After Elder Yu emptied a magazine, the Pineleaf Squirrel let out a heart-wrenching cry.
Its ammunition!
It had hoarded that for so long!
Lin Jing rubbed his forehead too. It seemed he couldn't leave things lying around anymore... Even an ultra-small Storage Bag would do. Please, hurry up and arrive.
The silver lining was that Elder Yu had aimed the mechanism at the sky. Though its tremendous power still left the surroundings in a shambles, at least... the courtyard was still there. He hadn't blown up their home.
Then again, if the house had been blown away too, perhaps they could have gotten a better Cave Abode.
At that thought, Lin Jing felt a pang of regret.
"What is this thing?!" Elder Yu jumped in fright.
He looked at Lin Jing and the anguished Pineleaf Squirrel.
"Elder Yu..." Lin Jing fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Why did you press it?"
"Haha." Elder Yu laughed awkwardly. He hadn't expected this to happen.
Who could have imagined that a pair of novice mechanism craftsmen like them would cobble together something like this?
"As you've surely noticed, the Mechanism Bamboo Gun has a very simple construction. It only uses a few basic introductory structures. The reason it can accumulate moisture, fire high-speed streams of water, and explode is because of the inherent properties of its material, the spirit bamboo, as well as the effects of the Spirit Beans Bombs in its magazine."
"Elder, those mutated fierce plant Spirit Beans Bombs were everything we had," Lin Jing said. "We were saving them for the Inner Gate Examination..."
"I'll compensate you." Elder Yu had more or less grasped the situation. The impressive part was the spirit beans. The Mechanism Bamboo Gun's construction really wasn't very complicated; it merely used simple mechanisms to combine mutated spirit bamboo and mutated spirit beans!
Even so... with this thing, provided there were enough of those so-called explosive spirit beans, even a mortal could probably make a low-level cultivator suffer a nasty setback.
This must be the treasure beast Divine Ability Elder Mo Wuyou mentioned. Understanding dawned on Elder Yu. Treasure beasts truly were formidable. An ordinary mechanism material like spirit bamboo could actually be given an effect similar to the Water Arrow Art without having any formation patterns inscribed on it.
"There's no need, Elder. Those Spirit Beans Bombs were only modified from ordinary spirit beans, so they aren't worth that much. We can just make more. We're already very grateful that you're willing to teach us the Mechanism Art," Lin Jing said.
The Pineleaf Squirrel froze. No compensation anymore?
"I can't let you lose out. How about this? Your Mechanical Beast seems to have taken shape already, so I'll give you this ahead of time. The Inner Gate Examination is fast approaching. Go replenish what you need." After some thought, Elder Yu tossed them an Elder's Token.
"This is my Elder's Token. With it, you can eat at the Outer Sect Canteen free of charge. In addition, you can use it to enter the Inner Peak as Outer Gate Disciples."
Then he swept his sleeve and said, "It seems some disciples were drawn here by that commotion. I'll send them away. Carry on with your cultivation."
"Thank you, Elder Yu." After seeing Elder Yu off, Lin Jing tossed the token to the Pineleaf Squirrel. "They were only some spirit beans. As a Golden Core elder, how could Elder Yu let us lose out? In a bit... let's go to the canteen for an extra meal!"
The Pineleaf Squirrel wiped its tears. You humans have far too many tricks up your sleeves. Even so... so many of the spirit beans it had hoarded for so long were still gone!
The outer sect, the canteen!
It was said that even the most ordinary food here was white rice steamed from spirit rice and spirit spring water.
After obtaining the Elder's Token and tidying up a little, Lin Jing and the Pineleaf Squirrel charged toward the canteen like reincarnated starving ghosts.
"Senior Brother Lin Jing?" As Lin Jing sat down in a corner of the canteen with the Pineleaf Squirrel, quite a few Outer Gate Disciples recognized them. A Servant Disciple working there to earn Spirit Stones hurried over as though meeting an idol.
