Chapter 457: The Best! |
“I need to head out to work now too. Be a good girl while you are home alone.”
“Mhm~”
“Rest early.”
The moment Jiang Chen closed the door, he vanished without a trace.
In a flash, he appeared outside in Red Leaf Valley.
Another spring had arrived, and the valley’s scenery was renewed.
The new leaves of the maple trees had just unfurled, a tender red like rosy clouds.
The spring breeze brushed past, and the gently swaying branches and leaves produced a soft rustling sound.
A moment later, a voice called out from outside, “Brother Chen!”
Outside, Zhao Mo leapt down from the back of the golden-furred she-wolf, admiring the scenery as he patiently waited.
It was not long before Jiang Chen walked out, chuckling lightly. “It has been four years, yet you remain as punctual as ever. Wouldn’t it be the same if someone else came?”
Zhao Mo replied with utter seriousness, “If not for you and your Heavenly Horse Milk Wine, I could never have achieved my current status and standing in Beast Mountain. Even the cultivators from the Immortal Peaks have started asking for my help.”
Jiang Chen gave a slight nod. “Understood.”
Zhao Mo continued, “Same as always. All the Spirit Stones I earned are yours.”
To him, Spirit Stones were no longer important.
In truth, just selling spirit beast milk every day was more than enough to support himself.
What he truly sought was to use the Heavenly Horse Milk Wine to forge connections with the core disciples of the Immortal Peaks, and perhaps even some powerful Immortal Elders.
Recently, ever since the Golden Core stage drunkard Jiang Bo had tasted the Heavenly Horse Milk Wine, he had been seeking out Zhao Mo with increasing frequency. Perhaps one day, he would even take Zhao Mo as a disciple.
Jiang Chen understood the man’s intentions perfectly well, but he did not mind.
It was the same principle as Jin Fugui continuing to sell manure even after becoming the fisherman’s disciple.
Everyone had their own way of living; everyone’s pursuits were different.
Shortly after, Zhao Mo collected the five hundred jin of Heavenly Horse Milk Wine.
At the same time, he handed over the Mid-grade Spirit Stones earned over the past month—a staggering sum of over thirteen thousand pieces.
After deducting the expenses, there was a clear gain of around ten thousand Spirit Stones each month, and Zhao Mo had not taken a single one for himself.
As a result, over these past four years, Jiang Chen had earned hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones simply from selling milk wine.
Furthermore, with four additional puppets assisting him, his output of Spirit Wine had doubled.
Every month, he also pulled in a few thousand more from the Shen Clan in Green City, the Evergreen Wine House, and the demon hunting teams.
To some extent, Jiang Chen’s personal wealth alone could now rival that of many established Cultivation clans in the Spirit Farm.
Zhao Mo called out, “I am off.”
He then spurred his golden-furred she-wolf into a gallop, disappearing into a small black speck in the blink of an eye.
Jiang Chen withdrew his gaze, pondering to himself, ‘I have held back for nearly five years. Should I make a trip outside?’
He was now only two Earth-grade arts away from being able to upgrade the Five Elements Art once more.
Staying in the Spirit Farm every day made the chances of gathering them far too low.
He couldn’t possibly expect to stumble into a situation like Tie Zhu’s every time and accidentally acquire a fragmented manual.
Of course, there was another reason. As the Thousand Sect Dharma Assembly drew nearer, the exchanges between the three great Immortal Sects and numerous other Cultivation Sects were becoming increasingly frequent.
During this period, there might be opportunities to acquire some Earth-grade arts. Even fragments would be more than enough for Jiang Chen.
After all, he could rely on the system to directly deduce them to completion and even push them to the max level.
That afternoon, Lin An returned after being away for half a month.
But he was not alone; cradled in his arms was a baby boy.
Jiang Chen looked surprised. “Your… son?”
Lin An beamed. “This is the boy Lai Zi and I had.”
Jiang Chen stepped forward to take a closer look. “Have you given him a name?”
