Chapter 124 - 122: Change

Chapter 124: Chapter 122: Change

"Senluo Flower?"

"That’s right."

Tan Hu nodded heavily. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "Just like advancing to the Vein Condensation Realm requires a special kind of spiritual catalyst, this Senluo Flower is their equivalent for breaking through to the Dao Foundation."

"Dao Foundation..." Li Changsheng frowned slightly.

Tan Hu waved a hand, interrupting his thoughts. "Junior Brother," he said with a smile, "the most important thing for you right now is to advance to the Vein Condensation Realm. You’ll naturally learn about the Dao Foundation after you get there."

Li Changsheng nodded. "I know my priorities."

Tan Hu smiled and cupped his hands. "Then my future chance at the Dao Foundation will depend entirely on you, Junior Brother."

Before Li Changsheng could ask, he explained, "Once you advance to Spirit Plant Master, Junior Brother, I’ll need to ask you to help me plant a special Tier Three Spirit Plant."

"Spirit Plant Master?"

This was another title he had never heard before. From Tan Hu’s tone, it seemed to be the rank above Spirit Plant Master.

"Spirit Plant Masters can advance further?"

Li Changsheng touched the raised pattern on his brow, asking curiously.

Tan Hu nodded with a smile. "Of course, they can." After a pause, he shook his head. "But as for the specifics, I’m not sure."

He thought for a moment and added, "When the time comes, you can ask Steward Lan. He has a deep background and knows far more than I do."

Li Changsheng nodded in understanding and cupped his hands toward Tan Hu. "Rest assured, Senior Brother. If I am fortunate enough to advance to Spirit Plant Master, I will certainly plant a Spirit Plant for you."

A look of ecstasy appeared on Tan Hu’s face. He cupped his hands again. "Many thanks, Junior Brother."

Neither of them mentioned the possibility of failure. If he succeeded, it would be a joyous occasion for all. If he didn’t, it would simply mean Tan Hu’s efforts had been in vain.

After speaking so openly, the two grew even closer.

Li Changsheng accepted the spirit snakes without ceremony. A thought suddenly struck him, and he asked, "Senior Brother, do you know if something has happened with the Beast Soul and Blood Fusion lineages?"

HMM?

Hearing this, Tan Hu’s expression changed slightly. He asked cautiously, "Junior Brother, who did you hear this from?"

’Could something really have happened?’

Seeing his expression, Li Changsheng felt a pang of unease and explained, "Senior Brother Lan returned to the Miscellaneous Affairs Peak in a hurry. He told me he was going to receive people from the Beast Soul and Blood Fusion lineages..."

WHOOSH...

Tan Hu slowly let out a breath and shook his head. "Junior Brother, you should focus on your cultivation. These miscellaneous affairs will only disturb your peace of mind."

"Don’t worry. The Miscellaneous Affairs Peak is in the Wanzhong Mountains Range, and with Elder Lan presiding over it, nothing will go wrong." ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Li Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief internally and smiled. "As long as nothing goes wrong."

The two of them looked out at the Spirit Field, chatting idly back and forth.

Time passed slowly.

During this time, Tan Hu helped him capture the mid and high-grade spirit snakes in the Spirit Field and put them in a wooden cage.

A short while later, Steward Ye came to see him about some matter, and Tan Hu finally left.

Li Changsheng watched the Spirit Field for a while, then sat cross-legged on Xiaohua’s belly, circulating his Spiritual Power to open his Spirit Contract Veins.

「By noon.」

WHOOSH...

Li Changsheng slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and opened his eyes.

The snake beasts in the Spirit Field ahead were mostly cleared out, with only a few low-grade spirit snakes still struggling in their death throes.

He waited another moment.

The last few low-grade spirit snakes were swarmed and killed by the insects.

Li Changsheng walked to the edge of the field, carrying the wooden cage.

A dense pile of snakeskins was stacked up at the edge of the Spirit Field.

The insect swarm had suffered considerable losses clearing out the snake beasts. More than thirty low-grade insects had been killed, and the unranked insects had taken even more damage, with over fifty dead.

The mid-grade insects, however, had suffered no casualties, though many bore minor wounds.

The gecko from his Five Poisonous Insect Beasts had also died a miserable death in the jaws of the snake beasts.

