Qin Family's Spirit Fruit Garden was not very large, covering more than a dozen acres and planted with seven or eight kinds of Spirit Fruit Trees.
Although most of the Spirit Fruits had not yet matured, Qin Feng still caught a whiff of enticing fruit fragrance as he entered.
However, apart from the thirty percent of the Spirit Fruits that needed to be handed over to the sect, most of the remaining fruits would be sold by the family to exchange for other spiritual objects to supplement household expenses. Therefore, the number of Spirit Fruits that the Qin Family cultivators could receive each year was not much.
This year, however, it might be even less.
Because a Spiritual Toad, which appeared from nowhere, devoured a large quantity of Spirit Fruits. If it was not dealt with soon, there might not be any harvest of Spirit Fruits this year.
If it had been a common Spiritual Toad, that would be fine, even a few more Demon Beasts would not have mattered. But this Spiritual Toad had an astonishing appetite. Though it did not look large, it could easily devour food more than a hundred times its own weight.
As Qin Long and the others arrived, the five or six family cultivators who were carefully guarding the garden came forward one after another.
They were the Spirit Plant Cultivators responsible for this orchard.
Spirit Fruit Trees were relatively more difficult to manage than ordinary Spirit Grains and other objects. Therefore, the income of a few cultivators in the Spirit Fruit Garden was higher compared to other ordinary family members.
However, this year's Spirit Fruits had encountered a problem, undoubtedly causing their income to decrease. Thus, these cultivators were also anxious. When they saw the Fifth Elder bringing Qin Long, they immediately gathered to ask about the situation.
"Look at those few Spirit Fruit Trees that matured earlier, within less than two days, they were entirely devoured by that Spiritual Toad."
The Fifth Elder led Qin Long and his son to the depths of the garden, pointing angrily at several Spirit Fruit Trees.
Following the direction pointed out by the Fifth Elder, Qin Feng saw several Spirit Fruit Trees that should have been full of ripe fruits. Now, only a few green fruits hung on the branches, and his heart ached instantly.
In just two days, that foul toad devoured so many Spirit Fruits. Was it trying to cut off the Qin Family's source of income?
After passing the family evaluation at the end of the year, he would be sent to the Beast Taming Sect. At that time, he would need the family's support to provide some cultivation resources. If this year's Spirit Fruits failed, and they could not exchange them for enough Spirit Stones, he probably would not receive much support from the family upon entering the Beast Taming Sect.
So, this toad was not only robbing the family's Spirit Fruits but also essentially robbing his cultivation resources.
It was intolerable!
Initially, he had considered taking a look at the Spiritual Beast to broaden his horizons. But now, those thoughts vanished, and he only wanted to deal with the Spiritual Beast as soon as possible.
Most people were like this, indifferent when it did not concern them, holding a mentality of watching the excitement without being affected.
But when it involved their own interests, it was a different matter altogether.
Undoubtedly, the theft of Spirit Fruits by the Spiritual Toad had infringed upon Qin Feng's interests.
So, with anger in his eyes, he surveyed the orchard's surroundings, but found no unusual signs.
Qin Long frowned at those Spirit Fruit Trees that had been completely devoured: "So many have been stolen?"
"Indeed. If this continues, the family might have to save some resources from elsewhere to meet the Spirit Objects required for the tribute to the Beast Taming Sect."
The Fifth Elder said helplessly: "Besides, I don't know where that beast broke through the prohibition. I personally checked it once but found no sign of the prohibition being damaged."
"Oh?"
Qin Long was a bit surprised: "It could actually sneak in without damaging the prohibition. Could it be some special Spiritual Beast?"
Although the prohibition in this Spirit Fruit Garden was not too sophisticated, it was enough to ward off ordinary Demon Beasts. He did not expect any Demon Beast to sneak in without a sound. It likely had some unique Bloodline Divine Power; otherwise, it wouldn't be easy to achieve this.
With this thought, Qin Long's interest grew. He cast a spell, from which his eyes emitted a flash of Spirit Light as he investigated for a moment, finding no trace of the Demon Beast. Then he stretched out his hand, grabbed the air, and sniffed.
"Yes, there is indeed Demon Energy here."
Seeing his son looking at him curiously, Qin Long smiled and said: "This is the 'Smell Wind Skill,' a spell researched by a predecessor in the Beast Taming Sect specifically for detecting Demon Energy. Sect spells cannot be passed outside, so I can't teach you.
However, this spell is one of the most common spells in the Beast Taming Sect. Once you become an Outer Disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, you will naturally learn it."
Qin Feng nodded upon hearing this, feeling more eager to join the Beast Taming Sect.
Qin Long's nose sniffed lightly from time to time, following the direction of the Demon Energy, gradually reaching the Spirit Well within the Spirit Fruit Garden.
Peering into the well, he found no trace of the Spiritual Toad.
He was about to release the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake from the Spiritual Beast Bag to explore the well.
The Green-Eyed Spirit Snake also excelled in water environments, moving freely. This was why the Old Clan Chief had sent the Fifth Elder to seek Qin Long's help.
However, Qin Long soon stopped his actions and did not summon the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake.
If the Spiritual Toad sensed the aura of the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake and hid, it might be difficult to find.
If the issue wasn't resolved in one go and the Spiritual Toad became wary, capturing it later would be even harder.
He couldn't guard the Spirit Fruit Garden every day. What if the Spiritual Toad came back to steal the Spirit Fruits again?
Qin Long turned to the Fifth Elder and asked: "Uncle Wu, does the Spiritual Toad steal the Spirit Fruits regularly?"
The Fifth Elder thought for a moment and said: "The Spiritual Toad usually comes out to steal and eat in the afternoon when people are few or at night when no one is around."
"I see!"
Qin Long looked at the sun, which had just begun to set, and said: "In that case, could you please ask everyone to leave the Spirit Fruit Garden for now? I will stay hidden and see what abilities that Demon Beast has, which dares to linger in our Qin Family's Spirit Fruit Garden."
"Be careful, try not to damage the Spirit Fruit Trees during the fight. These have been cultivated by the family for many years to grow to this stage."
The Fifth Elder pointed to a few particularly tall Spirit Fruit Trees with some concern and reminded: "Especially these few, which are several hundred years old, bear fruit once every ten years. You must protect them!"
"Don't worry, Uncle Wu. I know."
Qin Long nodded, comforting him with a smile.
Seeing this, the Fifth Elder said no more and led the few family members out of the orchard.
Qin Feng did not leave. He came specifically to broaden his horizons with his father, naturally unwilling to leave without even seeing the Demon Beast.
Besides, with his low strength, as long as he kept his distance, he need not worry about alarming the Spiritual Toad.
As for Qin Long, with his level of Dao Cultivation, casting the Qi Concealing Technique should pose no problem in deceiving the Spiritual Toad.
After all, the Spiritual Toad was not strong; otherwise, it wouldn't have been wary of the Spirit Plant Cultivators in the orchard.