Chapter 18
Shan Heyuan hurriedly nodded.
After chatting for a bit, the group returned to the subject of Spirit Plants.
Worried that Shan Heyuan might misunderstand, Wen Chengyi made a point of explaining, "I asked Old Tong to come earlier, but he only had time to come over now."
In other words, he hadn't come to pluck the peaches after Shan Heyuan had done the work.
Shan Heyuan quickly assured him that he hadn't misunderstood. "My skills are lacking. Please give me your guidance, seniors."
To his surprise, Tong Liangji waved a hand. "I don't have much guidance to give. Even if those sick plants had been entrusted to me, I could have done no better than this."
Everyone present looked surprised at Tong Liangji's words.
Jiu Mingyue's gaze grew even more eager as he looked at Shan Heyuan.
Shan Heyuan was stunned by the praise. He didn't know whether he really was that skilled or whether this was simply Tong Liangji's style.
Still, if a second-grade planter was willing to praise him like that, his skills must be quite good!
Chapter 18
After being so highly praised by a second-grade planter, Shan Heyuan had to recount it to Shen Duheng when he got back.
Standing in front of the dining table under the light of the Spirit Artifact lamp, he acted the scene out vividly for Shen Duheng.
Shen Duheng sat there steadily and said after watching him, "It seems that second-grade planter really did have a good impression of you."
Shan Heyuan pulled out a chair and plopped down. "Of course. Would I lie about it?"
Shen Duheng asked, "What are your plans next?"
Shan Heyuan said, "Since several seniors have said I'm talented, I want to take the planter qualification exam first. Fellow Daoist Jiu said I could take it as an employee of the Supreme Harmony Sect."
The corners of Shen Duheng's mouth curved up slightly. "The Supreme Harmony Sect administers the exam. You still need them to vouch for you?"
Shan Heyuan laughed. "Fellow Daoist Jiu meant well."
The professional skill level exams were fairly
systematic,
and not exactly easy.
To give himself the best chance of passing on his first try, Shan Heyuan settled down and spent nearly half a month studying the books, thoroughly reinforcing his network of knowledge about planting.
There were actually rather few examinees like him.
The natives of this world went to school from childhood, and only branched off into different paths when they were at least fifteen or sixteen: taking sect entrance exams, applying to academies, becoming independent cultivators, and so on.
Most people attended school for at least around ten years and gained a comprehensive understanding of the relevant subjects.
Shan Heyuan's foundations were weak, but fortunately he was quite talented in planting and exceptionally good at hands-on work. Many of the written exam questions could also be solved through logic.
In the October qualification exam, he scored three points above the passing mark and successfully qualified as a fifth-grade planter.
Once the results were out, Shan Heyuan made a point of celebrating properly with Shen Duheng.
After he received his certificate, the Supreme Harmony Sect signed a new contract with him, hiring him as a planting consultant for Thousand Cries Peak. He was to visit once every five days, with a monthly stipend of thirty thousand spirit pearls.
Thousand Cries Peak's Spirit Plant garden was usually tended by Qi Yuanbai.
Qi Yuanbai wasn't a planter. He was a sword cultivator, a sword cultivator with a Wood Spirit Root.
Shan Heyuan was quite surprised to hear that.
Qi Yuanbai widened his eyes, indignant. "What's wrong with being a sword cultivator? There are plenty of kinds of sword cultivators. I'm the kind who's good at planting."
Shan Heyuan smiled. "Nothing's wrong with it. I was just a little surprised. You weren't the one tending the plantation before, were you?"
Qi Yuanbai said, "No, it was Senior Sister Mingqing, but she went away with Master. Master said I still hadn't developed sword intent after all this time, so he had me manage the Spirit Plant garden and get a feel for the unending cycle of plant life. That's why I came to look after it."
Shan Heyuan didn't cultivate the sword and was puzzled. "You can cultivate sword intent by managing a Spirit Plant garden?"
Qi Yuanbai said, "The Swordsmanship I practice is Wood Element. Maybe if I spend enough time around plants, I'll be able to comprehend it."
The two chatted as they worked.
The new Spirit Plant garden Shan Heyuan had established for Thousand Cries Peak was already on the right track, and there wasn't much to do in the old garden either.
Many Spirit Plants took decades or centuries to mature, and the garden had all sorts of well-developed formations. There wasn't much work to begin with, so tending it once every five days was enough.
