Blood Condensing Grass! (Please Keep Reading, Please Recommend)

I understand!

Understand my ass!

I don't understand, and I don't want to!

You bunch of fiends are trying to brainwash me!

Then Lin Qingfeng changed tack.

"But the sect's property is public, and its rules are strict."

"Every blade of Spiritual Grass and every plant here belongs to the sect. None may be taken for private use."

"Once, a disciple gave in to temptation and secretly kept a medicinal herb. The Discipline Elder caught him afterward, crippled part of his cultivation, and locked him up at Reflection Cliff for several hours."

"Take this as a warning, and remember it well."

Su Ling'er: "..."

Oh, come on, Senior Disciple Brother!

You're worried I might dig around and steal a few Spiritual Grasses while I'm at it, aren't you?!

You're keeping an eye on me yourself. How would I dare?!

And all those people who are only helping by running their mouths are right here, too. It's infuriating!

You even had to spell it out for me!

You make exploitation sound so righteous and noble, and oppression sound so grand and just!

When they spend their own money to grow things, that's "self-interest."

When I'm forced to work for the sect, that's "the greater good"?

And to top it off, you have to warn me not to steal from the sect?

Would I dare?

With all of you watching me, when would I even get the chance?

Though she was screaming furiously inside, she still had to keep up appearances.

"Senior Disciple Brother... I-I understand!"

"This disciple was narrow-minded! I nearly let down the sect and the high hopes you placed in me!"

"I'll get to it right away!"

With that, she stopped looking at everyone, turned around, grabbed a hoe from the edge of the field, and walked into the three-mu medicinal plot.

Behind her, that familiar racket started up again.

"One swing, one drop of sweat! Junior Sister's foundation will be as firm as a mountain!"

"Turn over all three mu! Building your foundation is no dream!"

"Dig for immortal fortune in the dirt! Success comes with hard work!"

Su Ling'er stopped looking at them. She closed her eyes and shut out every sound.

She channeled Spiritual Power into the hoe. It came down, turning over the fresh soil.

With every moment of work, her Spiritual Power slowly dwindled.

She glanced around and saw Senior Disciple Brother pulling plate after plate of Spiritual Fruit from his storage bag. He and those "atmosphere group" disciples had settled on the bluestone embankment by the field, eating one plump purple fruit after another.

The disciples who had looked so empty-eyed before seemed to have come back to life. They chatted with Senior Disciple Brother as they ate.

"Little Junior Sister is working way too slowly. When will our sect ever get anywhere at this rate?"

"She's already working pretty fast for someone at Qi Refining Great Perfection."

"I can't wait to open a secret realm! Why's Little Junior Sister working so slowly?"

"But she really does have it rough. She's the only one in our sect, so we can only make her do all the work."

As if remembering something, they suddenly shouted in Su Ling'er's direction:

"Little Junior Sister! Hang in there! We believe in you!"

After shouting a few times, they went back to clinking cups and chatting.

Su Ling'er listened, her veins practically throbbing.

If you think I'm working too slowly, why don't you come help?!

You're just standing there watching and offering a few words of encouragement. Have you no shame?!

Is there any justice in this world?!

You know I'm having a hard time, and you still won't help me!

And what's that about me being "the only one"?

Are you all not people or something?!

The entire sect is being held up by me alone, is it?!

Su Ling'er's gaze drifted to Lin Qingfeng, who was chewing on a Spiritual Fruit. Their eyes met.

Lin Qingfeng paused his chewing for a moment and looked at his little junior sister in confusion.

Then a knowing smile spread across his face.

He understood!

Little Junior Sister thought the support squad was being too slack. She needed her senior brothers and sisters to cheer her on right now. How could they be so halfhearted?

He cleared his throat and called out to everyone around him:

"Everyone! Little Junior Sister is exhausted in body and spirit, and now you're all dragging your feet too? Give it everything you've got!"

"Beat the drums! Cheer her on!"

Boom! Boom! Boom-boom-boom!

"Turn the soil just right, and the immortal path comes in sight!"

