He tried activating the restriction. The Iron Tail Scorpion let out a pained hiss, its tail stinger drooping as its body trembled slightly.
Shen Long stopped activating the restriction, and only then did the Iron Tail Scorpion feel a little better.
He took out a bowl-sized chunk of beast meat and tossed it into the pool.
This was meat from the Mountain Pushing Beast. Its hide had been sold for Spirit Stones, while the meat had been divided among everyone. Shen Long had received some as well.
The Iron Tail Scorpion caught the scent of blood and moved toward the meat. Reaching it, it clamped the meat with its pincers, tore off a small piece, and placed it in its mouth.
In less than half a quarter-hour, it had eaten the entire chunk.
Shen Long took out another piece of beast meat and tossed it into the pool, letting the Iron Tail Scorpion feed.
Before long, the Iron Tail Scorpion had eaten that piece as well.
Shen Long left the Spirit Control Tower, sat cross-legged on the stone bed, took out a Qi Nourishing Pill, and swallowed it.
The pill melted as soon as it entered his mouth. Before long, a stream of spiritual qi rose within his abdomen. He hurriedly circulated his cultivation method, guiding that spiritual qi toward his dantian.
Two months passed. Inside a secret chamber in the Martial Practice Garden.
Shen Long stood before a sandpit, muttering an incantation as white light slowly gathered in his right hand.
After a while, he flicked his wrist, and a white ice spike over a foot long shot out and sank into the sandpit. Dozens of white ice spikes were embedded in the sand, and the temperature in the chamber was rather low.
Shen Long released a Crimson Fireball and smashed it into the sandpit. All the ice spikes vanished.
He wiped away his sweat and pulled a green Spirit Beast Bag from his robes. He had seized it when he killed that Qi Refining Cultivator last time.
He patted the Spirit Beast Bag, and a flash of yellow light flew out. It was the Iron Tail Scorpion. Yellow light blazed across its body as it burrowed into the sandpit, becoming impossible to spot at a glance.
After a period of training, Shen Long could already command the Iron Tail Scorpion to do things. With a single thought, it would act according to his orders.
A grayish-white tail stinger suddenly shot out from the sandpit and struck the stone wall with a muffled thud, leaving a shallow mark on its surface.
Shen Long commanded the Iron Tail Scorpion to lurk in the sandpit and use its tail stinger to launch sudden attacks, training it to attack enemies.
He had heard that the Spirit Control Sect possessed more sophisticated insect-controlling arts. Shen Long did not understand them, so he could only train the Iron Tail Scorpion in his own way.
The Iron Tail Scorpion was not picky about food and did not eat much. Shen Long currently had over four hundred Spirit Stones, more than enough to raise one Iron Tail Scorpion.
More than half an hour later, Shen Long put the Iron Tail Scorpion back into the Spirit Beast Bag, tucked it into his robes, opened the door, and walked out.
As he left the Martial Practice Garden, Shen Long saw Qin Qing and Qin Tianhe approaching from the opposite direction. Both wore broad smiles, as though some happy event had occurred.
"Fellow Daoist Qin, you've advanced to the third layer 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 layer of Qi Refining. For a Rogue Cultivator, that was quite impressive. Shen Long himself was only at the fifth layer of Qi Refining.
Qin Qing hunted Monster Beasts to support Qin Tianhe's cultivation. After Shen Long's parents disappeared, he had relied on odd jobs to support himself. His wages were pitifully small, and his cultivation speed was far inferior to Qin Tianhe's.
"It was all thanks to Grandfather buying Qi Refining Pills for me."
Qin Tianhe said modestly. Qin Qing had made a great profit and bought Qin Tianhe five bottles of Qi Refining Pills. Every few days, Qin Tianhe took one Qi Refining Pill, greatly increasing his cultivation speed.
"Even with Qi Refining Pills, reaching the third layer of Qi Refining at such a young age is still very impressive."
Shen Long praised him.
"Fellow Daoist Shen, you flatter me. Tianhe still has much to learn from you."
