Thirty Years East of the River, Thirty Years West

What did a Human Tier Middle Grade spirit fruit taste like? Zhang Qingyuan did not know.

Ever since transmigrating to this world,

the most precious spirit fruit he had tasted was a fifty-year quasi-entry-tier Spirit Peach given by the Zheng Family and several other Cultivation Families when they had hired him to make a move.

A single quasi-entry-tier Spirit Peach had raised Zhang Qingyuan from his newly attained Seventh Layer Mid Stage to the Seventh Layer Mid Stage Peak.

He was only a hair's breadth away from the Seventh Level Late Stage!

The effects of this Monkey King Wine, brewed with Human Tier Middle Grade Mystic Moon Fruit as its primary ingredient,

were plain to see.

Three jars of Monkey King Wine

had caused the Yao Monkey King's tribe to surge from twenty or thirty Low-level Demon Monkeys to over two or three hundred. Their own strength had also swiftly reached the Spirit Essence Realm Seventh Level within a short time!

It was nothing short of terrifying.

If this Monkey King Wine fell into Zhang Qingyuan's hands,

then even though advancing in the Late Spirit Essence Realm was far more difficult than in the Mid Spirit Essence Realm,

judging by its effects,

the remaining jar of Monkey King Wine would likely be enough for him to break through to the Spirit Essence Realm Seventh Level Late Stage, or even the Eighth Layer of Spirit Essence Realm!

"Esteemed Immortal Zhang, you alone killed the Yao Monkey King. This wine should belong to you."

As he spoke,

he handed the intact wine jar to Zhang Qingyuan.

"This..."

Zhang Qingyuan was somewhat surprised. The other party was not tempted by this treasure in the slightest?

"Esteemed Immortal, there is no need for you to decline. If you had not made a move, once the Yao Monkey King recovered from its injuries, who knew how much destruction it would have brought upon our families? Let alone the fact that without your intervention, we could never have killed the Yao Monkey King and entered this place. Every treasure here ought to belong to you."

Though Patriarch Zheng's gaze toward the wine jar was somewhat reluctant to part with it,

his tone was exceedingly resolute.

"In this campaign against the monkey demons, all credit belongs to the Esteemed Immortal alone. Besides, families like ours truly cannot protect such a precious treasure."

"If the Esteemed Immortal feels uneasy about accepting it, then give us these three empty jars. The residue inside may make fine wine starter. When the time comes, we can try brewing wine with the spirit fruits produced in our Spirit Fruit Grove. Perhaps it may open up a new source of resources for our families."

After a round of polite refusals, Zhang Qingyuan nodded.

He did not stand on ceremony any longer,

and directly placed the jar of Monkey Wine into his Storage Bag.

Afterward,

Patriarch Zheng and several cultivators searched the surrounding area and found several spirit fruit pit seeds. Of them, five thumb-sized, bright-red fruit pit seeds were specifically handed to Zhang Qingyuan.

According to Patriarch Zheng,

two of those fruit pits were the Mystic Moon Fruit pit seeds that the Yao Monkey King had used to brew Monkey King Wine. Since they were too precious, he had sent all of them to Zhang Qingyuan.

Zhang Qingyuan initially declined,

but Patriarch Zheng insisted on refusing them,

so Zhang Qingyuan could only helplessly accept two, leaving the other three for the other party to keep.

After this,

the Yao Monkey King's lair had been thoroughly turned upside down.

There was nothing valuable left,

so the cultivators departed from the cave.

At this time,

the battle to hunt down the scattered monkey demons in the surrounding area was drawing to a close. The remaining monkey demons were besieged and killed one after another, becoming corpses strewn across the ground.

After thoroughly cleaning up the battlefield,

the group returned in triumph, grandly carrying their abundant harvest.

The battle to encircle and kill the Yao Monkey King

thus came to an end.

The next day,

outside the gates of River Pond Town,

Zhang Qingyuan, who had no intention of staying in River Pond Town for long and was determined to leave, exchanged pleasantries with Patriarch Zheng and the leaders of the nearby Cultivation Powers alliance.

Then they bid one another farewell.

Zhang Qingyuan turned and left through the city gates, vanishing beyond the town.

Patriarch Zheng watched from behind,

and only after Zhang Qingyuan had departed

did he let out a sigh whose meaning was unclear.

"Third brother, have all the matters afterward been handled?"

"They have all been handled, Big Brother."

A youth cultivator beside him stepped forward

and spoke.

"Mm. Regarding the distribution of the monkey demons, the Jianghu Rangers and Hunters did not have any objections, did they?"

"No. The people who participated this time knew themselves that they had not contributed much. It was all that Esteemed Immortal Zhang's doing, so they had no great objections to our distribution. Some even praised our Immortal Sect Families for being generous! Once the news spreads, the reputations of our River Pond Town families will likely improve even further!"

"That is good."

Patriarch Zheng nodded and turned to leave.

A hesitant look appeared on the youth cultivator's face. Gritting his teeth, he stepped forward and asked certain questions that had been buried in his heart for a long time.

"But Big Brother, I truly do not understand. That Esteemed Immortal Zhang is one thing—given that sort of strength, there is nothing wrong with us currying favor with him in every way. But those mortal muddy legs, why should we be polite to them?"

"If we withheld all the monkey demon corpses, perhaps we could gain several cultivators who successfully achieved Qi Sensing for our Lineage. Surely they would not dare raise objections against disciples of our Immortal Sect."

The moment the youth cultivator finished speaking,

he abruptly met Patriarch Zheng's icy gaze,

and his limbs nearly turned cold,

leaving him unable to move!

"Third brother, it is fine to think such things in your heart. But if you truly do certain things, then do not blame me for being merciless!"

The youth cultivator had clearly been frightened.

He swallowed with difficulty.

"Rest assured, Big Brother. I merely spoke of it; I have not actually done such a thing. If you do not believe me, ask the others. I truly only thought about it in my heart."

"Hmph! I would not expect you to dare!"

Patriarch Zheng raised his head,

Looked towards the most conspicuous buildings in the east, south, west, and north of the town center, then said in a low voice:

"Third brother, I handle the Lineage's daily affairs while you devote yourself to cultivation, so I can understand that you do not know much about the Cultivation World. But I advise you not to rely on your status as a cultivator to act wantonly in the future."

"Do you know that a hundred years ago, River Pond Town's family alliance did not originally consist of four families, but five?"

"What? Were there not only four? What happened to the original one?"

The youth cultivator was somewhat astonished.

The four great Immortal Sect Families of River Pond Town—the Zheng Family, Lin Family, Wang Family, and Qian Family—had long been deeply ingrained in everyone's minds. Yet today, his Big Brother was telling him that a century ago, there had been a fifth family that had established its foundation in River Pond Town?

What exactly had happened?

Patriarch Zheng did not answer him.

Gazing at the prosperous River Pond Town, he slowly began recounting something that had happened long ago.

"Fifty years ago, something happened."

"A clan cultivator from that family once hired an Innate Martial Artist to do something, paying him one or two measures of Spirit Grain. After that Innate Martial Artist narrowly escaped death and completed the task, the family cultivator went back on his word. He mocked and brutally beat the Innate Martial Artist, then loftily ground him beneath his feet and ridiculed him."

"The Innate Martial Artist endured endless humiliation. In a fit of extreme rage, he left behind the words: 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; do not mock a poor youth.' Then he departed in fury."

PS:

The extra chapter will come a little later.