Iron Tail Scorpion

"This child had good intentions but caused trouble; if not for that, I wouldn't have had to open my mouth to Fellow Daoist Shen."

Qin Qing sighed.

It was a good thing that Qin Tianhe wanted to help share the burden, but he was too young and had been deceived by others.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, I only need to borrow ten spirit stones. I will use the insect egg as collateral, and I will definitely pay back the spirit stones within half a year."

Qin Qing took out a yellow wooden box and handed it to Shen Long.

Ten spirit stones were not a small sum to the former Shen Long, and they were not much now, but he did not want to expose his true wealth.

"What if you can't pay it back?"

Shen Long frowned and asked.

"If I can't pay it back, the egg will belong to you. Tianhe bought it for thirty spirit stones."

Qin Qing said.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, an insect egg that cannot be hatched is not worth ten spirit stones. Do you think I am that stupid?"

Shen Long looked displeased.

Qin Qing thought for a moment and said, "How about this! I will definitely pay back the spirit stones, and I will give you this egg as a bonus. If it can be hatched, you will definitely make a big profit."

He had been trying to sell the egg everywhere, and while some people were willing to buy it, the highest offer was only two spirit stones. Since the egg had not hatched, who knew what kind of spirit insect it was?

If it were an ordinary spirit insect, it would be very difficult to sell.

Shen Long frowned, looking thoughtful. Ten spirit stones were not a large sum for him now, but he did not want to appear too relaxed.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, I really have no other choice. If you help me today, I will be able to help you when you are in a tight spot in the future."

Qin Qing pleaded.

"Fine! Pay me back soon."

Shen Long took out ten spirit stones and handed them to Qin Qing.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Shen, thank you."

Qin Qing handed the wooden box to Shen Long.

Shen Long opened the wooden box to find a yellow insect egg inside. He put the box away, opened the gate, and walked out.

"Don't think about going into the mountains to hunt demonic beasts alone. If you die, there will be no one to take care of your grandson."

Shen Long's voice drifted in from outside.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Shen."

Qin Qing said gratefully. He looked at the green vines in the sand pit, a look of approval on his face.

"Tianhe is still very diligent in his cultivation. I hope he can go further on the path of immortality!"

Qin Qing muttered to himself.

As long as Qin Tianhe could go further on the path of immortality, it did not matter how much suffering he endured.

After leaving the Martial Practice Garden, Shen Long walked down the mountain.

He arrived at the Bluestone Square where rogue cultivators set up stalls and began to wander around.

After a while, a familiar female voice reached his ears: "Fellow Daoist Shen, do you want to buy some spirit wine?"

Shen Long followed the source of the voice and saw Huang Xiuyun, with several wine jugs displayed on her small stall.

On the stall to the left of Huang Xiuyun were some first-tier talismans. The stall owner was a slender girl in a red dress with a palm-sized black birthmark on her left cheek.

Shen Long wandered here every so often and had gotten to know the girl in the red dress.

The girl in the red dress was named Ye Yushang, and her younger sister was named Ye Yuqing. Ye Yuqing was a first-tier talisman maker.

Ye Yuqing was responsible for refining the first-tier talismans, while Ye Yushang was responsible for selling them. The prices were relatively cheaper than the talisman shops, making them very popular among the rogue cultivators. However, they only sold a few first-tier talismans at a time rather than in large quantities, so the Li Clan, the Chen Clan, and the Han Clan did not bother them.

Shen Long shook his head and said, "Not for now."

He thought of something and asked casually, "Fairy Huang, has the insect egg you bought hatched yet?"

Huang Xiuyun had bought two Snow Crystal Spider eggs. Shen Long suspected they were Snow Wing Ice Centipedes, but he had no proof.

"Sigh, don't mention it. It's been over half a year and it still hasn't hatched. My grandmother says I was cheated."

Huang Xiuyun sighed.

One hundred spirit stones were not a large sum for them; they could earn it back by selling more spirit wine.

"That's not necessarily true. If it hatches into a Snow Crystal Spider, you could definitely make a big profit."

Ye Yushang said.

She had a good relationship with Huang Xiuyun and would chat with her when there was no business.

Shen Long nodded, chatted for a few sentences, and walked toward the distance.

He wandered around the square for a while, but gained nothing. He left the Bluestone Square and headed toward Thousand Bamboo Peak.

