A Bountiful Haul!

Deep in the Great Maple Mountain Range.

The poisonous miasma that lingered year-round had been torn open by the Golden Core self-destruction a few days earlier, and sunlight fell upon the depths of the mountain range for the first time in ages.

Without the Golden Core Demon Generals to hold things in check, the depths of the mountain range had long since descended into a boiling cauldron of chaos.

Most of the high-level Demon Beasts had been killed or injured, and the survivors were fleeing in all directions. Even the level-one Demon Beasts had suffered more than fifty percent casualties, leaving vast stretches of mountain wilderness barren...

This was the perfect chance to fish in troubled waters.

Shi Jian led the way, his enormous body easily pushing aside the head-high bushes. Sun Bo'an, Sun Kezheng, and Sun Xing followed close behind, not daring to breathe too loudly.

"Ancestor, haven't we gone too deep, leaving the main force from the White Cloud Temple behind?"

Sun Bo'an clutched several defensive talismans, his palms slick with sweat.

Shi Jian didn't look back. His nostrils twitched as he sifted through the jumble of scents in the air.

"The White Cloud Temple doesn't have a single Golden Core cultivator left. That old fellow Yun Du is busy stabilizing the situation. How would he have time to bother with us?"

Shi Jian's voice was deep, with a trace of disdain. "There's nothing but first-tier junk on the outskirts. Is that even worth fighting over?"

As he spoke, Shi Jian stopped and raised a forepaw, pointing to a cliff on the left.

"There's a strong medicinal fragrance over there, mixed with the stench of a level-three Black-Line Python. But that long worm's scent has already faded."

"It's probably dead. Let's see what spirit medicines are there."

Sun Bo'an's eyes lit up, his fear instantly overwhelmed by greed.

The lair of a level-three Demon Beast!

Spirit medicines generally grew around the lairs of Foundation Establishment Demon Beasts like this one, and their grades were usually not low.

The three men and the bear quickly made their way toward the cliff.

The lair was in a hidden cave, its entrance long since covered in cobwebs. Shi Jian tore them apart with a swipe of his paw and strode inside.

The cave was enormous, with a natural stalactite pool in the center.

More than a dozen stalks of spirit grass grew by the pool, purple-black from root to tip. Their leaves were covered in natural patterns, making them look extraordinary!

"Purple-Vein Ginseng!"

If Sun Changping had been there, he would have gone mad...

Sun Bo'an sucked in a breath. "They're all over a hundred years old! They've already transformed into low-grade, second-tier Spirit Plants. A single stalk could sell for two or three hundred Spirit Stones on the market!"

"Dig them all up. Put them in jade boxes with their roots and soil intact, and be quick about it."

Shi Jian yawned. This was only the beginning.

The three members of the Sun Clan rushed over at once, each carefully digging up the spirit medicines with a practiced skill that tugged at the heart...

Over the next twenty-odd days.

Shi Jian led the Sun Clan members on a frenzied spree of "looting homes" deep in the Great Maple Mountain Range, relying on his ability to detect the scents of yao.

He could always steer precisely clear of the troublesome great yao still alive and head straight for the lairs of the unlucky ones that had died in the beast tide or the battles between Golden Core cultivators.

Spirit Wood Fruits from a Blazing Fire Bird's lair, Black-Yellow Stone that had formed alongside an Earth Armor Beast-even a high-grade, second-tier Blood-Coagulating Lotus!

Sun Bo'an's Storage Bag was stuffed to bursting, and the wrinkles on his smiling face could almost have crushed flies.

"Ancestor, we've struck it rich, really struck it rich!"

Sun Bo'an's voice trembled as he inventoried their haul:

"As long as we can turn this batch of goods into resources, it'll be enough to take the Sun Clan another step forward. Once we save up another sum of Spirit Stones, we'll have enough to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill!"

"Look at you, getting carried away."

"Nothing can be rushed. Don't let your wealth show."

"Better to take longer and sell this batch slowly than let anyone notice anything amiss. You can even trade in a few other commanderies."

Shi Jian snorted coldly and gave him another warning. He didn't want to see the Sun Clan get carried away.

Just then, Shi Jian's ears twitched sharply.

He caught the scent of blood and an exceedingly faint sound of panting. It was a scent unique to his fellow bears...

"You stay here and pack up. I'm going to take a look around."

