The next day.
The county was in an uproar.
Overnight, the Chai Gang had been wiped out. The direct descendants of the newly risen Li Family had all been killed as well. It could practically be said that their entire family had been exterminated.
The sky had yet to brighten.
The County Office and Patrol Office were already searching the Inner City.
As for the two Three Refinements martial artists affiliated with the Li Family in the Demon Suppression Bureau, surprisingly, in their fury they weren't investigating the killer. Instead, they were fighting over the family's businesses, tearing off all pretense of civility.
The East Wing of Qin Mansion.
Qin Jiu listened to the visitor's report, deep in thought.
"Also, they say the Fisher Gang's leader left the county before dawn, hurriedly taking the remaining gang members with him."
"Now everyone among the various factions in the city is on edge."
"The Han Family just sent someone over. They want to invite you to the Han Family, seemingly hoping to form an alliance with the Qin Family. Besides that, they've also invited the Canghai Martial Arts Hall, the Canal Gang's deputy leader, and the Long Wind Escort Agency. What do you think..."
"Let Xuanzhou handle this."
Qin Jiu thought for a moment, then sent a servant to notify Qin Xuanzhou.
He had no intention of going to the Han Family himself.
First, he knew exactly what had happened last night. The factions in the Inner City that could bring trouble to the Qin Family had been temporarily eliminated. As for the Canal Gang, the Canghai Martial Arts Hall, and the other factions, their schemes with the people behind the demons had affected the Qin Family. He still needed to watch and see what happened.
Second, the Qin Family's most urgent task was to prepare to leave this place.
They needed to get far away from strife and trouble.
As for what happened in the city, they only needed to keep abreast of the news.
"But the right moment for the Qin Family to leave depends on the outcome of County Magistrate and the others' actions."
"As for me, before leaving Songshan County, I need to reach Three Refinements, or even Internal Strengthening. Nothing matters more than becoming stronger. After all, if I can wipe out the Chai Gang and Li Family today, some other powerful figure could wipe out the Qin Family tomorrow."
"From now on, let the others handle all the miscellaneous affairs."
"And the Qin Family's cultivation formula is a liability if we keep it. I need to find a chance to send out a few copies..."
Qin Jiu's gaze was profound.
As he pondered, he left the East Wing and went straight to the Hundred Beasts Garden.
"Master."
A burly worker saw Qin Jiu enter and hurried over to bow.
His name was Xu Zheng.
In the past, he had been slapped by Qin Xiong for exposing him.
Qin Jiu had a good impression of him. After giving him a quick look, Qin Jiu couldn't help but show surprise. "You've successfully broken through? Since you've become a First Refining martial artist, why haven't you reported to the guard team?"
"This subordinate owes his gratitude to Commander Xuanzhou."
"I only managed to break through to First Refining after I became the garden's head keeper and my pay increased."
As Xu Zheng spoke, a simple smile spread across his face. "Besides, I was chosen from among the Drunken Immortal Residence's servants to work at the Hundred Beasts Garden. I've been here nearly ten years now, and I'm used to dealing with all kinds of wild beasts. If I left this place, I'd feel out of sorts."
"Is that so?"
Qin Jiu nodded slightly and continued walking as he spoke. "Then tell me about the Hundred Beasts Garden's current situation."
"Yes."
"Although the garden no longer supplies the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, the county is under lockdown, and prices for coarse grain, fodder, and even meat are skyrocketing. The spirit beasts we raise eat a great deal, so with expenses rising and supplies dwindling, I'm afraid we'll run out in less than a month."
Xu Zheng looked worried. Then he added, "The Inner Mansion stopped sending the grass pills that make wild beasts evolve half a month ago. They said the Medicine Hall had restricted certain precious medicines, leaving them without the main ingredients needed for refining."
"I know."
Qin Jiu nodded. "For now, just keep the Hundred Beasts Garden running as it is."
He had come here this time
to butcher the spirit beasts.
So he wasn't particularly concerned by Xu Zheng's worries. Whether the garden would still have any spirit beasts a month from now was another question. After all, besides looking for suitable talents, he also needed to use these beasts to refine Blood Sha. The process consumed quite a lot.
For the next half hour,
he toured the various areas of the Hundred Beasts Garden with Xu Zheng.
After familiarizing himself with the spirit beasts' characteristics,
he began considering the matter of talents.
"The foremost thing in martial arts is natural endowment. The hidden boost from Snake Waist Python Tendon is almost visible to the naked eye. For now, I should focus on talents that improve my constitution. As for other categories, if I come across one of excellent quality, I can imprint it first."
At that thought,
Qin Jiu immediately had Xu Zheng and the workers
bring over a spirit beast resembling a tiger and wolf.
"Master, do you want to butcher it yourself?"
In front of the stone trough used for slaughtering spirit beasts,
Xu Zheng saw Qin Jiu pick up the boning knife on the stone platform. His expression changed at once. "Such coarse work is for us workers to handle. Your status is so exalted..."
"Enough."
Qin Jiu cut him off, frowning. "From now on, I'll be the one to butcher every spirit beast here. Without my order, none of you may break this rule. Anyone who does will be severely punished."
"Also, go to the Inner Mansion and bring those cooks over."
"Tell them to bring their stoves and cookware."
"Yes."
Xu Zheng didn't dare say another word.
He hurried out of the Hundred Beasts Garden.
"You lot, hold it down."
Then,
Qin Jiu gave the other workers an order, and thrust the sharp boning knife in his hand straight into the spirit beast's neck.
"Roar!"
Its cry was like a tiger's roar.
The beast, nearly the size of a calf, struggled furiously.
But before long, it gradually fell still.
At the same time,
a shadowy image appeared in the Red Seal within Qin Jiu's mind.
[Blood Tooth Pao (Tier One)] [Talent: Tiger-Wolf Momentum (Green)] [Description: Beasts possess the courage of blood, and their might can cow others] [Talent Status: Available for imprinting] [Imprinting Condition: Three liang of tiger bone]
"Green quality? Tiger-Wolf Momentum... Judging by the description, it must be a talent related to one's aura."
Qin Jiu frowned to himself.
For every talent recorded by the Red Seal, its color represented its potential. So far, the known colors were the blue of Snake Waist Python Tendon, the purple of Withered Wood Meets Spring, and the gold of Ghost Illumination. He didn't know what other grades lay above them, but green was lower than blue.
Below green,
there was also white.
Although he still had five talent slots available, unless a talent had something special about it, he wouldn't even consider anything below purple.
Qin Jiu shook his head slightly.
Then he instructed the workers to process the spirit beast.
He himself swallowed pills to refine his qi and blood while using the breathing method of Taiyin Hard Qigong to temper his bones.
Over the following days,
spirit-beast medicinal dishes were prepared fresh after each slaughter.
Qin Jiu devoted himself entirely to refining his qi and blood.
The nourishment from the spirit-beast meat was simply too immense. Even though he had never used Blood Sha before, he absorbed the beasts' blood essence while slaughtering them, and now he was beginning to find it hard to bear. He had no choice but to drive Blood Sha to its fullest in order to refine it.
The result of doing so
was that the vast Yin Baleful Intent within his body
grew purer and purer.
One day,
Qin Jiu had a worker bring over a spirit beast and slaughtered it as usual. Then he glanced at the Red Seal.
His eyes lit up at once.
[Mystic Jade Ice Toad (Tier One)] [Talent: Flawless (Gold)] [Description: Master a hundred poisons, and you'll be immune to them all. Master ten thousand poisons, and your treasure body will be flawless.] [Talent Status: Available for imprinting] [Imprinting Condition: Ten liang of Ice Crystal]
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