Golden Book Stirs, Fleshly Dao Patterns

"Second-rank seed, Lu He—"

Second floor of the Utility Hall.

Inside a small room.

An old man took Lu He's jade token, inspecting it as he used a brush to mark and record something in the bronze book on the table.

"This is your Black Jade Pill. You may collect the next one in two months."

The old man took out a white porcelain bottle and returned it to Lu He together with the jade token in his hand.

"Such efficiency? It had not even been half an hour since Manager Lu gave me the second-rank seed roster..."

"Could it be the jade token?"

Lu He was somewhat astonished, but he quickly came back to himself and reached out to accept the token and porcelain bottle.

"Thank you, sir!"

He stepped briskly out of the Utility Hall.

In the distance, a huge, dusky yellow fireball hung low in the sky, spilling radiance, yet it no longer carried its former scorching heat.

The evening breeze was somewhat cool.

"The weather is about to change."

He murmured softly, only to catch sight of a white-robed figure that seemed to have been waiting for quite some time.

"Brother Zheng knew you had only just entered the seed roster and might not understand certain things, so he asked me to show you around. Mainly your residence."

Bai Hao stared at Lu He, his tone somewhat sour.

"What residence?"

"Every Medicine Garden seed may choose a small courtyard in the residential district to live in for free. I happened to have nothing to do, so I might as well take you over to have a look."

A free small courtyard?

Medicine Garden seeds actually enjoyed such benefits.

Lu He's eyes lit up.

That way, he would no longer be forced to cultivate in the big locust tree outside the huts.

The residential district...

Lu He could not help recalling what he had seen the last time he went to rent a courtyard.

No wonder they had been outrageously expensive, yet there had clearly been so many people living there that day. Most of them were probably Medicine Garden seeds.

"What if I happen to take a liking to a courtyard that already has someone living in it?"

After more than a month, Lu He returned to the residential district once again. His gaze swept over the courtyards lining both sides of the road as he asked curiously.

"If they are a seed, then you spar. The weaker one will naturally know what to do."

Without even turning his head, Bai Hao replied as though he knew the rules by heart.

"...What if they are ordinary tenant farmers?"

"Tell them to move out directly."

"..."

They had reached the place.

Lu He was about to inspect the courtyards, but Bai Hao, who was leading the way ahead, showed no intention of stopping.

Though puzzled, Lu He did not speak. He simply followed in silence.

They walked along a small river and passed through a forest. The scenery around them gradually became unfamiliar.

After another two li, the view suddenly opened up.

At the center of his sight stood a lush little mountain, waterfalls leaping down its slopes. A majestic, palace-like building stood proudly halfway up the mountain, blooming with spiritual light.

At the foot of the mountain.

Exquisite courtyards lay concealed amid the trees, scattered in every direction like stars surrounding the moon.

"Brother Lu, these courtyards are divided according to direction into four major districts: Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding. Each district has fifty small courtyards, and most of them are currently empty.

"Su Lingchan, I, and several others all live in the Yi District. There happen to be a few vacant courtyards nearby. Would you like to take a look?"

Bai Hao pointed somewhere ahead and asked softly.

"Then let us take a look."

Lu He kept looking around, a faint excitement stirring in his heart.

He had originally thought the residential district Bai Hao mentioned was the same kind he had seen before. He had never expected the courtyard residences to be here.

They continued onward.

The closer they drew to the little mountain, the denser the spiritual aura in the air became.

Although he had yet to open his Vermilion Essence Spring and could not directly absorb this spiritual aura of heaven and earth for cultivation, merely living here would be of immense benefit to cultivation.

This was where immortal cultivators ought to live.

Lu He thought to himself.

About the time it took to drink a cup of tea later.

"Over there, Courtyard Fifteen of the Yi District is where I live. Su Lingchan lives in Courtyard Twelve, and Courtyard Eleven belongs to..."

