"No harm done. Senior Brother's cultivated Golden Scale Peppers are truly impressive—their power is astonishing. Could you spare me some spirit seeds?"
Chen Jinshu looked at him expectantly. Just one of those peppers had caused over twenty disciples to fall victim to fire poison. She was amazed by their potency.
She thought that if she had some of these spirit seeds, they might serve as explosive chili bombs in critical moments. In encounters with enemies during excursions, they could be a very effective method.
"You really want them, Junior Sister?" Wen Yushu was surprised. He hadn't expected his gentle and delicate junior to fancy something so... explosive.
"Mhm! I think they're very interesting."
"These Golden Scale Peppers were originally meant for consumption. I didn't expect a variant fruit to explode during spirit food preparation," Wen Yushu said, looking rather distressed.
Though the injured disciples had been treated, as the cultivator who bred the peppers, he felt responsible and might have to offer compensation if any long-term effects appeared.
"Just give me the seeds from the exploding pepper," she said.
"Take them. I was going to destroy them anyway."
Chen Jinshu was delighted and immediately made her way to the kitchen to retrieve the seeds. Due to the explosion, there weren't many seeds left. She only managed to get about ten from the disciples cleaning up the mess. But for her, that was more than enough.
After being treated to a medicinal meal by her Sixth Senior Brother, she returned to Ink Plum Courtyard. She had a hunch that her breakthrough to Qi Refining Level 6 was just days away. Especially after eating the medicinal meal—her breakthrough came even sooner than expected.
Two days later, at Ink Plum Courtyard—
A faint aura of Qi Refining Level 6 pressure emanated from her room, and the air was filled with a refined, plant-like fragrance.
After the breakthrough, Chen Jinshu discovered that her Qingmu spiritual energy had greatly improved. She had previously had around ten strands of spiritual energy; now she had nearly twenty.
This was a qualitative leap. It meant she would consume less energy for the same effect when using Qingmu techniques. Half an hour later, she walked out of the room, her cultivation fully stabilized.
Even the courtyard air felt noticeably fresher.
Her increased Qingmu energy subtly changed her aura and bearing. She now looked as though she had merged with nature, a soft green radiance surrounding her entire body.
Standing under the eaves, her phoenix-shaped eyes slightly lifted at the corners, she looked over herself. The bell at her waist jingled softly as her robe swayed.
"There's not much change, but my aura definitely feels more refined. As expected, wood-type roots really do nourish a person!"
Her arm's skin had also become fairer and more translucent.
"Today should be the day to help the outer sect disciples treat their spirit plants."
She had received two jade slips requesting aid in the past two days, and according to the rules, she could only treat them on the third day—which was today.
"Perfect timing, just after my breakthrough. Let's see if my plant-healing techniques have improved."
After placing a Moonlight Fruit in the Xiao Yin's nest, she set off to the first courtyard.
Its owner had cultivated a Seven-Color Fruit Tree, whose fruits shimmered in rainbow hues. Any cultivator could consume these fruits for effects equivalent to a spirit pill—with no risk of pill toxicity.
It was considered a top-tier spiritual fruit.
The owner's reason for seeking help was that white blotches had appeared on the branches, and the leaves were turning yellow. From the symptoms, she immediately thought of the White Blight Disease, though she needed to see the plant in person to be sure.
When she arrived, the unaffected branches glowed with a multicolored sheen—truly beautiful. But half the tree was covered in those mysterious white blotches. To its owner, this was nothing short of heartbreaking.
Her guess proved right—it was White Blight Disease. But there was more. The true cause turned out to be a type of spirit fertilizer contaminated with rotting poisonous insects—highly harmful to the tree.
At that moment, Chen Jinshu began to seriously doubt the reliability of these fertilizers. Combined with a previous fertilizer-related incident, it became clear how easily someone could tamper with them.
After spending time treating the tree, the owner gratefully gifted her one Seven-Color Fruit in return. She was delighted—this fruit cost over a hundred spirit stones in the market or the sect's trading hall. And it could be eaten by both spiritual beasts and cultivators.
Half a day flew by. By the time Chen Jinshu left the last disciple's courtyard, the sun was nearing the horizon. Yet the sky remained bright. It was almost summer, and daylight lasted longer. Soon, she noticed a crowd of disciples rushing toward the same direction, as if something major had happened.
She stopped one to ask.
"Mutant poison butterflies have appeared halfway up Medicine King Peak," the disciple said. "The butterflies give off a blue glow, and their powder can confuse and manipulate the mind. Several disciples have already been affected."
Elder Fengluo was gathering people to eliminate the butterflies. The more they killed, the more rewards they could earn.
"Blue-glow poison butterflies? This peak has been seeing a lot of strange poisonous insects lately."
Chen Jinshu guessed it was due to the approaching summer—all the bugs were hatching. Plus, Medicine King Peak had a special location: built on a spiritual vein with parts still tainted by demonic energy.
Though the demonic energy was suppressed, some of it inevitably leaked out—likely mutating the spiritual insects. Not long after, she arrived at the mountainside and saw the swarm of glowing blue butterflies ahead. Some of them shimmered with a purple hue as well.
"The more toxic a creature is, the brighter its colors."
Chen Jinshu hadn't come for the elder's small spirit stone reward. She was far more interested in the toxic powder these butterflies released—could it be collected and used to disorient future enemies?
She swiftly began capturing the butterflies.
During this, she confirmed her earlier guess. The butterflies had indeed mutated from contact with leaked demonic energy underground. Their powder was dangerously toxic and strongly affected mental clarity.
Apparently, these butterflies appeared on the mountain every year and always posed a threat to disciples. Such was the cycle of life, and not even Medicine King Peak could escape the proliferation of spiritual pests.
Two quarter-hours later, Chen Jinshu symbolically handed a few butterflies to the elder and took her bottles of collected powder to leave. She had also preserved many butterflies as specimens for later study.
Now she possessed both explosive Golden Scale Peppers and hallucinogenic poison powder. Against ordinary enemies, she would no longer be easily threatened.
Of course, she would only use these for self-defense—not during official sect tournaments. Using them there would bring her nothing but trouble.