Chapter 2: The Nameless Ancient Tome

The law enforcement disciple reported the situation truthfully, omitting the exaggerated claims made by Senior Sister Li.

After hearing the account, Steward Chen furrowed his white brows, his sharp gaze sweeping over Zhao Shi and Shen Qinghe. "Do you two have anything to say?"

Zhao Shi stepped forward first and bowed respectfully. "Uncle Master, your discerning eyes can distinguish right from wrong. We leave everything to your wise judgment."

His tone was sincere, yet as he lowered his head, a trace of coldness flashed in his eyes.

"And you?" Steward Chen ignored Zhao Shi's flattery and turned directly to Shen Qinghe.

Zhao Shi looked at Shen Qinghe with apparent composure, secretly pleased with himself. In his view, no matter how Shen Qinghe tried to defend herself, it would be in vain. He had acted with utmost secrecy in causing the Ziyun Ginseng to wither—even if Steward Chen, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, personally inspected the spirit field, he would never find a single clue. As long as no problem could be found, the spirit field would naturally be reclaimed, and Zhao Shi had already devised a follow-up plan to ensure he would obtain that premium plot of land. At this thought, a glint of greed flickered in his eyes.

"It was wrong of me to act against Senior Brother Zhao." Shen Qinghe spoke calmly, then shifted the topic. "However, regarding the spirit field, there may be a misunderstanding among the law enforcement brothers and sisters."

She looked directly at Steward Chen. "The Ziyun Ginseng in my plot of spirit field is not dead!"

At these words, the two law enforcement disciples exchanged glances. The female disciple could not help but say, "Junior Sister Shen, we saw it with our own eyes—your patch of Ziyun Ginseng was all withered and yellow, this..."

Zhao Shi let out a cold laugh and interrupted, "Junior Sister Shen, are you speaking nonsense? You caused quite a scene because your Ziyun Ginseng died, witnessed by many fellow disciples. Now you deny it all—do you really think a few empty words can deceive Uncle Master?"

Shen Qinghe ignored Zhao Shi's mocking words, her lips curling into a mysterious smile. She slowly reached into her storage pouch at her waist and took out the Ziyun Ginseng she had previously put away.

"Please, everyone, take a look." She raised the Ziyun Ginseng high for all to see.

Zhao Shi could not help but sneer. "Junior Sister Shen, is this the Ziyun Ginseng you claim isn't dead? Clearly, it's already—"

Before he could finish, Shen Qinghe suddenly channeled her spiritual power, her fingertips glowing with a faint emerald light. The light, like a living thing, wound itself around the Ziyun Ginseng, and before everyone's eyes, the once shriveled and blackened roots gradually turned purple, while the withered leaves slowly unfurled, gleaming with verdant, cloud-like patterns.

"Impossible!" Witnessing this, Zhao Shi's pupils contracted in shock. He had clearly mixed the juice of the Spirit-Severing Grass into the Spiritual Rain Technique used to water the field. He knew the properties of this herb well—its effect was single-minded yet domineering, able to cut off any absorption of spiritual energy by cultivators or spirit plants below the Foundation Establishment level, and its medicinal nature was so subtle that even a Foundation Establishment cultivator probing with divine sense could barely detect any trace. For this reason, he had felt at ease using it in the spirit field.

Sweat broke out on Zhao Shi's forehead as he thought anxiously, "Once the Spirit-Severing Grass takes effect, the Ziyun Ginseng is doomed to die. How could it possibly be revived?"

He stared fixedly at the Ziyun Ginseng in Shen Qinghe’s hand, now full of life once more. Whether it was the pale purple hue of the root or the emerald patterns on the leaves, it all stabbed at his eyes.

The two law enforcement disciples were also wide-eyed at the sight of the revived Ziyun Ginseng.

Steward Chen turned his head, surprised. "A dead Ziyun Ginseng brought back to life—how did you manage this?"

When Shen Qinghe took out the Ziyun Ginseng, he had already scanned it with his divine sense and confirmed that while it was not completely dead, the remaining vitality was almost gone, making revival nearly impossible—unless he intervened himself. Yet Ziyun Ginseng was only used for ordinary blood-nourishing and healing pills, not worth the trouble for someone of his standing.

