Chapter Ninety-Five: Back to Tomson to Visit Little Jade (Please Add to Favorites)

Hong Jiuling had complete confidence in the spirit herb inside the jade box. He had gone to extraordinary lengths to obtain it, even hiring one of the finest climbers in the world before he finally managed to harvest it.

He did not keep them in suspense. He opened the wooden case at once, revealing the true face of the jade box within. It was an exquisitely crafted piece, half a meter long, flawless from end to end, with not a single seam where any part had been joined together. It was clearly hollowed out from a single massive block of jade.

Hong Jiuling slowly lifted the lid, and at once a fragrance as fresh and soothing as mountain springs drifted out.

The scent cleared the mind and steadied the spirit; merely breathing it in made one feel relaxed in body and soul. Xiao Cheng could not help but feel his own spirit jolt.

"Please, Young Master, take a look!" Hong Jiuling said as he held the box out to Xiao Cheng, his tone almost that of someone presenting a treasured gift.

Inside lay a plant of vivid green, somewhat resembling a radish in shape, its entire body shimmering with an unusual luster as it released a delicate, clean fragrance.

Even without the knowledge he had gained from the Jade Slip of Three Lives, Xiao Cheng recognized the spirit herb in the box. It was the famed Emerald Ginseng, famous even in the world of cultivation.

Eaten directly, it could enhance the strength of one's spiritual sense. Of course, that would be the most wasteful way to use it. It could also be refined into a Spirit-Calming Pill; after taking such a pill, one's spiritual sense could improve by roughly one level, though this would only work the first time. More importantly, Emerald Ginseng was also an essential medicinal ingredient for refining the Nascent Soul Rebirth Pill.

And what was the Nascent Soul Rebirth Pill? It was a divine medicine that gave a peak Golden Core expert a thirty percent chance of condensing a Nascent Soul. Although Emerald Ginseng was not the primary ingredient of the pill and could only be considered an auxiliary herb, it was nonetheless an indispensable component.

In Xiao Cheng's previous life, his master, Daoist Wuhe, had been missing precisely this one medicinal herb. With it, he could have commissioned an alchemist to refine the Nascent Soul Rebirth Pill and stepped across the threshold into the Nascent Soul realm in a single bound. Yet they had searched for a full two years and never found even a trace of Emerald Ginseng.

Had his master found it in those two years and become a great Nascent Soul cultivator, he surely would not have died because of Xiao Cheng.

Now, looking at the Emerald Ginseng in the jade box, Xiao Cheng was overcome with mixed emotions. He murmured, "This thing would be useful to Master."

Hong Jiuling had been watching Xiao Cheng's expression ever since he opened the box. Xiao Cheng's quiet words reached his ears clearly, and they sent a huge tremor through his mind.

Though Emerald Ginseng had limited use and could only be considered an ordinary spirit herb, it was immensely precious to a great cultivator on the verge of breaking through to Nascent Soul.

Since Xiao Cheng had said this, then his master must surely be someone about to become a Nascent Soul expert.

At this realization, Hong Jiuling was utterly shaken. Xiao Cheng was not merely the sole heir of the Xiao family, a youth of limitless prospects; he was also the disciple of someone who was about to become a Nascent Soul powerhouse.

A Nascent Soul powerhouse was, in the eyes of ordinary cultivators, no different from an immortal. Not only did such a being possess power enough to overturn heaven and earth, but because the Nascent Soul itself was indestructible, even if the physical body decayed, they could seize another's body with their Nascent Soul and continue living, blessed with a long and enduring life.

If Xiao Cheng's first two identities were already impressive enough, then this last one was truly earth-shattering. In all his life, Hong Jiuling had only ever heard of five powerhouses nearing the Nascent Soul realm.

"May I ask what title your honored master goes by?" Hong Jiuling asked before he could stop himself.

Just moments ago, he had been pondering the origin of Xiao Cheng's Spirit-Nurturing Pills. The Xiao family was indeed a hidden cultivation family with immense influence, but even they could not possibly possess pills of this caliber. Even if they did, such treasures would be far too rare to give away lightly.

Now that he knew Xiao Cheng had a master who was close to Nascent Soul, he naturally guessed that these pills must have come from that master.

