Chirp, chirp, chirp.

On the empty desk, there was a milky-white maggot… a baby maggot, struggling to crawl. Chu Liang looked at it, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Had he really spent all this time and effort to hatch a maggot?

It was hard to accept.

His sense of accomplishment as a male mother was completely gone.

In the world of cultivation, whether you look back five thousand years or forward five thousand years, probably no cultivator’s spirit pet would be a maggot.

The baby maggot was struggling to crawl on the table. Its speed was not fast, and the short distance seemed like a vast plain to it. But it was still trying to move forward, occasionally changing direction, as if it was looking for something.

Was it hungry? Chu Liang wondered.

What to feed the baby maggot…

Chu Liang pondered for a moment, considering whether to take it to the toilet and release it.

While he was lost in thought, he looked up and found that the hardworking baby maggot had disappeared from the table.

Huh?

It was crawling very slowly just now, could it fly?

Chu Liang looked around and found its whereabouts. There was a small hole on the table, as small as a needle eye and not very noticeable. With a sweep of his divine sense, he found that the baby maggot had crawled into it.

This little thing was like a needle, it really liked to burrow.

Chu Liang laughed, carefully lifted a strand of true qi, and gently sucked it out. He held it on his finger, afraid that he might accidentally crush it.

The baby maggot was placed back on the table. This time, it seemed to have found its path, immediately pointed its head down, and burrowed another hole in the wooden table, crawling in.

This little thing looked soft, he didn’t know how it could burrow in.

But soon, Chu Liang noticed something strange.

After its upper half body burrowed into the wooden table, a small amount of golden dust was immediately expelled from its lower half body. The dust was so small that it was blown away by the breeze in the air as soon as it appeared.

But as it kept burrowing, the dust kept appearing.

What was this?

Chu Liang guessed, could it be that it was not actually burrowing, but eating? Was it gnawing on the wood because it had nothing else to eat?

With this idea in mind, he found a porcelain bowl, sucked the baby maggot out of the wooden table again, and put it in the bowl. He was about to feed the baby maggot to see if it would eat.

Then he saw the baby maggot pointing its head down and going in again.

It was burrowing from the beginning to the end, and its speed was not slow. It pierced through the porcelain bowl in a moment, and half of its body was sticking out.

This time, its lower half body once again expelled that golden dust, which looked a bit more substantial this time, with small particles forming a golden line.

It could even penetrate the hard white porcelain? Chu Liang was slightly shocked.

It seemed that this little thing was not an ordinary maggot, its head was very hard!

Not only was it hard, but it could also swallow wood and white porcelain and digest them immediately. This kind of digestive ability was quite terrifying.

If it were a large spirit beast like the Golden Fur Behemoth, chewing down two pounds of raw iron wouldn’t be surprising. But this baby maggot had just been born, it didn’t seem to have any special features, so it was quite surprising to see it do this.

But as impressive as it was, could it eat something normal?

Chu Liang lifted the porcelain bowl and propped it up with a piece of iron plate, so it wouldn’t burrow through again. But before he could feed it anything, the baby maggot had already burrowed through the iron plate!

Ah?

It pierced through the iron plate?

Chu Liang frowned, he took out his Green Leaf artifact, activated the defensive array, and opened the Green Leaf umbrella.

The umbrella surface could now withstand at least the ordinary attack of a fifth realm powerhouse, so its sturdiness was beyond doubt. Chu Liang put the baby maggot on it, wanting to see what it could do.

The first lesson the newly born baby maggot seemed to learn in this world was that there was food to be found by exploring downwards, and it burrowed down without hesitation.

Then, its upper half body burrowed into the surface of the Green Leaf umbrella.

Could it do that?

Chu Liang quickly used his hand to stimulate true qi to suck it out, fearing that it would really damage the array patterns on the Green Leaf artifact.

Holding this little thing in his hand, Chu Liang was extremely careful, afraid that it would burrow its head into his finger, which was a terrifying thought…

Upon closer inspection, he found that this little thing had actually grown!

After burrowing through wood, white porcelain, and iron plate, its size didn’t change much. But after just burrowing into the Green Leaf artifact, its size had doubled.

Of course, because it was originally as small as a needle, it wasn’t very big now.

But its growth rate was quite astonishing.

Chu Liang had a vague understanding, could it be that it grew by consuming the spiritual nature contained in the material of the Green Leaf artifact?

He took out a Gold Patterned Berry, put the baby maggot on it, and the baby maggot burrowed down without hesitation again. The soft surface of the berry, it pierced in at once this time.

It seemed that it didn’t just eat hard things, it also ate soft ones.

In a short while, it had burrowed through the entire Gold Patterned Berry. Although it didn’t eat it all, Chu Liang noticed that the gold patterns on the surface of the berry had disappeared.

This meant that there was no spiritual nature left in the berry, it was just an ordinary delicious fruit.

Could the baby maggot absorb all the spiritual nature when eating heavenly materials and earthly treasures?

That was quite powerful.What Chu Liang was thinking now was… this little creature seemed to eat anything and everything, and there didn’t seem to be anything it couldn’t chew through. So where should he keep it?

Given its tendency to burrow downwards, if he just left it on the ground, he might be able to see it breaking through the earth from the other side of the world in a few years…

After some contemplation, he tried to bring the maggot baby back to the White Tower space.

With a flash of light, the maggot baby really appeared inside the White Tower space. As soon as it entered, it seemed to fall into a sleep, not moving at all.

