Chapter 112 - 111: So Tasty, I Want to Raise It

Chapter 112: Chapter 111: So Tasty, I Want to Raise It

"This map is just too... esoteric."

Hearing this, Li Changsheng paused for a second before taking the map. An embarrassed look crept onto his face as he saw the crisscrossing ink marks.

"Ahem, well, let me explain it to you."

Trying to save face, Li Changsheng pointed to the marks on the paper and began explaining them to the group.

The entire island had been surveyed, except for the area around the deep pool.

The island contained thirty-five acres of Tier Two Low-grade Spirit Fields and three acres of Tier Two Mid-grade Spirit Fields...

Of those, ten acres of the Tier Two Low-grade Spirit Fields were on the mountain peak, with the remaining twenty-five scattered across the island.

The three acres of Tier Two Mid-grade Spirit Fields were situated around the deep pool.

Cultivators had excellent memories, and as he spoke, they could easily picture the layout of the Spirit Fields in their minds.

Lan Cai Shen didn’t look pleased.

Although he knew there wouldn’t be many Tier Two Spirit Fields, he was still a little disappointed by the final count.

Lan Cai Shen suppressed his frustration and smiled. "Changsheng, why don’t you check that last patch of Tier Two High-Grade Spiritual Land." He paused, then added teasingly, "I hope our excitement isn’t for nothing."

Tan Hu and the other three Stewards standing nearby looked grave.

If they could establish a Tier Two High-grade Spirit Field, the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land would truly live up to its name as a Tier Two High-Grade Spiritual Land. As the Stewards assigned to guard it, their rewards and hidden perks would naturally be substantial.

But if a Tier Two High-grade Spirit Field couldn’t be established, the value of the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land would be greatly reduced, and their own compensation would also drop significantly.

Amidst the group’s nervous expressions, Li Changsheng walked to the edge of the deep pool. A jade-green light flowed from his palm as he touched the Spiritual Land.

HUMMM...

In a flash, Li Changsheng’s senses blurred. His consciousness began to spread outward like a cloud of mist.

But the surrounding Spiritual Land felt like a mire, slowing the expansion of his consciousness to a crawl and rapidly draining his life force.

A moment later.

The life force in the spiritual channels between his brows was depleted. He opened his eyes.

He shook his head slightly at the expectant group.

He strode to a large tree, touched his palm to the trunk, and focused his thoughts.

The three-leaf clover mark between his brows flickered with spiritual light, and a powerful suction force suddenly erupted from it.

In his mind’s eye, green specks of light contained within the tree were rapidly pouring into the space between his brows. In less than a moment, all the specks of light had been absorbed.

Because he didn’t want to waste any more time, he didn’t hold back, directly draining the tree of all its life force.

HUFF...

Li Changsheng opened his eyes, not even glancing at the rotted, withered tree before him. He strode to another large tree and placed his hand upon it.

GASP...

Steward Ye, standing nearby, couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath.

Watching the tree turn from lush green to withered decay in just a few seconds, he felt his hair stand on end.

Steward Wu patted his belly and marveled, "It’s a good thing he can only absorb life force from trees and grass. If he could do that to people... well, that’d be terrifying."

As his words fell, Lan Cai Shen, Tan Hu, and Jin Fang all stiffened and shot Steward Wu a strange look.

A moment later.

Li Changsheng returned, nodded slightly to the group, and moved to a different spot to continue his survey.

He repeated this process several more times.

The expressions of Lan Cai Shen and the others grew heavy.

They had completely lost confidence that this Tier Two High-Grade Spiritual Land could be developed into a Spirit Field.

Li Changsheng was speechless. ’This is ridiculous.’

He had repeatedly absorbed life force, consuming over a dozen trees that took one person to encircle, yet he had only surveyed a little more than half of the Spiritual Land.

’This High-grade Spiritual Land is so hard to find...’

Li Changsheng sighed inwardly. A jade-green light flowed from his palm as he once again touched the Spiritual Land. His consciousness struggled to spread outwards like mist.

A few breaths later.

