Old man, you want to show off your acting skills against me?

"So this person is a meat-eater."

Hearing this, the many Spirit Grass Dolls breathed a sigh of relief, looking at him with a hint of curiosity.

Old Mountain Ginseng stood up from the Grandmaster's Chair, brushed non-existent dust off its clothes with great ceremony, and slowly paced over to Qi Yuan, looking him over for a moment before sighing.

"You human know to care for Spiritual Plants, so you have a bit of a conscience. It's a pity there are too few humans like you who don't perform Alchemy or eat vegetarian; otherwise, our Spirit Grass Race wouldn't have fallen into such a pitiful state."

At this point, it suddenly became angry, full of grief and indignation as it condemned:

"Especially that group of Alchemists. I don't know which bastard invented the cruel method of using Spiritual Plants for Alchemy; it's simply devoid of conscience!"

"It has caused countless Spiritual Plants to be thrown alive into Pill Furnaces to be refined into ash, and even the residue is mixed together as Medicinal Pills to be swallowed by evil humans."

Old Mountain Ginseng grew more excited as it spoke, spitting repeatedly in disgust.

"Pity my eldest grandson, Lord Ginseng's own flesh and blood, who was picked by humans before he could even take form. Now his whereabouts are unknown—no sign of him alive, no body if he's dead. I fear he has already met with disaster!"

After speaking, it suddenly raised its fist and shouted to the group of Grass Spirit Dolls with tears and snot running down its face:

"Children, tell this human, what is the slogan of our Grass Spirit Race?"

As the words fell, the Grass Spirit Dolls, including the Illusion Star Grass Spirit, immediately became excited and shouted in unison:

"Spiritual Plant lives are lives too!"

"Exactly!"

Old Mountain Ginseng nodded heavily and continued its impassioned speech:

"To save the lives of the Grass Spirit Race, the Alchemists among humans and those Bald Monks who usually only eat vegetarian are our greatest enemies. We and they are irreconcilable!"

Qi Yuan listened, somewhat between laughter and tears.

Not only can't you use Spiritual Plants for Alchemy, but even being a vegetarian is a sin, right?

The problem was that using Spiritual Plants for Alchemy was naturally right and proper; every Alchemist in the world did it, and Cultivators all relied on Medicinal Pills to Cultivate.

Unless everyone in the Cultivation World died out, it would be impossible to stop using Spiritual Plants for Alchemy.

As the saying goes, all living beings are equal under the Heavenly Dao. Even the Evil Path Alchemy techniques that used humans to refine pills were widespread. Plants and trees weren't any more noble than humans, so why couldn't they be refined into pills?

Although he sneered at these slogans in his heart, Qi Yuan had no intention of arguing. Instead, he echoed righteously:

"As a human, This Qi deeply sympathizes with the plight of the Spirit Grass Race. Your demands are also very legitimate and reasonable. I have high hopes for you!"

Hearing this, Old Mountain Ginseng was immediately overjoyed. It grabbed Qi Yuan's hand and said:

"You really are a good friend of our Grass Spirit Race. Since that's the case, go and persuade those human Alchemists for us so they don't use Spiritual Plants for Alchemy anymore."

"Also, your habit of only eating meat is very good. If you can find a way to make more humans as picky with their food as you, that would be even better..."

Qi Yuan was left speechless.

Persuade my foot!

I was just perfunctorily saying a few words, and you actually tried to take advantage of it. This Old Mountain Ginseng is quite wicked!

Besides, I'm not the President of the Alchemist Association. If I were bored enough to go around persuading Alchemists not to use Spiritual Plants, I'd probably be spat on.

Offending the Alchemist Association for a sneaky theft gang was purely the behavior of an idiot.

Seeing the other party pretending not to hear, a flash of disappointment crossed Old Mountain Ginseng's face, as if lamenting that this young man was hard to fool. However, it said:

"Don't worry, as long as your actions are effective, our Spirit Grass Race won't mistreat you!"

