The Treasure Tree

Led by Wen Si'an, Xu Xuan entered the little courtyard where she normally lived and cultivated.

It had blue-brick walls and black roof tiles, with a few nameless white flowers growing in the corners.

Jagged ornamental rocks stood amid flowers and greenery, with a pavilion at the center. Wen Si'an led Xu Xuan inside, invited him to sit, and served him spirit tea.

"Your little courtyard is certainly a peaceful place, junior sister."

Xu Xuan tasted the spirit tea in his cup. It had no rich, heavy flavor, only a light freshness, much like Wen Si'an herself.

The woman in green sitting opposite him took the little jade-green sword and flicked it with a finger. Emerald light flowed over the blade, and a clear note rang out.

"If you enjoy the scenery here, senior brother, you could come more often. Most of the disciples here have a hard time of it. Seeing you come to offer a few words of encouragement would lift their spirits."

After saying this, Wen Si'an continued stroking and examining the sword, as though she had only mentioned it in passing.

"The sect lost Dapan, yet we've managed to hold on. Much of that is thanks to you."

Xu Xuan sighed.

"Have you decided what to call this magic sword?"

"I'm no good with literary things. Would you give it a name for me, senior brother?"

A ripple passed through Wen Si'an's eyes as she finally looked at Xu Xuan, a faint anticipation in her gaze.

"How about Rainthought?"

"It's a lovely name. I'll call it that, then."

Wen Si'an agreed softly, a trace of a smile in her eyes. She circulated her qi, sending Rainthought rising on the wind. It danced gracefully through the air before disappearing into her sea of qi.

Seeing her smile, Xu Xuan relaxed and quietly sipped his spirit tea.

"Since you're here, senior brother, there's something I'd like to discuss."

Wen Si'an grew serious. Her eyes, clear as autumn waters, looked straight at Xu Xuan as she said:

"We've done everything we can for Longbright's spirit fields. We've reached our limits."

"The spirit plant growers the sect recruited before saw how weak our abbey had become and left. Gao Xia and I only have a rudimentary grasp of spirit plant cultivation. When strange diseases or insect infestations appear, we're at a loss."

"We need someone who truly understands spirit plant cultivation to tend those fields."

Xu Xuan listened, but spirit plant growers were precious indeed. Among the hundred arts of cultivation—alchemy, Artifact Refining, talismans, formations, spirit planting, and the rest—skilled practitioners were all rare talents. Though the Great Red Abbey had an Artifact Refining lineage passed down through Wang Xiwei, it had no legacy of spirit plant cultivation.

If one asked who in Green Peaks understood that art, the answer would be Rejuvenation Mountain.

Rejuvenation Mountain was situated on Evergreen Mountain, west of Green Luo, bordering the Autumn Gourd School. The Great Red Abbey's three mountains stood in central Green Peaks. Eastern Secret to the east was home to Black Wind Valley, while Dapan to the north connected directly to the Li River and had now been occupied by the Lotus Temple.

"We'll probably have to ask Rejuvenation Mountain about this. They're closely tied to the Plainlands and aren't particularly friendly with us, but we should still try."

Xu Xuan explained in detail, and Wen Si'an nodded in agreement. They chatted a little longer before Xu Xuan prepared to leave and cultivate.

Once they stepped out of the courtyard, Wen Si'an suddenly took a pill wreathed in green qi from within her robes. She took Xu Xuan's hand and placed it in his palm.

"This is an Essence-Nourishing Pill. It has the effect of Origin-Nourishing Foundation-Stabilizing. My father left it behind all those years ago. You'll soon be seeking your life foundation, senior brother, so take it and use it."

Xu Xuan did not refuse. He accepted the pill, said goodbye, and rode a cloud to Green Luo, arriving at Frostreturn Peak.

No one had taken up residence on this peak yet, and it stood vacant. It had originally been the home of Wen Fuyi, the abbey's elder in charge of discipline.

That elder had been trapped at the ninth level of Qi Refining for many years and was the only surviving elder after the Demon Calamity. Gravely wounded, Wen Fuyi had then fought the monks of the Lotus Temple and passed away not long afterward.

The peak was extremely high, only a little lower than Skyblue. At its summit, white clouds swirled all around and fierce winds howled.

Xu Xuan sat in meditation on a stone platform. He had read the qi and knew a torrential storm was coming-the perfect opportunity to draw lightning into his body. He would spend the next few days meditating here and regulating his breathing, quietly awaiting the right weather.

White Stone Mountain was comparatively low and yielded plentiful metals and minerals.

