Chapter 2

But this was no obstacle for Shan Heyuan. He had been a good cook before he transmigrated, and after a few adjustments, he soon got the hang of it here.

In twenty minutes, he had made three dishes and a soup.

Shan Heyuan carried the dishes to the dining room and called to Ma Rupei, "Senior Brother, time to eat. I'm not much of a cook, so please bear with me."

Ma Rupei said, "You're a much better cook than I am. If I had your skills, I wouldn't be eating Grain Avoidance Pills every day."

Shan Heyuan smiled and served Ma Rupei some rice.

Ma Rupei took a bottle of wine from his storage ring. "Want a drink?"

Shan Heyuan stood up to find him a cup. "No, thanks. Spirit wine gets me drunk easily. I'll keep you company with soup."

Ma Rupei said, "I brought this mulberry wine especially for you. It's good for nourishing your meridians, and it won't make you drunk."

Hearing that, Shan Heyuan took an extra cup and handed it to him with a smile. "Then I have to try it. Thank you, Senior Brother."

The two sat down to eat and drink, chatting about recent events.

Shan Heyuan lived in the village and rarely went to town, so he heard much of the news from Ma Rupei.

From farther afield came major news concerning the entire cultivation world: the sect master of the Sword Reverence Sect, a super sect, had gone into seclusion again, and the Spirit Sect had gained a new Spirit Transformation elder.

Closer to home were smaller matters that directly affected their lives: the Supreme Harmony Sect had thirty more disciple spots available this autumn, and raw Spirit Stone ore had gone up in price again.

Shan Heyuan also talked about how he had been lately.

He had been doing well, reading, growing vegetables, and occasionally going into the mountains with the villagers to forage. He had well and truly settled in.

Ma Rupei was delighted to hear that he was doing well. Before he knew it, he had drunk a few extra cups. His face flushed, he was visibly tipsy, and his words began to slur.

Shan Heyuan had no choice but to help him to his own room and let him rest for a while.

After lunch, Shan Heyuan cleaned up the kitchen and felt a little sleepy himself.

He went to the study and picked up a book on talismans by Master Shanlai, intending to squeeze in some reading. But after only a few pages, he couldn't keep his eyes open. He had to sit at the desk, rest his head on his arms, and squeeze in a short nap.

Perhaps because he had drunk spirit wine, he slept for an unusually long time. Ma Rupei was the one who woke him. "Junior Brother Shan, are you still sleepy? Why don't you go to bed?"

Shan Heyuan rubbed his eyes and stood up. "It's time I woke up anyway. If I sleep any longer, I won't be able to sleep tonight."

Ma Rupei said, "All right. Are you free this afternoon? Let's hurry into town and turn in the task while we're there."

Shan Heyuan glanced at the timekeeping wooden talisman hanging on the wall. It was only three in the afternoon, so there was still time. "I'll go get my identity talisman."

Once they had everything, the two went outside the village to catch a Brine Worm to the Supreme Harmony Sect's disciple office.

Shan Heyuan lived on the outskirts of Jingzhishan Town. Since he had no cultivation at all, he couldn't ride a flying sword or do anything of the sort, and had to rely on public transportation to get around.

The transportation here was neither a carriage nor a horse, but an underground creature called a Brine Worm.

When someone activated a talisman called a Brine Worm Talisman, a Brine Worm would sense it and rush over, swallow the person into its body, then carry them underground to various places around town.

Standing by the roadside, Shan Heyuan watched Ma Rupei hold a Brine Worm Talisman in his hand and channel spiritual power into it. The surface of the talisman immediately lit up with a faint glow.

Shan Heyuan's heart tightened slightly. He hurriedly inhaled, lowered his shoulders, drew in his stomach, and adjusted his stance.

He had only just gotten into position when a gaping, blood-red maw suddenly appeared in the street two or three meters ahead and lunged at them.

His vision blurred. When it cleared again, he was already inside a space resembling a stone cave.

This was the inside of the Brine Worm. A row of yellow lights lined the ceiling, chairs stood neatly along both sides, and several passengers were already there.

He quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He had been in the cultivation world for over a month now, but he still wasn't used to the public transportation here. It was too thrilling.

Ma Rupei went first to the selection board and pressed the street he wanted to go to. He chose a seat, sat down, and beckoned Shan Heyuan over to sit.

