Returned

"My Zhao Family had recently suffered a terrible calamity. At the moment, there was no surplus wealth at home to offer the immortal master as a reward."

"There are still over a hundred Vermilion Fruits growing in the Spirit Field, though they haven't ripened yet. Once they do, my Zhao Family will send someone to River-Facing Sect and deliver every last one to the immortal master as payment!"

"Patriarch Zhao, there's no need to be so polite. I've gained plenty on this trip, and I've already gotten what I was due."

A hundred Vermilion Fruits could fetch a hundred and fifty Spirit Stones at market price.

For Shen Mo, who needed enormous resources to cultivate, that was a fortune.

But he hadn't accepted the reward.

Shen Mo felt that taking the Purple Sun Vermilion Fruit had already been a huge boon from the Zhao Family.

One shouldn't be too greedy.

He might not be a great philanthropist, but he did have principles.

There were things he would do, and things he wouldn't.

He would only take the portion of the reward he felt he deserved.

River-Facing Sect, the Outer Sect disciples' compound.

As soon as Shen Mo returned, he took the Purple Sun Vermilion Fruit to Chen An for inspection, to confirm it was genuine.

"Mm, excellent."

"It's exactly as described in the ancient texts. There's no doubt that this is a Purple Sun Vermilion Fruit."

Chen An examined it carefully for a long while before cautiously handing it back to him. "You've stumbled upon an incredible opportunity this time!"

"With this fruit in hand, all you need to do is prepare carefully before you break through to the Qi Gathering Realm, tempering your bones, muscles, and blood. Then you'll have an excellent chance of forming two dantians when you break through."

"When that happens, even among the Inner Sect disciples, you'll be a prodigy."

Having two dantians in the Qi Gathering Realm meant that, as long as one didn't meet an untimely end, one would probably reach the Spirit Sea Realm in this lifetime.

If everything went smoothly, this fellow's future achievements would far surpass those of Chen An, who had spent half his life in River-Facing Sect as an Outer Sect steward.

Chen An was happy for him, but couldn't help feeling wistful and envious, too.

What was meant to be yours would find its way to you.

He thought back to when he was still in the Body Tempering Realm. If he'd had a treasure like this to help him form two dantians, his decades of cultivation would surely have gone much more smoothly.

Perhaps by now, he'd have become an elder of River-Facing Sect, a figure of great standing.

If that had happened, he wouldn't have reached this age still needing to brave a forbidden zone and risk his life in search of a sliver of opportunity to break through.

"Uncle Chen, rest assured. If I'm ever fortunate enough to climb to the higher reaches of the immortal path, I certainly won't forget all you've done for me."

Shen Mo spoke sincerely.

When one attained the Dao, even one's chickens and dogs ascended to heaven.

At least the kid had a conscience.

Chen An was secretly touched.

It seemed he hadn't been wrong about Shen Mo all these years.

Still, he couldn't help cautioning him aloud. "We'll talk about that when the day comes. Right now, your cultivation is only at the Body Tempering Realm. You're nothing but a bottom-rung drudge in the cultivation world. Don't get carried away over a little good fortune."

After admonishing him, he added, "This fruit hasn't ripened yet. It still needs sunlight, dew, and the nourishment of spiritual energy, so you can't leave it in your Qiankun Pouch for long."

"Take it home and find somewhere hidden to store it carefully. Remember, don't let anyone discover it!"

He regarded Shen Mo as his own son, so he naturally had no designs on Shen Mo's opportunity.

But if someone else saw a rare treasure of heaven and earth in the hands of an Outer Sect disciple with no backing, there was no telling what they might do.

It was like a three-year-old child carrying gold through a busy marketplace. The moment he drew attention, trouble was bound to follow.

Even a fellow disciple from the same sect might try to take it.

"Mm, I'll remember."

Shen Mo nodded.

