A favor

While Jiang Dongjun worked hard to perfect his visualization method, his father was also seeking to trade for greater benefits.

Inside the dean's office of the Soul Tool Department.

The vice dean was on duty.

Qian Duoduo, a living embodiment of "all love is a curse," would have been an unrivaled doormat for women in Jiang Dongjun's previous life.

He was around fifty, tall and powerfully built, and looked like a bear sitting there. His white hair stood up like steel needles, and his face bore a hint of weathering. The sunset spilling through the window cast a metallic sheen over his bronze skin. He also carried a strong metallic scent, which was probably the finest perfume a Soul Engineer could wear.

Jiang Ming sat opposite Qian Duoduo. He had finished reporting everything that needed reporting and was waiting for preliminary verification.

Tap-tap, tap-tap, tap...

Hurried footsteps came down the corridor and stopped outside the door. After a merely perfunctory knock, the visitor pushed it open and entered.

The newcomer was a beautiful woman around thirty wearing a white chef's hat. Her face was anxious as she entered, and she launched straight into a question without even offering a greeting.

"Dean Qian, someone found a Land of Yin-Yang Harmony? And an Immortal Spirit Fungus that just broke through the soil? They haven't already picked it and brought it back, have they?"

She seemed to be questioning Qian Duoduo, but her beautiful eyes were fixed firmly on Jiang Ming.

In her agitation, a little of her formidable Soul Douluo pressure inadvertently spread outward. The pressure on Jiang Ming abruptly intensified, and beads of sweat formed at his temples.

"Xiaoxiao, calm down!"

Qian Duoduo gave a low, stern shout, countering her aura with his own and shielding Jiang Ming.

"That immortal... fungus you mentioned is still there. It hasn't been picked. Teacher Jiang protected it."

Lu Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did she realize her offense, and she hurriedly reined in her aura, her face full of apology.

"I'm sorry, Teacher Jiang. I lost my composure. The Immortal Spirit Fungus is simply too rare. It's both a supreme Spirit Object and one of the peerless ingredients chefs dream of working with. If I could prepare one even once in my lifetime, it would be a true blessing. I got a little anxious just now."

"It's all right, Teacher Lu. I understand a chef's pursuit of delicious ingredients. We Soul Engineers might lose our composure even more badly if we missed out on a rare metal."

Jiang Ming discreetly wiped away his sweat and smiled as he smoothed things over for her, handling the situation with practiced tact.

The person responsible for the preliminary verification had arrived.

At a glance from Qian Duoduo, Jiang Ming gave another detailed account of the Immortal Spirit Fungus breaking through the soil and the changes it had undergone afterward.

He paused frequently along the way to answer several of Lu Xiaoxiao's questions.

"There's no doubt, Dean Qian. We can now be completely certain that the luminous white mushroom the size of a washbasin is an Immortal Spirit Fungus!"

Lu Xiaoxiao delivered her professional judgment, then explained its specific medicinal effects.

"The Immortal Spirit Fungus helps balance yin and yang within the human body, reducing the likelihood of cultivation deviation. It's said to nurture a trace of immortal spirit qi found only in the Divine Realm. Once consumed, that immortal spirit qi merges into the body and greatly reduces the difficulty of breaking through cultivation bottlenecks... That's what the ancient texts record."

Qian Duoduo's eyebrows rose slightly before his smiling expression returned, though a different gleam flickered in his eyes.

"All right, Xiaoxiao. Wait outside for a while. Once I've settled things here, I'll take you to find the Immortal Spirit Fungus. You're the academy's most accomplished nutritionist. No matter who ultimately receives the fungus, we'll need your help."

Lu Xiaoxiao wanted to say more, but faced with Qian Duoduo's forceful gaze that brooked no argument, she could only lower her banners and still her drums.

She turned toward Jiang Ming, the other person involved, and made one last bid for herself before leaving the office.

"Teacher Jiang, if you let me see the intact Immortal Spirit Fungus, I'm willing to cook you a dish using a thousand-year Spirit Object."

Jiang Ming was tempted. If he had this Soul Douluo chef prepare the five Immortal Spirit Fungi he had brought back, their effects would undoubtedly be brought out to the fullest.

But... no!

"All right, get going. We still have other matters to discuss," Qian Duoduo urged impatiently.

The office door closed softly, leaving only Qian Duoduo and Jiang Ming inside. The formidable soul power of a Titled Douluo filled the room, ensuring their conversation would not leak outside.

"Jiang Ming, you're willing to give the academy the Land of Yin-Yang Harmony and the growing Immortal Spirit Fungus, and you're sure all you want is one Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone, a few Spirit Objects that strengthen a Soul Master's physique, and an increase in your academy-issued rare metal quota?"

