Chapter 4: Chapter 194: Gifting the Dragon Soaring Grass

“Since they couldn't find a suitable way to extract our living inner cores and fully absorb them, they just kept us around, serving us with fine food and drink.”

The Bird Beast spoke indignantly, disdainful of the Purple Perch Beast's methods: “Even if it meant death, I would never give him my inner core. A sociopathic fish beast like that—keeping him around would only bring calamity to the human world.”

“Then why did you just stay like that? You never even tried to leave,” Jiu Ge said, truly unable to understand. Didn't the Purple Perch Beast go to the shallow waters every few years? Couldn't they have escaped during that time?

“Jiu Ge, you think too simply. The secret chamber can only be activated from the vase outside; inside, it is like a fortress of copper and iron, without even a single crack. Furthermore, the few of us were trapped in a cage woven from specially roasted Dragon-Ascending Grass. We couldn't use even a shred of spiritual power inside. There was truly no way to escape!”

“Dragon-Ascending Grass? You mean that resilient grass that even the sharpest precious swords cannot scratch? I heard that this grass only grows in the desert regions of the Western Territory; because it endures long-term drought, it is incredibly tough. But this type of climbing grass only grows one stalk every hundred years—it is extremely rare, practically a rarity among rarities! It seems I must take a good look at this Purple Perch Beast, to think he could possess such a useful treasure!”

“Then Shiye, how did you let them out? Don't tell me you used those sharp claws of yours?” Feng Jiu Ge joked, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

“Jiu Ge hit the nail on the head; Shiye really did do something that stupid back then. Shiye always thought his claws were incomparably sharp and that nothing in the world could break what he couldn't break—let alone a mere cage woven from grass. It should have been effortless.”

The Bamboo Beast laughed heartily, not caring at all if Shiye would get angry, because ever since Shiye had saved them, the four of them plus Long Zi Jie had already become good friends.

“The Dragon-Ascending Grass couldn't be cut, so we had to think of another way, since we couldn't get out unless it was cut! I remember Shiye told us exactly that at the time,” the Bird Beast continued.

“Shiye's words sparked an idea. We immediately thought that we could ask Shiye to shrink us, and then we wouldn't be restricted and could easily escape.”

“But, unexpectedly, Shiye had not practiced the 'Shrink and Expand' technique. To make matters worse, we were told that the Breath-Closing Pill Shiye had taken could no longer sustain his own breathing.”

“Shiye had no choice but to leave to practice this spell, while we waited below for his good news. Coincidentally, just as Shiye left, the Purple Perch Beast arrived right on his heels,” the Peach Blossom Beast said with relief.

“But I heard that this time, the Purple Perch Beast had left the river surface and found a Medicine Immortal on land, specifically to help him with such unscrupulous deeds. I heard he would arrive at 'Purple Qi from the East' in one week. So, we could only hope Shiye would arrive within the one-month deadline.”

“After leaving 'Purple Qi from the East,' my breathing became increasingly difficult as the medicinal effect faded. Fortunately, with one powerful kick, I made it to the shore. Once on land, I didn't delay; I pulled out the spellbook I carry with me, flipped to the page for the 'Shrink and Expand' technique, and began to study it.”

“For the first three days, I was trying to master the mental cultivation of the 'Shrink and Expand' technique. It wasn't until the fourth day that I had a bit of a clue and knew the steps of the execution, but I still couldn't understand how to shrink or how to expand.”

“Over the next two days, I gathered all sorts of things. First, I practiced the shrinking technique, but I never succeeded. So, I changed my strategy and practiced expanding. I first tried using two layers of my cultivation, but the objects remained the same size where they sat.”

“I tried layer by layer. Finally, at the sixth layer, the objects began to show a tendency to gradually grow. So, I added one more layer of cultivation, and the objects expanded completely. As I contracted my own palm strength, the degree of the object's expansion changed accordingly.”

“Thus, I spent half a day familiarizing myself with the magnitude of my palm strength and the corresponding changes in the objects. But because it was self-taught, I could only master the 'Expand' part.”

“That doesn't matter! Everything is relative. If you shrink a person, by comparison, you have enlarged the cage. You can just enlarge the Dragon-Ascending Grass cage, can't you? As long as the people can get out, there's no problem!” Feng Jiu Ge was quite impressed with her own grasp of physics, choosing different points of reference.

“Fortunately, I arrived at the riverbank before that Medicine Immortal. I dealt with the Medicine Immortal first; otherwise, once he got inside, everything would have been out of my control. Also, the day before was the anniversary of the Shrimp Beast's death. The Purple Perch Beast stayed in front of the grave for a night and didn't return immediately the next morning because his appointment with the Medicine Immortal was at high noon.”

“I don't know if that Medicine Immortal was a fraud, but his spiritual power was unexpectedly weak. After taking another Breath-Closing Pill, I returned to 'Purple Qi from the East' via the same route.”

