"Nothing."
Li Moqing shook his head, unwilling to explain.
He bought some food, along with tea leaves and spices, which would prove useful later.
"Master, why did you take me as your disciple?"
Zhang Xingfeng did not press him. Instead, he asked another question.
"Because we were fated to meet, of course," Li Moqing answered with a faint smile. "Xingfeng, why do you ask?"
He glanced toward the Sect's Trial Stele. Xingfeng was fine when I left. I come back, and he's like this. Could it be that he...
"Fated to meet? But Master, I already tested my Spiritual Wisdom at the Trial Stele. Not a single star lit up!"
Zhang Xingfeng gave a bitter laugh and looked at Li Moqing, close to tears. "Master, I'm just an ordinary person. I'm destined to be a mortal my whole life!"
So that was it, just as I thought.
Li Moqing had expected as much.
Clearwind Town had no cultivators, and people with Spiritual Wisdom were exceedingly rare there. There might not have been any at all!
Otherwise, how could the Cloud Offering Sect, only thirty li from Clearwind Town, have grown to a mere dozen or so members?
But to him, this was no problem at all!
"So that's what this is about. I thought it was something serious."
Li Moqing looked at Zhang Xingfeng with a warm smile, as calm as a passing cloud and a gentle breeze.
You have no Spiritual Wisdom? Then I'll make something up and find a way to give you some.
"Ah..."
Zhang Xingfeng froze, staring at Li Moqing in bewilderment.
"Xingfeng, do you see that enormous tree not far from the Trial Stele, and the huge stone beneath it?"
Ignoring Zhang Xingfeng's confusion, Li Moqing pointed to a great tree on the south side of the square.
Zhang Xingfeng followed his finger and nodded. "I see them. Is there something special about that tree and stone?"
"Of course there is."
"The tree is called the Spirit-Awakening Tree, and the stone is called the Dao-Enlightenment Stone. I obtained them through a fortunate encounter."
"Together, they can help a mortal become an immortal and awaken his spirit to enlightenment. One need only sit upon that stone and meditate. Even a mortal can comprehend the Dao and become an immortal."
Li Moqing smiled faintly as he spun the whole tale out of thin air.
"They're really that miraculous?"
Zhang Xingfeng was dumbstruck.
The world was vast and full of wonders, so he had no reason to doubt it.
[Ding! Congratulations! Your fabricated claim has been believed by your direct disciple Zhang Xingfeng. The "Spirit-Awakening Tree" and "Dao-Enlightenment Stone" have become real.] [Spirit Awakening and Enlightenment, a mortal becoming an immortal—it is all within arm's reach!] [This fabrication becoming real has consumed one opportunity to make a fabrication about Zhang Xingfeng real, gained from taking him as your disciple!] [You have two opportunities remaining to make fabrications about Zhang Xingfeng real. Source: taking Zhang Xingfeng as your disciple.]
Hearing this, Li Moqing looked toward the great tree near the Trial Stele and the huge stone beneath it.
They looked just as they always had, but he knew they had undergone a change that turned heaven and earth upside down!
"They really are that miraculous. If you don't believe me, go sit on the stone and try!"
Li Moqing's answer was firm.
"All right! I'll try it right now!"
Zhang Xingfeng's eyes shone. His dejection vanished, and he sprang to his feet and ran toward the Spirit-Awakening Tree and Dao-Enlightenment Stone.
"Xingfeng, there's no need to rush. Eat first!" Li Moqing called after him.
"No, Master! I want to attain enlightenment and become a cultivator first!"
Zhang Xingfeng's impatient reply came as he ran even faster.
Oh well. I'll let Xingfeng awaken his spirit and seek enlightenment on his own. First, I'll grab a little something to fill my stomach.
Li Moqing returned to his pavilion. Naturally, he would not eat in front of Zhang Xingfeng. Once a cultivator reached the Fourth Stage of Qi Refinement, he could abstain from food.
