Immortal Venerable of the Beast Race
Chapter 177 - 177 111 Suspicious Target_1

177: 111 Suspicious Target_1 177: 111 Suspicious Target_1 A pot of tea time later, Shen Long appeared in front of a small stall.

The owner was a man in his early forties dressed in red, and the stall was filled with artifact-refining materials, with two spirit beast bags tied around his waist.

Shen Long’s eyes landed on an oval-shaped golden ore, which had some fine holes on its surface, as if it had been gnawed by insects.

“I’ll take this Gold Sheath Stone,”

a pleasant female voice rang out.

A gust of fragrant wind blew past, and a buxom young lady in a golden dress appeared in front of the stall.

The young lady had willow-browed eyes, cherry lips, her nose like a delicate sculpture, and skin as fair as snow.

Judging by the insignia on her clothes, she was evidently a member of the Bai Family.

“I’ll trade for it with a Beast Spirit Pill,”

Shen Long transmitted a message to the man in red and took out two cyan porcelain bottles.

The Gold Sheath Stone was a second-grade artifact-refining material, which could be used to refine top-quality magic artifacts.

Such materials were quite expensive.

The man in red checked the elixirs in the bottles and, after ensuring they were correct, sold the Gold Sheath Stone to Shen Long.

The lady in the golden dress was not angry either; she gave Shen Long a fist salute and politely asked, “I am Bai Yuyan.

May I know how to address you, fellow Taoist?”

“Shen Shi,”

Shen Long gave a false name.

“May I ask, from which clan or sect does Taoist Friend Shen hail?”

Bai Yuyan inquired politely.

With several spirit beast bags on him, Shen Long did not resemble a Loose Cultivator.

“I’m unaffiliated with any clan or sect, just a simple Loose Cultivator,”

Shen Long replied.

He was well aware that, carrying so many spirit beast bags and being an Alchemist, no one would truly believe him to be a Loose Cultivator.

“A Loose Cultivator!”

Doubt flashed across Bai Yuyan’s eyes, but she did not pursue the matter, asking instead, “Is Taoist Friend Shen also an Artifact Refiner?”

“Haha, Taoist Friend Shen, what a coincidence!”

A hearty male voice rose.

A handsome young man in blue, accompanied by a tall and lanky youth in yellow, approached.

The young man in blue was tall and robust, with a white jade belt around his waist, holding a white folding fan in his hand.

“Taoist Friend Su, what brings you here?”

Shen Long said, somewhat surprised.

The young man in blue was Su Jianghai, a Cultivator at the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

Shen Long had traveled to many countries, visiting places rich in Monster Beasts, hunting them to elevate the combat abilities of his spirit beasts, Spirit Insects, and Spirit Birds, and in hopes of breaking through bottlenecks during combat.

Once, while hunting Monster Beasts, he got into a dispute over a second-grade toxic scorpion with Su Jianghai.

They sparred against each other and proved evenly matched.

Shen Long and Su Jianghai became friends through mutual struggle, attending many gatherings together and traveling for most of a year before they parted ways.

“Taoist Friend Su, you know this Taoist?”

The young man in yellow inquired curiously.

“Yu Xian, this is Taoist Friend Shen I’ve mentioned to you.

He’s powerful, with a high level of Alchemy, and skilled in Insect Repelling and Controlling Beast Taming Techniques,”

Su Jianghai pointed at Shen Long and explained.

“I am Bai Yuxian, and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Taoist Friend Shen,”

the young man in yellow greeted with a fist salute and a smile, noticing Bai Yuyan’s surprise, “Yu Yan, do you know Taoist Friend Shen?”

“We didn’t before, but we do now,”

Bai Yuyan replied with a smile.

“Taoist Friend Su, you’re acquainted with Taoist Friend Bai?”

Shen Long asked curiously.

“Our families have been close for generations.

It’s better to meet by chance than by appointment.

Shall we find a place to sit and talk for a bit?”

Su Jianghai suggested.

None of the three had any objections, so they agreed.

Shen Long and the others came to a quiet courtyard with green tiles and sat in a stone pavilion, leisurely sipping tea and chatting.

“By the way, Taoist Friend Shen,” said Su Jianghai, “I’ve heard from Jiang He that you are proficient in the art of insect taming.

This is a Snow Crystal Spider egg I obtained in my early years.

