Training the Iron Tail Scorpion

He attempted to activate the restriction, causing the Iron Tail Scorpion to let out a pained hiss as its tail stinger drooped and its body trembled slightly.

Shen Long stopped activating the restriction, and only then did the Iron Tail Scorpion seem to feel better.

He took out a piece of beast meat the size of a bowl and tossed it into the pool.

This was meat from a Mountain Pushing Beast; after the beast's hide was sold for spirit stones, the meat had been divided among everyone, and Shen Long had received his share.

The Iron Tail Scorpion caught the scent of blood and moved toward the meat. Upon reaching it, it clamped onto the meat with its pincers, tore off a small piece, and put it into its mouth.

In less than half a quarter of an hour, it had finished the piece of meat.

Shen Long took out another piece of meat and tossed it into the pool to let the Iron Tail Scorpion continue feeding.

Not long after, the Iron Tail Scorpion finished this piece of meat as well.

Shen Long exited the Spirit Control Tower, sat cross-legged on the stone bed, and took out a Qi Nourishing Pill, swallowing it.

The pill melted the moment it touched his tongue. Before long, a surge of spiritual energy rose in his abdomen, and he hurriedly channeled his cultivation technique to guide this energy toward his dantian.

Two months passed. Inside a secret chamber at the Martial Practice Garden.

Shen Long stood before a sand pit, chanting incantations under his breath as a white light slowly began to glow on his right hand.

A moment later, he flicked his wrist, and a foot-long white ice spike shot out, embedding itself into the sand pit. Dozens of white ice spikes were already stuck in the pit, and the temperature in the room was quite low.

Shen Long released a crimson fireball, smashing it into the sand pit, and all the ice spikes vanished.

He wiped the sweat from his brow and pulled a cyan spirit beast bag from his robes; he had seized this from a Qi Refining cultivator he had killed some time ago.

He tapped the spirit beast bag, and a yellow light flew out—it was the Iron Tail Scorpion. The scorpion's body glowed with a bright yellow light as it burrowed into the sand pit, becoming completely invisible to the naked eye.

After a period of training, Shen Long was now able to command the Iron Tail Scorpion to perform tasks; with just a single thought, the scorpion would act according to his commands.

A grayish-white tail stinger suddenly shot out from the sand pit and struck the stone wall with a dull thud, leaving a shallow mark on the surface.

Shen Long directed the Iron Tail Scorpion to hide in the sand pit and use its tail stinger for surprise attacks, training it to strike at enemies.

He had heard that the Spirit Control Sect possessed more advanced techniques for controlling insects, but Shen Long did not know them and could only use his own methods to train the Iron Tail Scorpion.

The Iron Tail Scorpion was not a picky eater and did not require much food. Shen Long currently had over four hundred spirit stones, so raising one Iron Tail Scorpion was not a problem.

After more than an hour, Shen Long recalled the Iron Tail Scorpion into the spirit beast bag, tucked the bag into his robes, opened the door, and walked out.

As he exited the Martial Practice Garden, Shen Long saw Qin Qing and Qin Tianhe walking toward him, both of them beaming as if they had some happy news.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, you've reached the third level of Qi Refining. Congratulations!"

Shen Long's gaze fell on Qin Tianhe as he offered his congratulations.

Qin Tianhe was currently eight years old and already had the cultivation of the third level of Qi Refining, which was quite impressive for a rogue cultivator; Shen Long himself was only at the fifth level.

Qin Qing hunted demonic beasts to provide for Qin Tianhe's cultivation. After Shen Long's parents went missing, he had to rely on odd jobs to support himself, and his meager wages meant his cultivation speed was far inferior to Qin Tianhe's.

"It's all thanks to my grandfather buying me Qi Refining Pills," Qin Tianhe said modestly. Qin Qing had made a large profit and bought five bottles of Qi Refining Pills for Qin Tianhe. Every few days, Qin Tianhe would consume one, which had significantly increased his cultivation speed.

"Even with Qi Refining Pills, having the cultivation of the third level of Qi Refining at such a young age is still very impressive," Shen Long praised.

"Fellow Daoist Shen is too kind; Tianhe still has much to learn from you."

