Azure Heaven Saber
Chapter 823 - 823 284 Cloud-Gathering Pine Additional

Chapter 823: Chapter 284 Cloud-Gathering Pine [Additional chapter for the alliance leader Smile Bobby] Chapter 823: Chapter 284 Cloud-Gathering Pine [Additional chapter for the alliance leader Smile Bobby] And that mouth of hers, it seems almost crooked from smiling so much.

Feng Yin couldn’t help but chuckle.

Putting it all together, this is no longer the Jade Sword of the Cloud Palace; she’s just a silly country lass!

“Hey!”

Feng Yin waved his hand in front of the simpleton’s eyes.

“Huh?”

Dong Xiaoyan instantly snapped back to her senses.

Before Feng Yin could even speak, the simpleton eagerly asked, “How long until the Xiantan flowers bloom?”

“Hmm…”

Feng Yin’s eyes darted around as he transmitted his message secretly, “Actually, we’ve picked up a huge bargain with this Xiantan; its age is far beyond just five thousand years… I reckon it might bloom soon. The reason the merchant miscalculated so greatly was due to the flower’s vitality being damaged during the transfer. As long as its vitality is restored, the true age will reveal itself.”

“Really?! Are you serious? This flower could bloom at any moment?”

Dong Xiaoyan’s eyes sparkled with astonishing brightness, “A Xiantan that grants eternal youth, could bloom at any time?!”

“Truly! Just need to restore the vitality deficit, and naturally, the flower will have its time to bloom!”

Feng Yin vowed earnestly, making a serious case.

He thought that only a simpleton like her would believe such a lie.

Which seller wasn’t cunning and sly? The likelihood of them making a mistake in judging the age was practically nil.

Dong Xiaoyan actually believed it and jumped for joy.

Her eyes gleamed with endless longing, “When it blooms, I must be the first to taste it!”

“Of course, of course, it’s all yours!”

Dong Xiaoyan was so delighted she pranced around, her whole being overflowed with happiness. The way she walked was like dancing. Clinging to Feng Yin’s arm, she hopped and squinted her eyes, asking, “Why did you think of letting me eat it when it blooms? Why not give it to someone else?”

The simpleton’s face was full of expectation, clearly wanting to be flattered again.

Feng Yin said, “I don’t know anyone else, of course I’d give the benefit to you first.”

The simpleton felt gratified, chuckled ‘hehe’, swung her arm grandly and said, “Aren’t you looking to find seven or eight concubines? You could give it to them.”

Feng Yin feigned realization, “Right, that’s true… then… then I won’t give it to you… Yes, I can’t give it to you, I need to keep it for my concubines. Something so precious must be reserved for one’s own family.”

Smack!

Dong Xiaoyan hurled Feng Yin’s arm away in a fit of anger, exclaiming furiously, “What did you say? Have the guts to say that again?!”

Feng Yin frowned, “But how can one flower be divided among seven or eight people equally? It’s bound to cause conflict… Better just give it to you.”

Dong Xiaoyan snorted, her eyes curving as she watched him, “I don’t even want it.”

“It’s because you don’t care for it that I’m giving it to you.”

Feng Yin said, “Your temperament is truly one of a kind; others may find it difficult to possess. Being a constant presence would be a scene in itself!”

Dong Xiaoyan was secretly thrilled. “So you mean I’m one of a kind? Unique and without equal in this world?”

Feng Yin thought to himself: a one-of-a-kind simpleton.

Aloud he said, “Exactly like that, incomparable under the heavens, peerless in the present world.” He added in his mind, ‘… simpleton.’

Dong Xiaoyan’s heart bloomed with delight, “Then when is it likely to bloom?”

“Didn’t I just tell you? It won’t be a few years; just wait for the Xiantan to regain its full vitality, everything else will naturally fall into place…”

Feng Yin chuckled.

Dong Xiaoyan couldn’t help but be even happier, and she dragged Feng Yin forward, falling back into her silly, happy trance.

As they strolled through half of the flower market like drifting through clouds and mist, just when Feng Yin felt his vision blur from the confusion, he heard the simpleton gnash her teeth beside his ear, “You’re not allowed to find concubines!”

Feng Yin was startled and didn’t speak for a long while, wondering where this sudden outburst had come from. What was she on about?

Turning his head to look, he saw the simpleton grinding her teeth, eyes blazing with rage, obviously having conjured up something in her mind.

She must have been supplementing her own thoughts with at least a hundred episodes of palace intrigue dramas in her head, likely even imagining scenarios where she was being wronged…

A dark line crossed Feng Yin’s forehead: “…”

“Did you hear me?!”

Dong Xiaoyan tugged on his arm forcefully.

Feng Yin had no choice, “Alright, alright, alright, I’ll stop looking! Big sister, go easy, you’re about to pull my arm off!”

“Hmph!”

Dong Xiaoyan continued to be lost in her thoughts, and her daydreaming went on.

It wasn’t until Feng Yin discovered another distinct Ice Flower that he began haggling with the merchant when he heard Dong Xiaoyan muttering.

“…Naming him ‘the third’ lacks a bit of majesty…”

Feng Yin suddenly froze, then realized the implication, and immediately broke into a sweat.

