"That beast really was a handful." Liu Fengchun spat, his face still showing the fatigue of battle.
But compared with the difficulty of killing the Snake King, the next problem was an even greater headache-the division of the spoils.
The arrangement they had originally agreed upon no longer applied after a battle riddled with unexpected turns.
Yin Jiu spoke first, his voice hoarse. "My Red Centipede suffered heavy damage. The snakeskin and Green Vine alone aren't enough. I want a share of the Snake King's bones too."
Liu Fengchun snorted coldly and raised his snake staff, unleashing his full aura. "You didn't contribute much. Getting the snakeskin and Green Vine is already more than fair."
"Damn it, if the Red Centipede hadn't poisoned the Green Vine, would killing the Snake King have been so easy? That lousy map of yours wasn't much use either."
Liu Fengchun's face reddened at that. He had brought out the map at the beginning to secure a larger share of the spoils, but in the end, it had served practically no purpose.
Still, he could not back down now. "You all agreed to it at the time. How can you go back on your word afterward?"
One was a man who usually wore a gloomy expression, the other an old man who liked to flaunt his experience. Now, they were locked in a furious argument over the Snake King's bones.
Lu Zhao watched the two calmly, saying nothing.
They argued for a full quarter of an hour before finally reaching an agreement: Liu Fengchun would still receive the venom sac, Yin Jiu would take the snakeskin, and the two would split the Green Vine and the Snake King's bones equally.
As for the Spirit Stones they had demanded from Lu Zhao as compensation, neither mentioned them, in tacit agreement.
Not only did Lu Zhao no longer have to compensate them with Spirit Stones, but he also received a portion of snake meat and thirty percent of the other materials in the cave.
In the end, they also decided to leave ten percent of the materials for Chen Moyang-even though the formation master had fled with serious injuries midway through the battle.
This was an unwritten rule among rogue cultivators: no contribution meant no share. They had not kicked him while he was down and had even thought to give him something, which was already quite generous.
Three hours later, they finished hastily clearing the battlefield and returned to their respective stone chambers atop the cliff. After all, only the protection of a formation gave them a sense of security.
In his stone dwelling, Lu Zhao looked at the pile of things before him and smiled for the first time in a long while.
Four lengths of broken vine, nearly a thousand jin of snake meat, and assorted other items worth close to twenty Spirit Stones.
Lu Zhao had gained a great deal from this opportunity. Converted entirely into Spirit Stones, his haul would be worth nearly a hundred and fifty.
What delighted Lu Zhao most, however, was the four lengths of broken vine. In the Zhou Household Market, these were fine materials that even Spirit Stones could not buy.
In the Zhou Household Market, cold iron was the only first-tier superior-grade spiritual material that Spirit Stones could reliably purchase. Finding anything else depended on luck.
After taking stock of his gains, Lu Zhao began reviewing the battle against the Snake King.
The Ice Cone Art alone is nowhere near enough, he thought.
Against demonic beasts with stronger defenses, the Ice Cone Art would probably struggle to inflict fatal wounds.
He had already decided to find a stronger water- or ice-element spell as soon as possible.
I might not find one in the library. The thought gave him another headache. The library had plenty of spells, but none were particularly outstanding.
Lu Zhao planned to search the library first. If that failed, he would try the Black Market, or ask Shopkeeper Zhou whether he had any way to obtain one.
As for other matters, Lu Zhao lightly patted his Storage Bag, and his pair of Water-Splitting Spikes appeared in his hands, their spiritual radiance still contained within.
"These are good against weaker opponents, but..."
He sighed.
Lu Zhao recalled how the Water-Splitting Spikes had been completely useless against the Snake King.
The Hundred Waters Dharma Disc, on the other hand, had not disappointed him. It seemed he needed to pay more attention to rare spiritual waters from now on.
I also lack a heavy magic item that can settle a fight with one decisive blow. Liu Fengchun's snake staff left a good impression on me.