Bai Hao pointed to several nearby courtyards and began introducing them to Lu He one by one.

"Only Courtyards Thirteen and Seventeen are vacant nearby at the moment. There is no difference between them, so Brother Lu may choose either one."

As soon as the words fell.

Lu He seemed not to have heard him at all, showing not the slightest reaction.

At this moment, his mind was wholly focused on the Golden Book at the corner of his vision.

For no other reason than that the Golden Book had unusually stirred to life on its own!

He involuntarily looked toward a spot not far ahead.

There stood three small courtyards, half embedded into the mountainside like immortal cave abodes. They looked completely different from the courtyards around Lu He.

An inexplicable feeling told Lu He.

The reason behind the Golden Book's unusual movement was hidden within the leftmost of those three courtyards.

Unable to resist, he started walking forward.

Yet the next moment, Bai Hao beside him grabbed hold of him.

"Brother Lu, those three courtyards are not free. Do not go over there."

Lu He turned back.

Bai Hao's smug, punchable face happened to fill his eyes.

"Hehe, looks like you noticed it too... The closer one gets to this mountain, the greater the benefits for us. Those three courtyards are directly connected to the mountain itself, and the spiritual aura inside is extremely dense. Cultivating there would yield twice the results with half the effort."

"So, if you want to live there, you must pay the Medicine Garden twenty contribution points every year!"

"Contribution points?"

"They are the Leaf Talismans ordinary tenant farmers talk about."

"Hiss—so you are saying... living there costs twenty Leaf Talismans a year?!"

Upon hearing this.

Lu He could not help sucking in a sharp breath, blurting out in shock.

What did twenty Leaf Talismans represent?

Converted into silver, it amounted to a full two hundred taels!

He remembered that his brother-in-law worked in a shop in the city and earned eight hundred copper coins a month, which was considered high among ordinary people.

Even so, to save up two hundred taels, he would have to work without eating or drinking for twenty whole years!

"Is this... the divide between immortals and mortals?"

A trace of lingering shock remained in Lu He's eyes.

He had originally thought that after becoming the Spirit-Slaying Envoy of a thousand mu of spirit fields and entering the second-rank seed roster, he had finally made something of himself in the Medicine Garden.

But now that he looked at it, he was still, without question, poor.

Coming back to himself.

"Then who lives in these three courtyards?"

Lu He asked curiously.

"The middle courtyard belongs to a descendant of a manager. It is empty most of the time; they only come stay for a few days during the tea gathering in the middle of each month. As for the person living in the courtyard on the right, you know him too—"

Bai Hao chuckled.

"It is Brother Zheng."

"As for the courtyard on the left, no one is living there at present."

"No one is living there yet?"

Lu He relaxed slightly, then suddenly reacted and could not help clicking his tongue.

"Wait, Brother Zheng? He is actually that rich?"

"Tsk, Brother Zheng has remained firmly within the top fifteen of the Tea Gathering Rankings all year round. He has probably won so many prizes that he cannot even remember them all. His fortune is frighteningly vast."

"Besides, the right to live in that cave abode was also one of the prizes Brother Zheng won. Why would he need to spend his own contribution points?"

Bai Hao curled his lip, his face full of envy.

As he spoke.

He seemed to realize something. He rubbed his hands together and stared eagerly at Lu He.

"Brother Lu, the tea gathering is in the middle of the month. You will be participating, right? When the time comes, how about the two of us spar again?"

Bai Hao knew full well just how gifted Brother Lu before him was.

Now that Lu He had even entered the second-rank seed roster, his strength would certainly grow rapidly over the next few months.

This month's tea gathering might be the best chance for him, the White Sword Immortal, to win back his honor!

Time waited for no one.

If he delayed any longer... he might really end up getting beaten senseless in return.

Opposite him.

"I should be busy slaying the spirit creatures in the fields around midmonth. I may not have the time. We will see when the time comes."

Lu He replied with a smile.

