Chapter 29 (continued)

The sand, gravel, and silt filled exactly one bag.

With the silt gone, the shallow layer of clear water at the bottom of the Spirit Spring became much clearer.

Viewed from a little farther away, the tiny Spirit Spring looked like a gemstone set into the earth. It was beautiful.

Taking in the scene, Shan Heyuan felt a sense of accomplishment.

The bones left over from the demonic ox were an eyesore, so he stuffed the whole pile of white bones beside the spring into his storage ring, planning to find somewhere to throw them away later.

Unfortunately, the demonic ox had gnawed the bones clean, leaving virtually no Spiritual Qi on them. Otherwise, taking them back to sell to the general store would have been a good option.

After cleaning up, the two returned to camp and packed up. Taking their trash with them, they finally flew away on their swords.

They had spent half a year there and had grown familiar with the scenery nearby.

Now that they were leaving, Shan Heyuan stood on his spirit sword with mixed feelings.

But as soon as they got home and he saw the familiar courtyard and the thriving Spirit Plants in it, Shan Heyuan promptly cast all those feelings to the back of his mind.

No matter how nice it was outside, nothing was as comfortable as the courtyard he had tended so carefully.

From the spirit herbs to the decorations, and even the dusty reclining chair beneath the eaves, everything felt dear and familiar, filling him with the warmth of being home.

Shen Duheng patted Shan Heyuan on the shoulder, signaling him to stop standing there in a daze—they were home.

Shan Heyuan came to his senses and rolled up his sleeves, ready to work.

The inside was easy enough. A sweep of Spiritual Power took care of most of the dust, and at most he only needed to change the bedding and tablecloth.

What really needed tending were the spirit herbs in the courtyard.

Zhong Shuran had helped take good care of the Spirit Plants.

Spirit Plants had long growth cycles. Without intervention, Qi Refining-grade plants took decades, Foundation Establishment-grade plants took centuries, and Core Formation-grade plants took more than a thousand years.

They had only been gone for half a year, so the Spirit Plants looked much as they had before they left.

But the weeds that had sprung up among them, the shattered Spirit Gathering Talismans, and the soil whose fertility was nearly exhausted all needed attention.

Shan Heyuan gave the courtyard a quick inspection, then took out the jade vat containing the Illusionless Tree and the lightning-struck wood sprout and gently placed it in the middle of the restriction.

The Illusionless Tree had grown a second leaf over the past half year, while the lightning-struck wood sprout remained much the same.

High-grade Spirit Plants were indeed difficult to grow, but Shan Heyuan did not feel discouraged.

After finally returning from their trip, Shan Heyuan saw to the basics at home, then sent communication talismans to his friends, telling them that they were back.

Moments after he sent the communication talismans, replies came flying in like snowflakes.

Some of the messages were written and others spoken. Shan Heyuan opened and read them one by one, only then realizing that in the better part of a year since transmigrating, he had made so many friends.

Ma Rupei, Zhong Shuran, Jiu Mingyue, Qi Yuanbai... Nearly every one of them had sent a message expressing concern.

When he opened Wen Chengyi's communication talisman, Wen Chengyi's excited voice boomed out. "You brought back the Spirit Spring?! Are you home? I'll be right over."

Shan Heyuan smiled and turned to call to Shen Duheng, "Brother Shen, Senior Wen says he's coming over. He's probably here for the Spirit Spring."

Shen Duheng had already washed up and changed into fresh clothes for lounging at home. He was lying comfortably in the reclining chair, and when he heard this, he said mildly, "Let him come and get it."

Shan Heyuan asked, "What terms did you negotiate with him afterward again?"

Shen Duheng said, "Five million spirit beads to bring him the Spirit Spring."

Shan Heyuan was astounded. "Five million!"

Shen Duheng said lazily, "Five million was already a discount because he provided the map and is acquainted with you. If it went to auction elsewhere, it would fetch twice that."

Shan Heyuan stood there and sighed. "All of a sudden, the spirit beads we livelihood cultivators earn don't seem like much."

Shen Duheng said, "Five million spirit beads amount to only fifty thousand low-grade Spirit Stones. It wasn't much to begin with."

High-level cultivators really were wealthy.

Shan Heyuan sighed enviously and went off to do his work.

Shan Heyuan was replacing the Spirit Gathering Talismans for the Spirit Plants in the courtyard.

