When Golden Finger Meets Salted Fish

The lightning tribulation had finally concluded, and Jianbing had returned to normal. Only then did the people from the Buddha Sect gather around.

Fearing that these people might frighten her newly reborn, diminutive Senior Sister, the White Tiger transformed back into human form with a shimmer and carefully sheltered the tiny, fluffy creature in her palm. Only then did she give a slight nod to the group of elderly monks.

The Golden Peng still couldn't understand how a mixed-blood Swan Goose could undergo the Phoenix Nirvana rebirth, but seeing that the Buddha Sect members had all gathered around, he temporarily set aside these thoughts. He stepped forward and spoke on Jiang Mo's behalf, explaining how she had escorted Tan Xin back. As for the Swan Goose's tribulation, he himself hadn't figured it out, so he refrained from commenting further.

Regardless, she had come to escort the Buddha's Disciple, and considering Jianbing's special status, the Buddha Sect members were quite courteous. Sect Leader Huining personally came forward and immediately expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, Jianbing, for escorting Tan Xin back to the temple."

Jiang Mo naturally felt embarrassed to accept his thanks and replied, "Sect Leader is too kind. Tan Xin sacrificed himself for all living beings; escorting him back was simply my duty."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the topic inevitably turned to the recent lightning tribulation. When she first discovered her Senior Sister in trouble, Jiang Mo had been completely focused on the matter, paying no attention to her surroundings. Looking around now, the location where her Senior Sister had undergone the tribulation was indeed problematic. The chaotic lightning strikes had severely damaged the Buddha Sect's buildings, leaving broken walls and ruins almost everywhere.

Despite her thick skin, Jiang Mo couldn't help feeling guilty and embarrassed when faced with such a scene. Nevertheless, her Senior Sister's responsibility was her responsibility, and she quite conscientiously took on the burden of compensation: "Although the tribulation was unexpected, the current state of your temple is not unrelated to me... I will pay for all damages according to their value."

Jiang Mo spoke without the slightest hesitation. Though she had lived at the Xuanqing Sect for eighty years and was always stingy with the system, she wasn't actually short of rare treasures and spirit stones in the cultivation world.

This stemmed from the divine beasts' treasure-hunting abilities. During her expedition to the Canglán Secret Realm, she had acquired numerous treasures, from Spirit Crystals to Dragon Skeleton, all of which were incredibly rare. However, precisely because these items were so valuable, she was reluctant to use them casually. Therefore, after leaving the sect upon reaching maturity, while searching for her Senior Sister, she hadn't forgotten to fill her own purse... As an aside, this was how she acquired the spirit vein in her space.

Of course, besides the spirit vein, Jiang Mo had collected many magical devices and ores, so paying compensation was trivial for her.

Huining wasn't blind; he had seen the disastrous state of the surroundings. However, he showed no anger, but instead magnanimously said: "Jianbing escorted Tan Xin back to the temple, which is already a favor to the Buddha Sect. These are just minor damages; Jianbing need not worry about them."

The elderly monk, with his white eyebrows and beard, was quite generous and spoke with complete sincerity.

Jiang Mo thought that since the Buddha Sect was wealthy and prosperous, they indeed wouldn't miss this small amount. She didn't insist further, only apologizing and expressing her thanks once more.

Setting aside the damage caused by the lightning tribulation, Huining's gaze fell on the small Swan Goose that Jiang Mo was protecting in her hands. Before he could say anything, he noticed how Jiang Mo was protectively shielding the chick. Looking at her expression, she seemed three parts vigilant, resembling someone who had encountered a child trafficker, afraid the elderly monk might ask to keep the Swan Goose.

Unfortunately, this world wasn't conducive to divine beasts' survival. Before finding Jianbing at the Xuanqing Sect, no new divine beasts had been born for thousands of years. Yet sects had grown accustomed to nurturing divine beasts, and although the Golden Peng wasn't very old, the Buddha Sect wouldn't object to supporting another divine beast.

Huining found Jiang Mo's cautious demeanor both amusing and exasperating. He didn't know the Little Swan Goose's true identity and couldn't imagine she was a Xuanqing Sect disciple. However, the Golden Peng had heard Jiang Mo's form of address to the Little Swan Goose and had some guesses about her identity.

Under these circumstances, fearing Jiang Mo might misunderstand, the Golden Peng couldn't say much more, so he simply stated: "The Little Swan Goose has just undergone Phoenix Nirvana, returning to her infancy, and is currently quite weak. She should rest properly. Jianbing, please take good care of her, and if you need anything, feel free to ask me. As fellow divine beasts, I can offer what meager assistance I can."

The Little Swan Goose's bloodline wasn't very pure, having originated from atavism, so the Golden Peng wasn't sure if she counted as a divine beast. However, Jiang Mo was being sufficiently protective, and while he wouldn't persuade her otherwise, he wasn't truly foolish and naturally knew what to say and what not to say at this moment.

Jiang Mo hadn't considered the bloodline issue, and her eyes brightened at the Golden Peng's words. She said, "That's perfect, I was just wondering how to raise a Swan Goose." She added, "I've never raised a young one before."

Of course she hadn't—a White Tiger less than a hundred years old would still be considered a nursing infant among divine beasts.

However, the salted fish that the system always complained about was truly an anomaly among divine beasts. Not only did she have good talent and cultivate quickly, but she was also extraordinarily diligent. A divine beast reaching maturity before turning a hundred probably hadn't existed from ancient times until now... When the Golden Peng first heard this, he couldn't help but sigh, but then he thought that the current cultivation world wasn't suitable for divine beasts to survive, so ascending to the upper realm earlier might not be a bad thing.

