Chapter 255

Chapter 255: Yuan Jin Strikes It Rich

At this Treasure-Seeking Meet, Shen Sang Ruo kept her usual style: quiet for a while, then amazing everyone in one move. Before the crowd could react, Yuan Jin rushed over first. He paced back and forth in front of the Beast Ganoderma mountain several times, hands shaking as he took out the little piece he had used for decades that had only a few scuffs, and compared it to the pile before him.

So many Beast Ganoderma were hard to believe. Being the most familiar with it, he checked again and again. After he was sure, the sudden wave of fortune smashed into him. His mind went blank. He stared, afraid this was just a dream, afraid the Beast Ganoderma would vanish in the next blink. Then he burst out laughing: “Ah ha… ah hahahahahaha!”

“All Beast Ganoderma, every bit of it is Beast Ganoderma, and every cap is palm sized!” He scooped up an armful, looking half crazed. If not for all the sects watching, he would have thrown himself onto the pile.

Everyone else watched the near wild Yuan Jin and felt he was like a man who had suddenly received a huge sum of money. No one could blame him. For Beast Cultivators, this heap was worth its weight in gold. With it, he even felt the Beast Taming Branch could surpass the Beast Taming Sect.

The best choice of his life had been agreeing to Shen Sang Ruo’s invitation to join the Ninghua Sect. He almost wanted to kowtow to her. Looking at the marks on the Beast Ganoderma, he called out, voice shaking with joy: “Young Sect Master!” From now on, he and the whole Beast Taming Branch would be her most loyal supporters. If anyone dared insult their Young Sect Master, they would shut the gates and let the Spirit Beasts loose.

He pulled his eyes off the pile and fixed them on Guan Hui, who was still standing there in a daze: “Sect Master Guan seems to have an opinion about our Young Sect Master?”

Daoist Wu Wei strolled over, eyes crinkling as he asked with a smile: “Sect Master Guan, what was it you wanted to say about our Sang Girl?”

Only then did Guan Hui snap out of it, his expression going through several colors. He wanted to slip away, but Immortal Lord Chang Li stood before him with arms folded, so he was forced to answer. Gritting his teeth, he stuck up a thumb and squeezed out a smile: “Little Fellow Daoist Shen is truly remarkable. When she makes a move, it is something like this.”

Immortal Lord Chang Li nodded, satisfied, and let him pass. Guan Hui hurried back to the Beast Taming Sect’s area as if fleeing. On the way he could not help glancing back at the pile of Beast Ganoderma, dozens of times more than his sect had gathered in a thousand years. Even as the sect master, he felt a strong sting of envy. [How does Shen Sang Ruo have such outrageous luck?]

Besides the beaten down Beast Taming Sect, two others were just as jealous: Shen Dao Chen and Master Ling Xiao. If only Shen Sang Ruo had not left them… It was a thought they had replayed many times. Too bad. From now on there would be only the Ninghua Sect’s Shen Sang Ruo; nothing about her would belong to them.

The heavy mood at the Ninghua Sect broke apart under the mountain of Beast Ganoderma, and joy spread through the camp. Daoist Wu Wei chuckled as he said: “I told you, our Sang Girl could not be in trouble. She was probably using that time to search and harvest Beast Ganoderma.” No one there could imagine how twisty and strange her discovery had been.

Daoist Wu Wei turned and went with Li Qing Wen to estimate the value. No matter what, the Beast Ganoderma was the most valuable find so far; that truth showed on every face present. Hope rose again in Li Qing Wen’s heart. If anyone could pull it off, it was Shen Sang Ruo, who always brought surprise and hope. Maybe the Linglong Pavilion could be rebuilt after all.

After the excitement faded a little, people calmed down and began to look forward to whatever treasure she would send out next.

Inside the Barrier Ward, Shen Sang Ruo put the last cap of Beast Ganoderma into the Teleportation Artifact and carefully drew the grasses back over the patch. She only harvested the palm sized caps and left many small ones behind. When they grew up, she could come again. [Sustainable harvesting. Good.] It was a pity her map had vanished; otherwise she would have marked the spot. For now, she fixed it in her memory.

She told her companions briskly: “Head to the next place.” The Kui Ox, Zhu Miao, and the Dodder Flower Sprite moved into position. As she started off, she noticed several Snails sticking close to her feet. These were Swift Snails, named for their speed. They broke the old idea that Snails were slow. Like Giant Beetles, they were ancient insect Demonic Beasts.

Shen Sang Ruo had long gotten used to Demonic Beasts clinging to her, so she stayed calm: “Do you want to come with me?” she asked, bending slightly. The Snails curled their eye stalks in a nod. She lifted the pouch at her waist and opened it as she asked: “Do you want to go inside?” The Snails waggled their eye stalks to refuse. The one that had launched her earlier pointed at its back with a feeler, eager to carry her again.

She looked at the Snail, only the size of her thumb, and hesitated: “I am back to normal size. I will crush you.” The Snails stayed stubborn, still pointing at their backs. Then eight Snails split into two groups of four and lined up so she could stand on them. All eight made the same gesture: get on.

Seeing this, she asked one more time: “You are sure you want me to stand on you?” The Snails nodded with their eye stalks.

“Alright.” She raised one foot and stepped on carefully. What looked fragile held her easily; their shells supported her weight without any wobble. Even though she had expected it, surprise still touched her face. She set her other foot down. The Snails tapped her shoes with their feelers to tell her to stand steady: the Snail Express was ready to roll.

With the Power of Wind, keeping her balance was not hard. The Snails shot forward with her like an arrow leaving the string, so fast they left afterimages. It felt as if someone had fitted her shoes with wheels that could glide over any terrain at all. Wind brushed across her cheeks, and she smiled. Riding on Snails was a new and funny feeling.

With them, she could move across the Starfield Plain very fast and search for treasures much quicker. Maybe she would find another patch as rich as this field of Beast Ganoderma. Thinking about the gains to come, her mood rose.

But soon, joy turned into trouble.