Fortunately, the gains were also significant.

Li Changsheng gestured, and two insects flew into his hand. He focused his gaze on them.

[Target: Slave Insect] [Tier One Low-Grade: 89%]

[Target: Slave Insect] [Unranked: 99%]

Having devoured so many snake beasts, the swarm’s cultivation progress had skyrocketed, bringing them all to the verge of advancement.

With a flicker of his thoughts, dozens of unranked insects landed on the dried snakeskins. The patterns on their bodies pulsed with spiritual light as threads of Spiritual Power poured into them, beginning their evolution.

Li Changsheng spared them a glance before striding into the now-empty Spirit Field. He took out a wooden bowl and resumed planting Jade Ganoderma Fruit seedlings.

Until the snake beasts in the Ten Thousand Serpent Lake were completely dealt with, he only planned to cultivate this single acre of Spirit Field.

Given the current size of his swarm, he could only protect this one acre. Any more would be stretching them too thin.

As he planted the spirit seeds, snake beasts would still crawl over from time to time.

However, they were devoured by the swarm before they could even reach the Spirit Field.

Time ticked by until nightfall.

PHEW...

Li Changsheng stood up and stretched.

Inside the Spirit Field, the white jade-like seedlings of the Jade Ganoderma Fruit now occupied most of the plot. Shrouded in Spiritual Mist, they dotted the field like stars, creating a beautiful sight.

Li Changsheng returned to the edge of the Spirit Field, and with a thought, the remaining four of his Five Poisonous Insect Beasts burrowed back into the soil. He also left behind more than half of his Red-winged Blood Bamboo Insect swarm, mostly the mid-grade ones and those close to reaching mid-grade.

The newly advanced low-grade insects, however, he took with him.

Back in his small courtyard, Li Changsheng landed lightly, holding the wooden cage, and strode into the kitchen.

The smell of cooking smoke soon filled the air, followed by the crisp sound of chopping.

Before long, he had finished feeding his few Spirit Beasts.

「Inside the kitchen.」

Li Changsheng coated his hand in a layer of Spiritual Power, pulled a spirit snake from the wooden cage, and pressed it onto a cutting board. He raised his right hand high, holding a Bone-Chopping Knife enhanced with a Metal-Sharpening spell.

CRACK...

The snake’s head and body were instantly severed, and blood gushed out.

Li Changsheng pinched the snake’s tail, aimed the severed neck at a wooden bowl, and squeezed downwards. A thick stream of crimson snake blood flowed out, pouring into the bowl.

Once the blood was drained, he casually tossed the carcass onto the cutting board.

Without pause, he grabbed another spirit snake. The knife rose and fell, and he drained its blood...

「Before long.」

The sound of a knife rapidly chopping meat echoed through the kitchen.

「An hour later.」

Li Changsheng carried a wooden basin up to the third floor.

SPLOOSH...

The snake blood, mixed with minced meat, was poured into the wooden vat containing the Snake Saliva Spirit Tree.

In an instant, the thick, coppery scent of blood filled the air.

YIP YIP...

Xiaobai appeared from nowhere, leaped nimbly onto the wooden vat, and stared drooling at the minced spirit snake meat inside.

The current Xiaobai was a size larger than an average stray dog, its fur fluffy and as white as snow.

As soon as it appeared, the smell of blood was masked by a strange, fragrant aroma.

The Insect Mother in the nest, having also smelled the blood, slowly crawled out. Considering everything in the vat to be its Blood Food, it jumped directly onto the minced meat and began to devour it ravenously.

Li Changsheng paid the Insect Mother no mind, his gaze fixed on the Snake Saliva Spirit Tree.

[Target: Snake Saliva Spirit Tree]

[Race: Spirit Tree]

[Tier One High-Grade: 7%]

[Talents: Gathering Spirit, Snake Control.]

[Status: Healthy.]

’The panel has changed to be like a Spirit Beast’s, and its medicinal effects have become talents...’

Li Changsheng smiled. He watched for a moment longer, then turned to leave.

YIP YIP...

Xiaobai immediately grew anxious, letting out a series of coquettish-sounding yips.

Li Changsheng turned and beckoned to it.

YIP YIP...

Xiaobai leaped up into his arms and began to wriggle and squirm playfully.

