The Little Ginseng Spirit

Had it arrived in paradise? Before this, whenever it had tried to expand its garden, demonic beasts had trampled it, and humans had discovered it. That had left it huddled in its tiny patch of land, afraid to venture out.

But the ball of light above its head had just said this whole place was its!

All of it!

It could plant spiritual herbs wherever it liked!

It could cultivate wherever it liked!

This must be the heavenly life in the Upper Realm that the elders talked about!

How could it be this lucky? Still unable to believe it, it asked cautiously:

"Senior, is it true? Can I plant things anywhere here?"

Linglong nodded. Look at the little thing, getting so excited over this. Hehe~

Another day of easing Master's burdens.

Once it had its answer, the little ginseng spirit sprang out of the soil. It trotted about on its short legs, looking around with growing delight. The place was bare, with only a small pool and a single spiritual herb, but it was confident it could fill the whole place with spiritual herbs one day.

It loved this task!

That person was so kind to bring it here.

"What's your name?"

Linglong asked. She couldn't keep calling it "little thing," after all.

"I don't have a name. I only know I'm a ginseng plant."

"Then you'll be called Lingxi." Linglong gave it a name on the spot.

Lingxi~

Lingxi~

The little ginseng spirit repeated its name to itself and nodded excitedly. It had a name now! Then it gazed at Linglong with shining eyes. The boss is so good to me!

She had given it spiritual herbs to grow and even given it a name.

Jiang Lu sensed that Linglong had arranged everything, so she stopped paying attention and headed out.

Inside the cloth pouch, Chi Li and Cangchen watched the little ginseng spirit vanish before their eyes. Clutching their spirit stones, they exchanged a look.

When Jiang Lu had collected spiritual herbs earlier, they had found it strange, but they had assumed she had a spatial Storage Bag.

Now it seemed she had a secret!

Still, the stronger she became, the better their chances of returning to the Upper Realm. Besides, she already had the Primal Chaos Spiritual Body. What did it matter if she had a secret involving space as well?

It was a good thing in any case. Chi Li shook her head at Cangchen. They would simply pretend they knew nothing. After all, the Master-Servant Contract between them meant trust did not come easily.

But that did not mean they could never come to trust one another.

As Jiang Lu traveled, she worked with Chi Li and Cangchen to slay quite a few demonic beasts. Selling them would earn enough spirit stones to buy a low-grade Storage Bag and an alchemy furnace.

Sure enough, as her strength rose, so did her chances to earn spirit stones.

Every Rogue Cultivator: Are you even listening to yourself?

Jiang Lu was brimming with confidence. Only a quarter of her time in the secret realm had passed, and she had already gained so much.

Just as she was feeling pleased with herself, she heard fighting ahead.

She carefully hid behind a tree. Two groups were facing off, five or six people altogether. From the look of them, they seemed to be Rogue Cultivators.

Their strength was nothing to scoff at. This was only the second time she had encountered cultivators since entering the secret realm, and these were powerful ones.

Among the six, one was in Late Qi Refinement, while the others were at least in the Qi Refinement Middle Stage. They were fighting with blood in their eyes.

She carefully concealed her presence. She was no match for them and could not afford to make a sound.

Even Cangchen and Chi Li stayed quiet in the cloth pouch. Jiang Lu was still weak, and they needed time to grow. They were grasshoppers tied to the same rope; naturally, they could not drag her down.

As for stirring up trouble, at the rate she was progressing, it would be only a few years before they could swagger wherever they pleased. Then they would have plenty of chances to turn the Immortal Cultivation Realm upside down!

One woman and two beasts hid quietly in the shadows. Jiang Lu had never fought another person before, so she carefully studied their moves. Every strike was sharp and ruthless.

A cultivator's techniques reflected their nature. These people were no good.

She did not dare stare too intently, either. Cultivators had keen senses, and if they felt someone watching from the shadows, she could easily be discovered.

One side crushed the other with overwhelming strength. Three cultivators fell and did not rise again.

The three victors took their Storage Bags, opened them, and swept a glance inside. Satisfied smiles spread across their faces.

Then they looked down at the three corpses with contempt, curled their lips in mockery, and turned to leave.

With strength like that, they dared follow us for days? At least the haul was good. Their time had not been wasted.

Jiang Lu watched them go and remained hidden, her gaze fixed on a spiritual sword lying not far away.

It had fallen from one of the dead cultivators during the fight. Perhaps it had landed too far away for the victors to notice, or perhaps they had seen it and simply did not care.

They might not care, but she did. Though it was the most ordinary sort of spiritual sword on the market, it still cost a hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones.

Only after an hour had passed did she emerge and cautiously approach it. When she saw the huge notch in the blade, the corner of her mouth twitched.

So it was damaged. No wonder they had left it behind. She did not want it either. There was no point repairing a spiritual sword in that condition; the cost would buy a new one.

It was only a hundred spirit stones. It was not as if she could not get them.

She gritted her teeth and turned away.

Damn it!

So much for finding a bargain!

She had not gone much farther when roars and the sounds of fighting reached her.

She stopped. You've got to be kidding me.

More cultivators?

Have I wandered into some kind of cultivator nest?

A cultivator up ahead came sprinting toward her, several demonic beasts close behind. Their eyes were red, as if they meant to tear that person to pieces.

The fleeing cultivator spotted Jiang Lu, eyes lighting up, and immediately hurled the egg in his hands into her arms. Without slowing down, he ran past her.

Jiang Lu froze. Something had been thrown at her, and she had caught it on instinct. Looking at the egg in her arms, she had a bad feeling.

Then she saw the demonic beasts wheel around and charge at her. Only two continued after the cultivator.

That bastard!

She threw the egg toward the beasts, turned, and ran.

She was not stupid enough to flee with it in her arms. She might as well mark her position for them. A demonic beast egg was valuable, but she had to stay alive to enjoy it.

If she ever ran into that bastard again, she would make him pay. How dare he use her like that!

The beasts saw the egg flying toward them and stopped at once to catch it. One held it protectively and cast a hateful look in the direction Jiang Lu had fled.

Seeing that the egg was safe, the other beasts continued their pursuit.

Jiang Lu glanced back at the beasts still hot on her heels, panting hard. That bastard!

He'd better hope I never run into him again!

After she had run for some time, the beasts seemed to reach another demonic beast's territory. They stopped and prowled nearby for a while before tossing their heads and leaving.

Jiang Lu leaned against a tree trunk, gasping for breath. Her legs had gone weak. Just as she was about to sink to the ground for a rest, her eyelid twitched!