Suspicious Target

After a short while, Shen Long appeared in front of a small stall. The stall owner was a man in his early forties dressed in red. The stall was filled with refining materials, and he had two Spirit Beast Bag tied around his waist.

Shen Long's gaze fell on an oval-shaped piece of golden ore. The surface of the golden ore had some tiny holes, as if it had been bitten by insects.

"I want this Gold Sheath Stone."

A pleasant female voice rang out.

A fragrant breeze wafted by, and a voluptuous Gold-Skirted Girl appeared in front of the stall.

The Gold-Skirted Girl had willow-leaf eyebrows, cherry lips, a delicate nose, and skin as white as snow. Judging from the markings on her clothes, she was clearly a member of the Bai Clan.

"I'll trade you Beast Spirit Pill."

Shen Long transmitted his voice to the man in red and took out two Cyan Porcelain Bottle.

Gold Sheath Stone is a second-tier refining material, used to forge top-grade Top-Grade Dharma Artifact. This material is quite expensive.

The man in red examined the pills in the porcelain bottle, and after confirming that they were correct, he sold the Gold Sheath Stone to Shen Long.

The Gold-Skirted Girl wasn't angry. She clasped her hands in a fist salute to Shen Long and politely asked, "This is Bai Yuyan, may I ask your name, fellow Daoist?"

"Shen Shi."

Shen Long gave a false name.

"May I ask, Fellow Daoist Shen, which sect or school do you belong to?"

Bai Yuyan asked politely.

Shen Long had multiple Spirit Beast Bag on him, which didn't seem like that of Rogue Cultivator.

"I belong to no sect or school; I am merely a Rogue Cultivator."

Shen Long said.

He knew very well that with so many Spirit Beast Bag he carried and being Alchemist, outsiders simply wouldn't believe he was Rogue Cultivator.

"Rogue Cultivator!"

A hint of doubt flashed in Bai Yuyan's eyes, but she didn't press the matter further. Instead, she asked, "Fellow Daoist Shen is also Artifact Refiner?"

"Oh, Fellow Daoist Shen, what a coincidence!"

A cheerful male voice rang out.

A handsome Blue-Shirted Youth and a tall, thin young man in a yellow shirt walked over. The Blue-Shirted Youth was tall, with a white jade belt around his waist and a white folding fan in his hand.

"Fellow Daoist Su, what are you doing here?"

Shen Long was somewhat surprised.

The Blue-Shirted Youth was named Su Jianghai, and he had the Foundation Establishment Late Stage stage.

Shen Long travels to many countries, often going to places rich in Demon Beast resources to hunt Demon Beast. This serves two purposes: first, to improve the combat abilities of his Spirit Beast Spirit Insect, Spirit Bird; and second, to break through bottlenecks in magical battles.

While hunting Demon Beast in a certain place, he got into a dispute with Su Jianghai over a second-tier poisonous scorpion. The two sparred and fought to a draw.

Shen Long and Su Jianghai became acquainted through a misunderstanding, attended many gatherings together, and spent more than half a year together before parting ways.

"Fellow Daoist Su, do you know this fellow Daoist?"

The young man in the yellow shirt asked curiously.

"Yu Xian, this is the Fellow Daoist Shen I told you about. He is very strong, with superb alchemy skills, and is proficient in insect control and beast taming techniques."

Su Jianghai pointed at Shen Long and said.

"My name is Bai Yuxian, and I greet Fellow Daoist Shen."

The young man in yellow clasped his hands in greeting, a smile on his face. He noticed Bai Yuyan and asked in surprise, "Yuyan, do you know Fellow Daoist Shen?"

"We didn't know each other before, but we do now."

Bai Yuyan said with a smile.

"Fellow Daoist Su, do you know Fellow Daoist Bai?"

Shen Long asked curiously.

"Our two families have been friends for generations. It's better to meet by chance than to meet by appointment. How about we find a place to talk?"

Su Jianghai suggested.

Shen Long and the other two had no objections and agreed.

Shen Long and his three companions arrived at a quiet Blue-tiled Courtyard and sat in a stone pavilion, enjoying tea and chatting.

"By the way, Fellow Daoist Shen, I heard from Jianghe that you are skilled in insect repelling techniques. These are Snow Crystal Spider Insect Eggs that I obtained many years ago. Do you think they still have a chance to hatch?"

