Chapter 277: Tallying the Harvest
The expedition that stirred the entire Qian Kingdom to the Endless Dungeon finally came to an end!
Each of the three major forces gained something, but when compared to the others, the Li Family seemed to be the most miserable.
After all, the top talents of the other two factions all survived, while the Li Family lost Li Tongtian.
Initially, the higher-ups of the Li Family didn’t believe the news of Li Tongtian’s death. However, after being told by people like Li Youbing, they finally accepted it.
The scene was reportedly explosive – several elders in the Li Family even shattered their tables in anger.
Li Tongtian’s grandfather, a respected elder in the family, fainted on the spot and almost died from the shock.
The death of Li Tongtian was a massive blow to the Li Family. He was counted as one of the top talents amongst the young generation of the Li Family, a genius that couldn’t be replaced by resources, and a rare talent that was nearly impossible to find.
If the top talents of the Royal Family and the Purple Mist Sect had also died in the Endless Dungeon, the higher-ups of the Li Family might have felt a bit better. But the top talents of the Purple Mist Sect and the Royal Family survived, and it was only the Li Family who lost Li Tongtian. This really made the higher-ups of the Li Family upset.
Besides the death of Li Tongtian, the Li Family actually gained a lot from this expedition to the Endless Dungeon; each of the survivors brought back a large number of spiritual medicines. Li Youbing even found an ancient weapon; although it was somewhat broken, it was still priceless.
And Li Youbing, for leading the Li Family members out of the Endless Dungeon, received the attention of the Li Family’s higher-ups and was considered as a potential candidate for the next Family Head, which significantly raised his status.
Although Li Youbing had a high status in the Li Family previously, he was never treated as a candidate for the Family Head.
Now that Li Tongtian had died, Li Youbing naturally received all the benefits that Li Tongtian previously had in the Li Family.
As for the Royal Family, after Yang Pojun reported to the Emperor of Daqian, the Emperor, in order to thank Fang Lin for saving Yang Pojun’s life, sent a piece of ancient jade as a gift to Fang Lin.
Fang Lin naturally accepted it gladly, since it was a gift purposely sent to him. If he had refused, it would have been disrespectful to the Emperor.
The Royal Family of Daqian didn’t suffer huge losses; only a few insignificant individuals had died. Yang Pojun and Yang Qingyao both returned safely, bringing with them a large quantity of ginseng and numerous Demon Beast bones. The gains were quite substantial.
Moreover, with his experience from the Endless Dungeon, Yang Pojun now had the qualifications to compete for the title of Crown Prince.
Prior to this, Yang Pojun was just the Fourth Prince of the Daqian Kingdom. The current Emperor of Daqian was still in his prime, so he hadn’t officially designated a Crown Prince, but he had begun preparations. Only a prince with the qualifications could contend for the position of Crown Prince. Otherwise, you would only be a prince without the chance to compete.
With Yang Pojun’s strength, he also had quite a few supporters in the court. So, he had a fair chance of obtaining the title of Crown Prince.
As for the Purple Mist Sect, when people like Qing Jianzi and Fang Lin returned, things were surprisingly calm. Apart from various rewards given to those who had survived, there were no other incidents.
When Fang Lin returned to his residence, which had already gone through several expansions changing it from a small courtyard to an almost mansion-like place with various herbs growing well inside, he found it was somewhat hollow due to its large size.
The moment Fang Lin stepped into the yard, he subconsciously thought he would see a delicate figure in the yard. However, the next moment, he remembered that she had already left.
Lying on the bamboo chair, Fang Lin finally felt completely relaxed. The expedition to the Endless Dungeon was so exhausting that he didn’t want to move at all. He just wanted to get a good sleep and then have a big meal.
However, even here, Fang Lin always maintained some vigilance. The appearance of an assassin from the Hidden Kill Hall reminded him that he might never be absolutely safe anywhere.
Especially since Gu Hanshan had conspired with the people of the Hidden Kill Hall in the Endless Dungeon, it now seemed that Gu Daofeng might also potentially team up with them.
In any case, the enemy was lurking in the dark, while Fang Lin was out in the open. It can never go wrong to stay alert.
At that moment, Fang Lin pulled himself together, ready to take stock of his gains from the trip to the Endless Dungeon.
The greatest reward, of course, was the refining of Immortal Essence Blood, and he had also obtained a blood-red longsword filled with evil energy.
But none of those mattered.
With a slap on the Nine Palace Bag, a shriveled corpse appeared on the ground. It was the corpse of the Demon Saint.
Before the gold array had destroyed the Ten Thousand Beast Graveyard, Fang Lin had desperately tossed the blood-red sword and this old dried corpse into the bag. Only then, he had managed to survive by using a treasure Elder Qian had secretly given him before setting out.
However, under that terrifying golden glow, the treasure was completely destroyed and could no longer be used.
Of course, these efforts were worth it, because Fang Lin had managed to bring back the corpse of the Demon Saint.
Fang Lin gazed at the corpse with a radiant smile on his face. Although he didn’t immediately see its purpose, it still held the power of the Demon Saint. If he could not handle any powerful demon beasts in the future, he could frighten them away by showing this old dried corpse.
However, Fang Lin was slightly concerned. Various signs suggested that this old dried corpse might not be completely dead; there might be a residual life force within it, although difficult to detect. Otherwise, the golden array wouldn’t have been activated.
If he carried this corpse with him, there was no telling when this old meat might suddenly wake up.
Fang Lin pondered for a moment. For safety’s sake, it would be best to take some precautions.
But what precautions should he take?
Fang Lin pulled out a sword and chopped it down fiercely at the head of the corpse. As a result, the sword shattered, but the old dried corpse was unharmed.
With a sigh, Fang Lin tossed the broken sword aside and took out the Extreme Sea Tripod.
The blue tripod appeared, exuding an overwhelming aura, like a vast sea. This was what he obtained from the ancient cave of the Pill Forest Stele, and he had used it to refine pills before.
But this time, Fang Lin planned to use it to suppress this old dried corpse.
The power of the Extreme Sea Tripod would make Fang Lin feel a bit more at ease when subduing the old dried corpse.
Without delay, Fang Lin threw the old dried corpse into the tripod, closed the lid, and put it back into the Nine Palace Bag.
As for refining pills in the future, Fang Lin still had the Fire Mystic Cauldron, the quality of which was in no way inferior to the Extreme Sea Tripod. Moreover, compared with the two, Fang Lin preferred to use the Fire Mystic Cauldron to refine pills.
“Right, I almost forgot about that guy.” Fang Lin muttered, patting the Nine Palace Bag. A large ginseng with legs and facial features immediately jumped out and made a mad dash for the courtyard as soon as it appeared.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Fang Lin shouted loudly, catching up with it effortlessly and grabbing the large ginseng in one hand.
“Let go of me! If you dare touch me, you’ll pay for it!” The large ginseng was cursing and swearing, its lascivious eyes darting around.