As they chatted, someone knocked on the fence outside the plantation.
Shan Heyuan looked up and saw an old acquaintance, Ma Rupei.
Delighted, he put down what he was doing and ran over. "Senior Brother Ma, what brings you here? Wait, your presence has changed. Have you reached Foundation Establishment?"
He had dealt with Foundation Establishment cultivators fairly often lately, so he could distinguish very accurately between the Qi Refining Realm and the Foundation Establishment Realm.
With spiritual power spilling out of Ma Rupei like that, he had clearly reached Foundation Establishment.
Ma Rupei nodded and said readily, "I went into seclusion for a while and successfully reached Foundation Establishment the day before yesterday."
"Congratulations!" Shan Heyuan said. "You're amazing, Senior Brother Ma."
Ma Rupei smiled at him. "How could I be as amazing as you? It's only been a little over a month, and you're already at the Qi Refining Eighth Stage."
Shan Heyuan answered modestly, "I got lucky."
The two hadn't seen each other in a long time, and both had good news, so they agreed to go into town for a drink once Shan Heyuan finished work.
Seeing Qi Yuanbai itching to join them, Shan Heyuan went ahead and invited him too.
Ma Rupei's ambition was to enter the Supreme Harmony Sect as an inner disciple, while Qi Yuanbai was already an official inner disciple. It would be good for the two to spend more time together.
After work, Qi Yuanbai and Shan Heyuan each sent a communication talisman to let someone know, then rode their swords down the mountain for a drink.
Shan Heyuan had helped the Supreme Harmony Sect establish a new Spirit Plant garden, and everyone in the sect was very pleased with him. They had paid him six hundred thousand spirit pearls outright.
He had paid off his debt to Shen Duheng in one go and still had some left over. Now that he also had a monthly stipend, treating them to drinks was no problem.
They specifically chose a good tavern and asked for a small private room.
It was already late autumn. The cold wind was biting, and all things were withering. Sitting in the toasty little room and looking out at the large trees with their gnarled branches was quite enjoyable.
All three were young, but they came from different backgrounds and had different circumstances, so they found plenty to talk about.
By the time they finished drinking, all three were tipsy. They went to settle the bill with their arms around one another's shoulders.
Before leaving the tavern, each swallowed a sobering pill and was fine again.
Ever since learning to ride a sword, Shan Heyuan no longer wanted to ride Brine Worms. He rode his sword everywhere, preferring to land and rest if his spiritual power gave out halfway.
Only then did it belatedly occur to him that this was why there were always so few people on the Brine Worms.
The Supreme Harmony Sect was good in every way, except that it could be too stingy sometimes.
He read the news reports now too. Other sects chose living creatures for public transportation, some picking spirit birds and others spirit beasts. Very few chose spirit insects, let alone Brine Worms, which weren't much to look at.
Still, Brine Worms really were cheap to keep, and there were plenty of them in Jingzhishan Town. Summoning one with a Brine Worm Talisman was faster than hailing a taxi on Earth.
Although Shan Heyuan had taken a sobering pill, he was still a little tipsy, and his thoughts were particularly lively.
He applied a wind-warding talisman and a warming talisman. By the time he got home, not only was he not cold, he was also toasty warm, with a slightly damp, boozy warmth about him that didn't smell unpleasant.
He pushed the door open and went inside. The house was cold and quiet, with only a little warm yellow light shining through the living room window.
The cold wind howled, and everything else was silent. The light only made the house seem more desolate.
Their home rarely felt like this.
Surprised, Shan Heyuan walked farther in. As he passed the window, he noticed Shen Duheng sitting at the table, his brows tightly furrowed.
After spending so much time with Shen Duheng, Shan Heyuan had come to know him quite well. Unless his emotions were particularly turbulent, they generally didn't show on his face.
What could have made him frown so deeply?
Shan Heyuan took two steps forward, knocked lightly on the living room door, and walked in. "What big thing happened to put that look on your face, Brother Shen?"
Seeing who it was, Shen Duheng said nothing and simply handed him a jade talisman inlaid with gold thread.
Does he want me to look at it? Shan Heyuan hesitantly took it and found that it was a news talisman.
Shan Heyuan sent his Divine Sense into the news talisman and soon found the crucial information—a city called Yongli had died.
Reading the description in the news report, Shan Heyuan wondered for a moment whether he had drunk too much and something had gone wrong with his Divine Sense. How else could he have read something so bizarre?