The rat problem in Cangzhou actually has a long history.
This place is rich in mountains and minerals, and can be described as a paradise for gold-eating rats.
Every few years, rat infestations occur.
In history, there was even an incident where a third-level rat king led hundreds of thousands of gold-eating rats to capture the mineral veins.
That time, hundreds of thousands of gold-eating rats dug out most of the spiritual gold ore in a mine in just a few days.
And because the third-level rat king is extremely sensitive to danger and is proficient in earth escape and metal escape, even if several golden elixir stage monks personally took action, they could not hurt even a hair on it.
Later, it was the Nascent Soul stage monk who personally took action and used his great supernatural powers to kill the third-level rat king and the multiple second-level rat demons, thus quelling the rat problem.
Compared to that big event, the second-level mutated gold-eating rat king that appeared this time was nothing at all, and it would not alarm the Nascent Soul stage monks.
At this time, after listening to Hu Changyou's words, Zhou Chun pondered for a moment, then looked at the other party and said: "It's not a big problem to ask Zhou to kill rats, but how are you going to calculate the reward?"
When Hu Changyou heard this, he immediately replied: "The reward is easy to say. As long as Zhou Daoyou can kill the second-level mutated gold-eating rat king, he will receive a reward of 2,000 spirit coins. The other gold-eating rats will also be killed according to the previous rules." The pay will be the same as the rat task.”
When Zhou Chun heard his answer, he immediately shook his head and said: "No, this reward is too low. That is the second-level mutated gold-eating rat king, and its body alone is worth hundreds of spiritual coins!"
"Fellow Daoist Zhou has misunderstood. As long as Friend Zhou can kill the mutant gold-eating rat king this time, its body will also belong to Friend Daoist."
Hu Changyou quickly explained.
But Zhou Chun still shook his head and said: "That won't work either. Zhou has no interest in doing this kind of thing where risks and rewards are not equal."
After saying this, Hu Changyou could not help but continue to persuade him, and continued: "Besides, Fellow Daoist Hu must also know Zhou's true identity. A mere two thousand spiritual coins are not a huge amount of money for Zhou."
After hearing what he said, Hu Changyou also fell silent.
In the past few days, he had made inquiries in Fangshi and had a basic understanding of the Zhou family's situation.
Naturally, they knew that Zhou Chun was now the deputy patriarch of the Zhou family, and he was the kind of person in power who lived up to his name.
Now listening to Zhou Chun's words, it is obvious that he is not satisfied with the remuneration offered by Cangzhou and wants a higher remuneration.
At the moment, he could only nod his head and said: "Okay, then Hu will go back and convey what Fellow Daoist Zhou means. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Zhou has anything else he would like to convey to Hu?"
Zhou Chun heard this, thought about it carefully, and then whispered: "Fellow Daoist Hu, you can say that Zhou is not short of spiritual coins, but rather some spiritual objects that can help his spiritual pet advance to the second level. If he can provide Earth Spirit Stone Milk, If there are any spiritual objects such as the fifth-level earthly orphan, earth dragon fruit or related news, Zhou can go there immediately."
"Okay, Hu has remembered Zhou Daoyou's words, so Hu will take his leave first."
After Hu Changyou finished speaking, he took a deep look at Zhou Chun, turned around and left.
"It's a friendly trip."
Zhou Chun replied and quickly returned to the family gate.
He is not in a hurry. If the rat infestation was so easy to eliminate, it would not be a rat infestation.
Once a creature like rats reproduces, the number will be quite astonishing.
The condition that restricts the reproduction of such organisms is often food.
Once a monster like the gold-eating rat is allowed to breed, it will not be a problem to have two babies a year.
Therefore, if the rat infestation cannot be eliminated in time, as the rat colony grows larger and larger, in order to survive, they will inevitably steal and devour the spiritual gold ore in the mine veins.
The loss then would be many times greater than the reward Zhou Chun demands now.
Sure enough, less than a month after Zhou Chun and Hu Changyou separated, Hu Changyou came to Lanzhou again, and headed straight for Jiufeng Ridge.
"The other side has agreed to Fellow Daoist Zhou's request. As long as Fellow Daoist Zhou can eliminate the rat infestation, they can give Fellow Daoist Zhou a bowl of Earth Spirit Stone Milk."
On the Pagoda Peak, after the two met again, Hu Changyou directly explained the purpose of his visit.
"Is it just a bowl of earth spirit stone milk?"
Zhou Chun frowned, seeming a little dissatisfied with the reward.
Seeing this, Hu Changyou couldn't help but explain: "One bowl is already a lot. Normally, a pot of Earth Spirit Milk can be produced in a hundred years, so it only amounts to less than ten bowls!"
"And this item has a wide range of uses. It is usually used readily and is difficult to find easily."
When Zhou Chun heard this, his brows relaxed.
