Scouring Resources

Song Wen arrived at the Human-Snake Cavern and found Liu Jiang.

"Elder Liu, give me some of the meatball."

Liu Jiang said, "Elder Wu, didn't you just receive twenty meatballs three days ago? Have you finished feeding them all so quickly?"

Song Wen said, "Don't even mention it, I accidentally broke more than a dozen."

Liu Jiang was stunned, somewhat taken aback.

Each of those little fleshy balls was the size of a washbasin. How did you manage to break more than a dozen of them at once?

But he didn't think much of it. Given Song Wen's current status, there was no need for him to speak recklessly in front of him for the sake of a dozen or so fleshy lumps.

Liu Jiang raised her hand and waved it, and twenty fleshy balls suddenly appeared and flew towards Song Wen.

Song Wen accepted the fleshy ball without hesitation, but his face was full of displeasure.

"Elder Liu, you're being far too stingy. Twenty meatballs will last for a few days, give me a little more."

Liu Jiang looked bitter.

"Elder Wu, the meatballs are provided by the Spirit Beast Peak. They only provide enough for ten days at a time. The twenty I'm giving you are what I've saved up over time. If I give you too many, the other Man-Snake in the Human-Snake Cavern will go hungry."

"If you want more meatballs, you'll have to go to Spirit Beast Peak and find Elder Zhuang Tao. He'll be in charge of distributing them."

Song Wen, his face contorted with anger, said in a deep voice.

"What! The Spirit Beast Peak actually dares to interfere? Don't they know that the First Supreme Lord personally ordered the acceleration of the Man-Snake Profound Corpse refining process?"

"Who knows? Those scoundrels from Spirit Beast Peak are always arrogant and rude. Every time we ask them to cooperate on a task, they look down on us and ignore us completely."

Liu Jiang looked indignant, as if she harbored deep resentment towards the Spirit Beast Peak.

"Hmph! I'm going to find Zhuang Tao. With the First Supreme's orders, let's see if he dares to disobey."

After saying that, Song Wen stormed out.

Liu Jiang shouted loudly at Song Wen's retreating figure.

"Elder Wu, do you need me to accompany you?"

Song Wen waved his hand, "No need. His Spirit Beast Peak isn't a dragon's den or a tiger's lair. Do you think I, Wu Sheng, am afraid of them?"

Spirit Beast Peak, also known as Myriad Beast Peak, is named for the many mythical beasts that inhabit the mountain.

Spirit Beast Peak is over ten thousand feet high and covers a vast area, making it the largest mountain in the Beast Taming Sect.

At the foot of Spirit Beast Peak, in a courtyard.

More than twenty Qi Refining Stage cultivators were busy at work.

Some were processing the rotten flesh taken from the Blood Year, some were sorting spirit medicine, some were dismembering the corpses of unknown Demon Beast, some were kneading the flesh ball, and some were performing the final sealing of the flesh ball with spirit.

Song Wen rode his sword, hovering above the courtyard.

He wasn't very confident that he could get the meatball from Zhuang Tao.

After a moment's thought, I came up with a solution.

Song Wen lowered his sword, which landed in front of a magnificent pavilion in the courtyard.

Above the main gate of the pavilion are three large characters: "Beast Pill Pavilion".

His appearance quickly attracted the attention of everyone in the courtyard.

Aside from a few who had some free time and bowed to Song Wen, the other Qi Refining Stage disciples were busy with their own tasks and ignored Song Wen.

Song Wen walked straight to the main hall of the building and said loudly.

"Is Elder Zhuang here? I am Wu Sheng from Pill Peak. I have something to discuss with you, Elder Zhuang. Please show yourself."

As soon as Song Wen entered the hall, a blur appeared, and a figure materialized in the hall.

This man had a fat head and big ears, and a cheerful smile on his face, giving people a rather kind feeling.

He is Zhuang Tao.

"Elder Wu, this is my first time visiting my Beast Pill Pavilion, and I failed to greet you properly; it was my fault for not being more courteous."

Song Wen smiled and said, "Elder Zhuang, you are too kind. I came uninvited, and I hope Elder Zhuang will not take offense."

Zhuang Tao said, "I've heard Elder Liu mention Elder Wu many times before, praising his exceptional wisdom and ability to manage the Human-Snake Cavern so well. Meeting him today, I can see he truly is a hero among men, with extraordinary bearing."

"This person is quite shrewd," Song Wen thought to himself.

Song Wen didn't have time for idle chatter with Zhuang Tao; he went straight to the point.

"Elder Zhuang, I have come here today to discuss something. The number of Man-Snake in the Human-Snake Cavern is increasing daily, and the demand for flesh balls is constantly growing. I hope Elder Zhuang can provide more flesh balls."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Tao's previously smiling face suddenly vanished, replaced by an expression of embarrassment and helplessness.

"Elder Wu, it's not that I, Zhuang, am stingy, but the number of flesh balls is limited. Supplying only the Spirit Beast Peak is insufficient. In order not to affect the cultivation of Man-Snake at the Pill Peak, I was forced to reduce the allocation to the Spirit Beast Peak, causing widespread resentment. Elder Wu, if you wish to have more flesh balls, I truly am willing to help."

Song Wen wouldn't be easily dismissed with just a few words.

"Elder Zhuang, can't you think of a solution? You can't possibly have no stock at all, can you?"

Zhuang Tao shook his head.

"Elder Wu, the fleshballs enhance the strength of spirit beasts even more than elixirs. Every fellow disciple in the sect desires one. However, the spiritual materials for refining fleshballs are extremely rare; the refining method is also very complex, resulting in very limited production. Before they are even refined, they have already been pre-ordered. Where would we find any stock?"

Song Wen didn't believe Zhuang Tao's words at all.

As the person in charge, Zhuang Tao couldn't possibly have no inventory at all.

Song Wen stared at the other party, his gaze lingering on Zhuang Tao's face, as if trying to discern any lack of confidence in his expression.

Zhuang Tao looked at Song Wen with a helpless expression, but didn't say anything.

"Well."

Song Wen suddenly sighed deeply, his face filled with melancholy.

"A few days ago, the First Elder ordered us to appear at the Human-Snake Cavern and instructed us to speed up the refining of the Man-Snake Profound Corpse."

"Without sufficient fleshy spheres, a enough number of Man-Snake cannot be cultivated, and from among them, it is impossible to select Man-Snake with exceptional talent."

"Without exceptionally talented Man-Snake hybrids, how can powerful Man-Snake be cultivated in a short period of time?"

"Without powerful Man-Snake, how could the First Supreme Being's orders be carried out?"

A flicker of unease crossed Zhuang Tao's face, but he quickly concealed it.

"Did the First Supreme Lord really order the accelerated refining of the Man-Snake Profound Corpse? Is this true?"

Liu Jiang had mentioned this to him before, but he hadn't taken it to heart.

Anyway, he regularly provided Liu Jiang with a certain number of flesh balls, which should be enough to meet the needs of the Human-Snake Cavern.

It will not have a significant adverse effect on the breeding of Man-Snake.

Song Wen said, "How many heads do I have? How dare I falsely convey the First Supreme's orders?"

Song Wen's expression suddenly became unusually cautious. He looked around to make sure there was no one else in the wooden hall.

He leaned closer to Zhuang Tao, lowered his voice, and asked with a mysterious expression.

Do you know why the First Supreme Being places such importance on the Man-Snake Profound Corpse?