Chapter 19

How could a city die?

Shan Heyuan looked up at Shen Duheng and asked what had happened.

Shen Duheng pinched the bridge of his nose. "The sky broke where the city stood. Spiritual Qi leaked away, and the Heavenly Dao was severed. The place could no longer nurture living beings, so it 'died.'"

Shan Heyuan could hardly believe it. "How could the sky break?"

Shen Duheng said, "Space was never stable to begin with. Otherwise, where would the rifts in spacetime come from? How would you have fallen into the cultivation world?"

Shan Heyuan pondered silently for a moment. "The newspaper said the Sword Reverence Sect took the lead and joined forces with the Spirit Jade Palace, the Azure Bird Palace, the Three Nine Sect, the Long Journey Sect, the Proliferation Sect, and the Islet Sect to mend the sky. Couldn't they still save the city?"

Shen Duheng said, "No. The mended sky is exceptionally fragile. If living creatures move around inside, it'll break again sooner or later. It's better to seal the place off and put an end to future trouble."

Shan Heyuan scanned the newspaper again with his Divine Sense and sighed softly. "So many people have to leave their homes. How painful must that be?"

Shen Duheng's expression wasn't good either.

The sky had broken and a city had died. It was too momentous a matter for Shan Heyuan, a mere Qi Refining Eighth Level cultivator, to do anything to help.

He held the newspaper talisman and rubbed it for a long while before noticing something. "This newspaper talisman was issued twelve days ago, but the one we subscribe to never mentioned it at all."

Shen Duheng said, "The place where the sky broke is in Spirit Jade Palace territory, a long way from here. The higher-ups didn't want to cause a panic, either, so the major newspapers didn't report it."

Shan Heyuan had heard the Spirit Jade Palace's name before, but he had never paid attention to where it was. He only knew it was far away.

Most cultivators in Sword Reverence Sect territory might never go over to the Spirit Jade Palace in their entire lives. There really was no need to let events there affect their lives.

Shan Heyuan said self-mockingly, "I suddenly understand what it means to sit in a well and gaze at the sky."

Shen Duheng had never heard the expression before, but at that moment he understood what Shan Heyuan meant. He said mildly, "Across the vast reaches of time and space, most cultivators can only ever see a tiny piece. If sitting in a well and gazing at the sky is what you call it, then everyone does it. The only difference is how big the well is."

Shan Heyuan held the newspaper talisman in his hand. "Was this newspaper talisman issued by the Spirit Jade Palace?"

Shen Duheng said, "Yes. I bought it in Hidden Spirits. They've always sold information like this."

Shan Heyuan nodded, then suddenly asked, "Brother Shen, how high is your cultivation now?"

Shan Heyuan had never been able to see through Shen Duheng's cultivation, perhaps because Shen Duheng was a sword spirit.

The only thing he could be sure of was that Shen Duheng's cultivation was far higher than his own. Even now that he had reached the Qi Refining Eighth Stage, the gap had hardly narrowed.

Shen Duheng said, "A hair's breadth from Core Formation. Why?"

Shan Heyuan fell silent for a moment. "Jingzhishan Town is too small. I've been thinking that perhaps I really should go see a bigger place."

Life in Jingzhishan Town was peaceful and comfortable, a good place to spend one's retirement, but it couldn't help him get home.

Shan Heyuan sometimes wondered whether living here too long would wear away his determination to return home altogether.

Shen Duheng patted him on the shoulder. "Let's talk about it when spring comes after the New Year. It's only a few months away."

Shan Heyuan nodded. "If I'm going out, I'll need to make some preparations too."

Shen Duheng said, "Perhaps by then you'll have cultivated to the Foundation Establishment Realm."

Shan Heyuan didn't dare dream so sweetly. "How could it be that easy? If I can reach Foundation Establishment by this time next year, I'll be burning incense in thanks."

A faint smile appeared on Shen Duheng's face. "We'll wait and see. I have a feeling."

Chapter 19

It was cold. A light snow had fallen in the middle of the night, settling softly over the ground, with the dark soil faintly visible beneath it.

The ordinary trees had withered in the snowy season, but the Spirit Plants were still putting out tender green shoots.

After finishing his morning cultivation, Shan Heyuan took a broom from behind the door, intending to sweep the snow.

Shen Duheng came back from outside with the chill clinging to him. Seeing that Shan Heyuan was free, he stopped him. "How's the little tree in your Dantian?"

Apart from a generous monthly salary, what Shan Heyuan brought back most from his job at the Supreme Harmony Sect was the dead branches and fallen leaves of Spirit Plants.