The Brine Worm traveled quickly underground. Before long, Shan Heyuan felt the chair beneath him give a slight bounce. A familiar sensation of weightlessness followed, and his vision blurred. He had already been spat out of the Brine Worm, landing steadily on the street.

After spitting out its passengers, the gaping maw flashed and disappeared.

The Supreme Harmony Sect's disciple center stood a short distance ahead.

This was also the center of Jingzhishan Town, with pedestrians coming and going in an endless stream. They could even see cultivators diving straight down from the sky on flying swords and swooping into the disciple center.

The two walked over.

Once inside the disciple center, they went to the task office to turn in the task.

Behind the tall counter, a disciple dressed in Supreme Harmony Sect robes took the task voucher and Shan Heyuan's identity talisman and sized him up. "Fellow Daoist, are you the transmigrator who fell out of a rift in space-time last month?"

Shan Heyuan nodded.

The disciple asked, "How have you been finding it here? Have you adjusted?"

Shan Heyuan said, "I like it here very much. Senior Brother Ma has helped me a great deal, and life is going smoothly now."

The disciple said, "That's good. In that case, I'll settle this senior brother's task reward. His task of helping you get familiar with this world is now fully complete, then?"

Shan Heyuan said, "All right. Thank you, Fellow Daoist."

Ma Rupei also thanked the disciple from beside him.

The disciple smiled. "You're welcome. I see you're still a mortal. Once you become a cultivator, remember to bring your identity talisman here to update your identity information."

Shan Heyuan agreed.

The disciple added, "Why don't you collect this month's allowance while you're here? The allowance for cultivators from outside is three thousand Spirit Pearls, and the allowance for mortals is one hundred and twenty-five, for a total of three thousand one hundred and twenty-five. Count them and leave your thumbprint."

Once everything was settled, they stood at the entrance to the disciple center, and Ma Rupei asked, "Shall I take you home?"

Shan Heyuan said, "No need. I want to visit the public library. I can get home on my own afterward."

Ma Rupei said, "Then I'll head back first. The task may be over, but we're still friends. If anything comes up, you can send me a communication talisman. Don't hesitate."

Warmth filled Shan Heyuan's heart. "I will. Thank you, Senior Brother Ma."

The two said goodbye, and Shan Heyuan walked to the public library.

He first took the first volume of Introduction to Planting Talismans out of his shoulder bag and returned it, then borrowed the second volume. Both were works by Master Shanlai.

After borrowing the book, he made a special trip to buy a new notebook and pen. He needed to copy out the entire second volume of Introduction to Planting Talismans too, especially some of the talismans, so he wouldn't forget them after reading it.

Unfortunately, his pockets were light, and the set cost five hundred and thirty-eight Spirit Pearls. Otherwise, he would have bought it one way or another.

Chapter 2

Early the next morning, the sun had yet to rise, and there was only a streak of fish-belly white on the horizon.

As usual, Shan Heyuan sat on a cushion in the courtyard, his palms, soles, and crown facing the sky. Following the Supreme Harmony Sect's introductory cultivation book, he carefully tried to sense the presence of Spiritual Qi and draw it into his body.

The clouds on the horizon slowly changed from white to orange, then back to white, and sunlight fell over Shan Heyuan's whole body.

He emerged from meditation and looked around just as a perfectly round dewdrop slowly slipped from a blade of grass, fell into the soil, and vanished. He still hadn't sensed any Spiritual Qi.

Shan Heyuan looked down at himself, stood up, and went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

After breakfast, Shan Heyuan went to the Spirit Plant field with a basket on his back.

The Spirit Gathering Formation he had set up last time had worked well, and the Spirit Plants were growing lush and green. As soon as he entered the field, he smelled the slightly bitter medicinal fragrance of the Earth Spirit Ginseng. At once, his ears and eyes cleared, and his spirits lifted.

It seemed the Earth Spirit Ginseng he had grown was of excellent quality.

Satisfied, Shan Heyuan walked around the spirit medicine field, pulling the scattered new weeds and catching insects. Then he started at the end of a row, pinching the shoots off the Earth Spirit Ginseng.

At this stage, the Earth Spirit Ginseng had too many leaves and was still growing vigorously upward. He had to pinch off the top shoots so the plants would grow sideways and become lush enough.

The shoots didn't need to be thrown away, either. Every part of Earth Spirit Ginseng contained Spiritual Qi, and the tender shoots made a good vegetable. When he went to buy spirit vegetables, he often saw people bring baskets of Earth Spirit Ginseng shoots to sell, and business was always good.