"Good?"
Lumine rolled her eyes and retorted:
"Do you even know what level Refining Essence into Qi–class beasts and monsters are?"
"Your subordinates might absorb the blood essence of a peak Foundation Establishment beast, but if they touch even a trace of blood from a Refining Essence beast, they'll explode on the spot—no chance of survival."
"As for Refining Essence monsters, if your people dare to seize their demon cores, the backlash would erode them to death."
"Foundation Establishment and Refining Essence are two entirely different kinds of life."
"Don't think that just because you've made some Beast Martial Arts that it's worth bragging about."
"At the end of the day, no matter the martial path, it's still mortal. Beasts and monsters of that realm—those are opponents for cultivators."
Lumine's words didn't discourage Aether in the least.
On the contrary, they only deepened his hunger for the Refining Essence level.
"In short, if possible, help me hunt some Refining Essence beasts and monsters."
"Of course, the main thing is still peak Foundation Establishment beasts. Late-stage Foundation Establishment works too."
Seeing how insistent he was, Lumine didn't bother to talk him out of it anymore.
After all, it was his subordinates who would suffer, not him.
With Aether's strength, even Refining Essence beasts and monsters wouldn't affect him too much.
As for those Abyss Order people…
She was only providing resources—whether they lived or died, Lumine didn't care.
"Suit yourself. But seriously, you're so annoying—making me, a dignified divine body cultivator, work for you?"
She grumbled in irritation.
Aether looked a bit helpless.
Ultimately, he really did owe her for this matter.
After some thought, he said:
"I won't let you work for nothing. If there's something you need, tell me. With the Abyss Order's reach across all of Teyvat, we're good at collecting things."
"Yeah, right."
Lumine curled her lip.
"What I want, you think you can help?
"I want third-rank spirit pills for cultivation, spirit artifacts, and a spiritual beast on par with Ganyu's Qingluan.
"Can you provide that?"
Aether fell silent for a moment, then muttered:
"Leaving aside cultivator items… if we could get those, why would we need you to hunt beasts for us?"
"Then stop talking nonsense."
Lumine waved him off impatiently.
"I'm a cultivator now, and I'm still the Honorary Knight of Mondstadt, Honorary Consultant of Liyue.
"Do you even get what 'Mora freedom' means? With Senior Sister Ningguang's influence, as long as it exists in Teyvat, she can find it for me.
"Aether, you're already dragging me down. You should feel ashamed! If you'd call me 'big sister' though…"
Aether's face darkened, and he turned to leave.
"Fine, fine, forget it if you won't."
Lumine quickly called him back, muttering to herself:
"Once Paimon learns the Heart-Control Spell, I'll have her make you call me sister."
Aether gave her a complicated look, half-thinking he should avoid her from now on.
Cultivators' methods were seriously eerie.
"I can help you hunt beasts. Later I'm heading to Liyue Harbor—Zhongli invited me to a meeting.
"I'll just swap out your martial path manuals along the way."
"But let me say this upfront—though there are plenty of beasts and monsters in Mount Shu, we can't overhunt them."
"The Sect Master cares a lot about ecological balance in the Mount Shu World."
"Also, I'm not the only one who needs to hunt beasts. Senior Sister Ningguang and the others transported a huge number of animals into Mount Shu. Those evolved into the current beasts and monsters."
"A little hunting is fine—they won't mind. But large-scale slaughter is absolutely forbidden."
"Liyue also needs massive numbers of beasts and monsters. Ningguang and the others will send people regularly to hunt and bring them back."
Aether suddenly understood, nodding slightly.
"No wonder Liyue's martial path developed so quickly."
"The Abyss Order can also collect masses of animals. You could release them into Mount Shu."
Lumine shook her head.
"Too late for that.
"Right now, most of the creatures in Mount Shu are already beasts or monsters. Normal animals wouldn't last a second in there.
"At present, beasts and monsters are already a bit overpopulated in Mount Shu."
"In short, limited hunting is fine."
Aether began calculating.
In Mount Shu, most beasts and monsters were peak Foundation Establishment or Refining Essence.
Even four or five of those would be enough to sustain the Abyss Order's high command for a long time.
Especially Refining Essence early-stage beasts.
Even a single slab of their flesh was worth more than peak Foundation Establishment blood essence.
If that's the case, quantity didn't matter.
As the saying goes, take what you can get—better something than nothing.
He nodded.
"Do as you see fit. As long as it doesn't strain relations with your sect."
Lumine didn't say more. She lifted her hand, and a ring gleamed.
The next instant, five massive creatures radiating murderous aura were casually thrown out.
"These are three Refining Essence early-stage beasts, one peak Foundation Establishment beast, and one Refining Essence early-stage monster with its abdomen ruptured.
"I already took its demon core—those are useful to me.
