Dispute

They had killed First Rank Late Stage demon insects before, but none of those demon insects had been this formidable.

No wonder Ye Yutang's first reaction upon seeing the Purple-Striped Fire Centipedes had been to flee rather than destroy the two of them.

And these Purple-Striped Fire Centipedes were only ranked nine hundred and fifty-fifth. The Spirit Insects ranked higher were surely possessed of even more formidable divine abilities.

With a light flap of their wings, the two Purple-Striped Fire Centipedes pursued Xu Lei and the other seven.

Before they even drew close, they opened their bloodthirsty maws and each spat out more than twenty Crimson Fireballs as large as bowls, hurtling straight toward Xu Lei and the others.

Ye Yuqing flicked her right hand, sending two cyan light-flashing Talismans flying out.

With two muffled booms, the two cyan Talismans exploded into more than twenty Cyan Wind Blades, each about a foot long. They shattered the Crimson Fireballs, and rolling shockwaves swept outward.

A blue light-flashing Talisman shot over, stopping less than thirty zhang from the two Purple-Striped Fire Centipedes.

The two Purple-Striped Fire Centipedes each spewed out a thick Crimson Flame, shooting toward the blue Talisman.

The blue Talisman exploded, transforming into an enormous blue sphere of light that enveloped the two Purple-Striped Fire Centipedes.

"Run! The Demon-Trapping Talisman is only a First Rank Talisman. It won't hold them for long."

Ye Yutang urged them on.

Xu Lei activated his hand seal, and the Azure Cloud Boat immediately blazed with cyan light as its speed increased.

Three days later, they returned safely to the Marketplace.

This time had truly been dangerous, but their gains had been considerable as well.

They sold the Monster Beasts' corpses, the beehive, several dozen White Jade Bees, and the Snow Cloud Fox to the Chen Clan. They even sold the Chen Clan the information about the Purple-Striped Fire Centipedes.

Information was also a cultivation resource. They could not kill the Purple-Striped Fire Centipedes, but the Chen Clan could.

In total, they received three thousand Spirit Stones—a huge sum.

The eight of them arrived at Green Bamboo Courtyard. Xu Lei took out three thousand Spirit Stones and said, "I'll take seven hundred. The two Fairy Yes and Fellow Daoist Sun will each take five hundred. Fellow Daoist Shen, the rest of you will each take two hundred Spirit Stones."

"Daoist Xu, you get seven hundred while we only get two hundred? That's far too little!"

Xu Wen said with a frown. Xu Lei was the captain, so it was understandable for him to receive more, but the gap between them was simply too great.

"Exactly! We all risked our lives hunting Monster Beasts. You can take a larger share, but what we get is far too little."

Qin Qing echoed. No one ever complained about having too much money.

"Fairy Ye, what do you think?"

Xu Lei looked toward Ye Yutang.

"I have no objections."

Ye Yutang had participated in hunting Monster Beasts to overcome her bottleneck. Five hundred Spirit Stones apiece was already no small amount for them.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, what about you?"

Xu Lei looked toward Shen Long.

"I have no objections either."

Shen Long spoke calmly.

In the cultivation world, strength spoke for itself. Earning two hundred Spirit Stones from one trip into the mountains was enough to satisfy him.

Xu Lei looked at Xu Wen and Qin Qing. "How much do you want?"

"Three hundred! The four of you only need to give up a hundred each."

Xu Wen said.

"I can give you three hundred, but from now on, find someone else to form a team with. Don't come looking for me—I can't afford to wait on you."

Xu Lei said with a cold face.

"We bought that information with Spirit Stones. Otherwise, could we have caught the Snow Cloud Fox? Without Daoist Xu and the Fairy Yes, we might have died at the hands of the Purple-Striped Fire Centipedes."

Sun Yang said.

After hesitating briefly, Qin Qing said, "Forget it. Two hundred it is. Just make sure to include me the next time you form a team!"

An individual's strength was limited. Xu Lei was a little greedy, but the intelligence he had provided had indeed been accurate.

Xu Wen and Xu Wu exchanged a glance, then nodded.

"We were presumptuous. Two hundred it is! Daoist Xu, make sure to include us the next time you hunt Monster Beasts!"

