Northern Spiritual Medicine Garden
“Back already?” Qiu Yun eyed Xiao Jingting with a probing gaze.
“Yes, I heard that Manager Qiu has advanced to the Golden Core stage. Congratulations,” Xiao Jingting said, cupping his hands respectfully.
Qiu Yun laughed coldly. “Golden Core is nothing special. If not for the Xuan Yang Fire Poison, I wouldn’t have taken so long to advance.”
“Manager Qiu, with your exceptional talent, it’s only natural that you would advance to the Golden Core stage,” Xiao Jingting replied. Although he had known about Qiu Yun’s struggle with the Xuan Yang Fire Poison, hearing it directly from Qiu Yun still surprised him.
Qiu Yun laughed again. “You’ll reach this stage eventually too.”
“Manager Qiu, you flatter me. My talent isn’t that great. Advancing to the Golden Core stage won’t be easy for me,” Xiao Jingting said with a wry smile.
Qiu Yun waved his hand dismissively. “Talent isn’t everything. Having strong luck is just as important. You seem to have plenty of that.”
“Manager Qiu, you overestimate me,” Xiao Jingting replied.
“I’m not overestimating you. The Blood Demon Sect captured many slaves for mining, and nine out of ten died on that island. But your two sons not only survived but were also grandly returned by a Nascent Soul cultivator. Surely, you had a hand in that,” Qiu Yun said with a smile.
“What could I have done? Manager Qiu is joking,” Xiao Jingting frowned, feeling an invisible pressure facing Qiu Yun, even more so than facing Nascent Soul cultivators.
Seeing Xiao Jingting’s submissive demeanor, Qiu Yun said, “Since you’re back, I’ll leave the management of the spiritual medicine garden to you as usual.”
Xiao Jingting nodded. “Alright.”
Xiao Jingting thought to himself: He had made a fortune on the island, so he wasn’t worried about spirit stones now. The spiritual medicine garden was a good place to collect various spiritual herb seeds useful for Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Qiu Yun looked at Xiao Jingting. “I heard there were top-grade spirit stones on that island?”
Xiao Jingting nodded. “Yes, but unfortunately, I only heard about them and didn’t get to see any. It’s quite a pity.”
Qiu Yun sneered. “You only wanted to see them? Didn’t want to keep them for yourself?”
Xiao Jingting laughed awkwardly. “Of course, I wanted them, but such things aren’t within my reach right now.”
Qiu Yun looked at Xiao Jingting and laughed coldly. “At least you have some self-awareness. If I had been as self-aware, I wouldn’t have ended up like this.”
Xiao Jingting: “…”
Qiu Yun, losing interest, waved his hand. “Go about your business.”
Xiao Jingting nodded and left.
Xu Mu’an saw Xiao Jingting returning and asked, “Did Manager Qiu say anything to you?”
Xiao Jingting shook his head. “Not much, just asked me to continue managing the garden.”
Xu Mu’an nodded. “That’s good.” Despite the dangers, the many spirit stones they gained made the effort worthwhile.
…
“Xiaodong, congratulations on becoming an inner sect disciple,” Ouyang Jinyue said with envy.
Xiao Xiaodong nodded calmly. “Mm.”
After much consideration, Xiao Xiaodong and the others returned to Qingyun Immortal Sect. Despite the sect’s past disregard, Xiao Xiaofan and Lei Xuan were renowned talents. Given that a Nascent Soul elder had personally returned them, the sect was unlikely to ignore them as before.
“It’s good you’re back. There were rumors saying…” Ouyang Jinyue trailed off.
“Rumors that we were dead,” Xiao Xiaodong said flatly.
Ouyang Jinyue laughed. “Just baseless rumors.”
Xiao Xiaodong shook his head. “Not entirely baseless. We almost didn’t make it.”
Ouyang Jinyue changed the subject, looking at the chicken beside Xiao Xiaodong. “Your chicken is quite impressive!”
Xiao Xiaodong nodded. “Is it?”
Many assumed the chicken was Xiao Xiaodong’s pet, unaware it was a contracted beast. In the sect, it wasn’t unusual to see disciples with various pets, from rabbits and foxes to snakes and lizards.
“Yes, I didn’t expect you to keep a pet,” Ouyang Jinyue teased.
Xiao Xiaodong smiled. “Is that so?”
“That chicken is strange, eating sparrows like that,” Ouyang Jinyue commented, watching the chicken devour its prey.
“It has a big appetite,” Xiao Xiaodong said. The chicken remained small, but it can eat monsters dozens of times its size without any change in its stomach.
The chicken glanced disdainfully at Xiao Xiaodong and Ouyang Jinyue, focusing on its meal. It preferred swallows but had to make do with sparrows for now. These foolish mortals mistook it for an ordinary chicken, which annoyed it.
