Chapter 53: Tight Inside, Loose Outside

An Escape Light came from below the mountainside and quickly landed in the Medicine Garden; it was none other than Seventh Senior Sister Qu Mei, who had left and returned.

Seeing the two of them squatting together looking suspicious, Qu Mei said with a strange expression, "What are you two doing running to the Medicine Garden in the blink of an eye? It's so bare here... Huh, what is this thing growing out?"

Qu Mei was already in the late stage of the Kaiyuan Realm, a tiny bit stronger than Jiu Shixiong, so her Divine Sense was naturally powerful. Moreover, having been down the mountain to gain experience for many years, she was knowledgeable and experienced, so at a single glance, she saw that these colorful plants were extraordinary. She squatted down to look closely, and the more she looked, the more surprised she became. Through her Divine Sense, she could feel that these plants possessed extremely powerful vitality, making her Soul throb more than many second-tier Spirit Medicines.

"Little Junior Brother, where did these weeds come from?" Qu Mei stood up and asked in surprise.

Xu Chen shook his head and said, "I don't know either. I only discovered them when I came back just now. They look like they've only just sprouted; I wonder what they will look like when they grow up?"

Qu Mei thought for a moment and said, "This matter seems to be of great importance. I suggest reporting it to the Third Elder."

Xu Chen nodded indifferently and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Seventh Senior Sister to make another trip."

Qu Mei said angrily, "Why is it me again?"

Xu Chen said innocently, "It's not like I want to report to the Third Elder. Last time, I discovered the Soul Returning Wood had blossomed and rushed to report it, which caused the Third Elder to ruin a furnace of pills and almost get Jiu Shixiong punished with a month of wall-facing in the back mountain. Besides, what happened later was even more outrageous; the Soul Returning Wood withered and died in a few days. I was still worried the Great Elder would come back and beat me to death. These weeds have just sprouted; although they look strange, perhaps they will be fine in a few days. If you run to report it now, the Third Elder might reward you with some Spirit Pills if he's happy, but if they turn out useless in a few days, watch him beat you to death. By the way, did you use the Spirit Talisman you borrowed last time? If not, give it back to me..."

Qu Mei's proud chest heaved violently; she wanted to beat this Little Junior Brother to death right now.

Zhao Xuan covered her mouth and giggled, then stood up and said, "Seventh Senior Sister, Little Junior Brother is right. This Medicine Garden is strange. It's better not to report to the Third Elder for the time being. Let's observe it for a while longer; if it is truly necessary, it won't be too late to report it then."

Qu Mei thought that made sense, so she nodded and said, "Alright then. I've put the bedding, pots, and pans in the wooden house. Is Junior Sister coming back to Zhaoyang Peak with me, or staying with Little Junior Brother a while longer?"

Zhao Xuan blushed and was just about to speak when Xu Chen said, "Thirteenth Senior Sister is staying to help me tidy up the house; I'll send her back later!"

"Fine, whatever you want!" Qu Mei waved her hand, threw out her Flying Sword, stepped onto it, and whistled away.

Xu Chen watched Seventh Senior Sister's back and clicked his tongue, saying, "When will Seventh Senior Sister ever change that fiery temper of hers? She's not ladylike at all!"

Zhao Xuan couldn't help but chide, "We are children of the Immortal Sect; cultivating the Dao points directly to our true nature. When have we ever needed to act coy like mortal women? I actually quite like Seventh Senior Sister's straightforward personality."

Xu Chen curled his lip and said, "Forget it, she just swindled your Storage Bag, and I have a bad premonition."

"What premonition?"

"She definitely didn't bring me a pillow."

"I don't believe it!"

"If you don't believe it, let's go back and see!"

Xu Chen threw out his Flying Sword and, carrying Zhao Xuan, stepped onto it and returned to the small wooden house in an instant. He saw a large cloth bundle sitting on a rock in the open space at the door, with pots and pans thrown around in a mess next to it.

Opening the bundle, Xu Chen rummaged through the bedding inside, and sure enough, there was no pillow to be seen.