At this moment, Shen Qinghe’s face was pale, her forehead beaded with fine sweat. Her cultivation was low to begin with, and using her spiritual power to heal the Ziyun Ginseng had nearly exhausted her.

She forced herself to answer, "Reporting to Uncle Master, after tending the spirit field for half a year, I’ve gradually developed a special sensitivity to spiritual plants and can detect their most subtle changes. That’s how I was able to save this seemingly dead Ziyun Ginseng."

"A talent for sensing spiritual plants?" Steward Chen muttered thoughtfully.

Upon hearing this, the two law enforcement disciples looked at Shen Qinghe with a new expression. In the world of cultivation, special talents did exist, but the most coveted were those for alchemy, artifact forging, formations, or talismans. By comparison, sensitivity to spiritual plants was rather unremarkable—after all, Foundation Establishment cultivators, once their divine sense awakened, could also detect subtle changes in spirit plants.

"Talent?" Shen Qinghe inwardly shook her head. The so-called talent for sensing spiritual plants was just an excuse she had made up on the spot.

At that moment, in her sight, an ancient book emitting a golden glow hovered silently. This was the unnamed ancient text she had found while researching traditional planting methods in her previous life—a book she’d thought was a disorganized jumble and had tossed aside to gather dust. She never imagined it would come with her to this world and become so miraculous.

She had already tested it in the spirit field and found that only she could see the book. At her mental command, a page would open, vividly illustrating the Ziyun Ginseng and listing detailed information below:

Name: Ziyun Ginseng (Recorded)
Status: Good
Growth: Not planted
Cultivation: Proficient (15/100)
Mutation traits: None
Note: Ziyun Ginseng is a sustainable spirit plant; as long as it receives sufficient spiritual energy, it can grow indefinitely.

It was precisely by relying on this book that Shen Qinghe was able to save the withered Ziyun Ginseng in her hand.

Originally, under the mutation traits entry, the book had noted the effect of the Spirit-Severing Grass and offered the option to either fuse it with the Ziyun Ginseng or remove it.

She had chosen to remove it, thus returning the Ziyun Ginseng to its original state—otherwise, producing a mutated Ziyun Ginseng on the spot would have been impossible to explain.

Still, she did not mention the Spirit-Severing Grass. When she took out the Ziyun Ginseng, she had hesitated on purpose, wanting to see if Steward Chen, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, could detect anything amiss. As it turned out, he did not.

Therefore, she kept quiet about it, lest Zhao Shi flatly deny everything and try to turn the tables on her. But she had already marked this grudge and would settle accounts with Zhao Shi in the future!

"It’s just one Ziyun Ginseng—what does that prove?" Zhao Shi, unwilling to accept defeat and full of jealousy, stared at Shen Qinghe and said stubbornly, "Don’t forget, your entire acre of Ziyun Ginseng withered. Can you save all of them?"

"My cultivation is weak. Reviving a single Ziyun Ginseng has already exhausted all my spiritual power—I cannot possibly save an entire acre," Shen Qinghe admitted frankly, not shying away from her own limitations.

Zhao Shi smiled.

But his smile was immediately interrupted.

"Please give me another chance, Uncle Master!"

Shen Qinghe bowed respectfully to Steward Chen, her tone sincere. "I am willing to take responsibility for all the losses caused by the withered Ziyun Ginseng in the spirit field!"

"Give me three months—I will repay all the losses caused!"

"Oh?" Steward Chen regarded her with new appreciation.

Zhao Shi, however, burst out laughing again. "Three months? Do you really think you have the ability?"

"An acre of spirit field holds several thousand Ziyun Ginsengs—that’s tens of thousands of low-grade spirit stones in losses. How could you, at just the first level of Qi Refinement, possibly pay that back?"

At the first level of Qi Refinement, one is only slightly stronger than an ordinary person and counts for little in the world of cultivation. Even if she worked herself to the bone, she’d be lucky to earn a hundred or two low-grade spirit stones in a year. How could she repay tens of thousands? In three months, no less?

"If I fail to repay, I am willing to accept any punishment!" Shen Qinghe ignored Zhao Shi’s barking laughter and spoke with resolute finality.

Seeking her own doom!

Zhao Shi was already jubilant inside—he felt there was no need to act further. Shen Qinghe had already cornered herself. Any punishment—that was not an empty phrase!