Young People Really Do Sleep Well

More than a year had passed since his last visit to the Spirit Realm.

The Ginseng Fruit Tree Sapling had changed considerably as well. It had grown from just over three inches tall to nearly a foot.

A faint azure auspicious glow flowed across the entire sapling, making it seem extraordinarily mystical.

Liu Yuanchen sensed a mass of mana appearing within his Sea of Consciousness. It was precisely the mana returned by the Blessed Land.

The amount of mana in this mass had already slightly exceeded the spiritual energy contained in a Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

He was overjoyed. "Sure enough, as the Ginseng Fruit Tree Sapling grows and the Spirit Realm develops, the mana it returns will only increase.

One Spirit Stone's worth of mana every hundred breaths. The mana gained in a single day is comparable to several hundred Spirit Stones.

Unfortunately, I can't hold that much mana myself.

I either have to consume it or let it dissipate on its own."

The Ginseng Doll, Xiao Yu, was currently sitting cross-legged beside the Ginseng Fruit Tree Sapling.

Spiritual energy circulated around him, and he seemed to be cultivating.

Liu Yuanchen did not disturb him and instead went to inspect the spirit plants.

He had assumed that after a year without anyone tending them, the Spirit Realm would be covered in withered branches and fallen leaves.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Yu had kept the Spirit Fields in perfect order all by himself.

The newly added Spirit Fields were all planted with spirit grain and medicinal herbs for Qi-Nourishing Pills.

Some of the earliest batch of medicinal herbs were already ready for harvest.

After the Golden-Thread Rice was harvested, the withered rice stalks had all been buried deep in the soil as fertilizer.

Even the few Yellow-Scaled Pines planted earlier had been used by Xiao Yu to cultivate several saplings from pine nuts.

Several storage bags hung from the branches of the largest Yellow-Scaled Pine. Liu Yuanchen had originally left them for Xiao Yu to play with.

The storage bags seemed to contain quite a lot, enough to bend the branches under their weight.

He walked beneath the tree, took down a storage bag, and opened it to find a considerable amount of Golden-Thread Rice inside.

Giving it a rough estimate, there had to be at least a hundred pounds, and its quality was exceptionally high.

It seemed that all the Golden-Thread Rice produced in the Spirit Realm over the past year had been harvested and stored by Xiao Yu.

Liu Yuanchen sighed. "A Ginseng Doll truly has remarkable intelligence. With such little cultivation, he already possesses this level of intellect.

If he can learn the Human Race's Divine Farmer Art, his future achievements will be limitless."

Just then, he felt someone hug his calf. "Father, you finally came back.

You hadn't come for so long. I was always worried that bad people had captured you."

Liu Yuanchen looked down and found Xiao Yu hugging his leg.

He bent down and picked Xiao Yu up. "It's dangerous outside. I had no choice but to hide somewhere safe, so I couldn't come here whenever I wanted.

Over the past year, you've managed these Spirit Fields very well. You're such a clever and capable child."

Hearing Liu Yuanchen's praise, Xiao Yu's face filled with pride. "Father, after you left, I didn't dare slack off for even a day.

Besides watering and loosening the soil, I also had to talk with them.

Later, as this space grew larger and larger, I planted lots of new spirit plants in the open areas..."

Xiao Yu had the temperament of a child. After being praised twice, he immediately began claiming credit.

Still, that could motivate him. In the end, the benefits would naturally fall to Liu Yuanchen, the great landlord himself.

Liu Yuanchen remembered that Xiao Yu had seemingly been cultivating just now, so he asked, "When I came in earlier, spiritual energy was circulating throughout your body. It seemed you were cultivating.

Could it be that you awakened inherited memories?"

Xiao Yu shook his head. "I was cultivating a technique just now, but I didn't awaken that technique myself. An adult gave it to me."

"An adult?" Liu Yuanchen was puzzled. "Who is this adult?"

Xiao Yu looked toward the Ginseng Fruit Tree Sapling. "The Sapling Lord. Starting half a year ago, whenever I meditated beside him, I would receive some information.

I followed the information I received to circulate the mana in my body. Later, I discovered that my mana kept growing stronger.

