Shen Long took the Golden Dharma Disk and injected a spell formula into it. A line of text appeared on its surface.
"Great Wind Blade Talisman: releases dozens of wind blades at once to wound enemies over a wide area. Forty Spirit Stones each."
"Earth Escape Talisman: sixty Spirit Stones each."
"Lightning Attraction Talisman: draws down the power of nine bolts of lightning to strike enemies. One hundred Spirit Stones each."
"Beast Soul Talisman: can conjure a First Rank Late Stage Green Wind Tiger to attack enemies. Two hundred Spirit Stones each."
Shen Long looked at Lin Yu and asked, "What is the difference between a Monster Beast conjured by a Beast Soul Talisman and a living Monster Beast?"
"The Monster Beast conjured by a Beast Soul Talisman can only use some of its innate divine abilities. It is just as tough, and once its power is exhausted, it is finished. It can be used multiple times."
After giving it some thought, Shen Long said, "I'll take one Beast Soul Talisman, two Lightning Attraction Talismans, one Earth Escape Talisman, and one Great Wind Blade Talisman."
High-grade Magical Tools started at one thousand Spirit Stones, while a Second-Rank Talisman started at several hundred Spirit Stones. Shen Long simply could not afford them.
With these five Talismans, Shen Long felt somewhat more confident.
"Alright. Please wait here for a moment, Fellow Daoist. I'll be right back."
Lin Yu rose and left.
Before long, she returned, took out a Cyan Jade Box, and handed it to Shen Long.
Shen Long opened the jade box. Five Talismans lay inside. He carefully inspected them and noticed a miniature green tiger design on the Beast Soul Talisman.
Shen Long put away the Talismans, rose to his feet, and left.
After leaving the Treasure Pavilion, Shen Long wandered along the streets, watching for anyone following him.
Spending five hundred Spirit Stones in one go was the largest expense of his life, and also his most extravagant purchase.
Even Shen Long's greatest haul from hunting Monster Beasts had not been worth five hundred Spirit Stones. A first rank early stage Snow Wing Ice Centipede alone could sell for five hundred Spirit Stones; the more highly ranked exotic insects surely commanded even higher prices.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he arrived at Bluestone Square. Night had fallen, and the square was even livelier. Some stall owners shouted themselves hoarse to draw in customers.
He browsed as he walked, hoping to find the green-robed elder selling Insect Eggs.
He made a full round of the square but did not see the green-robed elder, nor did he see anyone selling unhatched exotic insect eggs.
After wandering the streets for more than half an hour and confirming that no one was following him, Shen Long headed to the Martial Practice Garden on Thousand Bamboo Peak and entered a Stone Chamber to practice his spells.
More than half a day later, Shen Long emerged from the Martial Practice Garden. He had restored his true appearance and returned to his residence.
He sat cross-legged on his stone bed, took out the Spirit Control Tower, and stared at it with blazing eyes.
Thanks to the Spirit Control Tower, he had made a handsome profit. It could hatch Spirit Insect eggs with weak life force, and it should have even more functions beyond that—functions Shen Long had yet to discover.
"Spirit Control Tower! If only I could join the Spirit Control Sect."
Shen Long muttered to himself.
"Cultivation is the foundation. I was lucky this time; it won't be so easy to obtain exotic insect eggs again."
Shen Long put away the Spirit Control Tower, took out a Cyan Porcelain Bottle, and poured out a cyan pill. It was round and lustrous, giving off a faint fragrant scent.
A Qi Nourishing Pill cost two Spirit Stones each. Before this, Shen Long had gone a long time between taking Qi Nourishing Pills—not because he was reluctant, but because his pockets were empty.
He now had eight Qi Nourishing Pills in total, along with two hundred and sixty-seven Spirit Stones.
Shen Long placed the Qi Nourishing Pill into his mouth. It melted as soon as it entered, and a surge of spiritual qi rose from his abdomen.
He hurriedly circulated his cultivation technique, guiding that spiritual qi toward his dantian.
Inside a three-story Cyan Pavilion, Chen Xiong sat in the seat of honor while five Qi Refining Cultivators sat on either side.
Chen Xiong's expression was gloomy. He had thought they could wipe out Xu Lei and the others, only to have two of his own men killed instead.
"We have investigated it. The cultivator who killed Madam Li's younger brother is named Shen Long. He is at the fifth level of Qi Refinement and once worked at Craftsman Hall. This man keeps a low profile and rarely goes out."