"My master never appears in the mortal world. I'm afraid no one knows his name. On his behalf, I thank you first for the city lord's spirit herbs."

Xiao Cheng smiled. He had not expected Hong Jiuling's mind to be so sharp. A careless remark from him had allowed Hong Jiuling to infer so much.

He did indeed have a master, but the amusing thing was that his master did not yet have him as a disciple. In fact, he did not even know Xiao Cheng, and who knew where he was now—perhaps off in some backwater digging up someone's ancestral grave or peeping at a nun bathing.

Hong Jiuling quickly said he was unworthy of such thanks, though inside he was extremely pleased. He had originally intended to offer the herb to Xiao Cheng, but he had never imagined that Xiao Cheng would have such a formidable master behind him. In that case, he had gained two benefits at once. If he could build a good relationship with that peak Golden Core expert, it would be another great stroke of fortune for him.

After obtaining the herb, Xiao Cheng remembered that his grandmother's birthday was approaching. Since he was already in Black City, he might as well prepare the birthday gift here as well. So he told Hong Jiuling that one of the elders in his clan was celebrating a major birthday, and he wanted a pair of dentures custom-made as the present, emphasizing especially that the teeth had to be made of diamond.

Hong Jiuling agreed on the spot. A set of diamond-made dentures would likely be unprecedented in history, and the price would be astonishing.

Yet the two of them were so tacitly in sync that neither mentioned money. It was not that they feared it would hurt their relationship; rather, Xiao Cheng had no intention of paying, and Hong Jiuling had no intention of asking for payment. Xiao Cheng naturally knew what Hong Jiuling wanted.

By the time Xiao Cheng left Black City, evening had already fallen. The setting sun glowed like blood, and the light of day was dim and hushed.

He drove along the road toward Tangchen, while the car's audio system played Groove Coverage's "Far Away from Home." It was a light, catchy pop song, but heard through the high-quality speakers of the car, it had an oddly delightful charm.

He was in excellent spirits. The afterglow of sunset spilled across his face through the windshield, and he smiled, revealing a row of white, gleaming teeth that shone brilliantly in the light.

This trip had been highly rewarding. He had not only obtained five spirit herbs, but also an Emerald Ginseng. More importantly, he had opened up a new channel for gathering spirit herbs.

Five spirit herbs were enough to refine Spirit-Nurturing Pills for now, fully sufficient until he reached the point where he could consolidate his cultivation.

As for the Emerald Ginseng, it would naturally be kept for the master he had never even met. Once that master had it, advancing into the Nascent Soul realm would be as certain as the iron law of heaven. The tragedy of his previous life, in which his master died because of him, would never be repeated.

By establishing a connection with Hong Jiuling and opening this channel for collecting spirit herbs, there would be a steady supply of them in the future. Xiao Cheng was certain that Hong Jiuling would never regret this, and might even beg for such an arrangement.

He had gained so much, and all he had spent was three Spirit-Nurturing Pills.

"Are Spirit-Nurturing Pills really that precious?" Xiao Cheng smiled, took one pill from the jade box beside him, placed it in his mouth, and crunched it to pieces as casually as if he were biting into a candy bean.

To him, Spirit-Nurturing Pills were nothing special at all. As long as he had spirit herbs, he could refine as many as he wanted.

The spirit herbs he had obtained from Hong Jiuling were enough to refine thirty Spirit-Nurturing Pills. Trading three pills for so many benefits was an astonishing bargain. But who had told him to possess the Jade Slip of Three Lives and the Nine Profound Immortal Scripture? In this world, perhaps only he could refine Spirit-Nurturing Pills.

Before he knew it, Xiao Cheng had returned to the Tangchen villa district.

Though he had only been gone for a little over ten days, he felt as though he had been away for three autumns. So many things had happened recently that it seemed to him as if an age had passed.

When he arrived outside the villa where he lived, Xiao Cheng subconsciously released his spiritual sense to sweep the area. His brows immediately furrowed. He found that there was actually someone inside the villa with fifth-level Condensation cultivation, and in a car parked on the other side of the villa, there was another person at the eighth level of Condensation.

Why were there two experts appearing at the same time, one inside his sister-in-law's villa and one outside? What was going on? Xiao Cheng could not make sense of it, and he could not help feeling uneasy.

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