Chapter 4: Eight Extremes Origin Returning Array

"Wow, look quickly, so many Spirit Stones!"

Just as a group of disciples were whispering and exchanging words, they saw the Great Elder flip his hand, and more than ten crystal-clear, pale green jade stones appeared out of thin air. Under the reflection of the morning sun, they emitted a cyan glow that made one's soul tremble.

"Senior Brother, be careful. If so many Spirit Stones are buried, I fear this Soul Returning Wood will be unable to withstand the sudden influx of energy!"

Seeing the Great Elder preparing to use Spirit Stones to fertilize the Soul Returning Wood, the Third Elder was instantly somewhat terrified.

The Great Elder hesitated for a moment, nodded, and said, "Junior Brother, your thinking is thorough. I was a bit too impatient. Then let's use fewer!"

After speaking, the Great Elder waved his hand, and the Spirit Stones were suddenly reduced to three. Then, he brought his hands together in the air and rubbed them; the three Spirit Stones turned into pale green powder and fell around the Soul Returning Wood. Once finished, the Great Elder casually tossed out an Array Disk and tapped it lightly with his finger. The Array Disk transformed into a phantom of the Eight Trigrams, fell into the soil, and vanished. Suddenly, an obscure aura fluctuation appeared throughout the entire Medicine Garden.

"Wow, this is the Great Elder's Magic Treasure, the Eight Extremes Origin Returning Array!" a knowledgeable disciple exclaimed.

Xu Chen had naturally heard of this treasure of the Great Elder, but he had never seen it before; he did not expect to have his eyes opened today by following along.

Although the Third Elder was also somewhat surprised, he knew that in order to protect the flowering Soul Returning Wood, no amount of protection was too much. Therefore, he nodded and said, "Senior Brother is thorough in his considerations. With the Origin Returning Array guarding it, I imagine it will also reduce a lot of trouble!"

"Trouble from other Immortal Sects is one thing, but I am mainly worried about Demon Beasts or Spirit Beasts coming to destroy it. This Soul Returning Wood will take at least three years to flower and bear fruit. You and I cannot guard it every day, and the group of disciples all have low cultivation levels, so it is better to be safe than sorry!"

After the Great Elder finished speaking, he turned to look at the group of disciples and asked, "Where are the disciples guarding the Medicine Garden?"

Xu Chen hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, "Disciple Xu Chen greets the Great Elder."

The Great Elder looked Xu Chen up and down, smiled, and nodded, "You have done well. You deserve the primary credit for the Soul Returning Wood flowering. In the future, you must continue to take care of it with even more dedication. You are currently not yet at the Kaiyuan Realm mid-stage, so you cannot make use of overly good Magic Treasures or pills. This bottle of Great Origin Pill and three Spirit Talismans shall be your reward!"

After the Great Elder finished speaking, he waved his hand gently, and a bottle of pills and three jade talismans hovered in front of Xu Chen.

Xu Chen shivered with excitement, hurriedly put away the pills and Spirit Talismans, and thanked him again.

"Take good care of the Soul Returning Wood. If it can bear fruit, the sect will not be stingy with rewards of pills and Magic Treasures. You are the Second Elder's youngest disciple, and the Second Elder is often traveling abroad in search of opportunities for breakthroughs, so he indeed has not taken enough care of you. How about this: starting from today, your monthly pill allocation will be doubled. If you can break through to the Kaiyuan Realm, I will bestow upon you a second-grade Magic Treasure."

"Wow, a second-grade Magic Treasure!"

Before the Great Elder's voice had even faded, the group of male and female disciples erupted into a violent commotion. Many were swallowing hard, especially the two Senior Sisters, whose eyes were glowing as they looked at Xu Chen.

Cultivating immortality is all about cultivation, but to truly achieve success in cultivation, one cannot do without the four elements: wealth, companions, techniques, and land.

Land: cultivators mostly choose deep mountains and old forests with abundant Spirit Qi and far from the mortal world to reduce interference from worldly affairs.

Companions: whether male or female cultivators, if they can choose those with similar temperaments and shared interests to cultivate together and verify their progress, it can greatly increase cultivation speed. It does not necessarily mean husband and wife, but rather like-minded individuals.

Techniques: these are the cultivation methods. Although everyone is cultivating, the sects are different, and the techniques naturally have their strengths and weaknesses. Good techniques naturally yield twice the result with half the effort. A rogue cultivator picking up some messy, broken technique will absolutely never catch up to a cultivator from a prestigious sect; the speed of cultivation cannot even be mentioned in the same breath.

Wealth: this does not refer to the gold and silver treasures of the mortal world, but to cultivation resources—various immortal pills, Spirit Medicines, and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, naturally including various Magic Treasures.

