Luo Zhen scanned the floor. Every inch was littered with chunks of Iron Essence—tiny fragments the size of a fingernail, huge slabs the size of a watermelon.
He coiled around a fist-sized piece and instantly recoiled. The thing weighed a ton.
"Why is this Iron Essence so heavy?" he gasped.
"It's the essence of steel, Luo Zhen. That's what I told you," the System's voice crackled in his mind. "You need tens of thousands of pounds of raw metal for one small, perfect sliver. Of course, it's heavy."
"The sheer amount here is incredible," the System continued. "The Fire-Flying Poison Ant Colony probably spent centuries, maybe even a millennium, refining all this. Now, before any other demon beast stumbles upon this jackpot, you need to collect it."
"Understood. Time to clean up."
Luo Zhen flicked his forked tongue, pulled out his storage boxes, and began loading the heavy chunks. As he swallowed the boxes whole, he queried the System.
"What's the actual value of this stuff?"
"Its value is immense. One fist-sized chunk? We're talking hundreds of thousands of low-grade Spiritual Stones."
Luo Zhen nearly choked. This was a true jackpot. Even if he didn't sell it for Spiritual Stones, trading it to the System would generate an astronomical amount of Mall Points.
"Is Iron Essence in the Mall?" he asked.
"No," the System replied. "It's hugely valuable to Demon Generals and Demon Kings, but to the Mall, its value is limited. We have similar materials, but they are all vastly more precious, rare, and high-grade."
"Figures," Luo Zhen grumbled. As a Sky Profound Realm snake, the high-tier materials in the Mall were still decades away. Something coveted by even a Demon King was more than enough for him.
After swallowing a few of the largest chunks, he stopped.
He literally couldn't take more. Though the Iron Essence was small, its dense weight made him feel bloated and impossibly heavy. Any more, and his agility would plummet.
"I'm done. I can't carry any more. Exchange the rest for Mall Points." Luo Zhen flicked his tongue.
"Done." The System immediately opened the exchange panel.
Just as he was trading the final piece, his collecting frenzy was cut short. The Sand Scorpion Demon General, ever the busybody, sauntered over.
"What in the blazes are you doing?" the Scorpion demanded.
"Is it any of your damn business?" Luo Zhen shot back, pausing mid-coil.
Luo Zhen and the Scorpion had a history of bad blood, and Luo Zhen certainly wasn't going to offer any courtesy now.
"Hmph. I knew you were up to something!" The Scorpion looked around, his eyes landing on the remaining scattered Iron Essence. He snatched a piece. "Oh, this heavy little thing? What is it?" he exclaimed.
"Put that down! I found it!" Luo Zhen snarled.
"So what if you found it?" The Scorpion sneered, looking him up and down. "I'm taking this now! If you've got a problem, try and take it back!"
The Scorpion didn't recognize Iron Essence—he just saw how much Luo Zhen valued it, and that was enough. He only wanted to seize it to watch the Golden Snake suffer.
"Sand Scorpion, are you seriously looking for trouble?" Luo Zhen's snake eyes narrowed into cold slits.
"That's right! I've been tired of looking at your smug little face for weeks!" the Scorpion roared, swelling with arrogance. "You little Sky Profound snake! You disrespect me? Me, a Demon General? I'm going to make trouble for you just because I can! Fight me, then!"
Luo Zhen was pushed past his limit. "You forced my hand, Sand Scorpion."
"I am forcing you!" The Scorpion tossed the Iron Essence aside, drawing a wicked-looking yellow steel trident from his back—a high-grade Spiritual Weapon, nearly as powerful as his own Demon Flame.
The tension was suffocating. The Earth Rat and Lizard Demon Generals watched from afar, completely uninterested in mediating. Hong Yu was too focused on the Poison Crystals to even notice.
"Go on, little snake. I'll let you strike first. Don't say I bullied a weakling," the Scorpion taunted.
Luo Zhen let out a cold hiss. He opened his jaws and didn't hold back: the entire torrent of Skeleton Ghost Flame erupted!
The scorching, brilliant white fire instantly engulfed the Sand Scorpion Demon General. A portion of the flame twisted into a giant, blazing net, while the rest shaped itself into swords, spears, and axes, relentlessly bombarding the enemy.
"No way! That much fire!"
The Scorpion's face instantly drained of color. He had expected a meager puff of fifth-tier flame—something he could withstand and drain. He never anticipated this endless, smothering inferno. Luo Zhen's fire supply was absolutely freakish.