Do you think there is still a chance to hatch it?”

Bai Yuxian took out a white insect egg and handed it to Shen Long.

Shen Long examined it carefully, his eyebrows furrowing as he said, “To be honest, hatching it will be difficult.”

Upon hearing this, Bai Yuxian showed a disappointed expression on his face.

“Taoist Friend Shen, you are skilled in the art of insect taming.

Didn’t you also help Fairy Liu hatch the egg of the Seven-Colored Wind Butterfly before?

I believe you can hatch this egg too,” Su Jianghai said.

“Out of respect for Taoist Friend Su, if you trust me, hand over the egg to me, and I’ll try to hatch it, though I can’t guarantee success,” Shen Long said.

Using the Spirit Control Tower to help other Foundation Establishment Cultivators hatch insect or Spirit Beast Eggs was a way for him to blend in better locally, and he would also charge a considerable fee for the service.

Bai Yuxian’s face lit up with joy as he said, “Trustworthy indeed.

If Taoist Friend Shen is willing to help, nothing could be better.

Whether or not you can hatch this Snow Crystal Spider egg for me, I won’t let you labor in vain.”

“To tell you the truth, I would not want to do this favor for anyone else.

But since you are an old friend of Taoist Friend Shen, I’ll give it a try for you and will do my utmost to hatch this egg,” Shen Long promised.

Being on the Bai family’s territory, Shen Long knew befriending the members of the Bai family would help him assimilate better into the local area.

“Taoist Friend Shen, where are you currently staying?

Let us arrange a nice place for you to live!” Bai Yuyan said enthusiastically.

“Yes, yes, let’s arrange a place for you to stay!” Bai Yuxian echoed.

As an outsider, they could offer Shen Long the hospitality of a host.

Shen Long looked at Su Jianghai and asked, “Where does Taoist Friend Su live?”

“Piaoyun Pavilion.

If Taoist Friend Shen doesn’t mind, you can stay in the Jinyu Pavilion next to mine,” Su Jianghai said with a smile.

“Good, then it’s settled here.

Thanks, Taoist Friend Bai,” Shen Long agreed.

“Not at all; it’s a small matter,” Bai Yuxian agreed, taking out a Law Disk that flickered with a yellow light.

He imbued a spell into it and gestured for a while.

They continued discussing the art of insect taming.

Bai Yuyan and Bai Yuxian, both of whom kept Spirit Insects, consulted Shen Long about the nurturing of these creatures, and he answered each of their questions.

“Having heard a word from Taoist Friend Shen saves us from taking the wrong path,” Bai Yuxian exclaimed.

Shen Long even knew that the abnormal color of Spirit Insect feces indicated sickness, which greatly impressed Bai Yuxian.

“It’s just a matter of specialization; it’s nothing special.

When it comes to Artifact Refining, I’m not as good as you guys,” Shen Long said modestly.

Bai Yuxian nodded and continued the discussion about nurturing Spirit Insects.

“Golden Flame Sect, the Sky-Flying Golden Flame Centipede!” Shen Long’s expression became solemn.

Bai Yuxian mentioned that the head of the Golden Flame Sect, Golden Flame Reverend, kept a third-order Sky-Flying Golden Flame Centipede.

Normally, this would not be a big deal.

The remnant of the Faction of Hermit Cultivation, Jingong Reverend, had tamed a second-order Sky-Flying Golden Flame Centipede.

Decades had passed, and it wouldn’t be surprising if that centipede had advanced to the third order by now.

“Yes!

That’s a third-order Spirit Insect, with a very fast flying speed,” Bai Yuxian said, full of envy.

“Who is this Golden Flame Reverend, to have raised a third-order Sky-Flying Golden Flame Centipede?” Shen Long feigned curiosity.

Bai Yuxian did not conceal the truth and relayed the origins of the Golden Flame Reverend.

He recounted the entire tale, from the Golden Flame Reverend making a name for himself to establishing his sect.

Shen Long nodded, the Golden Flame Reverend being a foreigner from Qian Country and a Loose Cultivator by origin.

Considering the timeline, the appearance of the Golden Flame Reverend in Wei Country coincided with the time Jingong Reverend had committed his crimes; thus, the Golden Flame Reverend was a suspect.

After so many years, at last, a suspicious person had been identified.