Now, even my earth escape is much faster than before."

Liu Yuanchen was astonished. Clearly, the technique Xiao Yu cultivated had come from the sapling.

Moreover, Xiao Yu only received that information when he was near the sapling.

Thinking back, before he had opened the Spirit Realm, a scene of Grand Immortal Zhenyuan preaching would appear in his Sea of Consciousness every ten days or so.

Although the content he could understand was always the same, at least the preaching scene would appear.

But after opening the Spirit Realm, he had matters to handle outside and spent very little time within it.

Over the past two years, while in meditation, the scenes of Grand Immortal Zhenyuan preaching had appeared in his Sea of Consciousness only four or five times in total.

Especially during the year he had stayed within the sect gates, it had appeared only once.

After breaking through to the Seventh Qi-Nourishing Layer, it had not appeared even once.

He pondered inwardly. *At the early stage of the Qi-Nourishing Realm, I understood from the preaching the matter of opening a Grotto-Heaven and Blessed Land.

At the middle stage of the Qi-Nourishing Realm, I understood the Heaven-Reaching Divine Wood Technique from the preaching.

Following that pattern, once I reach the Late Qi-Nourishing Realm, I should be able to understand another portion of the preaching.

Yet even now, I haven't heard the third portion.

That means it must be because I've remained far from the Bluestone Mountain Spirit Realm this past year and couldn't come into contact with the Ginseng Fruit Tree Sapling.

While I can enter and leave the Spirit Realm frequently during this period, I need to spend more time near the Ginseng Fruit Tree Sapling.*

He hurriedly walked to the Ginseng Fruit Tree Sapling and sat cross-legged beside it, seeking greater contact with the sapling.

He rubbed Xiao Yu's head. "Tell me about the content the Ginseng Fruit Tree Sapling passed on to you. I'll see whether humans can cultivate it."

Xiao Yu was very obedient and recited the technique he had obtained.

After hearing it, Liu Yuanchen sighed inwardly. Grand Immortal Zhenyuan truly teaches according to one's aptitude. The technique passed on to Xiao Yu cannot be cultivated by humans at all.

"During the process of enlightening Xiao Yu, the Ginseng Fruit Tree Sapling provided the energy.

Now Xiao Yu can obtain an inheritance from the Ginseng Fruit Tree Sapling as well. It seems the two truly share a deep connection.

In the future, using enlightened spirit plants to suppress Spirit Nexuses and expand the Spirit Realm should be entirely feasible.

However, Xiao Yu is exceptionally skilled at tending Spirit Fields, so it is better to let him remain in the Spirit Realm.

As for the spirit plants used to suppress Spirit Nexuses, I can make other arrangements."

Then, he took a storage bag from his robe. "Xiao Yu, this Golden-Thread Rice has been specially cultivated by me.

Once this batch of spirit grain is harvested, plant this Golden-Thread Rice.

The rice grown from these grains will not die after maturing. It can continue producing rice ears.

Once you plant this rice, your work will become much easier."

At those words, Xiao Yu's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Liu Yuanchen nodded. "Would I lie to you?"

Xiao Yu snatched the storage bag and rubbed his head against Liu Yuanchen's cheek. "Thank you, Father. After the previous spirit grains matured, they would die.

I had grown attached to them. When they died, I felt terribly sad.

If this Golden-Thread Rice can live forever, it can keep me company forever."

Afterward, Liu Yuanchen took out the medicinal herb seeds he had obtained from the Chen Household.

He took out three seeds of each type of medicinal herb, then nurtured them with the Yi Wood Origin-Nourishing Art.

Among them, the seeds of the medicinal herbs for the Meridian-Fixing Pill mattered most to him. They were life-saving spirit pills for breaking through to the Sea of Qi Realm.

He planted the medicinal herbs for the Meridian-Fixing Pill beside the Ginseng Fruit Tree Sapling, while the other medicinal herb seeds were planted along the edges of the Spirit Realm.

Among the medicinal herbs for the Meridian-Fixing Pill, the most important main ingredient was Purple-Gold Vine, which also required the longest time to mature.

