While the two buried their heads in hard labor, a brilliant, unusual splash of color suddenly caught Xue Mingzhao's eye from a secluded corner of the spirit field.
It was a peculiar five-colored spirit flower. Its gold, green, blue, red, and brown petals were translucent and clear, quietly blooming among the lush green sprouts, striking and unique.
Xue Mingzhao's pupils dilated in shock. How did the patterns and shape of this flower look exactly like the birthmark on her palm?!
She instinctively reached out to touch it. But before her fingertips could even graze the petals, the five-colored flower suddenly shattered, transforming into a sky full of tiny, sparkling streams of light.
Before she could react, all the streams of light shot straight into her eyes with a sharp whoosh.
“Holy crap—!”
An agonizing pain instantly surged through her entire body. With a thud, Xue Mingzhao collapsed onto her knees on the ridge of the field, clutching her eyes tightly as she trembled violently from the pain.
“Junior Sister! What's wrong?!” Su Ye rushed over in a panic. Seeing her in such excruciating pain, his heart leaped into his throat.
Was she poisoned again? How was this spirit field more dangerous than a toxic swamp?!
Fortunately, the sharp pain came quickly and receded just as fast, fading away in a moment.
Xue Mingzhao slowly released her grip. “Senior Brother, I'm fine.”
She opened her eyes and looked up at Su Ye—
And was completely dumbfounded.
Her gaze actually penetrated his flesh and clothes, allowing her to clearly see deep inside Su Ye's dantian, where two round spiritual beads floated.
One was a translucent, brilliant gold, and the other was a warm, glowing crimson. They nestled close together, wrapped in a faint green aura.
???
Was this... gold and fire double spiritual roots?
She closed her eyes tightly, thinking the pain had caused her to hallucinate.
Opening them again, she looked once more—it was still there.
Not only that, she could also see threads of glowing white light flowing along Su Ye's meridians, entering and leaving in a continuous cycle. Every single path was so clear, it looked as if it had been drawn with a brush.
Xue Mingzhao understood in an instant: this was spiritual energy! She could actually see spiritual energy!
Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!
Out of nowhere, she now possessed eyes that could see through anyone's spiritual roots, cultivation, and even the flow of their spiritual energy.
She had basically unlocked a cheat eye-ability!
That agonizing pain just now was worth it. It was absolutely worth it!
Suppressing the wild joy in her heart, Xue Mingzhao acted as if nothing had happened and casually made up an excuse: “I was just bitten by a bug. It stung a bit, that's all.”
Hearing this, Su Ye let out a sigh of relief, though his tone quickly turned indignant. “Then don't work anymore. Go rest on the side. That old psycho clearly knew you had no spiritual power, yet he still made things difficult for you on purpose.”
Xue Mingzhao remained silent but laughed hysterically in her mind. If not for this punishment, where would she have picked up such a heaven-defying skill?
...
Mu Tianqing, who was hiding on a nearby tree branch and watching the entire thing: “...”
This little brat had actually called him a psycho again.
That was twice now.
He would remember this debt. Sooner or later, he would find an opportunity to teach her a proper lesson.
In truth, he hadn't gone far.
Xue Mingzhao was a mortal, and the Sect Master's personal disciple at that. Forcing her to work in the fields with Su Ye was indeed a bit unreasonable.
He had left earlier but then doubled back, intending to drag Xue Mingzhao off to sweep the main hall instead—that task was easy, and it would still count as a punishment.
As for Su Ye, that boy was tough and thick-skinned, so leaving him to tend to the spirit field alone would be fine.
But just as he returned, he saw Xue Mingzhao staring blankly at a certain spot.
He had looked in that direction, but aside from the ordinary spirit plants, the area was completely empty, with absolutely nothing unusual.
The next moment, the girl had suddenly clutched her eyes, collapsed to her knees, and trembled all over, as if she had suddenly suffered some mysterious, agonizing pain.
He had examined the area carefully and ruled out any possibility of poisoning from the spirit plants.
The scene just now was bizarre and suspicious. He had originally wanted to step in and help, only to see her recover and act completely normal the very next second.
Mu Tianqing gave Xue Mingzhao a deep, searching look. There was definitely something strange hidden within this girl.
He didn't plan to expose her right now. Some things were more interesting when observed slowly over time.
After giving the white deer a few strict instructions to keep a close eye on them, Mu Tianqing turned and quietly slipped away.
...
On the other side, Su Ye took over all of Xue Mingzhao's chores, telling her to rest on the side while he worked away by himself.
Watching his hardworking, complaints-free back, Xue Mingzhao felt genuinely touched.
“Senior Brother, with such a massive spirit field and only the two of us, we'll work ourselves to death and still not finish. I can't just let you do all the work alone.”
Her eyes darted around, and her gaze landed on the cloud-patterned white deer, which was currently slacking off on guard duty nearby.
She quickly trotted over and lowered her voice, speaking in a mysterious tone. “Lord White Deer, you've been by Elder Mu's side for so many years. You must know quite a few spirit beast friends here on Zhenlang Peak, right?”
The cloud-patterned white deer tilted its head, its round deer eyes filled with wariness. “I do know a few... Why do you ask?”
Xue Mingzhao put on an expression that screamed I'm doing this entirely for your own good, counting on her fingers as she explained:
“Look, this spirit field is at least dozens of mu. My senior brother and I—one at Foundation Establishment and one a mortal—even if we worked until our bones shattered, we wouldn't even finish half of it by dark.”
“When the elder returns and sees the field untended... sure, the two of us will get punished. But it doesn't matter to us. We're newcomers, we're tough, and we aren't afraid of being scolded.”
She shifted her tone, speaking with deep earnestness. “But you are different. You are the elder's most trusted, closest spirit pet, and you were ordered to supervise us here. If the field isn't finished, we failed our duty, but you failed to supervise us properly. Imagine how disappointed the elder will be in you.”
The cloud-patterned white deer's ears twitched, its round eyes widening. “What does that have to do with me?”
“How does it not?” Xue Mingzhao said righteously. “Think about it. Even without anyone watching, we wouldn't dare slack off since we just arrived. Why did the elder specifically send you to keep an eye on us? This is clearly a test of your coordination and leadership skills!”
“What he wants to see is not how capable you are on your own, but whether you can mobilize the spirit beasts of Zhenlang Peak to get the job done beautifully together.”
The cloud-patterned white deer was simple-minded. Dazed by her fast-talking logic, its mouth twitched for a long moment. “A test... of me?”
“Of course!” Xue Mingzhao struck while the iron was hot, her tone growing increasingly sincere. “So your task today isn't to supervise at all. It's to show off.”
“Show off your leadership skills, show off your coordination, and show that you can mobilize Zhenlang Peak's spirit beast team at a critical moment.”
She shifted her tone again, throwing out the bait directly. “If you can summon a few friends and work together to get this spirit field perfectly in order, the elder will be so happy when he returns. Won't you get to eat all the spirit fruits you want?”
The moment the words “spirit fruits” left her mouth, the white deer's ears shot straight up.
It hadn't really understood the previous talk about leadership and coordination, but it understood “spirit fruits” perfectly.
It only got five spirit fruits a month!
Just by calling a few spirit beasts over to do some work, it would get rewarded with spirit fruits?
Rate on N.U.
