I used folk talismans to ward off the evil spirit.

Chapter 104 Gifts Abound, Gospel Amidst Thorns (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Jiang Jun accepted the mistletoe and was preparing to leave the secret room with Su Tie when a gasp suddenly came from outside the door.

"Divine skill!" The speaker was Du Mingyuan, the botany expert transferred from the Institute of Life Sciences.

He stood outside the doorway with his notebook in hand, followed by a group of researchers in white coats.

Clearly, the Department of Mysteries has interconnected monitoring systems throughout the area. They learned of the purification process as soon as it was completed and rushed over.

Du Mingyuan's gaze fell on the mountain poplar spirit tree: "Mr. Juntian, the spiritual energy fluctuations of this mountain poplar seem to be even purer than those of the otherworldly spirit tree from before."

Jiang Jun nodded slightly, about to speak, when suddenly his gaze sharpened, and he stared at him for a moment: "You can sense the fluctuations of spiritual energy?"

Du Mingyuan nodded: "After spending a long time with that otherworldly spiritual plant, I gradually became able to sense the presence of spiritual energy, which is very helpful for my research."

The other party clearly had no cultivation; he was neither a demon tamer nor an expert in the art of suppressing objects.

Jiang Jun had only seen a similar situation with his roommate, Kong Lingchen.

Kong Lingchen was one of the nine people who entered the Cangtian Palace the first time it opened, and whom Jiang Jun jokingly called the "Nine Great Saints".

He thought for a moment and suggested to Du Mingyuan, "Professor Du, if you are interested, you might want to explore the art of suppressing objects. I think you should..."

There must be some karmic connection.

Du Mingyuan, however, did not seem very interested.

Fearing an awkward atmosphere, Su Tie took the initiative to speak, pointing to the mountain poplar tree and saying, "Professor Du, please hurry up and record the data, and then organize the report and send a copy to the headquarters."

Du Mingyuan nodded, then approached the mountain poplar tree and carefully used the instrument to detect something.

Su Tie turned to Jiang Jun and whispered, "Senior, the Otherworldly Spirit Tree project that Professor Du's team is responsible for researching is progressing smoothly overall. We've already had basic communication with it and gained some trust."

"I believe their research on the Mountain Aspen Spirit Tree will progress even faster. I will have Xiao Cai inform you as soon as there is a new breakthrough."

Jiang Jun nodded and was about to speak when hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

Liu Yan and Nie Xiaoyu walked in side by side. Cai Liang followed behind them.

"Director Su, I heard that you've purified two more Lord-level Mystic Plants?"

Liu Yan's gaze swept over the newly rejuvenated poplar tree, then fell on the emerald green branches entwined in Jiang Jun's arms. A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, but she did not ask any further questions.

Su Tie briefly explained: "The sap of this mountain aspen spirit tree can reduce the degree of transformation in the transcendent realm, which is of great significance."

"Another mistletoe spirit plant, which grew alongside the aspen spirit tree, was also purified along with the senior."

Liu Yan and Nie Xiaoyu exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

Liu Yan took a deep breath, suppressing her excitement, and bowed deeply to Jiang Jun: "Senior, you have once again given our Qingjiang City Division a great gift."

Nie Xiaoyu also bowed, without saying anything more.

The two tacitly avoided mentioning mistletoe. They could both tell that it seemed particularly close to Jiang Jun and would most likely follow him.

Since Su Tie didn't say much, they wisely refrained from asking.

"Director Liu, we're old friends, there's no need for such formalities," Jiang Jun said with a wave of his hand and a smile.

He waved to Cai Liang behind him, took out a bunch of tricolor berries from his sleeve, and handed them to Cai Liang.

The berries glistened under the light, their crimson, golden, and white hues complementing each other, emitting a faint, sweet aroma.

"This is a spiritual fruit from mistletoe, which can nourish the three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit," Jiang Jun said to Cai Liang. "Take it back and consume it, and diligently practice it, striving to complete the Fusion Realm cultivation as soon as possible and advance to the Refinement Realm."

