Wet viviparity

Chapter 894 Osmanthus Garden, Heroine Fairy
The moon palace and osmanthus garden are bathed in moonlight, and their fragrance is refreshing.

Unlike the solemnity of the Yiting Pavilion last time, the scenery here is more casual and natural.

Under the dense shade of the sacred laurel tree, the chessboard was formed from a milky white radiance.

Beyond the chessboard, a moon waxes and wanes, a manifestation of the Divine Mother. In the moonlight, a delicate hand materializes, its fingertips holding a warm, white chess piece.

At this moment, the old woman was looking at Ji Ming, who looked like an honest man, with great interest.

"Little Saint, make your move."

The old woman's voice was kind and gentle, with a hint of lazy laughter, but Ji Ming's eyelids twitched when he heard this honorific title.

"Grandma, please don't flatter me. Your shout has diminished my fortune by at least half."

Ji Ming's words were not meant to flatter the Divine Mother, but rather because the Divine Mother was a Primordial Chaos Golden Immortal of Heaven and Earth, who had already attained an inconceivable Dao Fruit. Every word and action of hers was extremely efficacious, and she possessed supreme supernatural powers.

Her calling him "Little Saint" was not something Ji Ming could bear in his current state.

"Hehe, alright then, Great Sage, no, Lingxu Xiaodao, let me see if your shit chess game has any new tricks up its sleeve."

The old woman spoke with a smile, seemingly in a good mood, which made Ji Ming, who was slightly tense, relax a little.

Now that he has attained such cultivation and status, although he is confident enough to remain calm and composed in front of the Divine Mother, what good does that do him? He is not without desires for the Divine Mother; rather, he hopes to maintain and enhance their good personal relationship.

Of course, Ji Ming knew that with such a huge gap, such desire would only bring trouble upon himself, so he cut off this thought as soon as it arose and did not have any improper thoughts.

Ji Ming took a deep breath of the cool osmanthus fragrance, composed himself slightly, and put on a perfectly serious expression. "Before the Goddess, how dare I hide my talents? I can only do my best to make you smile."

After saying that, he picked up the black piece and, using the same trick again, went straight to the point.

He could effortlessly employ various mediocre chess patterns, such as the Foolish Old Man Moving Mountains, the Stone Throwing to Test the Way, and the Blind Turtle Floating on a Piece of Wood. His moves were sometimes reckless, sometimes hesitant, and sometimes seemingly ingenious, but in reality, they cut off his own path to survival.

At that moment, he seemed like a completely different person.

On the chessboard, Ji Ming's black pieces were quickly routed and scattered.

The goddess was indeed amused, and the moon became full, round and bright. She placed her white pieces quickly and accurately, and each time she slew the dragon, she would let out a light laugh. Even the several Chang'e standing around her would cover their mouths and smile.

The moonlight outside the moon phase mirrored her joyful mood, making the entire osmanthus garden a bit brighter.

"To play chess and kill excrement for amusement is truly the greatest pleasure in the world!"

With a single move, the Goddess of the Moon completely severed Ji Ming's "dying" dragon, putting her in a great mood. She had a fairy named Heng'e prepare a cup of osmanthus wine for Ji Ming, saying, "This is much more enjoyable than playing those old fogies' dull games of chess, where we have to fight for control."

Ji Ming breathed a sigh of relief in front of the Divine Mother, appearing quite relaxed and carefree. At the same time, he mobilized his true qi to soothe the exhausted spirit in his eyes.

His terrible chess moves only work because the two Pupil Gods can calculate the Goddess's moves. If this happens a few more times, the two Pupil Gods will probably go on strike, and then his terrible chess moves will be exposed.

Just as Ji Ming was about to drink the celestial wine, he felt a probing gaze from the Divine Mother.

"I've heard that you've caused quite a stir in the mortal realm, joining forces with the Thunder Department and some spirit officials and deities of the Southern Dipper to create a so-called 'Treasured Merit Spirit Court.' Since you've come up with this kind of scheme to please me, you should know that I, the Divine Mother, am most fond of exciting and novel things."

Ji Ming's heart skipped a beat; he knew the main topic was about to be discussed.

Sure enough, when the Goddess suddenly summoned him to play chess, it wasn't entirely because she was interested in his chess skills; she was clearly still interested in the commotion he had caused in the human world.

It's just unclear whether someone of the Goddess's status is simply interested in the matter itself, or in the merits that would result from bringing it to fruition.

If the Divine Mother is interested in accumulating merit and wants to intervene in the Spirit Court, then his matter will be more secure, at least the Spirit Court can be maintained for a longer period of time.

Ji Ming abandoned his "bad chess player, honest person" demeanor, straightened his posture slightly, and began to speak earnestly.

However, before that, he first said something that surprised the Goddess, which made her even more interested.

"Actually, I didn't think about the matter of the Treasure Funds and Merit Spirit Court at first, nor did I expect it to cause such a commotion. At least, I didn't deliberately think about it in this direction."

“There’s seven or eight parts truth in that,” the old woman said. Ji Ming’s expression remained unchanged. He knew that his next words would definitely pique her interest. He said, “My goal has never changed. It has always been to reform the sect. In order to solve the problem once and for all, the first thing I need to do is to let these clans starve to death.”