When passing through a fork in the road, Chen Yishan and a beautiful girl in a white dress walked toward him.

The girl in the white dress had skin as fair as snow and eyes as clear as water; she wore a white spirit beast bag at her waist and possessed the cultivation of the eighth level of Qi Refining.

"Fairy Chu, Hundred Spirits Pavilion is the only spirit beast shop in the market, so they might have the spirit beast you are looking for."

Chen Yishan said enthusiastically.

"Then I will have to trouble Fellow Daoist Chen to lead the way."

The girl in the white dress spoke, her voice sweet.

"It is no trouble at all, just a small favor."

Chen Yishan beamed with smiles as he led the way for the girl in the white dress.

Shen Long did not think much of it and quickened his pace, returning to his residence.

He took out the insect egg given to him by Qin Qing and observed it carefully, but he could not recognize what kind of spirit insect it was.

Specialization is key; to a layman, all insect eggs look more or less the same.

Shen Long took out a cyan jade slip and pressed it against his forehead.

The jade slip contained records of the Heaven and Earth Exotic Insect Ranking. After a quarter of an hour, he pulled the jade slip away, his brows furrowed.

There were too many types of spirit insects in the world of cultivation, and far too many spirit insects laid yellow eggs; he had no way to identify the origin of this particular egg.

Shen Long took out the Spirit Control Tower and injected his mana into it. The Spirit Control Tower immediately lit up with a blinding blue light, and a powerful suction force emerged from thin air, pulling him into the tower.

Shen Long stood beside the pool, took out the insect egg, and placed it into the water.

He approached the carving of the demon insect with dozens of heads, placed both hands on the pattern, and injected his mana.

The mana within his body drained rapidly, and the eyes of the demon insect began to glow.

Shen Long looked toward the pool and saw a blue light shimmering within it.

Soon, his face turned pale. He withdrew his palms and took out two spirit stones, absorbing the spiritual energy to recover his mana.

He walked over to the side of the pool and, with a sweep of his gaze, saw a yellow scorpion about a foot long. Its tail was grayish-white and held high, ready to strike at any moment.

"Iron Tail Scorpion!"

Shen Long was filled with disappointment.

The Iron Tail Scorpion was an earth-attribute spirit insect that usually hid by burrowing underground, relying on its tail stinger to wound enemies. It was a common spirit insect; having hunted demon beasts for many years, Shen Long had killed quite a few of them.

There were many types of spirit scorpions on the Heaven and Earth Exotic Insect Ranking. Both the Earth Rock Scorpion and the Iron Tail Scorpion were earth-attribute demon scorpions, but the difference was that the Earth Rock Scorpion excelled at concealment and its stinger contained a strange poison, whereas the Iron Tail Scorpion's stinger was non-toxic. The two were worlds apart.

Hundred Spirits Pavilion also sold Iron Tail Scorpions for ten spirit stones each.

In this way, this Iron Tail Scorpion would not be easy to sell for a profit.

Even if Qin Qing did not return the spirit stones, Shen Long would not be at a loss.

Shen Long left the Spirit Control Tower, sat cross-legged, and began to practice his cultivation.

Seven days passed. On this day, Shen Long walked out of his stone house, intending to go to the Martial Practice Garden to practice his spells.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, Fellow Daoist Xu is calling for us."

Qin Qing walked toward him and said with a smile.

Shen Long nodded and accompanied Qin Qing to the Green Bamboo Courtyard.

In addition to Xu Lei and the others, Ye Yushang and Ye Yuqing were also there.

"Fairy Ye, why are you here too?"

Shen Long asked casually; it seemed the Ye sisters had also joined their demon-hunting team.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, do you know each other?"

Xu Lei asked, puzzled.

"I have bought items from Fairy Ye before."

Shen Long explained.

Xu Lei had a sudden realization and said, "Let me introduce everyone; these two Fairy Yes are our new teammates."

"Fellow Daoist Xu, isn't their cultivation a bit too low?"

Qin Qing frowned and said.

Ye Yushang and Ye Yuqing were both at the fifth level of Qi Refining, which meant there were now five people at the fifth level of Qi Refining in the team.

"Fairy Ye is a talisman maker and also has spirit beasts; their strength is not weak."

Xu Lei explained.

Hearing this, Qin Qing's expression softened.

"Everyone can purchase talismans from me; I will give you all a discount."

Ye Yuqing said with a smile.