Those branches and leaves looked unremarkable, but under Shan Heyuan's skillful hands, they took root and sprouted anew. He carefully planted them in the spirit field.

Some of the spirit trees were growing very well, putting out many buds and showing great vitality.

Shan Heyuan had always kept spirit herbs in his Dantian while cultivating, but he had never tried putting a spirit tree in it.

A few days ago, he had seen how well the spirit trees in the nursery were growing, and how high their grade was. An idea had struck him, and he had picked a Foundation Establishment-grade sapling and put it in his Dantian.

To be safe, he had made a point of telling Shen Duheng.

Since then, whenever Shen Duheng saw him in the morning, he would ask about the sapling in his Dantian.

At the question, Shan Heyuan immediately took the sapling out of his Dantian and held it up for Shen Duheng to see, his eyes shining. "It's doing great. There's no sign of wilting today either."

Shen Duheng examined it for a moment and nodded.

Seeing his expression, Shan Heyuan knew Shen Duheng was satisfied with the sapling.

He was very satisfied with it himself.

The sapling lasted longer than spirit herbs and released more Spiritual Power.

In just over ten days, he was close to reaching the Qi Refining Ninth Level.

Thanks to his diligent cultivation, his meridians had grown much stronger, and he could now circulate Spiritual Power through them at least five times when he cultivated.

As the number of times he circulated Spiritual Power increased, so did the speed at which his cultivation improved.

It truly was a virtuous cycle.

Qi Yuanbai had even said that the cultivation speed of a genius disciple from a top sect would be about the same as his.

Shan Heyuan put the sapling back in his Dantian and said regretfully, "With the strength of my meridians now, I could put at least a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Spirit Plant in my Dantian, but the saplings and other Spirit Plants I'll be using next haven't reached the Foundation Establishment Realm."

Shen Duheng knew what was troubling him. "I'll ask the shops I'm familiar with to keep an eye out."

"I've asked Fellow Daoist Jiu and the others to look too." Shan Heyuan sighed. "The market in Jingzhishan Town is still too small, and Foundation Establishment-grade Spirit Plants are expensive."

Shen Duheng said, "When the cart reaches the mountain, a road will appear."

Shan Heyuan had only been expressing his feelings and wasn't too anxious about it. Hearing Shen Duheng's words, he smiled. "Then it'll be up to fate."

After the two finished breakfast and Shan Heyuan tended to the Spirit Plants, he took his talisman pieces and carving knife to Zhong Shuran's home.

Their homes weren't far apart, and he reached it after a short sword flight.

Zhong Shuran heard him arrive from the courtyard and told Shan Heyuan to push the door open.

Shan Heyuan went in and saw that Zhong Shuran had set up a talisman array in the courtyard to keep out the wind and provide warmth. The whole courtyard was as warm as spring.

Not only that, Zhong Shuran had also placed a small clay stove beside the worktable. Its charcoal fire glowed gently, and wisps of fragrance rose from the tea brewing on it.

Shan Heyuan considered himself good at making a comfortable life, but he was nowhere near Zhong Shuran's level.

Shan Heyuan exclaimed, "Shuran, you've made this courtyard so comfortable!"

Zhong Shuran smiled lazily. "When you have to carve talismans in cold weather like this, you can hardly sit still unless you warm the place up."

Zhong Shuran invited Shan Heyuan to pull out the wide chair across the worktable and sit down. He poured him spirit tea and set out pastries and fruit warmed through by the fire.

Zhong Shuran asked, "What talismans are you carving today?"

Shan Heyuan took the talisman pieces and carving knife out of his storage ring and laid them down. "Ten Spirit Gathering Talismans and ten Insect Repelling Talismans. If there's still time, I'll carve another five Breeze Talismans."

Zhong Shuran laughed. "You've planned so many that I'm afraid you won't even have time to use the latrine today."

Shan Heyuan said, "It's fine. If I don't finish them today, I'll do the rest tomorrow. I have plenty of time lately."

The two sat facing each other, picked up their carving knives, and carved slowly.

Zhong Shuran was a full-time talisman master. Whenever Shan Heyuan ran into something he didn't understand, he could simply turn the talisman piece around and ask him.

Carving talismans was fairly mechanical work. Once one was familiar with it, it didn't take much thought.

The two chatted as they carved.

Shan Heyuan spoke of his desire for spirit trees. "There are too few kinds of spirit trees for sale in Jingzhishan Town. Shuran, you know a lot of people. Do you know anyone who has access to them?"

Zhong Shuran thought for a moment. "I don't think so. Even the hunting teams mainly gather spirit herbs. Spirit herbs can be used to refine pills, so they're easy to trade and easy to store."