The housekeeper of the Commandery Prince Mansion was much older than the housekeeper of the Eastern Ocean Royal House.
He appeared only to have cultivation at the Meditation Plane. There was no light in his cloudy eyes.
When he saw Chen Jingzhai descending the stairs, a flicker of light flashed in his eyes.
“Master Chen!” Wang Tong greeted with a smile while stepping forward.
“Apologies for troubling Mr. Wang,” Chen Jingzhai responded while smiling. “It seems like I have stirred up quite a commotion.”
“Nothing is more important than improving one’s cultivation. It’s a goal desired by every cultivator.” Wang Tong’s smile turned even brighter as he said, “Moreover, Commandery Prince Hong Yi has agreed to cover all the losses. I have also benefited from this incident.”
“Greetings, Master Chen. I am Wang Qing, the housekeeper of the Commandery Prince Mansion,” the housekeeper said while bowing.
“You do not need to be so formal,” Chen Jingzhai looked at him and said. “Speaking of Commandery Prince Hong Yi, we are good friends even though we have yet to meet each other in person. I am greatly in debt to him, especially after this incident.”
“I owe you an apology.” With his head lowered and his back arched, Wang Qing explained, “I am here to apologize to you on behalf of the Commandery Prince. Due to my being senile and having bad eyesight, I actually forgot to clear off the Dragon Qi before sending you the gifts last time.”
“It was just a minor matter,” Chen Jingzhai replied nonchalantly. “It is all in the past.”
“Thank you, Master Chen, for being so forgiving,” Wang Qing said meekly. “I have been severely reprimanded by Commandery Prince Hong Yi for my mistake. This time, I came with gifts. I hope you will accept them.”
After he finished his sentence, he gestured toward the servants standing at the entrance.
Six burly, armored knights entered the pagoda while carrying three gigantic chests.
These chests were bigger than the 36 chests presented to Chen Jingzhai before.
“You didn’t have to do so,” Chen Jingzhai said. “Your mistake was unintentional, so you don’t have to blame yourself for it. Furthermore, Commandery Prince Hong Yi has agreed to pay for the losses this time. Therefore, it doesn’t feel right to accept your gifts.”
Wang Qing insisted, “It is right and just for you to receive these gifts. Please accept them.”
Wang Tong persuaded Chen Jingzhai too, saying, “Master Chen, Housekeeper Wang has done something wrong. It’s better for you to accept his gifts as a sign of forgiveness toward him. Otherwise, it would be hard for him to report back to the Commandery Prince.”
Chen Jingzhai said indifferently, “In that case, please pass my gratitude to Commandery Prince Hong Yi for the gifts. The puppets that he has ordered will be manufactured by Puppet Pagoda in Dongyang County. In the future, you can deal with the members there directly.”
“Noted.” Wang Qing ordered his men to put down the three enormous chests. Then, they left.
“What’s your relationship with Wang Qing?” asked Chen Jingzhai as he looked at Wang Tong with a wry smile.
“Wang Qing is my distant uncle,” Wang Tong responded while smiling sheepishly. “If you hadn’t accepted the gifts, he most likely would have had to show his repentance by committing suicide. You have saved his life.”
Chen Jingzhai shook his head and lamented, “Commandery Prince Hong Yi was actually the true culprit for tricking me with the Dragon Qi. That’s why I don’t like the way these members of the imperial family work.”
Wang Tong said helplessly, “The imperial family cares more about their reputation than the cultivators. This is nothing new.”
Chen Jingzhai stared at him and said, “However, you ought to know that once I accept these gifts, I will sever my relationship with Commandery Prince Hong Yi. Can you accept that?”
“I have no other choice.” Wang Tong sighed and continued, “Before this, I was too naive. How would a genius talent like you be willing to obey the commands of the Commandery Prince Mansion? Even if the prince hadn’t tricked you, you most likely wouldn’t have chosen to join his side, right?”
“I am only interested in alchemy. I am using it as a means to store up fuel needed for my cultivation,” Chen Jingzhai said while smiling. “In the future, you can focus on building a good relationship with Puppet Pagoda in Dongyang County. Introduce more customers to them.”
“Alright!” Wang Tong responded by putting his fists together and bidding Chen Jingzhai farewell. Then, he left with a calm expression.
He knew that he had lost the chance to hang out with Chen Jingzhai in the future.
The gifts from Commandery Prince Hong Yi had nullified all of Wang Tong’s previous efforts.
However, Wang Tong could do nothing about it.
Even though Chen Jingzhai had gained the upper hand this time, he did not feel that cutting off his relationship with the Commandery Prince Mansion was a pity.
Chen Jingzhai managed to shake off Commandery Prince Hong Yi. Not only did the former not need to pay for any losses, but he had also instead gained some gifts.
Most importantly, he was no longer indebted to Commandery Prince Hong Yi.
He opened one of the chests casually, and before his eyes was a chest full of smooth and round pearls.
The pearls were spirit pearls produced by spirit mussels in the sea. The Eastern Ocean cultivators used them like spiritual stones for transactions.
