Is It Wrong to Bully the Novice Village for System Rewards?

Chapter 183: Such Rich and Varied Hobbies

“Underground?”

Zu Xianxian blinked, her face full of confusion. “You mean the thief burrowed their way in?”

Beside her, Liu Qi shook his head, his expression firm. “Impossible. We can ignore other areas, but the Spirit Medicine Garden was specifically chosen for its rich geomantic location. Several major Earth Veins converge directly beneath it.”

He gestured downwards. “While Earth Veins can shield one from the detection of surface-level Formations, the ‘Earth Mother Essence’ flowing through them is chaotic and toxic. Even cultivators proficient in Earth Evasion wouldn’t dare approach them lightly. If that corrupt energy invades the body, it damages the Dao Foundation at best, and causes death and soul dissipation at worst.”

Qi Yuan didn’t refute him. He simply smiled at the thoughtful Zu Xianxian, his voice carrying a hint of meaningful subtext.

“Sometimes, when all the reasonable answers have been eliminated, one must verify the impossible ones.”

He paused for effect. “For a normal cultivator, the Earth Mother Essence is indeed more terrifying than the Pill Saint Sect’s defensive arrays. But who made the rule that our thief is a ‘normal’ cultivator?”

“I get it!”

Zu Xianxian’s eyes lit up. She pumped her small fist in the air, her eyebrows dancing with excitement.

“You’re right! The Sect has been turning the surface upside down for days, but we completely neglected the underground because we took it for granted that no one could survive down there.”

“This is a massive blind spot! What if the thief has a way to isolate or ignore the Earth Mother Essence? They could travel freely through the veins!”

“If that’s the case, our defensive Formations are useless against them. They could come and go as they please—which matches the crime scene perfectly!”

She couldn’t contain herself any longer. Without another word, she spun around and sprinted toward the Pill Saint Sect, her voice trailing behind her like a doppler effect.

“No time to waste! I’m going back to check the underground right now! If I find traces of the thief, I’ll make sure you get a huge credit for this…”

Zu Xianxian’s short legs churned like pistons. In the blink of an eye, she was a distant speck, and then she was gone.

A moment later, Liu Qi offered Qi Yuan a bitter, apologetic smile.

“My Second Senior Sister is spoiled rotten by our Master. Her personality is a bit… willful. She’s always this impulsive. Please don’t take offense if she seemed rude.”

Qi Yuan wouldn’t hold a grudge against a child. He waved his hand dismissively. “It’s fine. Your Senior Sister is innocent and lively. It’s actually quite refreshing.”

“That little girl has no manners,” Piao Genshuo sneered from the side. “Forget it. Out of respect for Senior Ancestor Zu, I won’t lower myself to her level. Otherwise, I’d have to teach her a thing or two about respecting her elders.”

Liu Qi shot him a disdainful glance. “Senior Brother Piao, you should be thanking me for stopping you just now.”

“My Little Senior Sister is the darling of the Alchemist Association. She’s not only petty, but she also holds a grudge like no one else. If you offended her, the price of your pills would probably be ‘super-doubled’ for the rest of your life.”

Piao Genshuo shrank his neck like a frightened turtle, coughing loudly to change the subject.

“Ahem. Well, Brother Qi has already found the clue. Solving the case is the Pill Saint Sect’s problem now. We don’t need to meddle.”

He slapped Liu Qi on the shoulder, winking theatrically. “To celebrate Junior Brother Liu moving into his new cave abode, why don’t the three of us head to the Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion? My treat!”

“The Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion?”

Upon hearing those four magic words, Liu Qi’s fatigue vanished. His eyes practically glowed.

“Good, good, excellent! I’ll have to trouble Senior Brother Piao to spend some money then. My pockets have been empty lately… the girls at the Pavilion probably think I’ve forgotten them…”

Qi Yuan stared at the two men, nearly throwing his back out from the sudden tonal whiplash.

Damn. He had assumed Liu Qi was a stoic, pill-obsessed workaholic. Who knew his hobbies were so… rich and varied? He was cut from the exact same cloth as Piao Genshuo.

Qi Yuan had wondered how these two knew each other. Case closed.

They were two peas in a degenerate pod.

After silently roasting them in his heart, Qi Yuan twitched the corner of his mouth and waved his hand in refusal.

“I have urgent matters to attend to, so I cannot accompany you. Please, enjoy yourselves.”

You must be joking. I am a gentleman of high moral standing. How could I let myself be dragged into the mire by you two beasts in human clothing?

Piao Genshuo clicked his tongue in disappointment. “Since Junior Brother Qi is busy, we’ll have to take a rain check.”

Liu Qi also cupped his hands, looking genuinely regretful. “Meeting Fellow Daoist Qi today felt like meeting an old friend. Next time, we must share a few drinks properly.”

Qi Yuan smiled and returned the courtesy.

…

Watching the two men walk away, arms draped over each other’s shoulders like long-lost brothers, Qi Yuan’s expression shifted. He moved, his steps appearing slow and casual but covering great distance with each stride. In moments, he left the bustling noise of the Pill Saint Immortal Market behind.

He arrived at a desolate stretch of wilderness on the outskirts.

With a flash of silver light, a talisman appeared in his hand. It was silver-white and covered in intricate, shifting spirit patterns.

The Ten Thousand Mile Tracking Talisman.

Its function was profound yet simple: lock onto a wisp of aura and track the target anywhere within a ten-thousand-mile radius. It was said that nothing in heaven or earth could hide from it.

To confirm the location of a certain ten-thousand-year-old Phantom Star Herb, this was the most efficient method.

Of course, this relied on the premise that the little grass spirit was actually within range.

“This is the only way to find that elusive plant spirit. Hopefully, it hasn’t run too far.”

Qi Yuan retrieved a Phantom Star Fruit from his storage space. Carefully, he extracted a wisp of the unique aura emanating from the fruit and injected it into the talisman.

Buzz.

The silver light on the talisman exploded outward. Countless fine threads of light erupted like a spiderweb, piercing into the void and extending in all directions.

A moment later, the threads retracted, leaving two glowing dots on the talisman’s surface—one white (himself) and one green (the target).

Qi Yuan’s eyes lit up.

The talisman had reacted. The Phantom Star Herb spirit was within ten thousand miles.

That Phantom Star Fruit the little grass spirit had gifted him was certainly effective, even if it was a trap that nearly got him killed last time.

“Gotcha. So it really was you…”

Qi Yuan gritted his teeth in a smile. “I didn’t expect that after just half a year, the little guy would become this rampant. Breaking into a major Sect, stealing their treasury, and leaving a handwritten manifesto? It didn’t even try to hide its identity.”

“When I find that brat, I need to discipline it properly. If I don’t, sooner or later someone is going to catch it and turn it into a soup base.”

Without hesitation, Qi Yuan shot into the sky, transforming into a streak of light as he barreled toward the green dot on his radar.