Upon hearing the injured black fox's words, Ling Chen was slightly taken aback. To say that he wasn't the least bit tempted would be a big fat lie.
An item as well as information that even a human Martial Saint would die to get his hand on!
If such an item was to be found outside or were to appear in the Heaven Desolate Region, there would be an insane bloodbath.
An item, as well as information that even a Martial Saint would be interested in, couldn't be a regular item or information. Whether it was wealth, treasures, and power, Martial Saint didn't lack any of them. For an item to catch their eyes, it must be something so priceless that it couldn't even be found anywhere in the Heaven Desolate Region.
Furthermore, Martial Saints rarely go outside and spent all their time in seclusion. Unless their influences were facing total destruction, they wouldn't go outside. Not to mention no one was foolish enough to go against any Martial Saints' influences unless you're strong enough to withstand their wrath.
Looking at the injured black fox, Ling Chen didn't know what to do. In one hand, he wanted the item as well as the information that even a human Martial Saint would die to get his hand on
While on the other hand, he didn't want to mess up his casual life by becoming the enemy of a powerful Saint Clan.
While he was in deep thought, Ling Chen couldn't help but look at the little black fox cub with its adorably black shaggy fur sleeping next to her mother. It was snoring heavily as though it had no care in the world. It looked so innocent and pure, untainted by the filth of the world.
Although he was taught by his father to always be rational as well as not to always act on emotion, he would pain him to let her such a cute and defenseless little black fox cub in the wild like this.
After a while, Ling Chen took a deep breath and said." You don't even know me, why do you think that I can be trusted and won't go back on my promise."
Ling Chen was amazed at how fast the injured black fox trusted him without even knowing him.
" Instinct," it answered.
"Human child, I can't hold anymore. I beg of you to promise me that you will take care of my child and bring her away from here. You are my only hope." The injured black fox's voice rang out within Ling Chen's mind again. This time it was even weaker than before.
Hearing this, Ling Chen didn't even hesitate as he nodded his head with a resolute look on his face and said." Don't worry. I promise you that I will take care of your child like it was mine. Whether it was God or the Devil, I'll devour anyone who tries to harm her."
Upon hearing Ling Chen's pledge, the injured black fox's heart was filled with excitement.
"Human child, I cannot thank you enough. I know you will keep your words and there's nowhere safer for my child to be than by your side." the injured black fox said in a weak but also happy voice.
"As for the item I promised you, it's a key. A key to the Great Luo Martial God's Mansion. There are nine Keys in total but I only have one."
"I don't know much about the Great Luo Martial God besides the fact that the world was named after him. Anyway, you'll find everything, the key, and the information hidden deep in a safe within the Devil's Peak Mountain. As for where exactly, the child knows everything as I stored the exact location within its mind. Just give it a year or two and the child will be able to unlock the mem....." Before the injured black fox could even finish its last sentence, its heart suddenly stopped beating as the last bit of oxygen was abruptly ripped and snatched from its lungs leaving nothing but regrets and unwillingness.
Death was truly unkind. It didn't care whether one was young or old. It didn't care if one had many unfinished businesses and regrets. It didn't pretend to care nor pretend to distinguish when it comes visiting.
Looking at the black fox's corpse on the ground who had just died in front of him caused Ling Chen to feel a little sad, but he didn't say anything.
Then he shifted his gaze towards the little cub that was still sleeping next to her deceased mother, unaware that it had just lost the most important person in its life. Maybe demon beasts and humans are different, but Ling Chen knew how it felt like to grow up without a mother.
With that, Ling Chen didn't waste any more time and picked up the little black fox on the ground. He then held it in his right hand and took out a small bundle of clothes from his interspatial ring to cover its body.
Once he was done, he shifted his gaze back onto the corpse of the black fox without saying anything; however, the expression in his eyes kept changing, as if he was hesitating and struggling over something.
Then, with a complete set of clear eyes as well as a resolute look on his face, he focused his gaze onto the corpse of the black fox as if he has finally made a decision.
Without any hesitation, he took out a small knife from his interspatial ring and dug out the crystal core of the black fox.
The demon beast core was the source of energy for all demon beasts and without a core, no demon beast could survive.
The demon beast cores could be used by many warriors of the 1st class and below for cultivation. They could also be used by blacksmiths for making many precious spiritual weapons. Furthermore, alchemists could use them as well to refine many precious medicines and pills.
And on the Heaven Desolate Region, demon cores of high-level demon beasts from the 6th rank and above were extremely precious and rare. Even to the extent that high-level demon beast cores couldn't be bought in the market at any price because high-level demon beasts were hard to find in the outer area of the demon beast mountain range because of the pact made by the Saints. Also, high-level demon beasts were stronger compared with human existences at the same level.
Looking at the demon beast core in his palm, Ling Chen was startled. He noticed that the demon beast core wasn't the same as the regular demon beast core. The demon beast cores were usually the color of the demon beast's attribute. For example, The Black fox had a fire attribute as such its core was supposed to be fiery red in color.
Yet, the demon beast core in Ling Chen's hand was nothing but an empty shell without any fiery energy as though it was dried out. However, there seemed to be innumerable arcs of lightning, like silk strings, woven together forming a small ball of lightning within the core.
Ling Chen has seen and even devoured many high-level demon beasts core, but he had never seen such a strange demon beast core.
" Don't tell me, the black fox was able to somehow devour some of the lightning of the heavenly tribulation." Ling Chen murmured to himself.
Ling Chen had no clue why the demon beast core of the black fox was like that after it'd failed its heavenly tribulation. The only logical explanation he could come up with was that some of the lightning of the heavenly tribulation was somehow trapped or absorbed by the black fox into its demon beast core.
After racking his brain, Ling Chen gave up as he couldn't come up with another explanation for the strange phenomenon.
Without wasting any time, He took the corpse of the black fox and put it inside his interspatial ring. As it was already dead, he had no problem putting inside his interspatial ring because the ring couldn't store living creatures.
Once he was done, with a leap, he flew into the sky with the little cub still sleeping in his hand to the other side of the valley where the others were waiting for him.