Chapter 90: An Unexpected Discovery!

Inside Gareth’s Mansion

"Steward Holt, sell every asset under my personal name that can be liquidated immediately!"

The moment Gareth returned to his mansion, he summoned his steward and issued the order.

His expression was dark and gloomy. Having just been provoked by Derek, he had clearly made a decision.

"I don’t care if you have to sell them below market value. Just make it quick!"

"Sir... all of them?" Steward Holt stared at him in disbelief.

"Yes, all of them!"

Gareth’s eyes were cold and resolute.

"Sell everything that can be sold. I need a massive amount of Origin Stones in cash!"

"Yes, yes... this humble one understands."

Steward Holt’s expression changed slightly, but he immediately bowed in submission.

Although he was deeply puzzled by the Family Head’s sudden demand for such an enormous sum, Gareth’s icy gaze discouraged him from asking questions.

He hurried to the storeroom, took an inventory of the valuable assets, and immediately set out to find buyers.

After considerable effort, Steward Holt finally returned to the mansion some time later. He approached Gareth and respectfully presented him with a spatial ring.

Gareth snatched the ring and quickly examined its contents with his spiritual sense.

His expression immediately darkened.

"Only a little over seven hundred thousand Origin Stones?"

"Yes, Family Head." Steward Holt bowed his head before explaining, "There are still some fixed assets, including fertile land and shops. However, their total value is considerable, so finding buyers willing to purchase them immediately is difficult, even if we lower the prices. We’ll need more time to sell them."

He paused before continuing.

"Even after liquidating all the readily marketable treasures, this is the most we could gather in cash for now."

Steward Holt’s heart ached as he spoke.

He had no idea why Gareth suddenly needed so many Origin Stones, but he knew that this round of hurried sales had come at a considerable cost.

To ensure everything sold quickly, most of the valuable items had been sold for only seventy to eighty percent of their market value.

It was practically throwing away a fortune!

Although the assets didn’t belong to him personally, he had managed the family’s affairs for years and had always been meticulous about spending. Watching so much wealth disappear through such a hasty liquidation was genuinely painful.

"Fine. I understand. You may leave."

Gareth waved him away impatiently.

His face had turned ashen, and his vital energy continued to deteriorate. His complexion was growing increasingly dark, while deep wrinkles had begun appearing across his face.

In the short time since his battle, he had aged so dramatically that he no longer looked like a man in his forties. Instead, he resembled someone in his sixties or even seventies.

"Yes, Family Head."

Steward Holt dared not linger. One look at Gareth’s frightening appearance was enough to convince him to leave immediately.

Once the steward had completely disappeared from sight, Gareth hurriedly retrieved another second-tier Low-Grade Origin Energy and Blood Pill from his spatial ring and swallowed it.

Before Steward Holt returned, he had already consumed two pills.

This was his third.

A faint sense of relief spread through his body as the medicinal effects took hold. Although the pill’s effectiveness was noticeably weaker than that of the first, it still managed to alleviate some of his discomfort.

Gareth immediately slipped the spatial ring containing his newly acquired fortune onto his finger. Then, without wasting another moment, he hurried into the inner chambers to bathe and change clothes.

The Origin Energy and Blood Pill could replenish vital energy and promote recovery. It also offered some relief from vital energy depletion and injuries accompanied by excessive blood loss.

However, its effects were clearly insufficient to reverse Gareth’s current condition completely.

A short while later, Gareth emerged from the bathroom wearing a loose black robe that concealed as much of his deteriorating appearance as possible.

Without another word, he dragged his weakened body out of the mansion, climbed into the family’s Wind Wolf Express, and sped toward a particular location on the western side of Ashfall City.

He couldn’t afford to waste any more time.

...

Outside Ashfall City

It was now late evening, well past eight o’clock.

The bright moon hung high in the night sky, surrounded by countless sparkling stars.

"Whew..."

Ryan slowly opened his eyes and released a long breath of turbid air.

He was sitting cross-legged in a secluded location not far outside Ashfall City, having finally emerged from his period of seclusion.

After swallowing another Healing Pill and focusing on meditation, his condition had improved considerably.

Although his internal injuries remained largely unchanged and the Origin Energy circulating through his meridians was still sluggish, most of his severe external injuries had healed. His depleted Origin Energy had also recovered to nearly half its original level.

The C-Grade Top-Tier Overlord Body Bloodline was indeed formidable.

