No One Was More Noble

Shen Jingchuan paused for a moment, his expression unusually serious.

"Sister, perhaps in your eyes, the lives of mortals don't matter. Your Xiao Household has never valued the lives of mortals. But I'm different. In my view, everyone is born of parents, and no one is more noble than anyone else."

"Since you've taken that throne, becoming the emperor of this country and ruling over hundreds of millions of people, you should love your people like your own children, and be responsible for their lives and their livelihoods. If you can't do that, what kind of emperor are you? You might as well go home and be a rich old man."

He paused, then softened his tone.

"Sister, I'm not saying this to you personally. But I really think your Xiao Household has gone too far. If you don't care about the lives of mortals, you can simply establish your own cultivation Aristocratic Clan, find a place to live in seclusion, and no one will say anything then."

"But since you've established a country and are supported by hundreds of millions of people, yet you don't care about their lives and only know how to exploit them. Sister, I can't stand this."

Xiao Mingshu opened her mouth, but ultimately remained silent.

After a while, Shen Jingchuan glanced at her.

"Sis, are you angry?"

"No." Xiao Mingshu shook her head, her voice very soft. "Everyone has their own thoughts. What you're doing might be the right thing to do."

Shen Jingchuan stopped dwelling on that topic and changed the subject.

"I have a serious question for you. Do you think your Xiao Household will send cultivators down to interfere in this battle?"

Xiao Mingshu.

"Probably not. As long as they can still be suppressed, the imperial court will send a large army to suppress them. There is only one exception: if the army loses and the rebels fight their way to the Capital, and it comes to the final moment of life and death, then the cultivators stationed in the clan will personally take action."

Shen Jingchuan asked again.

"But cultivators are forbidden from interfering in mortal battles. Isn't that a rule established by the cultivation realm? If they really intervene, wouldn't they be breaking the rule?"

As soon as he said it, he shook his head and laughed.

"Fine, forget I asked."

He already knew in his heart who these rules were for and who they could control. Rules only ever bind those who follow them. When a country is on the verge of collapse, how could the person who set the rules possibly bind himself with them?

Shen Jingchuan asked again.

"Sister, will you participate?"

"If the Lineage really summons me, I should go."

Xiao Mingshu paused, then turned her head to look at him:

"But if they can't find me... just because of you, I'm not going this time."

Shen Jingchuan smiled.

"My sister is still the best."

"Alright, how many days do you plan to stay this time?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to tell you," Shen Jingchuan said. "When I went back home, I had my family's Spirit Roots tested."

Xiao Mingshu became interested.

"Oh, really? How did it go?"

Shen Jingchuan didn't mention the details about the Hidden Spirit Roots, he just gave a brief account of the person.

"Qingyao, Ruoli, Yue'er all had their Spirit Roots detected, as well as my two younger sisters, Qingshu and Qinghua, making a total of five."

"Heh." Xiao Mingshu chuckled, "Your little family could be a cultivation Lineage in a few years. How did you find out so much?"

"Hey, lucky me." Shen Jingchuan chuckled.

"Your luck is ridiculously good."

"That's right, I think so too." Shen Jingchuan continued, "So this time I came to buy some supplies for their cultivation, and I'll head back after I've got everything ready. It's not a particularly urgent matter."

Just then, Huan'er came out of the cave abode. She spotted Shen Jingchuan at a glance, her eyes lit up, and she ran over excitedly.

"Young Master Shen, you're back!"

"Hmm." Shen Jingchuan looked her over for a moment. "How is it? Have you improved?"

Huan'er nodded vigorously.

"Yes! I feel my cultivation is much faster than before. I've finished all the spirit medicine you gave me."

Shen Jingchuan took out a bottle of High-Grade Qi Gathering Pills from his Storage Ring and handed it over.

"Take this and practice it well."

This time, Huan'er neither refused nor hesitated, and happily accepted it. He then took out a bottle of High-Grade Qi Condensing Pills, handed it to Xiao Mingshu, and his expression became more serious.

"Sister, we've got this agreed, you absolutely mustn't go back to the Imperial City. Just stay here and cultivate peacefully. Don't get involved in this mess."

He looked at her. "I was thinking, if things really come to this and the Xiao Household really sends cultivators, I might have to help Azure Cloud Stronghold. I don't want to run into you on the battlefield someday."

Xiao Mingshu held the bottle of pills and slowly nodded.

"Don't worry," she said softly. "Although my surname is Xiao, I have no connection with them anymore. Whether they live or die, I don't care. Compared to that family, I care more about you."