That night.

Courtyard Thirteen of the Yi District.

Inside the eastern room's meditation chamber.

Lu He sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, staring blankly at the porcelain bottle in his palm, unable to calm his heart.

In the span of just two days.

He had gone from an ordinary tenant farmer to a second-rank seed of the Medicine Garden roster.

He no longer needed to do farm work. He had even moved out of the filthy, crowded huts into this small courtyard, which was filled with spiritual aura and possessed the air of an immortal dwelling.

The change in his circumstances had truly come too quickly.

So quickly that it felt like a dream.

So quickly that it left him with a sense of unreality.

After a moment of silence.

"In the end, it is still strength! In the world of immortal cultivation, naked strength reigns supreme..."

Lu He let out a faint sigh.

He no longer hesitated. With one pull, he removed the stopper from the porcelain bottle and poured out the Black Jade Pill within, no bigger than a soybean.

Just as he was about to place it in his mouth, his hand paused.

"Will the medicinal potency of an entire Black Jade Pill be too strong?"

After thinking it over, he gently broke the Black Jade Pill in half.

It was not because he feared being burst apart by the medicinal power.

The spiritual aura contained in the Black Jade Pill was mild. Even if it could not be refined in time, it would only slowly dissipate and would not harm his body.

Clearly, Lu He simply did not want to waste it.

After all, he only had a single Black Jade Pill on hand. There was a full two-month gap before he could collect the next one.

He truly could not afford to waste it.

Half a pill entered his stomach, and waves of familiar warmth swiftly arose, surging through his internal organs and washing mightily toward his limbs and bones.

Lu He half-closed his eyes.

Deep within his mind, the White Ape Dao Diagram rumbled without cease. The visualization diagram operated at full force, while the Red Qiu True Talisman faintly bloomed with spiritual light, illuminating every inconspicuous corner of his body.

He did not know how much time passed.

Accompanied by a sound like something breaking free of its cocoon.

An almost imperceptible aura of majesty, originating from some higher lifeform, slowly spread from Lu He's body.

The rustling sounds around him abruptly vanished.

Then, the rats, snakes, insects, and ants that had once inhabited this empty courtyard began fleeing wildly out of it.

Before dawn had fully broken.

Creak—

The courtyard gate was pushed open.

Lu He slowly stepped out from behind it. His appearance had not changed in the slightest, yet the feeling he gave off was completely different from yesterday.

"Three thousand jin... to think there would be such a strange transformation?"

He lowered his head and could not help looking at his hand, his gaze seeming to pass through jade-like skin and fall upon the skin membrane, even into the depths of his flesh and blood.

There, at some unknown moment, divine and mysterious Dao patterns had spread everywhere.

These Dao patterns bore some resemblance to the patterns on the Red Qiu True Talisman.

As Lu He activated the Red Qiu True Talisman, these crimson Dao patterns immediately began flowing ceaselessly like water, eventually faintly weaving together within his body into an incomplete silhouette.

It was none other than the massive crimson qiu from the Visualization Diagram!

Lu He could clearly feel that in this state, calling himself impervious to blades and spears might have been a slight exaggeration, but ordinary mortal weapons truly found it difficult to harm his skin, flesh, and blood.

"The Adamantine realm?"

A flash of realization passed through his eyes.

He had originally thought such an incredible transformation would only occur upon reaching the mortal body's limit of three thousand jin, but he had never expected—

Lu He unconsciously looked toward the Golden Book.

[Name: Lu He]

[Cultivation Realm: Foundation Establishment · Late Body-Shedding Realm (one arm: fifteen hundred jin)]

[Method: Scarlet Horned-Dragon True-Origin Visualization Diagram · Fourth Layer (53%)

Scarlet Horned-Dragon True-Intent Rune (Complete)]

"Adding the explosive boost from the Red Qiu True Talisman, I barely reached the limit of three thousand jin. In other words, as long as cultivating the Visualization Diagram touches the mortal body's limit, this transformation will occur?"

