Chapter 38: Chapter 38: The Beaver’s Magic, Awaiting Guyu
Returning with a full load.
While Su Ya was surrounded by cultivators eager to know when the next pill auction would be held.
Li Ye already sneaked away from the Four Seasons Sect’s shop with two Clear Snow Spirit Pills and four thousand two hundred Spirit Stones, blending into the crowd.
Although Su Ya offered to introduce him to everyone as well, a powerful Spirit Plant Master, someone also worthy of respect.
At the auction within the Four Seasons Sect, both the alchemist’s and the Spirit Plant Master’s names are listed together.
A good Spirit Plant Master ensures the quality of the Spirit Plants they cultivate, and when teamed up with an alchemist, it’s a powerful collaboration.
It sounded really good, but he still refused.
It wasn’t time for him to show off; he needed to accumulate capital for himself.
Such reputations were currently useless, would distract him, and were completely unrewarding.
Respect will come as long as he is strong enough, has the strength, and unique abilities, there will always be admiration around him.
So he returned home very low-key.
The familiar environment, though quiet, had the playful commotion of beavers in the yard, which made Li Ye take a deep breath and relax.
He looked at the wheat field.
From Jingzhe to Guyu, it’s only about a month and a half, and soon the wheat will be harvested.
At first glance, they’re lush and full of vitality, each plant positioned as they demanded.
Thus they looked a bit messy, but for them, it was the most comfortable layout.
Every wheat plant extended its branches and leaves among the spiritual Qi, and one could clearly feel their joy.
The Wheat Spirit, Cold Ice Wheat, and Spring Wheat almost formed a stable triangle, transferring spiritual Qi and supporting one another.
This scene suddenly made him feel that these wheat plants were indeed very worry-free.
There was no need to worry about pests, as the Wheat Spirit allocated spiritual Qi, ensuring that each plant thrived.
In fact, it didn’t require much of his attention now. As long as he supplied the appropriate amount of spiritual Qi and Spiritual Liquid for irrigation, everything would unfold naturally.
"Too worry-free isn’t good either."
"I should pay attention to the beavers and the Hungry Bone situation."
Li Ye walked over to the beaver’s nests; their nests had now become interconnected.
Since they were all bound by the Hungry Bone, there wasn’t any resentment or fear among them.
They built a dam around the Spiritual Spring’s eye, and some low-tier Spirit Flowers and Spirit Grass grew on it.
Between the flowers and grass, the beavers often played and meditated atop the nests.
"Chirp chirp!"
The largest beaver noticed Li Ye and scurried out from the nest.
It was enveloped in an aura of colorful radiance that hadn’t entirely faded, with a gentle glow suffusing its fur, exuding an indescribable feeling.
The Heart Lotus Suffering Relief Method had already been entirely read to these beavers by Li Ye.
Though some scriptures were obscure and difficult to understand for Li Ye, the beavers adapted quite well.
The lotus radiance on their bodies was visibly more tangible than on the day the snow first fell.
"You were purifying the Hungry Bone just now?" Li Ye extended his hand, and the beaver instantly hopped onto his palm, enjoying the stroke of his fingers. "Chirp chirp chirp," it called out.
That probably meant that the current batch of five Hungry Bones was almost purified.
Chirping, it even showed a bit of pride, raising its head for Li Ye to stroke that specific patch of fur on its neck.
Contentedly, its little eyes squinted shut.
Li Ye also enjoyed the pleasure of stroking the beaver; these little creatures weren’t just cute, they helped him with tasks and were so worry-free...
They were absolutely perfect choices for Spirit Pets.
"Do you feel uneasy about this?" He looked at the beaver:
"You should be able to sense the presence of the souls within the Hungry Bone, perhaps even communicate with them. Doesn’t it feel uncomfortable when they ascend and leave?"
The beaver was taken aback for a moment, then chirped once.
This answer truly surprised Li Ye—it said it’s a good thing, so of course it wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. Being trapped within the Hungry Bone is an immense suffering, just like... such torment.
The beaver suddenly wrapped its arms around one of his fingers.
"Sizzle sizzle!"
Suddenly, a wisp of blackness flowed from the beaver’s sleek fur, transferring instantly through contact into Li Ye’s body.
In just that moment, Li Ye felt an indescribably terrifying sensation—
Hunger!
A limitless hunger.
The kind of terror where nothing could be consumed, experiencing eternal hunger torturing oneself until death from starvation, trapped within the Hungry Bone, to endlessly endure the excruciating torment of hunger unrelenting.
The warm sunlight and lively courtyard surroundings were all drenched in darkness, Li Ye staggered slightly before finally regaining normalcy.
He gasped for breath, his eyes a bit unfocused.
"Ugh."
"What is this."
What felt like an instant elongated to eternity, the terrifying hunger took a long while for Li Ye to recover from, his expression looking quite dreadful: "Is this how the souls within the Hungry Bone feel?"
If so, then he truly understood why even the Four Seasons Sect took it seriously.
Both before and after his transmigration, he had faced hardships and helplessness.
But such hunger was something he had never experienced before; only by experiencing it firsthand could he understand how terrifying it truly was.
The suffering of life not being erased, the suffering of death perpetuating existence.
"Truly terrifying."
"Chirp," the beaver nodded affirmatively, digging into its fluffy fur and pulling out a petal, dark with a hint of golden glow, and handed it to Li Ye.
"Is there any problem with this?"
Li Ye found the earlier sensation rather unsettling.
After confirming there was nothing wrong with the item, he took another hand to hold it up for closer inspection.
From its appearance, it resembled a lotus petal; the material seemed to be Qi Fortune Shining Gold, with some very shallow engravings on it, barely noticeable even with Divine Sense.
Its purpose was...
A Magic!
A magic that transfers the pain one endures to others, just like the beaver did to him just now—housed within this dark metal was the suffering left by the Hungry Bone.
"..."
How many surprises are you hiding from me, to the point you can produce magic now? How did this magic come about?
He had countless questions, but the beaver couldn’t provide any clear answers, merely holding its head high in pride.
Li Ye, feeling helpless, could only praise it a few times.
"Not bad."
"Well done, keep up the good work."
Yet, while looking at the dark lotus petal in his hand, there was still a vague sense of unease and dread.
If this accidentally got out, he might suffer a heart demon breach instantly, it’s no joke.
"Thanks a lot, better let you keep it then." Li Ye handed the petal back to the beaver: "I’ll reach out to you if needed."
He thought that this thing indeed seemed useful in magical duels.
But since he was staying home all the time now, there really wasn’t any opportunity to use it, better leave it with the beaver.
The latter didn’t mind, chirping twice and stuffing the small petal back into its fur, somehow making it disappear.
"Since this batch is about to be resolved, I need to keep asking the Spiritual Mechanism Vine for more.
At the same time, I consider getting you some more partners, how about it?"
Now that he had become friends with Su Ya, buying a few more Weichuan beavers through his channels wasn’t a hassle. With a greater number, he could complete tasks faster.
However, the beaver on his palm immediately shook its little head.
Its fluffy face was full of refusal.
It seemed unwilling to have more partners, and its expression of disdain was apparent; it and the other beavers had consumed Purple Oil Spring Rain and drank Shining Gold.
Their intelligence was quite dramatic.
Looking down on new partners was rather normal.
Seeing this, Li Ye didn’t insist further.
In the coming period, he stayed home refining mana, reading scriptures, until the arrival of Guyu.
The day the wheat ripens.