In the days that followed, Yun Qing found himself busier than ever before.
First, he informed the elders of Yun Huang's current condition, putting the old folks' minds at ease.
After that, by day, he was the Yun Clan Eldest Young Master overseeing the entire Azure Cloud List affair. Countless tasks and tangled threads demanded his attention. Perching Phoenix Hall had practically become his palace, with Jade Slips and documents piled like mountains and stewards coming and going in an endless stream.
Meanwhile, Yun Huang played the zither, sipped tea, and tended flowers and plants in Langhuan Clear Void.
At night, come hell or high water, Yun Qing entered Langhuan Clear Void on time to face the "hellish training" Yun Huang had tailored for him. Under repeated assaults, the barrier to the middle stage of the immortal king realm gradually loosened.
That day, another downright brutal round of training had ended. Aching all over and grimacing, Yun Qing debated whether to first munch on two Vermilion Fruits native to the Cave Heaven to replenish his spiritual power, or simply jump into the Spirit-Spring Immortal Pool and soak until heaven and earth grew old.
When he looked up, however, he discovered that Yun Huang had not dismissed him to "do as he pleased" as usual. Instead, he stood with his hands behind his back beside a newly developed area at the center of the Cave Heaven, seemingly deep in thought.
With time on his hands, the esteemed Immortal Emperor had now turned that area into a sizable "Immortal Plants Garden," filled with a dazzling array of exotic flowers and unusual plants.
At first, only a single uniquely shaped Immortal Tree had been planted in the center of the garden. It was not especially tall, but its trunk and branches were powerfully