Chapter 157: Empty Joy, Deeper Sorrow

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is not short of a mere million Gold Soul Coins, so Ning Rongrong generously stated, "Everyone, let's split it up."

Feng Xiaotian waved his hands and took a few steps back.

They did not participate in the bidding, nor did they invest any money, so they had no reason to enjoy the fruits of Ning Rongrong's labor.

Wu Qi smiled and said, "Rongrong, you pick first. Take whatever you want, and if you don't want the rest, treat it as activity funds to be used for the team's expenses."

Ning Rongrong nodded.

With her massive collection, there were not many treasures that could catch her eye.

After picking and choosing, she only took about ten pieces of jewelry; as for the gold and silver ornaments, she had no interest in them at all.

"The rest of you, pick two items each; consider it a reward from the sect to everyone," Ning Rongrong said with a smile.

Huo Wu was not pretentious; she picked two pieces of jewelry she liked and put them on.

Chen Ping chose one gemstone and one piece of men's jewelry, intending to give them to his parents after the tournament ended.

The others picked two items at random, and as for the remaining gemstones, Feng Xiaotian took the initiative to help contact a buyer.

"Don't sell them all at once, or the price will be driven down. Keep the money from the sales and the remaining treasures with the captain; whenever the team has expenses in the future, just ask the captain."

Wu Qi smiled and agreed.

After the auction ended, many guests clearly felt that the high-value lots in this auction were significantly fewer than in previous years.

Moreover, even that rumored soul bone of the Spirit System did not appear.

As for this matter, those who knew, knew; those who didn't know wouldn't get any results even if they asked others to inquire.

In short, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family would never announce this matter until they caught the culprit!

Time flew by, and a month had passed.

With money in hand, the members of the Seven Treasure Team, supplemented by the funding from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, were able to spend freely on their subsequent training expenses, and their cultivation resources were even more luxurious.

Today, the group from Shrek Academy returned to Tiandou City.

After helping Tang San hunt for his Soul Ring, the group, with their hearts set on Immortal Herbs, accelerated their return journey.

The moment he returned to the academy, Yu Tianheng immediately contacted people from his family.

That afternoon, members of Yu Tianheng's family branch quietly came to the restaurant outside Shrek Academy to meet with him.

"Uncle Chen, how did it go?" Yu Tianheng asked with a smile.

Yu Chen gave an awkward smile, "Young Master, we searched according to the method you described, and while we did have some gains, they might not be what you wanted."

As he spoke, he wiped his finger across his Soul Guidance Device, and a dozen or so herbs floated before him.

Yu Tianheng could not distinguish Immortal Herbs; he only felt that the spiritual energy of these herbs was somewhat weak, but at least there was some gain.

"Are there any others?" he continued to ask.

Yu Chen shook his head.

What kind of place was Thunder Canyon?

It was surrounded by thunder all year round; it was already very difficult for plants to grow there, let alone Immortal Herbs.

Being able to find a dozen or so was the result of them exploring several caves.

Yu Tianheng didn't pay much attention to it; whether they were Immortal Herbs or not, he would know once Tang San identified them later.

After instructing the other party not to leak the news, he quickly returned to the academy with the "Immortal Herbs."

At this time, inside a conference room at Shrek Academy.

The Shrek group had returned travel-worn and weary, and without even resting, they were waiting here for news of the Immortal Herbs.

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long; in just half an hour, Yu Tianheng returned, a smile on his face as he entered the door.

The group was overjoyed and hurriedly asked, "Tianheng, how many Immortal Herbs are there?"

Yu Tianheng laughed heartily and waved his hand, and the dozen or so "Immortal Herbs" floated above the conference table.

Everyone's eyes lit up as they looked greedily at the "Immortal Herbs."

Tang San steadied himself and analyzed the types and effects of the "Immortal Herbs" one by one.

Before long, his expression stiffened.

