Immortal Venerable of the Beast Race

He tried to activate the enchantment, and the Iron Tail Scorpion let out a pained hissing sound, its stinger drooping down as its body trembled slightly.

Shen Long stopped activating the enchantment, and the Iron Tail Scorpion felt a bit better.

He took out a piece of beast meat the size of a bowl and threw it into the pond.

This was the meat of the Mountain-Pushing Beast; its hide had been sold for spirit stones, and the meat was split among the group. Shen Long also got some.

The Iron Tail Scorpion smelled the blood and moved toward the meat, reached the meat, clamped it with its pincers, tore off a small piece, and put it in its mouth.

In less than half an hour, it had devoured the piece of meat.

Shen Long took out another piece of meat and threw it into the pond for the Iron Tail Scorpion to eat.

Before long, the Iron Tail Scorpion had eaten this piece of meat as well.

Shen Long exited the Spirit Control Tower, sat cross-legged on the stone bed, took out a Qi Nourishing Pill, and swallowed it.

The elixir melted as soon as it entered his mouth, and not long after, a stream of spiritual energy rose in his abdomen. He quickly cultivated, guiding this spiritual energy toward his dantian.

Two months had passed, and in a secret chamber of the Martial Training Garden.

Shen Long stood in front of a sandpit, muttering to himself, as his right hand slowly lit up with a white light.

After a while, he flicked his wrist, and a foot-long white Ice Cone shot out, sinking into the sandpit. There were dozens of white Ice Cones in the sandpit, and the room temperature was quite low.

Shen Long released a red fireball that smashed into the sandpit, and all the Ice Cones disappeared.

He wiped off his sweat, pulled out a green spirit beast bag from his chest—the one he had captured from killing a Qi Refining Cultivator last time.

He slapped the spirit beast bag, and a yellow light flew out—it was the Iron Tail Scorpion. Its body shining with yellow light, it burrowed into the sandpit, becoming indistinguishable at a glance.

After some time of training, Shen Long could now command the Iron Tail Scorpion to work for him with just a thought, and it would act according to his command.

Suddenly, a grey-white stinger shot out from the sandpit, striking the stone wall and producing a dull sound, leaving a shallow mark on the wall.

Shen Long instructed the Iron Tail Scorpion to hide in the sandpit and attack suddenly with its stinger, training it to attack enemies.

He had heard the Spirit Control Sect possessed even subtler techniques for insect-driving. As Shen Long didn't understand them, he could only train the Iron Tail Scorpion in his own way.

The Iron Tail Scorpion was not picky about food, nor did it eat much; with over four hundred spirit stones on hand, Shen Long could easily afford to care for it.

After more than half an hour, Shen Long put the Iron Tail Scorpion back into the spirit beast bag, tucked the bag into his chest, and walked out the door.

As he left the Martial Training Garden, Shen Long saw Qin Qing and Qin Tianhe coming towards him, both with smiles on their faces, seemingly happy about something.

"Taoist Friend Qin, you've advanced to the third level of Qi Refinement. Congratulations!"

Shen Long's gaze fell on Qin Tianhe as he offered his congratulations.

At eight years old, Qin Tianhe had reached the third level of Qi Refinement, which was quite good for a Loose Cultivator. Shen Long himself was only at the fifth level.

Qin Qing hunted Monster Beasts to provide for Qin Tianhe's cultivation, while after his parents' disappearance, Shen Long had to fend for himself with low-paying jobs, and his cultivation speed was far slower than Qin Tianhe's.

"It's all thanks to the Qi Refinement Pills my grandfather bought for me," said Qin Tianhe modestly. Qin Qing had made a big profit and bought five bottles of Qi Refinement Pills for Qin Tianhe. He took one every few days and his cultivation speed had increased significantly.

"Even with the Qi Refinement Pills, having the third level of Qi Refinement at such a young age is impressive," praised Shen Long.

"Taoist Friend Shen is too kind with his words, Tianhe still has much to learn from you," said Qin Qing, though pride was evident on his face.