"Senior Brother Lin Jing, what would you like to eat? That's today's menu." Pointing at the menu on the wall, the Servant Disciple enthusiastically introduced the day's dishes.
"We have Birds Flying Wing to Wing in Heaven, Fairy Maidens of the Green Fields, Ten Thousand Strings of Coins at the Waist..."
"Junior Brother, could you say that in terms we can understand?" Lin Jing asked politely.
"A pair of wood-roasted squabs, stir-fried fresh spirit mushrooms, candied cashews..."
"Excellent." Lin Jing's heart fluttered at the sound of it. This sounded far tastier than leaf fried rice. He said, "Let's start with one of every dish on today's menu."
"Huh?" The Servant Disciple kindly reminded him, "Senior Brother, these dishes contain a great deal of spiritual energy. For example, Birds Flying Wing to Wing in Heaven is prepared using fragrant spirit wood and the Fire-Control Formula. With nearly perfect heat control, all the Cloud Dove's nutrients are sealed inside... A normal mid-Qi Refining cultivator would be full after eating just one."
"I'm afraid that many dishes would be difficult to digest and absorb. And they aren't cheap, either."
"It's fine. Do we look normal to you?" Lin Jing smiled faintly. At that, the Servant Disciple looked thoughtful, nodded, and ran off to inform the kitchen.
Before long, the dishes arrived one after another. The Pineleaf Squirrel pulled a grain of golden spirit rice from Lin Jing's pocket, then... sliced it in half with a claw, sharing it equally with Lin Jing. Otherwise, swallowing a whole grain might make their table manners too horrifying later, to the point that they would even snatch food from the other senior brothers and sisters.
"Gulp." Human and pet each put half a grain of golden spirit rice into their mouths and washed it down with a cup of Spirit Tea, as though taking a drug.
An hour later.
The Mechanism Workshop.
"Elder Yu, something terrible has happened!" An Immortal Crane flew over again. The scene seemed strangely familiar.
"What is it? Why are you in such a fluster?" Elder Yu walked out and looked at the Immortal Crane.
"Outer Gate Disciples Lin Jing and the Pineleaf Squirrel took out your Elder's Token at the canteen and demanded that their bill be waived!"
"You're making a mountain out of a molehill. I gave them that token. Lin Jing has a special constitution and requires a great deal of food and resources. With the Inner Gate Examination approaching, what's wrong with this old man giving them a little extra nourishment? Has someone been gossiping? If any disciple objects to what I've done, let them try defeating the Bamboo Mechanical Dragon too!"
"Elder Yu, none of the Outer Gate Disciples object. Not many people even know about this," the Immortal Crane said. "It's Head Chef Fugui'er and his Fire Spirit Sparrow who have collapsed from exhaustion. Lin Jing and his companion can eat far too much. Normally, the canteen still has plenty of food left at the end of the day... Today, there isn't a scrap left."
"I heard... Lin Jing even ate the meat bones..."
"The leftovers are supposed to feed the special Spirit Beasts that joined the sect for the 'Meals and Lodging Provided'... When they discover there's no food later, they may have complaints."
"Most importantly... they ate all that without paying so much as half a Spirit Stone, because they had your token."
"If they eat like this every day, the Outer Sect Canteen's finances... may run into trouble! When that happens, you'll have to cover the shortfall out of your own pocket, Elder."
After hearing this, Elder Yu froze.
What the hell?
Damn it, I've been duped. Elder Yu's vision went dark again. I'm such a fool. This longevity body is so clever at everything he learns. How could he possibly make a wish that leaves him at a disadvantage? The sky has come crashing down.
"Elder, what do we do?" the Heavenly Feather Crane asked.
"What else can we do? Let them eat!" Elder Yu gritted his teeth. "Once they enter the Inner Gate... surely they can't keep coming to the Outer Sect Canteen to freeload! I'll go press the Inner Gate... to hold this year's Inner Gate Promotion Examination as soon as possible!"
Before you continue