From afar, the mountain gates of the Azure Wood Sect stood amid layer upon layer of verdant peaks, wreathed in clouds and mist.
Now and then, immortal cranes gave clear cries, while upturned eaves and bracketed arches appeared and vanished among the woods-a true scene of an immortal abode.
Yet Xu Xuan's destination on this journey was not the magnificent great hall on the main peak.
It was a relatively remote subsidiary herb garden on the outskirts of the mountain range.
Carrying the wooden token Li Jiangping had given him.
Xu Xuan asked directions along the way and trekked for half a day.
Only then did he arrive before a valley shrouded in a faint blue-green curtain of light.
Disciples stood guard at the entrance.
After inspecting his wooden token and asking him a few questions, they let him through.
As soon as he entered the valley, rich spiritual energy from the vegetation washed over him.
Though it could not compare with the inner sect's peaks, it was already worlds apart from Hundred Fragrance Valley.
Xu Xuan felt every pore in his body open of its own accord.
The spiritual power in his dantian also grew a little more active.
The spiritual vein here really is good. No wonder the Azure Wood Sect chose this site.
Joy stirred in his heart. He had indeed come to the right place.
The herb garden was sizable.
Terraced fields had been cut into the mountainside, planted with all manner of spiritual herbs and medicinal plants.
Many were varieties Xu Xuan had never seen in Hundred Fragrance Valley.
Quite a few menial workers in short gray jackets were busy in the fields with their heads down.
Several outer sect disciples dressed in pale blue-green clothing supervised them.
Following the directions he had received, Xu Xuan found Manager Zhao, a stern-faced man who was reprimanding a menial worker.
Manager Zhao took the wooden token, looked Xu Xuan up and down a few times, and frowned slightly.
"Junior Brother Li recommended you?"
"At your age, can you still handle the work in the herb garden?"
Xu Xuan quickly bowed, his tone respectful and sincere.
"Manager Zhao, this humble servant is Wang Tong. Though I am somewhat advanced in years, I have tended fields for many years and am still reasonably nimble. I will certainly give my utmost and dare not neglect my duties."
Seeing his deferential manner and clear speech, unlike those ignorant youths, Manager Zhao's expression softened somewhat.
"Since Junior Brother Li recommended you, stay and give it a try."
"The herb garden doesn't have many rules. Menial workers must tend their assigned spiritual fields, weeding, watering, fertilizing, and removing pests every day without fail."
"More importantly, you must understand the habits of the medicinal plants in your care."
"If even the slightest mistake damages them, you'll have your wages docked at best, or be expelled from the sect at worst. Do you understand?"
"This humble servant understands and will keep it firmly in mind," Xu Xuan answered with a nod.
Manager Zhao casually pointed toward a somewhat disorderly patch of land in the distance.
"That field of azure needle grass and dew blossoms-the previous worker quit a few days ago. I'll leave it to you."
"These are the key points for tending them. Read them carefully."
As he spoke, Manager Zhao handed him a thin jade slip.
Xu Xuan took it and lightly probed it with his spiritual sense.
It contained the most basic growth requirements and precautions for the two medicinal plants.
The information was elementary, but for mortal menial workers with no experience, it was already detailed.
He skimmed through it quickly and understood it all.
"Thank you, Manager."
Xu Xuan respectfully handed the jade slip back.
Seeing how quickly he had read it, Manager Zhao asked no further questions, merely assuming he had given it a cursory glance. He summoned an elderly menial worker and instructed him:
"Old Sun, take him to his quarters, show him his fields, and explain all the rules and details of tending them."
Old Sun was an elderly man with a hunched back and a face covered in wrinkles.
He looked considerably older than Xu Xuan.
He answered and led Xu Xuan toward the workers' living quarters.
The workers' lodgings were extremely crude: a row of stone rooms carved out beside the mountain wall.
They were dark and damp, with several people sharing each room.
Old Sun rambled on about the herb garden's various rules.
When work began, when they rested, how much they earned, and where they ate.
And, most importantly-
Which places they could not enter, and which disciples they must not offend.
Xu Xuan listened silently, committing this information to memory.
He knew full well that in a place like this, watching one's words and actions and keeping to one's duties were the way to survive.
After settling in, Xu Xuan immediately set to work.
The spiritual field assigned to him was indeed rather difficult to tend.
Azure needle grass liked sunlight and tolerated drought, while dew blossoms needed shade and moisture.
Planting the two together was already something of a stretch.
On top of that, the previous worker had neglected the field, leaving it overgrown with weeds, and some of the medicinal plants were already wilting.
