Seeing Jiang Ping extending an olive branch, Qin Wang was slightly taken aback. He accepted the black token, bowed respectfully, and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Third Miss. If I get the chance, I will definitely visit."
Qin Wang knew that facing Jiang Ping and a Foundation Establishment stage powerhouse, he couldn't refuse. If Jiang Ping used the excuse of disrespect to take action, it would be troublesome.
He decided to play along for now and plan later.
"Very well."
Jiang Ping gave Qin Wang a deep look, nodded slightly, and left with Su Hua.
"I didn't expect that the Third Miss of the Jiang family, with such a vast fortune, would also compete with us poor rogue cultivators for these demonic beast corpses!"
"What can we do? People with wealth and power won't let go of any opportunity to make a profit. Luckily, they left us quite a bit, so let's hurry up and collect them!"
"Be quick. We've wasted so much time; the demonic beasts might return soon."
With Jiang Ping and Su Hua gone, the rogue cultivators quickly returned to collecting the demonic beast corpses, almost scrambling. More rogue cultivators joined in from a distance.
Qin Wang held the black token in his hand. One side was engraved with a "Jiang" character, and the other with a majestic palace.
He didn't put it in his storage bag but continued collecting demonic beast corpses until his storage bag was full. Then, he sped off into the distance.
"Daoist Qin! Daoist Qin!"
As Qin Wang left the area where the jade slips were buried, he heard a familiar voice calling. Looking up, he saw a middle-aged cultivator about fifty years old, with three long beards, flying on a sword. Behind him stood a young couple, the male cultivator being Li Qiye, whom Qin Wang knew.
Li Qiye, at this moment, was holding hands intimately with a rather pretty female cultivator.
Qin Wang stopped and bowed his head. "Daoist Li, long time no see!"
Qin Wang noticed that Li Qiye's cultivation had almost reached Qi Refinement Level 7.
"Daoist Qin, long time no see. Come visit me sometime!"
Li Qiye greeted Qin Wang and then flew away on his sword.
"Sure!"
Qin Wang waved to Li Qiye and then sped off.
Half an hour later, in a mountain valley fifteen miles from the buried jade slip area, Qin Wang took the token given by Jiang Ping, forced it into the mouth of a giant snake demon, and watched as the snake slithered into the deep mountains. He then washed his hands several times in a mountain stream before turning towards the city.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, in the Lingdan Pavilion, specifically in the Demonic Beast Processing Workshop, where the Situ family's Lingdan Pavilion bought demonic beast materials, the air was filled with a bloody scent. Many Qi Refinement stage cultivators came and went, selling their harvest from the deep mountains.
Qin Wang carried a storage bag filled with demonic beasts. He had seven storage bags full of demonic beast corpses but decided to only bring out six to avoid drawing too much attention.
"Wow, this fellow Daoist, you killed six demonic beasts! Impressive!"
A middle-aged, small-eyed cultivator at Qi Refinement Level 7, selling a rhino demon, exclaimed when he saw Qin Wang take out three rhino demons and three saber-toothed tiger demons from his storage bag.
"I was lucky. Yesterday, there was a commotion in the Giant Tiger Valley of Manyong Mountains. I happened to be nearby, hiding, and when the beasts left, I found many dead demonic beasts and picked up six. Many other cultivators picked up some too. I was afraid the beasts would return, so I didn't dare to pick more, valuing my life over greed."
Qin Wang scratched his head and explained.
"Oh, such good fortune! Why didn't I encounter something like that!"
The middle-aged, small-eyed cultivator was envious.
"Greetings, Manager Situ!"
"Greetings, Manager Situ!"
At that moment, the round-faced cultivator in charge of appraising Qin Wang's demonic beasts looked behind Qin Wang and bowed respectfully.
All the other cultivators in the workshop also stood up and bowed.
Qin Wang turned and saw a middle-aged man with two mouse whiskers and a protruding belly, wearing a brocade robe and a jade ring on his right hand, exuding wealth. He was at the peak of Qi Refinement Level 9.