Purple-Gold Vine growing in the wild was extremely rare, and it grew slowly, requiring around two hundred years to mature.

Within the Azure Elixir Sect, after thousands of years of cultivation by countless Spirit Apothecaries, Purple-Gold Vine required only thirty or forty years to mature.

However, such rapid growth came at a price.

These carefully cultivated Purple-Gold Vines had extremely high requirements for Spirit Fields. Even on Songyun Peak of the Azure Elixir Sect, there were only a little over ten mu of Spirit Fields capable of growing Purple-Gold Vine.

Those dozen or so mu were the best Spirit Fields on Songyun Peak, and they also had to be used to grow third- and fourth-rank medicinal herbs.

No matter how valuable Purple-Gold Vine was, it could not compare with third- and fourth-rank medicinal herbs.

Therefore, the Azure Elixir Sect could not grow Purple-Gold Vine on a large scale.

But within the Spirit Realm, there would certainly be enough Spirit Fields.

The growth rate of spirit plants was nearly doubled, and combined with the effects of the Yi Wood Spirit-Communion Art, these Purple-Gold Vines had a chance to mature within twenty years.

If they could be ripened with Ten Thousand Woods Become a Forest, the time required might be even shorter.

After dealing with the medicinal herbs, he cultivated beside the Ginseng Fruit Tree Sapling.

Time passed swiftly. Soon, it was the hour of the Rabbit, yet the image of Grand Immortal Zhenyuan preaching had still not appeared in his Sea of Consciousness.

Liu Yuanchen still had to patrol the area around Yujin Mountain and report the situation to Qinghe Town every day. He could not remain in the Blessed Land indefinitely.

Before dawn broke during the hour of the Rabbit, he hurriedly left the Spirit Realm.

Before leaving, he also took some of the Golden-Thread Rice and most of the Yellow-Scaled Pine nuts produced in the Spirit Realm.

With the Yi Wood Origin-Nourishing Art, Yellow-Scaled Pines could be put to great use.

Over the next several days, Liu Yuanchen patrolled around Yujin Mountain during the day, searching for Spirit Nexuses along the way in preparation for integrating them into the Spirit Realm.

At night, he entered the Bluestone Mountain Spirit Realm to cultivate the Heaven-Reaching Divine Wood Technique.

Unfortunately, the image of Grand Immortal Zhenyuan preaching never appeared in his Sea of Consciousness.

However, cultivating the Azure Ape Forest-Piercing Technique in the Spirit Realm proved quite effective.

Whether strengthening his vitality and blood, condensing Astral Force, or tempering his body with Astral Force, the results were far better than cultivating outside.

When the time limit for his patrol mission arrived, Liu Yuanchen needed to return to Qinghe Town to report back.

Over the past ten days, he had not encountered a single rogue cultivator. He had only occasionally run into one or two fellow disciples patrolling nearby areas.

Following Qingshui River downstream, he had just left his patrol area when, through a Yellow-Scaled Pine eight or nine li away, he discovered traces of rogue cultivators.

That Yellow-Scaled Pine had been planted by Liu Yuanchen ten days earlier. After being cultivated with the Yi Wood Spirit-Communion Art and accelerated with Ten Thousand Woods Become a Forest, it had sprouted on the very day it was planted.

After ten days, that sapling had already grown over a foot tall.

Through the sapling, Liu Yuanchen could see everything within a radius of two zhang.

At that moment, a cultivator wearing Azure Elixir Sect robes was fighting two cultivators dressed as independents.

Unfortunately, the sapling was too small, and its detection range was too limited to observe the entire battle.

Still, the two independent cultivators had joined forces yet failed to defeat that fellow disciple, so they were presumably Qi-Nourishing Realm cultivators as well.

This was something he could involve himself in.

Whether they were rogue cultivators or not, anyone daring to attack an Azure Elixir Sect disciple could certainly be killed.

Liu Yuanchen used Wood-Shadow Evasion and swiftly rushed toward the battlefield.

Before long, he arrived near the battlefield.

Cultivators had exceptional eyesight. As the three fought fiercely, Liu Yuanchen could make out their general appearances from fifty or sixty zhang away.

