Su Luo called out cautiously, "Senior Brother."
Would he still scold her?
After a meal's worth of guessing, Su Luo had realized that her Senior Brother was likely angry because she had lied to him about being close to death. It was true, he had stayed up for two days without sleep for her, and she had lied to him; it was completely wrong of her.
She should apologize quickly, otherwise, she wouldn't be able to rest easy.
"I'm sorry, please don't be angry anymore."
Su Luo walked up to Li Tianjue. Seeing him turn around, she immediately apologized, "Just now, I was just having fun and wanted to tease you. Senior Brother, you are magnanimous, a true magnate, please forgive me, okay?"
Her cautious expression, her pitiful appearance, fell into Li Tianjue's eyes, and his heart skipped another beat.
He wasn't angry with Su Luo at all.
But now, hearing her say she was teasing him, his heart suddenly sank, and his mood cooled by half.
So she didn't like him!
He had been infatuated, harboring unwarranted tests. He had thought too beautifully; it turned out to be just a joke.
"I'm not angry. I just wanted to see you about something else, don't overthink it." Li Tianjue forcefully suppressed the nascent feelings that had just emerged, as if a newborn sprout, after growing just two tender shoots, was crushed by his foot.
"Is that so?"
Su Luo looked at Li Tianjue's icy face and didn't believe him at all.
This was still not angry?
He was practically furious, with a sour face. Should she find him a mirror to look at himself?
What should she do? This man was indeed petty. She shouldn't have made such a joke; it was too late to regret it now. Sigh... Su Luo's head began to ache, and she became even more uneasy.
Li Tianjue scanned the entire storeroom and said in a businesslike manner, "This is the storeroom of the Seven Stars Sect. To atone for their sins, Sect Master Wan Qitai is willing to donate it all. A portion goes to our Qingxu Heaven, and a portion compensates the families of the deceased Spirit Planters and Spirit Herbalists. See what needs to be kept and take an inventory."
Such a cold attitude!
Su Luo was unaccustomed to it.
"Senior Brother, I already said I'm sorry..."
"No need to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong."
Before Su Luo could finish, Li Tianjue interrupted her, "The important matters are paramount. First, inventory the herbs here, and this temporarily sealed Blood Ant Queen needs to be dealt with. After we finish, we still need to rush back to deliver the antidote to the Third Elder."
As he spoke, he pointed to a metal box on the shelf.
It seemed he wouldn't be appeased anytime soon, so Su Luo had to give up.
She opened the metal box and saw a translucent grub inside – it was the shrunken Blood Ant Queen.
"What kind of magical artifact is this? It can contain the Blood Ant Queen and shrink it so much."
Li Tianjue told her that when the Grand Beginning Sacred Land sent the Blood Ant Queen to the Seven Stars Sect, they used this artifact. It was specifically used by Beast Tamers for newly captured, untamed magical beasts, or for special circumstances.
It was inscribed with formation patterns that sealed magical beasts, shrinking their size without harming them, making them fall into a dormant state. The effective duration was usually up to ten days, but this Blood Ant Queen was of too high a grade, and could only be sealed for a maximum of five days, so they had to return to Qingxu Heaven quickly.
Li Tianjue explained clearly, but his attitude remained cold, as if Su Luo were an outsider. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Looking at his expressionless face, it was as if she had returned to when they first met. Su Luo really wanted to pinch Li Tianjue's handsome face, pull the corners of his mouth upwards, and ask him if it was necessary to be so distant...
Never mind, she would endure it. Perhaps in a couple of days, his anger would dissipate.
Su Luo put away the metal box and began to inventory the boxes of spirit herbs, soon becoming pleasantly surprised. As expected of the Seven Stars Sect, the spirit herbs stored in the storeroom were of high grade, precious, and in considerable quantity.
The spirit herbs here were left behind by the Seven Stars Sect, not grown by cruel methods. Even the Grand Beginning Sacred Land did not know about them, nor were they submitted, so they were considered secretly hoarded treasures, kept for unforeseen needs.