Then he looked at him and said: "Fellow Daoist Hu, please tell me first, who is the employer this time!"
Hu Changyou heard this and immediately replied: "The main cause of the rat infestation this time is the mine owned by the Zhao family in Cangzhou. It is a hugely valuable gold and copper mine. Their family spent a lot of time in order to occupy this mine.
It’s a huge capital, and we can’t just sit back and watch those gold-eating rats ruin the mineral veins.”
"Cangzhou Zhao family, I remember there are golden elixir stage monks, right? Even their family's golden elixir stage monks can't catch the mutated gold-eating rat king?"
Zhou Chun looked surprised and couldn't help showing surprise.
Although there are specializations in the arts, golden elixir stage monks are not good at everything.
But with the skills of the Golden Core Stage monks, whether it's finding a rat's nest or splitting the ground and opening a mountain, it's not that simple at all.
"This is the most troublesome part. The nest of the group of gold-eating rats happened to be built at the node of the ley line near the Yaojin iron ore vein."
"If the golden elixir stage monks use the magical power of splitting the ground to open mountains to destroy the rat nest, it will inevitably destroy the veins, and the impact on the mineral veins will definitely not be worse than the losses caused by the raging swarm of gold-eating rats."
"And if it is impossible to split the ground and open a mountain, the rat's nest hidden two to three hundred feet underground will not be easy for even a Zifu period monk who has practiced earth escape to escape to that depth."
Hu Changyou told the truth with a helpless expression.
For the forces with golden elixir stage monks, if they hadn't happened to encounter such a thing that high-level monks couldn't intervene in, how could they be willing to put down their pride and ask others for help.
After Zhou Chun heard him tell the reason, he nodded clearly and said: "I see, Zhou understands."
Then he cupped his hands to Chief Hu and said, "Then please wait a moment, fellow Daoist Hu, while Zhou goes to explain the situation to the family elder and hand over family affairs to the clan leader."
"That's right. Fellow Daoist Zhou can just leave."
Hu Changyou responded and waited in the reception hall.
After Zhou Chun went to see Supreme Elder Zhou Mingde, Zhou Mingde, who understood the situation clearly, had no objection to his trip.
He just looked at him and said: "Since the Cangzhou Zhao family is a golden elixir family, I think nothing will happen to you during your trip, but just in case, you'd better bring the Vulcan Jackal with you for self-defense!"
"Yes, junior, I would like to thank the Supreme Elder for his kindness."
Zhou Chun thanked him and settled the matter.
Then he and Hu Changyou rushed to Cangzhou.
Because he needed to take care of Hu Changyou on the way, Zhou Chun could only slow down and fly with him, stopping and resting at several monk gathering places along the way to rest and meditate to restore his mana.
The two of them flew for five or six days before arriving in Cangzhou.
Then, under the leadership of Hu Changyou, Zhou Chun flew with him in Cangzhou for more than a day before arriving at the Zhao family's Yaojin iron ore vein.
Then the two of them quickly met the Zifu monk from the Zhao family who was responsible for dealing with the rat infestation.
"Senior Zhao, this junior has invited fellow Taoist Zhou Zhengchun here."
In a stone house, after Hu Changyou entered the room, he immediately saluted an old man in green clothes who was sitting above him, and introduced to him the identity of Zhou Chun beside him.
Then he stretched out his hand and introduced Zhou Chun: "Fellow Daoist Zhou, this is senior Zhao Deyan of the Zhao family!"
Seeing this, Zhou Chun immediately bowed his hands to the old man in green and said, "Junior Zhou Zhengchun, pay your respects to Senior Zhao."
"You're welcome, Fellow Daoist Zhou. You two have had a hard time traveling all the way. Please sit down and have a cup of tea first."
The old man in green waved his hand and motioned for the two of them to sit down.
"Thank you, senior."
Hu Changyou and Zhou Chun thanked each other again before sitting down at the bottom.
After the two of them took a polite sip of tea, the old man in green looked at Zhou Chun and said, "Fellow Daoist Hu should have explained the situation to Fellow Daoist Zhou. How sure is Daoist Zhou that this rat infestation can be eliminated?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun immediately replied: "If the cultivation level of the Mutated Gold-eating Rat King is really only the second-level low-grade, Zhou should be 60-70% sure. If the cultivation level is higher, then he is only 20-30% sure."
With the same cultivation level, no matter how strong the mutated gold-eating rat king is, it can't stop Bai Bai's attacks, and it will be difficult to escape even if he wants to.
But if the cultivation level is higher, its Earth Escape Technique will give it great escape ability, and Bai may not be able to keep it in time.
Therefore, Zhou Chun did not dare to speak too fully.
But his answer already surprised Zhao Deyan.
He quickly said: "The mutated gold-eating rat king is a second-order low-grade monster. I can guarantee this."