Bai Yuxian took out a white Insect Eggs and handed it to Shen Long.

Shen Long examined it carefully, frowned, and said, "To be honest, it's very difficult to hatch."

Upon hearing this, Bai Yuxian's face showed disappointment.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, you are skilled in insect-repelling techniques. Didn't you help Fairy Liu hatch the Insect Eggs of the Seven-Colored Wind Butterfly before? I believe you can also hatch these Insect Eggs."

Su Jianghai said.

"For Fellow Daoist Su's sake, if you trust me, hand over the Insect Eggs to me, and I'll help you hatch them. I can't guarantee it."

Shen Long explained that he used the Spirit Control Tower to help other Foundation Establishment Cultivator hatch Insect Eggs and Spirit Beast Egg, which would help him better integrate into the local community, and he would charge a considerable fee for it.

Bai Yuxian's face lit up with joy, and he said, "If Fellow Daoist Shen are trustworthy and willing to help, that would be the best. Regardless of whether Fellow Daoist Shen can help me hatch this Snow Crystal Spider Insect Eggs, I will not let Fellow Daoist Shen work for nothing."

"To be honest, I wouldn't want to help anyone else, but since you and Fellow Daoist Shen, I'll give it a try. I'll do my best to help you hatch this Insect Eggs."

Shen Long promised.

This is Bai Clan territory. Shen Long can befriend the Bai Clan members, he will be able to integrate into this area more easily.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, where are you currently staying? Let us arrange a good place for you to stay!"

Bai Yuyan said enthusiastically.

"Yes, yes, we'll arrange a place for you to stay!"

Bai Yuxian echoed.

Shen Long is an outsider, so they can do their best to be hospitable to him.

Shen Long looked at Su Jianghai and asked, "Where does Fellow Daoist Su live?"

"Floating Cloud Pavilion, if Fellow Daoist Shen doesn't mind, you can stay at the Golden Elm Pavilion next door!"

Su Jianghai said with a smile.

"Alright, this will do. Thank you, Fellow Daoist Bai."

Shen Long agreed.

"No trouble at all, it's a piece of cake."

Bai Yuxian agreed, took out a Dharma Disk that shimmered with yellow light, cast a spell, and then gestured.

They continued discussing the art of repelling insects. Bai Yuyan and Bai Yuxian both raised Spirit Insect Spirit Insect asked Shen Long about their cultivation, Shen Long answered one by one.

"Listen to Fellow Daoist Shen's advice, and you'll avoid taking detours."

Bai Yuxian sighed.

Shen Long knew the Spirit Insect was sick because of the unusual color of its droppings, which impressed Bai Yuxian greatly.

"It's just a matter of specialization; as for weapon crafting, I'm no match for you."

Shen Long said modestly.

Bai Yuxian nodded and continued discussing the cultivation of Spirit Insect.

"Golden Flame Sect, Flying Golden Flame Centipede!"

Shen Long's expression hardened.

Bai Yuxian mentioned that the sect leader of the Golden Flame Sect, Master Golden Flame, was raising a Third Rank Flying Golden Flame Centipede. Logically speaking, this was not a big deal.

The remnant of the Loose Cultivator Assembly, Master Golden Centipede, raised a second-tier Flying Golden Flame Centipede. Decades have passed, and that Flying Golden Flame Centipede may have advanced to the Third Rank.

"Yes! That's Third Rank Spirit Insect; it flies very fast."

Bai Yuxian looked on with envy.

"Who Master Golden Flame? How could he have cultivated Third Rank Flying Golden Flame Centipede?"

Shen Long feigned curiosity.

Bai Yuxian did not hide anything and truthfully revealed the origins of Master Golden Flame.

The story recounts everything from how Master Golden Flame made his name to how he founded his own sect.

Shen Long nodded. Master Golden Flame was not from the Wei Kingdom, but claimed to be from the Gan Kingdom. He was a rogue Rogue Cultivator. Judging from the timeline, Master Golden Flame appeared in the Wei Kingdom right after Master Golden Centipede committed the crime, making Master Golden Flame a suspect.

After all these years, we've finally found some suspicious individuals.