Chapter 56
"I don't remember exactly, I only know that this Cultivation Method exists. If you want it, I'll look it up when I get back and then copy it down for you."
Shen Duheng thought for a moment, "I remember the biggest advantage of this Cultivation Method is that it can make the spirit spring water one grade higher than the Spring Crystal, because there are Top-Grade Spirit Stone underneath to assist it."
Shan Heyuan immediately realized. "So, if I wanted to create artificial spirit spring water, I could now create spirit spring water at the Nascent Soul level?"
Hearing this, he immediately became interested.
Spiritual spring water at the Nascent Soul stage is a valuable item.
While you can buy spiritual spring water at the Core Formation stage, spiritual spring water at the Nascent Soul stage is extremely rare, and any news of its availability will cause a frenzy of buying.
You can't find this in regular shops; you have to go to auctions to buy it.
If he could make it himself--
With such a large piece of Spring Crystal and so many Top-Grade Spirit Stones, how many Nascent Soul level spirit springs can he create?!
At that point, even if we didn't use it ourselves, we'd have enough spiritual spring water to sell, right?
Although the spiritual spring water is not as expensive as the Spring Crystal, it is abundant.
It is not only abundant, but can also be produced continuously.
Whether it's for cultivation, business, or other purposes, it will be a significant advantage for him.
Shen Duheng asked, "So, do you want it?"
Shan Heyuan replied without hesitation, "Yes! I'm very interested in this. We can try it out when we get back!"
Shen Duheng: "I'll find it for you when we get back."
"Do you still remember where to look? It's not too much trouble, is it?" Shan Heyuan couldn't help but worry, remembering his identity. "Can you still freely enter Sword Reverence Sect now? If you're discovered, it might cause some trouble."
"No. If I use someone else's identity, they generally won't be able to catch me," Shen Duheng said. "I know the loopholes in the organization better than most people; they can't do anything to me."
Chapter 56
After finding Spring Crystal, Shan Heyuan and his group toured Black She Temple but did not discover any more valuable spiritual items.
The two didn't stay long and left in a hurry.
They need to hurry back to Sword Reverence City.
The Illusionless Tree was still in a frenzy, its branches fighting each other fiercely.
It didn't react much when Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng left.
Thinking of the skeletons inside the Black She Temple, Shan Heyuan sighed inwardly.
Perhaps for the Illusionless Tree, being insane is better than being lucid.
At least it's not so hard to endure after going crazy.
Shan Heyuan's vacation was limited, so they hurriedly left Jingzhishan Town and returned to Sword Reverence City.
When he returned, his vacation was over. Without even taking the time to organize his experiences, Shan Heyuan rushed back to school to catch up on the classes he had missed.
Fortunately, he had prepared several extra lessons when he made the courseware, so he can use it after a quick review, and it's not so rushed.
Back at the Sword Reverence Academy, Shan Heyuan would eat and play games with Jiang Zhi and the others in his spare time.
That day, Jiang Zhi quietly told Shan Heyuan some big news, "Our dean might be promoted."
Shan Heyuan's first reaction. "Which dean?"
Jiang Zhi: "Huai Liu! We don't appoint anyone else as dean."
That's not necessarily true. The dean of the Sword Reverence Academy is addressed as "Dean" out of respect.
Shan Heyuan answered in his mind before asking, "Where is the dean going to be promoted to? To the entire academy?"
Jiang Zhi: "It seems she's going to become an elder of the Sword Reverence Sect. I heard the Sword Reverence Sect has a collaboration with the Azure Bird Palace and needs a leader elder who is a plant cultivator, so they transferred Huai Liu there."
Shan Heyuan frowned. "Being an elder is not as good as being the dean of the Sword Reverence Academy, is it? Our academy has good benefits and high status. Being an elder is hard work and you may not have the same reputation."
"You don't understand, do you?" Jiang Zhi said in a low voice, "The dean is quite prestigious, but he doesn't have much real power. Look at Huai Liu, he's been dean for so many years, but he hasn't advanced much. Why? Because he doesn't have enough resources."
Shan Heyuan asked, puzzled, "Is it enough for him to be a team leader outside and have access to resources?"
