Golden Finger 7

Upon hearing Elder Xuan Yu's words, astonishment swept over both the dragon and the mouse. 

Could spiritual herbs really be killed by overfeeding them with spiritual energy?

Chen Xing found her fear of Elder Xuan Yu diminishing. Sneaking out from Qin Ji's collar, her tiny black-bean eyes revealed surprise.

Xiao Bao inquired hastily, "Can they still be saved?"

After a brief pause, Elder Xuan Yu produced several seeds and handed them to Xiao Bao.

"These are a few high-grade spirit herbs. Plant them in the medicinal field."

High-grade spirit herbs demanded a substantial amount of spiritual energy and possessed a commanding nature. Elder Xuan Yu had gauged the concentration of spiritual energy in the field, sufficient not only for these high-grade herbs to sprout but also for the ordinary ones to thrive.

Pointing to specific spots, she instructed,

"Plant them in these locations. Refrain from infusing more spiritual energy until these high-grade herbs sprout. Once they do, infuse spiritual energy every five days, and that should suffice.”

Infusing spiritual energy?

Chen Xing and Xiao Bao were puzzled. Chen Xing hissed at Elder Xuan Yu in frustration.

They had only been watering the plants and had not fiddled with spiritual energy. Was it because there was too much spiritual energy on this peak?

Qin Ji grasped the concept. Contemplating Chen Xing's daily routine, he suggested,

"Until they sprout, avoid using spiritual spring water. Just use regular water.”

Spiritual spring water? Chen Xing looked at Xiao Bao, is it the water that he used?

Xiao Bao scratched his head, feeling puzzled. 

"I've been using the spring water from the peak. Can't we use it anymore?"

Was there really an abundance of spiritual energy in the spring water on the peak? They have been using it regularly, and it doesn’t feel like anything special.

Originally, Qin Ji wanted to keep it vague, wary of Senior Brother and Elder Xuan Yu's suspicions. However, seeing Chen Xing and Xiao Bao's bewildered expressions, he reconsidered and said,

"Stick with springwater, not any other water."

For instance, he had observed Chen Xing using rain she conjured to water the field, but he hadn't detected any spiritual energy in it at the time. Nevertheless, he planned to double-check when no one was around.

Elder Xuan Yu didn't press for more details. She simply gazed at Qin Ji and remarked,

"If you come across Spirit-Slaying Grass, bring some back for me."

Spirit-Slaying Grass exclusively thrived in the Desolate Spirit Desert. Legend had it that it sprouted on corpses, whether from cultivators, demons, spirit beasts, or ordinary humans, remained uncertain. What was unearthed, however, were bone fragments void of spiritual energy. Moreover, this plant exhibited no discernible growth pattern and occasionally appeared on battlefields.

Qin Ji affirmed, "Certainly."

Not wishing to prolong her stay, Elder Xuan Yu handed a cold jade box to Qin Ji, saying, "Payment," before departing on her talisman.

The Sect Master queried with curiosity,

"Why does it seem like Xuan Yu specifically came here to give you this?"

Qin Ji shared a similar sentiment, opening the jade box to reveal several pills, one adorned with golden patterns.

Upon catching the medicinal fragrance, the Sect Master identified it promptly, "Heart-Cleansing Pill."

The Heart-Cleansing Pill was a staple elixir among cultivators, especially useful for miasma, illusions, and inner demon suppression.

Typically, those in the market were of lower or mid-tier quality, and while high-quality ones were pricey, they weren't overly challenging to obtain.

The golden-patterned pill, however, was a highest grade Heart-Cleansing Pill, a rare find. This bespoke creation from Xuan Yu was unmistakable. Aside from this, the rest of the pills were of high quality.

After a brief reflection, the Sect Master pieced together the sequence of events,

"Some time ago, I consulted Xuan Yu about your situation and suitable elixirs."

At the time, Xuan Yu only suggested that Qin Ji confront his inner demons independently. If unsuccessful, reincarnation might be preferable to avoid spiritual losses. However, it appeared she began crafting these elixirs shortly after his consultation.

Xuan Yu indeed did not change at all.

Qin Ji examined the Heart-Cleansing Pills in the jade box, stayed silent for a moment, then closed the box, stowing it away in his storage ring.

After confirming Qin Ji's current state, the Sect Master offered some advice and then departed.

Once certain no outsiders were present on the Spirit Peak, Chen Xing reverted to her small dragon form, riding on a little cloud as she flew to the medicinal field. She suggested,

"Xiao Bao, let's plant those seeds too."

Xiao Bao promptly transformed back into his Treasure-Seeking Mouse form. He dug holes in the spots Xuan Yu had indicated, planted the seeds, covered them with soil, and completed the task with a few hops.

After finishing their work, Qin Ji spoke up,

"Chen Xing, come and make it rain a bit over here."

Though somewhat puzzled, Chen Xing agreed. She swayed her tail, summoning a small cloud that floated towards Qin Ji, showering rain over the specified spot.

Nevertheless, Qin Ji didn't sense any spiritual energy fluctuations in the rain. Pondering for a moment, he reached out to touch the rainwater. Upon contact, he immediately felt the abundant spiritual energy concealed within the water, which flowed smoothly into his meridians, exceptionally pure and gentle.

However, when he withdrew his hand, even with his divine sense, he couldn't detect any spiritual energy in the rainwater. Qin Ji didn't conceal this discovery and shared it with Chen Xing.

