Five Years of Guard Duty Come to an End
After the little girl left the Ancestral Hall, a thin, fair-skinned little boy was let in by Ling Dong, who was guarding the gate.
Ling Pengyun, who was conducting the Spirit Measurement Spirit, was annoyed that he hadn't yet found anyone with Spirit Root, and didn't want to say much. He directly told the boy, "Place your hands on this small table."
The fair-skinned little boy was also well-behaved, obediently placing his right hand on the small table.
Ling Pengyun didn't linger. He channeled a wisp of spiritual energy into the spirit- Spirit Root Testing Stone Spirit Root Testing Stone in his hand, then placed the activated Spirit Root Testing Stone into the little boy's hand, staring at it without any expectation.
He had assumed that this was another person without Spirit Root, and that the Spirit Root Testing Stone would not react in the slightest. Just as he was about to wave his hand to send the boy away, he saw that the Spirit Root Testing Stone held in the right hand of the little boy in front of him was shining brightly and dazzlingly.
Upon witnessing this extraordinary phenomenon, Ling Pengyun's expression immediately lit up with joy, and he exclaimed in amazement.
"Finally, another person with Spirit Root has appeared. I wonder what kind of Spirit Root this child has, that they could make the Spirit Root Testing Stone emit such a dazzling spiritual light."
Upon hearing this, the fair-skinned little boy smiled broadly, but to be sure, he still asked.
"Immortal Elder, am I destined for Immortal Fate?"
"Indeed, and your Immortal Fate is quite significant. From now on, please don't call me Immortal Elder. My name is Ling Pengyun, the eighth of the Peng Generation in the current four generations of the Lineage: Ru, Yun, Xiao, and Peng. After the elders who come here in a few days take you back to Mount Ling and discover your true Spirit Root, the Lineage will bestow upon you a courtesy name. You, like me, belong to the Peng Generation. If you see me again in the future, you can call me Eighth Brother," Ling Pengyun said with a smile. "What is your name?"
The fair-skinned little boy, seemingly understanding but not quite, answered with a delighted expression, "My name is Ling Qiu!"
"Okay, stand behind me and come out with me later," Ling Pengyun instructed Ling Qiu.
Then, Ling Pengyun used Sound Amplification Technique to loudly signal to Ling Dong, who was guarding the gate outside the Ancestral Hall.
"Keep letting people in."
Through these six short words, and the fact that he had not seen "Ling Qiu" who had entered the Ancestral Hall earlier come out of the Ancestral Hall, Ling Dong, the Village Chief of Azure Stone Village, learned of some very good news.
The gloom on his face immediately dissipated, and his enthusiasm returned. He immediately called the next child and led him into the Ancestral Hall.
Ling Pengyun's luck may have run out. Testing the Spirit Root of the remaining nearly one hundred children was the same as before, and he did not find that any of them possessed Spirit Root.
Two days later, a young man dressed in a green Daoist robe rushed to the Azure Stone Mountain and shouted loudly to the top of Azure Stone Mountain.
"Eighth Brother, I'm here to relieve you."
In the mountains, Ling Pengyun, who had just watered the Spirit Plant in his six acres of Spirit Field at the summit with a shower of Spirit Rain and was about to return to his cave abode halfway up the mountain for intensive cultivation, heard a call coming from outside the mountain. His expression shifted slightly, and he muttered to himself, "Is that my sixteenth brother's voice?"
Ling Pengyun lightly touched the ground with his feet, cast a Light Body Technique on himself, and quickly descended the mountain, arriving beside the young man in green.
He looked the young man up and down, examining his aura. Ling Pengyun smiled and said.
"Sixteenth Brother, you've broken through to the Qi Training Fourth Layer?"
The young man in the green Daoist robe was the sixteenth son of the "Peng" generation of the Ling Clan. His name was Ling Pengliang, the only son of Ling Xiaohua, an apprentice in the clan who was learning weapon crafting. Like Ling Pengyun, he was a practitioner of the Spirit Plant path. Because they were of similar age, the two often sat together to discuss the Spirit Plant path when they were young, and their relationship had always been quite good.
"Yes, Eighth Brother, a year ago, I used the spiritual power of my Natal Spirit Plant, the Bewitching Soul Flower, to advance to the next grade, and that's how I broke through. After my Natal Spirit Plant advanced, I officially became a Spirit Planter," Ling Pengliang a smile.
"No wonder the Lineage sent you to replace me in guarding this Azure Stone Mountain." Ling Pengyun was happy for his cousin, who had entered the field of Spirit Plant with him and with whom he had a good relationship, to become a Spirit Planter, and said with a smile.
The Spirit Vein of Azure Stone Mountain is of the First Rank Middle Grade of the first rank. Even for the Ling family, which has nearly twenty Spirit Vein veins, Spirit Vein Ling Clan of this grade are relatively rare. Generally, Spirit Vein of this grade will be guarded by Spirit Planter. They can also rely on the Spirit Plant Secret Method only Spirit Planter can use to improve the medicinal properties of Spirit Plant planted in the Spirit Field on the Spirit Vein and the number of ripe Spirit Rice.
