The pool took up quite a bit of space, and with its addition, the hundred-square-meter area was now completely full.
Gu Ningyun couldn't help but poke at the ring of white mist bordering the grass with her divine sense.
She wondered what conditions were needed for the mist to dissipate.
Regardless, with a pool this deep, raising any kind of sea beast would be much more convenient.
Gu Ningyun narrowed her eyes at the blue sea coral before her and came up with a good excuse.
“Jiang Yao, I recall that portable herb gardens can raise spirit beasts, right?”
“Since it involves things like the laws of life—concepts beyond our realm's reach—portable herb gardens are capped at a hundred square meters, and sentient beings can't be put inside.
But if it's just for planting or raising low-grade demon beasts or sea beasts, it's possible.”
Jiang Yao produced a jade slip and projected an image with his spirit energy. “The seniors of Xiaoyao's Artifact Peak and Array Peak collaborated to refine this type of garden that can handle both plants and beasts.
Look at this diagram: the left side is for land, with ten plots of soil. Each plot has independent arrays for temperature control, automatic watering, automatic pollination, and other aids for growth.
The top right is the demon beast zone with three pens, each with its own array.
The bottom right is the sea beast zone, reaching a depth of three hundred meters.
If all three areas are occupied, the garden's own arrays won't absorb enough spirit energy from the outside world. At that point, the cultivator must provide spirit stones to sustain it.”
He pointed to the center of the diagram. “You just place spirit stones here, and the arrays will automatically extract the energy to support the life forms inside.
Portable herb gardens are rare to begin with, and while this type requires extra spirit stones, its comprehensive features make it highly sought after. It once fetched a high price of three hundred top-grade spirit stones at auction.”
Gu Ningyun nodded and sent a divine sense transmission. “I was wondering why there was such a large pit in my garden; so that's what it's for.”
Jiang Yao gave her a speechless look. “Didn't you read the manual when you got it?”
He suddenly pointed at her with a knowing “oh.”
“I was wondering why you were so elusive last year. Whenever I saw you, you looked like you'd had your essence drained by an evil cultivator.
Don't tell me you spent day and night drawing talismans just to afford that garden?
Even with the Xiaoyao Chamber of Commerce's thirty percent discount for disciples, buying it through the internal reservation channel instead of an auction still costs two hundred and ten top-grade spirit stones.
Ningyun, you're really hardcore.”
Gu Ningyun's face darkened. Essence drained by an evil cultivator?
She had only run into Jiang Yao once when her face was pale, and that was because she had exhausted her divine sense after a marathon session of drawing talismans in her Cloud Residence.
She had just wanted to grab a meal at the dining hall to relax.
Who would have thought she'd run into Jiang Yao and be teased about it until now?
“I don't have that many top-grade spirit stones. I stumbled upon this garden by chance while I was out training.”
“Is that so?”
Everyone had their own secrets and opportunities; Jiang Yao didn't pry. “So, you're planning to raise some coral?”
“The coral is beautiful, but it's not what I'm after.”
Gu Ningyun pointed toward the depths of the blue sea coral. “I want to raise the Blue Lake Scallops that live deep within the thickets.”
Jiang Yao was genuinely surprised.
The name sounded familiar; the Almanac of Heavenly Wonders mentioned them briefly as a rather useless species of sea beast.
The compilers only included them for completeness and to warn disciples against eating them by mistake. Why would Ningyun want to raise them?
If she wanted their toxin, the coral's toxin was more effective and easier to store.
A lightbulb went off in his head. “Ningyun, you're not planning to poison someone you hate but can't attack openly by making them a ‘gourmet’ Blue Lake Scallop feast, are you!”
Jiang Yao felt he had hit the mark.
He suddenly recalled their first meeting.
He had actually seen Gu Ningyun back in Yushui City.
At the time, after a family tragedy, he had traveled alone from the mortal kingdom to the mixed city of Yushui and stayed at an inn in the northern district.
On the day Martial Aunt Yang and the others arrived, he had opened his door and walked down the stairs.
A small figure had dashed past him like an uncatchable gust of wind, stopping at the counter by the entrance.
The small figure slammed some silver onto the counter, her voice crisp. “Manager, checking out!”
She was moving fast, as if she had something very important to do.
And at that moment, nothing was more important than the Xiaoyao disciple recruitment assessment.
Sure enough, when he arrived at the site after checking out, he saw her in the queue about twenty spots ahead of him.
At that moment, his feelings were complicated.
In a crowd of children tearfully bidding farewell to their parents and families, there was someone else just like him.
Barely six years old, traveling ten thousand miles to Yushui City alone.
Staying at an inn alone, taking the exam alone.
Facing an unpredictable future alone.
As the line moved closer to the high platform for spirit root testing, his heart began to pound, and his palms grew sweaty.
A simple test would decide the difference between the immortal and the mundane.
His parents had died on the battlefield, yet the emperor still feared his family's military power and prestige at the border, seeking to wipe them out entirely.
To survive, he had to have a spirit root; he needed a foothold in the cultivation world.
Otherwise, he couldn't imagine where a six-year-old child like him could possibly find shelter.
The thought made him even more anxious.
He couldn't help but look ahead at the fellow traveler who was also alone.
What kind of eyes were those?
They were round, adorable almond eyes, yet the gaze within them was exceptionally calm and resilient, carrying a sense of desperate determination.
He thought she must have suffered some great grievance to come to Yushui City all by herself and to have such a steadfast look in her eyes.
Just like him.
No, she was much braver than he was.
At that thought, Jiang Yao suddenly turned around.
The wake he created hit Gu Ningyun, with the ripples spreading toward the blue sea coral.
He said, “Ningyun, if you want to poison someone, go for it. I've got your back.”
Rate on N.U.
