Chapter 37 (continued)

Jiang Zhi: "I have long admired Senior Shen's reputation. I would be delighted if you would be willing to introduce me."

Shan Heyuan: "Okay, I'll tell him. Haha, it's good that you're here, then someone will help me change the spirit soil in the courtyard."

Jiang Zhi: "I have no problem with that, you can ask Li Jian. But I reckon he'd be willing too, there aren't many opportunities to play with top-grade spirit soil."

Shan Heyuan rubbed his hands together, eager to get started. "I'll send him the communication talisman in a bit."

Neither Jiang Zhi nor Li Jian were the type to hesitate, and upon receiving Shan Heyuan's invitation, they set off immediately.

The two men, covered in snow and riding two large dogs with red scarves around their necks, appeared in front of Shan Heyuan's alley.

Shan Heyuan came out to greet them.

Jiang Zhi looked around the courtyard. "This place is so quiet and tidy, and it's rare to find one so close to the academy. How did you find this courtyard?"

Shan Heyuan: "I didn't look for them; Supreme Harmony Sect arranged it for me."

Jiang Zhi sighed, put his arm around Li Jian's shoulder, and said, "You disciples from various sects have it so easy. People like me and Old Li, no one worries about us."

Li Jian nodded. "Being unaffiliated with any sect or faction is a disadvantage."

Shan Heyuan smiled. Supreme Harmony Sect had indeed treated him well, especially his nominal master He Wu and Jiu Mingyue, who had been very kind to him.

Even though it's Chinese New Year, he sent a gift back home a couple of days ago.

Although he had no relatives in this world, Jiu Mingyue and Ma Rupei were considered half-relatives to him.

The three exchanged a few words of laughter and walked into the courtyard.

Shen Duheng was at home today. Hearing their voices, he came out to greet them.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, everyone left.

Li Jian took out a bottle of spirit wine from his storage ring. "Since this is my first visit, I don't have much of a gift. I recently obtained this bottle of spirit wine; the taste and Spiritual Power are quite good. Please try it."

Shan Heyuan hadn't expected him to be so particular, and quickly said, "Brother Li, you're being too polite."

Jiang Zhi also took out a box and said softly, "It's the New Year, so we should at least show some appreciation. I bought a box of pastries from Banner Fragrance Studio, a long-established brand in Sword Reverence City. They're quite delicious. Do you like them?"

Jiang Zhi and Li Jian were both respectable people, Shan Heyuan hurriedly accepted the gift, while Shen Duheng also expressed his gratitude.

Shen Duheng knew he felt uncomfortable in their presence, so after a few words, he quickly returned to his room.

The remaining three people stood in the courtyard, looking around the small winter courtyard.

It's late winter now, and spring is just around the corner, so the scene in the yard is starting to look different.

Putting everything else aside, the lush green herbs growing under the grass carpet are quite delightful.

Jiang Zhi and Li Jian are both plant growers and they both know how difficult it is to grow spiritual herbs during this season.

The fact that the spiritual herbs in Shan Heyuan's home are of such high quality is enough to demonstrate his remarkable cultivation skills.

Jiang Zhi walked up to the spirit herb, squatted down to look at the lush green grass, then grabbed a handful of soil and rubbed it, sighing, "Everyone says the Spirit Plant you manage are good, but that's because they haven't seen these spirit plants in your yard. Once they see them, they probably won't think your spirit plants are anything special."

Li Jian said, "The spiritual herbs in the academy are one thing, but the ones in your house are truly impressive."

Shan Heyuan: "The good management of these spiritual herbs is entirely due to the Spirit Stone; it has little to do with my planting techniques."

Jiang Zhi: "How come you're relying on Spirit Stone?"

Shan Heyuan: "Look at my soil, isn't it soft and fertile? And it looks as black as cake?"

Jiang Zhi and Li Jian nodded in unison.

Shan Heyuan sighed, "That's because I poured a lot of spiritual liquid into the soil and applied Fertilizer Pill. In addition, I nurtured them with Spiritual Power energy almost every day. Their current appearance is all thanks to the Spiritual Power I used."

Jiang Zhi: "What was it like before?"

"Before?" Shan Heyuan took out a shadow stone from his storage ring. "I'd almost forgotten, but I left a record. You can see it by looking at the shadow stone..."

Jiang Zhi's eyes widened. "You actually took a picture?"

Shan Heyuan said frankly, "Of course, this is a courtyard that Supreme Harmony Sect lent me. No matter how we arrange it, it will have to be restored to its original state when we leave. If we don't take photos, how will we know how it should be restored?"

