Chapter 82: Fruitless Wait, Seeds

Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Fruitless Wait, Seeds

Looking at his retreating back, Dong Xing let out a sigh. He rubbed his face and turned to walk toward the central high tower.

Rather than aimlessly searching street by street, he planned to stake out High Tower Square. At the very least, he would be able to see portions of the four main streets, giving him a much higher chance of spotting Dong Yao. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Li Changsheng exited the Marketplace’s east gate, walked to the side of the main road, found a flat patch of ground, and let out Xiaohua and Little Xiaohua.

Having entered and exited the Spirit Beast Bag many times, Xiaohua glanced at the surrounding environment before leaning against him and grunting softly.

SQUEAL...

Little Xiaohua was different. This was its first time going in and out of the Spirit Beast Bag since growing up, so it was slightly panicked. The moment it appeared, it began to squeal loudly. After kicking up a fuss for a while, it grunted softly and nudged closer to Xiaohua.

Li Changsheng patted Little Xiaohua’s head. With a flip of his hand, he took out some reserved Spirit Rice and fed it two handfuls, then fed Xiaohua two handfuls as well.

Li Changsheng patted Xiaohua’s head and ordered, "Lie down."

Chewing the Spirit Rice, Xiaohua obediently lay down on its side.

Li Changsheng plopped down onto its soft belly. With a slight shift in his thoughts, he released the insect swarm.

Currently, not counting the Insect Mother, Big Bro, and Little Bro, there were exactly two hundred and one insects in the Red-winged Blood Bamboo Insect swarm. Of the more than a hundred insects brought out from Beast Valley, only eighty-five remained, all of which were Tier One Low-Grade Spirit Insects. The other one hundred and sixteen insects were bred by the Insect Mother and were unranked.

Looking at them, Li Changsheng willed his thoughts.

BUZZ...

The insect swarm vibrated and quickly split into two groups. One group, led by Big Bro, hovered around him. The other group, led by Little Bro, entered the nearby mountain forest to hunt for Blood Food.

After finishing this, Li Changsheng took out the Spirit Plant Inheritance Jade Scroll and pressed it against his glabella. He carefully cross-referenced it with the Three-leaf Spirit Absorption Vein Map in his mind, studying it in detail.

OINK OINK...

Little Xiaohua looked left and right before trotting over to the grassy slope nearby. It lowered its head and rooted around in the dirt, though it was unclear what it was looking for.

Time slowly passed.

The Cultivators coming and going through the east gate all cast curious glances in Li Changsheng’s direction. It was truly because Xiaohua and Little Xiaohua were a bit too eye-catching; it would be hard not to draw attention. Some Cultivators even came up to inquire about what kind of Spirit Beasts the two of them were, where they had been found, and whether they were for sale.

There were also Cultivators waiting for friends and relatives who gathered around him in twos and threes, chatting casually. This eventually made Li Changsheng somewhat impatient, prompting him to command the hidden insects in the surroundings to fly up and hover above his head.

As expected, the reputation of an Insect-controlling Cultivator was highly effective. In less than an hour, there was not a single person left within a thirty-meter radius of him.

Li Changsheng was happy to have the peace and quiet, and he immediately focused on studying the Three-leaf Spirit Absorption Vein Map. Naturally, he also wanted to become a Spirit Plant Master to elevate his status and position. However, that would have to wait until he had thoroughly comprehended it. Otherwise, he absolutely wouldn’t risk attempting it.

It was still the same old saying. He didn’t care if he ended up with facial paralysis, but damaging his mental faculties was absolutely unacceptable.

It wasn’t until the sun rose high in the sky and a scorching heat permeated the air that he stopped.

Li Changsheng opened his eyes, flipped his hand to store the jade scroll, swept his gaze over his surroundings, and slowly stood up. He gently stretched his back, patted Xiaohua’s belly, and chuckled. "Stop sleeping, Xiaohua. Get up, we’re going home."

OINK OINK...

Xiaohua opened its eyes, rolled over to rub its back against the ground, and stood up, shaking its body. Instantly, dust billowed into the air.

Once the dust settled, Li Changsheng vaulted onto Xiaohua’s back. He took one last look at the Marketplace’s east gate, then turned his head and shouted to Little Xiaohua, who was lying in the tall grass not far away, "Let’s go, Little Xiaohua!"

