Side Story: Make More (I)

The Beast God Sanctum survived the surprise attack from the three beast kings and in the process of rebuilding and recovering. Tens of thousands of residents lost their lives or were maimed forever. Homes were burned to the ground, livelihoods destroyed. The southeastern wall and the scene of the most difficult battle were still covered in countless insect carcasses, a never-ending reminder of what the city had gone through.

The sect slowly pulled itself back together in the aftermath. It was a combined effort aided by a formal peace between the Lion and Eagle factions. Both Spirit Kings realized that for the immediate future, their fates were tied together. Neither could survive without the other, not without risking complete annihilation.

The Immortal Association merely lent a hand at the last moment. They had no interest in attacking the wilderness to wipe the beast kings for good. Leaving them around served as the perfect instrument to keep rebellious human Spirit Kings in line. Unless there was another all-out invasion, the Beast God Sanctum would have to take care of problems on their own.

Thus, a peace accord was signed between Immortal Lion of Fortitude He Zicheng and Immortal Crimson Eagle Qu Shen. Jasmine had disappeared into thin air so they had nothing to fight over. Without her, they had no hope of breaking through to the next realm. All they could do was work together.

The days that followed were busy but still fruitful for the sect members. The reward of their efforts came from the very insects that they slew during the siege. The insect army that Queen Sundew had carefully raised for years was itself a mountain of treasure. The carcasses were all useful in some way or another. Giant armored beetles had shells that could be used for armor. Bladed mantises' claws could be used for weapons. Other insects could be used for medicine. Now, all of it belonged to the Beast God Sanctum.

This was the true danger of large-scale wars in the cultivation world. Defeat meant not only a loss of life and cultivators that were raised painstakingly, they directly benefitted the enemies with a massive gift of cultivation resources. This would have been the same if the humans dared to attack the wilderness. Failure would only breed a more powerful and ferocious generation of monsters.

He Xingping, Chen Wentian's subordinate soul and spy among the Beast God Sanctum, was constantly busy after the battle. He was the executive elder for hunting and his expertise lay in processing spiritual beasts to extract cultivation material. Before his feet lay a veritable mountain of wealth that had to be gathered as quickly as possible. Many carcasses were already rotting and each moment lost was a huge waste of money.

He Xingping handled the situation in a cool and calculated manner. He created a system for grading and classifying each insect as well as the potential profit that could be extracted. He established a priority system for the most important insects to go after.

His personality was perfectly suited for such a role. He was even-handed and had low ambition. He simply wanted to do a good job and return every night to his wife and daughter. The lack of desire for power and influence was also partly to due Chen Wentian's desire to remain low-key.

Nonetheless, this was exactly what both He Zicheng. He was extremely satisfied with He Xingping and as a result, included this trustworthy subordinate in more and more important meetings.

One of those secret meetings occurred today and was the result of plans set in motion by Chen Wentian in the Eastern Sanmu Metropolis. They were intended to completely upend not just the capital but the whole subcontinent. Only such a ploy could have any hope of dashing the machinations of the powerful Abbotess Liang...

"Master, welcome back!"

It was the end of the day and He Xingping had returned to his manor. The head servant that greeted him was the same as before and so were other the servants. They had all managed to survive the insect siege unscathed. The manor suffered no damage. And most importantly, his wife and infant daughter did come under any duress.

"Mmm, looks like I'm right on time for dinner." He Xingping said.

"Yes, it will be ready shortly. Madam and young mistress are already in the dining room."

He Xingping rubbed his hands together with a slight grin, "Excellent."

He walked through the manor and entered the open-air dining room that overlooked the garden. His wife, Qiu Jingyi, was sitting in a chair, nursing He Zhuoyan. His daughter had grown by a lot in the past few months. She had a full head of black hair and was already an arm full. She was almost ready for solid food but the past few tries to get her to try something else had been a failure. She preferred her mother's milk and he couldn't blame her. He preferred his wife's milk too!

"Get those naughty thoughts from your head," Qiu Jingyi said, "Zhuoyan drinks so much milk these days and I am running out. There's none left for you."

"Hahaha! That's why brought some gifts." He Xingping pulled out a basket from behind his back.

He placed it down and pulled out an assortment of interesting objects. The first and most notable one was a sparkling green fruit.

"This is the Jewel Papaya, especially transported from the southern provinces through fifteen teleportation arrays. Do you know what special properties it has?"

Qiu Jingyi rolled her eyes, "Don't tell me… something about breast milk."

"Exactly! It greatly increases milk production in nursing mothers!" He then pointed to the other things he bought which were in glass containers, "Heritage golden oats, black pearl barley, and bronzed rice. All excellent for new mothers to keep their breast milk flowing like never-ending spring rain."

"Pervert…" She tried to act offended but couldn't.

She hid a blushing smile and beckoned him closer. The pair shared a quick kiss. She seemed to sense something from it and her expression turned solemn.

"What's going on now? Are the beast kings on the move again?" She asked.

"No, nothing of that sort. It's not that serious."

Dinner was served and He Xingping explained slowly over the meal of an upcoming event that had most of the sect in an uproar. All of the Spirit Lords as well as a large cadre of the strongest and most talented Spirit Initiate Realm experts of the sect were preparing to set off together for the Eastern Sanmu Metropolis. Everyone that wasn't already for the rewards of the Monster Fighting Competition had to go. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Oh? What can possibly be so interesting for everyone to head to the capital?"

"I can't say but both the Lion Lord and the Eagle Lord have signed off on this matter. Even they see it as of high importance." He Xingping said. "Even if we don't succeed, we can't let the other Spirit King sects succeed!"

"So you are going as well?"

"I am. Although I won't be participating in the event, the Lion Lord felt it was good for me to go and establish some contracts with merchants to sell our excess insect materials."

Qiu Jingyi looked relieved. A mission at the capital was much safer than somewhere in the wilderness and since he wasn't going to be involved, she didn't have much to worry about.

"When do you have to leave?"

"Tomorrow night!"

Upon hearing this, she handed off He Zhouyan to the female servants. She then straddled him and sat down on his lap.

"Well… husband… in that case…" Her voice turned low and husky, "I need a proper goodbye from you."

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