Chapter Sixteen: The Fiery King of Hell Sparrow

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Huo Shiqing froze. Then, recalling what he had said at the time, his expression shifted slightly.

He composed himself and said coldly, “I only said that in a moment of anger because I was annoyed by your selfishness and capriciousness. We are fellow disciples, after all. Even if I do not like you, I would never stand by and do nothing. It is still better than following outsiders.”

The smile at the corner of Jiang Heng’s lips grew even more scornful. “Even an outsider knows to worry about the state of my meridians. Yet the so-called fellow disciples do nothing but seize the things I need and then accuse me of being selfish and capricious. I would have to be out of my mind to go with you.”

“There are many demonic beasts in the Minor Grotto-Heaven. It is inevitable that some of them will go berserk. I have no desire to be gravely injured by you and your junior sister working together a second time.”

His pointed words reminded many people of a certain rumor. They exchanged glances and began discussing it through secret transmissions.

Xu Ning’an felt the probing gazes of those around her, and her eyes instantly reddened. Huo Shiqing’s face grew colder and darker.

With so many outsiders watching, he did not want to continue arguing and make a public spectacle of their sect.

Just as Huo Shiqing was about to use a restraining art to forcibly take Jiang Heng away, Han Jie stepped in front of him.

“Senior Brother Huo, you already have Junior Sister Xu to protect. Adding another person may leave you unable to care for both. My master instructed me to look after Junior Sister Jiang properly, and I will naturally ensure her safety. You may rest assured.”

He had invoked Uncle-Master Ji. Even someone as proud and overbearing as Huo Shiqing could not disregard the dignity of that great physician.

Cultivators were bound to suffer injuries and poisoning from time to time. Anyone who offended an elder versed in healing would have to be utterly determined to make life difficult for himself.

Huo Shiqing’s expression shifted several times. In the end, he merely stared at Jiang Heng, said nothing, and turned to leave.

Xu Ning’an pressed her lips together slightly and cast Han Jie a subtle glance before obediently following her senior brothers away.

Once everyone else had dispersed, Jiang Heng apologized to Han Jie for what had happened. “Senior Brother Han, I only said that to retort to Second Senior Brother. I did not truly mean that you were an outsider. And thank you for helping me out of that situation.”

Han Jie smiled. “I know. There is no need to thank me. Let us continue gathering spirit medicines.”

The Minor Grotto-Heaven truly deserved its reputation as a land blessed by the gods. Its spiritual energy was dense, and spirit medicines and demonic beasts that were rare and difficult to find elsewhere could be encountered here almost anywhere.

In less than ten days, even the spacious storage pouch Han Jie had given Jiang Heng was filled.

Inside were not only various precious spirit medicines that had grown for several hundred years, but also the spoils of demonic beasts, such as demon cores, claws, fangs, and hides.

Han Jie had done nearly all the fighting, with Jiang Heng providing support, yet he gave her all the valuable portions, claiming that he had no use for them.

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Jiang Heng was deeply grateful and wanted to thank him, but she felt that if she said it too often, her words would become weightless. Instead, her gratitude settled heavily in her heart.

Han Jie saw her feelings at a glance and smiled. “I merely came to guide you at my master’s command. It was no more than a small favor. You need not take it so seriously.”

Jiang Heng said, “To you, Senior Brother Han, it may have been a small favor. To me, it was an enormous kindness. Unfortunately, there is little I can do to repay you, and you probably would not value what I have to offer anyway.”

Ever since cultivating the Evil Rakshasa Path, Jiang Heng’s need for spiritual power had grown increasingly voracious. It was as though a mouth that could never be satisfied had opened within the spiritual sea of her dantian, endlessly craving more strength.

The spirit stones she had on hand would probably last only a few months.

The harvest from the Minor Grotto-Heaven was, to her, a timely downpour after a long drought. Without Han Jie’s generous assistance, she would have wasted this precious opportunity.

Han Jie said, “If you feel guilty about it, form your core sooner. That way, if I need an extra hand in the future, you will be of greater use to me.”