Though Qin Qing said this, a proud expression appeared on his face.
Seeing Qin Tianhe's progress made Qin Qing very happy.
After chatting for a few moments, Shen Long headed down the mountain while Qin Qing and Qin Tianhe entered the Martial Practice Garden.
He arrived at the plaza where Rogue Cultivators set up stalls and wandered about, looking around.
"Come take a look! Spirit Insect eggs from the Purple-Striped Fire Centipede, obtained with great difficulty!"
A rough male voice rang out.
"Purple-Striped Fire Centipede!"
Shen Long's heart stirred, and he hurried over to a small stall.
The stall owner was a green-shirted big man with a face full of flesh and the cultivation of the Qi Refining Eighth Layer. Many items were displayed on the stall. One green wooden box held dozens of purple insect eggs, each emitting faint fluctuations of fire spiritual qi.
"Some time ago, two First Rank Late Stage Purple-Striped Fire Centipedes were discovered deep within the Green Bamboo Mountain Range. They killed more than ten Qi Refining Cultivators and possessed no small amount of power. I luckily found one Purple-Striped Fire Centipede, killed it, and obtained some insect eggs. Thirty Spirit Stones per egg, no bargaining."
The big man in a green shirt said.
Shen Long swept his gaze over the insect eggs and immediately 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 Purple-Striped Fire Centipede to carry dozens of insect eggs.
They had sold the news of the Purple-Striped Fire Centipedes to the Chen Clan. The Chen Clan had dispatched experts to kill them, yet even lost a late-stage Qi Refining Cultivator. This showed just how formidable the Purple-Striped Fire Centipedes were.
This matter had also become a topic of conversation among cultivators in the Marketplace after tea and meals. Someone had likely seen profit in it and acquired eggs from some fire-aspect Spirit Insects, passing them off as Purple-Striped Fire Centipede eggs for sale.
Most Rogue Cultivators were not particularly knowledgeable, making it difficult for them to distinguish genuine eggs from fake ones.
Cutting off someone's source of wealth was like killing their parents. Shen Long saw that the green-shirted big man was a fraud, but he had no intention of exposing him and simply turned to leave.
He wandered and looked around. Before long, he quickened his pace and arrived at a small stall whose owner was Huang Xiuyun.
"Fairy Huang, you've made a breakthrough. Congratulations!"
Shen Long sensed that Huang Xiuyun's aura had grown much 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 warmly.
"No. I passed by a small stall just now where someone was selling Purple-Striped Fire Centipede eggs. Aren't you going to take a look? With a Purple-Striped Fire Centipede and a Snow Crystal Spider assisting you, your strength would increase considerably."
Shen Long said casually.
"I specifically bought a book introducing the Heaven and Earth Exotic Insect Ranking. A Purple-Striped Fire Centipede never lays more than ten eggs at once. The Purple-Striped Fire Centipede eggs he brought out are fake. It's enough for you to know that—don't say I told you. The Snow Crystal Spider hasn't even hatched yet!"
Huang Xiuyun transmitted her voice.
"Could it be a dead egg? It still hasn't hatched after so long!"
Shen Long asked curiously.
"It isn't a dead egg. There's still some vitality in it, though it's very faint. I refuse to believe it can't hatch."
Huang Xiuyun said seriously.
One hundred Spirit Stones was not a large sum to her. Even if she had been deceived, it was nothing much. She simply refused to believe that she had been fooled and was determined to hatch the insect egg.
Shen Long nodded. If Huang Xiuyun took out the insect egg to sell, he would buy it, but she currently had no such intention.
If Shen Long directly offered to buy an insect egg Huang Xiuyun had been unable to hatch all this time, even a fool would know something was wrong.
After chatting for a few moments, Shen Long left. He strolled around the plaza once before returning to his residence.
He entered the Spirit Control Tower and released the Iron Tail Scorpion from the Spirit Beast Bag, allowing it to move freely. Then he left the Spirit Control Tower and sat cross-legged on the stone bed to cultivate.
Before you continue