Chapter 369: The Uses of Tianfeng Peppers

Last time, Feng Yue dismissed Tianfeng peppers as unimportant, but this time he rushed over in the middle of the night, using his spiritual energy to help and even kindly warning Feng Zhengyang. Undoubtedly, these Tianfeng peppers had a special significance for Feng Yue—far more than just being tasty. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dismissed them last time. He did this only to prevent Qin Mengtai and the others from noticing anything. If it were merely for taste, there would be no need for such effort.

With his thoughts racing, Lin Dong immediately said with a smile, “I thought Senior Feng wasn’t interested in Tianfeng peppers!”

“The aftertaste is good. Since we couldn’t get Wanling peppers, we’ll have to make do with Tianfeng peppers,” Feng Yue said nonchalantly. “In my life, I have few preferences. Aside from cultivation and crafting, I just like eating spicy peppers.”

“I’m glad Senior Feng likes them!” Seeing that he couldn’t extract any useful information, Lin Dong wasn’t anxious. He entered the mobile cabinet and took out about half of a box of stored Tianfeng peppers—roughly a hundred pieces.

Seeing the table covered with Tianfeng peppers, Feng Yue’s expression lit up, but soon doubt flashed in his crimson pupils.

“Is that all?”

“That’s all the Tianfeng peppers I have. I usually keep a small amount with me—they don’t take up much space and might come in handy later. If Senior Feng thinks it’s not enough, I can ask the chef for more,” Lin Dong explained with a smile. “These peppers are one of the ingredients for our inn’s signature dish, so we keep quite a stock. Getting out about ten pounds shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Ten pounds?” Feng Yue’s thoughts flashed swiftly. Then, casually, he said, “Ten pounds should be enough for me to chew on for three to five days…”

“I didn’t expect Senior Feng to have such a high appetite for spicy peppers.” Hearing this, Lin Dong immediately realized Feng Yue was trying to find out the origin of the peppers. With a helpless expression, he said, “Unfortunately, the source of these Tianfeng peppers is thousands of miles away. Though they’re not spiritual materials, their growing environment is extremely unique. Only a few can be harvested from hundreds of acres of weeds. Even with the help of local residents, the people I sent can gather only about ten pounds in a month. If Senior Feng still wants more, the next batch won’t arrive for another three months—about sixty pounds this time.”

“Is it that complicated? Where is it?” Feng Yue pressed.

Lin Dong was helpless. He had thought that Feng Yue, trying to hide his desire for the peppers, wouldn’t ask for the exact location until he got it. At most, he would try to find out again during their next meeting. He didn’t expect Feng Yue to be so eager.

“Tianfeng peppers are the main ingredient in our inn’s six signature dishes. Their origin…” Lin Dong hesitated. He would never reveal the origin. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t be able to see Feng Yue again.
A fierce look flashed briefly in Feng Yue’s crimson eyes, but it disappeared soon after. Then, he waved his hand generously and said, “If Brother Lin can’t say it, then forget it. I was just asking casually.”
“Thank you for your understanding, Senior Feng,” Lin Dong said with a bow, feeling greatly relieved. Although he guessed that Feng Yue might not dare to use force since helping him reach the Heart Reversal stage had exhausted his spiritual energy, and since he hadn’t revealed his desire for Tianfeng peppers, there was still a chance Feng Yue might try to get the origin information, it was just a guess. He could only be truly at ease once it was confirmed.
If Feng Yue really attacked suddenly, Lin Dong could kick him out of the inn immediately. But the trouble that would follow would be significant. At the very least, if Feng Yue caused a fuss, the inn would have to close for a while.
“Alright, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving first.” Feng Yue glanced casually at the Tianfeng peppers on the table and asked, “Do you have any storage spirit rings? Give me one.”
“Oops, my head!” Lin Dong tapped his head and took out a storage spirit ring from the mobile cabinet, handing it to Feng Yue. He asked, “Senior Feng, could you wait a moment while I go find the chef to bring over over ten pounds of Tianfeng peppers?”
“No need. Ten pounds isn’t enough to savor properly. It would be frustrating to run out right when I’m enjoying them. It’s better to get some now to satisfy my cravings, and then enjoy a proper feast when those sixty pounds arrive.” Feng Yue waved his hand, took the storage spirit ring, and after it recognized him, he scooped up all the Tianfeng peppers on the table and put them into the ring. Suddenly, he looked up and asked, “By the way, could Brother Lin send a few workers to the origin place to collect more at once?”
Lin Dong shook his head apologetically. “I’m afraid not. Tianfeng peppers take half a year to mature, and they can only grow on the grassland where they originate. In one harvest, there’s only about sixty pounds, and I’ve already brought all of it here.”
“Can’t you plant them yourself?” Feng Yue couldn’t help but ask.

“Logically, it’s not possible. Our Lin’s Inn currently has over a dozen branches, and we need around fifty pounds of Tianfeng Peppers every year. Right now it’s sufficient, but once we open more branches, it will definitely be insufficient. Our Lin’s Inn has eight signature dishes in total, and six of them use Tianfeng Peppers as the main ingredient, so their importance is quite high. I’ve hired many old farmers to help with cultivation, but after almost a year, we still haven’t succeeded.” Lin Dong didn’t give a definite answer, saying helplessly, “I tried it for two months by offering a batch of spiritual materials as compensation and enlisted a warrior who had experience growing such plants. Whether it will work or not still depends on his reply.”

