Chương 16: The Purple Sun Flower

When he launched the sneak attack that killed the middle aged Hu family cultivator, He felt absolutely nothing. No anger. No pity. Nothing at all. The Zhang and Hu families had been locked in a bitter, shadowy struggle for years, clashing time and again. Once, Zhang Chongwen had three adopted sons. Now, only two remained. One had fallen to the Hu family's hands. Of course, the Hu family had also lost their own to Zhang cultivators.

Back then, the Zhang family had only one cultivator at the ninth level of the Qi Refining Realm, Zhang Chongwen himself. But Zhang Chongwen stood at the very pinnacle of the Qi Refining Realm. An ordinary ninth level cultivator couldn't hope to match him. As for Zhang Huaijin? He had no reputation in the surrounding lands yet. No one was paying him any attention. He moved like a shadow, bursting straight into the depths of the cave. The light dimmed. A thick, rancid stench flooded his nostrils.

Bones lay scattered across the ground in careless piles, alongside dried, withered droppings. Zhang Huaijin's expression didn't change. His gaze swept toward the back of the cave. There, nestled against the stone wall, grew a three inch tall spiritual herb of deep purple. The air around it burned noticeably hotter than anywhere else. From a distance, it resembled a small purple sun, condensed, violent heat pulsing within, constantly evaporating the moisture around it.

"A Tier 1 Upper Grade spiritual herb. The Purple Sun Flower." Zhang Huaijin breathed the words out. He was already a Tier 1 Middle Grade Spirit Plant Cultivator. The Zhang family archives contained illustrations and projections of all common spiritual herbs. He recognized it instantly. The Purple Sun Flower. Fire attributed. It held a thread of yang energy, along with a faint wisp of life force. It was the perfect counter to cold, stagnant energy. Even among Tier 1 Upper Grade herbs, this one sat at the very top.

About four or five meters away from the flower, three purple shapes lay curled together, each roughly half a meter long. They had tiger like heads, sturdy little bodies, and pale purple fur marked with fine black patterns. Their purple eyes glittered with fierce, aggressive light. The largest one, noticeably thicker and stronger than the other two, glared at Zhang Huaijin. Its jaws pulled back, revealing sharp fangs, and a deep, rumbling growl rolled from its throat.

"Three of them?" Zhang Huaijin's face split into a wide grin.

"Hah. Jackpot." He didn't hesitate. Ignoring the cubs, he dashed forward, scooped up the Purple Sun Flower, and carefully placed it into a specialized jade box used for storing spiritual herbs. No sense letting its potency fade. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Thump. Thump. Thump. With three quick strikes of his Blue Bamboo Sword. The cubs went limp, unconscious.

Zhang Huaijin pulled a square of cloth from his storage pouch, wrapped them up swiftly and cleanly, and slung the bundle over his back. He moved just as fast searching the rest of the cave. Right where the cubs had been lying, he found something else, a fragment of an old map. He didn't stop to study it. He simply tucked it away and walked out. Zhang Huaijin didn't linger for a second longer. He didn't touch the bodies of the two Hu cultivators. Didn't touch their storage pouches. He simply left.

Fifteen minutes later, the lingering scent of blood drew every spirit beast in the area. The energy fluctuations from the earlier battle had already attracted their attention, but the residual power had been too violent. Ordinary beasts hadn't dared come close. Now, with Zhang Huaijin gone, the two Hu corpses were torn apart and devoured. Even their storage pouches vanished, carried off in the jaws of scavenging beasts. Nothing remained except scattered bloodstains on the ground.

Zhang Huaijin was nothing if not cautious. He'd left no traces behind. It was said that truly powerful cultivators could track the source of blood or objects left on a battlefield, could even reconstruct the scene of the fight itself. But to do something like that, you'd need at least a peak Purple Mansion Realm cultivator. The Hu family? They didn't have anyone in that league. Zhang Huaijin wasn't worried in the slightest.

He took his time, deliberately looping far around in a wide detour, and returned to the Heavenly Yang Mountain from an entirely different direction. —— A ripple passed through the mountain's protective array. Zhang Wujian's heart tightened. Then he saw the figure standing beyond the shimmering barrier, Zhang Huaijin. Relief flooded through him instantly.

"Second Brother! You're back already!" He called out as he opened the array and pulled his brother inside. Zhang Huaijin had only been gone four days. Had something gone wrong?

"I ran into some opportunities," Zhang Huaijin said, a small smile on his face.

"So I returned early." It was only then that Zhang Wujian noticed the large bundle sagging from his brother's back. Thud. Zhang Huaijin set it down and carefully unwrapped it. Three Purple Spirit Tiger cubs tumbled out, already beginning to stir.

"Is that—""Purple Spirit Tiger cubs," Zhang Huaijin confirmed. Zhang Wujian's eyes went wide.

"Second Brother, where did you even get these? Did you kill an adult tiger?" Zhang Huaijin nodded.

"Got lucky. Found a severely injured one and took the chance."

"And you got its cubs, too?" Zhang Wujian looked doubtful. That was way too much luck.

"What can I say?" Zhang Huaijin's smile widened.

"Luck was on my side."

"Hey, Second Brother..." Zhang Wujian's expression shifted.

"Don't even start." Zhang Huaijin cut him off before he could finish.

"I'm keeping one for myself. The rest go to the family. And beside," He gave his younger brother a pointed look.

"You're at the second level of Qi Refining Realm. Do you really think you have the resources to raise a Purple Spirit Tiger?" Zhang Wujian's face fell. His shoulders drooped. But deep down, he knew his brother was right. Even if someone handed him a cub right now, he couldn't afford to raise it. Spirit beasts required vast resources to grow.

"Alright, alright." Zhang Huaijin's voice softened.

"When you break through to the middle stage of the Qi Refining Realm, I'll give you a spirit beast cub. Deal?" He looked at his younger brother and shook his head, a flicker of affection in his eyes. The third generation of the Zhang family had always gotten along well. And in his heart, Zhang Huaijin was nearly fifty years old. Looking at Zhang Wujian, he couldn't help but see a child.

"Really? You promise?"

"I promise."

"Deal!" Zhang Wujian's eyes lit up like he'd been injected with adrenaline.

"I'll work twice as hard. I'll break through to the third level as fast as I can!" He spun around and ran back to his simple thatched hut, practically vibrating with renewed enthusiasm, ready to sit down and cultivate.

"That kid..." Zhang Huaijin shook his head, half amused, half exasperated.

"I said middle stage." He turned his attention to the spirit fields and noticed that some of the spiritual seeds had already sprouted, tender green shoots pushing up through the soil. Zhang Huaijin spent the next hour casting the Cloud Rain Art, carefully replenishing their moisture. By the time he finished, the largest and strongest of the Purple Spirit Tiger cubs had woken up. It stared at him with eyes full of aggression and malice. Technically, this cub was a Tier 1 Lower Grade spirit beast.

But its energy level only matched the first level of the Qi Refining Realm. The other two hadn't even reached the Qi Refining Realm yet. The father tiger had gone out hunting, been lured away by Spirit Beast Luring Incense, run straight into Zhang Huaijin, and been killed. The mother tiger, weakened after giving birth, had been forced to stay behind and guard her cubs. She couldn't hunt. And now, all three cubs were desperately weak.