Chapter 39: Jinghong Wholesalers

Chu Ci was stunned himself!

Wait, why were the Beast Clans coming over here?

"Senior Chu, the teleportation array at the back mountain... it seems it hasn't been turned off yet!" Jing, who suffered from social anxiety, pointed toward the back mountain to remind him.

Chu Ci turned to look in that direction and, sure enough, saw a beam of light shooting into the sky. It was the radiance of the active teleportation array. Even from behind the light, he could hear the faint, echoing cries of the Beast Clans.

[Damn it, stop shoving!]
[...Let me through first, the Master needs me!]
[...You’re all ugly, I’m the best looking, let me go first!]
[...Hey, who is that? You’re stepping on my (bleep)!]

"Don't translate that kind of noise! You damn system!"

Chu Ci finally understood why the octopus beast had appeared first; it was a soft-bodied creature that could easily squeeze through the small teleportation array.

With his forehead covered in dark lines, Chu Ci waved to Qi Hong and the others before flying toward the array. After much persuasion and effort, he managed to push back the desperate claws, tentacles, and feathers, telling them to stay put in Beast City and wait for his call if they were needed. Only then did the array finally fall silent.

The great battle ended in such a comical fashion. Aside from a few enemies who were lucky enough not to be snatched up by the octopus, the entire opposing force had been wiped out.

The disciples of the Xuantian Sect were unharmed, but several elders had suffered significant injuries while resisting the giant sword. In particular, the Sect Leader, Qi Hong, had suffered a blow that not only shattered his life-bound spiritual sword but also struck directly at his foundation. He could even feel his newly formed Nascent Soul beginning to dissipate.

"Master!" Jing was frantic, his spiritual power pouring endlessly into his master in an attempt to stabilize his injuries.

"Forget it, it's useless," Qi Hong sighed, stopping Jing. "My foundation is ruined, and my Nascent Soul is about to dissolve. It cannot be healed."

"No... Master, Senior Chu..." The more anxious Jing became, the more incoherent his words grew.

Qi Hong understood what he meant, but he shook his head, cutting him off. "Injuries to the Nascent Soul are not easily restored. It is merely the loss of cultivation; it won't kill me! The Senior has already helped us so much; remember not to be willful and make unreasonable demands!"

"That’s right. We were all prepared to die for the sect this time. Being able to keep our lives is a great stroke of luck," Yu Xuan, standing nearby, nodded in agreement. He coughed heavily several times; although his injuries were not as severe as Qi Hong’s, they were still grave, and his cultivation would certainly drop below the Nascent Soul stage.

"Is it... really impossible to recover?"

"Once the Nascent Soul dissipates, there is no medicine to save it."

"But..." Jing wanted to say more.

"Listen to me, this is already the best outcome," Qi Hong interrupted, shaking his head, fearing that Jing might annoy Senior Chu by making demands due to his own injuries.

The other elders also looked bleak. All of them had suffered some degree of damage to their cultivation. They had once hoped that with Senior Chu’s pills, they might reach the Nascent Soul stage, but now it seemed most of them had lost that chance. However, they quickly adjusted their spirits, grateful that the Xuantian Sect had been saved, and began to speak optimistically.

"This crisis is resolved. I imagine no one will dare to move against our Xuantian Sect from now on!"

"Exactly. The mission of us old folks is complete; it is time for you youngsters to take over."

"The future of the sect is in your hands. With geniuses like Jing, Feng Ting, and Zhen Yi, we will surely see the sect flourish."

"Hahaha, that’s right! When you think about it like that, our injuries were worth it!"

"Hey, don't count me in! I'm not old yet! I can hold on for another hundred years. Maybe I’ll find some rare heavenly treasures and cure you old guys."

"Pah! Forget it! With your luck—where you’d step in dog excrement just walking out the door—you think you could find heavenly treasures?"

"That’s true. Our injuries are one thing, but the Sect Leader’s Nascent Soul would likely only be restored by a thousand-year-old Nether Saint Orchid. That thing has been extinct for ages, let alone a thousand-year-old one."

"Exactly, you’re just blowing hot air, I... wait? Why is something so hot?"

