The jade slip recorded the spirit insects on the Heaven and Earth Exotic Insect Ranking, introducing their appearances, abilities, and habits.
The Heaven and Earth Exotic Insect Ranking had been compiled by enthusiasts and carried some reference value.
The other two jade slips recorded the Azure Cloud Art and Travels of Master Azure Cloud. The Azure Cloud Art was a cultivation technique that could be practiced up to the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining.
Travels of Master Azure Cloud was a travel journal compiled by a rogue cultivator named Master Azure Cloud. He had never advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm in his lifetime, but he had traveled to many places in the Qin Kingdom and recorded his experiences.
Travels of Master Azure Cloud gave a detailed account of the Qin Kingdom. The Qin Kingdom had twelve prefectures and thirty-six commanderies. Five Factions were the most powerful, each guarded by a Nascent Soul Cultivator: the Mystic Yang Sect, Tyrant Blade Villa, Spirit Control Sect, Purple Firmament Gate, and Seven Rosy Clouds Sect. The Mystic Yang Sect was the strongest among them.
The Qin Kingdom also had some small and medium-sized Factions that served as subordinate Factions of the Five Great Powers.
What interested Shen Long most was the Spirit Control Sect. According to the jade slip, the Spirit Control Sect was renowned throughout the Qin Kingdom for controlling insects and beasts. Most of its disciples raised Spirit Beasts and Spirit Insects, releasing them to assist in killing enemies during battle.
More than a hundred years ago, a group of Evil Cultivators had wreaked havoc in the Qin Kingdom, slaughtering many cultivators. Their leader had been a Golden Core Cultivator. Snow Spider Fairy of the Spirit Control Sect had personally acted to destroy their leader, her name shaking an entire region.
A Third-Rank Spirit Beast, the Azure Wind Wolf, had once appeared in the Thousand Bamboo Mountain Range and harmed many cultivators. Only after Master Azure Python of the Spirit Control Sect took action was the monster beast dealt with.
Shen Long turned his gaze toward the pile of Spirit Stones, delight appearing on his face.
He had ninety-two Spirit Stones on him. Including the ones he had seized, he now possessed a total of two hundred and sixty-seven Spirit Stones. This was a huge sum, and he had also obtained three Dharma Artifacts.
A horse would not grow fat without night grass, and a man would not grow rich without windfall wealth.
This had been his first time killing someone. He possessed only two low-grade Dharma Artifacts, while his three Great Perfection spells had played a major role, especially the Fireball Technique.
Shen Long picked up the wooden box, took out the Spirit Control Tower, and poured magic power into it.
The Spirit Control Tower lit up with a dazzling blue light. A powerful suction force surged forth, dragging him into the tower, where a spacious and brightly lit hall appeared.
He came to the side of the pool and placed the Insect Eggs inside, wanting to see whether there would be any changes.
He had tested it before. Lying in the pool had produced no abnormalities. The Spirit Control Tower was most likely related to nurturing Spirit Beasts and Spirit Insects.
Half a quarter-hour passed, yet the Insect Eggs showed no changes.
Shen Long furrowed his brows and looked toward the monster beast patterns on the stone wall.
Thinking of something, he came before the True Dragon pattern, placed his palm against the stone wall, and tried to inject magic power into it. Nothing unusual happened.
He walked toward the Heavenly Phoenix pattern beside it and tried injecting magic power into it.
In this manner, he went before one monster beast pattern after another and attempted to pour magic power into them.
After a while, he stood before a vicious-looking demon insect pattern. The demon insect had dozens of heads, a flat body, and a row of sickle-like claws beneath its belly, as though dozens of demon insects had been twisted together.
He tried injecting magic power into it, and an astonishing scene unfolded. His magic power surged uncontrollably toward the monster beast pattern. The demon insect's eyes lit up, and it seemed to come alive, constantly turning.
Shen Long looked toward the pool and discovered a ball of blue light rising from within it.
His magic power was quickly drained away, and his face turned pale. He hurriedly took out two water-attribute Spirit Stones and absorbed their spiritual qi to restore his magic power.
His eyes remained fixed on the pool. When the blue light faded, there was nothing unusual about the pool.
After a while, Shen Long recovered some magic power and walked toward the pool.
