Qiao Ying said seriously, "Jun Moxie, don't play games with me. I implore you, truly! You must, absolutely must... take good care of it! Even if you don't know how to cultivate it, just keeping it in this box, so long as it’s placed somewhere rich in spiritual energy, it will survive... If it truly doesn't work out... just send it back to me then, alright?"

As she spoke the last sentence, Qiao Ying’s tone carried a hint of supplication, like a mother sending her beloved daughter off to marriage...

Sensing the sincerity of her devotion, Jun Moxie’s expression sobered. He took the object with both hands and replied with a tone of commitment, "Rest assured. The next time you see it, I guarantee it will be far better off than it is now!"

In his hands, the Exquisite Lotus swayed its tiny, translucent leaves gently, seemingly bidding farewell to Qiao Ying; a pang struck Qiao Ying’s heart, and tears unexpectedly welled up.

Jun Moxie starkly noticed that after scooping the water out of the pool, a small depression remained, as if an invisible bowl had been placed on the surface, causing the water level to dip, yet the surrounding water remained utterly undisturbed.

After a considerable while, the water surface finally returned to its mirror-like calm.

"Practically solid spiritual liquid... " Jun Moxie felt a stirring of imbalance again. Judging by its appearance, this thing was also highly valuable. To possess such good things, and ones originating from the Three Great Sacred Lands at that... on what grounds should he allow them to monopolize it? That would be tantamount to a crime!

With only Qiao Ying present in this scene, it was a heaven-sent opportunity—a bargain not taken would be a waste...

Thus, Jun Moxie’s eyes flickered, and he casually lifted his head, gazing into the distance, saying, "The spiritual energy in this place is truly enviable. Look over there; it’s like dense fog. Cultivating in an environment like that... tsk tsk... your Heavenly Sage Palace truly inspires my reverence..."

Qiao Ying instinctively followed his gaze, then chuckled lightly, "Young Master Jun, you’ve misjudged this. That isn't elemental spiritual energy; it’s just the mist of dusk settling in. It’s nearly dark."

Taking advantage of her momentary distraction, Jun Moxie secretly activated the Hong Gou Tower, commanding the power of water. Whoosh—a third of the spiritual energy in the pool, already liquefied, vanished without a sound...

He put on an embarrassed expression, awkwardly scratching his head, rubbing his nose, and chuckling sheepishly, "Oh? Is that so? I must have mistaken it, haha..." He laughed, appearing utterly mortified.

Qiao Ying smiled faintly, understanding his awkwardness, and chose not to press the issue, but a thought crossed her mind: this youth still possessed many traits of his age. Come to think of it, the way he looked when embarrassed just now was quite handsome...

Jun Moxie, thoroughly satisfied with his surreptitious acquisition, felt a surge of pleasure. He finally turned his attention to the Exquisite Lotus in his hand, gazing upon the tiny plant with profound reverence. He watched the delicate, withered stem beneath which countless thread-like roots were gently spreading. At the center was a tender piece of jade-like rhizome. This piece was pitifully small, perhaps no bigger than a peanut, and lacked any strange fragrance, yet holding it naturally brought a soothing clarity to his mind...

With a flick of his wrist, the Exquisite Lotus vanished from his hand, entering the space within the Hong Jun Tower. Under Qiao Ying’s utterly astonished gaze, Jun Moxie shrugged, his face a mask of innocence, and blinked, saying, "A secret!"

Qiao Ying snorted, yet felt a measure of relief: Jun Moxie possessed endless mysterious methods; perhaps he truly could sustain the Exquisite Lotus...

Next, Jun Moxie began his true act of "borrowing the tiger's might." Thanks to the promises made by Wu Shanyun and the others, the spiritual herbs on Heavenly Sage Mountain were practically his for the asking!

And this fellow was someone who never knew the meaning of modesty. Thinking that this might be his only visit in this lifetime, why hold back from gleaning as much as possible while the opportunity lasted? Furthermore, possessing the Hong Jun Tower, a treasure capable of holding almost the entire world without being full, left him with absolutely no worries. Naturally, he opened his eyes as wide as possible.

The spiritual herbs and rare treasures of Heavenly Sage Mountain—he specifically selected those of long vintage, including the Profound Spirit Wood—he spared nothing. Every item he chose was marked with a small strip of red cloth.

Wu Shanyun's initial promise had been made under the assumption that Jun Moxie arrived empty-handed; even if they loaded several sacks for him, how much could he carry? Thus, generosity was feigned...

