NOVEL NEXT 13. Qingyuan Spirit Essence
Perhaps unaccustomed to such indignity, or influenced by her cub body’s temperament, Jiang Mo lost her composure and roared a few more times. Not stopping there, she flailed in Yun Qingyu’s arms, seemingly ready to pounce.
Yun Qingyu was startled and quickly secured her hold, then hesitantly looked at Zhiming: “Divine Lord…”
Zhiming didn’t look at her. He had heard the little tiger’s roared words and fell silent, holding the jade gourd. He had merely intended to tease the cub, unaware that this little tiger treasured it so dearly—it was milk! Divine beasts were supposed to eat heavenly materials and drink divine nectar; since when did they cherish milk bottles?!
The Divine Lord inwardly grumbled, but the situation was truly awkward. He found himself an excuse: “It’s nothing, I just wanted to see what she usually eats.”
As he spoke, Zhiming opened the jade gourd, glanced at it, and said, “The spirit energy is weak. Is this milk from a Golden Core stage beast?”
Yun Qingyu replied, “This gourd contains milk from a Cloud-Splitting Leopard.” Fearing the Divine Lord might take offense, she added, “My cultivation is shallow, so I could only find a Golden Core stage beast.”
Zhiming hadn’t intended to blame her, but hearing her words, his expression turned strange for a moment. He recapped the gourd and said, “Do you know, besides the one in your arms, no divine beast has ever grown up on milk.” He tossed the gourd back, rehanging it on the little white tiger’s neck, and added, “Especially milk from such a low-level beast as a Golden Core stage one.”
Yun Qingyu felt ashamed hearing this, but Jiang Mo didn’t feel slighted. On the contrary, she thought Senior Sister Yun had done well to find milk for her. She firmly held the jade gourd with both paws, ready to “argue” with Zhiming again.
Zhiming, perhaps sensing her restlessness, gave her a subtle glance. Jiang Mo’s words instantly caught in her throat.
Jiang Mo felt uneasy, unsure where this sudden fear came from. The usually silent system finally spoke up, explaining: “Zhiming is the Black Tortoise. This one is not only fully grown but has reached the peak of this world’s power. In other words, host, you just offended a max-level boss.”
How does a newbie village alt feel when confronting a max-level boss? Especially when this alt had just cursed at the boss… The suddenly cowed little tiger wanted to ask the system if its game system had a newbie protection period.
The answer, of course, was no. After all, no matter how miraculous the game system, reality was still reality.
Zhiming, noticing the little tiger’s sudden meekness, found it strange but wasn’t one to quibble with cubs. He shifted his gaze from the little tiger and asked Yun Qingyu, “Besides milk, what else have you fed her?”
Yun Qingyu, coming from a proper immortal sect and with the Black Tortoise divine beast protecting Xuanqing Sect, had some understanding of the Four Symbols divine beasts. She knew divine beasts should be nurtured with heavenly materials, but unfortunately, the one in her arms had grown askew. She had tried feeding her good things, but besides milk, the only thing this little one accepted and became addicted to was pill-popping.
Now that a real divine beast was inquiring, Yun Qingyu naturally didn’t conceal anything and explained the little tiger’s unusual situation. Zhiming found it odd and even asked to examine a Nurturing Essence Pill.
Yun Qingyu produced a Nurturing Essence Pill and explained to Zhiming: “Divine Lord may not know, this Nurturing Essence Pill is used by Qi Condensation disciples to strengthen their foundation. Though its effects are mediocre, its medicinal power is gentle. Moreover, I’ve noticed that since the little white tiger started eating these pills, her constitution has been steadily improving. That’s why she likes these Nurturing Essence Pills, and I’ve been giving her many as snacks.”
Hearing this, Jiang Mo’s ears twitched. She finally understood why Yun Qingyu had been so accommodating, feeding her hundreds if not thousands of Nurturing Essence Pills along the way. Normally, no one would be so indulgent with a picky cub.
Touched by Senior Sister Yun’s attentiveness, the little tiger’s tail moved, once again subtly wrapping around Yun Qingyu’s wrist.
