Wen Qiao opened her palm, and with a slight movement of her thoughts, a tiny seedling about an inch tall appeared in her hand.
To confirm that the little seedling in her palm was not the same species as the Zhuyan Flower, Wen Qiao deliberately placed the seedling from her palm alongside the Zhuyan Flower in the flowerpot for observation. She reached a conclusion: newly sprouted spiritual herbs have some resemblance, but beyond that, they are different.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
For a moment, she almost thought she was a Zhuyan Flower—now that would be ridiculous.
Although Wen Qiao seldom stepped outside, she was aware that there had never been a case of a Zhuyan Flower cultivating into a human form. Perhaps it was possible in the Upper Realm, but not on the Sacred Martial Continent. Besides, the Zhuyan Flower had no other use apart from preserving youth. Surely her half-yao bone wouldn’t be so useless, right?
Through her recent experiments, Wen Qiao had come to understand that the little seedling in her palm was closely tied to the bloodline of her yao bone. Her ability to stimulate the growth of plants and absorb the spiritual energy feedback from vegetation to temper her body was due to the awakened supernatural power of her half-yao bloodline.
This was something ordinary cultivators could not achieve.
At least, she had never heard of any cultivator who could channel Yuan Spiritual Power into spiritual plant seeds and make them grow and sprout. Even those with wood-attribute Yuan Spiritual Roots couldn’t do such a thing—it was simply unheard of.
However, those with extraordinary bloodlines could.
Wen Qiao now understood that the supernatural power of her bloodline allowed her to accelerate the growth of spiritual herbs.
And what does it mean to be able to accelerate the growth of spiritual herbs?
Wen Qiao instinctively sensed danger and dared not casually reveal the supernatural power of her half-yao bloodline.
The essence of vegetation, while not Yuan Spiritual Energy, was an extremely pure and gentle natural essence within the world. Absorbing it for cultivation was no less effective than absorbing single-attribute Yuan Spiritual Energy. In fact, it even helped her repair her damaged body and alleviate some of her physical suffering.
Wen Qiao knew that her half-yao bloodline had an unusual origin, so she dared not disclose it lightly. Even when stimulating plant growth and absorbing vegetation essence, she was extremely cautious.
—
By the time the lanterns were lit, Ning Yuzhou finally returned.
He walked into the bedroom and saw Wen Qiao sitting on the couch, reading a book. His gaze softened.
Wen Qiao put down the book and slowly stood up. After some thought, she asked softly, “You’re back. Have you eaten?”
“No.”
Wen Qiao instructed the maid waiting outside to prepare dinner.
The two of them, a mortal unable to cultivate and someone who had just entered the Yuan Realm, both needed to eat three meals a day like ordinary people since they could not forgo food.
When dinner was served, Ning Yuzhou asked Wen Qiao to sit with him, eat a little, and chat.
Ning Yuzhou told Wen Qiao that in ten days, they would set out for Lintai Hunting Valley. The steward had summoned him today to discuss matters related to the trip, and he would be quite busy in the coming days.
He appeared deeply apologetic for not being able to spend time with her.
Wen Qiao tilted her head slightly, looking at him with confusion. “You go about your business. I’ll be fine on my own. I don’t need company.”
Ning Yuzhou paused slightly as he held his chopsticks, feeling a touch of helplessness. She was still just a child, after all.
His expression remained gentle, and he smiled as he said, “We’ve only just gotten married, and as your husband, I have to leave my young wife at home to handle matters on my own. If this were the mundane world, I’d be criticized.”
“Dongling Kingdom is not the mundane world. You don’t need to worry about that,” Wen Qiao replied earnestly.
There was no continuing this conversation.
Ning Yuzhou suddenly chuckled and changed the subject, reminding her, “In the next few days, while I’m not home, no matter who comes, you don’t need to see them. Let the steward outside handle it.”
Wen Qiao nodded obediently.
After dinner, the couple sat in the flower hall drinking tea.
The tea was spiritual tea, fragrant and overflowing with spiritual energy, gentle in nature, and perfect for health. It was suitable for both cultivators and mortals.
As Wen Qiao sipped the warm tea, she thought to herself how Emperor Chenghao truly doted on the Seventh Prince. Everything in the Seventh Prince’s residence—from food to clothing and everyday items—was exquisite, each infused with abundant Yuan Spiritual Energy.
Ning Yuzhou noticed a flowerpot on the windowsill and saw that the seventh-grade spiritual herb seed had already sprouted to about an inch in height. He couldn’t help but be surprised. “So, it has already sprouted.”
“Yes,” Wen Qiao said seriously. “Actually, it sprouted a small bud a few days ago. I didn’t expect it to grow this tall so quickly.”
Ning Yuzhou brought the flowerpot closer to examine it. He hadn’t looked at it carefully yesterday and hadn’t realized it had already sprouted. But seeing it now, he thought this seventh-grade spiritual herb had grown remarkably fast, almost as if it had been watered with Yuan Spiritual Water to hasten its growth.
