Inside the gatehouse of the Jade Void Palace.
Da Qinggen, wearing a virtual device, waved its branches around, playing with wild abandon and sheer delight. While enjoying itself, it muttered about its disciple, Fei Zhengtao:
“This guy is utterly ungrateful! Back then, I begged and pleaded to help him break through to the External Scenery in the desolate wasteland of cultivation, ascend to the Real World, and even got him onto the Ark of Doom early, successfully surviving the apocalypse to reach the new Myriad Realms. And why? Just so I’d have a companion to play games with and someone to do the dirty work!”
“But this ingrate, disregarding all my kindness, spends day and night obsessing over martial arts training. No matter how much I scold him, it’s like talking to a wall!”
“Ah, I really need to be more careful when taking disciples in the future!”
Just as Da Qinggen was inwardly cursing Fei Zhengtao, a flash of silver light suddenly appeared before its eyes, like lightning illuminating the heavens and earth.
“Haha, my package has finally shipped!” Da Qinggen exclaimed with joy, its branches swaying as it shook off the virtual device and strode over to the floating silver-white disc in the gatehouse.
“Jade Void Palace Express—delivered upon shipping!”
Grabbing the half-human-sized package atop the silver disc, Da Qinggen eagerly tore it open, pulling out item after item.
“Water of Five Elements Shield”… “Rootless Hundred Flowers Dew”… “Everlasting Cloud of Life”… Its face lit up with excitement as it muttered and assembled the items. After what felt like an eternity, a “fish tank”-like object filled with translucent liquid appeared before it, every ripple shimmering with myriad colors.
“Haha, it’s done, it’s done!” Da Qinggen danced around the “fish tank,” its branches flailing wildly. “Now I’ll never have to worry about running out of Yuanhuang Coins again!”
This was a treasure it had meticulously chosen and saved up for over a long time. All it had to do was insert a severed branch, and based on its plant nature, it would absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth along with the liquid, self-replicating, self-growing, and forming a self-sustaining cycle. One branch would become ten, ten would become a hundred—limitless supply! No more fretting over insufficient Yuanhuang Coins while shopping in the Myriad Realms Mall!
“Hahaha, it only recently dawned on me—I’m a plant spirit, different from others! Even a single branch can take root!”
Before the “Rootless Hundred Flowers Dew” ran out, the number of branches it could grow would be more than enough!
Lost in its blissful reverie, Da Qinggen rummaged through a corner of the room and pulled out a still-vibrant green branch. Recalling the pain of severing it earlier, it encouraged itself:
“Endure a moment’s pain for a century of gain!”
Inserting the branch into the “fish tank,” Da Qinggen stared eagerly, as if willing time to fly by so that in the next instant, the contents would sprout leaves, multiply, and each new branch would mean piles of Yuanhuang Coins!
Suddenly, its expression shifted. It suppressed its joy, replacing it with an obsequious, reverent demeanor as it bowed in place.
“Reporting to the Sect Master, this humble servant will come at once.”
Good fortune brings high spirits. Da Qinggen moved with light steps through the palace halls until it reached the Hall of Three Purities. Deep within, a cloud-wreathed dais loomed mysteriously, as if leading to other Myriad Realms. There sat the Sect Master, the supreme being of the current era—”Primordial Beginning” Meng Qi, cross-legged in meditation. He wore dark Daoist robes and an ancient crown, his features blurred by the radiant halo of perfect light behind his head.
Within that halo of perfect light grew a fruit that contained all things and principles, its shape and color indescribable. Beside it crawled a three- or four-year-old girl with two pigtails, her chubby little hands persistently reaching out to grab the fruit, her face full of determination and occasional giggles.
“Sect Master, how could you let the young mistress climb onto your head—no, into the halo behind your head?! Where’s the dignity of a Heavenly Venerate? Where’s the dignity of our Jade Void Palace?!” Da Qinggen inwardly roared with frustration before forcing a fawning smile.
“Might this humble servant inquire as to the reason for the Sect Master’s summons?”
Meng Qi gave a wry smile and pointed at the little girl behind his head.
“This little ancestor has some questions she wants to ask you in person.”
Da Qinggen perked up its whiskers and branches, replying eagerly:
“Young mistress, ask away! This servant will hold nothing back!”
The little girl paused her fruit-grabbing attempts and asked in a childish voice:
“Da Qinggen, do you have a daddy?”
Daddy?
The word struck Da Qinggen like a bolt of lightning, stirring up a storm in its mind.
That’s right… do I have a daddy?
If I do, who is he?
“Do you have a mommy?” the little girl continued.
Mommy?
Da Qinggen gaped, as if struck by lightning again. After a long pause, it managed a flattering smile. “Young mistress, yes, I do.”
Who the hell knows who my parents are? We plant spirits are different from other beings. Maybe my daddy is also my mommy—born from the same root, flowers divided into yin and yang, scattered by the wind, and somehow ended up in the Jade Void Palace!
The little girl nibbled her thumbnail and tilted her head. “Then will you have kids in the future? Like how my daddy and mommy have me.”
Da Qinggen chuckled confidently. “Young mistress, you may not know this, but as a plant spirit, I’m quite different from the Sect Master and his lady. Aside from the usual methods, I can also reproduce on my own. For example, if I cut off a branch and nurture it carefully, it’ll grow into a whole new Da Qinggen—that would be my offspring, my—”
Mid-sentence, Da Qinggen froze, its eyes glazing over as it remembered the branch it was currently cultivating in the gatehouse.
“Oh no! I forgot about that earlier!”
“The Water of Five Elements Shield… the Rootless Hundred Flowers Dew… the Everlasting Cloud of Life… these are all divine treasures, unlike ordinary items. What kind of thing will they reproduce?!”
Da Qinggen’s smile instantly turned uglier than a grimace. Panicked, it stammered:
“Sect Master, this servant suddenly has urgent business and must take leave!”
“Go ahead,” Meng Qi replied, as if already aware of everything. He gently soothed the little girl while smiling faintly.
Da Qinggen rushed back to the gatehouse. The moment it stepped inside, it saw a green monster sitting before its Myriad Realms Communicator, waving its branches around with wild abandon. The fish tank, meanwhile, was completely empty.
“You—you!” Da Qinggen focused its gaze and suddenly shrieked. “How dare you use my Yuanhuang Coins?!”
The green monster glanced at it and sneered. “I’m also Da Qinggen, so the Yuanhuang Coins are mine too. Why can’t I use them?”
The branch carried the original’s memories, after all!
“I’ll kill you!” Da Qinggen wailed as it lunged, grappling with the green monster. The two tumbled into a tangled brawl.
“Woof woof woof!” Hearing the commotion, Xiao Tianquan (Heavenly Hound) rushed in, only to freeze at the doorway, its glossy fur trembling.
Why are there two Da Qinggens?
“Xiao Tianquan, bite that impostor to death!” one Da Qinggen screamed hoarsely.
“He’s the fake one!” the other roared furiously.
Xiao Tianquan sniffed, looking back and forth between the two, utterly unable to tell them apart.
Two Da Qinggens are even worse than one!
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