Chapter 161: Immortal Dao Merchant Association, Snake Cave Defeat

With Ling Ruoxue behaving herself, Qin Xiao began to divide the spoils.

The spirit pond within the Giant Bear Cave was not small, but it was only half full. Although Qin Xiao took two-thirds, it amounted to just over ten thousand drops.

“This time we obtained a little over ten thousand drops in total. Consider the extra as compensation for my battle losses, and ten thousand drops as the final harvest.”

Qin Xiao made no secret of it, stating directly that the surplus was compensation for his combat wear and tear.

“What? Ten thousand drops?”

Hearing this yield, Ling Ruoxue was still startled. Was there really that much?

“That sounds about right. Our sect’s records say the pool is big enough for about twenty thousand drops. But the bear guarding it uses Spirit Liquid too. Having over ten thousand drops saved up is already good.”

Luo Yunbing was not particularly surprised, as she had the documentation provided by the Sect.

“Alright, never mind that now. Let’s start dividing the harvest.”

Naturally, Qin Xiao would not mention that he had not completely emptied the pool. After all, the Giant Bear had guarded it for so many years; he had to leave a little behind for it.

“First, Number Three brought the information, so she gets half: five thousand drops. Number One gets one thousand, Number Two one thousand, Number Four one thousand, Number Five one thousand, and Number Six—no, Young Miss Ling—one thousand. Do you all agree with your master’s distribution?”

Qin Xiao produced six bottles at once, one large and five small.

Naturally, no one had any objections. Qin Xiao did the hard work of fighting while they shared the spoils; how could anyone object?

Shortly after, each person stored their respective share of Spirit Liquid into their Storage Bags.

“Stop keeping things to yourselves. Bring out all the information you have and share it. I need to choose. If every place is this hard, I’ll have a headache.”

Qin Xiao had learned his lesson this time and dared not boast. Anything guarded by a peak Nascent Soul Demon Beast was to be excluded entirely. Such things were simply beyond his ability to handle.

The beating had slightly improved his Body Refinement, but risking his life for it was not worth it.

Following that, the others handed their information over to Qin Xiao for him to review and select.

Sharing with one another was out of the question. Qin Xiao could see the records, but the other sects could not. Each sect had spent countless generations gathering them.

Qin Xiao understood. He took the records aside to choose on his own.

“This one looks decent, but the risk is too high. That one has acceptable risk, but the items aren’t valuable enough.”

Qin Xiao weighed cost-effectiveness as he made his selections.

Over twenty days, Qin Xiao’s group ransacked almost the entire Middle Zone of Spirit Medicine Valley. Most treasures were hard won, and quite a few targets proved tough to crack. The source of this chapter is novelping.com.

They met no one else along the way. They stayed near the Inner Zone, while the other groups spent the first twenty days gathering herbs and fruits in the Outer Zone and the nearer half of the Middle Zone.

Only in these final ten days would those sects and forces push into this region, attempting to seize the treasures they had previously failed to secure.

Outside the Spirit Snake Cave, members of the Immortal Dao Merchant Association had already arrived.

“Young Master, there are signs of battle at this Spirit Snake Cave. Could someone have already beaten us to it?”

A disciple of the Immortal Dao Merchant Association spoke to Ling Wujun.

Ling Wujun was another talent of the Ling Family, thirty-four years old and Ling Ruoxue’s older paternal cousin. At late Nascent Soul, he was even more talented than Ling Wushuang and was leading this expedition.

“What’s so surprising? This place is hidden, but other powers might know of it too. Knowing about the Spirit Snake Cave doesn’t mean you can handle it. Let’s take a look.”

Ling Wujun did not care. So what if they knew? The association tried at every opening of the realm and had never succeeded. Could anyone else get the Profound Moon Grass?

From above the cave, they could indeed see plenty of signs of battle. There were no bodies; presumably the snakes had eaten them. The Profound Moon Grass was still there, so the earlier intruders must have failed too.

“Follow the plan. Lure the snakes away while I try for the grass. If I can’t get it, we stop. I’d like to see how strong this Snake King really is.”

Ling Wujun gave the orders. They had made their plan before entering.

The disciples would draw the snakes away while he seized the grass. If the Snake King appeared, he would take what he could or retreat.

Moments later, the other disciples of the Immortal Dao Merchant Association descended. Hearing the commotion, the Spirit Snakes emerged from their dens in a swarm.

A battle broke out. Ling Wujun waited for his chance; many Spirit Snakes still guarded the Profound Moon Grass.

Those Golden Core stage Spirit Snakes were naturally no match for the disciples of the Immortal Dao Merchant Association, and casualties mounted swiftly.

At last, the more than ten Nascent Soul snakes could stand it no longer. They left the grass and attacked the association’s disciples.

“Now’s my chance!”

With only a few snakes still guarding it, Ling Wujun dived toward the Profound Moon Grass.

Before he could reach it, a giant snake poked its head out of the largest entrance.

It was none other than the Snake King. Enraged at the sight of humans returning to attack, it spat a stream of venom directly at Ling Wujun.

Ling Wujun activated the protective treasure he wore as soon as he saw the Snake King. It blocked the venom just in time, but his Spiritual Qi barrier was steadily being corroded. This chapter was copied from novelping.com without permission.

Realizing his protective shield could not hold, Ling Wujun had no choice but to fall back.

“Is this the Snake King? Truly formidable. Its venom alone almost breached my defense.”

Seeing the Snake King’s huge body, Ling Wujun felt a belated fear. Its venom alone had almost breached his defenses.

Still, he did not want to give up. Getting the Profound Moon Grass would raise his standing in the family considerably.

He was more talented than Ling Wushuang and belonged to the main branch, but the family head was his father’s older brother, not his father. He was only a young master and would not inherit the association.

He had to keep improving his position. Perhaps one day he could become the family head and inherit the association.

In a great family, even close relatives had ambitions of their own—especially with a merchant association to inherit. He believed he was more talented than his older cousin and would not settle for being a family Elder.

His older cousin had led the last expedition and failed to get the grass. Wouldn’t success this time show that he was better?

“So you’re the Snake King? This young master will test your strength today!”

Ling Wujun was unafraid. It had nearly caught him by surprise before; in a head-on fight, he had nothing to fear.

He attacked the Snake King. Killing it would be even better; every part of its body was valuable.

The Snake King was furious too. Humans could not keep their word! It had given them two Profound Moon Grass plants, and they still came back. Such greed!

It had avoided a fight because the Snake Queen was laying eggs and it feared disturbing her. If the humans came back now, they could die.

The Snake King crawled all the way out. Its body was more than fifty meters long.

As Ling Wujun approached, the Snake King swept him away with its tail. He flew backward, spitting blood.

One blow had injured him.

“Retreat! We can’t handle this Snake King!”

Now Ling Wujun knew the gap between them. He hurriedly called for the fighting disciples to retreat.

He activated the treasure he wore and vanished, teleporting away.

Seeing that their young master had fled, the remaining disciples scrambled to escape as well.

The Snake King did not pursue the fleeing humans. The Snake Queen was incubating her eggs and still needed its protection.