"Deputy Commander Chen, this Valley of Hundred Beasts was discovered by us first, and it's within the area guarded by our Jade Qilin Camp, so it should naturally be guarded by us, right?" Bai Yueguang spoke with an air of entitlement.

"Deputy Commander Bai, what you're saying isn't quite right. The Valley of Hundred Beasts is clearly within our guarded area..." Zhu Hongzhi immediately retorted.

"Hold on." Chen Guan interrupted the two, looking at Bai Yueguang and asked, "Deputy Commander Bai, is the Valley of Hundred Beasts within your jurisdiction?"

"Yes." Bai Yueguang replied decisively.

"Deputy Commander Zhu, is the Valley of Hundred Beasts also within your jurisdiction?" Chen Guan then looked to Zhu Hongzhi and asked.

"That's correct." Zhu Hongzhi nodded affirmatively.

"The Valley of Hundred Beasts was just discovered recently?" Chen Guan asked again.

"We just discovered it two days ago." Bai Yueguang said.

"What do you mean by you discovered it? We were also there at the time..." Zhu Hongzhi immediately countered.

"That settles it then." Chen Guan suddenly clapped his hands, startling both Bai Yueguang and Zhu Hongzhi into silence as they stared at him, unsure of his intention.

"Since it's a newly discovered area, it should be our Vanguard Team that goes to explore it first. Why don't you two head back to camp and wait for us to finish scouting to ensure there's no danger? Once the Corps Commander returns, we'll notify you both to discuss who should guard the Valley of Hundred Beasts." Chen Guan said earnestly.

Jiang Tianqing, who had just taken out his thermos cup, drank some water to soothe his parched throat while watching the commotion, nearly choked on the water he had just swallowed when he heard Chen Guan speak.

He thought Chen Guan had come to mediate, but it turned out he was also trying to seize the opportunity.

Jiang Tianqing coughed while looking at Chen Guan, his expression quite complicated.

Hearing Chen Guan's words, Bai Yueguang and Zhu Hongzhi immediately said in unison, "This place was discovered by our camps. No need to trouble the Vanguard Camp."

"Are you sure you don't need our Vanguard Camp to scout first? Just in case there's some dangerous Secret Spirit inside... let us handle the dirty work..." Chen Guan said squinting.

Bai Yueguang and Zhu Hongzhi were a bit speechless; they had already scouted the Valley of Hundred Beasts in the past two days. Everyone in the corps knew that the valley contained many rare and uncommon Secret Spirits and numerous Lingzhi-type Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, which were top-grade for replenishing Qi.

Though initially hesitant to send in large numbers, the two camps had only sent scouts to explore but had already found many hundred-year Stone Lingzhi, even thousand-year ones.

Stone Lingzhi is one of the primary materials for making top-grade Qi Replenishing Pills. The price of a hundred-year Stone Lingzhi is considerable, while thousand-year Stone Lingzhi is sky-high.

The key thing is that the Secret Spirits inside aren't high Level, mostly in single to double digits. Due to their previous isolation, these Secret Spirits had abundant Heavenly and Earthly Treasures to consume, so their combat abilities weren't strong; none fed on flesh and blood.

If Chen Guan's Vanguard Team entered, they'd likely strip the Heavenly and Earthly Treasures clean.

"No need." Bai Yueguang and Zhu Hongzhi replied with unusual determination.

"That won't work either. How are the two of you going to guard and allocate responsibly between your camps? Better if our Vanguard Team guards first, then decide the ownership when the Corps Commander returns." Chen Guan suggested.

"Easy to allocate... easy to allocate..." Bai Yueguang and Zhu Hongzhi became anxious. This was a prime discovery for them, Chen Guan couldn't take the credit.

"Alright, then how do you propose to divide it?" Chen Guan asked, looking at them.

Bai Yueguang and Zhu Hongzhi realized Chen Guan was putting them on the spot but had no solution.

The two exchanged a glance, with Zhu Hongzhi first saying, "Let's co-develop and split everything equally. What do you think, Deputy Commander Bai?"

"Very good." Bai Yueguang nodded in agreement.

Just a few words, and the decision was made. Zhu Hongzhi smiled and said to Chen Guan, "Deputy Commander Chen, why don't you come into the valley with us, pick some Stone Lingzhi to bring back for wine, on behalf of our Mo Qilin Camp."

He knew Chen Guan didn't intend to compete for the Valley of Hundred Beasts and was fairly mediating, not favoring the well-backgrounded Jade Qilin Camp.

"Commander Chen likes Lingzhi, eat as much as you want, no need to fuss over it. Join us in the valley." Bai Yueguang also said with a smile.

Watching the group chatting and laughing heading towards the entrance of the Valley of Hundred Beasts, Jiang Tianqing felt a million curses galloping through his mind. He had been pleading for ages for the two camps to jointly guard and develop the Valley of Hundred Beasts, but Bai Yueguang and Zhu Hongzhi wouldn't even listen.

Chen Guan just stood there, and they themselves suggested a fifty-fifty split. Jiang Tianqing felt today was really a dog's day.

"A pair of fools!" Jiang Tianqing cursed silently but quickly followed them.

After all, wild Stone Lingzhi is a great thing; getting some fresh ones to take back for liquor wouldn't be bad.

Each camp was instructed to rest as needed while Chen Guan and the others passed through the narrow mountain wall fissure, arriving at a peculiar valley.

This valley was bordered on all sides by steep cliffs, filled with many strange flowers and plants, with the most being Lingzhi. The surrounding ground and even the mountain walls were covered with bunches of Lingzhi in varying sizes.

These Lingzhi came in black, white, and gray colors. According to Bai Yueguang, the white Stone Lingzhi were generally less than a hundred years old, the gray ones were over a hundred, and depending on the shade of gray, they could be anywhere from a hundred to eight or nine hundred years old.

The black ones were thousand-year-old Lingzhi, and those were worth a fortune.

Chen Guan surveyed the area briefly. Just in the visible area alone, the white Stone Lingzhi were abundant, clustered together, and countless in number.

Gray and black Stone Lingzhi weren't rare; clusters of them could be seen here and there.

"Deputy Commander Chen, that thousand-year-old Stone Lingzhi over there looks quite good. It would make an excellent soup." Bai Yueguang pointed to a black Stone Lingzhi, roughly the size of a washbasin, and said to Chen Guan.

The visible Stone Lingzhi in this area, that one was the largest and darkest.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Chen Guan summoned a wild ghost pet and instructed it to fetch the thousand-year-old Stone Lingzhi.

Though the area had been scouted and deemed free of powerful Secret Spirits, and the creatures near the entrance had been cleared, reducing any threat.

Nevertheless, Chen Guan refrained from collecting it himself, only watching from a distance as his ghost pet went over and with both hands pulled out the washbasin-sized thousand-year-old Stone Lingzhi.

Bang!

The moment the thousand-year-old Stone Lingzhi was uprooted, the ghost pet unexpectedly fell rigidly to the ground, lying still as if dead.

No matter how many orders Chen Guan gave, the ghost pet remained unresponsive and couldn't be recalled, appearing truly deceased.

Chen Guan looked at Bai Yueguang and Zhu Hongzhi, finding them equally stunned.

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