In truth, he had always been cautious. Even if Chen An hadn't reminded him, he would have found a way to conceal the Purple Sun Spirit Fruit's aura.

That night, Shen Mo cooked a meal and invited Chen An to join him.

The main ingredient was meat from the back of the Two-Headed Silver-Ringed Python.

Under the bombardment of his twenty Separating Fire Talismans, the beast had nearly been roasted to a crisp.

Only the tender meat beneath the outer three inches of skin had escaped the flames. There were still more than ten pounds of it, fit to eat.

And, unwilling to waste anything,

he had packed the meat into his Qiankun Pouch and brought it back.

"Your cooking's pretty good. It's almost as good as the spirit chefs back at the sect."

Chen An wolfed down the entire meal of python meat and gave his approval.

"It's passable, I guess."

Shen Mo himself wasn't nearly as impressed.

"The fresh meat from under the Two-Headed Silver-Ringed Python's belly is delicious, but there aren't enough seasonings to go with it. It still feels like something's missing."

He suddenly found himself longing for the barbecues of his previous life.

There weren't many delicacies in this world, at least not among the things Shen Mo had encountered so far.

Cultivators at the bottom of the ladder were perpetually struggling to stay alive. Apart from those who made a living as spirit chefs, they had little interest in refining their cooking.

As for the great cultivators, they could already abstain from food and drink, so they rarely bothered to cook.

Qi Gathering Realm cultivators still needed a meal every three days. But once they reached the Spirit Sea Realm, they could truly abstain from food, sustaining themselves on wind and dew alone.

Naturally, the flavors of the dishes here couldn't compare to the refined cuisine of the industrialized society Shen Mo had known in his previous life.

Dad, Mom, are you doing all right?

His thoughts leaped from one thing to another.

At first he'd been comparing the food of the two worlds, but then, in the blink of an eye, his mind had turned to the family he'd left behind in another world. A pang of melancholy stirred in his heart.

The people and things he remembered from his previous life had grown hazier by the day.

At first, after he'd transmigrated, he'd thought of them every day.

Now, he could barely remember what his parents looked like.

It's strange. I've only been here for three months, so why does it feel as if those memories belonged to a past life?

His thoughts grew tangled, and the meat lost its flavor. He swallowed a mouthful of snake meat. "I'll see if I can find some seasonings at the market next time. I'll make a barbecue. It'll be a little comfort, and a way to ease my homesickness."

"What's with the long face all of a sudden? What are you thinking about?"

Chen An's voice broke into Shen Mo's wandering thoughts.

Shen Mo came to with a start. Seeing Uncle Chen staring at him, he made up an excuse. "I was just thinking about how long it'll be before I can enter the Inner Sect."

"These lodgings are far too shabby compared to the Inner Sect disciples' caves."

The Outer Sect disciples' residences lay in a remote corner at the westernmost end of River-Facing Mountain.

The sect had built a dense cluster of buildings there specifically to house them.

Though each Outer Sect disciple had a room of their own, the rooms were cramped and fell far short of the Inner Sect disciples' caves.

Shen Mo had visited Uncle Chen's cave and envied it for a long time.

It was fifteen zhang across.

Its halls and pavilions were adorned with vermilion pillars and carved rafters, jade terraces and sculpted balustrades.

Outside the cave, there was also a tiny Spirit Field where one could plant spirit herbs and spirit fruits at will.

There was a spacious cliff terrace where one could practice Alchemy or Talisman Making, as well as quiet, secluded scenery.

Most importantly, the Inner Sect disciples' caves were all built in the spiritual vein region of River-Facing Sect.

Spiritual energy there was abundant, making cultivation twice as effective with half the effort.

In short, compared with the living conditions of the Outer Sect disciples, it was like heaven and earth.

"There's no need to envy them."

Chen An smiled and shook his head. "At the rate you're going, even if you slow down a little, you'll be promoted to the Inner Sect within a year or so."

"Then you'll be able to choose a cave of your own."

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