The Qin family spiritual orchard was not massive. It covered an area of approximately 10 acres and had around seven to eight types of spiritual fruit trees planted there. Even though a majority of the spiritual fruits were unripe, Qin Feng could still smell an enticing fruity aroma as soon he walked in.
However, not only were 30% of these spiritual fruits to be gifted to the sect, a large portion of the remainder would also be sold by the family to exchange other spiritual objects for the family use. Hence, the spiritual fruits that the Qin family cultivators could get each year was not much.
It seemed like there would be even fewer to go around this year.
This was because this spiritual toad of unknown origin had managed to eat a huge amount of spiritual fruit. If they did not deal with it, it was feared that there would not be any spiritual fruits left to harvest this year.
If it was a normal spiritual toad, the matter would be simple. Even a couple of other demonic beasts would be better than this spiritual toad which had an alarming appetite. It was only a tiny thing but it could easily eat more than 100 times its body weight in food.
As they saw Qin Long arriving with the others, the few family cultivators who had been carefully guarding the orchard hurried over to greet them. They were all spiritual gardeners tasked with tending to this spiritual orchard.
The spiritual fruit trees were harder to nurture compared to ordinary spiritual grains and other food types. Hence, they were also more expensive. Hence the gardeners working in the spiritual orchard received a higher salary compared to the ordinary family members.
Since there had been a problem with the spiritual fruits this year, their income would definitely suffer as well. Hence, all the cultivators wore anxious expressions. Once they saw Fifth Elder escort Qin Long to the orchard, they immediately rushed up to ask about the situation.
“As you can see, those few trees matured earlier than the others. Within two days, they have been swiped clean by the spiritual toad.” Fifth Elder led the father-son duo to a deep corner within the orchard and pointed toward a couple of spiritual trees with some frustration as he said that.
When Qin Feng looked in the direction that Fifth Elder was pointing in, he saw that the trees that should have been heavy with fruits were bare with only a few unripe green spiritual fruits left. In an instant, he felt a pang of sadness.
In the short span of two days, that stinking toad actually managed to eat so many spiritual fruits. It seemed like it wanted to wreck the Qin family’s source of income!
If he passed the year-end sect selection assessment, he would enter the Beastmaster Sect. When the time came, he would still need the family to help fund him by providing some cultivation resources. If this year’s spiritual fruits did not produce a harvest and they could not exchange sufficient spiritual stones, he feared that once he entered the Beastmaster Sect he would not get much support from the family.
Hence, this toad was not merely stealing the family’s spiritual fruit, it was also robbing him of his cultivation resources. That was inexcusable!
A lot of people were exactly like this, if something did not affect them personally, they would look upon a situation with interest, wanting to see the excitement. However, once it concerned them directly, it would be a completely different matter altogether.
Undoubtedly, the spiritual toad’s deed of stealing the spiritual fruits was now affecting Qin Feng personally. Hence with angry fire in his eyes, he scanned the orchard but unfortunately did not find anything out of the ordinary.
Qin Long stared at the bare spiritual fruit tree that had all its fruits eaten and frowned, “So much has been eaten?”
“That’s not all. If this continues the family might have to skimp on resources somewhere else just to be able to prepare all the spiritual items required for the contribution to the Beastmaster Sect.”
Fifth Elder wore an expression of helplessness and he said, “I have no idea where that brute managed to sneak in past all the restrictive spells. I have personally inspected the whole area but even then I did not find any trace of where the restrictive spells have been damaged.”
“Huh?” Qin Long questioned with a hint of surprise, “It managed to sneak in under the circumstance where the restrictive spells are intact. Could it be some sort of special spiritual beast?”
The restrictive spells in the spiritual orchard were not very complex. However, it was sufficient to defend against common demonic beasts. It was hard to imagine that there was a demonic beast that managed to creep in unnoticed. He was 80 to 90% sure that it would have a special bloodline and abilities. Otherwise, it would not have been able to do this.
With this guess, Qin Long instantly felt his interest grow. He reached his hand out to cast a spell and with a gleam of spiritual aura in his eyes, he assessed the entire area but did not find signs of that demon beast’s tracks. He then reached out his hand to grasp the air in front of him and brought it to his nose to catch a whiff.
“Hmmm, this place does have a demon aura.” As he spoke he could see his son was looking at him curiously. Qin Long smiled and explained, “This is the Scent Sleuth Technique. My senior Beastmaster Sect expert conducted research on it. It’s a special spell used to detect demonic aura. As it’s a cultivation method reserved only for sect members, I have not taught you this.
“However, this is considered one of the most basic spells in the Beastmaster Sect. Wait until you become an outer circle disciple of the sect, you will naturally learn it.”
Qin Feng nodded his head after hearing that. His heart was even keener on entering the Beastmaster Sect now.
Qin Long’s nose would occasionally take a few whiffs and followed in the direction of the demonic aura, gradually approaching the spiritual well within the spiritual orchard. He leaned his head over the well to take a good look but did not find any trace of that spiritual toad.
He started to reach for the Spiritual Beast Bag as he planned to summon the Jade-eyed Spirit Snake and send it over to investigate. The Jade-eyed Spirit Snake was an adept water-type demonic beast. It could move at ease in the water. This was also the reason why the family Patriarch allowed Fifth Elder to enlist Qin Long’s help.
However, as quickly as he started, Qin Long stopped his movement and did not summon the Jade-eyed Spirit Snake. If the spiritual toad sensed the aura of the serpent, it would hide and he would not be able to find it.
If he did not solve the problem in one go, it would only cause the spiritual toad to go on high alert and be more cautious which would make it harder to capture in the further. However, he could not stay here and guard the spiritual orchard every day. What would happen when that spiritual toad returned to secretly devour spiritual fruits?
Qin Long turned to Fifth Elder and asked, “Fifth Uncle, is there a pattern when the spiritual toad comes out to eat the spiritual fruit?”
Fifth Elder pondered for a moment and replied, “That spiritual toad tends to come out in the afternoon when there are fewer people around or in the night when there is absolutely no one here to steal the fruits.”
“Ah, I see!” Qin Long looked at the sun that had just begun to set in the west and said, “In that case, if I could get Fifth Uncle to dismiss everyone out of the spiritual orchard. I will stand guard in the dark and wait to see what ability that demonic beast has. How dare it refuse to leave our Qin family spiritual orchard.”
“Be careful, when you battle, do your absolute best to not harm the spiritual fruit trees. These are all trees that the family has nurtured over many years with much difficulty to get them to where they are today.”
Fifth Elder said this with a little reluctance and he pointed to a couple of tall and large spiritual fruit trees in the yard. He urged, “Long, especially these few trees. They are close to a few hundred years in ages and the spiritual fruits that they bear only ripen once every ten years. You must be sure to protect them!”
“Fifth Uncle, please relax. I understand.” Qin Long nodded his head and smiled while he reassured Fifth Elder.
Fifth Elder saw that he had agreed and only then did he stop and left the orchard with all the other clansmen.
Qin Feng did not leave. He came because he wanted to broaden his knowledge and horizons with his father. Of course, he was not willing to leave before he had managed to see that demon beast. Furthermore, as his ability was still low, as long as he stood a little further away, he would not startle the spiritual toad.
As for Qin Long, with his cultivation level, using Qi Concealment Technique would be able to trick that spiritual toad with no trouble. That spiritual toad must not be very strong, otherwise, it would not be concerned with the spiritual gardeners in the orchard.