He glanced at Wen Qiao.
The young girl sat quietly across from him, looking gentle and harmless with her calm demeanor.
Finally, Ning Yuzhou remarked, “It’s growing well.”
The corners of Wen Qiao’s lips lifted slightly. Although her expression remained composed, her tone revealed a hint of joy. “It’s a seventh-grade spiritual herb, after all. I’ll take good care of it.” She paused and suddenly asked, “Your Highness, do you know what kind of spiritual herb this is?”
“Call me ‘Husband,’” Ning Yuzhou corrected.
Wen Qiao froze for a moment, and her cheeks flushed slightly as she hesitated.
But Ning Yuzhou persisted. “We are married now. You don’t have to address me as ‘Your Highness.’ You can call me by my name or ‘Husband.’”
Whether it was his name or “Husband,” she found it hard to say.
However, this seemingly gentle and considerate man was utterly uncompromising in certain matters.
In the end, Wen Qiao softly murmured, “Husband.”
The look on Ning Yuzhou’s face grew even gentler, his gaze brimming with affection as he said warmly, “If I’m not mistaken, it should be a Zhuyan Flower.”
Wen Qiao’s eyes widened slightly. “You know?”
Ning Yuzhou’s heart stirred slightly at the implication in her words, but he maintained his calm expression and said, “The people from Lingxu Pavilion mentioned that they obtained this spiritual herb seed from an ancient ruin. The Zhuyan Flower is an ancient seventh-grade spiritual herb that gradually went extinct over time. Although alchemists today can still refine Zhuyan Pills, the spiritual herbs they use aren’t actually Zhuyan Flowers. Instead, they use similar substitutes, so the resulting Zhuyan Pills are flawed and not as effective as those refined with true Zhuyan Flowers.”
He held the flowerpot and examined it further, continuing, “This Zhuyan Flower, though just sprouted, already has two leaf lobes, each with five silver-white vein lines, meeting the characteristics of a Zhuyan Flower. As for its scent…”
Wen Qiao stared at him, wide-eyed, as he spoke confidently and fluently, completely overturning her impression of the Seventh Prince.
Even Wen Qiao had only learned about the Zhuyan Flower through the feedback she received from the plant. Ning Yuzhou, on the other hand, had determined its identity solely through observation. This showed that he was well-versed in the cultivation world. Despite his inability to cultivate, his knowledge of cultivation was no less than that of ordinary people. In fact, it far exceeded that of many so-called orthodox cultivators who prided themselves on their prestigious backgrounds.
More importantly, the Zhuyan Flower was not a common item that anyone could recognize, let alone understand so thoroughly.
Suddenly, Wen Qiao found the Seventh Prince mysterious and unfathomable.
After identifying the spiritual herb in the flowerpot as a Zhuyan Flower, Ning Yuzhou’s attitude remained unchanged. He wasn’t overly cautious with it, even though it was a rare and precious herb. He treated it as if it were any ordinary herb from the spiritual garden, paying it slightly more attention only because it was being tended to by Wen Qiao.
Either he regarded material wealth as nothing more than dirt, or he considered the Zhuyan Flower too insignificant to hold any importance in his heart.
Whatever the case, Ning Yuzhou’s demeanor left Wen Qiao unable to decipher him. She could only keep her thoughts to herself for now, deciding to observe further in the future.
In the following days, as Ning Yuzhou had said, he left early every morning before dawn and didn’t return until the lanterns were lit in the evening.
He was busy for several days in a row before finally having some time to relax.
Wen Qiao didn’t know what he was occupied with, nor did she ask. She continued living a peaceful and tranquil life, quietly focused on her cultivation.
To avoid arousing suspicion, she was careful not to overdo it when accelerating the growth of the Zhuyan Flower. After each session, she would discreetly absorb the vegetation essence it fed back to her, ensuring the flower didn’t grow an inch every day—anything that dramatic would have been far too conspicuous.
Even so, the maids in the Seventh Prince’s residence still marveled at the flower’s vigorous growth, praising it as expected of a gift from the Seventh Prince. Fortunately, they were unaware that it was a seventh-grade Zhuyan Flower; otherwise, their thoughts wouldn’t have been so simple.
The remote Dongling Kingdom was considered a barren and insignificant land by cultivators on the Sacred Martial Continent. No one would have expected a Zhuyan Flower to grow there, making the Seventh Prince’s residence the perfect cover.
During this time, the Ninth Princess, Ning Yaozhu, visited once.
Wen Qiao obediently followed Ning Yuzhou’s instructions and didn’t meet her, leaving the outer courtyard steward to handle the matter while she focused on her cultivation.
Time flew by, and soon, it was the day to depart for Lintai Hunting Valley.