…
Tang Yunjie watched Xiao Xiaofan eating ravenously. “Eat slower!”
Xiao Xiaofan nodded while continuing to devour his food. “Okay!”
Tang Yunjie couldn’t help but ask, “Have you been starving?”
Xiao Xiaofan nodded. “Yeah, often not enough to eat.”
Tang Yunjie pushed a bowl of pig trotters towards him. “Eat more. After you left, Dong Lin kept saying you were dead. That bastard.”
Xiao Xiaofan nodded. “Oh, I see.”
Tang Yunjie looked at Xiao Xiaofan, feeling a bit frustrated. “Aren’t you angry?”
Xiao Xiaofan looked at him blankly. “Why should I be angry? I’m not close to him.”
Tang Yunjie: “…” Not close, but you gave him so many artifacts before.
“Congratulations! Despite the hardships, you’ve made a connection with Elder Chen. From now on If anything happens, you can rely on him,” Tang Yunjie said with some admiration.
Xiao Xiaofan nodded. “Yeah, that old man gave me many artifacts.”
“Speaking of which, your brother seems to have a chicken,” Tang Yunjie remarked.
Xiao Xiaofan nodded. “Yes, it’s small but very heavy. I wonder if it would be meaty if slaughtered, but it can’t be slaughtered.”
“Why can’t it be killed?” Tang Yunjie asked.
“It’s my brother’s contracted beast,” Xiao Xiaofan said without thinking.
“Xiaofan, your brother told you not to say that,” Lei Xuan warned.
Tang Yunjie was shocked. “Really? I thought it was just a pet. How did your brother end up contracting a chicken?”
Xiao Xiaofan warned Tang Yunjie. “You, don’t spread this around.”
Tang Yunjie nodded quickly. “I won’t.”
“How did your brother end up contracting a chicken?” Tang Yunjie wondered aloud.
Xiao Xiaofan shook his head. “I don’t know. He wanted to, so he did.”
Tang Yunjie stroked his chin. “I thought your brother was rational. Turns out he’s impulsive. Even if he likes chickens, contracting one is extreme.”
Xiao Xiaofan bit his chopsticks. “It seems like the chicken forced him.”
Tang Yunjie: “…” He had thought Xiao Xiaodong’s chicken was fierce, but now he felt it was even more formidable.
Lei Xuan hid his laughter, keeping his head down.
…
Xiao Jingting stayed in the spiritual medicine garden, cultivating spiritual plants.
“I knew nothing could hold you back. You have a bright future,” Qiu Yun said excitedly.
Xiao Jingting felt a headache coming on. The carnivorous plant he had cultivated was semi-demonic and highly toxic, difficult to deal with once contaminated.
“Manager Qiu, will the elders in the sect have an issue with you cultivating such things in the garden?” Xiao Jingting asked.
Qiu Yun laughed indifferently. “It’s no big deal. This plant is only a threat to Golden Core cultivators, not Nascent Soul cultivators.”
Xiao Jingting: “If it can threaten Golden Core cultivators, it’s already impressive… Does Qiu Yun plan to take on Nascent Soul cultivators? Quite ambitious.”
“In fact, I’ve bought this area,” Qiu Yun said.
“You bought it?” Xiao Jingting asked.
Qiu Yun nodded. “Yes, for fifty years. It cost over a thousand mid-grade spirit stones.”
Xiao Jingting: “…” No wonder Qiu Yun was so generous before.
“With your skills, I’m sure you’ll quickly earn back your investment,” Xiao Jingting said.
He knew that in this world, there were spirit cultivators, a rank above herbalists, who were naturally close to spiritual plants and often cultivated high-grade spiritual herbs. Qiu Yun was likely one of them.
Qiu Yun laughed coldly. “My skills? What skills I have. and whether I can get my money back, I still have to rely on you”
Xiao Jingting smiled awkwardly. “I’ll try my best.”
Qiu Yun nodded. “As long as you try your best.”
Xiao Xiaofan bounced over. Since returning to the sect, he no longer hid his relationship with Xiao Jingting. “Dad, the people from Lingyao Sect and Wushuang Sect are here. Everyone’s going to watch.”
Xiao Jingting had little interest in the sect’s activities. “You go watch the excitement.”
Xiao Xiaofan asked, “Aren’t you going, Dad?”
Xiao Jingting nodded. “No, I don’t like crowds. You go ahead.”
Qiu Yun, watching Xiao Xiaofan’s retreating figure, narrowed his eyes. “So, Lingyao Sect has arrived too?”
Xiao Jingting noted Qiu Yun’s grim expression, feeling puzzled.
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