Zhiming naturally ignored this small gesture. After personally examining the Nurturing Essence Pill, this Qi Condensation stage pill was practically useless in his eyes. Zhiming pondered for a moment, then looked at the little white tiger and said, “It seems your congenital deficiency needs to be compensated for later. But eating these Nurturing Essence Pills is useless; their efficacy is too poor.”
The little white tiger nodded unconsciously, letting out an “aow” and agreeing wistfully: “It was fine at first, but later it didn’t help much. I’m about to throw up from all the pill-popping.” Milk still tasted better.
Zhiming found this amusing. He reached into his sleeve and took out a jade bottle, holding it before the little white tiger: “This is Qingyuan Spirit Essence.”
The name alone sounded impressive, immediately capturing the little tiger’s attention. Her round tiger eyes gradually brightened. Just then, the system flashed a warning before her eyes: “Host, this is good stuff! The contents of this bottle are over 10,000 times more potent than Nurturing Essence Pills. One drop is more effective than 10,000 Nurturing Essence Pills!”
Jiang Mo, who had been feeling nauseous from all the pill-popping lately, was instantly overjoyed. Her gaze on the jade bottle in Zhiming’s hand was beyond eager; she was practically drooling. Knowing the other’s identity, Jiang Mo felt her chances of obtaining this bottle of spirit essence were high.
After all, isn’t protecting the young a natural instinct for all races?
The little tiger freed one paw, eager to reach for the jade bottle before her.
But the aged Divine Lord Zhiming enjoyed teasing her. With a twist of his fingers, he closed his hand around the bottle, leaving Jiang Mo grasping at air. Just as the hot-tempered little tiger was about to flare up in embarrassment, she heard his teasing voice: “Come with me, and I’ll give it to you.” He dangled the jade bottle before her eyes and added, “Not just the Qingyuan Spirit Essence, but even more good things.”
Jiang Mo’s gaze involuntarily followed the bottle, like a cat entranced by a toy. But hearing Zhiming’s words, she tore her eyes away from the bottle and looked at him suspiciously.
Zhiming then dropped his earlier playfulness and assured her, “Really, I’m not lying.”
Jiang Mo looked at him for a moment, her gaze lingering especially on the Qingyuan Spirit Essence in his hand, but ultimately turned and buried herself in Yun Qingyu’s embrace. She hid her face in Senior Sister’s shoulder, not even her eyes visible—clearly adopting an “out of sight, out of mind” approach.
Divine Lord Zhiming’s enticement failed. He sighed but didn’t insist, instead handing the Qingyuan Spirit Essence to Yun Qingyu. Along with it, he gave her a jade slip containing his freshly recorded “Divine Beast Rearing Manual.” After giving these two items, he instructed Yun Qingyu: “This little one’s birth was not easy. If you encounter any problems in the future, come find me.”
With that, he didn’t wait for Jiang Mo to turn around. With a sweep of his sleeve, he vanished. Not only could the little tiger who turned back a moment too late not find a trace of him, even Yun Qingyu, a peak Golden Core cultivator, couldn’t detect his presence.
Even so, Yun Qingyu bowed to the empty air: “Thank you, Divine Lord.”
The little tiger was more direct. Seeing Zhiming gone, her gaze fixed on the Qingyuan Spirit Essence in Yun Qingyu’s hand. Yun Qingyu had no intention of keeping this treasure and, seeing the little white tiger staring, gave it to her directly.
Jiang Mo was immediately excited. She opened the jade bottle on the spot, ready to drink, vowing never to touch those little sugar pills again.
However, just as she opened the bottle and was about to bring it to her mouth, the system’s alert suddenly sounded: “Ding, system detects high-grade spirit item, unsuitable for host’s current level. Please use with caution.”
Jiang Mo paused. Now that Zhiming had left, she directly asked, “System, what do you mean?”
The system’s light orb settled on the bottle’s mouth, its warm yellow light flashing as it explained: “It means the host’s level is too low. The system doesn’t recommend using items beyond your level.” Before Jiang Mo could question, it continued, “Reality isn’t a game. The system can’t disable items, but this Qingyuan Spirit Essence contains too much energy. If the host uses it rashly, there’s a risk of your body exploding.”
Jiang Mo had wanted to argue after hearing the first part, but hearing this, her paw holding the jade bottle froze. Then she felt her paw itch to swat the system, while a curse nearly burst from her lips.