And in Zhang Xingfeng's eyes, Li Moqing was at least at the Foundation Establishment Realm Ninth Layer!
The moon shone bright among scattered stars.
On the Dao-Enlightenment Stone,
Zhang Xingfeng sat cross-legged, eyes closed in concentration, as he had for an hour.
He was as still as a slab of golden stone.
When he first sat down, he had felt nothing unusual about the Spirit-Awakening Tree except a touch of coolness.
He had even begun to question whether Li Moqing had told him the truth. Now, though, all his doubts were gone.
A flicker of spiritual perception had appeared in his mind, but it vanished like a meteor streaking across the sky. He could not catch hold of it.
Still, something had changed. The thought excited him so much that he forgot his stomach had long been growling.
Spiritual perception. Come on, more spiritual perception!
Zhang Xingfeng urged himself on in his heart.
Perhaps sincerity had its rewards. The Spirit-Awakening Tree rustled and glimmered faintly. Its light gathered around him like a veil of gauze for him to absorb.
The Dao-Enlightenment Stone released a warm current that rose from his legs into his mind.
In an instant, Zhang Xingfeng's mind cleared, his consciousness sharpened, and spiritual perception surged forth!
Spiritual perception! There's so much of it! I have to catch it!
Zhang Xingfeng grew even more excited. He cried out inwardly and concentrated harder, determined to keep every trace of spiritual perception in his mind.
He became so absorbed in catching it that hunger and time slipped completely from his thoughts!
"I caught it! I finally caught it!"
Zhang Xingfeng shouted in excitement. He had no idea how much time had passed.
His consciousness had never been so clear. Even with his eyes closed, he felt as though he could see all things in the world!
Heaven and earth, the stars, and the vast universe appeared in his mind. He sensed things he had never sensed before.
More importantly, he detected the Source Qi that had always eluded him. There was not much of it, but he could sense it clearly!
Excitement filled him. He knew this was the sign that he had stepped onto the path of cultivation. His Spirit Awakening and Enlightenment had succeeded!
Boom!
Zhang Xingfeng's eyes flew open, and an aura unlike any he had possessed before burst from him.
This was the difference between a cultivator and a mortal. Though Zhang Xingfeng had yet to begin cultivating in earnest, the moment he sensed Source Qi, he had gained a presence of his own—an imposing might!
With that might alone, he could kill!
And once his cultivation reached the Foundation Establishment Realm Ninth Layer, that might would become a crushing pressure, stronger and more terrifying still!
"Huh? Master, when did you get here?"
Seeing a white-clad figure beside him, Zhang Xingfeng hurriedly reined in his aura and asked.
"A while ago."
Li Moqing answered calmly, then congratulated him. "Xingfeng, congratulations on your successful Spirit Awakening and Enlightenment. Now you can become a true cultivator!"
"Yes! I never thought a mere mortal like me would have the chance to become a cultivator!"
Zhang Xingfeng marveled, his face alight with joy.
"But before you become one, you should eat."
Smiling, Li Moqing handed Zhang Xingfeng the food he had prepared earlier.
"Ah..."
Only then did Zhang Xingfeng realize it was already daylight, and his stomach had been raising a tremendous racket for some time.
"Thank you, Master!"
Zhang Xingfeng hurriedly took the food and wolfed it down.
"Slow down. You'll choke. No one's going to take it from you."
Li Moqing smiled as he warned him.
"It's your fault for making such delicious food, Master. Once I start eating, I can't stop!"
Zhang Xingfeng kept devouring the food like a whirlwind, joking between bites.
Li Moqing neither agreed nor disagreed. He simply watched Zhang Xingfeng in silence.
"Burp!"
Half a quarter-hour later, Zhang Xingfeng let out a satisfied belch.
"Master, I'm full. I'd like to test my Spiritual Wisdom now."
He rose from the Dao-Enlightenment Stone as he spoke.
"All right."
Li Moqing nodded and followed him.
Before you continue