A swirling vortex of light the size of a washbasin appeared in his mind.

’Found it!’

Li Changsheng’s heart leaped with joy. Just as he was about to withdraw his consciousness, he felt it suddenly sink into a viscous liquid. A halo of light flashed, and in the next instant, his consciousness returned to his body.

’What was that?’

Li Changsheng opened his eyes and stared blankly at the dark waters of the pool.

"Changsheng, how is it?"

Seeing him dazed, Lan Cai Shen’s eyes lit up with joy, and he hurried forward to ask.

"I found it..."

Li Changsheng snapped back to reality and said with a low laugh, "The Spiritual Vortex is more than ten times larger than a Mid-grade one. It must be a High-grade Spirit Field, no doubt about it."

He then marked the location of the Spirit Field on his crude map and described its boundaries to the group once more.

The group was overjoyed upon hearing this and cheered repeatedly.

Li Changsheng hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the deep pool and asked, "This deep pool..."

"Changsheng, you rest. I’ll go check it out."

Lan Cai Shen waved him off and leaped into the deep pool.

In just a moment’s time, Lan Cai Shen leaped out of the deep pool and shook his head at the group. "This deep pool was likely that serpent’s old lair. Besides having dense Spiritual Qi, it’s also filled with a potent poison. There’s nothing else."

’That halo of light...’

Li Changsheng was doubtful. He hesitated, but didn’t say anything.

’Since Lan Cai Shen checked and said there was nothing, then there must be nothing. I’m only in the Qi Cultivation Stage. I must have seen it wrong.’

Lan Cai Shen looked at Li Changsheng and smiled. "Changsheng, rest for a day. Tomorrow, we’ll summon the other three Spirit Plant Masters and develop the Spirit Field together."

"Alright."

Li Changsheng was mentally exhausted as well. After nodding in agreement, he found an empty spot and summoned Xiaohua.

SNUFFLE SNUFFLE...

Xiaohua was used to coming in and out of the Spirit Beast Bag. It wasn’t anxious when it appeared, and after sensing his aura, it snuffled and nuzzled against him.

Li Changsheng patted its head, had it lie on its side on the ground, and then sat cross-legged on its body, closing his eyes to meditate.

Lan Cai Shen nodded to the others, his body turning into a streak of light as he flew off the island.

Jin Fang found a rock and sat down to meditate. Steward Ye and Steward Wu chatted for a while before they also found their own spots to sit and rest.

They all positioned themselves not far from Li Changsheng, so they could protect him immediately if danger arose.

Tan Hu looked around, thought for a moment, then turned and leaped down the mountain.

Time trickled by.

「The night deepened.」

A bonfire was lit.

Jin Fang was still meditating with his eyes closed. Steward Ye and Steward Wu wore strange expressions as they watched Tan Hu.

In front of the bonfire, Tan Hu was turning over a dozen or so skewers of skinned and gutted spirit snakes.

Grease dripped from the golden-brown roasted snake meat, making a SIZZLING sound. A rich, meaty aroma filled the air.

"These spirit snakes smell amazing..."

Steward Wu sniffed the air and patted his belly in praise.

When the spirit snake skewers were roasted to a golden brown, Tan Hu pulled up two of them, tossed them to Steward Wu and Steward Ye, and grinned. "You two, try my handiwork."

"Thanks, Steward Tan." Steward Ye accepted it cheerfully.

Steward Wu took his, cupping his hands with a laugh. "Many thanks, Steward Tan. My mouth has been watering for a while now." With that, he eagerly took a large bite.

A rich, savory flavor exploded in his mouth, instantly whetting his appetite. He chewed and swallowed everything, bones and all, with a loud CRUNCH.

The crisp sound traveled, causing the eyelids of Jin Fang, who was meditating nearby, to twitch.

Tan Hu glanced at him, smiled smugly, then pulled up all the spirit snake skewers and walked over to Li Changsheng.

"Changsheng, want something to eat?"

Huh?

Li Changsheng returned to his senses and opened his eyes.