OINK OINK...

One person and two pigs stepped onto the main road and hurried toward the foot of the mountain.

By the time the dark curtain of night fell and the moonlight cascaded down, two massive silhouettes slowly arrived outside a small courtyard.

CREAK...

The courtyard gate opened. A moment later, lamps were lit one by one.

One Tusked Pig with smooth, dark black hair, and another with dark brown, spiky bristles hurried over to a large vat and stretched their necks out to gulp down water.

Li Changsheng surveyed his surroundings. Watching the insect swarm disperse, he turned and returned to the wooden house.

The next morning.

Cooking smoke drifted up slowly from the wooden house.

Li Changsheng sat on a stool by the doorway, holding a wooden bowl and eating in hearty mouthfuls. Lying at his feet was a white fox, about the size of a half-grown mutt, currently tearing into a piece of fresh, bloody meat.

Li Changsheng wolfed down his last mouthful of food and fixed his gaze on the enthusiastically eating white fox.

[Target: Xiaobai]

[Race: Mutated White Jade Fox (Female)]

[Tier One Low-Grade: 87%]

[Talent: Fox Scent]

[Status: Healthy]

"Almost there. I hope you can step up to the plate." A smile appeared on Li Changsheng’s face. He reached out to stroke Xiaobai, then turned and walked into the kitchen.

After a simple cleanup, Li Changsheng straightened his robes, strode to the courtyard gate, and mounted Xiaohua’s back.

"Let’s go, Xiaohua."

OINK OINK...

Xiaohua, long accustomed to its role as a mount, stood up and marched out of the courtyard.

Just as he was preparing to use his Spirit Binder arts to close the courtyard gate with the insect swarm, a white blur suddenly darted out and leaped into his arms.

YIP YIP...

Xiaobai narrowed its long, slender eyes, its ears drooping as it wriggled its body and yipped continuously.

Li Changsheng chuckled, rubbing its head. "If you don’t want to stay at home, then come along."

He then used his Spirit Binder arts to close the courtyard gate with the insect swarm. Xiaohua followed the small path, swaying as it walked forward.

Passing by the Dong Xing’s Family home, Li Changsheng cast a passing glance. There was no one in the small courtyard. The inside of the house was pitch black, and there was no trace of cooking smoke.

Clearly, Dong Xing had not yet returned from the Marketplace.

"I hope nothing happened..." Li Changsheng muttered to himself, driving Xiaohua toward a small courtyard not far ahead.

As he drew near, crisp, playful laughter reached his ears, accompanied by a rich, wafting aroma of grains.

Arriving outside the small courtyard, Li Changsheng vaulted down while holding Xiaobai. After a moment of hesitation, he called out, "Is Senior Sister Yun at home?"

Several breaths later.

CREAK...

The wooden house’s main door opened, and Yun Wan walked out. She wore a plain white robe, her jet-black hair simply pinned up with a wooden hairpin. Her beautiful face could barely conceal her exhaustion.

She wondered, "What is he doing here?"

Yun Wan looked at the person outside the courtyard gate, her brows furrowing imperceptibly as she asked softly, "Do you need something?"

Li Changsheng set Xiaobai down and cupped his hands. "Does Senior Sister have any Purple Alfalfa seeds? I would like to purchase some."

She wondered, "Purple Alfalfa seeds?"

Yun Wan cast a glance at Li Changsheng, tossed out a brief "Wait a moment," and turned back into the house.

Before long, a little girl, barely a meter tall and wearing a red traditional dress, came rushing out of the house in a flurry of motion.

CREAK...

The little girl pushed the wooden door open forcefully, tilted her head up to look at Li Changsheng, and held up a gray cloth bag in her hands. She said in a crisp voice, "Here, the seeds."

Li Changsheng hurriedly squatted down to take the cloth bag. After a moment’s thought, he flipped his hand to take out a translucent white Spirit Stone and handed it to her with a smile. "Thank you. This is the Spirit Stone to pay for the seeds."

The little girl blinked. Just as she was reaching out to take it, her gaze suddenly darted toward his feet.

Her eyes widened dramatically as she exclaimed, "A little fox!"

Instantly forgetting about the Spirit Stone, she reached her hands right out to grab Xiaobai.