She paused, then gave a wry smile.

"But there's one thing I must make clear beforehand: I can't turn back and help you conquer the Xiao Household's empire. You have to understand that."

Shen Jingchuan nodded quickly.

"Of course, sis, I'm not an unreasonable person."

That evening, the three of them ate dinner together and then returned to their rooms to cultivate. Shen Jingchuan practiced his internal energy in his cave abode all night until dawn before he stopped and got up.

With a single thought, he traveled back to the modern-day West Mountain Separate Garden. Since meditation is a form of sleep for cultivators, he was full of energy at the moment. He washed his face and went out.

Azure Cloud Stronghold is recruiting soldiers, and the newly recruited soldiers need protective gear. This time, he placed a huge order: bulletproof vests, tactical helmets, training clothes, boots, and everything else. He asked for 100,000 sets of stab-proof vests and matching quick-insertion steel plates.

In addition, he placed another order for 50,000 seamless steel pipes, plus a large quantity of spring steel sheets, nylon ropes, and tendon ropes, etc.

With such a large quantity, no single supplier had that much stock on hand. So he simply contacted three factories separately, placed orders with each, paid advance payments, and agreed to deliver in batches. He was busy all morning and still wasn't finished by noon.

After finishing all that, in the afternoon, he went to the warehouse he had rented and moved all sorts of usable supplies from his inventory into his Ring space in batches.

With everything mostly settled, he sent a message to Meng Ke to be ready to receive the goods before returning to the West Mountain Separate Garden and then shuttling back to his cave abode in the market.

He pushed open the door and walked into the courtyard. Xiao Mingshu and Huan'er were sitting at the stone table, chatting and laughing. Hearing the noise, the two of them looked up at the same time.

(Sorry, my niece got married and I drank a bit too much. I missed updating yesterday, so I'm making up for it now.)

Huan'er quickly stood up, happily strode forward, and gave a curtsy.

"Young Master Shen."

She quickly tidied the stone table and busied herself pouring tea. Shen Jingchuan sat down on the stone bench and looked at Xiao Mingshu.

"Sister, there's something I want to ask you."

Xiao Mingshu glanced at him.

"What problem have you encountered this time? Is it related to your cultivation?"

Shen Jingchuan waved his hand:

"No, sister, the Shen Household has sent me another large batch of goods. As you know, we've always sold these things through Spirit Creek Market, but it's almost saturated. I was wondering if there are any other markets nearby, do you know any?"

Xiao Mingshu picked up her teacup and took a sip.

"I do know them, but they're all small markets. There's one to the east and one to the north, but those two places are no longer within the territory of our Great Qian Kingdom."

She put down her teacup, her expression becoming more serious.

"The area is chaotic, unlike Spirit Creek Market, which is well-regulated and managed. Those small markets are full of counterfeit goods, and groups of Bandit Cultivator outside. Even inside the markets, Rogue Cultivator cultivators were often robbed and killed. Such things happened frequently. So I generally avoid going there."

She looked up at him.

"What, you want to try your luck in other markets?"

"That sounds pretty dangerous." Shen Jingchuan stroked his chin. "Sis, how far are those two places from here?"

"It's not that far," Xiao Mingshu thought for a moment. "Both are about the same distance, seven or eight hundred li, both within a thousand li."

Shen Jingchuan leaned forward slightly.

"Sister, how about this, you tell me how to get there and the route, and I'll go myself."

"That won't do." Xiao Mingshu immediately shook her head. "It's too unsafe. If you absolutely must go, I can go with you."

Shen Jingchuan didn't respond immediately, but lowered his head and pondered for a while.

"I'll wander around this market area for a bit first, and we'll discuss it in more detail tonight."

"That's fine then." Xiao Mingshu stood up and straightened her dress. "I'll go with you. I've finished my homework for today and I'd like to go out for a walk to clear my head."

Shen Jingchuan thought for a moment and nodded.

"OK."

The three left the cave abode and headed into the market. Shen Jingchuan didn't plan to sell a large quantity of goods today; he was mainly there to make purchases. So he didn't bother to conceal his identity and dressed casually as he strolled around.

After turning two streets, he came across a shop selling spirit medicine herbs and plants, with a fairly large storefront. He remembered the newly formed spiritual field in his Ring space; it was time to plant something there, so he stepped inside. Xiao Mingshu and Huan'er followed him in and stood to the side.

The shop smelled of bitter herbs, and rows of jade boxes and cloth bags were neatly arranged. A sharp-eyed shop assistant noticed that the three men were dressed in extraordinary clothes and had an air of refinement. He quickly came forward, bowing and smiling obsequiously.