Manager Situ looked at Qin Wang with a smile and said, "This fellow Daoist has great luck, finding so many demonic beasts after the beast tide. You've made a fortune! If you have more, feel free to sell them at our Lingdan Pavilion. I'll give you a good price!"
"Thank you, Senior. I was lucky to pick these six on the outskirts, fearing the third-tier demonic beasts and not daring to collect more."
Qin Wang bowed to the manager.
"Not bad. On the path of cultivation, not being greedy can help you go further."
Manager Situ looked at Qin Wang approvingly and instructed the round-faced cultivator, "These six demonic beasts are equivalent to Qi Refinement Level 7. Give him 420 spirit stones."
"Yes, Manager Situ!"
The round-faced cultivator respectfully bowed and handed 420 spirit stones to Qin Wang.
"Thank you, Senior!"
Qin Wang bowed respectfully, accepted the spirit stones, and left the workshop. He then returned and exchanged all the spirit stones for Solidification Pills.
Half an hour later, in a quiet room in the back hall of the Demonic Beast Processing Workshop, a rotund cultivator with two mouse whiskers, wearing a brocade robe, sat on a grand chair, sipping a cup of spiritual tea, which emitted a faint fragrance.
He took a sip, looked at the booklet in his hand, and suddenly raised an eyebrow, speaking calmly, "Wen Hao, come in."
"Second Uncle!"
A thirty-year-old cultivator in a green robe entered and respectfully bowed.
"Have you found out about the seven rogue cultivators selling demonic beast corpses?"
Situ Chengang looked at the booklet and asked the green-robed cultivator.
"Second Uncle, I've found them all. They couldn't escape the eyes of the Illusion Spirit Bird!"
Situ Wenhao said, a bit annoyed, "Except for the first cultivator who sold six demonic beasts. After you left, he returned and exchanged everything for Solidification Pills. He probably won't leave the city for a while."
"He exchanged everything for pills?"
"Consider him lucky. Ignore him for now."
Situ Chengang frowned, then picked up the spiritual tea and took a few sips, muttering, "Every day, countless cultivators enter the mountains to hunt demons. Dying in the mountains is common. Do you know what to do?"
In recent years, the Situ family had an ancestor in closed-door cultivation, another engrossed in alchemy, and a family head uninterested in family matters. Each of the four branches had their own agendas. Initially reluctant to engage in such acts, Situ Chengang found himself compelled to follow suit as others in the family indulged in corruption.
He managed the Demonic Beast Processing Workshop, but the proceeds weren't much. As his appetite grew, he devised this scheme, using the Illusion Spirit Bird to track rogue cultivators selling valuable demonic beasts. At opportune moments, he ensured these cultivators met their end in the mountains.
In recent months, he had succeeded over ten times, reaping significant rewards. With many daily hunting expeditions and frequent deaths, the disappearance of lone rogue cultivators went unnoticed.
"Understood, Second Uncle."
Situ Wenhao bowed, his expression firm.
"Good, go."
Situ Chengang waved him off, and Situ Wenhao left.
Returning to his courtyard, Qin Wang found Gao Yuan processing a black wild boar demon. Seeing Qin Wang, Gao Yuan asked, "Xiao Qin, did you spend the night in the mountains?"
"Yes, I was hunting demons when they went berserk. I hid in a crevice and only returned at dawn when they left."
Qin Wang nodded.
Of course, he wouldn't reveal that he caused the beast tide.
"Xiao Qin, be careful during your adventures."
Gao Yuan advised.
"Thank you, Uncle Gao. I will."
Qin Wang nodded, then entered his room.
"With over 3300 spirit stones and 84 Solidification Pills, I can start enhancing my cultivation proficiency!"
Qin Wang bolted the door and looked at the spirit stones in his storage bag with anticipation.
He planned to use the 84 Solidification Pills first and then exchange the 3300 spirit stones for more pills to continue his cultivation.
Both Solidification and Gathering Pills cost five spirit stones each. He could buy 660 pills, adding to the previous 84, totaling 744 pills. Each Solidification Pill could increase proficiency by 30 points, allowing him to gain 22,200 proficiency points!
Even if proficiency gains per pill decreased after advancing to Level 9, it would be enough to reach the peak of Qi Refinement Level 9!