He secretly guessed.

But on second thought, it made sense.

If they still possessed mere mortal flesh, then judging by the terrifying force Zheng Jingren and the others had unleashed in the arena a few days ago, they would likely collapse before they could even defeat their enemies.

After closing the door,

Lu He's figure quickly vanished into the gray, hazy sky.

By the time he reached the spirit fields under Manager Lu's charge, the sun was already hanging high overhead.

At this moment, over a thousand figures crouched among the spirit grain, diligently busy with their work.

The reason he had arrived slightly late was not because the journey was far, but because Lu He had stopped for breakfast along the way, delaying him somewhat.

After no longer needing to do farmwork,

his time had become this abundant.

After stretching lazily, Lu He entered the spirit fields and began carrying out his duties as a spirit-slaying envoy, making his rounds.

The more than eleven hundred mu of spirit fields managed by Manager Lu sounded like a great deal, but in truth, they were not particularly large. They were concentrated within a neat rectangular area roughly three li long and one li wide.

For Lu He, making a circuit took no time at all.

Along the way,

"Greetings, Lord Lu He!"

"My lord!"

"..."

Upon seeing Lu He, the tenant farmers all rose and bowed, their attitudes respectful to the utmost degree.

This was the wisdom of surviving in the Medicine Garden.

As the spirit-slaying envoy of these spirit fields,

Lord Lu might not remember those who were respectful, but he would certainly remember those who were disrespectful.

If they encountered a life-threatening spirit creature someday, and this lord happened to move 'just a little' slower, their fate would be miserable.

Time trickled by.

At a certain moment,

"My lord, there's a spirit creature here!"

A heart-rending scream rang out in the distance, followed by a burst of frantic commotion.

Hearing this,

"A spirit creature!"

In the central pavilion, Lu He opened his eyes. With a light tap of his toes, his entire body instantly transformed into an afterimage too swift for the naked eye to catch, shooting madly toward the source of the sound.

In less than three breaths,

Lu He appeared before the tenant farmer who had just shouted.

Following the man's gaze,

within his sight,

an unknown insect, translucent as green jade and shaped like a bamboo segment, seemed drawn by the strange fragrance of the spirit grain. Its six segmented limbs alternated as it crawled swiftly through the newly sprouted weeds.

Without the slightest hesitation,

Lu He's gaze sharpened, and the Dao Diagram deep in his eyes flickered in and out.

Boom— He reached out with one hand, tearing through the nearly solidified air before him as he grasped straight toward the spirit creature.

Hiss! Hiss!

As though it had sensed a fatal threat, the Jade-Segmented Spirit Insect let out a series of urgent, warning-like hisses. A pair of transparent wings suddenly unfurled from its abdomen and beat frantically, as if it were about to flee.

Yet in the next instant,

a large hand wrapped in faint crimson spiritual light blocked off every route of escape and, with the speed of a thunderbolt, accurately seized both sides of its body.

The entire process had been unimaginably fast.

And in Lu He's palm,

the spirit insect's transparent wings continued to flap without pause, like two sharp blades slashing against his flesh and producing a piercing clang of metal striking iron.

Yet they could only leave behind shallow white marks.

Beside him, the tenant farmers watching this scene were all dumbfounded.

The same thought surged through every one of their hearts:

Mother of mercy, was Lord Lu's body cast from iron and copper?

By evening,

"Today's harvest was truly not bad. I actually ran into three spirit creatures... I wonder how many contribution points they can sell for. It should not be a small amount, I suppose?"

Lu He stood at the entrance of the Miscellaneous Affairs Building, anticipation written across his face.

Seeing that only half a Black Jade Pill remained,

and that he also wanted to save enough money to rent the courtyard that could stir the Golden Book...

Adding it all together,

Lu He suddenly realized that he seemed to be severely short on contribution points.