Chapter 15

If he messed up, he would feel less guilty about a less expensive Spirit Plant.

Lately, Shan Heyuan had often used Gentle Breeze to smooth out the spiritual power of various Spirit Plants. Using the technique was easier for him than eating or drinking.

With a slight adjustment, he sent his spiritual power into the Giant Whale Branch and began smoothing out its disordered spiritual power.

The Giant Whale Branch was in poor condition, as could be seen from its channels.

Generally speaking, a Spirit Plant's channels were much wider and clearer than a human's meridians. For Shan Heyuan, moving spiritual power through them was easier than pushing along a rushing stream.

But moving spiritual power through the Giant Whale Branch today was a different matter.

The spiritual power in the Giant Whale Branch's channels kept cutting in and out, flowing freely one moment and clogging the next. Some places even leaked, and he had to push hard to clear the channels.

Fortunately, he had cultivated well over the past few days and was probably close to breaking through to the Fifth Stage of Qi Refining. The spiritual power in his body was still fairly abundant, so clearing the channels was not too difficult.

As Shan Heyuan smoothed out the Giant Whale Branch's spiritual power, it flowed more and more freely.

The spiritual power in the Giant Whale Branch, which had nearly ceased to flow, gathered together, gradually forming a stream that slowly grew into a small river.

As with every previous time he had smoothed out a Spirit Plant's spiritual power, some of the Giant Whale Branch's pure spiritual power flowed back into Shan Heyuan during the process, relieving his fatigue to some extent.

After finishing with one Giant Whale Branch, Shan Heyuan breathed a sigh of relief and looked up. "Done."

The Giant Whale Branch had been wilted for so long, but it had regained its vitality as he worked on it. Now, though it was a little bare and weak, it no longer had that air of impending death.

Jiu Mingyue praised him. "Fellow Daoist Shan, you really are remarkable..."

Before he could finish, Wen Chengyi interrupted impatiently. "Fellow Daoist Shan, do you cultivate the Spring Transformation Art?"

Meeting Wen Chengyi's eyes, which were almost glowing, Shan Heyuan hesitated. "Yes, Senior Wen..."

Having received an affirmative answer, Wen Chengyi pressed on. "Does your sect cultivate it?"

Shan Heyuan said, "I taught myself entirely. I don't have a sect."

"Self-taught?!" Wen Chengyi's eyes widened, and his expression plainly said, "You must be joking." "The Spring Transformation Art is so difficult. How could you teach yourself? Young Friend Shan, how long did it take you to learn the first form?"

Shan Heyuan said, "Uh, well-"

When he had learned it, he had picked it up at once and mastered it in a few hours, but that was clearly not the answer Wen Chengyi was looking for.

Shan Heyuan gave a vague answer. "I don't quite remember. Maybe a few days?"

Wen Chengyi circled Shan Heyuan, looking him up and down. "Fellow Daoist Shan, do you know how long it took me to learn the first form of the Spring Transformation Art back then?"

Shan Heyuan was surprised. "Senior Wen, you practice the Spring Transformation Art too?"

Wen Chengyi took a deep breath. "No. I spent three months trying, but no matter what I did, I couldn't resonate with Spirit Plants, much less send my spiritual power into them. I had no choice but to choose another Cultivation Method."

Shan Heyuan looked incredulous. "How could that be?"

He seemed to understand all of a sudden why the Cultivation Method had been gathering dust when he had gone to the Hidden Spirits General Store to buy it.

So most cultivators couldn't practice it?

Wen Chengyi sighed. "Every living thing is a self-contained whole. Spirit Plants are alive, so they naturally have barriers. How could a cultivator's spiritual power easily enter them?"

Shan Heyuan didn't know what to say. He had never considered the question. When he cultivated it, he had naturally sent his spiritual power inside, as if putting his hand in water, without feeling any resistance at all.

Seeing Shan Heyuan's difficulty, Jiu Mingyue stepped in to help. "Everyone has their own fated opportunities. Fortunately, Fellow Daoist Shan can cultivate the Spring Transformation Art. Otherwise, there would be no saving these Spirit Plants."

Shan Heyuan said, "It's still not certain they can be saved. The Giant Whale Branch improved because I sent my spiritual power into it. Only if it can still circulate its own spiritual power after mine dissipates can it be considered saved."

Jiu Mingyue said, "Even a temporary improvement is very good. Sorry to trouble you with the remaining Spirit Plants, Fellow Daoist Shan."

Shan Heyuan said, "You're welcome. I'll do my best."