Noticing his change, Liu Erlong asked hurriedly, "Xiao San, what exactly is the situation? Tell us quickly."

The eyes of the group turned to him, and Tang San gave a bitter smile, saying with some annoyance, "Sigh, I should have gone along."

Yu Xiaogang immediately felt something was wrong and asked hurriedly, "Xiao San, what exactly is the situation? Are there any Immortal Herbs at all?"

Looking at the fiery gazes of the group, Tang San sighed repeatedly before speaking, "Among these fifteen, six barely reach the category of Pseudo-Immortal Herb."

A Quasi-Immortal Herb is an Immortal Herb that has not yet matured; while a Pseudo-Immortal Herb is not an Immortal Herb itself, but rather a product of high-grade medicinal materials "evolving" because the spiritual energy in their place of growth was too dense.

In terms of medicinal power alone, Immortal Herb > Quasi-Immortal Herb > Pseudo-Immortal Herb.

Hearing the explanation, Yu Xiaogang did not have much emotional fluctuation, "Being able to possess most of the medicinal power of an Immortal Herb is enough for everyone to improve their strength. Xiao San, you divide them according to everyone's situation; adding Erlong and Flender, it should be just enough to finish them."

Tang San remained unmoved.

It wasn't that he didn't want to divide them, but that he couldn't.

Seeing everyone's high spirits, he had to pour a bucket of cold water on them, "Regrettably, these Pseudo-Immortal Herbs are all dead."

"What do you mean?"

Yu Xiaogang's emotions fluctuated, but he managed to restrain himself.

Tang San picked out the six Pseudo-Immortal Herbs and pointed at them one by one, saying, "This Leiming Flower requires gold tools to be harvested, but the person who picked it used the wrong tool and even severed the roots; it is already dead and has completely lost its medicinal efficacy."

"This Longfeng Grass needs to be exposed to sunlight for three hours every day after being picked; the person who picked it must have stuffed it into a Soul Guidance Device and forgotten about the light, causing it to wither."

Treasures full of spiritual energy like Immortal Herbs only have corresponding medicinal efficacy if they are "alive"; once they wither, they can barely reach the efficacy of high-grade medicinal materials.

"This."

Yu Xiaogang staggered two steps; had Liu Erlong not been supporting him, he likely would have fallen flat on his backside.

Among the Shrek Seven Devils, the two who had not received an Immortal Herb stood frozen in place, their expressions stiff.

Xiao Wu felt nothing toward the Immortal Herb, so she did not feel any sense of loss or gain.

Ma Hongjun clutched his head with both hands, knelt on the ground, and wailed, "My Immortal Herb!"

Yu Tianheng, meanwhile, remained dazed in place, unable to calm down for a long time.

Flender's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself: It's over.

Sure enough, the next moment Ma Hongjun suddenly jumped up, his eyes bloodshot, grabbed Oscar, and cursed furiously: "Little Ao, you bastard, give me back my Immortal Herb!"

Oscar had already absorbed the Immortal Herb; how was he supposed to return it?

"Fatty, you were the one who gave the Immortal Herb to me! A gentleman's word is his bond; what kind of behavior is it to go back on your word now?"

"We are all classmates, let's not make this too ugly."

Ma Hongjun was unrelenting, "Little Ao, you're talking bullshit. Even brothers settle accounts clearly; what the hell do you think you are? Hurry up and return the Immortal Herb to me, otherwise don't blame me for being impolite."

At this moment, Yu Xiaogang looked as if he had lost his soul, and Liu Erlong was by his side comforting him; neither of them paid any attention to the infighting that had broken out among the Shrek Seven Devils!

Flender had the intention to mediate, but he was Ma Hongjun's master, so he ought to avoid suspicion at this time; otherwise, Oscar would surely have hard feelings.

He did not want to destroy the cohesion that the Shrek Seven Devils had worked so hard to build.

Tang San smiled bitterly, wanting to offer words of comfort, but he did not know where to begin.

(End of this chapter)