Chapter 259: Harvesting the Fruits
“Such a clever little fellow. The aura hidden within your body tells me that you and I are the same kind of person.”
The Tower’s Master’s gaze seemed to see straight through Zhou Ming’s pursuit of power, and his words carried unmistakable appreciation.
Yet in the face of the Tower’s Master’s praise, Zhou Ming remained calm and did not continue the topic. He simply waited for the conditions the other party would propose.
Seeing Zhou Ming’s reaction, the Tower’s Master merely smiled faintly and did not take offense at his attitude.
“Although I have already died, the Hydra Rune School that I inherited must have someone to carry it on.”
As his voice fell, a point of white light began to condense before the Tower’s Master. In the end, it formed into a fist-sized, diamond-shaped transparent crystal.
“Inside it are the inheritance of the Hydra Rune School and the rune knowledge from my own research. Which of you is willing to inherit it?”
Although he asked Zhou Ming and the Scorpion-Lion, the Tower’s Master’s gaze remained fixed on Zhou Ming.
Faced with the condition proposed by the Tower’s Master, Zhou Ming’s eyes flickered slightly. He immediately prepared to reach out and take the precious inheritance crystal before him.
“Ten Thousand Snakes.”
At that moment, the Scorpion-Lion suddenly spoke. It was not out of jealousy for the inheritance left behind by the Tower’s Master, but rather to remind Zhou Ming of the danger hidden within.
“Don’t worry. A man who’s been dead for thousands of years couldn’t possibly have any means left intact.”
Zhou Ming turned and gave the Scorpion-Lion a reassuring look before continuing to reach toward the inheritance crystal.
As Zhou Ming’s right hand slowly approached it, an almost imperceptible trace of joy surfaced in the Tower’s Master’s eyes.
Closer… closer… just a little more.
However, at the very moment when Zhou Ming’s hand was only millimeters away from the inheritance crystal, the Dark-gold Serpent Pupils suddenly erupted with a dim, ominous glow.
“Ah… What are you doing?”
An angry shout echoed before the metal door. The miserable howl that followed no longer carried the previous gentleness.
“Did you forget what you just said, Your Excellency? You and I are the same kind of person.”
The power of Snake Devour released by the Dark-gold Serpent Pupils targeted the inheritance crystal before him. Yet the human face manifested by the Tower’s Master twisted in extreme agony.
There was no need for further explanation. There was definitely something wrong with the inheritance crystal.
“Courting death! Wouldn’t it be better to obediently become my vessel for resurrection?”
The Tower’s Master’s face became ferocious as he suddenly erupted with terrifying aura, like a calm sea giving rise to monstrous waves.
“Spirit-type Creature Banishment.”
At that moment, the Scorpion-Lion, who had seemed like an invisible presence all along, took out an ancient spell scroll from his Spatial Storage Equipment.
When he opened it, a chilling white light burst forth.
“Ah—”
The human face manifested by the Tower’s Master melted at a visible speed, like morning dew under blazing sunlight.
“Damn you! I curse your souls to sink forever into the River of the Underworld!”
In the next instant, a strange aura surfaced, clinging like a maggot to bone as it rushed toward Zhou Ming and the Scorpion-Lion.
“Blood Descendant Secret Technique · Snake Shadow Clones.”
Two Iron Thread Snakes whose strength had reached Low-tier Ferocious Beast appeared, transforming into two figures of Zhou Ming and proactively taking on the curse cast by the Tower’s Master.
The moment the intangible curse touched the Snake Shadow Clones, Zhou Ming severed his connection with his beasts.
When the clones reverted to snake form once more, there was already no life left within them. Under the effect of the curse, their bodies rapidly turned into white bones.
Seeing this scene, both Zhou Ming and the Scorpion-Lion instinctively took two steps back.
At the same time, after casting the curse, the Tower’s Master did not even have time to check the result before his remaining consciousness completely dissipated.
“You fellow, weren’t you afraid I didn’t have any trump cards to cooperate with you?”
Seeing the remnant consciousness of the Tower’s Master disappear, the Scorpion-Lion teased Zhou Ming with a faint smile, a trace of satisfaction in his voice at the trust Zhou Ming had shown him.
“If it had failed, wouldn’t you have been buried with me?”
“To have the heir of the Duanmu Family buried with me—few people get that treatment. Not too bad of a deal.”
Hearing Zhou Ming’s reasoning, the Scorpion-Lion shook his head in disbelief before voicing his lingering doubt.
“How did you know there was something wrong with him?”
“Didn’t he say it himself? You and I are the same kind of person. If I were in his situation, I would also think of reviving myself, not worry about preserving some school’s inheritance.”
“You won’t scheme against me in the future, will you?”
“Relax. You’re my beloved kin.”
With the final danger resolved, the two immediately relaxed and exchanged jokes. After all, if anything had gone wrong just now, both of them might have remained here forever.
“Let’s go. It’s time to collect the fruits of our victory.”
A serpent shadow appeared. Zhou Ming retrieved the fallen inheritance crystal from the ground before pushing open the black metal door before him.
Compared to the other abandoned areas of the tower, the Tenth Floor of the Tower seemed untouched by the erosion of time—dazzling crystal chandeliers, luxurious crimson carpets, and furniture exuding extravagance.
Door after well-sealed door awaited their exploration.
The two exchanged a glance. Neither concealed the joy in their hearts.
We’re rich.
That was the thought in both Zhou Ming’s and the Scorpion-Lion’s minds.
A being who had prepared to advance to Legend—even if he had left behind only a small portion of his wealth—would be enough to support the resource consumption required for their advancement to Transcendent Rank.
Without wasting further time, the two immediately began inspecting the rooms on the top floor of the tower.
Perhaps because the Tower’s Master had devoted most of his resources to advancing to Legend, the materials he left behind were not as abundant as imagined.
Even so, Zhou Ming and the Scorpion-Lion discovered quite a number of high-grade Source Crystals. These were ten times the value of ordinary Source Crystals. Even Legendary beings would use them. However, the quantity was not large—only several hundred kilograms.
In addition, there were large amounts of mid-grade Demonicized Plants and various Transcendent materials.
In Tamu World, Demonicized Plants, rare medicinal herbs, and Transcendent materials were generally divided into four grades: low, mid, high, and Legendary.
As for rare resources belonging to Demigod-level existences, they could only be heard of in rumors.
Even so, mid-grade resources were already comparable in value to third- to fourth-tier spiritual materials of Blue Star, and a few even reached the level of fifth-tier spiritual materials.
However, compared to these rare resources, Zhou Ming valued even more the precious Transcendent knowledge left behind by the Tower’s Master.
When they pushed open the door marked Laboratory, a corpse wearing a purple robe came into view. There was not the slightest sign of decay, as if it were staring at the two thieves who had intruded into the laboratory.
“What a pity. Not only did he fail to advance to Legend, he also ultimately missed the resurrection opportunity he had waited thousands of years for.”
With a flick of force from Zhou Ming’s finger, the corpse that had existed for millennia instantly turned into drifting ash.
“You’re sighing so much—why didn’t you help him then?”
Seeing Zhou Ming’s hypocritical expression, the Scorpion-Lion mocked him at once.
“Can’t help it. I’m just that selfish.”
“It’s better for him to be thoroughly dead.”
Afterward, the two behaved like burglars breaking into a house, rummaging through cabinets and drawers in search of anything of value.