Chapter 102: Chapter 100: Three Years_i
Translator: 549690339 I
Whoosh.
On the shores of South Lake, in front of the chicken farm.
A figure dressed in black leaped off his magic sword.
The person had a handsome face, sharp features, and an aura of evil energy in his eyes.
Only when his gaze swept over the chicken farm did it soften a bit.
Also noticing his arrival, a female cultivator soon came out from the chicken farm.
Her face was pretty, not stunning, but very likable.
Seeing the arrival, she was immediately surprised:
“Shen Fu? You’re back?”
The newcomer was indeed Shen Fu.
Seeing the female cultivator, he also looked surprised:
“Bu Chan? What are you doing here? Where’s my senior brother?”
“Ahem… 1 just came by to help your senior brother harvest some Blue Fire Fruit, and along the way, I, I helped him feed the Spirit Turtle… Your senior brother is inside.”
Bu Chan’s face flushed as she explained, quickly changing the subject:
“Right, your mission wasn’t supposed to end for another half a year, right? How come you’re back so early?”
Shen Fu didn’t think too much about Bu Chan’s explanation, but he grimaced as soon as she brought up the matter of his early return:
“Don’t even mention it, the cultivator within the sect who issued the mission died of a Heart Demon backlash when his Foundation Establishment failed, and our mission was directly cancelled.”
“Alright, 1 won’t chat with you anymore, I’m going to find my senior brother first!”
After speaking, without waiting for Bu Chan’s reply, he hurriedly ran in.
Follwoing the magical seal given by his senior brother, he quickly passed the Minor Golden Bell Array.
However, as soon as he stepped into the chicken farm, Shen Fu immediately stopped. He couldn’t help but feel a jolt in his heart and looked towards a certain direction not too far away.
In the chicken farm, atop a wooden stand a little distance away.
A sturdy male Spirit Chicken stood on one foot at the highest spot, gazing down on him from above, with an impassive expression.
The intense spiritual power radiating from it and the intermittent feeling of danger from his intuition made Shen Fu dare not act recklessly.
This Spirit Chicken of his senior brother seems even more formidable than when he saw it half a year ago.
Shen Fu muttered inwardly.
Not daring to act rashly, he managed to squeeze a stiff smile from his heart. Raising his hand above his head, he carefully waved to the male Spirit Chicken: “Ahem… Eleven? It’s me, Shen Fu, don’t you recognize me? The one who used to feed you worms, who you used to poop on when you were a chick… It’s me! Shen Fu, your master’s junior…”
However, the male Spirit Chicken perched on the stand squinted its eyes, coldly gazing at him while slowly lowering its other curled-up claw, its wings slightly opened.
A sense of misgiving immediately rose in Shen Fu’s heart.
Is… Is this bird trying to attack him?
Just then, a rather exasperated voice, Bu Chan’s, came from behind him:
“You got it wrong, it’s twelve, Jia 12.”
“Chirp!”
Upon hearing Bu Chan’s words, the male Spirit Chicken on the stand released a clear sound, then retracted its claw, closed its eyes and stood on one leg again.
It seemed no longer intent on making an issue out of Shen Fu getting its name wrong.
Shen Fu finally let out a breath of relief.
He couldn’t help but mutter:
“When I left, there was only Jia 11, who knew that in just half a year there would be a Jia 12.”
The male Spirit Chicken, with its eyes squinted atop the stand, once again opened them, coldly gazing at Shen Fu.
Frightened, Shen Fu immediately shut his mouth.
Arriving under a peach tree by the side of the pond, whose canopy resembled a parasol, and feeling that he was a safe distance from Jia 12, Shen Fu ventured to ask in a low voice:
“Bu Chan, 1 remember my senior brother’s Jia 11 was already an upper grade Spirit Chicken, right? This Jia 12 seems to be even more menacing than Jia 11. How could that be?”
Bu Chan replied, “Senior brother said that even amongst upper grade Spirit Chickens, there are differences in strength.”
With that, she reached into her Storage Bag and pulled out a big basket full of Blue Fire Fruit, brimming with Spiritual Energy.
