Xiao Fei, after transplanting the Black Leaf Datura into his space, took the opportunity to extract the black snake's corpse and dissect it on the spot.
Monster beast corpses were often more valuable than spirit herbs of equivalent rank.
Many materials from the corpse could be used for alchemy, artifact refining, and talisman crafting. The remaining meat was also edible.
Although the black snake was a highly venomous monster beast, its venom was confined to the venom sac and fangs. Its meat was non-toxic and edible.
It took Xiao Fei an hour to dissect the black snake, separating it into numerous parts.
The snake's skin was extremely tough, with flying swords only able to inflict small cuts. It could be used to refine armor.
The two fangs were sharp and imbued with potent venom, suitable for refining magical artifacts.
The gall bladder was an alchemy material, and the snake bones could be used in alchemy or artifact refining.
The snake meat was white and crystalline, rich in spiritual energy, and looked delicious at first glance.
Additionally, two venom sacs were extracted, containing venom. Most of it had been used by the black snake during the battle, leaving about a teacup's worth.
The snake venom could be used to poison weapons or refined into elixirs.
Through certain special methods, snake venom could be converted into non-toxic spirit medicinal materials.
After classifying and packing all these items, Xiao Fei specifically dried the meat and other perishable items in his space.
Otherwise, with the space's tenfold time dilation, they would have all rotted by the time he returned.
After a thorough search of the black snake's lair yielded no other findings, Xiao Fei turned and left the cave, heading towards Star Moon City.
As Xiao Fei walked back to the city, he remained as cautious as he had been on his way there.
In this world, without legal constraints, murder for treasure was a common means of livelihood. The lives of cultivators were not worth much.
As he reached a small path, his eyes suddenly lit up. There was a spirit herb in the middle of the road ahead.
He wondered which cultivator had been so careless as to drop a hard-won spirit herb without realizing it.
Seeing this, Xiao Fei became vigilant. He scanned the surroundings with his divine sense, finding everything normal and no other cultivators present.
Could it truly not be a trap?
Forget it. If something seems too good to be true, it usually is. It's just one spirit herb; there's no need to risk it.
After a moment of thought, Xiao Fei decided to skirt around the path and take a detour.
"Whoosh!"
A water arrow suddenly shot out from the nearby grass. Unprepared, Xiao Fei was hit directly in the chest.
"Ah!"
Xiao Fei clutched his chest and collapsed softly onto the ground.
At this moment, a person emerged from the grass – Lin Dagou, the gatekeeper of the Lin family estate.
"Quite cautious."
Lin Dagou, clad in a black cloak, walked over to Xiao Fei. Just as he was about to crouch down, his expression changed, and he quickly jumped back.
At this moment, Xiao Fei suddenly flipped over and sat up. With a flick of his finger, an Iron Thorn seed flew out, shooting towards Lin Dagou.
Lin Dagou's reaction was swift; he dodged it with a leap.
"Lin Dagou, what is the meaning of this?"
Blood flowed between Xiao Fei's fingers as he clutched his chest. Had it not been for the soft armor, he would have been pierced through the chest by this attack.
"Nothing much. I've been short on spirit stones lately, and since you haven't been sending any more, I've come to collect them myself."
Lin Dagou had extorted a considerable number of spirit stones from Xiao Fei previously, allowing his cultivation to rapidly advance from the sixth to the seventh level of Qi Condensation.
The fact that Xiao Fei, a mere rogue cultivator, could produce so many spirit stones had long piqued his interest.
Unable to act within Star Moon City, he had eagerly waited for Xiao Fei to leave and then rushed to intercept him on this unavoidable path.
As Lin Dagou spoke, he conjured a water-blue flying sword and slashed at Xiao Fei.
Xiao Fei, at this moment, also conjured his peach wood sword, intercepting it in mid-air.
"Heh! Even has a flying sword, truly wealthy!"
Seeing that Xiao Fei possessed a flying sword, Lin Dagou's attacks became even more ferocious.
He continuously increased the power of his flying sword, forcing Xiao Fei to the brink of spiritual exhaustion, and his body slowly retreated.
Just then, the ground beneath Xiao Fei softened, turning into quicksand, and his body was involuntarily pulled into it.
"Hahaha... you still can't escape my grasp."
He had long ago planted quicksand talismans in several locations along this path, leaving a trace of his divine sense as a trigger, waiting for Xiao Fei to step into the trap.
Xiao Fei struggled desperately to get out, but the more he struggled, the faster he sank.
Lin Dagou approached with his flying sword in hand, a smug look on his face.
"Tell me honestly, where did your spirit stones come from? Perhaps I can spare your life."
Besides obtaining Xiao Fei's wealth, he was more eager to know the origin of these spirit stones.
As Lin Dagou was smugly interrogating him, he suddenly felt dizzy and disoriented. He couldn't muster any spiritual energy.
"Bang!"
Lin Dagou collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Seeing Lin Dagou fall unconscious, Xiao Fei then used a binding technique, wrapping several strands of Iron Thorns around a rock, and the connected clusters of Iron Thorns pulled him out of the quicksand.
When he encountered the spirit herb on the road, he had quietly plucked a Black Leaf Datura flower from his space.
Perhaps it was because the spirit herb was young, its effects were too slow. Only now did it manage to incapacitate Lin Dagou.
Xiao Fei walked over and thrust his sword into Lin Dagou's dantian, completely crippling his cultivation. The pain caused Lin Dagou to curl into a ball, waking from his coma in agony.
"I am from the Lin family, how dare you kill me!"
"You are merely a watchdog of the Lin family. Do you really think I wouldn't dare kill you? Do you think the Lin family would send someone specifically to investigate this matter?"
As Xiao Fei spoke, he thrust his sword into Lin Dagou's leg and then, gripping the hilt, twisted the blade within the leg.
"Ah! Ahhh!"
"Tell me about the Lin family, and I'll give you a quick death."
"I'll tell, I'll tell..."
Immediately, Xiao Fei had Lin Dagou divulge all information about the Lin family.
The one who truly killed his second sister was Lin Yang, who required the consumption of many young women annually for the cultivation of a certain technique.
A disciple of the Lin family had also been accepted into the Scarlet Sun Sect, one of the four major sects of the Lu Kingdom, and was now an inner disciple.
Under Xiao Fei's persistent questioning, Lin Dagou revealed all the information he knew, without omission.
Xiao Fei ended Lin Dagou with a sword thrust and took off the cloak he was wearing.
It was a special magic robe that could block divine sense and provide invisibility.
Lin Dagou also had over a dozen spirit stones on him, as well as that water-blue flying sword.
Xiao Fei used a fireball spell to burn Lin Dagou's corpse before leaving the area.
As for the spirit herb on the ground, he didn't glance at it again. It turned out to be a fake, specifically designed to deceive people.
Upon returning to the inn, he took off his robe, which was already tattered and unusable.
The magic robe had been corroded by the black snake's venom, and the soft armor inside was also pitted and damaged.
Although he encountered some danger this time, the gains were also considerable. He had gathered all the spirit herbs needed to refine the Qi Gathering Pill.
He obtained a Black Leaf Datura, which was excellent for ambushing others. Direct combat was not as satisfying as a clandestine poisoning.
He acquired all the materials from a Rank 1 Upper Grade black snake.
He also got an invisibility cloak, a flying sword, and Lin Dagou's life.
Most importantly, he obtained detailed intelligence on the Lin family.