"Oh?" The old woman was indeed intrigued and said with great interest, "Tell me in detail!"

"I believe the best way to deal with an urgent matter is to not give it a chance to react, to prevent it from fermenting and having an impact, and to let it 'starve' itself."

Lu Zhenjun and his juniors want to carry out reforms and reorganize the mountain gate, but we two have always been tough in our methods and value our own cultivation. We have little energy to waste on the clans. Now, the reforms have been met with strong public opinion and much discussion, which is really annoying. Therefore, we must not give them time to react.

As the saying goes, energy flows wherever the attention of all beings goes.

So I took drastic measures to divert attention and cut off the source of their public opinion energy.

It just so happens that the great calamity in the south has just passed, and everything is in need of rebuilding. Everyone is short of money and supplies, so I took advantage of the situation and created this "Precious Resources and Merit Spiritual Court," also known as the Peace and Prosperity Treasure Coin.

"Is this really something you did by taking advantage of the situation?"

Beside her, a fairy named Chang'e, dressed in plain white robes with wide sleeves and cloud-like hair, asked.

"is her!"

Ji Ming was startled. He seemed to have been too focused on his work and hadn't recognized the fairy he had met twice in the Moon Palace. He thought to himself, "Right, what's her name again? How come I forgot to ask her Taoist name after our last game of chess?"

Last time this fairy helped me find my way, I failed to say her name and made a fool of myself. If I can't say her name again this time, she'll definitely be angry.

Thinking of this, Ji Ming quickly avoided the gaze of the fairy Chang'e. He knew that once a woman held a grudge, it would be difficult to get rid of it for ten or eight years, and if a female immortal who had attained enlightenment held a grudge, it would be difficult to get rid of it for hundreds or thousands of years.

"What was it called again?" he wondered anxiously.

When the fairy Chang'e saw Ling Xuzi's guilty look, she couldn't help but find it amusing. It turned out that this person also knew that what he had done was not right.

She had guided Lingxuzi to the Moon Palace twice, once to the Cold Pool to fetch the White Lotus, and once to the Moon Palace to play chess. She had given him many pointers in her words, so she was practically an acquaintance. Yet, she hadn't even been asked his name. Now, he seemed to be deliberately avoiding her. She was really annoyed and wanted to say a few sarcastic remarks.

Before the words were even finished, Ling Xuzi stood up from beside the chessboard, solemnly took out a small jar, and said to Shenmu, "Last time, I was fortunate to receive the care of this Moon Palace Fairy. This time, I have been summoned and have prepared a jar of Jade King Purple Honey to express my gratitude."

When the fairy saw Lingxuzi take out the small jar, she knew what he was up to.

However, because the goddess was in front of him, he couldn't show his anger for the time being. His original intention was to refuse her even if she asked him to accept it. But when he heard that the jade king's purple honey was such a precious honey, he couldn't help but be a little surprised.

“Jade King Purple Honey.” Taiyin Shenmu murmured, then said, “I remember that this Jade King Purple Honey used to be an ingredient in the elixir for becoming an immortal, but now it is the main ingredient in the spirit pill, used by human cultivators for Taiyin body refinement.”

"Exactly."

Another fairy, Heng'e, laughed and said, "Sister Ying Shu is truly blessed. This jar of Jade King Purple Honey is not something you can carry around with you. It must have been specially selected for you. I never thought that even though our palace's Heng'e fairies are known for their cold demeanor and aloofness, someone would still come up with such a fawning offer."

"Little Saint Lingxu, you'd better think this through carefully. There are probably only two or three jars of this purple honey in the mortal realm. If you deliver it to Sister Ying Shu, you won't even get a smile from her. However, I would like to be closer to you, sister."

Ji Ming was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected that there would be such a sharp-tongued fairy in the desolate and lonely Moon Palace. Moreover, the Goddess seemed to be exceptionally tolerant, completely unconcerned about the female fairy's unrestrained words.

He chuckled distantly and handed the Jade King Purple Honey to the fairy with whom he had met twice and formed a good relationship.

"The beautiful fairy!"

Upon hearing Ling Xuzi's casual address, the fairy Heng'e revealed a mysterious smile on her thin lips.

This smile was a sign that Ling Xuzi had finally heard her name from someone else. Although her anger had not completely subsided, she still accepted the jar of purple honey.

She accepted the purple honey because it was indeed a valuable gift, and most importantly, Ling Xuzi's status was now quite high. Whether or not he had prepared this gift on purpose, it was truly commendable that he had gone to such lengths. She could not act on her own whims.

Seeing that Fairy Ying Shu was so understanding, Ji Ming did not feel sorry for the jar of Jade King Purple Honey that he had just acquired.

There are two jars of Jade King Purple Honey, which come from the Thousand Flower Cave of the Crying Ancestor.

After the Old Ancestor Kuma was eliminated by him, although the Thousand Flower Cave of Qingzhen Temple in the Western Wilderness was not seized by him, the rare treasures inside naturally belonged to him. Therefore, although Ji Ming knew that they were valuable, he did not feel too bad about it, since it was not something he had worked hard to create.

(End of this chapter)