Instantly, a rich aroma wafted into his nostrils.

"Smells great!"

Hearing his words, the smug look on Tan Hu’s face intensified. He offered half of the skewers in his hand to him and grinned, "Changsheng, have a taste of my roasted spirit snake skewers."

"Thanks, Senior Brother Tan. Don’t mind if I do."

Li Changsheng cupped his hands, took the skewers, and eagerly took a bite.

The moment it entered his mouth, his eyes lit up.

The skin of the spirit snake was roasted until crispy, but the inside was tender and chewy. The rich, savory flavor filled his mouth, leaving a lingering aftertaste.

After he swallowed, gentle currents of warmth spread throughout his body, making him feel as if he were soaking in a hot spring.

Li Changsheng couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up and praise, "Mmm... delicious."

"Haha..."

Tan Hu laughed loudly, plopped down on Xiaohua’s back, and started devouring the skewers with him.

Li Changsheng would spit out the bones, but Tan Hu just chewed them up and swallowed them.

In just A Cup of Tea’s Time, the two of them had devoured more than a dozen skewers of spirit snake meat.

Tan Hu circulated his Spiritual Power to conjure two balls of water, and the two of them washed up.

Li Changsheng smiled, "Senior Brother Tan, your cooking is truly extraordinary. This is the best roasted snake meat I’ve ever had."

"If you like it, I’ll go catch some more tomorrow. The lake below is full of these little things."

Tan Hu grinned, speaking nonchalantly.

’Full of them?’

Li Changsheng’s heart stirred. He asked in a low voice, "Are they still clearing out the snake beasts from the Ten Thousand Serpent Lake?"

Tan Hu thought for a moment and nodded. "I saw the Patrol Guards have already left, but the Demon Hunting Corps is still here. They’re probably going to clear them out."

Li Changsheng hesitated, then asked quietly, "Senior Brother, do you think... we could raise and sell spirit snakes?"

’Raise and sell them?’

Tan Hu was taken aback, then his eyes lit up slightly.

’That’s right, spirit snakes are Spirit Beasts! Sure, some of them don’t have much meat, but there are bigger ones, too!’

His thoughts churned for a few seconds, but then Tan Hu’s brow furrowed. He shook his head and sighed, "The great serpent is dead. Sooner or later, the thousands of snake beasts in this lake will escape into the mountain forests." He paused, then added, "And don’t even mention raising them. If you keep them in a cage, a spirit snake will starve itself to death in less than a hundred days."

"A pity..."

Li Changsheng shook his head. Thinking of his Five Poison Refining Spirit Method, he requested, "Senior Brother Tan, could you help me catch some of the more venomous snake beasts?"

He then summoned his Five Poisons, which had grown several sizes larger, and explained, "I practice a Magic that uses these Five Poisons to assist my cultivation. I was hoping to let them consume some venomous creatures to enhance their strength."

Tan Hu glanced at the five insect beasts and smiled. "The Five Poison Refining Spirit Method?"

"Hmm?"

Li Changsheng was surprised. "Senior Brother, you know about it?"

Tan Hu nodded and smiled. "This Magic is one of the techniques cultivated by the introductory disciples of the Ten Thousand Poison Forest. It’s quite widespread."

Ten Thousand Poison Forest...

Li Changsheng looked slightly stunned.

’Good grief. Turns out all my combat techniques are from the Ten Thousand Poison Forest.’

Seeing him dazed, Tan Hu smiled and said, "Many Qi Cultivation Stage disciples in the sect also practice this Daoist Technique. You can just focus on practicing it, Changsheng, but don’t put too much effort into it."

"It’s quite useful during the Qi Cultivation Stage, but it becomes rather useless after reaching the Vein Condensation Realm."

"Oh, oh, okay."

Li Changsheng came back to his senses, nodded lightly, and then asked in confusion, "Why would a Magic from the Ten Thousand Poison Forest be so widespread?"

Tan Hu replied without even thinking, "The three sects are neighbors. Naturally, there’s friction between us, so we have a good understanding of each other’s basic Magic."