One of the independent cultivators was white-haired and aged, while the other looked to be only around thirty.

Using the vegetation to sense them vaguely, he found that neither had particularly strong auras. They were only around the Eighth Qi-Nourishing Layer.

The fellow disciple's aura was slightly stronger, likely at the Ninth Qi-Nourishing Layer.

Although his cultivation was higher, he was still struggling against two opponents and gradually fell into a disadvantage.

Liu Yuanchen did not rush to act and merely watched from the side.

After all, if he acted now, there would be one more person to divide the spoils with.

If he waited for that fellow disciple to lose and flee before acting, all the benefits would be his.

Soon, that fellow disciple could no longer hold out and did not dare continue the fight.

He casually threw out two talismans, then used an evasion technique to flee eastward.

A mass of flames erupted from each of the two talismans, forcing the two independent cultivators back.

Seeing the Azure Elixir Sect disciple flee, the younger independent cultivator was about to pursue him when the old man stopped him. "This place is too close to Qinghe Town. The farther ahead we go, the more Azure Elixir Sect disciples there will be.

If we continue pursuing him, we may be surrounded and attacked.

Once that man escapes back, he will certainly bring more Azure Elixir Sect disciples. We should hurry into Blackcloud Ridge and hide."

The young man did not persist. The two headed upstream along Qingshui River, straight toward Liu Yuanchen.

Once they entered within thirty zhang, Liu Yuanchen used Wood-Shadow Evasion, and his entire body vanished into the vegetation.

The old man seemed to sense something. He clasped his hands toward all directions. "The two of us are merely passing through. We have no intention of offending you. I ask that you show mercy, Fellow Daoist."

Mana surged through his entire body, and his Divine Sense spread outward. He had already prepared for battle.

But before he finished speaking, a cone-shaped black shadow suddenly appeared behind him.

Before he could react, the cone pierced into the Yuzhen acupoint at the back of his head.

The old man screamed and collapsed to the ground.

The young independent cultivator was horrified. He activated a Golden Armor Talisman and shielded himself.

Then he used an evasion technique and fled due south.

Liu Yuanchen held the Wind-Thunder Staff and pursued close behind with Wood-Shadow Evasion.

He poured mana into the Wind-Thunder Staff. Faint lightning flickered across the entire staff, while a layer of gray radiance wrapped around it.

Once he caught up behind the young independent cultivator, he swung the staff at the back of his head.

This strike was extremely fast and made no sound as it cut through the air.

The young independent cultivator did not even have time to react before he was sent flying.

The golden barrier formed by the Golden Armor Talisman also shattered into golden streams of light beneath that blow.

A high-grade first-rank Golden Armor Talisman could block the full-force attack of a Peak Qi-Nourishing Realm cultivator, yet it was broken by a single strike.

The young independent cultivator was also extremely experienced in battle. Even while his body flew through the air, he did not forget to throw out two talismans.

Two small golden knives immediately shot toward Liu Yuanchen's face.

Liu Yuanchen swept out with his staff. The two small golden knives could not withstand its force and likewise turned into golden streams of light.

He sprang forward like an ape. The young independent cultivator had only just climbed to his feet when the second blow smashed into his back.

The young independent cultivator only felt a numbing sensation flood his body. Then all strength left him, and he crumpled to the ground, with nothing but boundless darkness remaining in his consciousness.

Liu Yuanchen chuckled. "Young people really do sleep well. Drop them down, and they're out cold."

With that, he put away the Wind-Thunder Staff and searched the young independent cultivator. He found only a storage bag and a longsword.

He walked over to the old man's corpse again and searched it, finding only a storage bag and a longsword.

He removed the Ghostshadow Awl from the back of the old man's head and smiled.

"This thing is absolutely perfect for sneak attacks.

"That old bastard was clearly a veteran, yet he couldn't put up any resistance at all."

He took the Fire-Control Gourd from his waist and burned the old man's corpse to ashes, then tossed the ashes into the Qingshui River.

Afterward, he dislocated the unconscious young rogue cultivator's limbs, bound him with Azure Silk Vine, and headed for Qinghe Town.