A refined young man in a white shirt said.
"He killed my younger brother. This hatred cannot exist beneath the same sky. Don't let me run into him outside the Marketplace."
A voluptuous young married woman in a red dress said coldly, her face brimming with murderous intent.
Li Yue, seventh level of Qi Refinement, deputy captain of the Monster Hunting Team.
"Everyone, go back and rest for now. Adjust yourselves properly. Once we find new teammates, we'll enter the mountains again to hunt Monster Beasts."
Chen Xiong said.
Li Yue and the other five acknowledged him and rose to leave.
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
In a secret chamber at the Martial Practice Garden, Shen Long stood before a sand pit, practicing his spells.
He murmured an incantation, and a white spiritual glow slowly lit up in his right hand. With a flick of his wrist, a foot-long white ice spike shot out and struck the yellow sand pit. The grains of sand touched by the white ice spike were covered in White Cold Qi.
Shen Long planned to cultivate the Ice Spike Technique to Great Completion. It might prove useful at a critical moment.
The Ice Spike Technique had already reached Minor Accomplishment. His casting speed had improved somewhat, though it was still some distance from instant casting.
More than half an hour later, the sand pit was filled with White Ice Spikes. The temperature inside the room plummeted, and even the stone walls were coated in a layer of white frost.
Shen Long's face was pale. With a shake of his sleeve, a Crimson Fireball flew out and crashed into the sand pit, turning every white ice spike into white mist.
He cast the Entanglement Technique several times, and thick Cyan Vines burrowed up from the sand pit one after another.
He opened the door and walked out, only to find Qin Qing standing outside.
"Fellow Daoist Qin, what a coincidence!"
Seeing Qin Qing, Shen Long greeted him with a smile.
"Fellow Daoist Shen, I have something to discuss with you. Could we speak somewhere private?"
Qin Qing asked politely.
Shen Long nodded. The two returned to the secret chamber and shut the door.
"Fellow Daoist Shen, are you well off at the moment? Could you lend me some Spirit Stones? Once I earn some, I'll repay you immediately."
Hope filled Qin Qing's face.
"Lend you Spirit Stones? Fellow Daoist Qin, I'm not well off either. Every time I hunt Monster Beasts, I don't get much of a share."
Shen Long said with a frown.
There were countless people in hardship, and Shen Long could not help them all. He and Qin Qing were merely partners.
"I know. If I had any other way, I wouldn't have come to you. Daoist Xu and Fellow Daoist Sun are both in seclusion recovering from their injuries and haven't replied to my messages. I don't even have Spirit Stones left to buy spirit rice."
Qin Qing said with a bitter smile, his face filled with worry.
"Fellow Daoist Qin, didn't you make some money from the last Monster Beast hunt? It shouldn't have run out so quickly, should it?"
Shen Long asked doubtfully.
Cultivators rarely ate mortal food. It contained no spiritual qi and offered no benefit to cultivation; eating too much of it was harmful.
"Alas, it's all because of that boy Tianhe."
Qin Qing let out a long sigh and explained what had happened.
Whenever he earned Spirit Stones, he gave most of them to Qin Tianhe. If he failed to return from hunting Monster Beasts, Qin Tianhe would still be able to get by for a while.
After more than half a year without hunting Monster Beasts, Qin Qing had spent all the Spirit Stones he had on hand. When he asked Qin Tianhe for some to buy Golden Pearl Spirit Rice, Qin Tianhe could not produce any. He hemmed and hawed until Qin Qing pressed him, whereupon Qin Tianhe finally explained the reason.
Whenever Qin Qing went out to hunt Monster Beasts, Qin Tianhe worried greatly, terrified that Qin Qing would not return. He wanted to ease Qin Qing's burden, but he was powerless to do so.
One day, while wandering through the square where stalls were set up, he saw someone selling Insect Eggs from the Heaven and Earth Exotic Insect Ranking. The seller was desperately short of Spirit Stones and was therefore selling the eggs.
Qin Tianhe wanted to hatch the Insect Eggs, then sell the young insects to earn the price difference. He spent a high price on one egg, but it never hatched. When he went to find the seller for a refund, the person had already vanished without a trace, leaving him no choice but to swallow the loss.
An egg of a Snow Crystal Spider cost fifty Spirit Stones. The Snow Wing Ice Centipede ranked below the Snow Crystal Spider, yet its young could sell for no less than five hundred Spirit Stones—equivalent to more than twenty years of earnings from working.
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