I'll have to visit the Nine Abyss Pavilion again. I could make another trip to the Hundred Refinements Pavilion too.
The thought flashed through Lu Zhao's mind.
Nearly two months had passed since he had informed the shopkeeper, yet his life had not changed at all. That alone said something.
Lu Zhao already had his suspicions. The shopkeeper's faction probably held the upper hand within the Zhou Household. He could strengthen his ties with them a little. Sometimes, owing a favor was another way to deepen a connection.
He had not realized it until he thought it over, but reviewing the battle revealed just how much Lu Zhao still lacked.
Still, he had also gained an assessment of his strength. He was no weaker than an ordinary Late Qi Refining cultivator. After all, that Snake King had been far more troublesome than an ordinary cultivator at that stage.
If he could make up for his weaknesses, his strength could improve considerably. By then, he should rank fairly well even among Late Qi Refining cultivators.
Three days later, Lu Zhao finished the daily cultivation he never missed, come rain or shine, and stepped out of his stone chamber. He found someone waiting quietly twenty zhang away. It was Chen Moyang.
"Fellow Daoist Lu, I've been waiting here quite a while. Aren't you going to invite me into your stone chamber for a seat?" Chen Moyang spoke. His voice was not loud, but it was full and strong, though his complexion was still somewhat pale.
He doesn't look like someone the Snake King seriously injured just a few days ago, Lu Zhao muttered inwardly.
"Please come in, Fellow Daoist Chen."
Lu Zhao led Chen Moyang into the stone chamber on the right.
Half a quarter of an hour later, after Lu Zhao served the tea, Chen Moyang raised his cup and took a small sip. "Fine tea. I didn't expect you to have a taste for such leisurely refinements, Fellow Daoist Lu."
Chen Moyang's words left Lu Zhao bewildered.
He hasn't come to demand Spirit Stones from me, has he? Surely he wouldn't be that foolish.
His words had left Lu Zhao lost in a fog, so he could only speculate inwardly.
Before Lu Zhao could continue guessing, however, Chen Moyang spoke again. "Thank you for holding off the Snake King for me and allowing me to escape safely."
At those words, Lu Zhao knew that was not why the man had come. No longer in any hurry, he raised his own teacup and took a sip.
Chen Moyang continued, "I contributed nothing to killing the Snake King, yet the three of you still gave me a share of the spoils. I'm truly ashamed."
By this point, Lu Zhao had some understanding of Chen Moyang's purpose. He had come to set his mind at ease.
Although the three of them had done nothing wrong and had acted entirely according to the rules among rogue cultivators, a person's heart lay hidden behind their ribs. Some things would leave a knot if they were not made clear.
Chen Moyang was no greenhorn, either. Naturally, he would not be so unwise.
"Besides expressing my thanks, I also have a favor to ask of you."
Lu Zhao grew a little curious. "What is it you need from me?"
"During this hunt for the Snake King, one careless move left me injured by it. It made me keenly aware of how limited my means are."
"Your Ironwood Guard puppet truly shone in the battle against the Snake King. I'm very taken with it."
"I wanted to ask whether you would sell such a puppet, and how many Spirit Stones it would cost."
So that was what he came for? Lu Zhao fell silent for a moment.
Of course he could sell a puppet, but setting the price was difficult.
If he charged the cost of making it, he might scare the buyer off. If he went lower, he would be taking too much of a loss.
After hesitating for a while, Lu Zhao said, "I'm not asking for the moon. I'm not yet proficient at crafting this puppet. If I sold it at cost, I'm afraid you would find the price too high."
"I won't play games with you. Seventy Spirit Stones, a firm price. I won't make a single stone, and I'll still be covering quite a loss myself."
He believed what Lu Zhao said. Beginners commonly lost money and generally only hoped to lose a little less.
After a brief silence, Chen Moyang said softly, "I don't have enough Spirit Stones on hand. Would you be willing to trade for other items?"
Before you continue