The first day of the ninth month, year 5498 of the Yuangguang Calendar.
On Linghua Mountain, in the pavilion before the Taoist temple, Wang Ping was writing furiously. Nearby, the sisters Zheng Ji and Zheng Tong were practicing swordplay. The older one looked the part; the younger was merely waving her sword about at random!
When they finished, the two walked over to Wang Ping. "Oh, Fifth Senior Brother, you still haven't finished copying? How silly!" Zheng Tong said to Wang Ping with a grin.
"Hmph!" Wang Ping gave Zheng Tong a sidelong glance, turned away, and continued copying.
"Heehee, hurry up and copy! If you don't finish, Second Senior Brother will keep whacking you with the board! And he won't let you eat!" Zheng Tong ran around to face Wang Ping and giggled, her silvery laughter carrying far.
"That's enough, Tong. Stop it. Fifth Senior Brother, when I make dinner later, I'll secretly save you a portion!"
Wang Ping gave Zheng Ji a grateful look and nodded, then said with an air of elderly importance, "Zheng Tong, your senior brother is pondering the Daoist Script. How could merely copying books allow me to understand its profound meaning?"
"Oh, Fifth Senior Brother, then you must ponder the Daoist Script carefully! All the chicken drumsticks at dinner will be mine!"
"Hmph!" Wang Ping looked at Zheng Tong through gritted teeth, then buried his head in his copying again.
Zheng Ji looked helplessly at the two of them. Before Zheng Tong could protest, Zheng Ji took her by the collar and led her away, leaving Wang Ping staring miserably at the Taoist scripture.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
"Huh, the bell at the foot of the mountain is ringing. Could Eldest Senior Brother and the others be back?"
At this thought, Wang Ping tossed down his brush and ran into the Taoist temple.
"Second Senior Brother!"
"Second Senior Brother!"
"The bell at the foot of the mountain rang! Someone's here! Have Eldest Senior Brother and the others come back?"
Wang Ping shouted outside Liu Yu's room.
Creak!
The door opened, and Liu Yu came out. "Come on. Let's go down and have a look."
Before long, they reached the pavilion, where Zheng Ji and Zheng Tong were already standing and waiting.
"Are Eldest Senior Brother and the others back? Wonderful!" Zheng Tong said happily to Wang Ping.
Liu Yu reached the pavilion and channeled his power into his eyes, looking toward the harbor. Zhao Yi, Wang Qing, and Li Hai were already walking up the mountain.
"Come on. Eldest Senior Brother and the others are back. Let's go down to welcome them," Liu Yu said calmly, a trace of delight flashing through his eyes. After all, Zhao Yi and Wang Qing had been away for over a month.
They had barely reached the foot of the mountain when they met Zhao Yi's group of three. Looking at the four before him, Zhao Yi showed the joy of coming home.
"Eldest Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, you were away so long this time! I was getting anxious waiting!"
"Haha, we gained something, so we simply went into seclusion for a month!"
Zhao Yi spoke to Wang Ping and reached out to rub his head.
As slippery as a loach, Wang Ping dodged Zhao Yi's demonic claw.
"Come on. Let's go home."
Zhao Yi nodded to Liu Yu. "We happened to meet Li Hai on the way, so we came back together!"
Liu Yu understood and casually took the cloth bag Zhao Yi was carrying.
After dinner, Zhao Yi checked the three younger disciples' schoolwork and sent them back to their rooms to rest, then returned to his own room. Half an hour later, his door quietly opened. Liu Yu, Wang Qing, and Li Hai stood outside.
The three entered, and the door closed soundlessly.
Inside, Zhao Yi stood quietly before the table, his expression focused as he methodically boiled water and brewed tea. The leaves came from the tea trees on Linghua Island. There were forty or fifty wild trees, and the oldest ought to have been over a hundred years old.
What a pity there's no spirit vein on the island. Otherwise, I'd be brewing spiritual tea now! Zhao Yi sighed inwardly.
"Sit."
At his words, the three seated themselves opposite Zhao Yi in turn.
The dancing flames in the tea stove licked the bottom of the kettle, casting a faint red glow over it. As time passed, the water began to boil, bubbling with a gurgle. Zhao Yi gently lifted the kettle and poured a stream of water. The tea leaves began tumbling up and down, dancing in the water. Before long, a delicate tea fragrance gradually spread.
