Chapter 266: Yuan Ying Great Power's Cave Residence

"No way!"

If they all rushed forward against such a formidable opponent, it would be suicide! Although abandoning Ji Ruyue would be a great loss of face for him, as the chief disciple, losing face was surely better than losing his life, right?

Yi Lianxing and the other two also returned, overjoyed, looking at Jiang Fan with starry eyes. To be able to kill a Beast King at the second level of Core Formation in a direct confrontation? In the Nine Sects, that would definitely place him among the top five!

Ming Youlian, supported by Fu Chaojun, also returned, her face filled with shock. She felt a bit awkward. The fierce beast that bit off her arm, despite her being a venerable Grand Elder, was killed by a junior. If word got out, how could she save face?

"Ninety percent of this fierce beast's divine abilities can only be used in water," she said, unconvinced. "On land, its strength is less than one-tenth."

Jiang Fan didn't deny it. If it truly were in the river, his fate wouldn't have been much better than the Grand Elder's. After all, the beast was invisible and untraceable in the river. Sonic cultivation techniques would have difficulty effectively harming it. And it could bite through the boat at any time, sending everyone into the water. Once that happened, Jiang Fan's combat power would be greatly limited. At that point, the trouble would be immense.

"Grand Elder Ming is right," Jiang Fan said perfunctorily. But his gaze was on the Red-Scaled Fiend Dragon, contemplating which parts were valuable. The White-Haired Jade Beast last time had given him a lot of benefits. This was also a Beast King; this Red-Scaled Fiend Dragon should be very valuable too.

Ming Youlian noticed Jiang Fan's gaze and realized that an astonishing fortune lay before them! Her eyes locked onto the Red-Scaled Fiend Dragon's massive maw, gleaming with fervor. After all, she had lost her arm to the Red-Scaled Fiend Dragon while protecting Fu Chaojun. Its teeth were undoubtedly excellent material for refining high-grade magical artifacts. Their value was extremely astonishing.

Immediately, she flashed forward, rushing towards the Red-Scaled Fiend Dragon's corpse.

Seeing this, Yi Lianxing angrily shouted, "Stop! That's Junior Brother Jiang's spoils of war!" She never imagined that Ming Youlian, a dignified Grand Elder, would shamelessly try to snatch a disciple's spoils! She instinctively prepared to rush over.

But Jiang Fan grabbed her arm, gently calling out, "Don't go!"

Yi Lianxing was startled. She turned to look and realized that not only Jiang Fan but also Qin Caihe and Chu Xingmeng had cautiously backed away. After the incident with the Body-Searching Black Lotus, they had learned a valuable lesson from Jiang Fan: caution! The Red-Scaled Fiend Dragon before them was both fierce and cunning; they had to be wary.

Yi Lianxing couldn't help but murmur, "Aren't you being too cautious? The Red-Scaled Fiend Dragon, could it still be alive?"

As she spoke, Ming Youlian had already flashed to the Red-Scaled Fiend Dragon's corpse. Looking at the four tall, pointed fangs inside its mouth, taller than a person, her eyes burned with eagerness. "Acquiring these four materials for high-grade magical artifacts would at least be a small compensation for my lost arm."

She extended her other hand, grabbed one of the fangs, and pulled hard.

However, the moment she exerted force, the supposedly dead Red-Scaled Fiend Dragon's cracked, murky yellow eyes rotated without warning. A dense aura of ferocity suddenly erupted! Its massive maw snapped shut! Ming Youlian's arm was immediately caught. Immediately after, the Red-Scaled Fiend Dragon's colossal body rolled, and amidst Ming Youlian's screams, tore her arm clean off. Ming Youlian was flung away on the spot, crashing into a stone mill at the village entrance, and was instantly knocked unconscious!

At this point, the Grand Elder of the Heavenly Sound Sect had both of her arms bitten off. From then on, she would be crippled!

The Red-Scaled Fiend Dragon's ferocity remained undiminished. Its broken eye sockets stared intently at Jiang Fan, as it let out a weak roar. But it no longer had the strength to attack. That last strike had been its final bit of strength. It had been saved for Jiang Fan. However, it was Ming Youlian who fell for the trick! This left it furious and resentful. After a few ragged breaths, it gradually fell silent.