The spiritual energy stored within these pearls was richer than the energy stored in water essence stones. It even surpassed that of spiritual stones.
Based on its grade alone, this chest of spirit pearls was worth 5,000,000 water essence stones.
However, these spirit pearls could not be compared with Essence Power Pearls.
For now, they were of no use to Chen Jingzhai.
The second chest contained spiritual herbs from the sea. Incredibly, half of them were seeds.
This meant that as long as the environment was suitable or they were planted with advanced techniques, they could be successfully grown.
On the spot, Chen Jingzhai absorbed the chest into his Grotto-heavens.
The spirit deities very quickly divided up the seeds and began finding places to plant them.
After he opened the third chest, Chen Jingzhai was slightly astonished.
The chest contained a coraI-like item.
It was untouched by human hands, and it filled the entire chest. The only difference from ordinary coral was that there was a dense amount of copper coins on top of it.
It appeared to be an ordinary item.
However, what surprised Chen Jingzhai was that his Primordial Essence Grotto-heavens trembled slightly and reacted to it.
He stored the chest in his Primordial Essence Grotto-heavens without hesitation.
Then, this treasure appeared before the Supreme Sky Master.
[Item: Innate Spirit Seed]
[Origin: A gem that forms in the sea. However, the sea also limits its growth.]
[Condition: Dying]
[Flaw: Innate Qi or Origin Power]
This was the first time the Supreme Sky Master used Chen Jingzhai’s special talent. He actually succeeded.
The Innate Spirit Seed was a rare treasure.
In this realm, be they spiritual herbs or plants, they were all treasures that acquired traits.
Even the Pure White Lotus that broke through to Grade 5 had acquired its traits as it grew.
To overcome an innate nature was not only extremely difficult, but it also required astonishingly fateful encounters.
Until now, Chen Jingzhai had never heard of any immortal sect having an Innate Spirit Seed or Innate Spirit Roots.
Although he did not know the name of this seed, Chen Jingzhai felt that he had struck gold. According to the information he got from his special talent, the seed could be germinated by channeling Innate Qi into it.
The Supreme Sky Master immediately channeled a burst of Innate Qi into the Spirit Seed.
The gigantic piece of coral littered with copper coins began to shrink layer by layer.
The copper coins at the top gradually dropped off and fell to the floor of the palace hall with loud clinks.
Miraculously, these copper coins instantly vanished.
In contrast, the coral shrank rapidly, leaving only a fist-sized Spirit Seed behind.
It shone with gold and silver light. Its appearance was that of the pit of a peach.
However, the majority of its surface was covered in copper patterns. Gold and silver were mere accents.
The Supreme Sky Master used his special talent once again as he looked curiously at the Spirit Seed.
To his surprise, he did it again.
[Name: Innate Money Tree]
[Grade: Ungraded]
[Origin: Innate Spirit Seed from the Eastern Ocean]
[Effects: It grows by absorbing different powers. It produces different coins automatically as it grows.]
[Flaw: Innate Qi, Origin Power, acquired items, merit, luck, karma.]
As he looked at the clearly displayed information, Chen Jingzhai was astonished. It was as though he had blindly won the lottery.
Even though the Spirit Seed was weak and was ungraded, it was still an Innate Spirit Seed.
It had even more flaws. Some of them even involved merit, luck, and karma.
He had only seen such vocabulary in the celestial scripture and parts of the sky scripture.
This was not something a Foundational Cultivator like him could covet at all. He never imagined that the Innate Spirit Seed was so incredible.
“So this is an innate money tree? What timing!” exclaimed Chen Jingzhai as the corners of his mouth curled into a smile.
He just happened to be facing the predicament of lacking cultivation resources.
The arrival of the innate money tree made it possible for him to achieve his previous goals.
However, he had to allow the innate money tree to grow before he could do so.
The Supreme Sky Master personally threw the Innate Spirit Seed into the Seven Stars Moon Pool.
The Spirit Seed landed in the pool water, and half of the Essence Power Pearls were instantly consumed.
The seed was like a famished person coming across a banquet. It naturally satiated its hunger.
Unfortunately, with the Spirit Seed’s current condition, it could not completely consume the Essence Power Pearls or utilize the power stored within them.
Intrigued, Chen Jingzhai made the Supreme Sky Master continue to channel Innate Qi into the seed.
The Innate Qi in the Grotto-heavens needed time to replenish. Given enough time to do so, there was an unlimited supply of it.
Hence, Chen Jingzhai could definitely sustain the innate money tree.
A burst of Innate Qi surged into the Spirit Seed. It soon grew roots.
Even though only three tiny, hair-like strands of roots appeared, a third of the pool water had been consumed.
Chen Jingzhai shook his head and instructed the Supreme Sky Master to unleash his Small Heavens Cloud Forbidden Restriction to protect the Pure White Lotus and not allow the Innate Spirit Seed to absorb energy unscrupulously.
At the same time, Chen Jingzhai even used his own blood to brand the Spirit Seed.
His goal for doing so was to make the Innate Spirit Seed recognize him as its master as it grew.
Chen Jingzhai could only plan for the future after the Spirit Seed had matured.
