Chapter 107: The Hidden Treasure

Only when Su Huchen vanished with the flowerpot did City Master Xu and the others beside him finally exhale in relief.

Then they all burst into laughter.

Is the Blood Crimson Lo useful or not?

It’s genuinely useful. Without it, the Giant Shell Beetle would never have revealed itself. If we’d fought it underground, where it held the home-field advantage, our Xiancheng cultivators would’ve lost at least four to five times as many lives to take it down.

But the Blood Crimson Lo eats too much.

Everyone knows the brains of large insect clans are extremely valuable.

They’re the primary ingredient for crafting high-grade elixirs, and even the scraps can be forged into special magical artifacts.

The insect nest is even more valuable, and the leftover carcasses, claws, and other parts are all treasures. Even the final remaining carapace can be forged into various armors.

Damn it—if the Blood Crimson Lo sucks it all up, not even a speck will be left. What the hell are we supposed to take?

“That little thing must be furious being sent home like that. When we dismantle the nest, we must pick out several large insect crystals and send them over.” Bao Junyi chuckled.

“We definitely need to pay it. Send it five large, high-quality insect crystals. After all, there’s still another nest outside the city. If we don’t give it a good treat this time, I bet it’ll strike again.” City Master Xu also teased.

He’d only just learned from Bao Junyi during their chat that the Blood Crimson Lo had gone on strike before.

The surrounding human experts had all heard Bao Junyi’s stories before and knew the Blood Crimson Lo had once refused to work because the insect crystals offered were too small, simply lying down in its pot and refusing to budge.

So they all burst into laughter.

“I remember when the last Blood Crimson Lo was born over sixty years ago, it would shake its head even at a dried jujube.”

“Over a hundred and thirty years ago, when the previous Blood Crimson Lo was born, it would giggle like a baby at just a few spirit stones.”

“Holy shit, how have you all seen so many Blood Crimson Ros? This is my first time seeing one in person.”

“Kid, you just revealed your age. Remember to hide behind the elders during the big battle.”

“Old bro, you guys just revealed your ages too!” A frustrated young cultivator shot back.

“Enough talk. Let’s get to work. Today, let’s finish it off.” City Master Xu stared hungrily at the Beetle.

Though this damn insect caused massive trouble, the sects would surely send investigators down to probe it thoroughly.

But the gains from killing it are enormous.

He himself was a former alchemist—he knew better than anyone how rare good materials were.

Just as City Master Xu was about to begin work, Xu Yunrui directly whispered to him.

After listening, City Master Xu immediately nodded to Xu Yunrui, telling him to proceed.

Xu Yunrui immediately took Lu Jing and left.

As soon as they departed, Su Hanlin realized something and directly whispered to Bao Junyi.

Bao Junyi listened, his eyes gleaming, then immediately whispered to the Northern District Director Han Yiqu. Han Yiqu stiffened, then whispered to his trusted subordinates and quietly slipped away.

…

Su Huchen carried the small flowerpot straight to find Police Inspector Su.

Since Inspector Su wasn’t home, he didn’t dare knock on the door.

Inspector Su, upon seeing him and the Blood Crimson Lo, immediately requested leave to return home.

As soon as they stepped inside, the Blood Crimson Lo cheered joyfully. “Home! I’m home!” Then it plunged into the ground and vanished.

“Where did it go?” Su Huchen asked in surprise.

“It’s definitely running wild in the back garden. That patch of spiritual farmland is its territory.”

“So that’s what it meant by guarding its younger siblings—it’s talking about your back garden’s spiritual plants?” Su Huchen hurriedly asked.

“No. The Blood Crimson Lo hatched from a red ginseng seed, so it sees all other red ginseng sprouts as its younger siblings.” Su Jian had told him this term—he still remembered how, despite being the shortest of all the red ginseng seedlings, the Blood Crimson Lo stubbornly insisted it was their leader.

“By the way, did you finish your work so fast?” Inspector Su asked. “Does that mean we won’t have to worry about major dangers inside the city anymore?”

“We’re already in the final stage. Once this hidden nest inside the city is destroyed, Xiancheng will be temporarily safe. Our Su family won’t need to stay on constant alert anymore.”

“That’s truly good news. We’ve been on edge every single day—it’s exhausting. Not to mention, prices for food, drink, and daily necessities have skyrocketed several times over in just a few days.”

“Enough. I can’t talk more—I need to join the battle. Tell the Blood Crimson Lo that once the rewards are distributed, I’ll deliver them to it immediately.”

“Understood.” Inspector Su replied.

Su Huchen left, and Inspector Su had to return to work.

Liu Yunniang and Su Xiaohe were napping, completely unaware they’d returned.

By the time Su Jin got out of school, the battle had just ended.

News of the great victory spread like wildfire across the entire Xiancheng!

It was said that under City Master Xu’s wise leadership, the Xiancheng Police Inspectorate had gathered numerous experts and destroyed a mobile insect nest—the Giant Shell Beetle—killed nearly two thousand five hundred insect-men, countless mutated black locusts, and captured four new black locust queen insects!

The entire Xiancheng erupted in thunderous cheers.

Of course, alongside the victory, tales of the tragedies caused by the Giant Shell Beetle also spread rapidly.

For example, the Beetle’s massive body crushed many civilians and cultivators.

For example, the Wang clan’s ancestral lands suffered a devastating blow unseen in a century.

For example, the Northern District suffered massive destruction: terrain drastically altered, vast spiritual lands damaged. Most critically, the Beetle’s concealment exposed a fatal flaw in the Northern District’s main defense array.

In short, the Beetle was dead.

But its economic losses and damage were impossible to fully tally.

Moreover, the major cultivation clans of the Northern District and the Xiancheng officials there now faced terrifying accountability from the sects.

Only the Wang family, whose ancestral lands were destroyed and at least one-tenth of their clan members killed, was relatively lucky.

Though they lost many clan members, their family would not be held accountable.

The Wang clan’s elder patriarch, overcome with grief from the massive losses, stepped down immediately and passed the clan leadership to his eldest daughter, Wang Yueyi.

As the Wang clan’s first female clan leader, her ascension drew the attention of every family in Xiancheng.

Whether this new female clan leader could hold onto the Wang clan and lead it forward became the hottest topic of discussion across the entire city.

Another rumor also spread widely: it was said that after destroying the Beetle, City Master Xu and Director Bao had harvested a hidden treasure from its nest.