“As the one-week deadline approached, we saw Shiye again, and only then did we breathe a sigh of relief. If we had encountered the Purple Perch Beast and that immoral Medicine Immortal, our lives would have been truly miserable!” the Peach Blossom Beast remarked sentimentally, looking somewhat tearful, as if burdened by the tragedies of life.

“I used 'Expand' to enlarge the Dragon-Ascending Grass cage, making it large enough for the three of them to pass through the gaps between the stalks. Just as I was about to leave to turn the vase and close the secret chamber, the Purple Perch Beast returned and discovered us.”

“We knew a fight was inevitable, so we prepared for a fight to the death where both sides might suffer. If we could escape, we still had a great life ahead of us,” the Bamboo Beast said, remaining relatively optimistic.

“The Purple Perch Beast blocked our path, so the four of us decided to wait until we reached the shore to fight him. Because Shiye had taken the Breath-Closing Pill, he still had four and a half hours before the effect wore off. If it hadn't been for a war of attrition, we definitely would have had enough time.”

The Bird Beast continued to reminisce: “Of course, the situation wasn't as bad as we thought. The Purple Perch Beast looked quite drunk, and his walking was a bit unsteady; his combat effectiveness was greatly diminished.”

“Actually, we didn't even need to step in; Shiye handled the Purple Perch Beast by himself. Shiye moved like a divine dragon wagging its tail, and his tail sent the Purple Perch Beast crashing to the ground. But soon, the intense pain caused the Purple Perch Beast to sober up a bit.”

“I spun my body, and the bamboo leaves I launched hit the Purple Perch Beast easily. Since the Purple Perch Beast had transformed into human form at that time, he had no hard fish scales for armor. However, this time my bamboo leaves were not laced with deadly poison like before; instead, I had soaked them in the juice of a herb with anesthetic properties.”

“Why not just kill him directly and get it over with? That would have been much more decisive!” Feng Jiu Ge erupted again, speaking with agitated emotion.

“If we had truly done that, Jiu Ge, wouldn't you be missing this beautiful scenery right now? Actually, this place is a system composed of a river, bamboo forests, peach trees, and birds. If one part is destroyed, it is not easy to restore it to its original state,” the Bird Beast explained to Feng Jiu Ge.

“So, we simply locked the anesthetized and immobile Purple Perch Beast in his own secret chamber. Because we had observed from the inside for a long time and knew there were no other exits, we felt safe locking him in there. We have imprisoned the Purple Perch Beast in 'Purple Qi from the East' forever.”

“After we emerged, it took us nearly a hundred years to restore this place to its original appearance. Before that, the spiritual power the Purple Perch Beast sucked from us had already made the river water clean and unpolluted. And because the Purple Perch Beast lives at the bottom of the water, he must also consume his own spiritual power to maintain the cleanliness of the water, so that his own life is not affected.”

“Jiu Ge, this is what I meant by the forces caused by non-natural elements. The Purple Perch Beast must keep the water flowing so that it does not become a stagnant pool.”

“So that's how it is. In that case, the Purple Perch Beast's contribution is quite significant. Forget it, I originally wanted to sneak underwater to ask him how to obtain Dragon-Ascending Grass, but since he chose to be difficult, never mind. Even if he dies without telling, there's nothing we can do!” Feng Jiu Ge said with some regret, but the Bamboo Beast's next words made her ecstatic.

“Little girl, why didn't you say so earlier? So you've been thinking about Dragon-Ascending Grass all this time. It's a small matter. Here, take it.” Saying this, he pulled a stalk of Dragon-Ascending Grass from his sleeve.

“How could we possibly pass up the chance to get the Purple Perch Beast's treasure? Look, we've already taken it all. I'll give you one stalk now, as a way to make a friend.”

The Bamboo Beast generously gifted the Dragon-Ascending Grass to Feng Jiu Ge.

Feng Jiu Ge was so happy to receive a stalk of Dragon-Ascending Grass that she kept kissing it, causing everyone to laugh.

“Then we are friends from now on,” Jiu Ge said to the Bamboo Beast, Peach Blossom Beast, and Bird Beast.

“Then you all continue your stroll. We need to rest as well. You are welcome to visit again; when that time comes, we will certainly treat you well. Let's leave it at this for now.” After chatting with Feng Jiu Ge and the others for so long, they were somewhat tired.

“Speaking of which, I'm getting a bit hungry. How about we catch a few fish to satisfy our hunger? What do you all think?” Feng Jiu Ge suggested. Besides, even if they caught some, no one would know. Even if the Purple Perch Beast was dissatisfied, there was nothing he could do about it, was there?

“Jiu Ge, you mustn't. Even when Shiye liked fish, we never let him do that. You must follow the rules set here. As the saying goes, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do,' right, Jiu Ge?”

According to Long Zi Jie, these fish were not to be used; they were provided solely for viewing. Furthermore, they possessed spirituality; only by gaining their trust would they continue to stay here. Therefore, the number of fish here never seemed to decrease, yet they always maintained a balance.