Chapter 78: Senluo Flower

Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Senluo Flower

"Heh heh..."

Huang Ping nodded with a hollow laugh. "Senior Brother Dong, you’re going to the Marketplace too?"

Dong Xing shifted his weight, shaking his head and sighing. "Ah, there’s just one downside to this mount. It’s a bit hard on the rear."

Huang Ping: "?"

’Did I ask you that?’

Huang Ping froze for a second, let out another hollow laugh, and was about to nod in agreement.

But Dong Xing’s tone shifted, and he said gleefully, "Well, even if it’s hard, this old man’s hide is tough. I can take it." He paused, then added happily, "It’s so much easier than walking up the mountain."

Huang Ping’s face darkened, and he slowly clenched his fists.

Seemingly realizing he had misspoken, Dong Xing quickly tried to explain, "Junior Brother Huang, I wasn’t talking about you! I meant, well, walking really isn’t as comfortable as riding..."

"Ahem... that’s, uh, not what I meant. I just mean that riding is definitely more comfortable than walking."

"Farewell."

A vein bulged on Huang Ping’s forehead. He fought back the urge to hurl a Fireball at the man’s face, muttered the single word, and turned to walk back down the mountain.

’My luck is terrible today. I might as well skip the Marketplace...’

"Hey, hey, Junior Brother Huang, you’re not going to the Marketplace anymore?"

Seeing him turn back down the mountain, Dong Xing paused in surprise, then quickly waved and called out.

Huang Ping’s body shuddered for a moment. Spiritual Power erupted from his feet, and with a few great strides, he was dozens of meters away in an instant.

Li Changsheng, who had been watching from the side the entire time, couldn’t help the slight twitch of his lips.

’I never realized this old man had such a side to him.’

"Let’s go, Xiaohua, Little Xiaohua..."

Worried that Dong Xing might impulsively turn back to find Huang Ping, Li Changsheng quickly called out to his beasts, urging them to continue up the mountain.

"Sigh..."

For some reason, Dong Xing sighed again and again, a look of pity on his face.

But in the next moment, he was once again savoring the experience of riding.

The rest of the journey passed without any further incidents.

The night passed, and the sky began to brighten at dawn.

The two men and two pigs slowly made their way from the main road to the mountaintop platform, arriving at the east gate of the Marketplace.

Li Changsheng hopped off his mount and landed, looking speechlessly at Dong Xing, who was still sitting there, unwilling to get down.

"Senior Brother, we’re at the Marketplace!"

"Hm? Oh!"

Dong Xing gave an embarrassed laugh, dismounted, and stroked Xiaohua’s smooth hair wistfully. "This mount really is amazing..."

Hearing this, Li Changsheng, who was unloading the sacks of rice from Little Xiaohua’s back, couldn’t help but roll his eyes and continue with his task.

Dong Xing caught a glimpse of him from the corner of his eye and declared loudly, "This mount really is amazing!"

Li Changsheng froze, then turned his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Don’t worry, Senior Brother. When Xiaohua and Big Flower have piglets, I’ll definitely save one for you."

"Actually, I’m heading to the beast pens in a bit. Senior Brother, do you want to come? If you see a Spirit Beast you like, you could buy it as a mount."

At his words, a flicker of interest appeared in Dong Xing’s eyes. He nodded. "I can go take a look, but there’s no need to buy anything." His tone turned somewhat dismissive. "They’re just the sort you kill for meat."

"Alright, alright... up to you."

Li Changsheng nodded, not bothering to argue. He recalled Little Xiaohua and the swarm of insects into his Spirit Beast Bag, then placed the sacks of rice on Xiaohua’s back.

"Let’s go, Senior Brother. Take me to that rice shop you mentioned."

Dong Xing nodded and, with his hands behind his back, strolled leisurely toward the east gate.

Li Changsheng followed behind with Xiaohua, asking curiously, "Since we’re at the Marketplace, Senior Brother, are you here to buy or sell something?"

Dong Xing waved his hand. "I’m not in a hurry. We’ll talk about it after your business is done."

Li Changsheng nodded and didn’t ask again.

They entered the street. Perhaps because it was early morning, there weren’t many Cultivators coming and going.

