Chapter 52: The Cultivators' Circle

Hundred Arts Garden is not only a place where many Hundred Arts cultivators practice, but also their workshop; it can also be considered a place for private customization.

The Hundred Arts Garden in the market city gathers the finest Hundred Arts cultivators of the Western Droop Region.

It can be foreseen that in the future, this place will surely become the center that numerous cultivators possessing a skill such as formation devices, elixirs, and talismans will flock to.

This situation is precisely what will appear in the Western Droop Three Kingdoms.

Wang Ping, Tie Lanshan, and many cultivators passed through a flowerbed filled with strange flowers and exotic grasses, then crossed a wooden arched bridge, and after wandering about for the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, they arrived at the so-called Immortal Meeting Pavilion.

In Hundred Arts Garden, each courtyard has an Immortal Meeting Pavilion.

The pavilion has two floors, but the first floor only provides support; the second floor is the Immortal Meeting Hall where the garden owner receives friends.

From the outside, the Immortal Meeting Pavilion looks exquisite, while everything else is quite ordinary.

When Wang Ping finished the stairs and entered the second floor, he only then discovered that inside lay another world.

The entire Immortal Meeting Hall was laid with a minor spirit gathering array, and the spiritual energy concentration inside is more than double that outside.

Wang Ping felt nothing special about it, but everyone else wore expressions of enjoyment.

The Immortal Meeting Hall is a square reception hall measuring one and a half zhang in both length and width.

In the center of the hall is a tabletop made of white stone; at the center of the tabletop is a water pool, one chi high on the left side, with a diameter of about three chi, from which water constantly surges upward from below.

There must be a leak below, so the water in the pool never overflows in the slightest.

These were not enough to surprise Wang Ping; what he noticed was a green lotus in the center of the pool, constantly spinning with the surging water.

Although rootless, it shows vitality; its five emerald petals are crystal clear like jade, and the lotus heart inside is pale yellow, at this moment emitting visible spiritual light.

Everyone was unsurprised by this, and Tie Lanshan explained to Wang Ping:

"This is a rootless emerald heart lotus! It lives solely on water and has the function of purifying water quality, but only a four-petaled emerald heart lotus can purify water quality."

"Tea brewed with water purified by the emerald heart lotus is a rare sight in the cultivation world! Later, friends, you must give it a good tasting!"

Wang Ping nodded; he had never heard of the rootless emerald heart lotus before, but he was quite looking forward to it.

At this moment, everyone had casually taken their seats; it seemed they had gathered here more than once.

At this moment, Tie Lanshan stood up, smiling, and said:

"I will introduce to everyone my life-and-death close friend,

Lan Ming, fellow Daoist Lan!

Besides, Fellow Daoist Lan also has another identity as an armorer! Fellow Daoist Wu, the high-grade magical artifact Hundred Slaughters Mystic Azure Blade you purchased from me last time was actually crafted by my good friend Lan Ming."

"Hundred Slaughters Mystic Azure Blade?"

Wang Ping didn't react for a moment, then realized that Tie Lanshan was referring to that black blade.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

The cultivators present all turned their gazes over; Fellow Daoist Wu's blade they had all seen before, indeed a fine blade, even among high-grade magical artifacts it counts as top-tier.

Moreover, this person is actually a life-and-death close friend of Array Master Lan; among cultivators, few would address each other in such a way. For a moment, aside from Master Ruru, the other cultivators' eyes also gained a hint of solemnity.

Fellow Daoist Wu widened his eyes, then stood up in delight, speaking with an excited expression:

"It turns out that blade is actually forged by you, fellow Daoist; my apologies, my apologies!"

Wang Ping responded with a smile, and Tie Lanshan then said:

"Fellow Daoist Lan, next I will introduce you to the various fellow Daoists!"

First, Tie Lanshan pointed with his right hand at the elderly person wearing alchemist's robes and said:

"This is Zhang Zuo, Fellow Daoist Zhang, skilled in alchemy; he received a Jia Lower rating in the assessment at the Gathering Treasure Pavilion!"

After saying that, seemingly afraid Wang Ping wouldn't know how impressive that rating was, he added another sentence:

"Among the sixty-four auxiliary Hundred Arts cultivators in Hundred Arts Garden, only five have obtained this qualification! Fellow Daoist Zhang is one of them!"

Only then did Wang Ping feel how formidable this Elder Zhang Zuo was; no wonder he wears the alchemist's robe—it's confidence in his own strength!

