Soon, the scalpel, thin as a cicada's wing, appeared before Zi Lingling.
She took out the scalpel, gently wiped off the bloodstains, and then took out a bottle of alcohol from the Nine Spirit Ring, pouring it onto the blade.
Looking at the pristine scalpel, Zi Lingling smiled.
With a thought, she returned the scalpel to the Nine Spirit Ring.
Next, it was time to deal with the long snake's corpse.
The long snake's skin could be used to refine armor, its meat could be sold to restaurants, its gall could be used to refine detoxification pills, and its venom sac could be used to concoct poisons.
Therefore, Zi Lingling could not simply abandon the long snake's corpse.
With another thought, she stored the corpse into the Nine Spirit Ring.
Elder Du was leisurely sipping his tea when he felt something large being shoved in.
Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a long snake, or rather, a dead long snake.
Such a low-grade item, worthy of being kept in the Nine Spirit Ring?
Elder Du jumped up in alarm and exclaimed, "Girl, why did you put a dead snake in here?"
"To sell for money!"
Zi Lingling replied indifferently.
Elder Du was taken aback and blurted out, "Are you that short of money?"
Zi Lingling glanced at Elder Du and said, "What do you think?"
Elder Du was speechless, not knowing what to say.
He remained silent, and Zi Lingling, with no time to spare for him, turned her attention elsewhere.
Zi Lingling oriented herself and returned to the spot where she had first encountered the long snake, intending to find Long'er.
"Long'er!"
She called out.
There was no response.
Zi Lingling frowned slightly. She carefully confirmed her location, realizing it was indeed where she had pushed Long'er away.
So, she called out again, "Long'er!"
Still no answer.
Could Long'er have left on his own?
That was unlikely!
Fierce beasts roamed this place, and Long'er was so small. How could he possibly leave alone?
But if he hadn't left, where could he have gone?
A bad feeling began to stir within Zi Lingling.
Just then, Long'er's heart-wrenching cries echoed through the air.
"Mother!"
Zi Lingling muttered a curse of "Not good!" and, activating her Dragon's Roaming Steps, she dashed towards the direction of the sound.
Moments later, Long'er's chubby little body appeared within her sight.
Long'er was covered in blood, lying on a dying black dragon, crying out loudly, "Mother! Wake up! Look at Long'er!"
Not far away, a large group of people stood gathered, their eyes fixed greedily on the dragon and Long'er on the ground.
Among these people, Zi Lingling surprisingly recognized a familiar face—Fu Liuyun, the Sect Master of the Flowing Cloud Sect.
The black dragon weakly lifted a claw, attempting to pull Long'er into her embrace, but because of Long'er's small size, he slipped through her grasp time and again.
A single dragon tear rolled down from her immense dragon eyes. Her mouth moved, and a gentle voice entered Long'er's mind.
"Long'er, my poor child, Mother can no longer protect you. But you are so weak now, Mother is truly worried!"
Long'er climbed onto the black dragon's head, weeping, "Mother! Long'er doesn't need Mother's protection, Long'er wants Mother by Long'er's side!"
A loving expression flickered in the black dragon's eyes. "Be good, Long'er, listen to Mother."
Long'er nodded, his tear-filled eyes fixed on the black dragon.
"Long'er, you must protect yourself well. When the ancient restriction within your body is lifted, that will be your day to soar through the nine heavens."
Long'er nodded, as if understanding, and said, "Mother, when Long'er regains my dragon form, I will kill those people."
As he spoke, his gaze, filled with hatred, swept over the group of people in the distance, as if imprinting each of their faces into his memory.
"No! Long'er, Mother only wishes for your safety. Whether you kill them or not is not important."
She paused, then continued, "Be good, Long'er. Mother no longer has the strength to transform into human form. Come closer, let Mother hold you one last time!"
Long'er obediently crawled between the black dragon's forelegs, resting his head on her neck.
From the surrounding crowd, a burly, dark-skinned man stepped forward and said, "Look, this mother dragon doesn't even have the strength to turn into human form. Why don't we all attack her together, finish her off, and capture the little dragon!"
"Hmph! Xiong Heizhi, killing this mother dragon is not difficult, nor is capturing that little dragon. But who will he ultimately pledge allegiance to?"
A handsome man, clad in luxurious purple robes, spoke in a high-pitched, effeminate tone, gesturing with a delicate hand.
The burly man called Xiong Heizhi was named Xiong Tai, the Left Protector of the Blackwater Hall. He was called Xiong Heizhi because of his dark complexion.
The man with the delicate hand was Li Luo, the Bright Emissary of the Sacred Cult. Because his demeanor was always so feminine, he was known as "Nangniangzi" (a derogatory term for a sissy).
"Exactly! Emissary Li Guangming is right. This matter of ownership must be settled beforehand. No one wants to end up with nothing!"
A woman with a cool, clear voice chimed in.
She was dressed in white, and her every movement exuded an air of nobility.
She was Xie Shenghua, the Second Princess of the Hundred Flowers Palace, known as the "Flower Fairy!"
"That's right! No one is foolish enough to be used as a pawn for no reason!"
Fu Liuyun nodded as well, his brow furrowed.
The four major factions had stated their positions, and the others nodded in agreement.
A glint of shrewdness flashed in Xiong Tai's eyes.
Despite his hulking physique, his cunning far surpassed that of ordinary people.
He smiled sinisterly and said, "How about this? I'll take this little dragon. Our Blackwater Hall is willing to offer ten thousand spirit stones as compensation, how about it?"
Li Luo spoke in his usual effeminate manner, "Oh, your Blackwater Hall is truly wealthy! Ten thousand spirit stones, hehe, you actually have the nerve to say that? Our Sacred Cult can offer twenty thousand spirit stones for this little dragon."
Xiong Tai glared at Li Luo, his face darkening with anger. "Are you deliberately opposing our Blackwater Hall?"
Li Luo lightly patted his chest and said in a delicate tone, "Oh my! Your Blackwater Hall is truly domineering. You can offer spirit stones, but if others do, it's opposing you?"
Xiong Tai's already dark face turned even darker.
Li Luo's words were sharp and to the point, leaving him no room for rebuttal.
"Our Hundred Flowers Palace is willing to offer twenty-five thousand spirit stones!"
Xie Shenghua seized the opportunity to announce her price.
Fu Liuyun was not to be outdone. "Our Flowing Cloud Sect is willing to offer thirty thousand spirit stones!"
The four major factions were all cultivation sects and naturally would not use worldly currency as a medium of exchange, as silver was worthless to them.
However, spirit stones were different. Spirit stones contained spiritual energy and could be used for cultivation.
Xiong Tai's expression turned grim.
Although the Blackwater Hall was powerful, it could not afford to offend three major sects at once.
The situation had reached an impasse.
Long'er was now crying uncontrollably, clinging to the black dragon and calling out "Mother" repeatedly.
The black dragon looked at Long'er with affection, her eyes filled with worry and unwillingness.