Chu Liang had thought earlier that since it was born from a beast egg rewarded by the White Tower, it should be able to return to the White Tower. Just like the golden patterned berries were grown from seeds rewarded by the White Tower, they could also be stored in the White Tower space.

This saved him a lot of trouble.

It seemed that he would have to find more spiritual things for it to eat in the future, to help it grow quickly. Now, Chu Liang no longer felt the initial sense of disappointment. A maggot baby that could eat anything… how magical!

He was looking forward to what state this maggot baby could evolve into in the future.

It wouldn’t really turn into a fly, would it?

…

After a long time of fussing, it was already late, and Chu Liang decided to rest.

The next morning, Lin Bei came to visit.

Chu Liang looked at Lin Bei in surprise, “What are you doing here so early?”

“Of course, I have something to do.” Lin Bei smiled, “Did you know that I’ve been working as a deacon disciple in the Foreign Affairs Hall recently?”

“I didn’t know.” Chu Liang shook his head, “Congratulations.”

In addition to the four main elders of Shu Mountain and their halls, there were actually quite a few other elders and halls, but their status was not as high.

For example, Master Shen of the Sword Exchange Pavilion was one of the deacon elders of the Sword Exchange Pavilion.

Below the four main elders, the highest rank belonged to the elders of the Foreign Affairs Hall. As the name suggests, the Foreign Affairs Hall was responsible for external affairs.

The Shu Mountain Sect dealt with the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands. Except for some major events that required the headmaster and the four main elders to step in, most of the big and small matters were handled by the Foreign Affairs Hall, from distributing letters sent by other sects to building the glorious image of the Shu Mountain Sect in the cultivation world… and so on.

Moreover, compared to other halls, the competition among the deacon disciples of the Foreign Affairs Hall was the most intense. Because the affairs of the Foreign Affairs Hall often involved dealing with the court and other immortal gates, there was little danger, high standards, and often considerable benefits.

Chu Liang looked at Lin Bei, thinking of his infuriating social skills, and thought that it was indeed a good fit for him to enter the Foreign Affairs Hall.

“I’m not here today to announce good news. I’m still in the probation period, and it’s not certain whether I can stay in the Foreign Affairs Hall in the end.” Lin Bei said, “I’m here to tell you that there’s something that needs your help.”

“What could the Foreign Affairs Hall need from me?” Chu Liang wondered.

“I’m not sure about the specifics. It’s a task assigned by the elder of the Foreign Affairs Hall. I only know that it involves people from the Taiyin Sect.” Lin Bei said.

“The Taiyin Sect?”

Chu Liang couldn’t think of any connection between himself and this most mysterious of the Nine Heavens Immortal Gates, but since there was a message, he had to go with Lin Bei.

“You’ll know what it is when you get there.” Lin Bei suddenly asked with a sly smile, “Do you know why I joined the Foreign Affairs Hall?”

“Because you talk a lot?” Chu Liang retorted.

“…” Lin Bei was speechless for a moment, then said, “It’s because the Foreign Affairs Hall has contact with many disciples from the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, including the Nan Yin Pavilion and the Taiyin Sect, which are full of beautiful women. There are too few sisters on Shu Mountain, and they are all local grass. In the future, I will expand outward.”

“…Blessings.” Chu Liang only said two words.

“My first task today is to liaise with people from the Taiyin Sect. This is a golden opportunity.” Lin Bei said, “You took the lead with Miss Song and Miss Xue before, this time I must be one step ahead.”

Chu Liang immediately looked left and right, then said, “Don’t talk nonsense on Shu Mountain, what did I take the lead in?”

“You took the lead in getting to know them, what did you think?” Lin Bei wondered.

“Ah, never mind.” Chu Liang shook his head, quickly changing the subject, “But I heard that the people of the Taiyin Sect all cultivate the Supreme Heart and are cold and ruthless. Can you handle it?”

“Not everyone can cultivate the Supreme Heart, and there are not a few female cultivators from the Taiyin Sect who have married. ” Lin Bei said confidently, “Even if she is an iceberg, I will melt her with my passion.”

…

During their conversation, the two arrived at Tongtian Peak, where the Foreign Affairs Hall had prepared a quiet room.

As soon as Lin Bei entered the door, his eyes lit up.

Inside the room sat a young woman in black with her hair tied up. Her skin was as white as porcelain, her features were handsome, her eyebrows and eyes were clear, and there was a faint indifference in her eyes.

He had not seen this disciple of the Taiyin Sect before, but now that he saw her, he felt that her appearance and temperament were worthy of her origin.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Lin Bei greeted with a loud laugh, “This beautiful lady must be a disciple of the Taiyin Sect. I’ve heard that the Taiyin Sect is full of beauties, and it’s true as I see it today.”

The woman in black frowned, seeming to want to say something but hesitated.”This is Chu Liang, the person you’re looking for. I’m Lin Bei.” Lin Bei stepped forward, continuing with a smile, “After we finish our business, would you have some time to join us for a meal? How can you come to Shu Mountain and not have a hot pot filled with spicy and fresh flavors! Or perhaps, would you like to enjoy the romantic moonlight of Shu Mountain tonight?”

Chu Liang, with his sharp gaze, noticed her lips move slightly. Reading her lips, it seemed like she was mouthing the words “idiot”.

Lin Bei, however, didn’t notice. Seeing her remain silent, he laughed again, “Don’t be afraid, we disciples of Shu Mountain are always this enthusiastic when treating our friends.”

The woman in black finally couldn’t hold back. Her eyebrows furrowed as she opened her mouth, and with a deep and powerful voice, she coldly spat out a word: “Scram.”

(End of Chapter)