"See, I told you!" Xu Chen said with a face full of sorrow.

Zhao Xuan giggled and said, "It's just a pillow. When you send me back later, I'll give you one."

Xu Chen could only nod, roll up his sleeves, and say, "Alright then, let's start moving in!"

Half an hour later, the inside and outside of the small house were cleaned and tidy, and the sun was already about to set.

Xu Chen flew out on his sword for a lap and quickly brought back a rabbit and a dozen bird eggs.

Then, he lit a fire in the open space outside the courtyard, brushed the skinned and gutted rabbit with a little vegetable oil and salt, and set it up to roast.

He fed a few bird eggs to Xiao Huli, and with the rest, he picked some wild onions and wild vegetables nearby, mixed them together, and made a stir-fried egg dish.

With simple millet rice, the two sat on the cliff, facing the evening breeze and the setting sun, eating and chatting until dusk. Once full, Xu Chen flew his sword to send Zhao Xuan back to Zhaoyang Peak. Of course, he didn't return empty-handed; he brought back a fragrant pillow.

For the next period of time, Xu Chen returned to his previous monotonous and peaceful life of cultivation.

He would be woken up by the chirping of birds all over the mountain at dawn. He would get up, take Xiao Huli for a tour of the Medicine Garden to check on the strange new plants, and then return to the wooden house to take pills and meditate, seizing the time to repair his Meridians while also constantly studying the Blue Jade Bead in his Sea of Consciousness.

Back on the mountain, Xiao Huli had a vast space of freedom, and its courage gradually grew. Half the mountain was almost its territory. Although it looked very small and didn't seem to have been fully weaned yet, the Spirit Beast aura it released made the beasts of all sizes all over the mountains and plains feel panic. Therefore, wherever it went, birds and beasts avoided it; it had no natural enemies at all.

However, the place Xiao Huli liked to go most was the medicine field. It was very interested in those strange plants. Every day when it followed Xu Chen, it would carefully sniff almost every single one, and it would look intoxicated.

And most of the time, when Xu Chen was meditating, Xiao Huli would also curl its body up and nap on his lap.

Under the influence of the Dust-Avoiding Bead, Xu Chen entered a meditative state very quickly every time he cultivated. Coupled with the replenishment of a large number of Spirit Pills, his damaged Meridians and dantian were recovering rapidly, and he also felt that his cultivation was improving significantly every day.

In just seven or eight days since returning to the mountain, he felt he had already reached the middle stage of the Kaiyuan Realm.

At this rate, he would be able to enter the late stage of the Kaiyuan Realm in at most a year.

Moreover, ever since he had the Blue Jade Bead, he discovered that his so-called trash Spirit Root was not completely limited to the Kaiyuan Realm.

Because as his realm improved, he felt that his potential was also being slowly excavated.

Especially after several consecutive life-and-death battles, he had a sudden realization: under extreme danger and extreme pressure, his body, Soul, Divine Sense, and cultivation speed all had very obvious improvements.

Previously, whether it was flying with a sword or using Magic Spells, he had just followed the book and applied them rigidly according to traditional methods.

Before going down the mountain, he had always flown by riding his sword, but now he could skillfully use the Imperial Flight Technique. He didn't need a Magic Treasure for short-distance flight at all; it was almost a rebirth.

These were actually secondary.

The thing that had the greatest impact on Xu Chen from this trip down the mountain was his mindset.

From an ignorant little cultivator isolated from the world, he had thoroughly understood the cruelty of the Immortal World, and his mentality and character had matured significantly.

And the tempering of the Dao heart was precisely the most important link in cultivation. Only by possessing a calm and indifferent heart, not getting angry when encountering things, and letting all things follow one's heart, could one finally walk further on this path of longevity.

In a flash, another ten-plus days passed; it had been nearly a month since returning to the mountain.

The entire Taiyuan Sect was relaxed on the outside but tense on the inside.

After nearly a month of recuperation and cultivation, Xu Chen's realm had stabilized in the middle stage of the Kaiyuan Realm.

