Emperor of Nine Suns - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Traumatized By A Small Gift

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

They knew how much wealth an external disciple could accumulate. Under normal circumstances, it would have been considered great if an external disciple could have saved up a full piece of spirit stone with a year of hard work.

Tong Meng’s fingers started fiddling unconsciously. She grabbed Chu Chen’s arm, “Hehe, Brother Chu Chen’s gift was—”

“It was prepared some time ago.”

Chu Chen put a faint smile on his face and fished out a translucent jade bottle from his pocket, placing it gently in Tong Meng’s hand. Within the bottle was a purple-colored elixir emanating a mysterious glow.

“Purple cloud elixir!”

Senior Sister Su Yun exclaimed in surprise! She was shaking visibly.

The three other girls had varying expressions, but all of them had their jaws dropped, at a loss for words.

Any disciple that spent some time in the sect would have their eyes shine like stars at the mention of purple cloud elixir.

There were a plethora of elixirs out there in the world of cultivators. Tempering the skin and bones, strengthening the body, solidifying spiritual energy, breaching the cultivation stage barrier, spiritual energy recovery, and so on. Among them, the rarest were elixirs that increased one’s mental strength. 

The purple cloud elixir that could temper one’s soul had been a treasure many cultivators could only dream of.

The stronger the soul was, the better the cultivator’s comprehension, which determined if one could fully master a cultivation method and easily mastered its key elements.

Everyone wished to have their comprehension ability to grow continually, therefore none could resist the allure of the purple cloud elixir that increased their comprehension ability.

To see Chu Chen taking out such a legendary elixir had truly been a shock to all of them.

It had been a priceless treasure. How was it something that an external disciple could have produced? One should know that not even some sect elders could have easily given such a treasure like the purple cloud elixir to someone easily!

“Brother Chu, t-t-this…” Tong Meng’s mind went blank, too awestruck to the point that words failed her. Just last month, she had been worried about Chu Chen’s inability to meet the herb quota, yet he just took out a legendary elixir just like that. Was that still her Brother Chu?

“What’s wrong? It’s just an elixir. Why are you so surprised?” Chu Chen smiled and gently rubbed Tong Meng’s head. “Alright, when are we eating? I’m famished.”

“Ah? O-o-oh…I-I-I…” Tong Meng was in a daze. The next instant, her eyes turned red at some unknown thoughts. She lowered her head and carefully kept the small bottle. She then rubbed her eyes and walked into the kitchen.

Chu Chen never expected the purple cloud elixir could have moved his junior sister to that extent. In his mind, the materials for this elixir were plentiful in the Black Fog Valley. He could have had them as long as he refined them. It was not something he treasured highly.

After Tong Meng left, the girls finally recovered from their state of shock. Junior Sister Xue Yue was even crying. “Sob sob sob…I’m so moved. If someone gave me a purple cloud elixir, I’ll marry him the very next day!”

“I’ll marry him that very day!” Zi Yan blurted suddenly while rubbing her eyes, head lowered.

“I’ll marry right that moment!” Bi Xia’s tone was even firmer. Those reactions gave Chu Chen quite a scare. With an entire ancient celestial mountain as his bottomless treasury, it had been really difficult for him to put much value on this elixir.

Meanwhile, Senior Sister Su Yun seemed to have finally recognized Chu Chen for the first time. She looked at Chu Chen with mixed feelings. Having him shake off her palm strike so effortlessly had already been shocking enough. With the appearance of the purple cloud elixir, it thoroughly upended the previous impression she had of Chu Chen.

It was impossible for an external disciple to be that well off. Was that all a facade? Could it be that he had some mysterious backer behind him? Or the past three years of being useless was an identity that he intentionally created?

Thinking of that Senior Sister Su Yun felt a chill run through her body. If he was that well to do, he must have had a major powerhouse backing him. It would seem that she had been the ignorant one for trying to teach him a lesson and planned out the cultivation path of his beloved.

Feeling uncomfortable, Senior Sister Su Yun made up an excuse and took her leave.

That day had been a relaxing and a happy one for Chu Chen. A single purple cloud elixir instantly rose his standing with the girls by a few levels. The three girls’ envious teasing made Tong Meng blush further, having spent her entire day in blissful smiles. Seeing his junior sister enjoying herself, Chu Chen felt a warm feeling in his heart too.

Happy time flies by quickly. Without having realized it, the few days of rest were gone. It had been time for him to get back to work at Elder Ling Xin’s place. Chu Chen had gotten up especially early.

Arriving at the ancient elixir hall in the Hidden Frost Valley, Elder Ling Xin had already been up and about. It had been difficult to imagine just how much of a workaholic she was.

Seeing Chu Chen’s figure, Elder Ling Xin looked up and nodded. “The disciple that was helping me with the herb garden had something come up. Go watch over the garden for a few days. As an elixir refiner, it’s fundamental that you get acquainted with the growing conditions of each spiritual herb. Go report to the garden and learn how to plant and nurture herbs. I’ll call for you when I’m not busy.”

‘Manage the herb garden?’ He was not even allowed to go anywhere near the herb garden previously, yet he was sent to manage the herb garden? Life had truly a rollercoaster ride.

Chu Chen nodded with a bow, then headed to the herb garden.

All major sects would have a garden set aside for herbs to be planted and nurtured. After all, it had been impossible to support the elixir consumption by having depended on the measly amount of herbs they collect in the wild.

The garden would have usually been lined with powerful spirit gathering formation, having made the spiritual energy in the garden to be several times denser than elsewhere. By doing so, the growth of the spiritual herbs in the garden would have been multiple times faster than the wild. With just a dozen years, they could have produced spiritual herbs with maturity of a hundred years.

Therefore, the herb garden had usually been the most important source of the sect’s elixir’s consumption. It was considered an important area in the sect. Putting all others aside, just the density of the spiritual energy having been much higher was extremely beneficial to cultivation. If not for Elder Ling Xin’s sake, Chu Chen would have never been qualified to enter it.

Crystal Spring Sect’s herb garden was on the higher portion of the sect’s hillside, nestled in a slightly concave region. The entire herb garden had been surrounded by an unseen restrictive barrier. A few internal disciples were keeping guard at the entrance.

With Elder Ling Xin’s token, the disciples guarding the garden had not given him much trouble. They merely warned him not to run around and activated a special mantra to release the restriction, having let him in.