“Give me a couple to try.”
Seeing the fruit in Bu Chan’s hand, Shen Fu’s eyes lit up.
Bu Chan shot him a sidelong glance and threw the basket of fruit into the tranquil pond.
The next moment.
A large, dark shadow quickly materialized under the surface.
Immediately.
A white turtle as big as a millstone suddenly shot out from the water! It stretched its white neck and opened its mouth wide. With a gulp, it swallowed all of the Blue Fire Fruit!
It then fell back into the water, splashing water all around.
Bu Chan, who had already anticipated this, quickly conjured up a wooden shield in front of her.
Taken by surprise, Shen Fu also tried to quickly cast a spell, but he still got drenched.
“Bu Chan!!”
“Here, want some fruit?”
Bu Chan nonchalantly handed him two Blue Fire Fruit.
Shen Fu was so incensed that he was speechless. He could only glare at her, snatch the fruit from her hand, and take a big bite.
Juice spilled everywhere, the sweet and sour taste exploded in his mouth along with the grainy texture of the seeds.
“It tastes so good! And it’s full of Spiritual Energy! How can my senior brother bear to feed such good stuff to these animals?”
While speaking, Shen Fu popped the remaining fruit into his mouth, feeling sorry for his senior brother.
Plop—
Once again, a curtain of water gushed out from the bottom of the pond.
Shen Fu casually conjured a sword out of thin air, casting it to shield him from the water droplets, muttering, “Why so petty, can’t even say a word!”
No sooner had he said this than countless droplets of water in the pond instantly turned into ice, transforming into clusters of arrows that shot towards him!
The sword Shen Fu casually conjured was shattered by these ice arrows in an instant!
Shen Fu was immediately frightened!
He quickly retreated, and Bu Chan desperately shouted: “Fantong, don’t strike!”
The ice arrow instantly froze, then astonishingly began to rapidly melt, like rewinding a tape, falling back into the pool of water.
Shen Fu, feeling his heart slowly settle, looked at the distinctive white turtle in the pool. The creature stretched out its white head, gave him a glance with its deep brown eyes before lowering its head again, biting at the fruit that had fallen into the water.
There were some smaller golden Spirit Turtles around, but none of them dared to approach it.
The white turtle, having finished its fruit, quickly swam to the edge of the pool, stick out its head and moved closer to Bu Chan.
Bu Chan patted the turtle’s head and helplessly pulled another basket of fruit from the Storage Bag, placing it by the pool’s edge.
The white turtle simply extended its neck and began to eat the fruit bite by bite.
“Bu Chan, this guy…”
Shen Fu cautiously started.
Bu Chan turned his head and glared at Shen Fu: “Don’t provoke Fantong next time, it has a bad temper. If I hadn’t been feeding it regularly, 1 wouldn’t have been able to stop it.”
Feeling the stunning fluctuations of Spiritual Power coming from the white turtle in front of him, it was no less powerful than the male Spirit Chicken he encountered before, even surpassing it.
This time, Shen Fu didn’t dare speak casually anymore.
Instead, he asked:
“Where is the Senior Brother, I haven’t seen him around?”
“He… is busy at the back of the cabin.”
Somewhat flushed at the thought of something, Bu Chan’s face reddened once more.
Shen Fu looked at Bu Chan strangely. After not seeing him for six months, he found his old friend had suddenly become somewhat strange.
But he didn’t think about it further and quickly walked to the back of the cabin.
Upon arriving, he found the Senior Brother squatting in front of a group of female Precious Chickens, persistently dripping something into the chickens’ cloaca.
Shen Fu did not understand, but patiently watched the whole process.
When the last female Precious Chicken had also been dripped with liquid, Shen Fu suddenly heard the voice of his Senior Brother:
“How come you returned so soon?”
Upon hearing his Senior Brother’s voice again, Shen Fu felt a surge of emotion in his heart and hurriedly recounted the situation in which the employer was hit back while attempting to reach Foundation Establishment.
“The methods of the Demon Dao are indeed a risky path, death during breakthrough, is a common issue.”
The Senior Brother lamented.
He then stood up and turned around.
