Chapter Eleven: The Eldest Senior Brother Will Care for You Forever

To verify her suspicion, upon seeing a cluster of wild spiritual herbs that looked like small golden lantern fruits, she immediately picked some and popped them into her mouth.

Not bad. Although they couldn’t compare to the Red Zhu Fruit, they were still quite tasty.

Jiang Heng didn’t hesitate to gather the entire cluster into her storage pouch and continued her search using her spiritual sense.

What she didn’t know was that this entire scene had been observed by Shen Yanchu.

As a Nascent Soul cultivator, he concealed his aura and shadowed Jiang Heng from behind. How could someone at the Foundation Establishment stage like her possibly detect him?

Shen Yanchu stared blankly at Jiang Heng’s delighted expression as she ate the spiritual herbs raw, feeling as if something inside him was painfully twisted.

Eating spiritual herbs directly was something only down-and-out solitary cultivators would do.

Was his junior sister doing this because she had lost courage and confidence due to her meridian issues, fearing that spiritual stones would only flow out without any gain? Was she trying to be as frugal as possible?

Shen Yanchu strongly wanted to rush out and stop her from eating them, promising to supply all her restorative pills in the future.

But he feared hurting Jiang Heng’s pride.

Clenching his fists, Shen Yanchu finally left quietly, his heart heavy with sorrow.

Once her storage pouch was full, Jiang Heng returned to her cave dwelling with Zhu Zhu.

Having absorbed enough spiritual energy, she began meditating and cultivating the Evil Luo Technique.

To accomplish great work, one must first sharpen one’s tools.

After understanding the formidable nature of the Evil Luo Path, Jiang Heng was in no rush to break through her Foundation Establishment stage. Instead, she prioritized reaching the first level of the Evil Luo Path as quickly as possible.

The first level of the Evil Luo Path was “non-retreat.”

“Non-retreat” meant that no matter what happened, one would never fall below their current realm. The worst outcome would be stagnation.

Though this definition seemed understated, it was actually terrifying.

For cultivators, the greatest fears, aside from death, were regression in cultivation.

When attempting to advance, unless blessed with extraordinary luck or rare treasures, the higher the level, the greater the chance of failure.

If a breakthrough failed, falling back to the early stage of one’s current realm was considered fortunate; some even plummeted one or two realms, shattering their resolve and causing derangement.

The path of cultivation was long and perilous; breakthroughs were among the hardest tribulations.

To be able to maintain one’s realm without regression was an immensely valuable advantage!

While Jiang Heng cultivated, Zhu Zhu acted like a little steward, hopping around the cave dwelling on patrol.

Suddenly, it noticed something amiss.

“Huh, where did the Red Zhu Fruit the master ate yesterday go?”

This meditation session was even deeper and longer than before. When Jiang Heng finished regulating her breath, two days had already passed.

Feeling the black spiritual flow within her body, she smiled slightly with satisfaction.

She wasn’t sure if it was the power of this technique or her compatibility with it, but she had encountered no difficulties during cultivation—it had gone very smoothly.

Her only current task was to acquire as much spiritual energy as possible to elevate her levels in the Evil Luo Path.

Once she had gathered all the wild spiritual herbs in the sect that were unclaimed, she planned to visit Uncle Ji to see if she could buy some garden-grown spiritual herbs cheaply.

She absolutely refused to consider restorative pills; with limited spiritual stones, they had to be spent judiciously.

Just as Jiang Heng was about to count the spiritual stones in her possession, Shen Yanchu arrived.

His expression was as gentle and concerned as ever, showing no unusual signs.

“Junior sister, I’ve heard about your meridian issue. Don’t worry. Once Master emerges from seclusion, I’ll ask him to help find a solution.”

Jiang Heng responded with a faint “hmm,” saying nothing further.

Shen Yanchu then handed her a storage pouch.

“This is from your second senior brother. It contains quite a few spiritual stones and pills. Count them, and if you think it’s not enough, I’ll ask him for more.”

Jiang Heng took the pouch and glanced inside, her expression subtly surprised.

Had Huo Shiqing lost his mind? He had given her fifty high-grade spiritual stones.

Spiritual stones in this world were divided into five grades: low, medium, high, extreme, and celestial. Each level could be exchanged for roughly a hundred stones of the next lower grade.

Celestial-grade spiritual stones were legendary and unseen, while supreme stones only circulated under special circumstances. High-grade stones were the most common valuable stones in this world, quite precious.

Even for a Nascent Soul cultivator like Shen Yanchu, he probably had fewer than a hundred in hand. Was Huo Shiqing really emptying his savings?

Seeing Jiang Heng’s face, Shen Yanchu gently advised, “These should be enough for you until you form your Core. Once you’ve formed your Core, you’ll have more missions and won’t lack spiritual stones.”

“Even if your meridian can’t be healed, it’s alright. Senior brother will support you for life. Use what you need; don’t be overly frugal, or it won’t be worth it.”

Raw herbs were not something one could consume long-term. Besides being time-consuming and laborious, residual toxins would accumulate, leading to trouble sooner or later.

Jiang Heng did not grasp the deeper meaning behind Shen Yanchu’s words and responded as usual with a faint reply.

If it had been her former self, receiving so many spiritual stones from Huo Shiqing would have made her restless and she would have firmly returned them, refusing him to waste money.

Though Huo Shiqing was a scion of a great family and earned many spiritual stones himself, he was also extravagant, especially with his partner and close friends.

Particularly with Jiang Heng, he spent without limit, determined to obtain whatever she desired, no matter the price.

Because of this, Jiang Heng was often reluctant to go shopping with him and instinctively avoided places like auctions, afraid that her second senior brother would splurge on her again.

But now, Jiang Heng accepted these spiritual stones without any psychological burden or emotional fluctuation.

These were what Huo Shiqing owed her.

After all, he had nearly cost her her life with that serious injury; compensating with spiritual stones was the least he could do.

Shen Yanchu wanted to say more to Jiang Heng but feared that speaking too much might expose the truth and hurt her, so he patted her head and took his leave.

On the way back, several disciples spotted Shen Yanchu and hurried over with joyful faces to report:

“Senior brother, a minor Celestial Grotto has appeared near the Wanling Sect!”

A minor Celestial Grotto was a unique and temporary blessed spiritual realm found only on this continent.

No one knew when or why they appeared. Everyone only knew that such treasures emerged roughly once every hundred years, with the entrance open for about a month before vanishing.

The grottoes were filled with spiritual herbs and beasts, abundant in resources and opportunities for experience. The only downside was the limited number of cultivators allowed entry, with restrictions on their realm levels.

Shen Yanchu asked, “What level is this minor Celestial Grotto?”

They replied, “Senior brother, it’s a level three.”

A level three meant only cultivators at the Core Formation stage or below could enter; he, at the Nascent Soul stage, could not.

After a brief pause, Shen Yanchu immediately dispatched the disciples to notify Huo Shiqing, Xia Zhiyu, and Xu Ning’an of the situation, then hurried to the sect’s council hall.

As the direct disciple of the sect’s Peak Master and a Nascent Soul cultivator, Shen Yanchu handled all affairs within the peak during the Cloud-hidden Immortal Lord’s seclusion.

Soon, representatives from every peak and organization within the Wanling Sect gathered.

The sect leader, Gao Junhao, appeared with a group of attendants, his presence commanding and imposing.