Chapter 254

Chapter 254: Discovery of Beast Ganoderma!

Shen Sang Ruo rested her hand on a dark red ganoderma at the base of a tree, rubbing its surface to feel the texture, then whispered in surprise: “This is Beast Ganoderma?” The edge of the fungus glowed faintly gold, which made it clear it was not ordinary.

When she studied with Yuan Jin at the Beast Taming Branch, she had seen a tiny sprout of it in his hands. Beast Ganoderma strengthens Spirit Beasts and Demonic Beasts; even a small pinch mixed into feed improves a beast’s body and raises its strength. It is the best feed for raising beasts.

The Snails following behind her took two quick bites, then shot forward in excitement, running several times faster than before. The effect showed at once.

She steadied her breath and said with certainty: “It is definitely Beast Ganoderma.” Beast Ganoderma takes a very long time to grow and is hard to cultivate. Even Yuan Jin only had a tiny piece. He cherished it so much that each time he used it, he only scraped off a thin layer of powder.

Shen Sang Ruo glanced around. At the base of this single trunk, more than a dozen caps had grown, each as large as a person’s palm. [If it is like this here, the other trunks must have them too.] Pushing down her excitement, she ran to the nearest tree. As she guessed, palm sized Beast Ganoderma was growing on the trunk there as well. Not only that, the ground also held clusters of Beast Ganoderma, far more than she had imagined.

An entire swath of land was full of Beast Ganoderma. She had not expected the first treasure she found—no, the first whole patch of treasure—to be this heavy a haul. These alone were enough to feed all the Spirit Beasts at the Beast Taming Branch like a regular meal. She also sighed at how rich the Spiritual Qi of the Starfield Plain was if it could grow such a huge field of Beast Ganoderma.

Dense grass hid all the Beast Ganoderma. If she had not been shrunk earlier, she would never have found them. And if the Snails had not happened to bring her here, she would have missed it. Everything lined up by chance. The bad luck she had felt before flipped over in an instant.

She turned to the Dodder Flower Sprite that had followed and admitted with a grin: “I take back what I said earlier.” Showing a mouthful of white teeth, she was in great spirits. [My luck is not bad at all. It is amazingly good.]

The Dodder Flower Sprite’s soul was already hooked by the pile of Beast Ganoderma. It was not a beast, but it could absorb the strength of spirit plants, and Beast Ganoderma was a great tonic for it too.

Shen Sang Ruo smiled at the Snails and the Giant Beetles to thank them: “Thank you.” Then she told the Giant Beetles: “Please undo the spell and let me return to normal size.” The Giant Beetles withdrew the magic, and she finally returned to her regular height. Stretching her arms and legs, she poked the dazed Dodder Flower Sprite and said with a promise: “Little Flower Sprite, use your vines to collect the Beast Ganoderma, and I will share a portion with you when we get back.”

The Sprite’s vines were perfect for gathering things spread over a wide area. Each vine worked like a hand, and in no time its vines could cover the whole patch and harvest fast.

Hearing there would be a reward, the Dodder Flower Sprite’s eyes lit up as it warned with a bright grin: “Do not cheat me. You promised me a share.” It went to work at once, vines unrolling in all directions.

Shen Sang Ruo took out a cloth pouch, tied it at her waist, set a few Giant Beetles inside, and started picking Beast Ganoderma too. She summoned the Kui Ox, and with Zhu Miao they hurried to help so the harvesting would finish quickly. The Snails that had nibbled the Beast Ganoderma were now so excited that they joined in, strong and tireless.

The collection speed shot to the limit.

Outside the Barrier Ward, several open grounds were already stacked with treasures. The Auction Pavilion Masters could not stop smiling, and people from other sects were pleased as well. But at the Ninghua Sect’s area, the mood was the exact opposite.

Two hours had passed. The open grounds for the Ninghua Sect and the Linglong Pavilion still showed no treasures marked with Shen Sang Ruo’s sign. Faces grew heavier, hearts sinking.

Sect Master Wu Wei stroked his beard with growing impatience as he muttered: “Why is there still no news from our Sang Girl?” Over at the Flying Cloud Sect, Shen Dao Chen and Master Ling Xiao also kept watching, to be exact, watching for any sign of Shen Sang Ruo. Seeing no word for so long, Shen Dao Chen’s brows drew tight, and Master Ling Xiao grew so tense he almost rushed in through the Barrier Ward to find her, only stopping because Shen Dao Chen held him back. He sat down but could not calm his worry.

Immortal Lord Chang Li glanced their way, unhappy that outsiders showed so much concern for his Personal Disciple. Raising a hand, he sent a thread of Spiritual Power into a crystal that held a Locator Thread. Shen Sang Ruo’s Locator Thread uncoiled from the crystal and linked to the artifact she wore in the Secret Realm. The silk thread was unbroken and still moving, which meant she was safe.

He trusted her strength. Anyone or any beast below Divine Transformation would not be a threat to her. She might simply have been delayed or found something unexpected. Only then did Immortal Lord Chang Li and the others of the Ninghua Sect relax. For them, her safety came first and treasures came after. Besides, she had already gathered so many treasures before; the Ninghua Sect was standing on her gains.

But the Beast Taming Sect and many Auction Pavilion people did not see it that way. Shen Sang Ruo’s name shook the Cultivation World, and seeing the top young cultivator perform like this made many sneer. Mocking eyes turned toward the Ninghua Sect. The Beast Taming Sect had become enemies with the Ninghua Sect back at the Sect Grand Tournament, and Shen Sang Ruo had hit them hard more than once. They were not about to miss this chance to step on her.

Learning from past embarrassments, Guan Hui had watched in secret for a long while to make sure Shen Sang Ruo was truly underperforming and would not slap him in the face again. Only then did he pull on a smug smile to taunt: “Sect Master Wu Wei, it seems your Shen Sang Ruo…”

The words only an empty name jammed in his throat, because he saw several Beast Ganoderma with Shen Sang Ruo’s mark appear in the Ninghua Sect’s open ground. As the Beast Taming Sect Master, he knew exactly how precious Beast Ganoderma was. His entire sect had only about a hundred in total, and Shen Sang Ruo had found several at once.

The Ninghua Sect’s first reaction was not to count the value, but to rejoice that they finally had news from her. Faces brightened with relief.

Guan Hui tried to save face in his head. Two hours to find only a few… that is not much. The next moment, countless Beast Ganoderma burst out from the Teleportation Formation like a flood and piled into a small mountain on the open ground.

He had just convinced himself and was about to speak again when he froze: one brave try turned him into a quiet man for life.