Seeing Qin Tianhe's progress, Qin Qing was very happy.

After a casual chatter, Shen Long headed down the mountain, while Qin Qing and Qin Tianhe walked into the Martial Training Garden.

He came to the market square where the loose cultivators set up their stalls and browsed around.

"Come and take a look, Spirit Insect Eggs of the Purple Patterned Fire Centipede, hard-earned and not easy to come by."

A gruff male voice rang out,

"Purple Patterned Fire Centipede!"

Shen Long felt a move in his heart and quickly walked over, arriving in front of a small stall.

The stall owner was a burly man in a green shirt with a pocked face who possessed the cultivation of the eighth level of Qi Refinement. The stall had many items on display, including a green wooden box containing dozens of purple insect eggs, each emitting a faint fluctuation of Fire Spirit Qi.

"Recently, someone discovered two first-grade late-stage Purple Patterned Fire Centipedes deep in the Qingzhu Mountain Range. They killed over a dozen Qi Refining Cultivators, displaying formidable divine skills. I was lucky to find one Purple Patterned Fire Centipede and got some eggs after killing it. Thirty Spirit Stones per egg, that's the final price," the green-shirted burly man said.

Shen Long glanced at the insect eggs and lost interest right away. According to the Heaven and Earth Exotic Insect List, Purple Patterned Fire Centipedes lay less than ten eggs at a time, so it was impossible for a single centipede to contain dozens of eggs in its body.

They sold the information about the Purple Patterned Fire Centipede to the Chen Family, who sent experts to kill it and even lost a late-stage Qi Refining Cultivator in the process, which speaks to the formidable nature of the Purple Patterned Fire Centipede.

This event also became a subject of gossip for the cultivators in the marketplace. It seemed that someone viewed it as a profitable venture and brought in some Fire Attribute Spirit Insect eggs to sell as fake Purple Patterned Fire Centipede eggs.

Most loose cultivators had limited experiences and found it hard to identify the authenticity of the eggs.

Meddling with someone's livelihood was akin to the killing of one's parents; Shen Long noticed that the green-shirted burly man was a swindler but chose not to expose him and turned away.

As he strolled around, it wasn't long before he quickened his pace and arrived in front of a small stall, owned by Huang Xiuyun.

"Fairy Huang, you've broken through, congratulations!"

Shen Long could feel that Huang Xiuyun's aura had become much stronger and congratulated her.

"Taoist Friend Shen, would you like to buy some Spiritual Wine? I'll give you a discount," Huang Xiuyun said enthusiastically.

"No, I just passed by a stall where someone was selling Purple Patterned Fire Centipede eggs. Wouldn't you want to take a look? With the help of the Purple Patterned Fire Centipede and Snow Crystal Spider, your strength would improve significantly," Shen Long said offhandedly.

"I specifically purchased books detailing the Heaven and Earth Exotic Insect List. Purple Patterned Fire Centipedes lay no more than ten eggs at a time. The eggs he's selling are fake. Just be aware of it, but don't say I told you, the Snow Crystal Spider hasn't hatched yet!" Huang Xiuyun communicated through a secret voice transmission.

"Could they be dead eggs? They haven't hatched for so long!" Shen Long asked curiously.

"They are not dead eggs; there is some vitality, just very faint. I refuse to believe they can't be hatched," Huang Xiuyun stated earnestly.

A hundred Spirit Stones weren't a significant amount for her; even if she was cheated, it didn't matter much. She just didn't want to accept that she'd been deceived and was determined to hatch the eggs.

Shen Long nodded, knowing that if Huang Xiuyun decided to sell the eggs, he would buy them, but currently, she had no such intention.

If Huang Xiuyun's long-unhatchable insect eggs were put up for sale, and Shen Long directly offered to buy them, even a fool would suspect there was an issue.

After a brief chat, Shen Long left and strolled around the square before returning to his residence.

He entered the Spirit Control Tower and let the Iron Tail Scorpion out of the Spirit Beast bag to roam freely, then he left the Spirit Control Tower and sat cross-legged on the stone bed to cultivate.