"Eighth Brother, I heard from my Ninth Great-Grandfather, who has been stationed at the low-level spiritual mountains outside for many years, that you have broken through to the Qi Training Seventh Layer, and that the grade of your Spirit Plant has also been raised to the First Rank Middle Grade. Is that true?" Ling Pengliang looked at Ling Pengyun in front of him and felt a strong spiritual power. This level of spiritual power was several times greater than his own. He suddenly remembered something, stared at Ling Pengyun curiously, and said with a smile.
Ling Pengyun nodded slightly; he had never intended to hide himself.
Seeing Ling Pengyun admit it, Ling Pengliang was still somewhat surprised, even though he had already learned of this news from his "Ninth Great-Grandfather" Ling Rufan.
"Sixteenth Brother, let's go up the mountain first. Let me introduce you to the Spirit Plant in Azure Stone Mountain. You've been traveling for several days now. A few months ago, I discovered a group of Azure Moon Spirit Fish in Azure Stone Lake. I'll catch a couple later to welcome you back." Ling Pengyun changed the subject.
Ling Pengliang regained his senses, thanked Ling Pengyun, and then followed him up Azure Stone Mountain.
At the Azure Stone Mountain, beside those six acres of Spirit Field.
Ling Pengyun pointed to the six acres of barren Spirit Field and explained in detail to Ling Pengliang, who was about to take over the post guarding this mountain. "Sixteenth brother, three kinds of Spirit Plant seeds have been planted here: Yellow Jade Spirit Rice, Qi Training Grass, and Sword Star Grass. After watering these seeds with Spirit Rain for a few days, they should sprout one after another."
"Normally, no formations are activated here. Once the Spirit Plant in this Spirit Field sprout, many flying insects and birds will be attracted to Spirit Plant. The Yellow-Feathered Flying Bird and the Gray-Feathered Peng Bird that are circling in the sky are birds I captured to guard this Spirit Field. After I leave, you will take care of these two birds."
"..."
Ling Pengyun rambled on for a long time before stopping. Then he took Ling Pengliang away from Azure Stone Mountain and headed to the Mystic Water Iron Mine in Azure Stone Lake. They visited Ling Rufan, who was stationed at the mine, and caught two Azure Moon Spirit Fish. They then went to Azure Stone Village to find the Village Chief, Ling Dong, and told him about Ling Pengliang 'Ling Dong identity. After getting some ingredients, they returned to Azure Stone Mountain.
After nearly a year of absorbing the pure Water Spiritual Energy from the mine, five of the innate fish in the Underground River have broken through the innate bottleneck and entered the grade, becoming Azure Moon Spirit Fish.
The Azure Moon Spirit Fish has an extremely fresh taste. The most common way to cook this fish is to remove its internal organs and boil it into a fish soup. Ling Pengyun also uses this method to cook it.
Using ingredients obtained from Ling Dong, they prepared a nine-dish welcome feast for Ling Pengliang.
Although Ling Pengyun is only twenty-one years old, he has been living alone for nearly ten years and has always cooked for himself, which has made his cooking skills comparable to those of master chefs in the mortal world.
Ling Pengliang thoroughly enjoyed the welcoming banquet, praising Ling Pengyun's cooking skills as far superior to his mother's, which brought a smile to Ling Pengyun.
After the meal, the two chatted for several hours.
As night fell, Little Wind Shadow Peng, who would only return from the outside world at nightfall, went back into the mountains. Only then did Ling Pengyun set off, putting the three Earth-Turning Earthworm that belonged to him in the six acres of Spirit Field on the mountaintop, the seven Little Pine Flower Chicken he kept in the cave halfway up the mountain into his Beast Taming Pouch, and some miscellaneous items in the cave into his Storage Bag.
Afterwards, he made another trip to the Azure Stone Orchard, which had tens of thousands of fruit trees, and collected hundreds of Fruit Flower Bee into his Beast Taming Pouch and took them away.
He also hoped that these Fruit Flower Bee could provide him with a continuous supply of Fruit Flower Honey in the future, so naturally, having them by his side was the best choice. As for the fruit tree pollen that the Fruit Flower Bee would need in the future, that was easy.
The tens of thousands of fruit trees in the Azure Stone Orchard were established in just four years.
After tidying everything up, Ling Pengyun waved the Green Travel Leaf and stepped up. He glanced at the Azure Stone Mountain where he had lived for five years, and under the cover of night, he used the Green Travel Leaf to fly away with the Little Wind Shadow Peng was spreading its wings beside him.
From birth, Little Wind Shadow Peng has had an extreme aversion to entering the Beast Taming Pouch, and Ling Pengyun has never forced him to do so.