"This..." Qi Yuan hesitated. "I'm afraid it's very difficult."

"Hmph!"

Old Mountain Ginseng snorted angrily and said with an unfriendly tone:

"Even such a simple matter is met with hesitation. Could it be that everything you just said was a lie?"

"And here I thought you were different from other humans. I didn't expect you to be a treacherous and cunning brat too. If you keep dragging your feet, don't blame Lord Ginseng here for turning hostile!"

Hearing this, Qi Yuan's expression darkened slightly, and a flash of disdain appeared in his eyes.

Shit!

Old guy, you want to out-act me, don't you?

I'll play along to the end!

With this in mind, Qi Yuan's expression suddenly turned stern, and he said seriously:

"Elder Shen, you've misunderstood this Junior's meaning."

"This Junior humbly believes that you do not yet truly understand the long-term and cruel nature of this struggle. Do you really believe that this Junior alone can change the situation of the Spirit Grass Race?"

"No!"

Qi Yuan's tone was decisive. "Alchemists need Spiritual Plants for Alchemy, while Spiritual Plants are unwilling to be refined. This is essentially an irreconcilable contradiction."

"To solve such a huge contradiction, how can all hope be placed on the Alchemists suddenly repenting and finding their conscience?"

Once these remarks were thrown out, not only were the Grass Spirit Dolls confused, but even Old Mountain Ginseng was a bit dazed and couldn't help but ask:

"Then what should be done?"

Qi Yuan didn't answer directly. Instead, he swept his eyes around with a firm gaze and spoke impassionedly:

"This Junior feels that this must be achieved through a resolute struggle against the Alchemists. Only by letting the Alchemists see the determination and strength of the Spirit Grass Race can they be forced to give up the idea of continuing to use Spiritual Plants for Alchemy."

"Of course, this is very difficult. It also requires uniting all the flowers and plants in the world to struggle together before this goal can possibly be achieved!"

As he spoke, he looked at the dumbfounded Spirits of Grass and Wood, his tone filled with encouragement and expectation:

"I feel that you all are exceptionally gifted and destined to become great heroes who save the Spirit Grass Race!"

"Well said! It seems I misunderstood you just now!"

Hearing this unheard-of idea, Old Mountain Ginseng trembled with excitement and said with boiling blood:

"I've decided. From now on, we will establish a Grass Spirit Gang to lead all the Spiritual Plants in the world to resist those evil Alchemists."

"Great, our kin are saved!"

"I'm in too!"

"I want to join too!"

...After hearing Old Mountain Ginseng's declaration of forming the gang, the Grass Spirit Dolls immediately began to dance and cheer. Each one was rubbing their hands and eager to try, wishing they could rush out immediately and fight the Alchemists for hundreds of rounds.

Seeing this, Qi Yuan imperceptibly curled his lips.

Spirits of Grass and Wood were simple-minded. Even this seemingly shrewd Old Mountain Ginseng was only half-baked; they really believed it after being given a bit of a hollow promise.

At this moment, he already had a picture in his mind:

A group of brainwashed Spirits of Grass and Wood taking the initiative to cause trouble, only to be captured for nothing as soon as they showed their heads. By then, the Alchemists of the Alchemist Association would probably be driven crazy with joy.

Just then, Old Mountain Ginseng raised its hand to press down for silence, stopping the noisy Grass Spirit Dolls. Then, it looked at Qi Yuan with burning eyes and said sincerely:

"Little Friend Qi is a great talent, and we have learned much. From now on, you are the Vice Gang Leader and Military Strategist of our Grass Spirit Gang. I hope you will not refuse!"

Vice Gang Leader and Military Strategist?

Qi Yuan was stunned. He was just about to wave his hand in refusal when a strange thought suddenly flashed through his mind. He immediately changed his mind and agreed with a smile:

"Thank you for your appreciation, Elder Shen. This Qi will not let you down."