With that, Shi Jian turned and left. He passed through two dense woods and found the battered corpse of a she-bear in a dry streambed, half her body sliced away by a wind blade.

Beneath her, she had sheltered four fluffy cubs.

The largest was only the size of a kitten. It was whimpering as it desperately licked its mother's stiff face, while the other three were already on the verge of starving to death.

Shi Jian stood silently at the edge of the streambed, a rueful smile on his face.

"You're lucky."

Shi Jian leaped down into the streambed and released a wisp of pure Yao Qi.

Sensing the presence of a high-level expert of their own kind, the four cubs stopped whimpering at once and instinctively crawled toward him, rubbing against his paws.

He opened his mouth and picked up two of them, then scooped up the other two with his forepaws and turned back.

When Shi Jian returned, Sun Bo'an looked at the four cubs he had brought back with a delighted expression. This sort of thing had already happened many times.

"Ancestor, you've picked up more bear cubs."

"Take all these cubs back and have the clan feed and raise them well. They're my kind, after all. Take extra care of them."

"In the future, the younger generation of the clan will have more choices when selecting beasts to tame."

Sun Bo'an nodded in full agreement. Counting these four, they had already picked up twenty-four cubs, most of them ordinary wild beasts.

But a few of them had awakened spiritual intelligence and could become yao upon reaching adulthood!

"Ancestor, you're right. Bears have tough hides and thick flesh and are quite formidable in battle. They make excellent battle pets. I'll have Kezheng and the others take good care of them right away!"

Under the guise of "beast taming,"

Shi Jian took in more than thirty more orphaned bear cubs over the course of the mountain-clearing operation.

There were ordinary black bears among them, as well as Iron-Backed Bears with traces of Demon Beast blood.

The bears filled several Spirit Beast Bags. When there was no other way to carry them, they could only haul them by cart, taking as many as they could!

A month later, the mountain-clearing order was drawing to a close.

The cultivators of the various clans regrouped at the main camp in Cangshi Valley, reeking of blood and baleful Qi, but the general mood was far from good.

After all, they had to hand over eighty percent of what they had obtained.

For the cultivators, it was like having flesh carved from their bodies, so naturally they couldn't be very happy. Soon, it was the Sun Clan's turn to have their haul counted.

Sun Bo'an took a deep breath, stepped forward, and presented ten Storage Bags. "Senior, this is what the Sun Clan has obtained over these past days. Please take a look."

The deacon swept them with his Divine Sense and frowned slightly. "Three hundred and fifty-three items of level-one Demon Beast goods, and ten pieces of second-tier Demon Beast materials..."

"Not bad, but isn't it a little meager?"

"If I remember correctly, doesn't the Sun Clan have a Foundation Establishment great yao holding down the fort?"

Sun Bo'an put on a bitter face and sighed. "Please understand, Deacon. Our ancestor fought several great battles earlier and suffered some injuries."

"Over this past month, our ancestor was willing to serve as the vanguard for the White Cloud Temple, clearing the obstacles along the way..."

"His loyalty is plain for all to see. If not for that, our ancestor wouldn't have been injured."

As he spoke, Sun Bo'an's words were full of bitterness, while he discreetly slipped a small jade box into the deacon's sleeve.

"A few local specialties. Thank you for your hard work on these inspections, Senior."

The deacon squeezed the jade box in his sleeve. It was hard and brimming with Spiritual Qi; its contents were worth at least three or four hundred Spirit Stones.

Only then did the deacon's expression soften. He cleared his throat.

"Mm, I've heard something of Fellow Daoist Shi's injuries. Junior Brother Lü told me earlier that Fellow Daoist Shi fought bravely and was seriously injured."

"In that case, the Sun Clan has done its best. You may go..."

"Many thanks, Senior."

Sun Bo'an wiped away his cold sweat and retreated to the group with an ingratiating smile.

Shi Jian lay on the beast cart at the back of the group, his eyes half closed and his heart blooming with laughter.

What they had handed over was only one-fifth of what they had gained on this trip, worth a little over a thousand Spirit Stones...

Shi Jian had sealed all the truly good things with Yao Qi and hidden them in a compartment of his stomach. Ordinary cultivators wouldn't be able to tell.

For a while to come, it was time to keep a low profile and carefully sort through everything gained on this trip.