Jiang Zhi: "Of course. As an elder who communicates between two major sects, how much material resources does he handle? How much information does he know? And those rare Cultivation Method and classic texts, which are only accessible to the higher-ups of the Sword Reverence Sect. If the Dean wants to advance further, becoming an elder is definitely the better option."
Upon hearing this, Shan Heyuan recalled the various Secret Method Shen Duheng knew and nodded in agreement.
Sword Reverence Sect indeed possesses profound cultural heritage.
Speaking of Shen Duheng, tonight Shen Duheng is going to help him check the Secret Method of that artificial spiritual spring.
I don't know if it will succeed.
Thinking of this, Shan Heyuan couldn't help but become absent-minded.
Jiang Zhi, annoyed by his absent-mindedness, nudged him. "What are you thinking about?"
Shan Heyuan: "Go on. Who will take over after Dean Huai leaves?"
Jiang Zhi shook his head. "No news yet. They definitely won't be looking for us at the Planting Institute. The Planting Institute was harvested once, and there aren't any particularly capable teachers there."
Shan Heyuan: "Is that what you mean?"
"Do you know about Sect Master Shen's failed Tribulation Transcendence twenty-seven years ago?" Jiang Zhi asked mysteriously. "It was Sect Master Shen of the Sword Reverence Sect."
Shan Heyuan's heart skipped a beat. "Twenty-seven years ago?" Not in the last few years?
"Yes, that was twenty-seven years ago. I hadn't come to the Sword Reverence Academy yet. I heard that Sword Reverence Academy was even more influential back then than it is now, and to become a teacher in the Planting Institute, you needed to be at least at the Nascent Soul."
"The standards were lowered later? What happened?"
"Wasn't it said that Sect Master Shen failed his Tribulation Transcendence? At that time, many elders were also injured, and the Sword Reverence Sect's demand for healing medicine increased dramatically. As a result, some instructors were promoted to cultivate Spirit Plant within the sect, while others led teams out to collect spirit medicine."
Shan Heyuan now knows that the one sitting in the position of sect leader of the Sword Reverence Sect is that imposter Ji Li, and most of those who failed to Tribulation Transcendence are also Ji Li.
He asked, seemingly casually, "Isn't Sect Master Shen already at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage? How could he have failed his Tribulation Transcendence?"
"I don't know. The powerful beings are probably different from us. It seems they have to undergo a tribulation at every minor realm. I wonder what it feels like to Tribulation Transcendence Stage? I guess I'll never reach that Tribulation Transcendence in my lifetime."
"That's not necessarily true. Maybe you're a late bloomer who will achieve great things?"
Jiang Zhi: "You really think highly of me."
The two chatted for a while, Shan Heyuan hurriedly said goodbye and returned to his office.
He couldn't concentrate on anything today. He wanted to finish the presentation slides quickly, but every time he sat down at his desk, he would start spacing out after a short while.
The final presentation slides were a complete mess; even he couldn't stand looking at them, and he certainly wouldn't let his students use them.
Seeing this, he sighed and simply took half a day off to go home first.
The house was quiet and deserted, with only sunlight streaming inside.
Even when the sun is out, the place without light is gloomy and cold.
Perhaps because Shen Duheng isn't home, there's no one around.
He sat at his workbench, and could smell Shen Duheng's presence.
Shen Duheng always had a faint fragrance on him, probably the scent of cleansing pills. It was very subtle and pleasant, and unless you were close to him, you wouldn't notice it at all.
Now he was all alone, and the fragrance enveloped him, making him feel incredibly lonely.
At this moment, he couldn't help but wonder if investigating the past and striving for advancement was truly meaningful.
In this situation, everything else seemed to be put aside; all he wanted now was to see Shen Duheng safe and sound.
With Shen Duheng not home, he paced back and forth in the house, restless and uneasy.
After pacing around for more than an hour, he picked up a shovel and went to the yard to tend to the Spirit Plant he had planted.
Since he created the Dantian Small World, he no longer grows those valuable Spirit Plant in the courtyard; at most, he grows some common Spirit Plant to avoid attracting attention.