"Right! Most likely correct!"
Lou Gao pointed excitedly at the black, heavy scales on the snake corpse, speaking rapidly.
"Look at its armor! It has the sheen of obsidian, yet carries the cold, hard texture of metal, along with those naturally formed earth-element patterns!"
"This is far more than a simple inborn carapace! It coiled here and strengthened itself by devouring the essence of the underground mineral vein!"
"Those rare metals and ores rich in earth-element energy were its finest nourishment! After being transformed by its special physique, everything settled and condensed into this impenetrable scale armor that neither blades nor bullets could easily breach!"
"The reason we saw no mineral deposits along the way is probably because it ate them all!"
This deduction struck like enlightenment, instantly explaining why they had dug over a hundred meters yet gained so little.
The real treasure was not buried deeper underground, it had already been absorbed and transformed by the guardian before them, worn directly upon its body!
"Larvi! Lar-vi!!!"
At that moment, after venting its dissatisfaction toward the giant snake, the Larvitar seemed to have noticed something as well.
It moved its small nose close to the corpse, especially around the areas where it had previously gnawed the scales, and sniffed hard.
Those crimson eyes suddenly lit up as if it had discovered an unparalleled delicacy!
Larvitar hesitated no longer. Opening its mouth lined with tiny sharp teeth, it accurately bit again onto a palm-sized scale whose edges had been loosened by earlier chewing.
Crack! Gabo gabo!
Unlike the dull sounds made when it gnawed ordinary rocks, this chewing carried a peculiar crispness, like biting into an incredibly hard biscuit that was unexpectedly tasty.
Its small cheeks agitate quickly. The crimson eyes narrowed in satisfaction while it released an enjoying "wuruu" purr.
While chewing vigorously, Larvitar waved its little claw toward Lin Xia with urgency. The meaning was unmistakable.
Master! Come quickly! This thing is super delicious and packed with tremendous energy!
Lin Xia's curiosity was completely aroused by Larvitar's reaction.
He walked closer, imitating Larvitar, and smelled carefully at a broken scale whose edge had been chewed off and exposed a fracture surface.
An extraordinary scent bore into his nose!
This aroma was neither any known food fragrance nor the earthy or metallic smell of ordinary ore.
It carried an indescribable thickness, like the damp earthy fragrance deep within a forest after rain, blended with the pure, unique scent released when the finest metal had just been forged, quenched, and still retained the afterglow of heat. There was even a faint mineral sweetness originating from the depths of the earth.
These seemingly conflicting odors fused perfectly on the fracture surface, forming a mouth-watering essence that belonged solely to the "essence of the earth"!
"Master!"
Lin Xia looked up at Lou Gao in surprise.
"This scale really smells fragrant, like the purest essence of the earth!"
Lou Gao watched Lin Xia's reaction and the Larvitar eating heartily, revealing a knowing and gratified smile. Stroking his beard, he explained loudly.
"Ha ha, absolutely! My words were true! The scales of this Black-pattern Mystic Rock Python are naturally fused with incomparably pure earth element. More importantly, the ore essence it devoured was transformed within its body, perfectly combining the pure metallic traits with the earth element, finally settled in the scale armor!"
"It is no exaggeration to call it the perfect crystallization of earth element and rare metals! Its hardness surpasses any ordinary rock, and precisely relying on this 'living biological ore armor,' it was able to dominate this place and resist all external enemies!"
Lou Gao paused and looked at Lin Xia and the Larvitar with burning eyes, his tone carrying admiration and teasing.
"This trait is rather similar to you, Xiao Xia, and your martial soul—Larvitar!"
"You two also rely on absorbing ore essence to strengthen yourselves. However, your abilities of transformation and devouring are far more outrageous!"
"It can only accumulate passively, while you—actively plunder and absorb perfectly!"
"But speaking of it, treating the scales on its body as an extremely rare 'biological ore' rich with dual earth and metal energy to enjoy, that is absolutely correct. It might even be a great tonic!"
With the teacher's affirmative explanation, the final trace of doubt in Lin Xia's heart vanished completely.
Watching Larvitar eating with its mouth full of black crumbs, wearing an expression of intoxicating happiness and satisfaction, a powerful appetite and desire to explore surged instantly within Lin Xia.
He hesitated no longer. Walking to the snake corpse, he imitated Larvitar and chose a scale that looked slightly thinner at the edge and had been cracked by Larvitar's sharp teeth.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Xia poured soul power into his fingers and shouted "Hey!" while using both hands to snap off that basin-sized heavy scale forcefully!
It felt incredibly weighty in his hands, far exceeding the mass of refined iron of the same size.
The fracture at the edge shimmered with an obsidian-like gloss yet carried the cold hardness of metal.
Without further hesitation, Lin Xia opened his mouth and bit hard onto the edge of the scale!
Crack!
The sensation upon entering the mouth was extraordinarily peculiar!
The outer layer was incomparably hard, but the moment it was broken, the interior revealed a strange crispness, like crushing a highly compressed shell composed of the purest earth element and metallic particles.
Immediately afterward, an indescribably rich, mellow fragrance exploded fiercely within his mouth!
That taste was even more intense, robust, and direct than the scent he had smelled earlier.
The pure earth element brought a feeling of heavy nourishment and grounding, as if standing within the core of a mineral vein.
The refined metallic traits contributed a clear and sweet and refreshing mineral flavor without any rancid odor, instead giving a refreshing jolt to the spirit.
The two flavors fused perfectly, forming an addictive delicacy that belonged solely to "power and strength"!
Lin Xia could not help chewing in large bites. Although extremely laborious, every grind of his teeth felt like squeezing out the finest essence hidden within the scale.
Gabo gabo!
The chewing sounds echoed continuously within the cave along with Larvitar's equally vigorous chewing, creating a peculiar "feast symphony."
As the hard fragments were swallowed, a scorching yet heavy warm current rose instantly from his stomach!
However, this energy was unlike the previous times when tungsten steel or refined gold had been devoured, when power rushed madly into bones and muscles, causing numbing reinforcement or expansion of muscle fibers.
This time, the massive and purified energy combining earth element and metallic essence found its most compatible home and destination.
Like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, it flowed precisely and rapidly toward Lin Xia's entire body, his skin!
Lin Xia could clearly feel that this power did not strike brutally, but resembled the most delicate craftsman.
With an invisible carving knife, it wove the earth element's toughness and nourishment together with metal's density and hardness into every cell and every layer of keratin within his skin.
Shua!
An unprecedented numbing, itchy tingling sensation accompanied by slight scorching swept across Lin Xia's whole skin instantly!
It was as if countless tiny particles beneath his skin were regrouping at high speed, rearranging and reinforcing!
Shua——!
The previously imagined reinforcement belonged not to deeper veins, but directly to the body surface!
Lin Xia could even feel the warmth radiating from his pores.
A faint golden-yellow light shimmered briefly beneath the skin surface before disappearing back into his flesh.
This transformation felt mystical and terrifying yet brought immense surprise and anticipation!
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