The little one was wrapped in a white swaddle, curled up in a soft, warm bundle.
His hair was soft and black, and his facial features had not yet fully formed.
His nose was tiny and delicate, his lips a pale red.
His mouth would occasionally purse, as if he were suckling on something.
Lin An nodded eagerly. “Feng. His name is Lin Feng.”
Jiang Chen praised, “The wind moves the nesting birds, the pond rain settles the floating fireflies. What a fine name!”
Lin An looked slightly embarrassed. “Actually, I didn’t think that deeply about it. My surname and Lai Zi’s Spirit Root are the most important things we have.”
Jiang Chen was momentarily stunned, feeling a pang of emotion in his heart.
If he did not have the system, and had not accumulated all his progress over the years…
Perhaps he would be no different from Lin An—living a mediocre, unaccomplished life, eventually pinning all his hopes onto his child, only to grow old full of regrets.
Just then, Lin An took a deep breath. “Senior Brother, if Feng’er has even the slightest chance, could you let him join the Sect?”
Jiang Chen chuckled wryly. “I am merely a Spirit Cultivator of the Spirit Farm. I do not have the power to decide such things.”
Lin An’s gaze was exceptionally firm. “You still do not have a disciple, do you?”
Jiang Chen thought for a moment before replying, “Considering your many years of hard work for me, if Feng’er possesses a Wood Spirit Root, I can take him as my disciple.”
Lin An let out a sigh of relief, then spoke with deep emotion, “Thank you, Senior Brother!”
Jiang Chen patted his shoulder, comforting him, “We are family here. There is no need for such formalities.”
Lin An lowered his head, looking at his son with tears in his eyes, thinking to himself, ‘Feng’er, your mother and I have given you the absolute best we have!’
At that moment, Jiang Chen took out a protective talisman and handed it over. “Whether Feng’er becomes my disciple in the future or not, he must live well.”
Although Lin An did not understand much about such items, he knew one thing for certain: anything this man brought out was definitely something precious.
Therefore, instead of refusing, he accepted it immediately.
He even tucked the protective talisman securely against Feng’er’s body, treating it with the utmost care.
Afterward, he handed over all the earnings he had collected from Green City that month.
For all these years, he had never hidden a single piece of wealth, all for the sake of this very day.
Jiang Chen swept his Divine Sense over the items, and after confirming there were no issues, tossed them directly into his Square Inch Ring.
Nowadays, as his possessions continued to pile up, the Jade Green Gourd could no longer hold them all.
Fortunately, he had previously obtained a high-level storage artifact from the Earth Vein Abyss Lord.
Otherwise, he would have had to expend various resources and materials to refine one himself.
Lin An spoke up again. “By the way, Senior Brother, the Shen Clan’s daughter, Sun Shangxiang, is already six years old. They say they wish to arrange a meeting with you.”
Even though Jiang Chen had not left home in recent years, remaining strictly within the Spirit Farm…
…Lin An had privately been sending gifts in his name from time to time to maintain their relationship with the clan.
Jiang Chen looked thoughtful. “I am afraid their intentions are exactly the same as yours.”
Lin An’s eyes widened. “The Shen Clan also hopes Sun Shangxiang can become your disciple?”
Jiang Chen gave a half-smile. “Initially, it was not about becoming my disciple. They planned to have her recognize me as her godfather.”
Lin An looked visibly displeased. “Given your status, Senior Brother, how dare the Shen Clan overstep so far!”
Jiang Chen waved his hand dismissively. “They likely settled for the next best thing. If they can have Sun Shangxiang take me as her Master, she can at least enter the Sect.”
Six years old… she was no longer that young.
Moreover, as a child of a Cultivation clan, she would only mature faster than normal.
Barring any surprises, they must have used some method to detect her Spirit Root. It might even be a Wood Spirit Root; otherwise, they would not have made such a move at this exact time.
Lin An frowned. “Then wouldn’t Feng’er lose his position as your eldest disciple?”
Jiang Chen teased, “Who told you to have him so late!”
