Chapter 72: The Cottage Amidst the Sea of Flowers

Zhang Pu was still relishing the glory of his basketball championship, indulging in it to the fullest. Liu Qingyan, up to this moment, found herself increasingly drawn to the richness of Zhang Pu’s character the more she observed him. He wasn’t all virtues, after all. Despite his formidable skills and enviable connections that drew admiration and jealousy alike, he was greedy; she had witnessed him, right under her nose, relentlessly chasing after money without a second thought. Now, he was showboating, relying on some kind of cheat to earn honor, and playing the part with affected seriousness.

Unable to stomach it any longer, Liu Qingyan slipped away unnoticed, but as she walked, she comforted herself inwardly: no one in this world is perfect; why demand so much from others?

Even though Modern High had, for the first time, triumphed over Hope High, and Zhang Pu had received great honor, Modern High itself basked in newfound glory. Zhang Pu even saw Zheng Xiaoming crying tears of joy, not just for Modern High, but more so for him, Zhang Pu.

Amidst endless prosperity, Zhang Pu quietly withdrew to his own hidden sanctuary at a certain moment. The manor that Liu Yingde had provided him, previously belonging to the Witch Ghost Sect, was named after the sect—a name Zhang Pu disliked, along with the manor’s gloomy atmosphere. Truth be told, at night, the place was terrifying; anyone who lost their way and stumbled upon it would think they’d entered some legendary city of unjust spirits.

Now that Zhang Pu had arrived, he was determined to rename the manor and transform the atmosphere he so disliked. Though that ambiance was once favored by Liu Yingde and his followers, Zhang Pu was now their master, and everything henceforth would be decided by him. Whatever changes he wished to make, no one could interfere or stop him.

He christened the manor “Flower Sea Cottage,” a name brimming with poetic beauty, worlds apart from the sinister titles once associated with the Witch Ghost Sect. More importantly, the eerie landscapes were to be replaced entirely by flowers and medicinal herbs.

Around the manor, Zhang Pu began planting useful herbs and flowers. To most people, these might seem ordinary, but Zhang Pu, armed with his knowledge of alchemy from the world of cultivation, could ingeniously combine Earth’s common medicinal plants to create miraculous elixirs capable of healing and saving lives.

His profound knowledge of herbal formulas was learned from a confidante in the cultivation world—a fairy of flowers named Baihua. She lived in an idyllic valley, isolated from the world, its beauty owed to the myriad flowers blooming year-round, making her home eternally enchanting. The valley was known as Flower Valley.

Unable to return to that beautiful Flower Valley after his rebirth, Zhang Pu, yearning for the fairy whose beauty matched the blossoms, was struck by the idea to transform his current residence into a Flower Valley as well. He sought to turn Liu Yingde’s former wild, graveyard-like realm into a sea of flowers.

Though he renamed the manor “Flower Sea Cottage,” it was not intended to host guests or attract tourists. Should any busybody approach the tourism bureau about developing the site, Zhang Pu resolved firmly to use Old Master Zeng’s connections to quash such intentions. This world of flowers belonged to him alone.

When Zhang Pu first unveiled his grand vision, not only Liu Yingde but many of his followers were bewildered, some even uncomfortable. Zhang Pu knew that, despite Liu Yingde’s outward submission and silence, not everyone was convinced in their hearts.

Yet, whether or not his subordinates accepted him fully mattered little—his overwhelming strength was enough to keep them in line. Still, Zhang Pu mused: to win true loyalty would be best. With a millennium of cultivation world experience behind him, he was no longer the naïve student of his past life. Life has its profound truths, and sometimes, mastering the right keys brings twice the result with half the effort.

Indeed, when Liu Yingde’s Witch Ghost Sect members heard that Zhang Pu’s fields of flowers would chiefly serve to cure their sect’s ailments, they gradually began to cheer. While Witch Ghost Sect had treated villagers far and wide, Liu Yingde was hardly a miracle doctor; to be blunt, he merely fooled the ignorant. But now, as Zhang Pu spoke, Liu Yingde sensed he might be dealing with a true healer.

Moreover, the Witch Ghost Sect, relying on dubious methods, suffered from severe side effects. The stronger Liu Yingde’s cultivation, the fiercer the backlash from certain malevolent practices—something he was powerless against. Now, wasn’t Zhang Pu offering to save them?

Thus, with the establishment of Flower Sea Cottage and the construction of a Flower Valley, all dissent faded away. At Zhang Pu’s request, Liu Yingde arranged for builders and decorators to overhaul the manor. Zhang Pu, no architect himself, recalled vividly the fairy’s valley in the cultivation world, and before long, the manor began to resemble that magical abode ever more closely.

Every piece of land around Flower Sea Cottage that could be turned into a flower field was transformed. Zhang Pu planned: even the uneven mountains nearby, so long as they could support medicinal herbs or trees, would be used to their fullest.

He aimed for self-sufficiency, for his cultivation would soon require vast quantities of elixirs, which in turn demanded countless herbs. Buying them from pharmacies would be a massive expense! And it wouldn't just be for himself; Old Master Zeng’s illness still needed medicine, as did the Witch Ghost Sect and others. Anyone he could cure would seek him out from all corners.

With the construction of these flower and herb fields, soon the hills would be blanketed in wealth.

Zhang Pu wanted to make money—what better way than this?

Old Master Zeng’s aides, Wang Gang and Zhou Yu, always transferred large sums to Zhang Pu, but their generosity had its limits. Would they keep paying forever?

Only this world of flowers could provide a steady, inexhaustible stream of income.