Chapter 81: Harassing an Honest Person
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The spirit beast was sniffing the area around the fence. When it saw Jiang Hao, it ran to him. “Master, this area has the same problem as the last one!”
Jiang Hao nodded. He squatted down to check the soil. The area was lacking severely in nutrients. If this went on, it would take two or three years for the garden to recover.
“Where are the Bone Flowers?” asked Jiang Hao
The spirit beast led the way, and Jiang Hao followed it. After a while, he stood in front of a white flower. Even the stalk and the leaves were entirely white.
The Bone Flowers were used for strengthening the bones and or refinement of energy. It was an important spirit herb that was native to the Hundred Bones Forest.
Usually, the Bone Flowers needed a very specific kind of area to grow. Occasionally, people planted the Bone Flowers in the Spirit Herb Garden to raise them until they were ready to be harvested. There hadn’t been any problems in the past.
After examining the area closely, he realized that the flower was the cause of the depletion of nutrients.
Jiang Hao used his Daily Appraisal on the flower.
[Mutated Bone Flowers: The Mutated Bone Flowers have lost all the characteristics of the usual Bone Flowers. It mercilessly absorbs the surrounding nutrients. Bai Ye’s masterpiece. It was planted here to make things difficult for the guardian of the Spirit Herb Garden. This was done to earn profit while obtaining nutrients simultaneously.]
Jiang Hao felt helpless. How could someone profit from destroying a Spirit Herb Garden?
He didn’t know who Bai Ye was. He had never heard that name before. “How many Bone Flowers are there in the whole garden?” Jiang Hao asked.
“Around 500,” said Cheng Chou.
The Bone Flowers weren’t very valuable. However, 500 of them could fetch a decent price.
“Inform the people of the Hundred Bones Forest. Tell them that we have a problem,” said Jiang Hao.
“Alright.” Cheng Chou did not hesitate.
After Cheng Chou left, Jiang Hao went to the market.
He sold 12 of his Hundred Thousand Swords Talismans. It fetched him about 300 spirit stones.
The aftereffects of the fight with Azure Mountain had passed. The prices and demand for items had returned to normal. Prices for some items had even fallen.
Jiang Hao barely managed to make 600 spirit stones in total. He was worried about the Bone Flowers and the problems associated with it.
Jiang Hao went back to the Spirit Herb Garden after that, but Cheng Chou was nowhere to be seen. So, he returned to his house.
Jiang Hao thought that he could meet Cheng Chou tomorrow, or he would definitely come to find Jiang Hao if something was wrong.
The next day, Jiang Hao still didn’t see Cheng Chou in the garden. That night, Jiang Hao couldn’t sleep so he cleaned his sword.
The following day, Jiang Hao watered the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower and headed to the Spirit Herb Garden.
He finally saw Cheng Chou there.
“Senior Brother Jiang, I went to look for the people from the Hundred Bones Forest yesterday. They said all other things have to wait because they are caught up in some urgent matter. We will need to wait for at least five days…”
Cheng Chou lowered his head guiltily. “I also found out that other Spirit Herb Gardens are facing the same problem.”
Jiang Hao was worried. He didn’t want to tell his master about it. Once he was accused, it would be troublesome.
Jiang Hao wanted to solve the problem without attracting any attention to it. If the Spirit Herb Garden couldn’t be restored, there would be consequences.
‘It seems the Hundred Bones Forest Sect is so fearless that they even try to destroy the whole Spirit Herb Garden for profit!’
“Uproot the Bone Flowers and place them far away from the Spirit Herb Garden,” said Jiang Hao.
“Alright,” said Cheng Chou.
Cheng Chou didn’t object. He felt partly responsible for the problem.
Jiang Hao waited for five days, but the people from the Hundred Bone Forest Sect didn’t come.
Cheng Chou had gone to confirm and had just returned. “They said they need five more days.”
“What about the other Spirit Herb Gardens?” asked Jiang Hao. “How are they faring?”
“They haven’t transplanted the Bone Flowers to another area yet,” said Cheng
Chou. “They feel that uprooting the Bone Flowers will have… consequences.”
The Bone Flowers that had been uprooted had almost withered. Cheng Chou was worried, but he didn’t dare disobey Jiang Hao.
The thing about demonic sects was that the strong harrassed the weak. So, the guardians of the other Spirit Herb Gardens wouldn’t dare start any dispute, no matter how much they had to suffer for it.
White Moon Lake also had a Spirit Herb Garden, but the Hundred Bones Forest would never dare to plant a mutated flower there. Zhou Chan was a formidable guardian. They feared offending her.
They only dared to mistreat weaker guardians.
“Then let’s wait for them a little longer,” said Jiang Hao.
The Bone Flowers had been transferred to an area far away from the Spirit Herb Garden, so there was nothing to worry about.
It had withered and was about to die.
If they delayed any longer, things would escalate, and it would no longer be possible to solve the problem peacefully.
Jiang Hao was willing to compensate for the dying Bone Flowers. He didn’t care if the Bone Flowers died.
Usually, ordinary Bone Flowers were very resilient. They didn’t wither away so easily. This mutated version could only survive if it could absorb nutrients from other spirit herbs.
Seeing Jiang Hao calm made Cheng Chou feel at ease. Several other Spirit Herb Garden guardians were already panicking. They didn’t want to transplant the flower to an area outside the garden, so they watched as their gardens suffered great damage.
Jiang Hao instructed the spirit beast to keep an eye on the garden, and he worked on the spirit herbs.
After finishing his work, Jiang Hao didn’t hang around. He patrolled the garden to make sure there weren’t any other problems.
Jiang Hao couldn’t help but sigh. He felt burdened. Not only did he have to be wary of the traitors and spies in the sect but also needed to be careful of his fellow disciples.
Two days later, Jiang Hao checked on the seed he had planted beside the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower. He surrounded it with 99 spirit stones. He then watered it.
‘Now, I have to wait nine days more…’
After nine days, the seed was supposed to take root and sprout. At that time, bubbles would start to appear.
Jiang Hao knew that purple-gold and gold bubbles would be impossible to get for now. The seed couldn’t grow into a divine tree yet.
For the past few days, Jiang Hao had spent most of his time selling talismans and studying the other forms of techniques from the Seven Forms of Heavenly Blade.
He studied the first and second forms very closely. Jiang Hao wanted to strengthen the two forms even more. He mostly used his usual saber to practice it but sometimes switched to the Primordial Heavenly Blade.
He still hadn’t found out who Bai Ye was. He didn’t dare ask around because he didn’t want to raise suspicion.
Another three days passed in a flash, and Jiang Hao finally saw someone from the Hundred Bones Forest Sect arrive at the Spirit Herb Garden. The one who had arrived was some disciple in the late stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
His name was Li Kai. Jiang Hao had talked to him in passing.
“Junior brother Jiang, you’re not very kind!” said Li Kai as Jiang Hao approached.
Li Kai’s dominating aura radiated around him.
“Why do you say that, Senior Brother Li?”
Jiang Hao ignored his aura. They were at the Spirit Herb Garden. The sect didn’t tolerate fights in the garden.
“I was only a few days late, but you uprooted the Bone Flowers and left it out to die?”