Word Spreads

Jiang Youfu, who was meditating and cultivating diligently, was so engrossed in the mental cultivation method that he didn't notice that he had been lifted up.

It wasn't until Lin Xiao led him out of the cultivation room that he noticed the surrounding Spiritual Qi seemed to have suddenly thinned out, and he regained his five senses with some confusion.

Then he found himself inexplicably transported from the cultivation room to the sect's main hall.

"Brother Xiao?" Jiang Youfu was somewhat surprised to see Lin Xiao in front of him.

Lin Xiao sat down in front of him and said:

"Come on, Fuzi, we haven't had a proper talk in a long time, let's have a chat."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Youfu nodded vigorously with delight, his cheeks jiggling with joy.

"Okay, okay, Brother Xiao, let me tell you something amazing I've discovered while cooking lately!"

As he spoke, he shifted down next to Lin Xiao, sitting close to him as he continued:

"I've discovered that the dishes I made with those Spirit Plant and the spiritual fish you brought back not only provide a gentle source of Spiritual Qi that I can absorb, but they also help to regulate my meridians!"

Hearing him say this, Lin Xiao was somewhat surprised:

"Wow, Fuzi! Who knows, this might be a viable path for you? Give it a try in the future. If you need any ingredients from our sect, just let me know. I've already spoken to Tuzi, so just tell him what you need."

By the way, you don't have to give all the dishes you cook to the people in our sect. Take some back for your family too, especially your grandmother. She's getting old and should eat some good things like this. Oh, and Fuzi, I have some tonifying pills here. I was so busy I forgot about them. Take these and give one to your family when you get home. Don't give them too many, or their bodies might not be able to handle it."

As he spoke, Lin Xiao took out another small bag from his private stash, which he had prepared for Fuzi, and handed it to her.

Jiang Youfu happily accepted it:

"Brother Xiao. My grandma is suffering from summer heat right now, so this is perfect. I'll take some back for her tonight."

Seeing that he was still the same as before, Lin Xiao was very happy. Although he had been too busy with his affairs lately, his brothers had not made him feel distant.

This made him feel very reliable.

He didn't want to lose his friends just because he became a sect leader.

Although he used to think that cultivating immortality meant something like "the Great Dao is ruthless".

But he didn't believe it.

He was stubborn; he wanted to see what would happen if he weren't ruthless.

"Fuzi, I have to go into seclusion for a while, so I won't have much time to play with you. You should focus on your cultivation; we'll have plenty of time together in the future."

Jiang Youfu looked at him with a smile and nodded emphatically:

"Don't worry, Brother Xiao, I'm doing quite well in the sect. Recently, I've even been cooking with Sister Sheng. I've tried so many dishes, it's been so much fun."

--

The Lingxian Sect on the mountain is changing rapidly.

The villagers at the foot of the mountain gradually noticed some changes.

Yesterday, when the children in the village who attend the private school came home, they all said that many, many peach trees had suddenly been planted at the foot of the mountain next to their school, all the way up to the middle of the North Mountain.

The adults didn't believe them, thinking they were lying.

No one has been bringing peach saplings to the village lately, how could that be?

Some people just think it's nonsense from a child and let it go.

Some, however, remained skeptical and, while out for a stroll, remembered this incident and took a detour to check it out.

Then they discovered that what their child said was actually true!

However, upon seeing the winding peach blossom path, those who had gone to look at it all tacitly dared not set foot on it.

Does anyone know what's going on? What if it's some kind of mountain spirit using Eye-Obscuring Law to lure people over and eat them?

But after they returned home and told their families, they still couldn't stop thinking about it and felt they had to get it off their chests.

So they went outside and started whispering among the villagers they knew.

Within a day, the news had spread throughout the village.

Some of them noticed that the Lin Household had been frequently going up the North Mountain in the past two months.

But that young man from the Sun Household insisted on opening his private school there.

Could there be something fishy going on here?

However, a small group of people suddenly remembered what Lin Xiao had been shouting about in the village about the sect recruiting disciples.

Some people also noticed that the Lin Household members have been spending less time in the fields lately.

If one or two people said that, I would assume they just didn't run into each other because their work hours were different.

However, as more and more people discussed it, they realized that it wasn't that they missed each other, but rather that the Lin Household members simply weren't working in the fields as often.

I haven't been doing much work lately.

Even so, their land is now considered to be the best-growing land in the entire village!

After considering it together, everyone realized that this matter seemed to be more complicated than it appeared.

So the people of Xiushui Village would seize any opportunity to discuss this matter with everyone they met.

Some wives and mothers-in-law are particularly fond of gossip, and even on the hottest days, they insist on walking back to their parents' homes under the scorching sun to tell their families about these things, one by one.

And so, the Lin Household became legendary in Ten-Li surrounding villages.

Everyone says that a true immortal must have emerged from the Lin Household.

Recently, some scholars and literati who came to admire Sun Yigao scholar in the imperial examinations, after listening to the villagers' discussions, arrived at the entrance of the mountain path next to the private school.

Some of them had visited more than once.

Seeing that, just as the villagers had said, a path lined with peach blossoms had suddenly appeared, they couldn't help but feel surprised.

Moreover, these peach trees don't look like they were just planted.

It's as if it's always grown here.

Some people, driven by curiosity, took that first step.

However, many more people are too timid to step onto this suddenly appearing peach blossom path.

Those who didn't go in saw that the few who did go in took only two steps forward before their eyes glazed over and they looked dazed.

Upon seeing this, the timid one immediately panicked and said:

"This... this must be sorcery! There's a monster here--"

At this shout, many people were immediately frightened and turned to run away.

The companions of those trapped hesitated for a moment, but one of them, who was on good terms with them, reached out and pulled them out.

However, to everyone's surprise, the first person to reach out instinctively took two steps forward and went inside.

He then, like the others, fell into a daze.

Seeing this, the remaining people no longer dared to even think of pulling them out.

They had no choice but to go back to the county town to get help.

However, when they brought reinforcements, they found that the people who had been trapped inside were standing perfectly fine at the entrance of the mountain path, looking up at the peach blossom road with longing expressions, their gazes following the path upwards, as if they wanted to look at something above through the mountain path.

Moreover, whether it was the imagination of those who had called for reinforcements or not, they felt that the expressions of their trapped companions seemed to have changed a lot.

It seems like there's less restlessness, and more perseverance.