In just such a short time, you’ve even daydreamed up a ‘third child’…

If you don’t pursue a career as a screenwriter or a romance novelist, it’s truly a waste of talent!

Feng Yin purchased the Ice Flower and continued on his way undisturbed, ignoring Miss Dong as she indulged in her fantasies to her heart’s content.

The things Feng Yin was looking for were quite unusual compared to other customers. They were all after items urgently needed and in high demand, either already made medicines or Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures nearing maturity.

What he targeted, however, were those Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that were still far from maturity.

Like the Ice Flower he had just acquired, which by the most conservative estimate, was still three to four thousand years away from maturity.

For such immature Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, Feng Yin never hesitated to accept them, even if it was just a sprout; he was happy to take it.

Firstly, these immature treasures were definitely cheaper, and secondly, Feng Yin had unique methods to hasten their maturity, nearly eliminating any time constraints.

But this gave rise to a problem that inevitably caused a headache — how to preserve and cultivate these Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures subsequently became an urgent and crucial issue.

Furthermore, for others, these plants and flowers were Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that could enhance their cultivation and strength, but for Feng Yin, they were all spirits of the world, or at the very least, living beings.

If they could be used only once, Feng Yin wouldn’t have minded, but if they were to perish due to poor care, it was something he couldn’t accept.

After making a round, Feng Yin found another pair of Cloud-Gathering Pines and noticed something unusual.

Known as Cloud-Gathering Pines, they resembled small pine trees but were actually a type of spiritual ginseng.

The unique feature of this ginseng was that it looked like a pine tree from birth and could automatically gather clouds around it.

If such Cloud-Gathering Pines grew beyond five hundred years, the entire mountaintop where they resided would be enveloped in clouds, making it impossible to see your hand in front of you.

The two Cloud-Gathering Pines that Feng Yin was currently interested in appeared to be at least seven thousand years old based on their aura.

“Oh dear, what a shame!”

As soon as Feng Yin stopped, he began shaking his head and sighing deeply, facing the two palm-sized, finger-thick Cloud-Gathering Pines shaped like pagoda trees, his face filled with distress, “How did this happen? How could someone ruin such fine spiritual ginseng to this state? It’s too painful to see!”

The vendor, a bearded old man, had been watching warily, but upon hearing Feng Yin’s critical words, especially as he hit the nail on the head with the term “spiritual pine,” the old man’s face turned red with embarrassment and he started coughing awkwardly, “Cough… yes, a bit of its spirit has been lost… a bit…”

Feng Yin frowned, “What do you mean a bit? It’s practically been killed by your actions! It’s like a person drained of all blood, left with just a breath of life, ready to expire at any moment.”

He squatted down, his face filled with sorrow, as he tenderly touched the disfigured leaves of the Cloud-Gathering Pine, saying, “I can’t imagine how you managed this; even if the relocation contained errors, even if the replanting wasn’t in the right spot, whatever the cultivation mishaps, with its millennia of essence, it should never have ended up like this, such incompetence, it’s utterly outlandish!”

The old man’s face turned as red as if it was splashed with chicken blood, and he was beyond embarrassed.

He had been in this line of work for a lifetime, and even if he wasn’t revered as a senior, he would still be recognized as an expert. Now being spoken to so bluntly, he could hardly bear the shame and stammered, “Eh, the matter is indeed shameful. Ever since discovering the mountaintop where this treasure was found, I strictly warned against any hasty actions, to wait for a cloudless sky on the clearest of days to move the Cloud-Gathering Pine deep within the clouds.”

“That’s the correct approach, so how did it come to this?” Feng Yin asked.

“But… my rash grandson… because it’s been snowing heavily these days, he couldn’t wait any longer and took two men to dig up the pine…” The old man explained hesitantly.

In truth, his heartache was even worse than Feng Yin’s!

This was a treasure that could have made them rich overnight, and a pair of conjoined trees, no less, far more precious than the ordinary pines!

To have unearthed it in such a manner, it was nothing short of a waste.

“My goodness, what kind of grandson do you have? This is sabotaging… no, undermining the entire family!”

Feng Yin stamped his foot, sighing in frustration, gritting his teeth, “How could you… how could you… let young people know about such a thing?! Given the expertise you just expressed, you would be considered an expert. And yet, how could you commit such a taboo? Digging up and moving a Cloud-Gathering Pine during a snowstorm, what an ingeniously fatal idea, as if you wanted it to die!”

The old man had an embarrassed expression, as though he had committed a great sin.

Indeed, for those who cultivated plants and trees in their Taoist practice, such behavior was essentially a major transgression in the industry!

Any knowledgeable person would never do such a thing, and furthermore, it would be difficult for them to find willing partners in the trade!

Hearing Feng Yin’s words, a young man behind the elder blushed with shame and lowered his head.

“Shameful…”

The elder was equally covered in shame, murmuring, “You’re right, fellow practitioner. To tell the truth, if I hadn’t intended to teach the child a profound lesson, I would never have exposed our failure, let alone offer these items for sale with such face… ah… what a joke, what a joke…”

Feng Yin also sighed, then decisively said, “Give me a price, I’ll take these two pines!”