The Spirit Plants here were far too many grades above Shan Heyuan. He couldn't use Rising Sun Ascends in the East, which targeted multiple plants, and could only use Gentle Breeze to smooth out the spiritual power inside them one by one.

Each time he did, the Spirit Plant would return some pure spiritual power to him, but compared with the spiritual power he expended, what they gave back was still far too little.

Before long, the spiritual power in his body was nearly depleted.

Seeing this, Jiu Mingyue unhesitatingly took pills for restoring spiritual power out of his storage ring and gave them to him.

With the help of the pills, Shan Heyuan lasted another two rounds. After exhausting himself a third time, he waved a hand. "I can't go on today. My meridians are already aching from the strain. I need to rest for a while and come back tomorrow."

Jiu Mingyue smiled. "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Shan, and thank you for your hard work. I'll take you home and pick you up again tomorrow?"

Shan Heyuan said, "I might need an extra day's rest. These Spirit Plants won't die for the time being, so I'll come back the day after tomorrow."

Before leaving, Shan Heyuan looked at the Spirit Plant branches piled on the soil and asked, "Could you give me these branches? I'll take them back and study them to see if I can find a real treatment."

Jiu Mingyue readily agreed. "Of course. I'll pack them up for you."

Wen Chengyi had already gone back. The young man who had been following them spoke up eagerly. "Senior Brother, let me."

The young man looked at Shan Heyuan, revealing his little canine teeth. "Fellow Daoist Shan, my name is Qi Yuanbai. I'm usually in charge of looking after these Spirit Plants. You're amazing."

Shan Heyuan smiled. "Hello."

Qi Yuanbai said, "I hope you'll give me plenty of guidance in the future, Fellow Daoist Shan."

Shan Heyuan waved a hand. "I wouldn't call it guidance. We can learn from each other."

As they chatted, Jiu Mingyue handed over a bag of spirit pearls. "Thank you for your hard work today, Fellow Daoist Shan. This is your payment. I hope you won't think it too little."

He had worked for the spirit pearls, so there was no reason to refuse them.

Shan Heyuan accepted them without hesitation. A sweep of his Divine Sense revealed that Jiu Mingyue had given him a full thirty thousand spirit pearls!

He couldn't help saying, "This is far too much."

Jiu Mingyue said, "It's only right, after all the work you put in. If you can cure these Spirit Plants, I'd gladly pay ten times as much."

A sincere smile appeared on Shan Heyuan's face. "I'll give it more thought when I get back."

Chapter 15

Jiu Mingyue saw Shan Heyuan to his door, then quickly left.

Still smiling, Shan Heyuan walked forward a couple of steps. Just as he was about to push the door open, it opened gently.

Shen Duheng stood by the door. When he saw Shan Heyuan, he looked up at the sky.

The moon had not come out that night, and the dark sky was thick with stars.

It was clearly already late.

Shan Heyuan explained without being asked, "The problem I ran into today was rather tricky, so it took longer than expected. The people from the Supreme Harmony Sect said they would take me home, so I sent you a communication talisman telling you not to pick me up."

Shen Duheng accepted the explanation. "Have you had dinner?"

It might have been fine if he hadn't mentioned it, but as soon as he did, Shan Heyuan's stomach immediately growled. The hunger his excitement had suppressed surged up and occupied all his thoughts.

Shan Heyuan shook his head.

Shen Duheng said, "I saved dinner for you. Eat first."

Shan Heyuan followed Shen Duheng through the courtyard and into the dining room.

A faint aroma of food drifted through the dining room.

After another couple of steps, Shan Heyuan saw a table in front of the Spirit Artifact lamp, laden with dishes that looked and smelled delicious.

Shan Heyuan's eyes widened. "Where did all this food come from?"

Shen Duheng said, "I bought it from the Flying Crane Pavilion. See if it's to your taste."

Shan Heyuan said, "Food that smells this good is bound to be to my taste! Brother Shen, have you eaten? Have some more with me?"

Without waiting for Shen Duheng to answer, he ran to the kitchen for bowls and chopsticks, eagerly served a bowl of rice, and set it in front of him. "It's wonderful to come home to a meal."

The two had no rule against talking while they ate.

Shen Duheng asked, "How are the Supreme Harmony Sect's Spirit Plants?"

Shan Heyuan shook his head repeatedly, his cheeks bulging. Once he had swallowed his food, he said, "The situation is very grim. I don't know what disease infected them, but I think it'll be very hard to save them."