Shen Long caught the two golden jade boxes and opened them to find a stalk of golden grass inside each.
"I concede, Fellow Daoist Lin."
Shen Long said, cupping his hands.
"Didn't Fellow Daoist Shen successfully cultivate the tenth layer of the Myriad Beast Immortal Scripture? I was hoping to witness the Vermilion Bird's unique divine ability."
Xuan Fuzi asked curiously.
"Fellow Daoist Lin knows of the Myriad Beast Immortal Scripture as well?"
Shen Long asked in confusion.
He could tell that Xuan Fuzi's spar was just a pretext, and that the real motive was to fish for information about the Myriad Beast Immortal Scripture. He simply did not know whether the other party was a friend or a foe.
"Of course I do. I know a fellow daoist who successfully cultivated the tenth layer and can transform into a Vermilion Bird, so I assumed Fellow Daoist Shen could too."
Xuan Fuzi explained.
"Eighth-order demon birds possessing Vermilion Bird bloodlines are exceedingly rare. Obtaining their essence blood is far too difficult. If Fellow Daoist Lin possesses the essence blood of an eighth-order demon bird with Vermilion Bird bloodline, we can trade."
Shen Long said.
"No problem. The green hills remain, the flowing waters endure; until we meet again, Fellow Daoist Shen."
With that, Xuan Fuzi transformed into an escape light and departed.
Shen Long watched Xuan Fuzi's departing back, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Returning to Golden Roc Peak, Shen Long recounted the sequence of events to Chu Buyu.
"This person's surname is Lin—could he be connected to the Lin Family?"
Chu Buyu speculated.
"Hard to say. For all we know, he's just a piece of bait cast out by a super clan with the objective of tracking down descendants of the Lin Family. However, more than half a