Wealth ranks first in cultivation; talent, techniques, Daolu, and so on all rank below it. It is evident that whether in the mortal world or in the cultivation world, wealth is the cornerstone for stepping onto the peak of life.

The little Junior Brother, who was originally unknown and spent his days picking up dung, suddenly had both pills and Magic Treasures, and in the blink of an eye, he became an upstart in the eyes of all the Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters of the Taiyuan Sect.

A first-grade pill like the Great Origin Pill is something one cannot eat on ordinary days; even if one performs a meritorious service, one would at most be rewarded with one or two, and swallowing one can keep one happy for more than half a year.

And things like Spirit Talismans are, in the eyes of the Taiyuan Sect's disciples, even scarcer items equivalent to Magic Treasures. A single Spirit Talisman, regardless of its function, can always have unexpected and miraculous effects in a critical moment.

Although the Great Elder has a fiery temper and is rarely seen throughout the year, his cultivation level is beyond reach, and he is also a master at crafting artifacts. The Spirit Talismans he bestows are guaranteed to be top-notch; they are absolutely the best choice for staying at home, traveling, or raiding homes.

After bestowing the rewards, the Great Elder did not stay long. He exchanged a few words via Divine Sense with the Third Elder, then waved his large sleeves and soared into the air, turning into a stream of light and heading far away, seemingly aiming in the direction of the Great Song's Jingshi.

The Third Elder did not explain the Great Elder's destination, but instead gave a few instructions to Xu Chen and the group of disciples, which were nothing more than assisting Xu Chen in taking good care of the Medicine Garden and the Soul Returning Wood. Additionally, for the sake of caution, he asked several disciples with higher cultivation levels to go down the mountain to summon back all the disciples who were out, preparing to seal the sect for a period of time until the Soul Returning Fruit matured.

A moment later, seeing the Third Elder also turn into a stream of light and return to Zhaoyang Peak, the group of Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters immediately swarmed around the Soul Returning Wood to watch. While clicking their tongues in wonder, they looked at the newly wealthy Xu Chen with eyes full of envy, jealousy, and hatred.

Of course, no one understood why this Soul Returning Wood had suddenly withered wood meeting spring, sprouting branches and flowering.

And they would certainly never think it was because Xu Chen had buried a few more piles of Spirit Beast and Demon Beast dung for the Soul Returning Wood.

Because for the past hundred years, generations of disciples had buried countless amounts of various Spirit Beast and Demon Beast feces in the Medicine Garden, and it was even said that many Spirit Stones had been used in the past, but there had never been any movement. Therefore, the flowering of the Soul Returning Wood was definitely not due to fertilization; there must be some other mystery.

Therefore, envy and jealousy aside, not a single Senior Brother or Senior Sister thought about fighting Xu Chen for his dung-picking job.

"Alright, alright, everyone disperse. Go back and do your work. We are going to seal the sect, and there is still plenty to do!"

After the group of Senior Brothers and Sisters made a commotion for a while, Jiu Shixiong shouted with a sour tone, threw out his Flying Sword Magic Treasure, leaped onto it, and soared into the air.

"Jiu Shixiong, if you go back to face the wall and reflect, you might as well stay and help me pick up dung. I'll share half of what I find with you," Xu Chen shouted loudly.

Jiu Shixiong stumbled in the air and almost fell off, then fled in a sorry state amidst the uproarious laughter of the group of Senior Brothers and Sisters.

"If you become rich, don't forget me! Little Junior Brother, lend me three Great Origin Pills, and I'll pay you back double later!" Third Senior Brother approached with drool dripping.

"Little Junior Brother, don't believe him. Third Senior Brother still hasn't returned the two Small Yuan Pills he borrowed from me last year!" Fifth Senior Brother reminded him with a sinister tone.

"Hehe, if you don't want to, then forget it!" Third Senior Brother felt awkward, hurriedly threw out his Magic Treasure, and slipped away in a flash.

Fifth Senior Brother's expression changed at this moment, and he looked at Xu Chen with a fawning face: "Little Junior Brother, lend me a Spirit Talisman, and I'll return it to you later!"

Xu Chen hurriedly covered his pocket and retreated with a vigilant face.

"That, haha, I was just joking. I'm leaving. In a few days, I'll get some good treasures to trade with you, Junior Brother!" Fifth Senior Brother also hurriedly threw out his Magic Treasure and soared away.

The remaining group of Senior Brothers and Sisters saw there was nothing left to watch, so they scattered one after another. Finally, only Seventh Senior Sister and Thirteenth Senior Sister remained.

Xu Chen was instantly nervous, looking at the two Senior Sisters with longing eyes, his throat feeling a bit dry: "Do the two Senior Sisters have any other business?"

