Immortal Venerable of the Beast Race

Last time they came back from demon hunting, it had been over half a year, and Xu Lei had not contacted them to hunt monster beasts.

With no work and no mastery of other skills, they naturally had no income.

Shen Long was somewhat better off, able to feed himself and his family not going hungry. But after half a year without income, Qin Qing was getting anxious.

Qin Qing had quadruple spirit roots, and despite cultivating to over seventy years old, he was only at the sixth level of Qi refinement. His path to Dao seemed hopeless. Qin Tianhe had triple spirit roots, and Qin Qing hoped to earn more spirit stones to purchase cultivation resources for Qin Tianhe, allowing him to travel further on the path of cultivation.

"I'm not sure, Taoist Friend Xu hasn't contacted me, probably still in seclusion!"

Shen Long said truthfully.

Qin Qing sighed lightly; if Xu Lei hadn't contacted them, he was most likely still in seclusion.

"Taoist Friend Shen, you have advanced to the fifth level of Qi cultivation, congratulations!"

Qin Tianhe said as he congratulated, his face full of envy.

Only then did Qin Qing notice that Shen Long's aura had grown much stronger, and he promptly congratulated Shen Long as well.

"Taoist Friend Shen, we have other matters to attend to, so we'll take our leave first."

After saying this, Qin Qing left with Qin Tianhe.

After a while, the stone door with the "Earth" character on it opened, and a burly man in red walked out, his face sporting a terrifying scar from a knife.

Seeing Shen Long, the man in red smiled and said, "Taoist Friend Shen, congratulations on advancing to the fifth level of Qi cultivation!"

"It's Taoist Friend Sun. Has Taoist Friend Xu not finished his seclusion?"

Shen Long asked.

The man in red was named Sun Yang and was the deputy leader of the Monster Hunting Team that Shen Long was part of. He had a good relationship with Xu Lei.

"Not yet, he is in seclusion to break through to the eighth level of Qi cultivation. If there's an action, we'll notify you."

Sun Yang said.

Shen Long nodded, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then Sun Yang left.

Shen Long entered the stone room and closed the door with the Qianzhu token.

Inside was a hundred-yard-wide sandpit with signs of fire damage on it. The stone walls were red-hot, indicating that Sun Yang had just been practicing a fire element art technique.

Muttering incantations, Shen Long's right hand glowed with a green light, which he waved towards the sandpit. A beam of green light shot out and burrowed into the sandpit, from which a green vine as thick as an adult's arm emerged.

Entwining Technique, which he had cultivated to a high level of proficiency, was only a step away from great perfection.

Shen Long raised his right hand, and a water jar-sized crimson fireball flew out, striking the green vine.

A thunderous boom followed as the crimson fireball burst, turning into a rolling inferno that engulfed the green vine.

Fireball Technique was at great perfection, a spontaneously cast art technique.

As the flames dissipated, the green vine disappeared.

Shen Long began to mutter incantations again, and his right hand glowed with a green light, which he waved towards the sandpit. A beam of green light flew out, burrowed into the sandpit, and a thick green vine covered with sharp spines emerged.

Two hours later, Shen Long's face was pale, and the sandpit was covered with green vines.

He flicked his sleeve, and a huge crimson fireball flew out, striking the green vines and turning them to ash.

After clearing the traces of his art technique practice, he began to recite incantations again.

Not long after, a white light emerged in the palm of his right hand. With a wave of his hand, a beam of white light flew out, turning into a two-foot-long white ice cone that plunged into the sandpit.

Ice Cone Technique!

He used the Fireball Technique to burn away the green vines, then used the Ice Cone Technique to attack the sandpit.

In this way, even if another cultivator entered this stone room to practice their art technique, they wouldn't suspect that Shen Long was practicing the Entwining Technique.

One must never be without a guard against others!

Shen Long rested for a short while before he opened the door and stepped out.

Leaving the Martial Training Garden, he made his way down the mountain.

Before long, Shen Long found himself on a wide and clean street teeming with people, mostly Qi Refining Cultivators.

On either side of the street stood buildings of various sizes, including blue stone houses a few feet high and blue pavilions a dozen feet tall, frequented by many cultivators.

Passing a junction, a young girl in a white dress graced with the freshness of youth and a tall young man in gold walked towards him.

The girl in white had delicate features, with arched willow eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes that rippled like water, wearing no makeup. The young man in gold was handsome, holding a golden folding fan, looking the very image of a dashing gentleman.

They both wore spirit beast bags around their waists and had attained the seventh layer of Qi Refining.

Shen Long naturally recognized them, the girl in white was Li Ruxue, a core member of the Li Family, and the young man in gold was Han Yixin, the only son of the Han Family head.

"Ruxue, Taoist Friend Chen is hosting a gathering, they say many friends will attend. We haven't got much else on, let's go together!" Han Yixin said enthusiastically.

"You go ahead! I'll follow after I finish what I'm dealing with," replied Li Ruxue, her voice sweet.

"Alright, but you must come, the descendant of Qinghu Reverend will be there too," Han Yixin reminded her.

Qinghu Reverend was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, and as an Alchemist, he held great fame within Qianzhu Valley.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely come," Li Ruxue promised, and they parted ways.

Shen Long passed by them and continued towards the distance.

The three were similar in age. Their cultivation was higher than Shen Long's, and they even kept spirit beasts. They attended gatherings with fellow cultivators to broaden their social circles, while Shen Long was still figuring out how to earn more spirit stones.

Half a quarter of an hour later, Shen Long arrived at a vast Azure Stone Plaza, where there were numerous small stalls, all manned by Qi Refining Cultivators, offering a wide array of items—ores, monster beast materials, spiritual medicine, and spirit wood among others.

Shen Long walked and looked around, approaching the stall owners to inquire about the origins and uses of any strange items he saw to broaden his knowledge.

After a while, he stopped in front of a small stall where a girl with picturesque eyebrows was the vendor, clad in a yellow dress reflecting the moon's glow, with her hair elegantly pinned at an angle and three thousand strands of black hair cascading down to her back. Her face was unpainted, and she had a spirit beast bag tied around her waist.

On the stall were displayed over a dozen wine pots, the aroma of alcohol wafting in the air.

"Fairy Huang, is the Green Peach Brew still at the same price?" Shen Long inquired.

The girl in the yellow dress was Huang Xiuyun, a Brewmaster who, with her grandmother Chen Li, relied on each other. They knew how to brew several kinds of first-grade spiritual wines, living off the sales of the wines.

Unlike Qin Qing and his granddaughter, Chen Li and Huang Xiuyun lived a relatively comfortable life, and Huang Xiuyun even kept a spirit beast, which showed that possessing a skill was indeed advantageous.

"Yes, it is. Would Taoist Friend Shen like to buy a pot?" Huang Xiuyun asked with a smile, her cheeks dimpling adorably.

Green Peach Brew was a first-grade spiritual wine which could help advance one's essence and mana. A pot of Green Peach Brew cost fifteen spirit stones, which was Huang Xiuyun's selling price; similar first-grade spiritual wines at the spiritual wine shop were a bit pricier.

Shen Long nodded, took out fifteen spirit stones, and handed them to Huang Xiuyun.

Huang Xiuyun picked up a green wine pot and handed it to Shen Long.

Shen Long lifted the lid, and a light fragrance of alcohol spread out, revealing a green liquid inside.

He nodded, closed the lid, and stowed the wine pot in his storage bag before getting up to leave.

After making a round of the plaza, he hadn't found any bargains, so he left the plaza.