When he reached its edge, he saw a black centipede around a foot long. A pair of snow-white, thin wings grew from its back, a pair of white antennae stood on its head, and a row of short white legs lined its underside.
"Snow Wing Ice Centipede!"
Shen Long recognized the black centipede's origin.
The Snow Wing Ice Centipede ranked nine hundredth on the Heaven and Earth Exotic Insect Ranking. It could spew icy qi from its mouth and freeze an entire area. It feared neither water nor fire, and the higher its rank, the larger the area it could freeze.
This Snow Wing Ice Centipede was only a juvenile, and its strength was not high.
Beyond his surprise, Shen Long also felt somewhat excited.
His gaze shifted to the monster beast patterns on the wall, and a look of sudden realization appeared on his face. So these patterns had a purpose. Spirit Insect Eggs that were difficult to hatch could be placed in the pool, and by injecting magic power into a similar monster beast pattern, they could be hatched.
Shen Long ignored the Snow Wing Ice Centipede and left the Spirit Control Tower.
After emerging from the Spirit Control Tower, he put away the items on the ground and began chanting under his breath. His facial features blurred, and a blue light shone from his head.
When the blue light faded, Shen Long's appearance had changed. It was the Appearance Alteration Technique, a spell many rogue cultivators knew. It could only make simple changes to one's appearance; it could not alter one's aura or cultivation.
He removed the Spirit Stones from the Soundproofing Array and pushed open the door to leave.
Half a quarter-hour later, Shen Long appeared before a five-story Cyan Pavilion. Three silver characters, "Hundred Spirits Pavilion," were inscribed upon its square, gold-painted plaque.
This was a shop specializing in Spirit Beasts and Spirit Insects, and it belonged to the Li Family.
Upon entering the Hundred Spirits Pavilion, he found himself facing a spacious, brightly lit hall. Rows of tall shelves stood behind the counters, displaying Insect Eggs and containers. The chirping of insects could be heard.
Shen Long came before a counter. A young and beautiful maid in a green dress hurried over and asked warmly, "What can I do for you, Fellow Daoist?"
"I want to buy a Spirit Insect. The more powerful, the better," Shen Long said.
"Then you have come to the right place. This is the Spirit Insect catalog, which records every Spirit Insect in our shop. You may take your time choosing, and I can also introduce them to you."
The maid in green took out a pale green Dharma Disk and handed it to Shen Long.
Shen Long cast a spell seal into it. The Dharma Disk lit up with cyan light, revealing the image of a black earthworm along with a line of text beside it.
"Earth-Covering Earthworm: It has a broad diet and can be used to loosen soil and improve soil fertility."
"Fire Cloud Scorpion: It spews blazing flames, and its tail stinger contains deadly poison."
"White Jade Bee: It has a gentle temperament and can gather nectar to brew Spirit Honey."
Shen Long examined them carefully. Before long, he had finished reading the descriptions of every Spirit Insect, but none were listed on the Heaven and Earth Exotic Insect Ranking.
"That is all? There are no more?" Shen Long asked.
"These are all the Spirit Insects in our shop. If none catch your eye, what about Spirit Beasts? We have just received two new kinds of Spirit Beasts."
The maid in green spoke enthusiastically.
"No need. Thank you."
Shen Long declined politely, set down the green Dharma Disk, and turned to leave.
There was only one Spirit Beast shop in the Marketplace, so Shen Long had no need to visit other shops.
It seemed that the Spirit Insects on the Heaven and Earth Exotic Insect Ranking were indeed very precious.
Xu Lei and the others had been pursued by Chen Xiong, and whether they lived or died remained unknown. If they had all died, Shen Long would need to join another Monster Hunting Team. If they had been severely injured, they would be unable to leave and hunt Monster Beasts for quite some time.
After thinking it over and over, Shen Long could only wait quietly. He returned to his residence and began cultivating.
Three days passed. On this day, Shen Long was cultivating in his residence when a Sound Transmission Talisman flew in and hovered before him.
Shen Long hurriedly stopped cultivating, grabbed the Sound Transmission Talisman, and crushed it. Qin Qing's voice rang out. "Fellow Daoist Shen, Daoist Xu wants us to attend a meeting."
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