"The presence of three seniors is an honor to our humble shop. We have a fairly complete selection of common spiritual spirit medicine, plants, and seeds. What would you like to see?"

Shen Jingchuan glanced around and saw that the shop was indeed quite large, so he got straight to the point.

Do you sell seeds of spirit herbs here?

"Of course we sell them!" the shopkeeper said with a smile. "Which one would you like, sir?"

"I have a few herbivorous Demon Beasts, which are like horses. Do you have any grass seeds suitable for them to eat?"

Yes, yes.

The shop assistant readily agreed, turned around, took a cloth bag from the shelf, placed it on the counter, and opened it to reveal bluish-brown grass seeds inside.

"Senior, look at this, Green Fodder Grass. This grass isn't picky about the soil; it can be planted in ordinary fields, and it will grow as soon as it's sown. The seeds are also cheap. However, there's one problem: if your mount is of a high grade, eating this won't be of much help to your cultivation; at most, it will just fill your stomach."

As he spoke, he bent down and pulled out a smaller bag from under the counter. He opened it, and the grass seeds inside gleamed with a faint bluish light.

"This is called Spirit Condensing Grass, and it's a genuine spiritual herb. It's most suitable for spirit beasts with good Root Bone and high talent. Regular consumption can help them absorb Spiritual Qi and improve their cultivation."

The waiter changed the subject:

"But it must be planted in a sacred field; it won't grow in ordinary soil."

Shen Jingchuan nodded.

"Is there anything better?"

The shop assistant hesitated for a moment, thought for a moment, and then took out another bag from behind the counter and carefully opened it. The grass seeds in this bag were a purplish-red, plumper than the previous two, and even faintly exuded a Spiritual Qi.

"Senior has asked the right question. This is Purple Clover Grass, the best that our shop can offer. It also requires a spirit field to grow, but in terms of the abundance of Spiritual Qi and the richness of nutrients, it far surpasses Spirit Condensing Grass. Spirit beasts will greatly benefit from eating it over time."

Shen Jingchuan picked up a few and examined them.

How much is this?

"Reporting to Senior, this herb seed shop sells them by weight, fifty Spirit Stones per pound."

Shen Jingchuan had no idea whether these grass seeds were expensive or cheap; they were only worth a few dozen Spirit Stones. He casually asked about it.

How many do you have in total? I'll take them all. Can you give me a discount?

The guy grinned.

"Young master, these Purple Clover Grass are quite rare; they're not something you can find just anywhere. Our shop only has a little over a pound of them in total."

He adjusted the bag, forcing a smile:

"How about this? I won't play any tricks with you. This weighs one jin and one liang in total. I'll charge you one jin for fifty Spirit Stones. The extra liang is a gift from me."

Seeing that the shop assistant was straightforward and attentive, Shen Jingchuan stopped haggling over the price, nodded, took out fifty Spirit Stones and placed them on the counter, and accepted the bag of grass seeds.

He paused, then asked again.

Do you have any seeds of the spirit medicine here?

Yes, which one do you want? Our shop has a pretty complete selection.

Shen Jingchuan didn't really know much about herbs, and for a moment he didn't know which ones to plant. He knew that Xiao Mingshu wasn't good at alchemy either, so he had no one to ask her. After thinking for a moment, he came up with an excuse.

"Here's the thing, my Lineage recently acquired a piece of spirit field. It's not very big, and no one in the family has ever grown spirit medicine before. We want to try growing some herbs for refining Qi Gathering Pills and Qi Condensing Pill, to practice and prevent the field from going to waste."

"You're the expert, can you help me decide which varieties are suitable to plant? Ideally, those with high external demand, reasonable prices, and easy care."

Upon hearing the terms, the waiter pondered for a moment, then took out two brocade pouches from behind him.

"If that's how you see it, then I'll recommend two things to you: the Essence Condensing Grass and the Spirit Gathering Flower. Both are the main ingredients for refining Qi Condensing Pills, and they're in short supply in the market right now. You don't need to worry about sales; however much you grow, my shop will buy it all."

He placed the brocade pouch on the counter and explained it in detail:

"These two have another huge advantage: they're hardy and easy to grow. They basically don't require much care, and they grow quickly. After five years, they can be harvested for medicinal use. I have the planting instructions here; I'll copy them down for you later."

"There's one problem: they're picky about the land. They have high requirements for the quality of the spiritual fields; if the land is of poor quality, they might not be able to cultivate the crops properly."