"If you don't give up, we won't abandon you!"

The noise was several times louder than before. Seeing those people come alive all over again, Su Ling'er felt as if her head were about to explode.

A passing disciple glanced curiously at the medicinal plot Little Junior Sister was tending.

That startled her into quickly lowering her head, as if she weren't even there.

This was so embarrassing!

She shouldn't have looked at Senior Disciple Brother!

Now people passing by kept staring at her in the middle of this mortifying scene.

Could someone please wipe this damned Demonic Sect off the face of the earth?!

Finally, Su Ling'er finished all her tasks.

She placed the jade slip confirming completion on the stone counter in front of the task elder.

The elder reached into a storage compartment behind him, took out a dusty gray cloth pouch, and slid it over to Su Ling'er.

At that moment, her heart gave a slight flutter.

Finally, it wasn't another pile of lousy copper coins!

She reached out and touched the pouch. The coarse fabric felt light in her hand, which made her a little suspicious.

Then she untied the cord and looked inside.

Her already-numb eyes first went blank, then slowly widened in shock...

Next, a dampness seemed to gather in her eyes.

Though the hall was dimly lit, the contents of the pouch seemed to glow faintly on their own.

There were two pieces of silver inside, but Su Ling'er had long since stopped caring about such mundane things.

A low-grade Spiritual Plant came into view. It was emerald green all over, with a spot of vermilion at its tip. A faint herbal fragrance rose from its roots and drifted into her nose.

A name suddenly surfaced from the depths of her mind.

Blood Condensing Grass!

This was Blood Condensing Grass!

Though it was a low-grade Spiritual Grass, judging by its age and size, it was at least a year old!

Outside the hall, Lin Qingfeng and his noisy support squad were still standing there, waiting for her to start her next round of "labor."

Su Ling'er sneaked a glance at them. They must have wanted to keep watching her grow numb, struggle, and finally give in again.

But she was certain they didn't know that something had changed in her world.

The past at Qing Xu Temple surfaced in her mind once more.

For an outer disciple like her, with a Pseudo Spiritual Root, Blood Condensing Grass was a Spiritual Plant she could hear about but never hope to obtain.

For outer disciples at the second or third level of Qi Refining, getting a Spiritual Plant?

They could forget it.

All the sect could ever give them was Bigu Pills, a few copper coins, and the bare minimum of three spirit stones a month.

Being taught Qing Xu Temple's cultivation method was already the greatest favor they could receive.

The aptitude of outer disciples was what it was. Blood Condensing Grass might be low-grade, but giving something like that to an outer disciple would simply be a waste.

Even inner disciples had to take on sect missions and brave some danger outside the sect before they could exchange for a plant like this.

And those missions could be life-threatening for outer disciples like them.

As for personal disciples?

They didn't need to think about any of that. The Sect Master and elders would hand them the best-aged Spiritual Grasses, and even pills that had already been refined.

Personal disciples had only one task!

Cultivate.

Then inherit the sect's teachings.

Though the Sect Master of Qing Xu Temple had made her a promise, this Blood Condensing Grass was a real temptation, right there in front of her.

It was a treasure she never would have dreamed she could obtain so easily in the Demonic Sect.

Qing Xu Temple had strict rules forbidding disciples from fighting among themselves. Those rules protected the sect's resources.

And few outer disciples were foolish enough to openly provoke inner disciples.

Even so, inner disciples still mocked and verbally harassed outer disciples behind closed doors.

But at least everyone kept up a semblance of harmony. There were no fights to the death, just a few jibes. No one actually laid hands on anyone.

But here, in this place she considered a Demon Den, disciples slaughtered and ambushed one another. They took the lives of fellow disciples while laughing and talking. There was practically no order at all.

And yet...

Here, all she had to do was turn over some soil to receive a Spiritual Plant that even Qing Xu Temple's inner disciples had to obtain through sect missions.

Compared with this reward, the work she had put in seemed almost insignificant.

But... why?

Had this demonic sect really become willing to spend so much on cultivating its "tools" after only five hundred rounds of "brainwashing"?