His facial features were average, even somewhat ordinary at first glance.
However, the unique aura of serenity around him made people irresistibly feel calm.
Nevertheless, even though Shen Fu respected his Senior Brother immensely, he didn’t quite agree with his perspective:
“Senior Brother, I feel that though the techniques of the Demon Dao are indeed risky, the benefits are also huge. Look at the ones who started cultivating with Bu Chan and me, even though their qualifications are not as good as ours, after switching to the methods of the Tianmen Cult, they have already reached Qi Refining Stage V. Here 1 am, still stuck at Qi Refining Stage III.”
“Heedlessly exchanging future possibilities for momentary gains. You don’t need to worry about it too much, just go about it in your own way.”
The Senior Brother comforted, laughing.
Although Shen Fu still had a difference of opinion deep down, he knew the Senior Brother truly had his best interests at heart and didn’t argue further.
Instead, he began to discuss his experiences from half a year spent outside.
The Senior Brother listened quietly, not uttering a word.
Shen Fu found this to be usual. Uninterruptedly narrating his experiences, in stark contrast to his aloof demeanor when outside.
Laters, he irritably told the story of misidentifying Jia 12 as Jia 11, and also of getting wet from the white turtle, Fantong, in the pond.
“Although Twelve inherited his mother’s combat abilities, and even exceeded Eleven in some aspects, he’s a little antisocial and not too friendly, so 1 arranged for him to keep guard. Since he didn’t recognize you, he naturally wanted to attack you. If Bu Chan hadn’t been following behind you, you might have had a significant loss.”
The Senior Brother laughed, “As for Fantong, his bad temper is known, and he holds grudges. Unless you reach Qi Refining Stage VII or VIII, it’s best not to stroll in front of him.”
Shen Fu was left speechless.
He had hoped that his Senior Brother might take his side.
Just then, the Senior Brother handed him a Storage Bag and a housing token from the Mulou House.
Shen Fu took the Storage Bag and found it full of pre-cooked Spirit Chickens.
Shen Fu’s face changed immediately, and without hesitation, he tried to return the bag back to the Senior Brother.
“Senior Brother, I can’t accept this!”
“I said I’d help you a long time ago, but some things are still not done. I’ve only ever benefited from you. I have no face to accept this!”
But the Senior Brother firmly pressed it against his hand.
“Keep it, otherwise how will you help me if your Cultivation Base is not leveled up?”
“With the assistance of these things, you should be able to smoothly break through to Qi Refining Stage IV. Even though it’s slower than those cultivators practicing methods of the Demon Dao, it’s also less troublesome.”
Shen Fu hesitated.
At that moment, the Senior Brother stared seriously into his eyes, reminding him:
“Remember, don’t practice those methods of the Demon Dao that are out there in the market… In this world, there’s no such thing as something for nothing.” “Understood, Senior Brother.”
After some hesitation, Shen Fu nodded heavily and finally accepted the Storage Bag-
No words of gratitude were spoken out loud. Instead, this act of kindness was deeply embedded in his heart.
“Well, adjust your condition and then take this room token as soon as possible and go level up in the Mulou House.”
The Senior Brother gently slapped Shen Fu, laughing.
Soon enough, Shen Fu left the chicken farm. The moment he stepped outside, his face resumed its icy demeanor, putting up his ‘No strangers allowed’ mask once again.
Outside the wooden house, watching Shen Fu’s retreating figure, Wang Ba casually extinguished the water mirror in his hand.
Perhaps at the beginning, he really intended to use Shen Fu.
But after all, people are not plants, and in their shared time, he gradually approved of this seemingly arrogant but in fact young cultivator who still held a sincere heart.
Of course, Wang Ba was generously gifting the lower grade Spirit Chickens and even the room token of the Mulou House because these things held little value to him now.
“Qi Refining Stage VIII… Mulou House is a bit too slow for me now.”
Wang Ba stood there with his hands behind his back, looking into the distance.
Over there, the young girl had gradually matured and was cheerfully playing with the white turtle in the setting sun.
It looked like a painting.
“It’s time to move to the Lingshui Courtyard….”