This was Liu Xiaowen's first visit. He had only cultivated at Green Luo, occasionally going to Longbright to kill demons and temper himself. Now Senior Brother Qiyun had brought him here to inspect the ore veins.

White Stone had two main ore veins. One produced scarlet blood stone, a spirit mineral of only Fetal Breath grade, though it was plentiful. The other produced bloodfire essence iron, one of the finest spiritual materials of Qi Refining grade. The sect needed a great deal of it for Artifact Refining and cultivation.

Walking down a pitch-black mine tunnel, Liu Xiaowen saw many outer disciples mining. Most wore ordinary coarse hemp clothing and used the poorest magic tools of low-grade Fetal Breath rank to dig out and carry the ore.

At the sight of Wang Qiyun and Liu Xiaowen, the outer disciples all hurried to salute them, not daring to show any neglect.

"Even after taking up cultivation, people still end up like this?"

Liu Xiaowen was somewhat astonished. Most of his fellow disciples in White Stone's mines had faces covered in soot and dust, with hardly a trace of an immortal's bearing.

I was simply lucky and had a little more talent, enough to catch Master's eye. Otherwise, I'd still be an ordinary mortal, and my circumstances might be even worse than those of these fellow disciples mining here.

Liu Xiaowen sighed inwardly. Life was unpredictable. All the more reason to cherish the opportunity before him and do what he could for his sect.

Wang Qiyun led Liu Xiaowen to a deeper tunnel. It lay close to the underground fire and was stiflingly hot. A somewhat short old man was controlling a little golden hoe to mine bloodfire essence iron.

"Senior Brother Chiyu, I'm here. Xiao Wen, this is your Senior Brother Chiyu. Come and pay your respects."

Liu Xiaowen hurried forward to greet him. The man before him was probably Senior Uncle Xi Wei's eldest disciple, Jiang Chiyu, the oldest of the True Disciples. He spent the year at White Stone overseeing the mining and did not return to Green Luo to cultivate.

Hearing their voices, the little old man busy at work hurriedly turned around. His face was aged, his figure short, and he wore a gray robe. He smiled at the sight of the two of them.

"So this is Junior Brother Xiao Wen. I haven't met you before. Come, come, your senior brother has something for you."

Old Chiyu grinned and took a token cast from white iron out of his robes. The words "Spirit Devouring" were engraved on it. It was a low-grade Qi Refining magic tool.

Wang Qiyun was startled by the sight and asked quietly:

"Isn't that the Spirit-Devouring Token the sect bestowed on you for your service back then, senior brother? You spend all year underground and rely on it to gather spiritual qi for cultivation. How can you give it away?"

Jiang Chiyu rolled his eyes at his junior brother and placed the token directly into Liu Xiaowen's hands, saying with some displeasure:

"I've been stuck at late-stage Fetal Breath for so many years that I gave up on breaking through long ago. Xiao Wen has talent. The sooner he reaches Qi Refining, the sooner he can shoulder the sect's burdens. You can't even see that? All that Artifact Refining has addled your brains."

After being thoroughly scolded by his senior brother, Wang Qiyun could only helplessly tell Liu Xiaowen to accept it for now.

Liu Xiaowen had wanted to refuse, but he could not prevail against his two senior brothers and had no choice but to accept. The token felt almost too hot to hold.

"Senior brother, you summoned me here and said it was important. What is it?"

Wang Qiyun grew solemn, finally turning to the matter at hand. With that serious expression, he looked somewhat like Wang Xiwei.

Hunched over, Jiang Chiyu first checked the formations inside the tunnel. Only after confirming that no one was nearby did he lead the two of them into a deeper cavern.

The moment they entered, rolling waves of heat struck them, and fiery qi surged through the air. Bloodfire essence iron lay everywhere, almost matching several years of the Great Red Abbey's output.

Most importantly, a little tree like red jade stood in a pool of lava at the cavern's center. It was as tall as a person and bore numerous Red Fruits wreathed in flowing flames. One glance was enough to tell that it was no ordinary thing.

At the sight of the tree, Liu Xiaowen felt comfortable from head to toe. His magical power began circulating of its own accord, flowing like mighty rivers.

Stunned by the scene, Wang Qiyun looked at Jiang Chiyu in disbelief.

The oldest disciple said in a low voice:

"After all these years of mining, we've finally reached the heart of the deposit. I never imagined there would be a Foundation Establishment-grade treasure tree inside!"

There was no joy on Jiang Chiyu's face. Instead, his expression was dark, his brows tightly furrowed. He looked at Wang Qiyun and said slowly:

"I haven't dared let anyone else know. The Chen Household has sealed off its mountain. If word of this gets out, it will bring disaster upon us and wipe out our sect."