Dong Xing led him straight ahead, showing no signs of stopping.

Along the way, some Cultivators who saw their group couldn’t help but stop and stare for a few moments.

Xiaohua’s size and appearance were simply too eye-catching.

It wasn’t that other Cultivators didn’t have Spirit Beasts, but compared to Xiaohua, who was over five meters long and powerfully built, their beasts seemed rather inconspicuous.

Faced with these curious gazes, Li Changsheng simply lowered his eyes, his expression calm and composed.

Dong Xing, however, looked a bit stiff, and his leisurely pace quickened slightly.

Before long, a tower came into view, dozens of meters tall, carved with a hundred beasts and inscribed with complex runes.

In front of the tower’s gate stood several men in Profound Robes, their expressions solemn.

Li Changsheng’s gaze swept over the men as he sized up the tower. The more he looked, the more horrified his expression became.

When he had first arrived at the miscellaneous peak, he hadn’t looked closely, assuming it was just an ordinary tower.

Looking at it again now, the tower was clearly a large-scale Magical Artifact.

The spiritual light of the runes on it was dim, and the carved beasts looked like real Spirit Beasts, as if they might leap down at any moment.

The faint pressure it emanated was countless times more powerful than what he had felt from Steward Ma.

"Let’s go, Junior Brother Li."

Li Changsheng was suddenly jolted from his thoughts. He lowered his eyes and quickly followed Dong Xing across the High Tower Square.

Meanwhile, on the third floor of the high tower.

A burly man with a plain face and an exceptionally sturdy build stood side-by-side at a window with a stern-looking, middle-aged man who had a long beard.

The two of them looked down, their gazes landing on Li Changsheng’s group of two men and one pig with mild curiosity.

If Li Changsheng had seen him, he would have definitely recognized the burly man as Steward Shen Tu, the one who had piloted the flying ship.

And as one of the top figures below the Elders, for someone to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him meant their cultivation and status were by no means inferior.

Once Li Changsheng’s group was far away, Shen Tu withdrew his gaze, turned, walked to a chair, and plopped down. Spreading his hands, he said helplessly, "Senior Brother Luo, I have no desire to be targeted by that madman. It’s useless for you to ask me."

"Aren’t you tempted?"

Luo Fang turned his head, walked over to the chair opposite him, and sat down with a faint smile. "That’s a Tier Three Spirit Plant, the Senluo Flower. Even if its properties don’t align with yours, consuming it can still increase your chances of condensing a Dao Foundation by ten percent."

"Tempted... how could I not be tempted?"

Shen Tu nodded affirmatively, but then his tone shifted. "But the Senluo Flower is considered by Chief Steward Tong to be his for the taking. Even the Elders have tacitly approved. What can you and I possibly do?"

"Besides, there’s only one Senluo Flower..."

"Tacit approval? Perhaps..."

Luo Fang gave a faint smile, his expression turning serious. "I once did Master Fang Luan a small favor, and he promised to refine a batch of pills for me. As long as you and I work together to obtain the Senluo Flower, we can split whatever pills are produced. How about it?"

"Master Fang Luan?"

Shen Tu’s expression changed slightly. He sat up straight and asked in surprise, "The one from Pill Valley?"

Luo Fang nodded lightly, stroking his beard with a smile. "What do you say? As long as Junior Brother Shen is willing to join me, the Senluo Flower will be within our grasp."

Hearing this, Shen Tu froze for a moment, then sneered inwardly.

’Within our grasp?’

’Snatching food from Madman Tong’s mouth? We’d be lucky if we didn’t get a few teeth knocked out!’

But when he thought of the Senluo Spirit Pills refined from the Senluo Flower, it was a lie to say he wasn’t tempted.

Granted, the Dao Foundation one could condense by using it to break through wouldn’t be as strong as one formed using a Spiritual Object with compatible properties.

Then again, a Spirit Pill that could help one break through to the Dao Foundation Realm was already incredibly rare and difficult to find.

To then be picky enough to search for a Spiritual Object with compatible properties would be, to some extent, pushing one’s luck.

Shen Tu furrowed his brows, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.