"The rest, you can take back. Should be enough for a while, right?"
The fragrant blood essence instantly spread, and nearby Abyss soldiers whipped their heads around.
When they saw the five hulking corpses in front of Aether, they gasped, then stared hungrily, itching to rush forward.
Aether kept calm, stepping up to inspect them.
Placing his hand on one, he felt the roaring blood essence resonate with his own, rattling his spirit.
Enough?
This wasn't "enough."
This was more than enough!
A single peak Foundation Establishment beast could produce nine high-tier Beast Martialists.
And here were three Refining Essence beasts, plus a Refining Essence monster!
This was enough to feed the entire Abyss Order.
They had plenty of people, but each only needed a sliver of meat from this level to be overwhelmed with energy.
Lumine had just given them an enormous boon.
Aether looked at her with a complicated gaze, wanting to say thanks, but the words stuck in his throat.
Just thinking of it felt awkward.
After a long pause, he murmured:
"All this at once… won't it affect you?"
Lumine waved him off casually.
"No big deal. I killed these while training the past two days."
"There were more, but a certain glutton ate them all."
She glanced at Paimon, who only tilted her head and smiled sweetly.
Lumine couldn't help but grumble inwardly that all that meat had gone into thickening Paimon's skin.
"I was going to turn them in for contribution points at the Hall of Merit. Since you need them, just take them.
"I won't be returning to Mount Shu for a few days anyway."
Aether gave a stiff nod, muttering awkwardly:
"Fi… tha…"
"Don't say it."
Lumine shuddered in disgust.
"You saying 'thank you' to me is gross. If you'd just call me sister, that I'd accept."
Aether's face darkened.
"In your dreams!"
He took a breath, then added:
"If these beasts can be traded for lots of contribution points, then you shouldn't give them to me. The one peak Foundation Establishment beast is enough."
Lumine brushed it off.
"These would fetch maybe two thousand contribution points. I don't even care. Just take them."
"Don't you get it? As a divine-body prodigy, I get special treatment. Every month the Sect Master gives me spirit stones worth tens of thousands of contribution points."
She put her hands on her hips proudly.
Aether didn't want to fuel her arrogance, so he beckoned.
Not far off, a Sinshielder who had been watching eagerly hurried over, eyes shining like a treasure hoarder spotting gold.
At least they managed a bit of politeness, bowing respectfully.
"Your Highness, Prince. Miss Lumine."
Once again, Paimon was ignored. This time she couldn't stand it.
It was one thing for Aether to overlook her—he was Lumine's brother, after all.
But these Abyss soldiers? How dare they be so rude!
Paimon puffed up angrily.
"Hey! Can't you see Paimon's here too? Why aren't you greeting me?!"
Her Refining Essence early-stage aura wasn't much against Aether,
but to these Sinshielders it was crushing.
Startled, they quickly bowed again.
"Miss Paimon."
"Hmph! That's better!"
Paimon folded her arms smugly and perched on Lumine's shoulder again.
Aether ignored her, pointing at the five giant corpses.
"These are from Lumine—four Refining Essence early-stage, one peak Foundation Establishment. Take them back.
"Be careful—the one with the ruptured abdomen is a monster. Store it separately."
"These beasts are not to be touched or butchered. Store them properly. They are the Abyss Order's strategic resources for the foreseeable future.
"Anyone who tampers with them—executed on the spot!"
The Sinshielders' eyes burned with fervor.
Four Refining Essence, one peak Foundation Establishment.
And even a monster among them.
The Abyss Order had never been this wealthy.
They nearly fell to their knees before Lumine.
"Thank you, Miss Lumine!"
"Your Highness, rest assured—we will defend these strategic resources with our lives!"
Just then, Lumine reminded them:
"Do you even have enough jade containers? These must be stored in jade to preserve the spiritual energy.
"If not, you'll need space-sealing methods. Otherwise the essence will leak, and the meat's effects will weaken."
Aether nodded.
"We know. Don't worry."
With that, he ordered them to take the five beasts away.
"In any case, you've done me a big favor."
After a pause, he handed Lumine an Earth Vein Sprout.
"I wasn't planning on meeting you often right now, but…
"Now that you've become a cultivator, fate and cycles don't really bind you anymore. No one can limit you.
"If you want to find me, just inject some power into this."
Lumine took one glance and stashed it away.
"If you ever need help in Teyvat—anything not involving cultivation—you can call me. The Abyss Order still has some power."
That piqued Lumine's interest. She grinned and asked:
"Then… if I wanted to fight Celestia, would you help?"
Aether's face darkened, and he turned away immediately.
Fight Celestia…
Of course the Abyss Order wanted to.
But being able to, that was another matter entirely.
To read 220+ future chapters, head over to Patreon:
patreon.com/WhiteDevil7554