“In that case, I’ll come back in a few months. Brother Lin, could you keep fifty pounds of these Tianfeng Peppers for me?” Feng Yue asked.

“Sacrificing a little profit is no big deal. I run an inn mainly because I enjoy opening new branches. Money isn’t important as long as my signature dishes remain intact. Since it’s Senior Feng who’s asking, there’s no reason to refuse,” Lin Dong said with a smile.

“Then see you in three months, Brother Lin.” Feng Yue bowed his chained hands toward Lin Dong before suddenly shooting toward the half-closed paper window and disappearing without a trace.

After confirming that Feng Yue had left, Lin Dong opened the map in the inn’s system. He then closed the paper window, his gaze turning slightly focused.

He reviewed the conversation with Feng Yue and slowly organized the information he had gathered from it. First, Tianfeng Peppers clearly held great appeal for Feng Yue; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so cautious and willing to expend his spiritual energy to help. Lin Dong believed that during these few months since Feng Yue left, he would surely try every means to gather something valuable for him, aiming to earn his gratitude and build a relationship so he could later find out where the Tianfeng Peppers came from.

The question was, what exactly made Tianfeng Peppers so attractive to Feng Yue? Lin Dong thought this was the key to everything.

Given Feng Yue’s current situation, the most important thing was to find a way to break the restriction. Only then could he truly be free to act as he wished. Otherwise, without the Wanling Peppers, his exhausted spiritual energy would make him nothing more than a stronger old man—at best, he could rely on the spiritual peppers he had collected to avoid danger when encountering warriors. But for someone as powerful as Feng Yue, that would be no different from being trapped. It would be better for him to return to the Tianjian Sect, where the abundance of Wanling Peppers could support him. Although he couldn’t cultivate, at least he could maintain a strength equivalent to that of a fifth or sixth level cultivator.

Again, for Feng Yue, the second most important thing should be to get rid of those unknown chains on his body. No matter how strong one is, being restrained will inevitably affect their strength to some extent. Moreover, walking around with bracelets and shackles on all day would be embarrassing. Lin Dong wondered that if it were him, and he had nothing else to worry about, apart from restoring his strength, his top priority would be to find a way to break those chains, even if they were ninth-tier spiritual artifacts.

But now, it seems Feng Yue is far less enthusiastic about removing the restrictions and chains on his body than about obtaining large amounts of Tianfeng Peppers. Lin Dong couldn’t help but tap his head—since he saw no way to break the restrictions and chains, had he shifted his interest to eating peppers?

If Feng Yue had truly given up on restoring his strength, he wouldn’t have escaped. In the Tianjian Sect, aside from Qin Mengtai, no one would dare to show disrespect to him, as could be seen from Mo Jianchen’s attitude. With an abundance of Wanling Peppers and relatively loose supervision from the Tianjian Sect, life outside would definitely not be as comfortable as life there.

After much thought, and considering Feng Yue’s deliberate concealment of his attitude toward Tianfeng Peppers from Qin Mengtai last time, it seemed there was no other possibility except that Tianfeng Peppers might help him restore his strength.

However, Tianfeng Peppers are just ordinary plants. If Feng Yue consumed spiritual peppers and could indeed absorb the spiritual energy contained within them, as Mo Jianchen guessed, then Tianfeng Peppers would be useless.

The only possibility was that Feng Yue couldn’t absorb the spiritual energy from spiritual peppers—but rather… it had something to do with the peppers themselves. Most likely, it was related to spiciness. Compared to spiritual peppers, Tianfeng Peppers’ only advantage was their spiciness.

Perhaps there was some spiritual technique that used spiciness to stimulate the meridians to absorb external spiritual energy on their own. Only this could barely explain it.

After thinking for a while more and confirming that there was no more plausible explanation, Lin Dong set it aside. Whatever the reason, he could figure it out from Feng Yue later. The initiative was in his hands. If he really wanted to know, he wasn’t afraid of not finding out. Besides, his expectation of Feng Yue was merely to use him as a trump card for the Lin’s Inn. If Feng Yue’s ability to absorb spiritual energy through the spiciness of Tianfeng Peppers couldn’t coexist with the spiritual energy in his meridians to aid in cultivation, the reason didn’t matter to him.

Next, it was time to take precautions against Feng Zhengyang. A cold glint flashed in Lin Dong’s eyes. Unless anything unexpected happened, the time to act would still be more than four months later—he had to wait for Yun Lan to emerge before he could receive instructions from Qin Mengtai. With his strength already at the first stage of the Heart Reversal period, as long as he wasn’t in a breakthrough phase, he could easily handle any surprise attacks. Just in case, he still couldn’t consume the Hanfeng Fruit and Wenledan—those spiritual fruits and elixirs that he was reluctant to waste due to their potency. After all, the Hanfeng Fruit and Wenledan wouldn’t run away. Even if his strength improved after four months, consuming them now would waste some of their potency, so it would be better to wait until he reached the second stage of the Heart Reversal period. What troubled Lin Dong was what to do with Feng Zhengyang—kill him or not? That was the question.