Li Changsheng gave it a few hearty scratches, placed it on the ground, and with a flip of his hand, produced a Spiritual Snake Corpse for it. He then took out ten stalks of Jade Grass and placed them beside it.

CRUNCH...

Xiaobai impatiently picked up the Spiritual Snake Corpse with its paws and took a bite as if eating a spicy stick snack, its narrow eyes squinting in relish as it began to feast.

Li Changsheng returned to his soft couch, took out a Refining Jade Pill, and swallowed it. He then closed his eyes, focused his mind, and began circulating his Spiritual Power to open his Spirit Contract Veins.

「Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.」

Although snake beasts still crawled into the Spirit Field, which was now planted with two hundred Jade Ganoderma Fruit plants, under the constant watch of the insect swarm, the scene of thousands of snake beasts gathering never occurred again.

During these past few days, aside from occasionally checking on the Spirit Field, Li Changsheng had devoted himself entirely to cultivating the Magical Spirit Contract.

His progress was delightful; he had already opened most of the veins and was just a little away from connecting them all in one go.

As he was immersed in his cultivation,

「At the Demon Hunting Corps’ headquarters.」

Steward Ye and Tan Hu had arrived again, but this time, neither looked pleased.

When Luan Jian entered, Steward Ye questioned him bluntly, "Vice Commander Luan, why hasn’t the Demon Hunting Corps made a move to clear out the Ten Thousand Serpent Lake yet?"

Luan Jian frowned, turned, and sat down in a chair without a word.

Seeing this, Steward Ye grew even angrier. "Vice Commander Luan, you should remember what your Demon Hunting Corps is here to do."

Luan Jian’s frown deepened.

Just then, Tan Hu suddenly spoke up. "Vice Commander Luan, is there something you can’t speak of? Could you perhaps be frank with us?"

"I..."

Just as Luan Jian was about to say something, a slightly chaotic fluctuation of Spiritual Power appeared.

「A moment later.」

Mingzhuang entered the hall, supporting a pale-faced Cultivator whose clothes were stained with blood.

HMM?

Steward Ye and Tan Hu looked at the injured Cultivator with confusion in their eyes.

Luan Jian frowned, glanced at the man, then looked at Mingzhuang and asked in a grave voice, "What happened?"

Mingzhuang glanced at Tan Hu and Steward Ye, his lips moving silently.

「A moment later.」

A sharp, piercing glint flashed in Luan Jian’s eyes. He roared, "Damn barbarians!"

Tan Hu and Steward Ye frowned at the two, wondering what they were up to.

Luan Jian calmed himself and looked at Steward Ye and Tan Hu. "Weren’t you asking why the Demon Hunting Corps hasn’t gone to clear the Ten Thousand Serpent Lake?" he said in a low voice.

The expressions of both Steward Ye and Tan Hu changed.

Luan Jian continued, "A few days ago, the Steward sent a voice transmission saying that his insects had discovered traces of the Powerful Barbarians outside the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land..."

Mingzhuang picked up the thread, his voice sharp. "It’s been confirmed. The barbarians from the Power Demon Sect are spying on the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land. I encountered one outside the mountains and even fought him." He paused and shook his head. "Unfortunately, the barbarian’s physical body was too tyrannical. I couldn’t capture him."

Hearing this, the faces of Tan Hu and Steward Ye fell.

Steward Ye asked in horror, "How did the barbarians from the Power Demon Sect find such a remote place?"

"Heh heh..."

Mingzhuang rolled his eyes and sneered. "This place is tucked away in the mountains. Besides someone leaking our location, what other reason could there be?"

Steward Ye’s expression flickered. He quickly asked, "Has someone been sent to the Miscellaneous Affairs Peak?"

Mingzhuang nodded slightly. "We sent someone back to the Miscellaneous Affairs Peak to report as soon as we received the Steward’s message."

Tan Hu clenched his fists, his voice grave. "If they found us by accident, that’s one thing. But if this was a deliberate plot..."

No one present was a fool; they all understood the implication.

If one side was meticulously prepared, they would surely send Cultivators powerful enough to crush them completely.

And the only ones who could crush them so completely...

...would be Dao Foundation Realm Cultivators!

"How are Steward Tong’s injuries? With Steward Lan away, he’s the only one who can hold down the fort at the Spiritual Land."