Cai Liang accepted the gift with both hands and carefully wrapped it in paper: "Thank you, Teacher. I will definitely work hard and live up to your expectations."

The group greeted Du Mingyuan and left the secret room. As they passed the reception room, they suddenly heard hurried footsteps at the end of the corridor.

Jiang Jun turned his head and saw Old Jiang leading a burly middle-aged man, walking quickly over.

The man was in his early forties, with a square face, thick eyebrows, and a steady gaze. He wore a black jacket and had an air of military bearing about him.

"Mr. Juntian," Old Jiang bowed and stepped aside to introduce, "This is Comrade Meng Guangping from the Qidong Province Supernatural Affairs Division's Action Team."

"He led the team to provide support to Santos this time. When he heard that you were coming to the city headquarters, he drove all the way from the province."

Meng Guangping stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and bowed deeply: "Greetings, Senior Juntian!"

The members of the Department of Mysteries greeted each other.

Su Tie seemed to have anticipated this, and promptly led everyone into the reception room.

Meng Guangping handed a briefcase to Jiang Jun: "Senior, this is the spoils of war you obtained in Santos City after killing two Lord-level monsters. Inside are three Lord-level monster artifacts and two orbs of extraordinary essence."

"There were originally some elite-level strange creatures, but there were too many to carry. The Samba Kingdom officials took it upon themselves to convert them into two additional clusters of extraordinary essence, which are also included here."

"The Samba government entrusted me to deliver this to you and to convey their respects. If it weren't for your intervention, the city of Santos would likely have been completely destroyed."

"Thanks to you, the Samba Kingdom has recently provided us with a lot of valuable diplomatic support. The Commander-in-Chief also expresses his gratitude to you."

Jiang Jun took the briefcase, sensed it, and finding no hidden danger, didn't open it to examine it closely. He casually put it into his sleeve and said, "It's been a trouble for Captain Meng to make this trip. Please give my regards to them."

"I will definitely convey your message." Meng Guangping nodded, then took out a small, palm-sized, silver-gray box and presented it with both hands.

"This was entrusted to me by Mr. Enrique. He said it was a personal token of his appreciation for saving Santos and his life."

Jiang Jun opened the small box.

Inside lay a silvery-white thorn branch, about a foot long, winding and twisting, its surface covered with sharp thorns, gleaming with a cold, silvery light.

A drop of bright red blood still clung to the thorn, seemingly congealed, gleaming brightly under the lamplight.

Within the blood droplet, a certain power slowly circulated, and one could vaguely hear a magnificent gospel.

This is a divine artifact of the Dawn level.

Jiang Jun glanced at it, but didn't examine it carefully in front of Meng Guangping. He simply closed the box and put it into his sleeve.

He had saved a city, and accepted the gift with a clear conscience: "Please thank Mr. Enrique for me."

"I will." Meng Guangping nodded solemnly, then took out a wooden box from his pocket, opened it, and handed it over with both hands, his tone becoming increasingly sincere.

"Senior, this is just a small token of my appreciation to thank you for saving our support team's lives."

"This piece of cinnabar king was acquired in my early years and has been treasured ever since. Now that I think about it, it seems to be connected to your way of warding off evil spirits."

The so-called "King of Cinnabar" is actually a piece of cinnabar ore with excellent appearance and large size.

The one Meng Guangping gave was about the size of an egg, with countless tiny crystals on its surface, tightly clustered together like red gemstones, refracting a brilliant bright red light under the lamp.

Jiang Jun reached out and took it. The ore weighed about seven ounces, and it felt heavy in his hand. He could vaguely feel a warm aura spreading from his palm.

Since he pioneered the way of suppressing evil spirits, the cinnabar of Blue Star has contained the power to suppress evil spirits and has the ability to ward off evil.

The power to suppress negative influences in this piece of cinnabar is exceptionally strong.