Su Luo picked out one-third of them, basically those that were not present or lacking in the Resource Hall's storeroom. They were all spirit fruits, spirit roots, and spirit herbs of sixth grade and above, worth no less than a hundred million spirit coins. It was not a wasted trip after all.
The remaining ones were still plentiful; selling them all would barely count as compensation for the losses of those who had died.
As for the current situation in Lingxiao Kingdom, Su Luo did not worry too much; Chu Tianshu would handle the negotiations.
Born in such a country, the common people were pitiable, and ordinary cultivators were powerless to resist. They could only help occasionally when they encountered them. They could not interfere with the future, nor could they casually meddle.
If you refuse to accept your fate, you must fight for it with your life; this is the survival of the fittest.
That afternoon, Su Luo and the others began their return journey.
Time was pressing, so this time they used the Seven Stars Sect's spirit ship, one that didn't need to be returned.
They arrived in one day, twice as fast as using a flying carpet.
Everyone first took the antidote to the Third Elder, finally curing the poison, and then reported the situation of their trip. The most urgent matter was resolved. Su Luo then took the metal box and found her Fourth Senior Brother, Zhan Li, asking him to subdue the Blood Ant Queen as soon as possible, as the sealing time was about to expire.
"For me?!"
Zhan Li's face showed a rare smile when he suddenly saw Su Luo.
In the past few days, he had been searching for spirit herbs in the Flowing Light Forest with Lu Jixing and a group of outer disciples, but they had not been able to gather them. Although he had never shown any worry and hardly spoke, he was anxious in his heart.
Upon hearing that Su Luo and Senior Brother had returned, not only had they obtained the antidote, but they were also giving him a gift. He was truly surprised and delighted.
Su Luo smiled, "Fourth Senior Brother, take a look first."
Zhan Li then took the box and opened it, staring in surprise. He recognized it as the Blood Ant Queen, which had been forbidden to be raised for a long time.
"This..."
He immediately understood. His junior sister was giving this to him to raise as a magical pet.
However, Zhan Li hesitated because the Blood Ant Queen had too great a reputation and was too harmful. This was not something that the righteous path allowed to be raised, nor had anyone else raised it as a magical pet. Once word spread, it would likely damage Qingxu Heaven's reputation.
Seeing Zhan Li hesitate, Su Luo asked, "Fourth Senior Brother, are you worried about something happening?"
"This is the Blood Ant Queen."
"Yes, I know, which is why I specifically brought it back for you, Fourth Senior Brother. Don't worry, no one knows."
Su Luo told Zhan Li that she, Senior Brother, Shang Xie Shaoqing, and Wen Daier all knew about this. None of them objected, and they promised to keep it a secret, so there was no need to worry about leakage risk for the time being.
"This Blood Ant Queen is very precious. It would be too much of a waste to kill it. The key is that you, Fourth Senior Brother, possess the Myriad Beasts Unbounded Map, which can absolutely control this Blood Ant Queen, including every Blood Ant it gives birth to. This is why it was given to you."
"People are afraid of Blood Ants because they fear someone using them to harm the world. But if you, Fourth Senior Brother, keep it, you will certainly not misuse it. Moreover, this is also a trump card for our Qingxu Heaven, your greatest killer move. If anything threatens Qingxu Heaven or you, Fourth Senior Brother, the role of this Blood Ant army will become apparent."
Zhan Li understood and nodded.
This was a gift for him, and also a responsibility he bore. He would definitely take good care of this Blood Ant Queen, just in case.
"Thank you." Zhan Li expressed his sincere gratitude.
There was no difficulty in raising the Blood Ant Queen as a magical pet, because a Blood Ant Queen without Blood Ants posed almost no threat.
With a flash of light, the Blood Ant Queen disappeared into the metal box and was received into the Myriad Beasts Unbounded Map.