With his Origin Energy gradually recovering and the medicinal effects of the Healing Pill nourishing his body, the wounds covering his skin and flesh had healed at an astonishing speed.

Unfortunately, the pill’s effects had their limits.

Without a higher-grade Healing Pill, his troublesome internal injuries would probably take considerable time to heal completely.

Severe internal injuries disrupted the circulation of vital energy and Origin Energy throughout the meridians, significantly reducing one’s combat strength. They could also stiffen movements and create openings that an opponent could easily exploit.

Ryan couldn’t afford to underestimate their impact.

In fact, he had already begun fleeing before Gareth unleashed his devastating technique, the Great Character Flame Kill.

Having watched the battle from a safe distance, Ryan had immediately recognized the danger when he witnessed the terrifying killing move take shape. Without hesitation, he had fled at full speed, escaping the main attack range before the flames descended.

Unfortunately, he had underestimated the reach of the resulting explosion.

When the enormous wave of flames crashed down, the residual fire spread much farther than he had anticipated.

Although Ryan had already escaped at full speed, he was still caught at the very edge of the attack and struck by a small portion of the lingering flames.

Fortunately, the residual flames carried less than half the destructive power of the original attack. Combined with the Overlord Body’s desperate defensive response, they only reignited the external wounds on his back without inflicting any deeper injuries.

However, there had been another casualty.

His Godly Travel Boots had been completely destroyed by the intense heat, melting into an unrecognizable mess.

Ryan had nearly lost his mind when he saw them ruined.

A Top-Grade Profound-Tier movement treasure!

And now, it was gone!

The loss had been infuriating.

Yet, after finally escaping the fiery aftermath, Ryan had happened to glance toward the surrounding area and discovered something unexpected.

Scattered along the edge of the scorched battlefield were numerous mutated beast corpses. Even more surprisingly, several of the creatures were still alive, though barely.

His eyes had immediately lit up.

Without wasting a second, he had unleashed Spider Silk with both hands, sweeping up a cluster of mutated beasts whose life or death remained uncertain.

Like a whirlwind, he gathered them and stuffed them into his beast pouch before making his escape.

Only then had he reluctantly abandoned the battlefield and sought out a secluded place to recover.

Otherwise, if he hadn’t been worried that Gareth might come after him while temporarily possessing the strength of the mid stage of the Origin Ascendant Realm, Ryan would have gladly returned to collect more of those mutated beast corpses.

After all, they were essentially piles of Origin Stones!

Pure white Origin Stones!

More importantly, they could help accelerate the advancement of his Boundless Creation Furnace. The furnace could advance more rapidly by increasing the number of creations it performed, so every additional resource mattered.

Still, Ryan understood that greed could easily cost him his life.

It wasn’t worth risking everything for a few additional resources.

In the end, he had collected only that one batch before fleeing.

He would consider it a small compensation for the loss of his Godly Travel Boots.

Now, with his injuries sufficiently stabilized, Ryan sat cross-legged inside the Disguise Formation and reached for the beast pouch hanging from his waist.

He carefully examined the numerous mutated beasts he had collected, eager to discover whether any of them held something valuable.

He had been in too much of a hurry earlier to inspect his spoils. After escaping, he had immediately set up a simple formation and focused on healing, leaving him no opportunity to examine the creatures.

Now, he finally had the time.

...

"Eh?!"

A short while later, Ryan’s eyes narrowed in surprise.

"This is..."

He seemed to have discovered something unusual among the mutated beasts.

Without further hesitation, he took out another beast pouch and transferred one of the dying creatures into it.

Then, he carefully injected a trace of Origin Energy into the pouch.

HISS!

Instantly, the central section of the beast pouch turned translucent.

Ryan stared intently at the creature inside, his expression growing increasingly tense.

A mutated beast lay motionless within the pouch, barely clinging to life.

Its entire body was charred and horribly mutilated. It vaguely resembled a roasted suckling pig, except that it was completely bald, without a single strand of hair remaining. Blackened and blood-red wounds crisscrossed its body, leaving scarcely any intact skin.

Its breathing was shallow and labored.

It was clearly on the verge of death.

Ryan stared at it for a moment before his eyes suddenly widened.

"W-What... a Black Flame Leopard?!"

He examined the creature again, unwilling to believe what he was seeing.

But there was no mistake.

It was a Black Flame Leopard!

After confirming its identity, Ryan’s face lit up with unrestrained excitement.

"No way! I actually found a Black Flame Leopard under these circumstances!!!"