Recalling Marcos's experience of using the cinnabar that revealed the extraordinary phenomenon to draw the "Divine Rooster Talisman," which resulted in the creation of fire feathers, Jiang Jun guessed that this Cinnabar King might also be a similar treasure.

He closed the lid and put the Cinnabar King into his sleeve: "Thank you, Captain Meng. This item may be of great use to me, so I will accept it."

Meng Guangping breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this: "I'm glad you like it, senior."

After some more casual conversation, Jiang Jun left the Department of Divine Wonders.

Instead of going straight home, he summoned the eerie energy and descended into the Mirror Realm of Ghosts with a thought.

It's still that cat cafe on Changning Street.

Jiang Jun took out four orbs of extraordinary essence from his briefcase, activated the talisman to suppress the object, and used his true energy to refine them. It took him a lot of effort to completely eliminate the strangeness within them.

He used his divine sense and, following the connection of the Dao of Suppression, guided Zhao Jing and Marcos over.

The figures of the two emerged from the void.

Zhao Jing was still wearing her school uniform, holding a pen in her hand with ink stains on her knuckles, clearly having been halfway through her homework when she was suddenly pulled over.

He blinked, quickly realized what was happening, tucked the pen behind his ear, and stood up respectfully: "Teacher!"

"Greetings, teacher." Marcos, holding Fire Feather in his arms, bowed respectfully.

Huo Yu, still half asleep, giggled twice in greeting to Jiang Jun, then nestled her head into Marcos's arms and shrank back inside.

Jiang Jun stared thoughtfully at Huo Yu: "Has it been sleeping a lot lately?"

Marcos nodded: "Yeah, he's probably been working too hard lately and is catching up on sleep all at once —"

Jiang Jun's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't say anything more.

He took out a clump of extraordinary essence and handed it to Marcos: "This is extraordinary essence, a drop from a Lord-level monster."

"This batch has already been refined by me, so there's no need to worry about any strange influences. It can be used directly to accelerate the improvement of the quality and power of the talisman."

Marcos hesitated for a moment, then instinctively declined, "Teacher, I—I'm the last to join the school and haven't made any contributions, how can I accept something so valuable—"

Jiang Jun said calmly, "It's nothing special. I'm giving it to you, so just accept it. Cai Liang and Zhao Jing both have some, so it's not a favor. You don't need to feel guilty."

Zhao Jing nodded repeatedly, took out the extraordinary essence he had used up, and indicated that his teacher's words were true.

Marcos was still somewhat hesitant.

Jiang Jun added with a smile, "This extraordinary essence is also beneficial to Huo Yu."

Before he finished speaking, Fire Feather poked its head out from Marcos's arms, stared at the pale golden light, made a "coo" sound, and pecked at the back of Marcos's hand.

Marcos immediately changed his mind, stopped refusing, and took the extraordinary essence, placing it close to his body.

Jiang Jun then took out a bunch of tricolor berries, gave a few to Zhao Jing and Marcos, briefly explained their usage and effects, and then instructed them: "The situation on Blue Star is changing rapidly. After you go back, take good care of them and do not slack off in your cultivation. Strive to break through to the next realm as soon as possible."

The two agreed in unison.

Jiang Jun continued, "I summoned you here for these two matters. Do you have any other questions? If not, I will send you back."

The two had only recently received instruction at the Juntian Hall, so there was naturally nothing to ask further.

Marcos, holding Huoyu, bowed deeply to Jiang Jun, and Zhao Jing also bowed respectfully.

Jiang Jun waved his hand, and with a thought, sent them back to the real world.

*

When Jiang Jun returned home, the door to the greenhouse was half-open, and rustling sounds could be heard from inside.

Turmeric and ginger juice sensed his presence and came out to greet him with a group of little creatures.

As usual, Jiang Huang leaped up and hung on Jiang Jun's chest, refusing to come down.

Ginger Juice was a step behind, but not in a hurry. It strolled over, nudged Jiang Jun's calf with its head, and then squatted down against his trouser leg, its tail wagging slowly.

The other little ones also swarmed over.