"Above that, there are three with Jia Middle ratings and one with Jia Upper rating; Array Master Lan is the sole cultivator who obtained the Jia Upper rating!"

That Fellow Daoist Wu, standing to the side, smiled narrowly and said.

As for Tie Lanshan being able to obtain the Jia Upper rating, Wang Ping was not at all surprised; the Blood Moon Grand Array left an extremely deep impression on him.

Tie Lanshan deliberately glared at Fellow Daoist Wu, then couldn't help but laugh as he introduced:

"This is Fellow Daoist Wu Yue, skilled in drawing talismans."

Afterwards, he introduced the remaining five in turn:

"This is Fellow Daoist Wang Ye, a rare beast tamer, who, like the others, also cultivates body refinement alongside his practice."

"Beast tamers are quite rare, as are insect tamers; both are obscure professions."

"These professions are not something you can call yourself a master of merely by raising a demonic beast or a few worms."

"Thus, in the cultivation world, many drive away beasts and insects, but beast tamers and insect tamers are extremely scarce."

Immediately, Wang Ping couldn't help but glance at him again; his build was indeed sturdy, and the restrained blood energy within him was obviously at the Great Completion level.

Seeing Wang Ping looking over, Wang Ye nodded with a smile and said: "If the opportunity arises, I would like to exchange pointers on body refinement with Fellow Daoist Lan Ming."

Wang Ping had no objection to that; he also wanted to know how his Great Completion body refinement compares to other body refinement cultivators.

"This is Fellow Daoist Li Ye, a spiritual plant cultivator who is quite adept at nurturing spiritual grasses and medicines!" After Tie Lanshan finished introducing Wang Ye, he faced a middle-aged cultivator in plain attire and introduced him.

Then he continued the introductions:

"This is Fellow Daoist Ouyang Hua, a puppeteer whose combat prowess is quite impressive!"

"This is Master Ruru, who is a…"

Upon saying this, Tie Lanshan actually paused for a moment; the faces of the several others also looked not quite normal, as if they wanted to laugh but held back.

Ruru responded openly, saying: "I am a spiritual chef; moreover, due to the influence of my cultivation method, I also assist in the practice of aura observation."

"A spiritual chef? A monk?"

Wang Ping wanted to laugh, but thinking that the other party had just helped him, he instead expressed admiration.

Surely the master must be quite accomplished in vegetarian cuisine, otherwise how could he have entered the Hundred Arts Garden?

Pfft!

Hahaha!

Every time I hear a monk introduce himself as a spirit chef, I want to laugh; I've never heard of a monk becoming a spirit chef!

That fellow Daoist Zhang Zuo laughed and explained:

Daoist Wang, don't take offense, I don't know whether Master Wuru is skilled in vegetarian cuisine, but he is extremely skilled in meat dishes—steaming, stir-frying, pan-frying, deep-frying, stewing—everything is a delicacy!

Wang Ping felt a bit embarrassed; he had intended to flatter, but ended up patting the horse's leg.

Master Wuru didn't mind at all, and casually said:

The poor monk has practiced Buddhist teachings for twenty years, but I simply lack the wisdom; I cannot comprehend the supreme Buddhist truth, nor can I establish a Buddhist foundation, so my master expelled me from the mountain gate! Afterwards I wandered out, and that journey lasted another ten years! During that time, I still had no insight into the Buddhist teachings, but instead I became deeply fond of cuisine. After painstaking research, I actually have considerable talent in this field.

Several cultivators present were hearing Master Wuru's background for the first time; upon hearing this, they couldn't help feeling a bit ashamed, as it turned out the master was a discarded disciple of a sect.

Wang Ping then noticed the mention of a Buddhist foundation by Master Wuru—'cannot establish a Buddhist foundation'?

The so-called Buddhist foundation is what cultivators call foundation establishment; judging by his current appearance, he is only about forty years old—could it be that Master Wuru had already reached the foundation establishment stage ten years ago?

As for that, Wang Ping didn't ask, and neither did the other cultivators present.

Everyone tacitly skipped over the matter, and after Tie Lanshan's introduction, Wang Ping also became acquainted with several cultivators.

Soon they were chatting about everything under the sun, and Wang Ping gazed at the cultivators present, thinking of their professions:

Alchemist, talisman master, beast tamer, spiritual plant master, puppet master, spirit chef, plus his artifact refiner, and Tie Lanshan's formation master.

He inexplicably thought of a word: 'circle!'

The cultivators' circle!

He turned his gaze toward Tie Lanshan, probably thinking that this was someone he intentionally wanted to befriend!