Jiang Heng knew he was only trying to put her at ease. She nodded silently.

Once Han Jie’s storage pouch was full as well, they stopped venturing farther afield.

The two found a cave where they meditated and regulated their breathing, preparing for the high-grade demonic beasts that would appear before the Minor Grotto-Heaven vanished.

As usual, Jiang Heng took out a spirit fruit to replenish her spiritual power. After taking two bites, she suddenly realized something was wrong and looked up at Han Jie.

Han Jie appeared thoughtful. “Earlier, I vaguely heard that someone had been gathering those worthless wild spirit medicines in the Falling Moon Forest. Could that person have been you, Junior Sister Jiang?”

Jiang Heng paused. “It was me. My meridians are completely ruined now, and it is inconvenient for me to accept sect missions, so I have to save wherever I can.”

The missions of the Myriad Spirits Sect were distributed among the various peaks. The steward disciple responsible for this matter on Snow Crane Peak was on very good terms with Xu Ning’an. Without needing his junior sister to say a word, he deliberately placed every possible obstacle in Jiang Heng’s way.

For simple, easy solo missions, he would rather let them expire than allow Jiang Heng to accept them, leaving only extremely difficult and dangerous tasks for her.

As for group missions, the disciples of Snow Crane Peak were almost universally unwilling to work alongside Jiang Heng. Many had even declared that they would withdraw if she participated.

In her previous life, Shen Yanchu had taken her along several times.

However, as a Nascent Soul cultivator and the eldest senior brother, he was already extremely busy, so such opportunities were rare.

Moreover, on one occasion, Jiang Heng somehow managed to displease Xu Ning’an again. Xu Ning’an did not say what was wrong, but sulked and refused to speak to Shen Yanchu for a long time.

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Shen Yanchu spent a long time guessing what his junior sister was thinking and an equally long time coaxing her. Once he finally understood, no one took Jiang Heng along anymore.

Recalling the events of her previous life, Jiang Heng felt that her former self had been rather foolish.

So many details had hinted at where her eldest senior brother’s true loyalties lay, yet she had never been able to see through him. Perhaps she had simply been deceiving herself.

Han Jie looked at the fruit in Jiang Heng’s hand, its surface marked by several bites, and for once felt a trace of pity.

“As it happens, not many disciples in our medicine hall are willing to take on missions, so we can never assemble a full team. I will call you next time.”

Jiang Heng hesitated. “Will they be willing to work with me?”

She was not afraid of others pointing fingers or gossiping about her. She simply did not want her presence to cause trouble for Han Jie.

Han Jie said, “Most of my fellow disciples prefer to act alone and do not care about idle talk from outsiders. It will be fine.”

And so the matter was settled.

On the twenty-seventh day after the Minor Grotto-Heaven opened, the final demonic beast finally appeared.

It was a Blazing Infernal Sparrow.

This demonic beast possessed a trace of phoenix heritage. Although the bloodline was so thin as to be nearly imperceptible, it was nevertheless a remnant of an ancient true spirit. That alone was enough for the sparrow to make a name for itself among the demonic beasts of this realm and rank near the top of the list.

The moment Xu Ning’an saw the Blazing Infernal Sparrow’s magnificent form, her eyes lit up. She clamored to take the beast as her spirit pet.

Xia Zhiyu hurriedly tried to dissuade her junior sister. “An’an, be good. Do not make a fuss. That demonic beast is obviously very powerful. We may not even be able to defeat it, let alone subdue it. Besides, there are so many fellow disciples here this time. This is not something the few of us can decide on our own.”

Taking a demonic beast as a spirit pet was far more difficult than subduing an ordinary spirit beast.

Most demonic beasts were wild, difficult to tame, and fiercely proud. They did not regard human cultivators with the slightest respect. Only by displaying overwhelming strength, completely intimidating and subduing them, could one make them willingly acknowledge a master.

Xu Ning’an pressed her lips together and looked toward Huo Shiqing.

“Second Senior Brother…”