Chen Xing exclaimed in surprise and conjured a water ball, dipping her tail tip into it.

"I'm so amazing!"

Xiao Bao chimed in supportively,

"Young Master is awesome!"

Chen Xing looked quite pleased and said,

"Then, using this water to cook might make the food even more delicious."

After some thought, Xiao Bao replied, "It should."

Chen Xing appeared confident,

"Then, let's use this diluted water to raise some chickens, ducks, fish, and pigs, and grow some vegetables. The flavors will definitely be better."

Xiao Bao enthusiastically nodded,

"Young Master is so clever!"

Qin Ji, observing them as they began discussing how to raise livestock and cultivate on the Spiritual Peak, couldn't help but interrupt,

"We're going to the Desolate Spirit Desert."

Suddenly remembering this unfortunate matter, Chen Xing hesitated,

"Th-then, maybe we can do that when we come back."

Other cultivators on their Spiritual Peaks had immortal cranes, spirit beasts, and various ethereal plants. Qin Ji, despite not caring much about material possessions, felt a strong sense of aggrieve and suffocation just thinking about it. He closed his eyes, thought about the possibility of getting Chen Xing and Xiao Bao to live on other Spiritual Peaks, but ended up saying,

"You can't raise them at the mountaintop."

He absolutely couldn't tolerate chickens, ducks, and geese flying around while he was practicing swordsmanship, not to mention the grunting of pigs.

Chen Xing readily agreed.

Qin Ji slowly exhaled and said, "Get into your human form and gather some water."

Chen Xing followed Qin Ji's instructions, assumed her human form, and created a water clump in her hand.

There were still no spiritual energy fluctuations. Qin Ji extended his hand towards Chen Xing and said,

"Give me the water ball."

Chen Xing controlled the water ball and flew it over.

Qin Ji crushed the water ball but still didn't feel any spiritual energy within it. He said,

"Spiritual water can only be gathered when you are in your original form.”

Humans require spiritual roots to cultivate, but the dragon race doesn't need them. Chen Xing’s ability to condense spiritual water in her original form could be an innate trait of her race.

Qin Ji pondered for a moment and said,

"You should be able to control the spiritual energy in the water. Try practicing it more."

Chen Xing immediately transformed back into her little dragon form and pouted,

"But I’ve only hatched recently, I’m still a baby. When I grow up, I'll naturally gain control over it.”

Although her inheritance was incomplete, she still remembered some things and immediately said,

"In the Dragon Clan, babies like me only need to eat, sleep, and play happily."

Xiao Bao agreed, saying, "That's right, Young Master is still a little baby."

Qin Ji coldly said,

"Within the Dragon Clan, the process of inheriting memories and heritage begins even before hatching. Considering that the Dragon Clan has been absent from this realm for thousands of years, you can't really be called a baby anymore."

Chen Xing transformed back into her human form, stomping her feet in frustration, pointed at Qin Ji.

"You can't calculate it like that! My age is counted from the day I hatched. You…you bad person!"

Qin Ji looked at Chen Xing, whose face had turned red from anger, and sighed inwardly.

Why was he arguing with a dragon who had just hatched and possessed an incomplete understanding of things?

"I misspoke."

Chen Xing felt even more wronged, "Hmph!"

Qin Ji softened his tone.

"In this little world, you don't have the protection of your clan's elders. You could encounter danger at any time. I can't just let you grow up happily. You need to become strong on your own."

Chen Xing didn't hesitate.

"But you will protect me."

Qin Ji looked at Chen Xing, but it seemed like his gaze was penetrating past her, fixated on something else.

"If I'm alive, I will protect you. But what if I'm not?"

Chen Xing instinctively wanted to say that if he died, she would die too. However, she hesitated because Qin Ji didn't know this, and instead said,

"I…I understand. I will protect you too."

After all, as long as Qin Ji was alive, she could live as well. So why were they bound by life and death in this way?

Chen Xing suddenly thought of something and asked,

"I was supposed to hatch and grow up in our clan's territory. How did I hatch prematurely by your side? Did you steal me?"

The so-called clan territory was her current Mustard Seed Space. However, the Mustard Seed Space was intact, showing no signs of being opened from the outside. According to what Xiao Bao had mentioned, one day she suddenly disappeared, and the creatures inside the Mustard Seed Space confirmed that she had hatched.

Qin Ji felt a bit helpless for a moment. He hadn't anticipated that Chen Xing would only realize this now. However, there were some things that he just couldn’t explain.

"You were by my side when I woke up."

Chen Xing trusted Qin Ji's words since she could confirm that her hatching wasn't due to external forces.

Qin Ji thought for a moment and took advantage of the divine laws. He said,

"It might be to change your predetermined destiny.”

At least now that she had hatched, she wouldn't be subjected to blood bonding in her egg and turning into a soulless entity.

Chen Xing acknowledged this with an "Oh."

Feeling she couldn't quite comprehend it, she decided not to dwell on it any longer. She transformed back into her small dragon form, hanging on Qin Ji's shoulder, and began to search through her limited heritage for any dragon clan cultivation techniques. However, it seemed that among the dragon clan, the longer they lived, the more powerful they became.

Therefore, she didn’t want to cultivate; she just wanted to eat and sleep, as these were totally her racial instincts!