In sheer terror, the Scorpion desperately defended himself, spitting out his own Demon Flame and swinging his trident. For a moment, he managed a shaky stalemate, but he knew the truth: in less than a minute, his trident and his own flame would fail, and the fifth-tier fire would burn him to ash.
The terror was so extreme, he almost wet himself. Why did the snake have so much fire?! If he had known, he never would have started this fight!
The Earth Rat and Lizard Demon Generals watched in horror. They knew about the fifth-tier flame, but not this overwhelming quantity. The Sand Scorpion was beyond screwed.
Trapped in the blazing hell of Ghost Flame, the Sand Scorpion Demon General finally cracked.
"Brother Luo, no! Grandpa Luo! I beg you, I was wrong, I was so wrong, please let me go!" he wailed.
The onlookers—the Earth Rat and Lizard Demons—looked on with a mixture of shock and morbid fascination. A Demon General, begging a Sky Profound Realm beast for mercy? It was unheard of. The power hierarchy had completely inverted.
Luo Zhen, unmoved, continued his work on the Iron Essence. He was savoring this.
"My Serpent Grandpa, please stop playing with those black iron blocks and just look at me!" the Scorpion sobbed. "I'm begging you! Any later, and I'll turn into a roasted scorpion!"
Finally, Luo Zhen finished trading the last piece. He looked up, a cold, toothy smile on his serpentine face.
"You want me to let you go?" he hissed.
"Yes, please! Quickly!" The Scorpion was weeping.
"I have one rule, Sand Scorpion," Luo Zhen declared. "Either I don't start something, or I finish it." He intensified the fire. "Want me to let you go? Catch me in the next life."
Seeing his pleas fail, the Scorpion erupted in a furious tantrum. "You damned Golden Snake, I'll haunt you even if I die! If I survive this, I swear I'll skin you alive for revenge!"
Luo Zhen ignored him. Thirty more seconds, and it would be over.
Just as he was about to deliver the killing blow, a terrifying sound ripped through the air. A dozen massive, golden sword strikes slammed down, tearing through the warehouse structure.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Luo Zhen was blasted backward by the concussion. The Ghost Flame, deprived of his attention, instantly collapsed, and the half-cooked Sand Scorpion scrambled free.
"Damn it! I was that close to killing him!" Luo Zhen cursed, retracting his flame.
"Forget the Scorpion! Look at this!" the System shouted. "The seven human cultivators are here. They've locked down the entire warehouse!"
Luo Zhen glanced up. The entire space was now caged. A shimmering light barrier encased the structure, with seven lethal-looking longswords orbiting its perimeter, each radiating brutal, sharp energy. The seven human cultivators, all Core Formation experts, stood atop the barrier.
Hong Yu, who had just finished collecting her Poison Crystals, looked up in alarm. "When did these humans arrive? What is that dome?"
No one answered.
The leader, a square-faced man, looked down and spoke with chilling authority. "We, the Seven Sons of the Big Dipper, don't care about you beasts. We are here for one thing: Iron Essence!"
"Iron Essence?" Hong Yu was confused. The other Demon Generals were equally clueless.
"Iron Essence is the essence of steel. Small, black, and impossibly heavy," the square-faced leader said, showing a small chunk. "The Fire-Flying Poison Ants specialize in it. Tell us where it is, and we will immediately drop the array and let you go."
He glared down, murderous intent creeping onto his face. "If you lie, or if you've hidden it, you will only have yourselves to blame for what happens next."
Hong Yu and the others exchanged bewildered looks. They had no idea.
But then, the Sand Scorpion Demon General's eyes suddenly went wide with realization. "Ah! I know! I've seen it!"
Luo Zhen's face turned grim, already preparing to charge the barrier.
"Host, don't! The Array is too powerful. Quickly exchange for a Phantom Shadow Talisman. That'll let you dodge the sword strikes when they begin!" the System urged.
"Doing it now!" Luo Zhen opened the Mall.
Above, the square-faced leader leaned down eagerly. "Where is it? Speak!"
"It's him! I saw him put it all away!" the Scorpion screamed, pointing a shaky claw directly at Luo Zhen. "The Golden Snake! He swallowed the boxes and is hiding them in his belly!"
In an instant, all seven human gazes locked onto Luo Zhen.
The leader smirked. "A Sky Profound Realm snake trying to steal our Iron Essence? Fool."
"Since you don't know what's good for you, little snake, you can die!"
He gave the order. The Seven Sons simultaneously activated the array. The orbiting swords glowed, and multiple beams of lethal sword energy roared down toward Luo Zhen!