But these problems were not particularly difficult for Xu Xuan.
He did not rush to achieve results.
Instead, he first spent a day carefully clearing away the weeds.
He observed the condition of every medicinal plant and distinguished the subtle differences in the soil.
Only then did he adjust the frequency and amount of watering according to the actual conditions.
He moved the sun-loving azure needle grass to the higher field ridges wherever possible, while placing the moisture-loving dew blossoms in low-lying, shaded spots.
He also used stones and weeds from the field's edges to create small differences in their surroundings.
His movements were not quick, but not a single step was wasted.
After several days, the once-chaotic spiritual field had actually become orderly.
The medicinal plants' growth also improved at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Their leaves grew plump again, brimming with vitality.
At first, the workers who shared his room had looked down on Xu Xuan somewhat because he was an old man.
But after spending several days with him, they found that he worked steadily and expertly, putting this half-ruined spiritual field into perfect order without a word. They could not help seeing him in a new light.
Old Sun was especially full of wonder.
"Brother Wang, your skills don't look like a beginner's!"
Xu Xuan merely gave an honest, good-natured smile.
"I farmed for decades back home. Practice makes perfect, that's all."
Naturally, his performance also caught the eye of Manager Zhao, who occasionally made inspection rounds.
Manager Zhao paid little attention at first.
But on several successive visits, he saw that the fields Yuan Tong tended were tidy and their medicinal plants thriving, far surpassing the areas managed by other workers. He could not help nodding inwardly.
He thought that Li Jiangping had recommended someone hardworking and capable this time.
About half a month later, Li Jiangping found time to visit the herb garden.
He first exchanged a few pleasantries with Manager Zhao, then asked about Xu Xuan.
Manager Zhao showed a rare look of approval.
"Junior Brother Li, this Wang Tong you recommended really is good."
"He may be old, but he's nimble, attentive, and dependable."
"He's put that ruined field nobody wanted to take over into excellent order. The medicinal plants are growing more than a notch better than before."
Hearing this, Li Jiangping basked in the reflected glory and said with a smile:
"I told you Brother Wang wasn't an ordinary farmer. As long as you find him useful, Senior Brother Zhao."
He then found Xu Xuan bent over weeding in the field.
Seeing Li Jiangping, Xu Xuan quickly stopped working and bowed respectfully.
"Immortal Master Li."
Li Jiangping waved a hand and looked at the thriving spiritual field before him, nodding with satisfaction.
"Brother Wang, it seems you've adapted quite well here."
"It is entirely thanks to your recommendation, Immortal Master, and Manager Zhao's care that I have been able to settle here."
Xu Xuan remained humble.
Li Jiangping lowered his voice. "Keep working hard."
"The herb garden may be demanding, but it is sect land, after all. Its spiritual energy cannot be compared with the outside world's."
"If you perform well, you may yet have a chance to encounter profound cultivation methods in the future. If you render meritorious service, you might even be rewarded with one or two Spirit Nourishing Pills."
The words "Spirit Nourishing Pill" stirred something in Xu Xuan's heart.
Though this was a cultivation pill of the lowest grade.
For him at present, its effects far surpassed those of the Yellow Bud Pill.
Gratitude and longing appeared on his face.
"Wang Tong will remember your kindness in his heart, Immortal Master. I will certainly not disappoint you!"
After a few more words of encouragement, Li Jiangping left.
On this visit, he had come both to confirm Xu Xuan's value.
And to bestow further favors, binding to him this skilled cultivator of spiritual plants who might prove useful.
Xu Xuan watched Li Jiangping's retreating figure, the eagerness in his eyes gradually fading.
He knew he had passed this man's initial test and established a foothold in the herb garden.
Through his connection with Li Jiangping, he could obtain more cultivation resources.
"Spirit Nourishing Pill..."
He murmured to himself, yet his hands did not pause in their weeding.
His immediate priority was to continue demonstrating his value and earn trust.
At the same time, he needed all the more to draw on the spiritual energy here and find a way to break through to the Spirit Treasury Realm.
Deep into the night, all was quiet.
The workers sharing his room were already snoring like thunder.
Xu Xuan sat cross-legged on his hard plank bed, casting aside stray thoughts and guiding the herb garden's spiritual energy, far richer than Hundred Fragrance Valley's, to refine it strand by strand.
Nourishing the false spiritual root and spiritual power in his dantian.
His progress remained outrageously slow, but his will was iron, and he could endure this patient, grinding work.
Soon...
As long as I can obtain a Spirit Nourishing Pill, I can raise the grade of this body's spiritual root and truly get on the right track.