Chapter 33 – Blazing Sun Flower

It hadn’t taken long to retrieve the magic weapon, but it had taken quite a while to listen to the story.

When Feng Ye and the others went down the mountain, it was already a moonlit night with a sparse array of stars. Under the glowing moon, the group once again arrived at Administrator Zhang’s residence.

In fact, not one of the three people had any expectations whatsoever for Administrator Zhang. They had already recognized the fact that this barefoot doctor was an uncertified physician.

However, when they had no expectations of the man, Administrator Zhang actually became more reliable. He proudly showed off to the three of them: “I’ve figured out what you were poisoned with.”

Fang Yang gave him a look of surprise and said: “What poison is it?”

“Strictly speaking, it isn’t exactly a poison.” Administrator Zhang kept them in suspense.

“Then what is it, ah?” Fang Yang tugged at Administrator Zhang’s sleeve anxiously.

When Administrator Zhang felt he had kept them in suspense long enough, he said unhurriedly: “You must have mistakenly eaten a Blazing Sun Flower.”

“Blazing Sun Flower?” the three uneducated people repeated in unison.

This greatly satisfied Administrator Zhang’s vanity as the most educated person there. He raised his head and puffed out his chest, answering with pride: “It is an herb that can remove impurities from the body’s spiritual power.”

“No way, this sounds like an herbal medicine that’s beneficial for people. How could it make my cultivation drop to the third level of Qi Refining?” Fang Yang was the first to ask.

Administrator Zhang waved a hand to urge Fang Yang to be patient, then continued: “That’s because the medicinal properties of the Blazing Sun Flower are so strong that it doesn’t just remove impurities from spiritual power – spiritual power that isn’t pure enough will also be treated as an impurity.”

“And especially for a junior disciple like you who has not yet undergone a true cleansing of the essence and marrow, the spiritual power in your body isn’t pure enough, and the mixed spiritual energy occupies the majority of your dantian. If you directly take in the Blazing Sun Flower, there will be no other outcome than a significant drop in your cultivation base.”

The three of them immediately nodded.

Now that they knew the cause, the next question was…..

“Since it’s not a poison, is there any way to recover the lost cultivation?” Feng Ye suddenly asked.

Administrator Zhang thought about it, and said without much certainty: “Logically speaking, only when the Blazing Sun Flower is taken in conjunction with Ice Grass to neutralize its medicinal properties can it achieve the effect of purifying one’s spiritual power without lowering one’s cultivation level. But you’ve already mistakenly eaten the Blazing Sun Flower. If you eat the Ice Grass…..perhaps you’ll be able to recover your cultivation?”

In the end, he actually threw the question back to them.

Feng Ye, Hao Chen, and Fang Yang: “…..”

Sure enough, a person couldn’t change their nature in such a short time. Administrator Zhang was still totally unreliable.

The expressions of the three were so uniform that Administrator Zhang also realized that he was unreliable. But he wasn’t ready to admit it, and instead set the issue aside: “There’s no point in asking this question anyway. The Blazing Sun Flower grows toward the sun, and we have them in the back mountain. But do you know how rare Ice Grass is?”

Administrator Zhang held up five fingers when he said this, but then he felt that five fingers weren’t enough, so he raised both hands and wiggled his ten fingers, saying: “At least this expensive! More expensive than an earth-grade magic weapon! Ice Grass grows in an extremely cold environment, and there are very few places in the world that can meet its growth needs. That’s why the price of it has soared sky-high. Otherwise, if the Blazing Sun Flower that can be found everywhere was able to purify spiritual energy, wouldn’t such a wonderful cheap thing be known to everyone?”

“You fellows shouldn’t even think about it. You…..” Administrator Zhang took in the three peoples’ simple attire. They didn’t even have jade pendants around their waists, and looked penniless.

He didn’t finish his words, but his meaning was evident.

He was saying they couldn’t afford it.

Feng Ye and Fang Yang really couldn’t afford it, even if they sold Feng Ye’s new white jade bone porcelain fan.

Hao Chen, however…..he cast his gaze toward Administrator Zhang and smiled, saying nothing.

His North Sea was rich in coral, pearls, rare treasures, and everything else one could think of.

It took more than a month to take inventory of his warehouses. It had taken the same amount of time for Prime Minister Turtle to confirm that the thief had only stolen a drop of water from his North Sea.

It could be said that Hao Chen’s wealth was as thick as his skin.

Whatever else could be said about him, he couldn’t be called poor.

However, it wasn’t suitable for him to show off his wealth at this time. After all, he was just an ordinary disciple of Tiangong Pavilion. Hao Chen tapped his fan regretfully. Not being able to put his wealth on display was indeed a great pity.

While Hao Chen was lamenting, Feng Ye was frowning in thought. He suddenly asked: “Where does Ice Grass grow?”

Administrator Zhang was baffled when he heard this, thinking that Feng Ye was too poor to afford it, so he wanted to go out and find it himself. However, he immediately shot down Feng Ye’s idea: “Don’t even think about it. The danger levels of those locations are too high for a Qi Refining stage disciple.”

Fang Yang could only sigh when he heard this. He had also wanted to ask this question, but Useless Shixiong asked first. Administrator Zhang’s words put an end to his thoughts. It seemed his cultivation was unable to be restored.

However, he would no longer be depressed and listless over this, hiding his room and crying alone.

Useless Shixong had already demonstrated to him with his own actions that cultivation wasn’t everything. Plus, if he could cultivate to the seventh level of Qi Refining once, he could do it again.

It was only starting over again!