Jiang Ming hastily replied, "Dean Qian, you missed one condition. I'd also like to exchange a Thousand-Year Soul Bone I own for one from the academy."

Qian Duoduo smiled, unbothered, and continued to hint, "Once the academy gains control of the Land of Yin-Yang Harmony, it will reap an endless stream of benefits. And as for the Immortal Spirit Fungus, while I have no use for it myself, I can use it to get my rival under my thumb. That matters a great deal to me..."

"Dean Qian, I won't change my terms. That's all I want," Jiang Ming said decisively, unmoved by the temptation. "You've treated my wife and me very well. How could Diwu Ying and I be people who don't understand gratitude?"

Qian Duoduo remained smiling, revealing none of his thoughts. He simply stopped trying to persuade him and examined the damaged left arm bone on the desk.

"A Soul Bone just over a thousand years old, with a lifesaving Soul Skill. That counts as a little treasure. Jiang Ming, I'll make the decision myself: I'll exchange a seven-thousand-year Red-Feathered Crane right arm bone for it. That Red-Feathered Crane was said to possess a trace of the divine bird Bifang's bloodline."

"I can assign the rare metal quota to you right now, but you can't sell it. It's for your own use only. As for a light-attribute Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone and Spirit Objects to strengthen your physique, I'll need to check the Treasure Gathering Pavilion. How about I find those for you after we return?"

Jiang Ming immediately took the hint. Returning a peach for a plum, he handed over the bargaining chip he still held.

"Dean Qian, the Land of Yin-Yang Harmony is actually Old Dragon Ravine. The Immortal Spirit Fungus is on the cliff wall north of the Cold Pool at the bottom. Although I've concealed it, we should still leave immediately and bring people to guard it. Let's get it safely in our bag before a long night breeds more dreams and this heavenly treasure suffers a 'human calamity.'"

"Old Dragon Ravine? But I lived there for half a month..."

Qian Duoduo looked utterly stunned. In the end, he could only shake his head and sigh.

"Time and fate. It seems I lacked the luck, and my destined opportunity had yet to arrive."

"Let's go, Jiang Ming. Sorry for the trouble, but please accompany Teacher Lu Xiaoxiao and me."

A Titled Douluo traveling with a Flying Soul Tool was astonishingly fast.

If Qian Duoduo had not needed to support Jiang Ming and wait for Soul Douluo Lu Xiaoxiao, who was clumsily operating her Flying Soul Tool behind them, he could have traveled even faster.

Even so, they reached Old Dragon Ravine by midnight and removed Jiang Ming's concealment, exposing the Immortal Spirit Fungus to the world once more.

After examining it, Lu Xiaoxiao was beside herself with joy and delivered a conclusive verdict.

"That's right, Dean Qian. It's an Immortal Spirit Fungus. It needs another nine years. Once it has ten thousand years of cultivation, it will fall off on its own. Only then will it be truly mature and ready to cook and eat."

"Very good, Xiaoxiao. I'm sorry for the trouble, but for now I'll have to ask you to stay here and guard the Immortal Spirit Fungus, so birds, beasts, or other Soul Masters don't ruin it. I'll return to the academy immediately and call a Sea God Pavilion Meeting to decide on the arrangements for developing the Land of Yin-Yang Harmony with the elders."

"Dean Qian, rest assured. I'll live and die with the Immortal Spirit Fungus. Anyone who wants to lay a finger on it will have to step over my corpse!"

"There's no need for that, haha, no need." Qian Duoduo waved a hand, smiling.

Lu Xiaoxiao's expression remained utterly resolute, without the slightest relaxation. She looked at Jiang Ming again.

"Teacher Jiang, once I return, I'll visit you in person and cook you a dish using a thousand-year Spirit Object to thank you for this kindness. Over the next few days, think about what effect you'd like the dish to have."

Jiang Ming hurriedly replied, "It would truly be an honor to have Grandmaster Lu cook for me even once. But I have a presumptuous request. I don't want to be blind to a treasure again, as I was this time, when I nearly ruined the Immortal Spirit Fungus. I'm very interested in the ancient texts you mentioned earlier, Grandmaster Lu, and would like to broaden my knowledge of heavenly treasures. Would you allow me to read the relevant ancient texts in your possession? We could consider that repayment for this favor."

Lu Xiaoxiao frowned and glanced at Qian Duoduo beside her.

He, however, kept staring at the Immortal Spirit Fungus's luminous white cap, as though he had heard nothing at all.