Jiang Lu continued walking forward. Suddenly, she saw a gleam of light up ahead.
The light shone down from the top of the cave, illuminating the area.
She raised her hand slightly, sending a blast of red spiritual energy toward the cave's exit.
The spiritual energy collided with the rocks around the exit, letting out a loud bang.
Bang!
The rocks above shattered at the impact. Shrapnel exploded outward in all directions overhead, and she immediately ran to the side to take cover.
Looking at the opening above, which was just large enough for her to pass through, Jiang Lu lightly tapped her toes against the ground and leaped upward. The blinding light momentarily dazed her.
Once she found her footing, she finally took in her surroundings. The view here was vast and open. Halfway up the mountain, a small waterfall cascaded down the stone cliff, its waters feeding into a stream below.
The area was mostly covered in dense shrubbery, with no large demon beasts in sight.
As she was thinking, the fragrance of spiritual plants drifted over. She walked toward the source of the scent, and before long, a massive patch of spiritual herbs came into view. She couldn't help but pinch herself.
Hiss—
It hurt!
This was no dream!
Excited, she broke into a run toward them.
What an enormous spiritual plant garden! She looked around once more but didn't sense the aura of any demon beasts. Delighted, she realized she had likely stumbled into an untouched, pristine area.
Although the spiritual plants here weren't of a particularly high grade, they were still rare finds in the outside world—and they were all fully matured.
With a single thought, she began sweeping the patches of spiritual plants, along with the soil beneath them, into her space. How could pre-harvested, stored spiritual plants ever compare to fresh ones picked on the spot?
She only lamented that her current strength was still too low. Otherwise, she could have swept everything into her space with a single thought, rather than going through all this trouble.
However, once she got out, she would need to hurry up and buy a storage bag to cover her tracks. Otherwise, how would she explain where all these things came from?
“Who is it?! Who's there?!”
Jiang Lu, happily busy with her harvesting, suddenly heard a childish voice that sounded rather displeased and angry.
She looked around, but there was no one in sight.
Had she hallucinated?
She shrugged and continued sweeping the spiritual plants under her feet into her space. Time was of the essence. Who knew if other cultivators might wander into this place? She was currently no match for them.
She finished harvesting the final corner. Looking at the bare little pits left behind, she nodded in satisfaction. Plenty of seeds had been left scattered in these holes, so many more spiritual plants would eventually grow here in the future.
Sigh...
She really was too kind-hearted!
“You!”
“You're the bad guy!”
Jiang Lu heard the angry voice again. This time, she was absolutely certain it wasn't an illusion.
Yet, no matter how much she scanned her surroundings, she couldn't see a single figure. Had she run into a ghost?
Suddenly, she felt something bumping against her calf. She looked down.
Oh my...
What a big, white radish!
It was fair and plump, with a tiny cluster of leaves growing on its head and a little red dot right between its brows. It already had the rudimentary shape of a small child.
She squatted down, reached out, and couldn't help but pinch its cheek.
So soft!
And so cute!
“Y-You... you... you...”
The little creature, which had been fuming with anger just a moment ago, instantly flushed red. It could only stammer out “you, you, you.”
All of its previous momentum had completely vanished.
“What are you? And why are you calling me a bad guy?”
Amused by its adorable expression, Jiang Lu asked in a gentle voice.
“Hmph! You are a bad guy! You destroyed my home!”
“Your home? Where is it?”
Jiang Lu was slightly bewildered. What home could possibly be here?
“Right here!”
Seeing that Jiang Lu didn't seem to get it, the little creature stamped its tiny foot and pointed at the surrounding mess. It stared at her with accusing eyes, sounding more and more aggrieved as it spoke.
Jiang Lu paused as a bold guess flashed in her mind.
“Do you mean... this herb garden is your home?”
Nod, nod!
The little thing nodded, its eyes brimming with tears.
It had only taken a quick nap in the soil, but when it woke up, its home was gone.
Jiang Lu scratched her head awkwardly. Why did she feel like she was bullying a child?
But returning the spiritual plants was absolutely out of the question. If she didn't take them, they would probably end up in someone else's hands eventually. Since that was the case, why shouldn't they be hers?
Unowned treasures belonged to whoever claimed them first!
“Then why don't you come with me? That way, your home will still be around.”
Suddenly, her eyes twinkled. She scooped it up in her arms and spoke in a coaxing tone.
Hearing this, the little thing looked at her warily. Could this bad person want to eat it, just like those other humans?
However, sensing the aura radiating from her, it wavered. She had such a pure wood-attribute aura, and being held in her arms felt incredibly comfortable. Perhaps she was a good person?
Furthermore, there was no intense greed in her eyes, which looked exceptionally clear. Maybe it was just overthinking.
“But without those spiritual plants, I won't survive for very long.” The outside world was extremely dangerous; it could be captured and eaten at any moment.
Its voice was full of self-pity. As a magnificent thousand-year-old ginseng spirit, how had it ended up in such a miserable state? It was incredibly difficult for spirit beasts or spiritual plants to take human form, and for their thousand-year ginseng clan, it was even harder.
It was rare enough for them to survive a thousand years, let alone cultivate and take human form.
Its stroke of luck was entirely thanks to this spiritual plant garden. The dense spiritual energy and medicinal properties of the surrounding plants had nourished it, allowing it to assume human form so quickly. Moreover, the presence of these spiritual plants had masked its aura, preventing others from discovering it.
Now that the spiritual plant garden was gone, it would surely be discovered and eaten. According to its elders, their medicinal properties were incredibly potent, and eating them would greatly boost a cultivator's strength.
Seeing its pitiful state, Jiang Lu felt a pang of guilt. “If your home were still around, would you be willing to come with me?”
Just now, Linglong had told her that this little creature could be brought into the space. It was a small spiritual plant that had successfully taken form and possessed no combat capability. With it around, she might have a continuous, endless supply of spiritual plants in the future.
Linglong would never admit that it had found lying on the vines extremely comfortable and simply wanted to slack off. With this little thing around, it could happily shirk its duties.
“Are you serious? My home is still around?”
It raised its head excitedly, staring at Jiang Lu with absolute disbelief.
Jiang Lu nodded. With a thought, she swept it into her space.
Finding itself in a familiar environment, the little creature gasped. It immediately hid, digging into the soil and burrowing underground, leaving only its eyes exposed as it grinned sillily.
Hehehe~ My home is still here.
It didn't care where this place was, as long as its home was still intact. Just as it was celebrating, it felt a cluster of energy approaching.
“Little thing, this entire area is yours from now on! Your job is to take good care of any spiritual plants that come in. Do you hear me?”
It stared up blankly at the orb of light above, feeling somewhat bewildered.
“You mean... this whole place is mine, and I can wander around and plant whatever spiritual plants I want?”
Its voice was filled with utter disbelief!
Rate on N.U.
