Gluttony

The Bodhi Tree could not speak.

But through the mental connection she shared with Su Qing, she was able to convey her intentions.

Even without language or sound, Su Qing could clearly understand what the Bodhi Tree wanted to express.

And as the Bodhi Tree's will was transmitted to her,

Su Qing could not help but frown, speaking to the tree within her mind:

"In other words... these Peaches of Immortality truly cannot be grown in the mortal realm? There is some kind of restriction?"

"And based on your principle of not letting things go to waste, you simply ate them?"

"You certainly are frugal..."

The Bodhi Tree immediately sent back an affirmative response upon hearing Su Qing's words.

Seeing this, Su Qing's lips twitched slightly, and she let out a sigh.

Su Qing did not know if the Bodhi Tree was lying...

And of course, she didn't need to know.

Because...

As long as the Bodhi Tree was unwilling to cooperate in ripening the seeds,

Then even if the Peach of Immortality trees weren't restricted from growing in the mortal realm, and even if the Bodhi Tree hadn't secretly eaten the seeds,

She still would not be able to grow the trees.

Therefore, Su Qing had no choice but to once again abandon this whimsical idea.

In any case, it would have been best if they could grow, but if they couldn't, it was no great loss.

She wasn't losing anything herself.

As for whether she should give the remaining seeds to the Bodhi Tree to eat...

Su Qing was still considering that point.

After a moment of thought, Su Qing rubbed her chin and mused:

"Forget it, forget it. If she wants them so badly, I'll just give them to her. After all, while these seeds are somewhat precious, if they can't grow peaches, they're just pieces of trash. Keeping them on me is useless."

"Besides, since she wants them so much, these seeds must provide a significant benefit to the Bodhi Tree."

Having made her decision...

Su Qing took out the remaining peach pits and buried them at the base of the Bodhi Tree.

She wasn't entirely sure how much benefit these would bring her...

But as long as this creature could grow strong and healthy, that was enough.

Only a short while after burying the pits, the residual life force within them was absorbed completely.

Not a single trace was left behind...

And the pits buried in the soil, having completely lost their vitality, turned to dust as the Bodhi Tree's roots contracted, merging into the earth.

"Why did you bury the rest of them too?"

Gongsun Zhixue asked in confusion after seeing Su Qing bury the remaining peach pits.

She could not hear the conversation between Su Qing and the Bodhi Tree... so she naturally didn't know what was said.

She only saw Su Qing's expression change several times before burying the rest of the pits under the tree.

Hearing this, Su Qing looked at the Bodhi Tree and said with a smile:

"Nothing special... I just felt that if she wants to eat, I should let her eat."

"Just because of that?"

"Of course. What else did you think?"

"Fine, you've always been a strange one. I can't be bothered with you."

Gongsun Zhixue looked at Su Qing, feeling that Su Qing was hiding something from her.

But on second thought, she was too lazy to press the issue; asking would likely be a waste of breath anyway.

Su Qing smiled faintly at those words, though she didn't take the opportunity to tease the little girl.

Instead, she said cheerfully, "Strange? Perhaps that is just one of my traits?"

Gongsun Zhixue curled her lip and retorted, "I feel like... being shameless and narcissistic are also among your traits."

Su Qing wasn't annoyed by the comment; she simply pinched the girl's small cheek and said, "Alright, let's leave it at that for now! I need to go practice alchemy. You should go play with the sparrows."

"Stop using that adult tone with me, okay? I'm hundreds of years old too," Gongsun Zhixue said grumpily.

"Yes, yes, of course..." Su Qing nodded perfunctorily, then patted her shoulder before turning to leave.

Gongsun Zhixue didn't care to follow Su Qing as she left...

Instead, after Su Qing was gone, she couldn't help but look up at the Bodhi Tree.

"Huh? This thing's life force has become even more ridiculous, and the leaves have turned much greener," Gongsun Zhixue thought, her brows arching slightly.

Seeing this scene, she rubbed her chin, lost in thought.

Su Qing entered the alchemy room.

Sitting before the furnace, she looked at the extinguished coals and pondered what kind of pills she should refine.

"I'll refine some healing pills. They can be used to cure those 'believers' who pray to be free of illness..."

If there was any type of wish that was easy for Su Qing to fulfill without significantly impacting mortal rules...

It would naturally be healing the sick and protecting those who climbed the mountain from accidents.

The latter went without saying...

That was something she had always done her best to ensure.

As for the former...

For Su Qing, who was currently practicing alchemy, it was an even simpler task.

Perhaps the grade of the pills she refined wasn't particularly high... but treating minor ailments and common illnesses presented no difficulty at all.

With her mind made up, Su Qing immediately took out the medicinal herbs and began refining.

As the saying goes:

Time knows no count in the mountains; winters end without record of the years.

Before she knew it, another ten years had passed for Su Qing living on the Changbai Mountains.

During these ten years, the incense power at the Daoist temple down the mountain remained flourishing. Accumulated over time, it had gathered a vast amount of worship for her.

Having spent a decade as a deity, Su Qing had naturally heard a great many wishes.

The wishes of the demons and animals on Flower-Fruit Mountain were mostly very simple... and quite easy to fulfill, so Su Qing was happy to help them.

Although they could not provide a massive amount of incense power like mortals...

Their worship was extremely pure, devoid of impurities and distractions.

It could be used with only a minimal amount of conversion.

On the other hand, the mortals...

Their wishes were somewhat bizarre and varied.

All sorts of strange desires were mixed in.

Over time, Su Qing inevitably found herself annoyed by the incense power tainted with malice...

Fortunately, Su Qing was not a deity purely reliant on incense power...

And she possessed a very firm foundation in her own cultivation.

Therefore... she didn't need to perform any complex operations; she only had to move her finger to set up a filtering array, which would filter out those distractions and impurities.

To this day, though Su Qing would still occasionally listen to the mortals' wishes, she no longer heard any of those 'evil' desires.

They had been filtered out entirely.

One day.

After her cultivation session, Su Qing felt a bit bored, so she decided to listen to the mortals' wishes again.

However, this time...

Su Qing heard a rather interesting prayer.

Down the mountain.

Inside the Daoist temple.

A woman dressed in simple green robes was kneeling before the clay statue of Lady Azure Spirit. After devoutly offering three sticks of incense and bowing,

She prayed: "Lady Azure Spirit, please bless me with the chance to see Miss Su once more."