A few days later.

Inside a blue brick and red tile residence in Dongcang Town.

Li Ye was calmly pouring tea for the two people sitting in front of him, using a teapot made from the red sand dug up from the area.

From time to time, a Brocade Rat would poke its head out of a silver spatial hole and deliver pastries.

"..."

Wei Qingye watched as the tea slowly flowed down, soaking the golden red tea leaves. It looked like a sunset burning in the water—beautiful indeed, but it felt unbearably slow.

Moreover, did that teacup even hold half an ounce?

Why did drinking tea feel so unsatisfying?

This thought crossed his mind, so he simply reached out, took the teapot from Li Ye's hand, and poured himself a large bowl—strangely, he managed to pull out a porcelain jade bowl.

He then infused a trace of icy energy with his fingers and drank it in one gulp.

Now it was Li Ye who was helpless.

"Brother Wei, your liver is truly fiery." He shook his head, long since accustomed to Wei Qingye's ways, not saying much.

Instead, he turned to the other person and smiled, "So you've completely decided to come to rely on me, Brother Qiumai?"

Qiumai, or rather Zhou Qiumai, immediately nodded, stood up, and respectfully said, "My family's matriarch has agreed to remove my name from the family registry. From now on, I am at the disposal of True Man Lingye, without a word of complaint!"

Wow.

Removed from the family registry.

For a family member, this was indeed a point of no return.

But a mere Zhou Family, with only a few Golden Core members, was not much against a genuine Inner Sect Disciple or Nascent Soul's Personal Disciple of the Four Seasons Sect.

Li Ye looked at him with an appreciative gaze, "Then I'll entrust you with the new business of mycelium; this batch is very different from the previous one."

"Take a look."

He placed a platter of fruits and vegetables on the table.

The colors of these fruits and vegetables were vibrant, with dewdrops still clinging to them, looking as if freshly picked, exuding a pure fruit fragrance.

"Eh." Zhou Qiumai, surprised, picked up a plum that looked no different from an actual plum, its feel and scent the same, with no unusual Spiritual Power fluctuations.

Having previously "taste-tested" Earth Emotion Feed personally, he wasn't hesitant, taking a bite directly.

The texture of the bite was identical to that of a plum.

Inspecting the bitten section, there was absolutely no sign of any mycelium.

This truly shocked him, prompting him to ask:

"Brother Li, is this Earth Emotion Fungus?"

Li Ye smiled faintly, "It absolutely is."

In truth, he had been quite surprised when he first saw it; he hadn't expected that the Wish Power of those Bamboo Wood Ants could transform the Earth Emotion Fungus like this.

Unless one's Divine Sense had reached the Golden Core level, neither the naked eye nor Divine Sense could discern that this was actually fruit formed by the fungus.

This situation likely occurred due to the Bamboo Wood Ants having gained intelligence, combined with the overwhelming output of fruits and vegetables from his Cave Mansion—so abundant that even the Bamboo Wood Ants started selecting carefully.

The excess food, coupled with their enhanced intelligence, allowed the Bamboo Wood Ants to influence the Earth Emotion Fungus with their Wish Power, progressively optimizing the taste and flavor of the Mushroom Fruit.

The optimization according to the Human Race's preference seemed attributable to Li Ye. During his brief stay in the Cave Mansion, the Bamboo Wood Ants had piled mountains of food before him.

—They had nothing else to offer Li Ye but their bodies and lives, save for presenting the most precious food they had.

Li Ye stated bluntly:

"The new mycelium, after my testing, is close to or nearly at the Second Tier to almost Third Tier Spirit Fruit and Spirit Plant level, which is around the Foundation Establishment stage."

"The special Spiritual Power of mycelium also has the effect of enlightening Spirit Beasts, albeit minimally, but long-term consumption is still quite beneficial."

"You're aware that Spirit Beasts have long lifespans, and the older they get, the richer their Spiritual Qi becomes—this is what I ask you to focus on, promoting the idea of nurturing generation after generation of Spirit Beasts."

He took out several different tokens.

From top to bottom, they were jade, gold, silver, copper, and iron.

"Should a cultivator wish, the Four Seasons Tower stationed in the Marketplace by the Four Seasons Sect can authenticate it, issuing different tokens based on the years of nourishing Spirit Beasts, with varied discounts and benefits associated with each token."

"Ten years, fifty years, a hundred years..."

"I'm just presenting my idea; its execution depends on how well you do with it."

Li Ye handed the five different tokens, along with the Jade Pendant representing his identity, to Zhou Qiumai, stating solemnly:

"I leave it entirely in your hands."

Zhou Qiumai found himself at a loss for words as he looked at the tokens and Jade Pendant.

This was the true practical power of the Four Seasons Sect, represented by the Golden Core Jade Pendant. Though Li Ye always seemed to slack off, his reputation had long surpassed some regular Golden Core cultivators.

Not to mention, he was the disciple of True Man Suoxing.

Bearing such a Jade Pendant into any marketplace to seek aid would result in a flood of resources—this was the symbol of his status; even the strictest of cultivators would show kindness to Zhou Qiumai upon seeing it.

Status was the greatest barrier for cultivators like them.

Overcome with emotion, Zhou Qiumai almost kneeled but was wise enough to remember that the Four Seasons Sect didn't favor excessive bowing.

He simply held the tokens and Jade Pendant.

Earnestly said, "With such trust from Brother Li, I can only put forth utmost effort in return."

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