Thirty Years East of the River, Thirty Years West of the River

Zhang Qingyuan did not know what a Human Tier Middle Grade spirit fruit tasted like.

Ever since he had Transmigrated to This World,

the most precious spirit fruit he had ever tasted was merely a fifty-year quasi-tier Spirit Peach given by cultivation families such as the Zheng Family in exchange for asking him to make a move.

Just one quasi-tier Spirit Peach had raised Zhang Qingyuan's cultivation from the Mid Stage of the Seventh Layer, which he had only just broken through, to the Seventh Layer Mid Stage Peak.

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

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

were plain to see.

Three jars of Monkey King Wine

had caused the Yao Monkey King's troop to surge from twenty or thirty Low-level Demon Monkeys to more than two or three hundred. Even the monkeys themselves had rapidly broken through to the Spirit Essence Realm Seventh Level in a short time!

It was nothing short of astonishing.

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

then even though raising one's cultivation 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 single-handedly killed the Yao Monkey King this time. 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 completely unmoved by such a treasure?

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

Although Patriarch Zheng looked at the wine jar with reluctance,

his tone was exceedingly firm.

"The encirclement and extermination of the monkey demons was entirely the Esteemed Immortal's achievement. Besides, our few families could not truly protect such a precious treasure."

"If you feel bad about taking it, then give us these three empty jars. The residue inside may make excellent brewing starter. When the time comes, we can try brewing wine from the spirit fruits produced in our Spirit Fruit Grove. Perhaps it may open up a new source of resources for our families."

After some polite back-and-forth, Zhang Qingyuan nodded.

He did not stand on ceremony any longer,

and directly stored the jar of Monkey Wine in his Storage Bag.

Afterward,

Patriarch Zheng and several cultivators searched the surroundings and found some spirit fruit pits and seeds. Among them, five thumb-sized, bright-red fruit pit seeds were specifically handed over to Zhang Qingyuan.

According to Patriarch Zheng,

two of the fruit pits were seeds of the Mystic Moon Fruit used by the Yao Monkey King 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, left with no choice, he accepted two and had the other party keep the remaining three.

After this,

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

and there was nothing valuable left.

The cultivators then left the cave.

At this moment,

the battle to hunt down the scattered monkey demons in the surrounding area had reached its final stages. The remaining monkey demons were successively besieged and slain, their corpses strewn across the ground.

After thoroughly cleaning up the battlefield,

the group returned in triumph, vast and mighty, laden with a bountiful harvest.

The battle to encircle and eliminate 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 long in River Pond Town and was determined to leave, exchanged pleasantries with Patriarch Zheng and the leaders of several nearby Cultivation Powers.

Then they bade each other farewell,

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

Patriarch Zheng watched from behind,

and only after Zhang Qingyuan had gone did he let out a sigh of unfathomable meaning.

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

"They have all been taken care of, Big Brother."

A young cultivator at his side stepped forward

and spoke.

"Good. The Jianghu Rangers and Hunters had no objections to the distribution of the monkey demons, did they?"

"No. Those who participated knew that they had not contributed much. It was all the credit of that Esteemed Immortal Zhang, so they had little objection 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 look of hesitation appeared on the young cultivator's face. Gritting his teeth, he stepped forward and voiced some doubts 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 kind of strength, no amount of goodwill toward him would be excessive. But why should we be polite to those mortal Muddy Legs?"

"If we withheld all those monkey demon corpses, perhaps we could even produce several cultivators who succeed at Qi Sensing for our Lineage. Surely they would not dare raise objections against disciples of our Immortal Sect?"

The moment the young cultivator finished speaking,

he suddenly met Patriarch Zheng's icy gaze,

and his limbs nearly turned cold and stiff,

leaving him unable to move!

"Third Brother, it is enough to think such things in your heart. But if you truly do certain things, do not blame me for being ruthless!"

The young cultivator was clearly frightened.

He swallowed with difficulty.

"Rest assured, Big Brother. I only said it—I did not truly do such a thing. Ask the others if you do not believe me. I really only thought about it in my heart."

"Hmph! I suppose you would not dare!"

Patriarch Zheng raised his head,

looked toward the several most conspicuous buildings standing in the east, west, south, and north of the town center, and said in a low voice:

"Third Brother, I have always handled the Lineage's affairs while you focused on cultivation, so I can understand that you know little of the Cultivation World. But I advise you not to rely on your status as a cultivator to act recklessly in the future."

"Did 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 family?"

The young 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 told him that a century ago, there had been a fifth family that had established its roots in River Pond Town?

What exactly had happened?

Patriarch Zheng did not answer him.

Gazing at the prosperous River Pond Town, he began in a distant voice to recount an event from the past.

"Fifty years ago, something happened."

"A Clan Cultivator from that family once hired an Innate Martial Artist to do something, offering one or two Spirit Grain as payment. Yet after that Innate Martial Artist narrowly escaped death and completed the task, the family cultivator refused to honor the agreement. He mocked and savagely beat the Innate Martial Artist, looking down from on high as he trampled him beneath his feet and ridiculed him."

"The Innate Martial Artist suffered endless humiliation. In his towering fury, he left behind one sentence: 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—do not bully the poor youth.' Then he departed in outrage."

P.S.:

The extra chapter will come a little later.