A short while later, Ding Chengyu and Lu Xin seemed to reach an agreement.
Ding Chengyu circulated his Spirit Power and divided the materials into three portions.
He took most of the materials from the Snow-Plumed Eagle, while the bulk of the Rotting Venom Viper's materials went into Lu Xin's Storage Bag.
Some materials were also pushed over to Chen Shuangbai.
He glanced at them and could not help feeling a little taken aback.
There were three true feathers from the Snow-Plumed Eagle, five scales from the Rotting Venom Viper, and some Essence Blood and flesh from both Demon Beasts.
True feathers were the most extraordinary feathers on avian Demon Beasts, not just any feathers plucked at random. They were excellent materials for refining Law Treasures.
The same was true of the Rotting Venom Viper's scales!
Demon Beast Essence Blood could be refined through special methods into ink for drawing talismans, while their flesh contained Spiritual Qi and was highly nourishing for cultivators at the Qi Refining Stage.
These were all within Chen Shuangbai's expectations, though, and that was all.
But what caught Chen Shuangbai off guard was-
Among the materials was a pristine white snake egg!
Chen Shuangbai did not even notice that his breathing had quickened. He looked at Ding Chengyu and Lu Xin and said in disbelief, "Senior Brother Ding, Senior Sister Lu... this... I can't..."
Ding Chengyu said, "We are disciples of the same sect and address one another as senior and junior disciples. There are three eggs here, one for each of us, so keep it."
Chen Shuangbai thought of how precious the snake egg was. Though he was thrilled and wanted nothing more than to take it at once, he also knew he had not contributed much. If he accepted it, he wondered whether there might be some hidden "trick" he could not see.
The two went back and forth several times, each urging the other to take it.
Ding Chengyu insisted that Chen Shuangbai accept it, saying they were all Jade Spring disciples and senior and junior brothers, and that they could treat it as forming a good connection for when they met in the inner sect someday...
Chen Shuangbai feared there might be some "scheme" behind it that he did not understand, and insisted that his contribution was too small and his blessings too meager to accept it...
In the end, he annoyed Lu Xin, who had been watching. Her pretty face turned cold, and she stuffed it straight into Chen Shuangbai's arms. In a voice as clear and melodious as an oriole's, she said, "I told you to take it, so take it! Why so much nonsense?"
"Senior Brother Ding, let's go!"
With that said,
She brought out her brocade handkerchief again and flew off on it.
Ding Chengyu chuckled and hurriedly flew off on his small boat as well, leaving Chen Shuangbai alone on the cliff, with the Demon Beast materials piled on the flat ground before him and the white snake egg in his arms.
Chen Shuangbai watched the two gradually shrink into tiny dots, then looked at the snake egg in his arms. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out. He could only sigh softly.
With the snake egg in his arms, Chen Shuangbai found it hard to contain his excitement.
"Mm, calm down... As the ancients said, one who harbors thunder in his breast yet wears a face as tranquil as a still lake is fit to be appointed a great general!"
Chen Shuangbai took several deep breaths, forcibly suppressing his excitement and distracting thoughts.
He first put all the Demon Beast materials on the flat ground into his Storage Bag. Only then did he lift the snake egg, carefully set it down before him, and examine it closely.
"The shell is smooth and lustrous, cool to the touch... I can faintly feel a weak but tenacious pulse of life inside..."
Chen Shuangbai activated his Spirit-Appraising Pupil and looked at the snake egg.
Sure enough, he saw a tiny life developing inside it.
The essence of this little life was far above his own at present.
This made Chen Shuangbai think of Ding Chengyu and Lu Xin again.
Ding Chengyu, Lu Xin... what exactly did they mean by this?
Chen Shuangbai frowned slightly, his thoughts racing.
But after pondering for a long while, he still could not make sense of it, so he could only set it aside for the time being.
Forget it. There's no use thinking too much. Since they've already given me the snake egg, I have to make good use of it!
Chen Shuangbai's gaze sharpened. He had made his decision.
He checked his surroundings once more and, after making sure no outsiders were watching, carefully put it back into his Storage Bag. Then he used the Wind Control Technique and descended the mountain under the cover of the dense tree canopy.
Chen Shuangbai did not rush back to the sect.
He thought that once the two inner disciples, Ding Chengyu and Lu Xin, returned to the sect, they would surely sell their Demon Beast materials to the Expenditure Hall, and they certainly would not conceal the three snake eggs either.
Both Snow-Plumed Eagles and Rotting Venom Vipers were certain to reach the Late Qi Refining Stage if they survived safely to adulthood.
How could anyone not be tempted?
Chen Shuangbai was still just a mere outer disciple, with no backing within the sect, although he had learned in his time cultivating that the Jade Spring Sect was a fairly humane sect.
Even so, after thinking it over, Chen Shuangbai felt it was best to be careful.
He descended the mountain and followed the outskirts of the Rime Forest until he found a secluded cave, where he made his dwelling for a time.
In any case, he had accepted a boar-hunting task from the Expenditure Hall and had yet to fulfill its quota, so he hunted Azure-Backed Boars by day and cultivated beneath the moon at night.
Half a month passed like this.
Only then did Chen Shuangbai return to the sect with enough boar ears, as well as a bulging supply of spirit flowers, spirit herbs, and Demon Beast materials.
The first thing he did upon returning was go to the Expenditure Hall and hand the severed boar ears to some senior brothers on duty. He also turned in some of the spirit flowers and herbs he had gathered.
The senior brother on duty was named Lu Zhiyuan, and his cultivation was at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.
Lu Zhiyuan glanced at them and counted them carefully. He could not help raising his brows slightly. "Junior Brother Chen, you've come back with quite a haul."
Chen Shuangbai smiled modestly. "I was just a little lucky."
Lu Zhiyuan did not quite believe him.
Chen Shuangbai had turned in the Azure-Backed Boar ears to complete the task he had accepted from the Expenditure Hall, while he was selling the spirit flowers and herbs he had gathered to the hall.
But those were secondary.
The most important thing was an earth-element Demon Core that Chen Shuangbai had produced.
Lu Zhiyuan formed several Method Formulas that Chen Shuangbai could not understand, seemingly to assess the quality of the Demon Core. A moment later, he smiled again.
"A Demon Core from an Azure-Backed Boar leader at the Qi Refinement Fourth Layer. It's almost undamaged, and the Demon Power inside is very well preserved. Are you really willing to sell it, Junior Brother?"
Demon Cores were an important material for cultivators refining pills, Law Treasures, talismans, and other means of protecting their cultivation path. Chen Shuangbai knew Lu Zhiyuan meant that he could keep it and sell it at the Cloud Peak Small Market, where it might fetch a high price.
But Chen Shuangbai merely shook his head slightly. "I think the Expenditure Hall's prices are quite fair, and I have no use for it at the moment. I'd rather exchange it for Merit Points and Spirit Stones to help with my cultivation."
Lu Zhiyuan was very pleased to hear that.
He chuckled. "That's right!"
"Our Expenditure Hall is one of the sect's nine halls, and our prices have always been fair. Junior Brother Chen, you truly have eyes as sharp as torches."
The two chatted casually, building a bit of rapport.
A short while later,
Chen Shuangbai put a small bag of Spirit Stones into his Storage Bag. The remaining half was converted into Merit Points and credited directly to his Jade Spring disciple token.
"Then I'll take my leave, Senior Brother."
Chen Shuangbai returned the salute and rode the wind toward Lesser Yang Peak.