Jiang Zhi: "Such a meticulous mind."

Shan Heyuan smiled and said, "When borrowing something from someone else, you definitely have to be more careful."

Shan Heyuan showed the two of them around his yard, from the Spirit Plant to the soil and the fertilizer piled up in the large urn in the corner.

Others might not be interested in these things, but to those in the same profession, each of these items— Spirit Plant, soil, fertilizer, etc.—offers a wealth of topics to discuss.

Jiang Zhi's eyes practically lit up at the sight of the Spirit Plant in Shan Heyuan's courtyard.

Jiang Zhi and Li Jian were both knowledgeable, but they had never seen many third-grade planters grow Spirit Plant of this quality.

Shan Heyuan didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

As his cultivation level increased and he accumulated more Spirit Stone, the Spirit Plant he cultivated naturally became extraordinary.

Jiang Zhi and Li Jian looked at each of the Spirit Plant with envy and a burning desire to take them.

Upon seeing the jade vat placed in the center of the barrier, Jiang Zhi took another curious look. "What kind of Spirit Plant is this? I don't quite recognize it."

Inside the jade jar was Lightning-Struck Wood Sprout, but Shan Heyuan didn't know what kind of Spirit Plant it was.

During this time, he had consulted countless materials, but he felt that this Lightning-Struck Wood Sprout was unlike any known Spirit Plant.

Shen Duheng had even resided within the Broken Sword, and he couldn't say for sure what kind of Spirit Plant the Broken Sword originated from. He could only speculate that such a rare and precious plant might be a solitary one, the only one of its kind in the world, so it wouldn't be surprising if ordinary people couldn't recognize it.

Shan Heyuan heard his guess, he was initially cautious, but later, seeing that the Lightning-Struck Wood Sprout grew more and more ordinary and even lacked Spiritual Power, he stopped worrying about it.

Now, Shan Heyuan is still carefully taking care of the Lightning-Struck Wood Sprout, unlike before when he was hiding and afraid of being discovered by anyone.

Upon hearing Jiang Zhi's question, Shan Heyuan replied, "Brother Shen gave it to me. I can't quite say what kind of Spirit Plant it is; perhaps we'll see when it grows a bit bigger."

Jiang Zhi raised an eyebrow, a mischievous grin on his face. "A token?"

Shan Heyuan could tell from his expression that this "token" had a deeper meaning, so he kept his eyes down and didn't say anything.

Seeing Shan Heyuan's reaction, Li Jian tried to smooth things over, saying, "Weren't we here to see Brother Shan's newly purchased spirit soil?"

Shan Heyuan readily changed the subject. "The spirit soil is in my Storage Bag. I'll go get it and show it to you."

Storage Law Artifact cannot be stacked.

Since the Storage Bag containing the spirit soil couldn't be put into Shan Heyuan's storage ring or bracelet, he placed it in the hall.

He went into the hall, took out a Storage Bag, and poured out a handful of black soil to show the two of them. "This is the top-grade spiritual soil we bought this time."

Jiang Zhi and Li Jian leaned their heads together, both looking at the high-grade spiritual soil in Shan Heyuan's hand.

The highest quality spiritual soil is dark in color and appears very moist and delicate, almost like a paste.

Jiang Zhi carefully dipped some soil into his hand and rubbed it between his fingers. "The Spiritual Power in this soil is so abundant!"

Li Jian also took a pinch, examined it, and said, "Is it the spiritual soil from Pingyin City?"

Shan Heyuan: "You could even guess that?"

Li Jian: "Although they are all top-grade spiritual soil, the five elements within the spiritual soil vary slightly from place to place. I see that the metal Spiritual Power in this spiritual soil is slightly stronger. The spiritual soil in the nearby city, specifically Pingyin City, has this characteristic."

Jiang Zhi: "Maybe it came from another continent? High-grade spiritual soil with a slightly stronger golden Spiritual Power isn't unique to Pingyin City."

Li Jian: "That's possible. But I've used the spiritual soil from Pingyin City, and my intuition tells me it originated from Pingyin."

The two looked at Shan Heyuan, waiting for him to reveal the secret.

Shan Heyuan nodded. "When we placed the order, the seller's description confirmed that they were from Pingyin City."

Li Jian smiled and said, "I wouldn't dare say anything else, but I do have some experience in planting."

The two of them came today not only to look at the high-grade spiritual soil, but also to agree to work with Shan Heyuan to replace the soil in the courtyard.

The main reason is that Shan Heyuan grows a lot of rare and precious spiritual herbs, so it's best to harvest them all at once. Otherwise, he can take his time to gather them.