Liu Yu took the teapot and poured tea for everyone. Zhao Yi lifted his cup. The tea was golden and clear, like amber. He took a small cupful, and its faint fragrance lingered around his mouth and nose, refusing to fade.
"This Jade Green Radiance truly is wonderful. It could be called the finest of ordinary teas."
Liu Yu voiced his praise.
"What if it became spiritual tea one day?" Zhao Yi asked with a smile.
"Then it would surely be the finest of spiritual teas!" Liu Yu's eyes lit up.
"Eldest Senior Brother!" Wang Qing could never keep anything to himself. He looked at Zhao Yi, his face full of excitement.
Zhao Yi nodded. "Wang Qing, you tell them."
"Second Senior Brother, Junior Brother, Eldest Senior Brother and I found a spirit vein in that cave abode."
Clatter!
The cup in Liu Yu's hand fell onto the table, rolling and turning as tea spilled across the surface.
Zhao Yi swept out a hand, gathering the tea into a ball and tossing it outside.
"A s-spirit vein?" Liu Yu blurted out.
"Yes, it should be a spirit vein. Here, calm your nerves." With his expression unchanged, Zhao Yi picked up the cup, set it upright, and poured Liu Yu another cup. Inwardly, however, he was chuckling. Liu Yu usually handles things without so much as a ripple. That gave him a shock, didn't it!
Suppressing his excitement, Liu Yu lifted the cup and took a large gulp, heedless of the scalding tea. Then he picked up the teapot, poured himself another cup, and drank that too.
"So you and Wang Qing spent this past month cultivating in seclusion in that cave abode?"
Before he had finished speaking, a powerful aura spread from Wang Qing.
"Wang Qing, you've broken through to Perfection of Meridian Opening?" Liu Yu asked in delighted surprise.
"Yes! Eldest Senior Brother told me to give you a surprise!" Wang Qing chuckled.
"One day of cultivation in that cave abode is worth ten days of painstaking cultivation on the island! I broke through in just over twenty days."
"Congratulations, Third Senior Brother!"
"Li Hai, we came back this time to have Wang Qing take you to the cave abode to cultivate in seclusion, so you can strive to reach Perfection of Meridian Opening soon!"
Zhao Yi looked at Li Hai with a smile as he spoke.
"Thank you, Eldest Senior Brother!" Li Hai said delightedly, while Wang Qing grinned and patted his shoulder.
"Senior Brother, might Wang Qing and Li Hai encounter danger there?"
"That stretch of sea is six hundred li from our Linghua Island. If anything were to go wrong..."
Liu Yu hesitated, leaving his words unfinished.
"The waters around that area are very quiet. There shouldn't be any trouble."
"There's no time to lose. We'll leave tomorrow, take the two of them to the cave abode first, then set out for Peach Blossom Island."
"Mm!" Liu Yu nodded.
"Senior Brother, unfortunately, that spirit vein really is too far from us. Going there frequently might attract the attention of those with ulterior intentions!"
After a moment's thought, Liu Yu spoke helplessly.
"Liu Yu, have you forgotten the Spirit-Seekers' Earth Vein Migration Technique?"
"The Earth Vein Migration Technique?" Liu Yu murmured, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.
"Senior Brother! No, wait. You need to be at least at the Spirit Attraction Stage to use that!"
Zhao Yi glanced at Liu Yu, lifted his cup, and slowly savored the tea's fragrance. "After the Trade Fair ends, I plan to enter seclusion and break through to the Spirit Attraction Stage."
At this, Liu Yu's brows furrowed, then relaxed.
"Senior Brother, are you planning to draw on the spirit vein's power?"
"Yes. An opportunity must not be missed. That should be where my destined opportunity lies."
"But, Senior Brother, of the three origins-Essence, Qi, and Spirit-you've only perfected your Essence Origin!"
"With the spirit vein's help, I imagine you've already perfected your Qi Origin over this past month, Senior Brother. But what about the most important one, Spirit Origin?"
"Hmm, we could buy Spirit-Nourishing Pills aboard Azure Cloud Island's merchant ship. That would allow your Spirit Origin to reach perfection too. With Three Origins Perfection, your chances of breaking through would be a full thirty percent!"
"Do we have enough spirit stones?"
For a moment, Liu Yu faltered, unable to speak.
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