Chapter 438: Mammoth Tusks as Souvenirs, Temple Master Ning's Collection Plans

Ning Fei was still chiseling away at the ice layer.

Like Wu Gang chopping the tree on the moon, he was completely focused and tireless.

Gradually, the pit grew wider and deeper until Ning Fei's body had almost completely disappeared beneath the surface.

Little Dog was playing nearby. Realizing it could no longer see Ning Fei, it immediately ran to the edge of the deep pit to take a look.

The drone hovered directly overhead.

The netizens closely watched Ning Fei's movements, and the barrage of comments never ceased.

"Temple Master Ning said he found Mammoth Tusks!"

"My god, how much is this thing worth?!"

"It doesn't seem to be particularly valuable. A lot of fossilized Mammoth Tusks have been unearthed before. After all, ivory doesn't rot over time, so more and more of them will definitely pile up."

"Good heavens, you've been watching too many short videos. Mammoth Tusks go for at least tens of millions. You call that not valuable?"

"Good lord, he went to Antarctica and dug up Mammoth Tusks. You must be joking!"

Down in the ice pit, Ning Fei lightened his movements because he was now very close to the tusks.

The Mammoth Tusks lay horizontally deep in the ground, so digging them out wasn't overly troublesome.

The drone flew a little lower, allowing the netizens to clearly see the outline of the tusks beneath the ice through the livestream.

These were two incredibly long tusks. They looked to be taller than a person, about 1.7 or 1.8 meters long!

Moreover, the tusks were pure white throughout, resembling warm jade!

"What beautiful ancient tusks!"

"My god, this is a true treasure!"

"I'm going crazy with jealousy over Temple Master Ning's Treasure-Hunting Physique!"

"Are we filming a movie here?!"

At this moment, Ning Fei took out a shovel and carefully cleared away all the ice surrounding the tusks.

Frozen items are very brittle, especially things that have been frozen for who knows how many thousands of years.

When Ning Fei finally extracted the tusks completely from the ice layer, the netizens finally got a clear look at them in their entirety.

It was a pair of massive, pure white tusks that looked like jade. They were entirely intact, without the slightest visible flaw.

"I still need to offer a reminder here," Ning Fei said, having thought of something else.

"Buying and selling ivory is illegal. Without a market, there is no killing—this is not alarmist talk."

"However, fossilized ivory can be traded. There are many unearthed ancient ivory fossils abroad that can be purchased through normal channels."

In his eyes, taking parts from living creatures for a collection was a sickening idea.

"Temple Master Ning, don't worry. Even if we wanted to buy it, we couldn't afford it."

"Casually spending millions or tens of millions to buy a few teeth is something only tycoons do!"

"I also hope everyone can pay attention to the protection of wild animals."

Then, someone else asked:

"Temple Master Ning, are you selling these tusks?"

"Yeah, Temple Master, I'm already prepared to place a bid."

"Could it be that Temple Master Ning intends to donate them to the state?"

"It's possible!"

Seeing everyone's comments, Ning Fei shook his head.

He was just a Daoist priest who stayed out of worldly affairs. He had never really entertained the thought of making donations; handing over the previous fossils and antiques was simply turning them in, not donating them.

The law required it, and he merely followed the law.

But he had found this pair of tusks in Antarctica, an unclaimed continent. Since he picked them up, they naturally belonged to him.

"I don't intend to donate them, nor do I plan to auction them off."

"These will make a nice souvenir," Ning Fei said slowly.

"A souvenir?"

The netizens were momentarily stunned.

"Because memories are a beautiful thing."

"Someday in the future, when I am old and frail, lying on a lounge chair in Qingfeng Temple, the most wonderful thing might be reminiscing about my past travels."

"But at that time, my memory might not be very good, so I will need some physical objects as keepsakes."

"So I plan to start now. Whenever I travel around the world, every time I visit a place, I'll keep something worth remembering."

"It could be a strange rock, or it could be a leaf."

"These fossilized Mammoth Tusks are a fine choice."

"I plan to set up a collection gallery," Ning Fei said leisurely.