What was the big deal! He was determined to defeat the almighty God of War, Yinglong!

Fang Yang had received a lot of encouragement today, and his blood was boiling.

Administrator Zhang could hear Fang Yang’s sigh, but not his true thoughts. Feeling a little sorry for him, he comforted: “There is actually Ice Grass in the Floating Island Secret Realm that’s opening in a few days, although…..”

Although it grew on the most dangerous seabed in the secret realm, and was guarded by powerful monsters comparable to someone at Nascent Soul stage.

But Administrator Zhang didn’t say this. Instead, he said: “Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to pick some up.”

“Then I’ll accept your auspicious words.” Fang Yang thanked him, his bright eyes full of expectation for three days later.

Feng Ye listened to the conversation between them with a gentle smile. Fang Yang didn’t know what Administrator Zhang had omitted, but Feng Ye did.

How could such an expensive herb be that easy to pick up?

But he also didn’t expose it. Feng Ye glanced at the sky outside the window. The moon was at his zenith – he normally would have gone back to his room to sleep by this time.

Whether he actually slept or not was another matter, but in the eyes of others, he was asleep.

So Feng Ye feigned a yawn and said his goodbyes: “It’s getting late. We’ll head back first.”

Just as Administrator Zhang was about to reply, there was a knock on the door.

Administrator Zhang called loudly to the visitor: “Come in.”

The door was pushed open, and the visitor turned out to be a celebrity everybody knew.

The eldest disciple of Sect Leader Ji – Xue Ren.

Xue Ren came to visit in the middle of the night with a sheepish look on his face. Even though he was the sect leader’s direct disciple and had absolutely no need to show respect to an administrator who managed chores, he was still polite to Administrator Zhang.

This was how he always was. Compared to the iceberg-like Cao Zirui, Xue Ren was like a warm spring breeze. No matter who he was dealing with, he could always make them feel at ease, and in terms of popularity within the sect, he crushed Cao Zirui to pieces.

It was a pity that his tactful character was unable to win the favor of Sect Leader Ji. And the selection of a successor did not take popularity into account. Therefore, he was only a direct disciple, not the successor to the sect leader’s position.

He was slightly surprised to see the other three people in the room, and belatedly nodded in greeting.

Feng Ye and Fang Yang quickly returned their shixiong’s greetings. Hao Chen wasn’t a member of Lingxiao Sword Sect, so he just responded with common courtesy.

When the greetings were over, Xue Ren directly told Administrator Zhang the purpose of his visit: “I went to Administrator Zheng to retrieve a magic weapon, and he suddenly discovered that the key to the warehouse where the magic weapons are kept is missing. He probably left it here when he was drinking at your place last time. I’m in a hurry to get it, which is why I came here in the middle of the night. I hope I haven’t disturbed you?”

There was no fault in Xue Ren’s words. Even if there was any displeasure at being disturbed, it would have been dispelled by his humble attitude.

Administrator Zhang hurried to say: “It’s no bother, no bother. Lao Zheng is just careless. I’ll help you look for it right away.”

Having said this, he turned to go search around the table.

Seeing the situation, Feng Ye said goodbye again: “Administrator Zhang, we’ll leave first.”

Administrator Zhang just waved, not looking back.

Feng Ye stepped forward to leave, and Hao Chen and Fang Yang followed.

When the three were about to step out of the room, Xue Ren turned sideways at the door to make room for them.

However, the door wasn’t very wide, and Fang Yang accidentally bumped his shoulder against Xue Ren.

Xue Ren’s originally amiable expression suddenly turned into pure disdain. But it only lasted a brief moment, and in the next second, he was the gentle, smiling shixiong again.

After exiting the room, Fang Yang turned and apologized to Xue Ren, who smiled and said: “It’s nothing.”

Feng Ye observed Xue Ren’s smile thoughtfully. Fang Yang hadn’t caught Xue Ren’s instantaneous change of expression, but Feng Ye had.

It seemed that the amiable shixiong in everyone’s eyes didn’t live up to his reputation in private.

He stared for a long time, so long that Xue Ren met his gaze in confusion. Feng Ye was quick to don an apologetic smile, then turned around and left with Fang Yang and the sticky Hao Chen.

Xue Ren didn’t pay much attention to Feng Ye. People often stared at him. After all, he was Sect Leader Ji’s eldest direct disciple, and there was a world of difference between him and these juniors.

With this in mind, he brushed off the shoulder Fang Yang had hit as if dirt had been left behind.

He waited quietly as Administrator Zhang searched for the warehouse key.

But while he was quiet, Administrator Zhang was unable to keep his mouth shut and chatted continuously as he searched: “Those three who were here just now came to me for medical treatment, saying one of them was poisoned.”

“That kid Fang Yang is unlucky. I don’t know if it was an accident or if he was actually poisoned by some black-hearted villain, but after eating the Blazing Sun Flower, he fell directly from the seventh level of Qi Refining to the third.”

“Is that so?” Xue Ren replied perfunctorily. With his identity, what was there to chat about with an administrator in charge of chores?

But Administrator Zhang was completely unaware of Xue Ren’s superficial response and continued to talk incessantly, sharing all of the gossip he had collected.

When veins were practically popping out of Xue Ren’s forehead and he was almost unable to maintain his image as a kindly shixiong, Administrator Zhang finally found the key.

“I don’t know how it got under the cupboard. I had to look all over.” He dusted off the key and handed it to Xue Ren.

Using his last bit of self-control, Xue Ren thanked him, then turned and left.

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Chapter 32 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 34