"Young Master."

Seeing Song Changsheng appear, Chi Huo Old Ghost breathed an inward sigh of relief and hurriedly paid his respects.

"Don’t be nervous. This is Chi Huo. I’ve already subdued him. He’ll be with us for the foreseeable future. Chi Huo, go to the ship’s cabin and wait for me."

"This old servant obeys."

After Chi Huo Old Ghost left, Song Changsheng looked at Song Qingxing and said with a smile, "He’s a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. Weren’t you afraid, drawing your sword on him?"

"There is only death," Song Qingxing said plainly as he sheathed his long sword, his face completely devoid of fear.

"Alright, you two should hurry back to your rooms and cultivate. The Flying Ship’s propulsion system is damaged, so we’ll need to go to Xiang Province to find a Celestial Artisan to fix it. After today, we’ll have to rough it out in the open."

After giving his instructions to the two, Song Changsheng walked into the ship’s cabin. He ignored Chi Huo Old Ghost standing by the door and went straight to a table to sit down.

Knowing his place, Chi Huo Old Ghost placed four Storage Bags on the table in front of Song Changsheng.

Lifting his gaze, Song Changsheng looked at Chi Huo Old Ghost with a faint, unreadable smile. "Why are there four?"

Chi Huo Old Ghost forced a smile onto his old face and said fawningly, "Since this old servant has submitted to you, Young Master, everything I have is naturally yours."

"Besides, this old servant was blind and damaged your Flying Ship. Even though you haven’t mentioned it, Young Master, the responsibility for the loss naturally falls upon me."

"Well now, quite the perceptive one, aren’t you? No wonder you became the deputy leader of a Demon Hunting Team. Which one of these is yours?" Song Changsheng couldn’t help but look at Chi Huo Old Ghost in a new light. ’He really was a leader before. His awareness is on a whole other level.’

He took the Storage Bag that Chi Huo Old Ghost handed him and found that the Restriction on it had already been erased. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

He was, after all, a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator who possessed a Middle-Grade Spiritual Artifact and used to make a living as a highwayman. ’His fortune should be considerable,’ Song Changsheng thought with considerable anticipation.

Opening the Storage Bag, Song Changsheng raised an eyebrow. He looked at the meekly bowing Chi Huo Old Ghost and said with some surprise, "I didn’t realize you were so wealthy."

Chi Huo Old Ghost said, slightly embarrassed, "Young Master, you know what this old servant used to do. Murder and arson are profitable ventures, as they say. On top of that, I’ve ambushed several passing Foundation Establishment cultivators recently and managed to save up a little."

After speaking, he peeked cautiously at Song Changsheng from the corner of his eye. Seeing that his new master remained calm, showing no strange reaction but only inspecting the Storage Bag with keen interest, he finally let out a breath of relief.

Song Changsheng truly felt nothing. Although he despised the man’s methods, such things were commonplace in the Cultivation Realm. ’I’m not some arbiter of justice,’ he thought. ’I can’t meddle in everything. I have neither the power nor the inclination.’

Chi Huo Old Ghost’s fortune had indeed exceeded his expectations.

Aside from the somewhat damaged, large red banner, there were twenty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Various Artifact Refining Materials, Spirit Medicines, and other items were piled up like a small mountain.

But what surprised him most was a beast hide tucked away in a corner. Judging from the residual spiritual pressure it emitted, it had to have come from a Great Demon, at the very least.

"The hide of a Tier Three Void Beast. To think you had something this good." Looking at the hide, which was about ten feet square, Song Changsheng was in an excellent mood.

"Reporting to the Young Master, this old servant stumbled upon it in a ruin. It’s valuable, but I never found an opportunity to sell it."

Song Changsheng nodded, then unceremoniously placed the hide into his own Storage Bag.

Void Beasts were nearly extinct in the Purple Imperial Realm, and a piece this large was rarely seen on the market. If he could find a discerning buyer, it would fetch at least a hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

But that would be the least profitable and most shortsighted course of action.

Song Changsheng planned to take it back for his father to refine into a Magical Artifact; its value would at least double, if not more.

Watching Song Changsheng’s completely natural actions, Chi Huo Old Ghost’s face twitched imperceptibly. His heart was bleeding; he had been saving that hide to help him forge his Purple Mansion one day. Now, all his efforts had been for Song Changsheng’s gain.

Song Changsheng picked through the contents, taking only the materials he needed and the twenty thousand Spirit Stones. He left the Middle-Grade Spiritual Artifact and the other items untouched, returning the bag to Chi Huo Old Ghost.

Next, he picked up the Storage Bag from the Demon Hunting Team leader’s clone. Truthfully, he hadn’t expected much from it, and his expectations were met. Aside from a few thousand Spirit Stones, there was nothing of value.

The most valuable item had been the Low-Grade Spiritual Artifact he had already shattered.

Squeezing the Storage Bags of the other two Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivators yielded over ten thousand more Spirit Stones, a few Tier Two Spiritual Artifacts, and some Artifact Refining Materials.

Such a meager fortune was pathetic even for Loose Cultivators; it was clear how ruthlessly they had been exploited.

"The two you saw earlier are my juniors. In your daily routine, do not have excessive contact with them. Tomorrow, we will head to Xiang Province to find a Celestial Artisan to repair the Flying Ship."

"For now, focus on healing your wounds. You will also be responsible for keeping watch. If we happen to run into any of your ’colleagues’ on the road, I’ll leave them for you to handle."

After dismissing Chi Huo Old Ghost, Song Changsheng began to review the gains and losses from the battle.

The Mountain-Flipping Seal was powerful; there was no doubt about that. It was currently Song Changsheng’s strongest offensive tool, second only to the Inconstant Sword Array.

However, its drawback was also clear. Song Changsheng was, after all, only a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and had to rely on Primordial Qi to activate it. Although Primordial Qi could regenerate, the process was incredibly slow; he had only managed to accumulate a single mass of it over ten years.

The rate of consumption far outstripped the rate of accumulation.