Chương 48: A Treasure Buried in Silence

Zhang Huaijin's mind raced as he pulled back the black robe. There, on the corpse's lower abdomen, he found a storage pouch and a rolled up piece of parchment. Both were thick with dust. A faint crack ran across the parchment itself. He extended his spiritual sense cautiously, searching every inch. He had no idea if the dead cultivator had left behind any traps. Slowly, he retreated a few steps, then commanded his Azure Serenity Sword to nudge the parchment and the storage pouch off the robed body. Nothing stirred.

Huaijin let out a small sigh of relief. He poured out his soul force and Spiritual sense once more, drawing both items to his side. He probed them again. Only when he felt certain it was safe did he finally tuck the parchment and the pouch away. Then he hesitated, looking at the skeleton. After a moment, he stored it in his pouch as well. A storage pouch could absorb anything that wasn't alive, after all. He searched the entire cave one more time, thoroughly. There was nothing else.

Finally, his gaze settled on the Azure Peach Spirit Tree. This celestial spirit tree had to come with him. Huaijin was a tier 1, upper grade Spirit Plant Cultivator. He knew at least the basics of transplanting. Carefully, using his soul force, he traced the tree's internal meridians, following the roots as he gently loosened the surrounding soil. Inch by inch, he slowly pulled it free. He tucked the tree into his storage pouch. Fortunately, he had plenty of those.

He placed hundreds of spirit stones around its base inside the pouch, their faint spiritual energy diffusing to nourish the trunk. He had done his best, but the leaves were already beginning to yellow at a visible rate. The transplant had damaged it. Huaijin didn't dare linger any longer. He shot out of the Foundation Establishment Realm green ape's lair, grabbing the two long dead Perfection Stage Qi Refining Realm green apes on his way, and followed the same path back down Green Ape Peak.

The peak was now ownerless. Some other Foundation Establishment Realm spirit beast would surely claim the territory soon. It was a pity, the Zhang family had no Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators right now. Even though they coveted that tier 2, low grade spirit vein, there was nothing to be done. They had to let it go. Huaijin moved fast and kept a low profile, slipping back into the Zhang family compound in green bamboo mountain.

His return came as a massive relief to everyone, especially Zhang Liliang and Zhang Linyi. When they had first come back without him, Zhang Chongwen had slapped them both across the face. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"You can die, but Huaijin cannot!" They could still hear the old man's roar echoing in their ears. Now that Huaijin was back safely, the weight on the two brothers' shoulders finally lifted. His potential was already well known across Langya County. And now, he had not only escaped from a Foundation Establishment Realm spirit beast, he had broken through again, reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining Realm. The Zhang family had already begun searching for information on Foundation Establishment Realm Pills.

The ten thousand low grade spirit stones that Weng Zho had gifted them remained untouched. Even if it took three years for Huaijin to reach the Perfection Stage of the Qi Refining Realm, the Zhang family would exhaust every resource they had to gather to buy a pill. This true dragon could not be trapped in the Zhang family's shallow pond simply because of a lack of resources. Because of the Azure Peach Spirit Tree, Huaijin didn't stop to chat with his clan members.

He went straight to the depths of Green Bamboo Mountain with Zhang Chongwen. This was the family's most important restricted area, Chongwen's private cultivation ground, ringed by a few planted spiritual herbs. He had started building this place as a family herb garden after stepping down as clan leader. It was one of the spots on Green Bamboo Mountain with the densest spiritual energy.

"Is that… an Azure Peach Spirit Tree?" Chongwen stared at the tree Huaijin had just taken, his eyes glazed over in shock.

"Grandfather, don't just stand there! Help me! Otherwise, the damage will be too great," Huaijin said, his voice urgent. Chongwen leaped into action, his heart pounding with excitement. A Celestial Spirit tree, the kind that could determine the rise or fall of an entire family. Such a treasure had fallen into their hands. They quickly chose a spot, planted the tree, and began channeling spiritual energy from the surrounding vein to repair the damage from the move.

Only when they sensed the tree had largely recovered did they both breathe a sigh of relief.

"Huaijin… where did this come from?" Chongwen asked, his face flushed and his voice trembling slightly. A tier 1, upper grade Azure Peach Spirit Tree produced nine tier 1, upper grade spirit peaches every three years. And the fruit on this tree would be ripe in six months. Those peaches would instantly add several late stage Qi Refining Realm cultivators to the Zhang family. This was a family heritage.

"It was inside Green Ape Peak."

"What about the Foundation Establishment Realm green ape? How did you escape from it?"

"I killed it." As Huaijin's words sank in, Zhang Chongwen fell into a long, deep silence. Only one thought swirled through his mind: Is the Earthly Fiend Spirit Body really this formidable? Killing a Foundation Establishment Realm spirit beast while at the eighth level of the Qi Refining Realm was absurd. Even geniuses with Heavenly Spirit Roots probably couldn't do it. Was his grandson simply… too monstrously talented?

"Did anyone see?" Chongwen's expression turned deadly serious.

"No," Huaijin replied, understanding exactly what his grandfather meant.

"From today on, bury this in your gut. Tell no one."

"I understand." Huaijin took the warning to heart. If this news got out, Chongwen couldn't guarantee that the three Foundation Establishment Realm families of Langya County wouldn't act immediately, to kill Huaijin. Killing a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator at the eighth level of the Qi Refining Realm… Resources in a single county were limited. A new Foundation Establishment Realm family would cut into everyone else's share.

No one knew whether Zhang Lixian had broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm yet. But even if the other two families might hesitate, the Tian family definitely wouldn't sit still.

"Go into seclusion now. Wait for your father's news," Chongwen said gravely. Huaijin nodded. He also wanted to investigate the background of that dead cultivator he found. The location of the Azure Peach Spirit Tree was a secret only he could know. It absolutely could not be exposed. He went into closed door cultivation. The Purple Spirit Tiger curled up at the entrance to his cave, also cultivating. The tiger never lacked for spirit beast meat now, and its cultivation progressed steadily.

Huaijin took out the parchment and carefully unrolled it. After a long time, he slowly exhaled. A glint of understanding shone in his eyes.

"The Blessed Sun Yun clan. Yun Chaoge."