If Wu Shanyun had known that Jun Moxie possessed such an aberrant treasure capable of storing things limitlessly, he would have fought tooth and nail to refuse, or reneged on the promise even if he had agreed.

So, Jun Moxie only selected things now, tying a red cloth strip to mark them, waiting for the day of his departure to sweep them all inside in one go...

One thing was certain: when Jun Moxie left this time, Wu Shanyun was absolutely going to vomit blood...

The people on the mountain indulged his antics, watching with the attitude of spectators. They thought: A tree with tens of thousands of years of growth, deeply rooted in the mountain, how deep could its roots go? He wants it? Good idea, but can you move it?

Those spiritual herbs were also rooted deep in the earth; extracting them required extreme care, not something achievable by mere desire! This little fellow was clearly dreaming wildly.

So what if he tied red cloth strips? The things were still rooted on Heavenly Sage Mountain! Forget one strip of cloth; even if he wrapped the entire trunk in red cloth, it would still be like a blind man lighting a lamp—a waste of effort!

Jun Moxie busied himself for two days, with people occasionally watching sidelong, seeing the scoundrel toiling away with tireless enthusiasm, treating it like watching a show. Occasionally someone would playfully ask, "Young Jun, how much have you set your sights on?"

Whenever this happened, Jun Moxie would beam a simple, honest smile and reply guilelessly, "I’ve set my sights on quite a lot. There are so many good things here..."

Take, take, take, hahahaha... Don't be polite; take as much as you can... Leaving it here is just a waste.

Jun Moxie would then scratch his head, looking genuinely perplexed, "If I take them away, won't it be like tearing down quite a few of your homes? Aren't you worried at all?"

"Hahahaha... Take them? You certainly joke well..." The person would laugh, "If you can take them, then I'll do this and that..." And another bet would ensue...

Two days later, at dawn, Jun Moxie commenced his grand relocation plan.

Within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, everyone on Heavenly Sage Mountain was utterly dumbfounded!

Heavens above!

Jun Moxie emerged from his temporary lodging, offering solemn farewells. Except for those in deep seclusion, almost everyone came out to see him off. They all wanted to witness the youngster's inevitably exasperated and comical appearance. It had been a long time since Heavenly Sage Mountain had such a joyous spectacle... This time, Jun Moxie's face flushed crimson, but he didn't rest. Staggering a few steps, he moved toward another tree.

Three trees vanished, and with a crash, the thatched hut collapsed. Jun Moxie roared loudly several more times, and the surrounding spiritual vines around the hut disappeared too...

W-w-what... everyone was slack-jawed.

Jun Moxie spun around as if drunk, plopped down onto the ground, and waved his hand decisively, "No one tries to persuade me! Today, I absolutely must... take all this away! Damn it, I won't swallow this insult! Jun Moxie has never been looked down upon like this in my life!"

The crowd was speechless: Who has the inclination to persuade you? It would be better if you exhausted yourself to death! This little bit already has you struggling; if... Hmph!

They watched foolishly as Jun Moxie staggered from one tree to the next, one cluster after another... His complexion grew worse with each item, looking as if he might collapse at any second... yet he didn't!

The crowd followed him blankly, watching tree after tree vanish... house after house... Heavenly Sage Mountain was enveloped in billowing dust...

Jun Moxie staggered on arduously, his stomach cramping with silent laughter: This is exhilarating! Such a massive harvest... one tree, two trees, three trees... seventy trees... ninety trees... Hahaha...

How could Jun Moxie not know he was overdoing it? The spiritual herbs on Heavenly Sage Mountain were the accumulation of ten thousand years! Even with Wu Shanyun's promise, it was far from a secure situation.

If he provoked the public wrath, his entire plan would fail! But these items were the very structures where they lived... To silently take them away right under the noses of so many peerless experts... that was harder than ascending to heaven!

Besides... even if he took them, there was no guarantee they wouldn't retaliate! Jun Moxie himself and Mei Xueyan might not fear their revenge, but that didn't mean others were safe...

Therefore, this performance by Jun Moxie wasn't purely to mock them... Firstly, by letting them all watch, even if they tried to stop him halfway... he would have already secured half; they could only swallow the silent loss!

Secondly... by the time they realized they were tricked... they would have been thoroughly played... But he had already spoken beforehand, forbidding retaliation; this effectively placed all the trouble squarely on his shoulders. Given the arrogance of these experts, they would only seek satisfaction from Jun Moxie personally, rather than slaughtering the innocent indiscriminately!