The elders were bickering when they suddenly felt a surge of heat coming from beside them. A red light lit up the surroundings, so bright they couldn't keep their eyes open. Turning back, they realized that Jing had pulled out a spiritual plant from somewhere.

The plant was entirely red, topped with a flower as crimson as molten lava, and a thick, scorching fire-spiritual energy rushed toward them.

"This... this is..." The elders’ eyes widened in shock.

"Nether Saint Orchid," Jing replied. After a moment of hesitation, he added, "Ten thousand years... is that okay?"

Qi Hong: "..."
The Elders: "..."
Wait, you actually have one?!

"This... how, how, how did you get this?" Yu Xuan rubbed his eyes in disbelief. It was really a Nether Saint Orchid. What happened to it being extinct?

Jing remained silent. Could he say he plucked it off the head of a Volcano Beast?

"Such dense fire-spiritual energy, there’s no mistake! It really is a Nether Saint Orchid. I’ve heard this thing only grows in lands of extreme heat, and it withers if the climate changes even slightly." Yu Xuan remained in awe, then sighed. "It’s a pity such dense fire-spiritual energy is extremely difficult to refine unless combined with an Ice Crystal Treasure Fruit..."

Before he could finish, Jing turned and produced a crystal-clear fruit. "This one?"

"..."
Wait, you just went on a trip with the Senior, why does it feel like you went on a shopping spree?!

"This... this fruit must be from a thousand-year-old Ice Crystal Tree!" Huo Zhentian, the Peak Master of Bailian Peak, stared at the energy-filled fruit and remarked, "To find such spiritual objects is rare, but it's a shame there’s no Wuwang Lotus to repair the divine consciousness..."

Jing turned and produced a black-and-white lotus. "Wuwang Lotus."

Huo Zhentian: "..."

A while later...
The elders looked at each other in confusion and began to speak.

"If only there were some Blazing Fire Spiritual Crystals..."

Jing, the social-anxious one, pulls one out!

"And the Wuxiang Saint Leaves..."

Pulls out another!

"Is there any Blood Moon Dragon Ginseng..."

Continues pulling out!

"And the Wuji Ganoderma..."

Still pulling them out!

The elders listed one rare treasure after another, and Jing, acting like a Doraemon, produced them all from his storage bag. He kept pulling them out, one after another, until every elder was holding a pile of heavenly treasures.

Qi Hong: "..."
Everyone: "..."
Seriously, you just went shopping, didn't you? You absolutely did!

Everyone felt their injuries and then glanced at the treasures in their arms, becoming more and more excited.

"To hell with retirement! I can work for another few hundred years!"

It was truly important to latch onto a powerful patron. Look at Jing; he just went on one trip with the Senior and returned as a wholesale dealer of spiritual plants. With these items, never mind healing their injuries—if they were all refined into pills, the strength of the entire sect would leap to a whole new level.

Jing handed all the treasures to the elders, letting out a sigh of relief only after confirming they were enough to heal everyone. In truth, he hadn't found these items himself; the giant beasts had insisted on stuffing them into his hands over the past few months.

When Senior Chu was repairing Beast City, Jing had indeed wanted to take the opportunity to train in the Endless Sea, but he couldn't handle having so many bodyguards!

He didn't know what Senior Chu had said to those giant beasts, but the end result was that every time he reached a dangerous location, a giant beast would greet him. Not only would they enthusiastically invite him into their territory, but they would also shove heavenly treasures into his bag as if their lives depended on it.

Even while walking along the road, giant beasts would pop out from time to time to leave behind a few fruits or stuff him with spiritual plants. He even encountered one that, without a word, snapped off its own tentacle, wanting to roast it for him on the spot.

He went from being shocked and frightened at the beginning to becoming accustomed to it, and by the end, he could even skillfully slice and plate the barbecue.

Later on, the giant beasts would even take the initiative to ask him for small favors, like weeding, removing parasites, or grooming their feathers.

That Nether Saint Orchid was something he had plucked because the Volcano Beast’s head was too itchy.

So, in just a few short months, his storage bag had been stuffed to the brim, right up until he received the message from the sect.