Purple Mansion, nourishing the spirit.
Lu Qing opened his eyes, and the Divine Soul figure opened its eyes as well. Yet compared to Lu Qing's physical eyes, the eyes of the Divine Soul were no longer merely a pair of eyes. They were more like profound patterns of heaven and earth carved within, mysterious as an abyss.
With a thought from Lu Qing—
The previously boundless blank whiteness within the Purple Mansion immediately changed.
The white haze dispersed, and the scene before him abruptly shifted. Silver waterfalls splashed against mountain cliffs, while the sun hung high in the sky, bathing everything in vast, resplendent golden radiance.
At that moment, the Divine Soul figure sat cross-legged atop the waterfall cliff, endless purple qi and Spirit Light floating around him.
As it turned out, amid the shifts of Lu Qing's thoughts, he had fashioned the Purple Mansion into a space not much different from where he currently cultivated.
Only, there was now a waterfall. Its rushing roar flowed on, yet it could not disturb the stillness of the Divine Soul.
Within that contrast between stillness and movement, some kind of Dao rhythm seemed to resound.
Lu Qing had made such an arrangement instinctively, and a hazy flash of Spirit Light passed through his mind once more for no apparent reason.
But it was too swift, and he failed to catch it.
Still, it did not matter.
His mind returned to reality.
A few remnants of dust remained on his body from the lightning strikes. With a hand seal, the Cleansing Art immediately wiped away the traces of dust clinging to him.
He sensed the changes in his dantian. Compared with before, it had expanded dozens of times over, its lake transformed into an ocean of Spiritual Power.
Even his pupils had changed. Though he had not specifically cultivated a Pupil Technique, after truly stepping into the Purple Mansion Realm, heaven and earth appeared different in his eyes once again.
Before, he saw mountains as mountains and water as water. Now, Lu Qing had reached the point of seeing mountains as not mountains and water as not water.
The principles behind the workings of heaven and earth were contained in every drop of water and every blade of grass. What Lu Qing had first glimpsed was the very scene he had witnessed when his Divine Soul left his body.
He spread out his Divine Consciousness, and everything in Spirit Terrace County fell into his eyes.
Those whispered conversations drifted into his ears with the wind as well.
"Entering the Purple Mansion Realm in one year—not bad." Lu Qing was in high spirits. Every extra bit of strength meant another measure of self-preservation. He only wanted to crush his opponents outright, not find himself overcoming the strong while weak.
"It is time to plant that tea tree of mine."
Clear tea refreshed the heart and spirit. Leaving it in an empty courtyard would only add the melancholy of having no one to drink tea.
Lu Qing had first been occupied with the Golden Light Formation, then entered seclusion to cultivate. He had nearly forgotten that he had also brought out that tea tree.
Fortunately, a month was not long.
Lu Qing walked out of the cultivation room.
Green Bamboo Courtyard was a two-courtyard residence. Beside the bluestone path in the front courtyard lay artificial hills and flowing water to the right, while on the other side was a vacant patch of spirit soil, situated right in a corner by the entrance.
With a sweep of Lu Qing's sleeve, the tea tree was planted perfectly in place. Its green leaves were still lush, though they could not compare to the moist, gleaming vitality it had possessed while cultivating on the mountain.
At a thought from Lu Qing, he did not form the hand seals for the Minor Cloud Rain Technique. Instead, he drew roughly three ladles of water from the stream flowing past the neighboring courtyard. The clear current descended from the sky, and because it appeared within the range of the Spirit-Gathering Formation, the surging spiritual qi from his recent breakthrough also burrowed into the tea tree.
The soil immediately grew moist, and the tea leaves unfurled, fresh, tender, and glistening, releasing thread after thread of delicate fragrance.
The front courtyard also had a jade table and jade stools specifically for receiving guests and drinking tea.
The aura of Lu Qing's newly broken-through realm gradually drew itself in amid these unhurried, gentle actions.
Meanwhile, within Spirit Terrace County—
Nearly everyone saw the Lightning Tribulation disperse and a rainbow emerge across the sky.
"He made it through."
"Th-this has only been how long...?"
"Doesn't that mean our resident cultivator is a Purple Mansion cultivator now?!"
It had to be said that this Lightning Tribulation had opened the eyes of quite a few Rogue Cultivators.
Spirit Prefecture itself was remote to begin with, and Spirit Terrace County was remote even among remote places.
Nestled against mountains and waters, it could be considered a prosperous place within a hundred-li radius, yet few people had ever truly come into contact with Purple Mansion cultivators. Perhaps only in New Peace Prefecture City could one encounter them.
But New Peace Prefecture was extremely far from Spirit Terrace County. Many people might spend their entire lives never traveling farther than their own little patch of land.
Let alone venturing to places in other prefectures.
"The Purple Mansion Realm..."
The gazes of some lineage cultivators were incomparably complicated.
They were no longer young, but after seeing Lu Qing, anyone would admit that this resident Immortal master from the Profound Heaven Dao Academy was truly of a very youthful age.
He was not some old monster.
They had spent three years with the previous resident cultivator, Chen Sheng, but even so, Chen Sheng had not been a teenager. On the contrary, without cultivation, among ordinary mortals he would have been old enough to be called a great-grandfather.
"A Heaven's Pride—nothing less."
"Someone, prepare a gift and send people to pay a visit to the Immortal master."
"Quick, quick, quick! Open the storeroom and bring out that item I collected last year!"
"Master, that is..."
"I told you to go, so hurry up."
For a time, those who had recovered from their shock no longer remained immersed in it.
Instead, they hurried like galloping horses to prepare gifts for Immortal Master Lu, the Purple Mansion cultivator who had just broken through.
The Bai Clan, Zhao Clan, Li Clan, and Chen Clan all did the same.
Why had they been able to stand firm in Spirit Terrace County? One reason was that each lineage maintained good relations with the resident cultivator. Resident cultivators would eventually leave, and their evaluations were crucial to whether a lineage was capable of being chosen as the foremost power in a county.
With a thought from Lu Qing, the movements of the Cloud Mist Formation reached him.
These people did not dare touch the formation, nor did they shout and make a clamor. They merely prepared their lineage gifts together, then stated their purpose at the foot of the mountain.
They believed Lu Qing would hear them.
"Immortal Master, these are the congratulatory gifts we have brought. Since you have served as the resident cultivator of Spirit Terrace County, the county has remained peaceful this past month. To express our gratitude, we have prepared this humble gift, and we congratulate you here on attaining Longevity upon the Immortal Path!"
Bai Shoucai arrived with his eldest son.
"Come up."
After breaking through the threshold, Lu Qing had become somewhat more free and easy.
After the group came up, they found the spiritual qi along the way to be incredibly dense—even denser than at the foot of the mountain.
Such mastery of formations is far superior to the so-called formation masters in the county.
The Bai Clan's eldest young master followed his father up the mountain. Feeling the spiritual qi around him all the way, he thought this with some envy.
Even the Spirit-Gathering Formation in his home could not compare with this place.
Lu Qing emerged, the mountain wind blowing past him without stirring his robes.
The Bai Clan's eldest young master finally saw this Immortal master from up close.
A young man stepped out, his features youthful and his aura ethereal and natural. Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he would not even have known from his senses that the other had already arrived before him.
"Congratulations to the Immortal master on entering the Purple Mansion Realm. May your Longevity flourish and prosper."
The young resident cultivator smiled at those words, casual and gentle, without the oppressive presence of a great cultivator.
Yet an invisible bearing still surrounded him, making others dare not offend him.
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