After saying that, he also personally promised: "If Fellow Daoist Zhou can really kill this beast, I will definitely not miss a drop of the bowl of Earth Spirit Stone Milk that I promised to Fellow Daoist!"
"Junior, please do your best!"
Zhou Chun nodded, but still didn't dare to say anything.
After taking a short rest, Zhou Chun followed a foundation-building monk from the Zhao family to the location of the gold-eating rat's nest.
Before he came over, the Zhao family had already found the rat tunnel leading to the nest, but they were unable to destroy the rat nest through the narrow rat tunnel.
"This is it. We have tried it with many monks who have tamed monster beasts before. Among them is a fellow Taoist who has tamed a second-level low-grade demon fox."
"But even the blue-eyed fire fox was injured by the mutant gold-eating rat king after he went down, and he almost couldn't come back."
In front of a rat hole nearly two feet in diameter, the Zhao family monk who was leading the way pointed at the rat hole and explained the situation to Zhou Chun.
Zhou Chun was not surprised at all when he heard what he said.
Although the gold-eating rat is weak, if such a weak monster can be promoted to the second level, it will usually master some incredible spells.
What's more, it was a mutated gold-eating rat.
As a mutated monster, even the original natural enemy monster will probably not be its opponent.
If the silver lightning python was not a powerful dragon-born monster, and he still had the "Ancestral Resurrection" as his trump card, Zhou Chun would not dare to say that it would definitely be able to defeat the mutated gold-eating rat.
Especially since the battlefield is still underground.
"Thank you, fellow Taoist Zhao, for telling me. Zhou will ask your spiritual pet to be careful."
He responded in his mouth, then reached out and patted the storage bag on his waist, releasing the silver lightning python in vain.
Seeing him release a second-level demonic snake, the Zhao family monk was not surprised.
After all, a monk who can be specially invited by the elders of his Zifu period must have some skills.
But when he saw the silver lightning python go in and Zhou Chun was about to get into the mouse hole, he was surprised.
He shouted hurriedly: "Friend Zhou, what are you doing?"
"What does Fellow Daoist Zhao mean by this? Of course Zhou wants to go down and kill the mutated gold-eating rat king!"
Zhou Chun glanced at the other party in surprise and answered the other party's question as a matter of course.
Hearing his words, the Zhao family monk suddenly frowned and said slightly angrily: "Fellow Daoist Zhou, do you know the danger of continuing like this? There is not even room for you to stand up inside. If you are attacked by a group of rats,
, you won’t be able to fight back at all, and you may even be cut off by the swarm of rats and be eaten alive inside!”
If it was possible to enter and kill the mutated gold-eating rat king by drilling a rat hole, the Zhao family would have sent people to do it long ago.
But the problem is, if the people who go down are too advanced, the mutated gold-eating rat king will escape immediately.
The cultivation level of those who go down is low, and once their escape route is cut off, they are almost in danger of death.
Zhou Chun asked the spirit pet to go down and give it a try. Of course it would be no problem.
Anyway, even if something big happens, that is, a spiritual pet dies, at most the Zhao family can compensate him with some spiritual coins.
But if I go there in person, once I die, as a person invited by the Zhao family, it will be unreasonable for the Zhao family not to pay a large amount of compensation.
When Zhou Chun heard what he said, he understood what he meant.
He immediately looked at him and said: "If Fellow Daoist Zhao is worried, you can go and explain the situation to Senior Zhao Deyan. Zhou is willing to sign a life and death certificate. Once you go down, life or death will have nothing to do with the Zhao family!"
When the Zhao family monk heard this, he was also surprised by his courage.
After taking a deep look at him, he nodded and said: "Okay, since Taoist Fellow Zhou said this, Fellow Taoist Zhao will wait for a moment, and Zhao will ask the elders for instructions!"
Then I went to report the situation.
Not long after, Zhao Deyan came to the scene in person.
After Zhao Deyan arrived at the scene, he first glanced at the silver lightning python Bai Bai, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes, as if he recognized Bai Bai's background.
Then he stared deeply at Zhou Chun and said, "Since Fellow Daoist Zhou comes from a family of beast masters, I think he knows better than Zhao the danger of facing the underground rats alone!"
"In that case, Zhao will prepare a banquet at his residence and wait for the good news from fellow Taoist Zhou!"
But he didn't mention anything that asked Zhou Chun to sign a life-and-death certificate.
This is not because he believes that Zhou Chun will not be in danger.
But he was confident that even if Zhou Chun could not come back, his words could give an explanation to the Zhou family, and he was not afraid that the Zhou family would blackmail the Zhao family.
This is the confidence of the Zhao family as a golden elixir family!
"This junior will definitely live up to Senior Zhao's expectations."
Zhou Chun cupped his fists and bowed his hands in a salute. Even as Zhao Deyan watched, he followed the silver lightning python Bai Bai into the rat hole.