Working in the Medicine Garden

At the Mao Hour, the bell rang punctually through the mountains of the Ziyang Sect.

Shen Hao had not slept all night. Before dawn had broken, he was already up. After washing up simply, he took his Task Plaque and hurried toward the Medicine Garden on the Back Mountain.

The Medicine Garden was shrouded in a thin veil of morning mist, and its spiritual energy was even richer than usual. When Shen Hao reached its entrance, he saw an elderly man in a Green Daoist Robe waiting there. The elder was Steward Li, who had explained the habits of Spiritual Medicine to him yesterday.

"Disciple Shen Hao has come to report for duty." Shen Hao bowed respectfully.

Steward Li nodded and handed him a small hoe and a bamboo basket. "Today's task is to pick fifty Qi Condensing Grass plants. Remember, pull them out roots and all. Do not damage the root fibers, or the entire plant will be deemed useless."

"This disciple understands." Shen Hao accepted the hoe and bamboo basket, then carefully entered the Medicine Garden.

Qi Condensing Grass was the most common Spiritual Medicine in the Outer Sect Medicine Garden. It was verdant all over, with narrow leaves and white root fibers, containing faint Wood Spiritual Energy. Following Steward Li's instructions, Shen Hao squatted beside a ridge of Qi Condensing Grass and gently dug a circle around its roots with his hoe.

His movements were light, for fear of damaging the root fibers. After loosening the soil, he reached out and carefully pulled the Qi Condensing Grass up by the roots. Damp earth still clung to its root fibers, giving off a fresh scent of grass and wood.

Shen Hao placed the Qi Condensing Grass into the bamboo basket and continued picking the next plant.

The Medicine Garden was quiet in the early morning. Only the soft rustle of hoes digging through earth and the occasional birdsong could be heard. Shen Hao immersed himself in his work, his movements growing increasingly practiced. He discovered that although picking Qi Condensing Grass was tedious, it could make his heart incomparably calm. And that calm made his perception of spiritual energy even sharper.

Who knew how much time had passed? The bamboo basket was already more than half full of Qi Condensing Grass. Shen Hao straightened up, rubbed his sore knees, and looked at the sky. The sun had risen high, the morning mist was gradually dispersing, and the spiritual energy in the Medicine Garden had thinned somewhat.

He was about to continue picking when he suddenly heard an argument from nearby.

"What is wrong with you? Don't you watch where you're going? You trampled all my Qi Condensing Grass!" A shrill female voice rang out.

Shen Hao looked toward the sound and saw a young girl in a Gray Disciple Robe glaring angrily at a young man beside a distant field ridge. The girl looked around fourteen or fifteen, with her hair tied in twin buns and her face full of anger. The young man, meanwhile, wore an apologetic expression and kept apologizing to her.

Shen Hao recognized the young man. His name was Zhang Shan, and like him, he was one of the Outer Sect Disciples who had entered the sect yesterday.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't do it on purpose." Zhang Shan's face reddened as he spoke helplessly. "I was only focused on picking Qi Condensing Grass just now and didn't see the field ridge on your side."

"You didn't do it on purpose?" The girl snorted coldly and pointed at several Qi Condensing Grass plants beneath her feet. "You broke the root fibers of these plants when you stepped on them. They're completely unusable now! What are you going to do about it?"

Zhang Shan's expression turned even uglier. His family was poor, and he had only managed to enter the Ziyang Sect with great difficulty. A single Low-grade Spirit Stone was extremely important to him. If his Spirit Stone reward were deducted, his future cultivation would become even more difficult.

Shen Hao watched the scene, hesitated briefly, then walked over. "Senior Sister, Zhang is not at fault intentionally. How about this? I picked a few extra Qi Condensing Grass plants here, so I'll compensate Senior Sister with them."

As he spoke, he took several flawless Qi Condensing Grass plants from his bamboo basket and offered them to the girl.

The girl froze for a moment. Looking at the Qi Condensing Grass Shen Hao was offering, the anger on her face gradually faded somewhat. She looked at Shen Hao, then at Zhang Shan, before finally accepting the plants. "Fine. I'll let you off this time. Be more careful where you walk next time."

Zhang Shan hurriedly thanked both Shen Hao and the girl. "Thank you, Senior Brother Shen. Thank you, Senior Sister."

The girl waved a hand and turned to continue picking Qi Condensing Grass.

Zhang Shan looked at Shen Hao gratefully. "Senior Brother Shen, thank you for what happened today. I'll remember this kindness in my heart."

Shen Hao smiled. "It was only a small effort, so don't take it to heart. We are fellow disciples. Helping each other is only right."

With that, he turned around and continued picking his own Qi Condensing Grass.

Zhang Shan watched Shen Hao's retreating figure, his eyes full of gratitude. He gritted his teeth and quickened his pace as well.

As the sun set in the west, Shen Hao finally gathered fifty Qi Condensing Grass plants. He handed them to Steward Li, who inspected them. Seeing that every plant was of excellent quality and had intact root fibers, Steward Li nodded in satisfaction and handed him a smooth Low-grade Spirit Stone.

Shen Hao accepted the Spirit Stone and immediately felt a rich surge of spiritual energy flow from his fingertips into his body. Joy welled up in his heart, and he quickly tucked the Spirit Stone into his clothes.

This was the first Spirit Stone he had earned on his path of cultivation.

On the way back to his residence, Shen Hao held the Spirit Stone in his clothes, his heart brimming with drive. He knew that as long as he diligently completed his tasks and cultivated earnestly, one day he would gain a firm foothold in the Ziyang Sect.