Yi Lianxing, who witnessed all of this, broke out in a cold sweat and her face turned pale: "This fierce beast... was it feigning death just now?" Clasping her wildly thumping chest, she felt her mouth go dry. If Jiang Fan hadn't pulled her back in time, her fate would have been the same as Ming Youlian's, or even worse!

Qin Caihe exhaled lightly, saying with a hint of pride, "Senior Sister Yi, now you know why the two of us are so cautious, don't you?"

Chu Xingmeng looked at Jiang Fan with sparkling eyes and nodded gently, "Indeed. We both learned it from Senior Brother Jiang."

Yi Lianxing turned to Jiang Fan, her face full of gratitude, "Thank you, Junior Brother Jiang. You saved my life."

Jiang Fan nodded, "When you're out and about, a bit more caution is never a bad thing." With that, he approached the Red-Scaled Fiend Dragon's corpse. Only then did he notice that among the Red-Scaled Fiend Dragon's many teeth, four were as long as a person and extremely sharp. When touched, they were incredibly cold.

After a moment's thought, Jiang Fan forcefully pulled off one. Then he took out his water flask and poured water over it. Fine wisps of ice immediately formed on the tooth's surface. Jiang Fan thought for a moment, infused a bit of spiritual energy into it, and slashed at the Red-Scaled Fiend Dragon's body.

*Rip!*

An astonishing scene unfolded: intense ice energy surged from the tooth, freezing half of the Red-Scaled Fiend Dragon's body solid!

"The Red-Scaled Fiend Dragon's innate divine ability is actually contained within these teeth!" Jiang Fan was overjoyed. "No wonder Grand Elder Ming wanted to snatch those four teeth!"

Even without refining them, the teeth's power was comparable to a mid-grade magical artifact. If they encountered a skilled artifact refiner, they could be forged into high-grade magical artifacts! He wasted no more time and pulled off all four teeth.

"The rest, you three can divide among yourselves." Jiang Fan packed the teeth away. At this point, he was laden with countless items. He carried two swords on his back, a zither slung across him, and his pockets contained innumerable crystal plates, spiritual pills, and miscellaneous items. And now, four fangs taller than a person. He had absolutely no extra space left on his person. Therefore, the remaining items could only be distributed among the three women.

The three women were delighted to hear this and eagerly stepped forward to claim the parts they desired. This scene made the disciples of the Joyful Union Sect incredibly envious.

"This is a Beast King's corpse; even the cheapest scales can sell for thousands of spirit stones," one murmured. "Let alone things like its stomach, beast whip, or bones? How did they get so lucky to earn Junior Brother Jiang's favor? Is it because I'm not as pretty as them? It's really unfair."

At this moment, Jiang Fan glanced at the Joyful Union Sect, his eyes narrowing slightly as he said: "Xie Liushu, it's time to settle our accounts."

After a short while, his spiritual energy had recovered somewhat. Playing half a tune of the 'Tiger Roar Dragon Chant Art' was still manageable.

Xie Liushu's eyelids twitched. She subtly pushed Ji Ruyue forward. Ji Ruyue's face was pale. She nervously shuffled forward on her bound feet, carefully approaching Jiang Fan. Before Jiang Fan could speak, she proactively knelt down and pleaded: "Junior Brother Jiang, I was wrong. I apologize to you. Please be merciful and spare me."

Jiang Fan remained unmoved and slowly drew his black sword. He prepared to strike her with a sword. Of course, he only intended to wound her, to teach her a lesson. Their mission on this journey was to escort the Thousand-Mile Vulture to the Joyful Union Sect. Before the mission was complete, he would certainly not kill a Joyful Union Sect disciple. Otherwise, the mission would be difficult to account for.

This, however, terrified Ji Ruyue, who mistakenly thought Jiang Fan was going to kill her. Her face showed anxiety. She turned her head to glance at Xie Liushu, who showed no intention of helping her. Gritting her teeth, she said resolutely: "Junior Brother Jiang, how about I exchange a piece of information for my life?"

Information? What kind of information could be so important? Important enough to save her life?

Jiang Fan asked, "What information?"

Ji Ruyue spoke rapidly: "On our way here, we discovered a cave dwelling belonging to a Nascent Soul Grand Cultivator!"

What? Jiang Fan's pupils constricted. A Nascent Soul Grand Cultivator's cave dwelling? His breathing suddenly became ragged! He never expected that Ji Ruyue would reveal such earth-shattering news, enough to cause a massive upheaval among the Nine Sects!

"Where is it?"