Wen Chengyi came rushing to his door on his flying sword like a shooting star and crashed into it with an enormous bang.

Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng both looked toward the courtyard entrance.

It was rare to see a Foundation Establishment cultivator act so recklessly. Wen Chengyi rolled over on the ground, looking somewhat disheveled.

Paying it no mind, he looked up with a smile and greeted them warmly. "Senior Shen, young friend Shan, I've come for the Spirit Spring."

Shen Duheng nodded and took a water storage bag straight out of his storage ring. "One hundred liters of Core Formation-grade Spirit Spring water. Take a look."

Wen Chengyi trotted over to him, bent down, and accepted the water storage bag with both hands. "Good, good, good. Thank you for your efforts, Senior Shen and young friend Shan. I'll take a look right now."

Wen Chengyi eagerly opened the water storage bag.

The moment it opened, moist Core Formation-grade Spiritual Power rushed at him, enveloping him in damp Spiritual Qi.

He took a deep breath, his eyes shining brightly and an excited flush spreading across his face. "It really is a Core Formation-grade Spirit Spring! The quality is even better than I imagined!"

Shen Duheng looked at him, signaling with his eyes for him to hand over the spirit beads.

Wen Chengyi took another breath and chuckled, then took a bag out of his storage Spirit Artifact. "Senior Shen, this is the spirit bead payment we agreed on earlier. I've already exchanged it for low-grade Spirit Stones. Please count them."

Shen Duheng swept his Divine Sense over them and, having confirmed that all was in order, gave a slight nod to indicate that the transaction was complete.

Wen Chengyi carefully put away the water storage bag before finally noticing their courtyard.

Shan Heyuan had just put away the Illusionless Tree and the lightning-struck wood sprout, so all Wen Chengyi could see were Qi Refining-grade and Foundation Establishment-grade Spirit Plants.

Even so, that was enough to astonish him.

Wen Chengyi's eyes widened. "Young friend Shan, you've planted so many Foundation Establishment-grade Spirit Plants here? The soil in your courtyard hasn't reached the standard of a low-grade spirit field, has it?"

Shan Heyuan said, "It has. It hadn't before, but last winter I carefully applied Fertilizer Pills throughout the courtyard and kept the Spirit Gathering Formation running day and night. It's reached that standard now."

Wen Chengyi's gaze swept back and forth, and he couldn't help saying, "Your Spirit Plants are growing so well. It's such a waste to grow them in soil like this. If you ask me, you're not short of spirit beads now, so why not move? Jingzhishan Town doesn't have any high-grade spirit fields, but there are a few mid-grade ones. If you want one, I can put you in touch."

Shan Heyuan really had never considered moving before, but now that Wen Chengyi had mentioned it, he had a point.

He exchanged a glance with Shen Duheng.

Shen Duheng gave a slight nod, leaving the decision to him.

Shan Heyuan smiled. "All right. Sorry for the trouble, Senior Wen, but could you help us look? Send us a communication talisman if you find anything suitable."

Wen Chengyi said, "Leave it to me. I'll put the information together and send it to you when I get back."

Shan Heyuan said, "There's no rush. We'll probably be busy lately, and even if we do move, it may not be until after winter."

Wen Chengyi nodded in understanding. "You've been away for so long, you must have a lot to take care of. Oh, right, you passed the fourth-grade planter exam you took earlier. If you have time, go pick up your planter jade token as soon as you can. With the token, you get discounts when buying and selling Spirit Plants."

Shan Heyuan said, "I'll go in a couple of days and see if I can take the third-grade planter exam while I'm at it."

His casual remark was no less than a thunderclap exploding beside Wen Chengyi's ear.

Wen Chengyi could barely hold his expression together. "Th-third grade?!"

Wen Chengyi looked closely at him, his eyes widening in disbelief. His voice cracked. "You've already reached the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage? Didn't you only just enter the Foundation Establishment Realm?!"

Feeling a little unsteady on his feet, Wen Chengyi shakily made his way to the chair beneath the eaves and sat down. "How did you advance so quickly? You've caught up with me."

Shan Heyuan smiled again.

Over the past half year, he had been able to tuck a new Foundation Establishment-grade Spirit Plant into his Dantian every few days, and he had planted Drunken Ox Grass day and night, cultivating diligently.

On top of that, he had never encountered much of a bottleneck, so his advancement had come as naturally as a canal forming where water flowed.

Of course, he couldn't tell Wen Chengyi that.