Xu Wen said politely.

"You said it yourselves; I didn't force you. I did take a little extra, but gathering information costs Spirit Stones. Sometimes, you spend Spirit Stones on false information and can only swallow the bitter fruit yourself."

Xu Lei snorted coldly as he spoke of his own difficulties.

"Enough. Let's put this matter behind us and divide the Spirit Stones!"

Sun Yang smoothed things over.

After dividing the Spirit Stones, everyone chatted for a few moments before leaving one after another. Only Sun Yang and Xu Lei remained.

"Daoist Xu, it was fortunate that you invited the Fairy Yes to join us. Without them, our gains would not have been nearly so great."

Sun Yang said excitedly.

"I didn't invite them; they joined of their own accord. They must have some background, and their strength isn't weak. Don't provoke them."

Xu Lei said. Recalling something, he added, "I never expected Xu Wen and Xu Wu to be such thorns in the side. If I'd known, I wouldn't have invited them."

"They're only at the fifth level of Qi Refinement. If they cause trouble again, we won't take them into the mountains with us. What surprised me was that Shen Long didn't get involved."

Sun Yang said.

If Shen Long had also been dissatisfied with the distribution plan, it would have been difficult to settle the matter. There were many examples of Monster Hunting Teams breaking apart over distribution disputes. Finding new teammates would take a great deal of time and energy, and they would have to build their coordination from scratch.

"He only needs to feed himself, with no family to support. There's no need for him to go against us. He's not like Qin Qing, who's still raising a seven-year-old grandson. Last time, he even wanted to borrow Spirit Stones from me. Good thing I didn't lend him any."

Xu Lei analyzed. Then his tone shifted. "This time, our gains were substantial. We can rest and recuperate for a while, and raise our strength as much as possible."

Sun Yang nodded in agreement.

After Shen Long left Green Bamboo Courtyard and had not gone far, Qin Qing caught up to him and handed him fifteen Spirit Stones.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, what is the meaning of this?"

Shen Long asked.

"Ten Spirit Stones are to repay you. The extra five are to buy back the Insect Eggs from you. How about it?"

Qin Qing said politely.

With two hundred Spirit Stones in his pocket now, he was full of confidence.

Qin Tianhe had spent thirty Spirit Stones to buy those Insect Eggs. Giving them to Shen Long just like that had been too great a loss. Qin Qing wanted to buy them back for five Spirit Stones. By that calculation, Shen Long would still be making a profit.

"I've already sold them."

Shen Long refused, accepting only the ten Spirit Stones.

He could not possibly tell Qin Qing that he had already hatched the Insect Eggs. Qin Tianhe had never been able to hatch them, while Shen Long had done so with ease. It would be hard to convince anyone that it was merely good luck.

He would not expose the existence of the Spirit Control Tower for the sake of five Spirit Stones. He now had more than four hundred Spirit Stones, so raising the Iron Tail Scorpion was no problem.

"Sold them?"

Qin Qing was half-believing and half-doubting, his face full of disappointment.

Then he thought of Qin Tianhe, and his face blossomed with joy as he strode toward his residence.

He could buy pills for Qin Tianhe now, allowing Qin Tianhe's cultivation to progress more quickly.

Shen Long returned to his residence, activated the Soundproofing Array, took out the Spirit Control Tower, and poured spiritual power into it.

A terrifying suction force surged forth, pulling Shen Long into the Spirit Control Tower. He appeared beside the pool.

The Iron Tail Scorpion lay motionless along the pool's edge.

Shen Long teased the Iron Tail Scorpion a little and confirmed that it was not dead.

After turning the matter over and over in his mind, he decided to raise this Iron Tail Scorpion. It could hide underground and was not easily discovered, though its attacks were somewhat weak and could not compare with the exotic insects on the Heaven and Earth Exotic Insect Ranking.

The Jade Slip recording the Heaven and Earth Exotic Insect Ranking also included instructions on placing restrictions upon Spirit Insects, allowing one to control them in battle.

The Iron Tail Scorpion was only at the first rank early stage. It had not eaten since hatching and was relatively weak, so Shen Long easily planted a restriction within it.