Young cubs naturally wouldn't know how to raise cubs, and the Golden Peng didn't find Jiang Mo's concerns problematic. He turned his palm over to reveal a jade bottle and said: "When Phoenixes undergo rebirth through fire, although they become smaller, they don't truly revert to cubs and grow up all over again. They've simply consumed too much energy; once replenished, their growth will be much faster than normal cubs. This is sweet dew water; you can give it to the Little Swan Goose first."

As he spoke, his hand tossed the jade bottle, which landed in Jiang Mo's arms. She caught it and opened it to look inside—despite its plain name, sweet dew water was a rare treasure in the Buddhist realm. As soon as Jiang Mo removed the stopper, a rich spiritual energy carrying vibrant vitality rushed toward her.

For a moment, Jiang Mo even felt a sense of familiarity, as if she were seeing the Azure Essence Spirit Marrow that Divine Lord Zhiming had given her years ago.

Just as this thought crossed her mind, she felt movement in her palm—the Little Swan Goose had sensed the spiritual energy contained in the sweet dew water and was looking around curiously, seemingly wanting to indulge herself.

With a slight shift in thought, Jiang Mo put away the sweet dew water, not giving it to the Little Swan Goose yet. The latter watched helplessly as she stored the jade bottle, and the spiritual energy permeating the air rapidly dissipated. The entire bird looked distressed, and the small gaze she directed at Jiang Mo was extremely resentful.

Truthfully, Jiang Mo had never imagined her Senior Sister could have this side to her, and she found it both amusing and heartwarming. Nevertheless, she hardened her heart, covered the Little Swan Goose's eyes with her hand, and continued asking the Golden Peng for cub-raising experience: "Besides sweet dew water, what else can she eat?" After a pause, she added, "She's so small now; if I feed her carelessly, won't she get indigestion?"

The little tiger had grown up rather haphazardly, having eaten precious herbs and materials, taken pills, and even tried iron pot stewed goose. However, the reason she could grow so quickly wasn't primarily due to her diet, but rather thanks to the game system. Otherwise, relying solely on cultivation, no matter how diligent she was, she couldn't possibly have progressed from Qi Refinement to Fusion in less than a hundred years.

However, her Senior Sister didn't have a game system as an external aid, and her recovery process couldn't be considered normal growth. Jiang Mo had no experience and didn't dare act recklessly.

The sweet dew water that the Golden Peng provided was truly as clear as water. Jiang Mo felt it wasn't substantial enough and worried that eating only this would leave her Senior Sister hungry. But considering the Little Swan Goose's current size, she really didn't know what to feed her. Surely she couldn't feed a bird worms?

Fortunately, Jiang Mo didn't voice this thought, or the Golden Peng, being a bird himself, might have slapped her with his wings!

The Golden Peng's method of raising cubs was quite blunt. He told Jiang Mo: "Don't worry unnecessarily. Just place things rich in spiritual energy in front of the Little Swan Goose—she can digest whatever she can eat. But before that, feeding her some sweet dew water won't go wrong."

Jiang Mo nodded with partial understanding, completely forgetting that the White Tiger belonged to the metal element, and almost all the treasures she had found were mineral-based...

༻༺❀༻✧⋆｡°✩☽༓☾✩°｡⋆✧༺❀༻༺

The lightning tribulation had destroyed a large portion of the Buddha Sect's guest quarters, but afterward, the sect didn't drive them away.

Jiang Mo had originally come to escort Tan Xin and hadn't planned to stay long at the Buddha Sect. However, things rarely go as planned. Now, concerned that the Swan Goose was still small, she feared that rushing their journey might lead to accidents, so she could only thick-skinned stay temporarily.

As the guest quarters needed reorganization and repairs, the person and bird were placed in another courtyard. Unlike the Xuanqing Sect, which occupied an entire mountain range with hundreds or thousands of peaks, the Buddha Sect's headquarters was simply a larger temple. Besides the guest quarters, there weren't many vacant courtyards. It was said that this newly arranged courtyard wasn't far from the Golden Peng's residence.

However, having been through enough commotion for the day, Jiang Mo, entering the new residence with the Little Swan Goose, had no intention of visiting her neighbor.

After entering, she placed the Little Swan Goose on the table, observing that the fluffy ball wasn't much larger than a fist. After the large and small creatures gazed at each other for a moment, Jiang Mo finally gave in to her itching hands and carefully stroked the little fluffball's head with her index finger.

Indeed, it was fluffy and felt excellent to touch.

The Little Swan Goose's head dipped slightly at the touch, but she was good-tempered and didn't get angry. It wasn't until Jiang Mo stroked her head again and again, seemingly unable to let go, that the little bird finally became irate. She made an angry sound, clear and childish, with no hint of intimidation and even a bit of cuteness... Jiang Mo was audacious enough that, facing her Senior Sister's angry gaze, she stroked her little wing as well.

The small wing was plump and hadn't grown feathers yet; the fine, soft down felt better than any fluff she had ever touched!

Jiang Mo's eyes brightened, and she rubbed her hands together, planning to reclaim all the years she'd been petted. But just as she was about to continue harassing the Little Swan Goose, the latter finally couldn't endure it any longer and suddenly pecked at her finger.

Logically, the Swan Goose was still small, a newborn cub with little strength and a soft beak, which should never have been able to break through the White Tiger's defenses. However, a cub with divine beast bloodline was clearly extraordinary. Even though she had just undergone rebirth and hadn't even had a drink of water, the force of her peck was not to be underestimated. She directly pierced Jiang Mo's finger, drawing blood instantly.

Jiang Mo let out a light hiss and quickly withdrew her hand. Looking back, she saw the Little Swan Goose standing proudly, her small Phoenix eyes filled with smugness. Her plump little wings flapped a bit, clearly threatening "Try again if you dare."

So, her Senior Sister had turned into a cub, lost her memory, and become quite adorable?