Jiang Jun released Yang Zhi and Zhu Zhi from the "Sleeve Universe".

Being new to the place, the two were a little shy. Looking at so many other spirits of their kind, they huddled at Jiang Jun's feet, not daring to move, their bodies trembling slightly.

Ginger juice curiously leaned over and sniffed them.

Niu Zhi and Quan Zhi also came over, rubbing their heads against their bodies and making low mooing and barking noises.

Sensing the presence of their kind, Yangzhi and Zhuzhi gradually relaxed, responding timidly and nuzzling Jiangzhi's neck with their heads.

Seeing that they got along well, Jiang Jun nodded and decided to continue the previous naming method, giving the two new little ones the surname Zhi and their names based on the twelve earthly branches.

He ruffled Yang Zhi's hair: "From now on, your name will be Zhiwei." Then he patted Zhu Zhi's back: "Your name will be Zhihai."

He paused for a moment, then added, "For convenience, we'll still call Zhiwei 'Sheep Zhi' normally. 'Pig Zhi' doesn't sound good, so we'll call her 'Pun Zhi' instead."

The two little ones were very excited to receive their names. Like the previous ones, they obediently knelt down in front of Jiang Jun, kowtowed three times, and then happily got up.

With the addition of new companions, Jiang Zhi stopped bothering Jiang Jun and, with her four little brothers, explored and played in the flower room.

The four Huangjing boys couldn't resist joining in.

Only Turmeric peeked out from Jiang Jun's arms, tilted its head to look at the mistletoe hanging on Jiang Jun's arm, and made an "ah-bee" sound, as if asking "Who is this?"

Jiang Jun took the mistletoe off his arm, gently held it in his palm, and looked down at it.

The mistletoe curled up, its leaves drooping slightly, as if it were somewhat uneasy about the unfamiliar environment.

It was clearly transformed from a ferocious lord-level monster, far more powerful than Jiang Huang and the others, yet at this moment it looked exactly like a pitiful little thing.

Jiang Jun thought for a moment and decided to give it a name first: "From now on, you will be Sanbao Mistletoe, nicknamed Sanbao. Do you like it?"

Mistletoe paused slightly.

A moment later, a thin twig quietly stretched out, wrapped half a circle around his finger, and gently rubbed against it.

The leaves unfurled, gleaming with a vibrant green luster under the light, as if nodding or chuckling.

Jiang Jun then hung it on the flower stand on the windowsill and patted its leaves: "Stay here and play with them. This will be your home from now on."

If it's a common mistletoe, you'll naturally need to find a tree to plant it on so it can absorb nutrients.

However, spiritual plants can absorb sunlight on their own and transform it into spiritual energy, so there is no need for such trouble.

The mistletoe swayed its branches and leaves at Jiang Jun before quietly hanging on the windowsill.

Before long, the concentration of spiritual energy in the greenhouse suddenly rose to a new level.

The low-level spiritual plants planted here stretched out their branches and leaves, and some even bloomed small flowers, filling the room with a sweet fragrance.

Turmeric jumped down from Jiang Jun's arms, climbed onto the windowsill with a "tap tap tap" sound, reached out and touched its leaves, and made some "ah bee ah bee" sounds.

Sanbao extended a thin twig, touched Jianghuang's finger, and then withdrew it.

Turmeric clapped his hands with joy and turned to announce to the ginger juice and the others that a new friend had joined their family.

Looking at his increasingly lively home, Jiang Jun felt a little worried: "The house seems a bit small?"

When this house was built, ordinary families in Qingjiang City didn't yet have the concept of large single-level apartments.

The largest apartment that Jiang Jun's parents planned, which had three bedrooms and two living rooms, was rented out entirely.

His current two-bedroom apartment was originally quite spacious, but with so many spiritual plants and monsters in the house, it feels a bit cramped.

"If only there were a way to travel freely to and from the Root Land without going through the Abyss of Deception. There's plenty of room to maneuver at the Nine Heavens Palace—"