The Gold-Munching Mouse King was reminded by Jiang Chen and smiled sheepishly. He circled around the Thundercloud Wood for a moment, then bared his teeth and said, "Chen Shao, I can uproot this Thundercloud Wood completely in half a shi. However, once it leaves the soil of the Metamagnetic Gold Mountain, it can't be replanted anywhere else. Are you sure you want me to pull it up by the roots?"
This question actually gave Jiang Chen pause.
"Chen Shao, this Thundercloud Wood is extremely rare. Uprooting it entirely would be a real shame. Why don't I just harvest a few branches for you? That should be more than enough."
Jiang Chen smiled wryly. "Old Gold, that doesn't sound like you at all. Since when did you become so sentimental?"
The Gold-Munching Mouse King grinned awkwardly. "Chen Shao, I... *sigh*, I'll do whatever you say."
Jiang Chen waved his hand dismissively. "I'm afraid I'll never be able to return to this Metamagnetic Gold Mountain again. Since the Thundercloud Wood is right before me, it's my opportunity. When Heaven places something before you and you fail to take it, you invite misfortune instead. Pull it up — roots and all!"
In the previous levels, Jiang Chen hadn't bothered to touch any of the treasures. He simply hadn't wanted to lower himself to fighting those mundane martial artists over things he had absolutely no use for.
But this Thundercloud Wood — situated in the ninth level's space, undeniably useful to him, and a treasure of boundless applications — was something Jiang Chen would naturally not show any mercy toward.
The Heavenly Dao moves in cycles; every sip and every morsel follows its own decree.
The appearance of this Thundercloud Wood here, combined with Jiang Chen's presence in this very place, meant that this Thundercloud Wood and Jiang Chen shared a destiny.
Jiang Chen understood the fundamental laws governing the movements of the Heavenly Dao. There was no way he would simply leave such a magnificent treasure unclaimed.
The Gold-Munching Mouse King saw how resolute Jiang Chen was and raised no objection. It plunged its head downward, intending to burrow underground and sever the Thundercloud Wood at its roots, completely cutting it off.
"Stay your hand!"
At that very moment, a stiff, halting voice drifted down from above the Thundercloud Wood. The voice sounded extremely unnatural — and it was spoken in the ancient Beast Language.
The Gold-Munching Mouse King froze mid-lunge, halting its downward burrowing momentum. Then, with astonishing speed, it shot straight up onto the Thundercloud Wood.
Jiang Chen also looked up in surprise. The ancient Beast Language — Jiang Chen could understand it too.
Neither he nor the Gold-Munching Mouse King had detected the slightest trace of it, yet there was actually another living being perched on this Thundercloud Wood!
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The Gold-Munching Mouse King darted across the Thundercloud Wood with fluid, effortless movements, showing an agility that surpassed even that of a monkey.
"Hmm?" A streak of golden light shot out suddenly from above the Thundercloud Wood. Jiang Chen followed the golden light with his gaze and saw a fist-sized golden cicada, flapping its thin wings as it fluttered about in a panic.
"Thundercloud Golden Cicada?" An information trail immediately surfaced in Jiang Chen's mind.
The Thundercloud Golden Cicada and the Thundercloud Wood could almost be said to share a symbiotic existence. For that reason, the Thundercloud Wood was also known as the Golden Cicada Thundercloud Wood.
And this particular cicada was named the "Thundercloud Golden Cicada" in turn—a testament to the intimate bond between the insect and the tree.
The cicada was only the size of a fist, but it clearly possessed a highly spiritual and sentient aura. Its level of intelligence had actually reached the point where it could speak the Ancient Beast Language.
Though Jiang Chen already knew that golden cicadas were beings of exceptional intelligence, the fact that this one could actually speak in Beast Language proved that its bloodline was absolutely not a low one.
A Thundercloud Golden Cicada with a low-grade bloodline would never be capable of speaking the Ancient Beast Language.
The Gold-Munching Mouse King squinted its beady eyes, staring with predatory intensity at the cicada fluttering through the air, its face greed personified.
Clearly, the noble bloodline of this golden cicada had ignited an unprecedented urge to devour within the Gold-Munching Mouse King.
It was obvious that while this cicada possessed a noble bloodline, when it came to cultivation, it was far inferior to the Gold-Munching Mouse King.
The Thunder Cloud Golden Cicada was not a combat-oriented creature by nature.
However, the Thunder Cloud Golden Cicada was quite renowned throughout the myriad worlds. Not only did it possess many of the wondrous properties of the Thunder Cloud Tree, it even had benefits that the Thunder Cloud Tree itself did not.
The shell of the Thunder Cloud Golden Cicada could be used to craft battle armor. Not ordinary battle armor, but armor of invisibility.
Moreover, the Thunder Cloud Golden Cicada possessed a Divine Ability known as the Golden Cicada's Shell Shedding. For a cultivator, once they refined a Thunder Cloud Golden Cicada and obtained this ability, it would be equivalent to acquiring a technique for preserving one's life.
Once this Golden Cicada Shell Shedding ability was deployed, its deceptive power was immense. A Spirit Realm warrior who had cultivated this technique and employed it skillfully could even deceive a Yuan Realm powerhouse!
In simple terms, the Golden Cicada Shell Shedding was a technique of feigned death. Through feigning death, one could cover the escape of one's true body and confuse the opponent.
The Gold-Munching Mouse King was not after some Golden Cicada Shell Shedding ability, of course. In truth, the Gold-Munching Mouse clan's escape methods were in no way inferior to those of the cicada.
What it cared about more was the cicada's bloodline—a noble bloodline.
Once devoured, it might provide an incalculable boost to the evolution of its own bloodline.
In this moment, the Gold-Munching Mouse King's mind was filled with nothing but devour, devour! Feed, feed!
"Chen Shao, can you let me have this golden cicada as food?" Though the Gold-Munching Mouse King's mind was swimming with the urge to devour, he was still well aware that he needed to ask for Jiang Chen's permission.
"Old Jin, what's the rush? This golden cicada knows the ancient Beast Language and possesses a noble bloodline. Swallowing it would be an absolute waste." Jiang Chen was not the kind of person who refused to share benefits with his subordinates.
However, he was unwilling to let the Gold-Munching Mouse King simply devour this particular golden cicada.
The Gold-Munching Mouse King said dejectedly, "Chen Shao, this golden cicada has a pure bloodline. If I devour it, it might even stimulate a bloodline evolution! You promised me..."