At this very moment, Ning Fei's livestream was being simulcast abroad.

His outdoor livestreams were also extremely popular overseas.

The name of the overseas stream wasn't "Live Stream Room of the Master of Qingfeng Temple" but rather "The Traveler Exploring the Globe."

This name was chosen by the foreign streaming company.

There were many travelers roaming the world, some of whom had massive fanbases and immense influence.

Ning Fei's global influence wasn't quite at that level yet, but the places he explored were all among the most mysterious locations in the world.

As a result, his international subscriber count was growing at a staggering rate.

Ning Fei packed away the tusks and called out to Little Dog and the others, who were still playing in the distance.

At the same time, Ning Fei swept the surrounding snow into the ice pit he had dug and stamped it down firmly, worried that a person or a penguin might fall in.

His thoughtful action won unanimous praise from the netizens.

Ning Fei harnessed the sled dogs, stowed the tusks in his pack, and shouted, "Back to the Scientific Research Station. Let's go!"

In an instant, Little Dog and the Alaskan Malamutes sprinted off together.

Once again, the sled sped forward.

By the time they were nearing the Scientific Research Station, the sky had grown somewhat dark.

"It's April now. Antarctica is in its winter season, so it gets dark earlier."

"If you came to Antarctica in March or September, you could also witness the phenomena of polar days and polar nights."

"During a polar day, the sun doesn't set for the entire day. It just hangs right overhead."

"This is also part of nature's magic," Ning Fei said as he stepped off the sled.

Hearing Ning Fei's description, the netizens felt a momentary surge of wanderlust.

Shortly after, Ning Fei ended the stream.

Meanwhile, when Liu Dashan and the rest of the expedition team heard that Ning Fei had dug a pair of Mammoth Tusks out of the ice, their jaws nearly dropped to the floor in shock!

Mammoth Tusks were not considered extraordinarily valuable, and there were many existing specimens.

However, finding pure white tusks buried in the Antarctic ice layer was a completely different story!

Ordinary Mammoth Tusk fossils were black, their appearance thoroughly altered by the passage of time.

The white color of these Mammoth Tusks indicated their extraordinary nature—they might not even be a common species!

Huaxia's Antarctic expedition teams had come here so many times but had never found such precious ice-bound fossils. Yet, Ning Fei had unearthed them after just one day.

His luck was truly beyond compare.

"Temple Master Ning, I have a presumptuous request. Would you be willing to hear it?"

Liu Dashan looked at the tusks in Ning Fei's pack with a deeply envious expression.

"Station Master Liu, please go ahead," Ning Fei replied politely.

"It's about these tusks. Could you lend them to us for a couple of days of study?"

"Rest assured, we absolutely won't damage any part of the tusks."

"We just want to take photos, use isotopes to calculate their age, examine them under a microscope, and so on."

"As you know, the main function of the Scientific Research Station is the scientific study of Antarctica. These tusks are incredibly important for our research work."

"We only need two days—even one day would be fine. When we're done, we will return them in perfect condition!" Liu Dashan said, feeling somewhat apprehensive.

He truly wanted to study the tusks; after all, this kind of work was the very reason he was stationed at the Antarctic base.

But Liu Dashan also knew that the tusks were highly valuable. Fossilized white Mammoth Tusks nearly two meters long were likely worth over ten million.

Would anyone really hand over something worth tens of millions to someone else?

It was easy to say, but how many people could actually do it when push came to shove?

Ning Fei's expression didn't change much. He merely smiled and said, "Of course, no problem. To me, these tusks are just souvenirs. If they can facilitate your research work, then that couldn't be better."

"You guys study them first. I'll take them back when it's time for me to leave."

Hearing Ning Fei's words, a look of pure joy spread across Liu Dashan's face.

He stared at Ning Fei, his eyes bright and burning with passion.

For Liu Dashan to do research work in Antarctica, he had to possess an immense love for science and a heart full of absolute dedication.

However, Ning Fei felt somewhat uncomfortable being stared at so intensely. He quickly handed the tusks over to Liu Dashan and headed back to his room to check on his fox and cat.