The harsher Jun Moxie mocked them now, the less likely they were to harm others when they eventually confronted him! And Jun Moxie... was the one least afraid of their retaliation! If things truly went south, he could just hide in the Hong Jun Tower... even an immortal couldn't find him!

This bout of verbal sparring had resulted in collecting over ninety percent of all the necessary alchemical ingredients! Moreover... these were living things. Inside the Hong Jun Tower, where spiritual energy was hundreds of times more abundant and the environment dozens of times superior to the outside world, their growth would inevitably be rapid! This meant a continuous supply for future needs...

A venture with no initial cost yielding immense profit.

The only thing lost was his own reputation.

...When has this young master ever cared about something as trivial as face?

In full view of everyone, Jun Moxie had already collected over eighty percent...

Finally, the experts of the Sacred Mountain realized something was amiss: Holy hell! This brat has already dismantled more than half the houses, and nearly all hundreds of spiritual herbs with the longest lifespans have vanished...

This guy... maintains the appearance of being half-dead, yet never changes! This—this... isn't he just messing with us?

"Stop!" A white-haired elder roared, his face like frozen frost, "Jun Moxie, using such methods to toy with us, do you find this amusing? The accumulation of ten thousand years on Heavenly Sage Mountain, destroyed just like that by your hands? Jun Moxie, you have gone too far! Cease your actions immediately and hand over what you have taken!"

At his declaration, the crowd, who had been bewildered and shocked, suddenly awoke! They all glared furiously at Jun Moxie.

"Hand it over?" Jun Moxie gasped, straightening up, "My good fellow, you aren't joking, are you? This was your promise! Even if I moved the entire Heavenly Sage Mountain, it wouldn't matter! This was a collective agreement, right? And now you go back on your word? Is it not shameful to behave like this?"

The spiritual herbs were entirely secured. Seeing that the others intended to abandon honor and break their promise, Jun Moxie stopped using polite forms of address for the elders, switching directly to "my good fellow"...

The faces of the old men flushed deeply. While what he said was true, who could have imagined... this brat was so monstrous? In all history, who had ever seen goods collected in such a manner? Damn it, this brat is too insidious...

"Hmph, we only agreed to a portion; who said we let you take everything? Do you think casual jokes can be taken seriously?" The elder’s face turned purple, arguing perversely, "We also once joked about reaching up to the Nine Heavens to grasp the moon... but is that something achievable?"

"But I achieved it!" Jun Moxie squinted sideways, "So now you’re prepared to tear up the contract and lose face? If the Three Great Sacred Lands did this, it would be understandable, as they are a nest of hypocrites. But for your Heavenly Sage Palace to engage in such deceit is truly surprising to this young master. I didn't realize people’s shamelessness could reach such depths!"

"Jun Moxie, don't rely on your sharp tongue. Do you think that with so many of us here... you can just walk away?" The elder snorted, "A wise man knows his place and would put the items down. We naturally won't let you suffer a loss... You can take a portion, but you absolutely cannot take it all!"

"Knee Chongjie, isn't this inappropriate?" Qiao Ying frowned, "Jun Moxie causing such havoc on Heavenly Sage Palace is upsetting and angering to me as well, but... this was ultimately a collective agreement. Now that he has fulfilled the terms, you intend to go back on your word... that is utterly dishonorable, isn't it? If this gets out, what face will Heavenly Sage Palace have left?"

"This matter has nothing to do with Heavenly Sage Palace; it is I who wishes to break the agreement..." The elder's face twitched, but he gritted his teeth, "If I truly let him take everything, the vitality of Heavenly Sage Palace cannot recover for millennia! I cannot bear such responsibility, and neither can you!"

This was truly miserable luck. My laptop crashed completely and several people couldn't fix it. Moreover, my flight was delayed an hour last night, only arriving in Jinan at two in the morning. I stayed at the airport hotel with Gao Lou Da Qu, and then I started working overtime, finishing the chapter by 5:30 AM. Then the disaster struck: the hotel network wasn't working...

The front desk claimed the network was under emergency repair, but the repair wouldn't be done until 1 PM...

But... I have to check out at 1 PM! If I don't check out, they charge for another full day... Oh my god, Gao Lou was even more unlucky; he left his laptop charger in Nanning...

I'm now at an airport coffee shop uploading this... I'm truly overwhelmed and frustrated...

I sincerely apologize, I am so sorry!! C