come by. I'll let you have some, but you must keep it a secret and not leak any information."

"Uncle Jing, you're like my real uncle."

Tong Dongjie quickly said, "Rest assured, I'd rather sell my own father than reveal this information!"

"Get lost, you'd sell your father and still care about me?"

Jing Shizhen was amused by Tong Dongjie's words, looked up at the sky, and said, "Let's hurry and get out to prepare. It's too hot, and the meat can't be left out for long. We need to transport it out of the mountain today."

"Alright, I'll call for arrangements once we have a signal after crossing the riverbed... The truck and everything are ready, and it should take no more than two hours to prepare."

Jing Shizhen, willing to give some python blood and bones to Tong Dongjie, was motivated, "The truck and everything are ready, and it should take no more than two hours to prepare."

"Alright, Dongjie, go make the call first." Jing Shizhen waved his hand and said, "I have something to say to Xiaofan."

"Alright, Uncle Jing, I'll be back after I make the call." Tong Dongjie nodded, glanced at the giant python, and reluctantly went down the mountain.

"Ask what you want to ask."

Seeing Su Xiaofan's puzzled face, Jing Shizhen laughed. Today's trip had been fruitful, and his mood was naturally excellent.

Su Xiaofan put on a windbreaker, as his previous clothes were torn to shreds. The windbreaker had a pocket, which he used to carry the little tiger cat that had drunk its fill of milk.

"Master, what are the uses of the python skin, blood, and bones?"

As soon as Su Xiaofan asked, he slapped his head, "No, I should ask, what are the uses of the parts of a super creature?"

An ordinary python, besides its skin and meat, had no other uses, and its bones were too large for making wine.

Jing Shizhen and Tong Dongjie's emphasis on the parts of the giant python could only mean that it had value as a super creature.

"Python skin, when tanned, can be made into armor that ordinary blades can't penetrate."

Jing Shizhen pointed to the giant python on the ground and said, "Python blood can assist in ancient martial arts training to strengthen the body. Python bones, when ground into powder, can be used to make elixirs or medicine. Python pearls can help people break through cultivation barriers, but I've only heard of them and never seen one."

"Is it very useful?" Su Xiaofan still didn't fully understand.

"Yes, it's very useful. If you have the blood of a super creature to assist in strengthening the body, the effects are excellent. The ground bones can be used to make elixirs, which can increase the true qi in the dantian, making them invaluable treasures. The meat, on the other hand, isn't very useful, as the energy it contains isn't significant for us. We can sell more of it to Tong Dongjie later."

"Master, what price should we sell to Dongjie?" Su Xiaofan, who didn't understand making elixirs, perked up at the mention of money.

"Python meat, 10,000 yuan per pound. Python bones, 50,000 yuan per pound. Python skin, 100,000 yuan per pound. Python blood, 1,000,000 yuan per pound. Hehe, we don't need that much ourselves."

"100,000, 1,000,000?"

Su Xiaofan was taken aback, "Master, are you sure the unit is pounds, not tons?"

"How fresh, the blood, meat, and bones of a super creature. I'm already being generous by not selling them by the gram."

Jing Shizhen glared at Su Xiaofan and said, "Don't speak later, let me handle the negotiations. We need to make the Tong family pay this time."

"Shrewd businessman, absolutely a shrewd businessman."

Looking at the massive creature on the ground, Su Xiaofan couldn't help but think that this thing, weighing four to five tons, would fetch a sky-high price in his master's hands.

"Whatever we sell, I'll give you. If there's a pearl, I'll keep it."

Jing Shizhen said, "We took this job from the Tong family to see if there were any super creatures. We did find one, but it was quite dangerous. We need to be better prepared next time."

"Master, you... you came for this giant python?" Su Xiaofan's mouth dropped open. Weren't we here to deal with a spatial rift?

"How would I know? Otherwise, I would have prepared a suitable weapon for you."

Jing Shizhen smiled and said, "This spatial rift formed too recently, so it usually doesn't have super creatures. We were lucky this time!"

"I'm injured like this, and you call it lucky?" Su Xiaofan was speechless.

"Of course, do you know how many people die when dealing with super creatures in other places?"

Jing Shizhen's expression turned serious.

"Tong Dongjie told me about the wild boar incident, where nine people died. Ten years ago in Bermuda, 28 people died. Six years ago in the Amazon rainforest, 62 people died. You only got injured and took down two super creatures. Do you think you lost or gained?"

The more Jing Shizhen spoke, the more he felt that his disciple was a lucky star, not only finding a super creature but also one that was already injured.

"Don't skin and sell the little tiger cat."

Su Xiaofan stroked the little creature in his pocket and said, "It helped us a lot, so let's bury it."

"Alright, I agree."

Jing Shizhen nodded and said, "But we need to take the claws. Find someone who can process them, and they'll be valuable treasures."

Without waiting for Su Xiaofan's agreement, Jing Shizhen picked up the dead tiger cat. He flipped the front paws, revealing thick pads with claws about 20 centimeters long, which gleamed with a metallic luster.

Jing Shizhen didn't cut off the front paws but directly broke off six claws, saying that only these six were useful.

Su Xiaofan found a bag from his backpack and put the tiger cat inside.

"What are you doing?" Seeing Su Xiaofan carrying the tiger cat into the forest, Jing Shizhen called out to him.

"I'm going to bury it."

Su Xiaofan planned to find a hidden spot to bury the tiger cat.

"Throw it in the well."

Jing Shizhen shook his head and said, "Once the area is developed, the entire forest will be excavated. Burying it anywhere won't be safe. Throwing it in the well ensures no one will find it."

"You're right."

Su Xiaofan thought about it and placed the bag at the well's mouth, bowing his hands, "Farewell, little tiger cat. I'll take care of your cub!"

After muttering a few words, Su Xiaofan pushed the bag into the well.

A "splash" sound echoed, and Su Xiaofan looked down to see the bag containing the tiger cat's body disappear into the water.

"Sentimental!" Jing Shizhen ignored Su Xiaofan and walked to the giant python, pulling out his soft sword.

"Master, you brought a weapon but didn't give me one."

Su Xiaofan envied his master's soft sword, which could be used as a normal sword when infused with true qi and was easy to carry when wrapped around the waist.

"It's not easy to carry on a plane, and it's too much trouble."

Jing Shizhen put the six claws into a bag and said, "I'll find someone to make a weapon for you with these claws. It won't be detected by airport security and will be better than my soft sword."

Jing Shizhen wasn't just placating Su Xiaofan. While his soft sword was extraordinary and made with precious metals, it was far inferior to the materials from a super creature.