Although Qin Qing said this, his face was filled with pride.

Seeing Qin Tianhe make progress made Qin Qing very happy.

After chatting for a few moments, Shen Long headed down the mountain while Qin Qing and Qin Tianhe walked into the Martial Practice Garden.

He arrived at the plaza where rogue cultivators set up stalls and began to browse.

"Come and take a look! Spirit insect eggs of the Purple-Striped Fire Centipede! It took a lot of effort to get these!"

A rough, masculine voice rang out.

"Purple-Striped Fire Centipede!"

Shen Long's heart stirred, and he walked quickly toward a small stall.

The stall owner was a burly man in a green shirt with a face full of flesh, possessing the cultivation of the eighth level of Qi Refining. There were many items displayed on his stall, among which a cyan wooden box held dozens of purple insect eggs, each emitting a faint fluctuation of fire-attribute spiritual energy.

"Some time ago, someone discovered two late-stage first-rank Purple-Striped Fire Centipedes deep in the Green Bamboo Mountain Range. They wiped out over a dozen Qi Refining cultivators and possessed formidable abilities. I was lucky enough to discover one of the Purple-Striped Fire Centipedes and killed it to obtain these eggs. Thirty spirit stones per egg, no bargaining," the green-shirted man said.

Shen Long glanced at the eggs and lost interest. According to the records in the Heaven and Earth Exotic Insect Ranking, a Purple-Striped Fire Centipede laid fewer than ten eggs at a time; it was impossible for one centipede to contain dozens of eggs.

They had sold the information about the Purple-Striped Fire Centipedes to the Chen Clan, who had dispatched experts to exterminate them, even losing a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator in the process, which showed just how dangerous the creatures were.

This incident had become a common topic of conversation among cultivators in the market. It was likely that someone had seen an opportunity for profit, acquired eggs from some other fire-attribute spirit insect, and was passing them off as Purple-Striped Fire Centipede eggs.

Most rogue cultivators were not very knowledgeable, and it was difficult for them to distinguish the authenticity of the eggs.

Cutting off someone's path to wealth was like killing their parents. Shen Long saw that the burly man was a fraud, but he had no intention of exposing him and turned to leave.

He continued to browse, and before long, he quickened his pace as he arrived at a small stall where the owner was Huang Xiuyun.

"Fairy Huang, you've broken through! Congratulations!"

Shen Long sensed that Huang Xiuyun's aura had grown significantly stronger and offered his congratulations.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, would you like to buy some spirit wine? I'll give you a discount."

Huang Xiuyun said enthusiastically.

"No thanks. I just passed by a small stall where someone was selling Purple-Striped Fire Centipede eggs. Aren't you going to take a look? With the help of a Purple-Striped Fire Centipede and your Snow Crystal Spider, your strength would improve quite a bit."

Shen Long said casually.

"I specifically went out to buy a classic detailing the Heaven and Earth Exotic Insect Ranking. A Purple-Striped Fire Centipede doesn't lay more than ten eggs at a time; the eggs he brought out are fake. Just keep that to yourself, don't let on that I told you. My Snow Crystal Spider hasn't even hatched yet!"

Huang Xiuyun said via voice transmission.

"They aren't dead eggs, are they? It's been so long and they still haven't hatched!"

Shen Long asked curiously.

"They aren't dead eggs. There is still some vitality left, though it's very faint. I just refuse to believe I can't hatch them."

Huang Xiuyun said earnestly.

One hundred spirit stones wasn't a huge sum for her, so even if she had been swindled, it wouldn't be a big deal. It was just that she refused to believe she had been cheated and was determined to hatch the eggs.

Shen Long nodded. If Huang Xiuyun were to put the eggs up for sale, he would buy them, but she had no such intention at the moment.

If Shen Long were to offer to buy eggs that Huang Xiuyun had been unable to hatch for so long, even a fool would know something was wrong.

After chatting for a few moments, Shen Long took his leave. He wandered around the plaza for a while before returning to his residence.

He entered the Spirit Control Tower, released the Iron Tail Scorpion from his spirit beast bag to let it move about freely, then left the tower and sat cross-legged on the stone bed to cultivate.