Seventh Senior Sister turned to look around the Medicine Garden and said, "It's remote here, and you are the only one, Junior Brother. You must need a companion, right? How about I go ask the Third Elder for permission to move over and accompany you to take care of the Medicine Garden? It would also prevent the Soul Returning Wood from attracting powerful Demon Beasts and putting you in danger, Junior Brother."

Thirteenth Senior Sister curled her lips and hummed, "You should save your energy. Where in our Taiyuan Sect is not remote? Besides, with the Great Elder's Eight Extremes Origin Returning Array guarding it, what danger could there be?"

Seventh Senior Sister did not refute her, but said with a slightly sarcastic tone: "Then what are you staying behind for?"

Thirteenth Senior Sister's expression became somewhat uncomfortable. She stomped her foot, threw out her Flying Sword, stepped onto it, and said, "I was just wanting to remind Little Junior Brother to pay attention to safety. What does that have to do with Senior Sister Qu!"

After speaking, Thirteenth Senior Sister turned into a stream of light and went far away.

Xu Chen was extremely awkward. He looked at Seventh Senior Sister and slowly took out the Great Origin Pills: "Senior Sister Qu, I have no use for these pills right now. If you want them, take a few!"

Seventh Senior Sister took a deep breath, her chest swelling up significantly, and then looked at Xu Chen with a smile that was not quite a smile: "I accept your kind intentions, Little Junior Brother. I am not short of pills for the time being, but can you tell me why this Soul Returning Wood suddenly flowered?"

Xu Chen smiled bitterly and said, "If only I knew. I have been planting this Soul Returning Wood for three years, and today when I got up and looked, it was suddenly like this."

Seventh Senior Sister was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "I also took care of the Medicine Garden for a few years. Later, because I needed to go down the mountain for training after entering the Kaiyuan Realm late-stage, the Third Elder arranged for Ninth Junior Brother to take over. I might know more about the Medicine Garden's affairs and care more about it than you do. You and I were both taken up the mountain by Master, and our relationship is the closest. Master is now traveling abroad all year round and does not return, and we are not really cared for by the sect. Actually, it was my suggestion to the Third Elder to hand the medicine field over to you. It was mainly because Master once said something."

"What did Master say?" Xu Chen asked, full of surprise.

"Master said that although the Soul Returning Wood does not flower or bear fruit, living around it for a long time can also strengthen one's soul. Junior Brother, your aptitude is not high. Master said that at most you could only cultivate to the Kaiyuan Realm late-stage, and there is almost no hope of breaking through to the Zhenyuan Realm. But I hope that Little Junior Brother can still go further. If you don't enter the Zhenyuan Realm, you cannot build your Dao foundation, and you can only live like an ordinary mortal, unable to live past a hundred years. If it can only be like this, why should we huddle on the mountain, isolated from the world and suffering? It would be better to live a happy life eating, drinking, and playing in the mortal world, and then there would be no such worries about chasing immortality. If Little Junior Brother lives under the Soul Returning Wood for a long time, your aptitude will slowly improve, and you will have more opportunities for breakthroughs in the future."

Xu Chen was instantly full of gratitude and bowed: "So that's how it is. It is still not too late to thank you today, Senior Sister."

Seventh Senior Sister smiled gently and said, "Why be so distant between us? If you have any difficulties in cultivation in the future, you can come and ask me. Tomorrow I am going down the mountain to find the Senior Brothers and Sisters who are out for training. Can you lend me a Spirit Talisman for protection, Junior Brother? If I don't use it, I will return it to you when I return to the mountain. If I do use it, I will definitely compensate you with other Magic Treasures in the future!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Chen hurriedly took out three Spirit Talismans and said, "Senior Sister Cao, just take whichever one you fancy. I am guarding the Medicine Garden on the mountain and basically have no use for them; whether you use them or not, there is no need to return them in the future."

Seventh Senior Sister's face immediately blossomed into a smile; she swept her Divine Sense across them to choose one, then patted Xu Chen on the head and said gently, "Little Junior Brother is still the best. In the future, Senior Sister will certainly not treat you poorly. I am leaving now; take care of yourself."

Having said that, Seventh Senior Sister threw out her Flying Sword, stepped onto it, and transformed into a stream of light as she sped away, with a sentence carried back on the wind: "Wait for me, Junior Brother! I will bring you a gift when I return to the mountain!"

Xu Chen walked toward his dwelling, unable to laugh or cry, but after taking only a few steps, he suddenly realized what had happened and slapped his forehead in great annoyance.

He had fallen for Seventh Senior Sister's trick; he had not expected her to actually play the emotional card to swindle him out of his Spirit Talismans.

It seemed that among so many senior brothers and sisters in the sect, there was truly not a single one who was pure and kind. In the future, he would have to be more cunning and keep his medicinal pills and Spirit Talismans well-guarded, lest he be swindled again.