Jiu Shixiong had also recovered well from his recuperation.

Although Zhao Xuan's Meridians still could not be repaired, her body was seven or eight-tenths better, and she was already able to fly with her own sword.

The other group of senior brothers and sisters had also received a large supply of Spirit Pills and Magic Treasures, and each was diligently cultivating in their own residences.

The Great Elder Danchenzi was still in seclusion refining the Blood God Grass.

The Second Elder Xuanhe Zhenren was also making preparations for seclusion before Golden Core formation.

The Third Elder was preparing to refine the Descending Dust Pill to help Xuanhe Zhenren advance.

Originally, the entire Taiyuan Sect had collected quite a few Spirit Medicines and immortal herbs for refining the Descending Dust Pill, and most were already complete with little missing. This time, Xu Chen and the other two had successively killed the elite disciples of four large Immortal Sects, especially the two Zhenyuan Realm cultivators from the Ziyang Sect and Liang Feng from Yuqing Hall. The second-tier and third-tier Spirit Medicines and Spirit Materials on the three of them were quite numerous, and they actually managed to gather all the medicinal materials for refining the Descending Dust Pill.

That is to say, as long as this Descending Dust Pill was successfully refined, barring any accidents, Xuanhe Zhenren had a seven or eight-tenths chance of successfully forming a Golden Core.

Coupled with Danchenzi's successful Spirit Transformation, the Taiyuan Sect would have one Spirit Transformation True Monarch and one True Person of the Golden Core sitting in command. Their strength could be said to be advancing by leaps and bounds, instantly entering the top three of the Song Kingdom's Immortal Sects.

With this status and position, the Taiyuan Sect would be able to obtain a larger allocation of resources from the Song Kingdom Immortal World, and would attract more mortal families and rogue Immortals to seek refuge, thereby gaining more disciples with excellent Spirit Roots and resource trades, allowing the sect to grow rapidly like a snowball.

It is easy to enjoy the shade under a big tree; supported by a powerful sect, the disciples of the Taiyuan Sect would no longer need to live a life so poor they had to eat dirt, and with an ample supply of medicinal pills and Magic Treasures, their cultivation levels would naturally rise rapidly.

However, for all of this to be successfully realized, Danchenzi's breakthrough is particularly critical.

Therefore, while the Taiyuan Sect closed its gates and remained inside, with everyone huddled on the mountain burying themselves in cultivation, they were also anxiously waiting for Danchenzi to come out of seclusion.

Meanwhile, in the Great Song Immortal World, the commotion caused by Xu Chen and the other two in Jingshi had not subsided; instead, it was growing larger and larger.

Liang Feng was a high-ranking disciple of True Person Yulong, and True Person Yulong was a disciple of True Monarch Yuyang; the Yuqing Hall had a large estate and many assets, so it was naturally divided into several factions.

Liang Feng had perished and True Person Yulong was in a coma from serious injuries, so the faction of True Monarch Yuyang was naturally filled with righteous indignation and wanted to seek revenge on the Taiyuan Sect; however, this proposal did not receive much support from the Elder Council, because according to the investigation results, Liang Feng might have died at the hands of people from Longmen Mountain, and the reason True Person Yulong's Soul suffered heavy damage was likely due to the sudden agitation of the Fourth-Tier Spirit Beast, the Seven-Colored Spirit Sparrow.

Although True Person Yulong was in the Danyuan Realm, he was the weakest in cultivation in the Yuqing Hall, having only achieved Golden Core for three years and still being in the stabilization period of the Danyuan Realm; he had absolutely no resistance when facing a Fourth-Tier Spirit Beast.

Fortunately, the Spirit Sparrow had high intelligence and was well-tamed, so it did not launch its most violent attack, and it stopped after two strikes; otherwise, let alone True Person Yulong, even True Monarch Yuyang himself would likely be injured if facing an adult Fourth-Tier Spirit Beast, so this debt could not be blamed entirely on the Taiyuan Sect.

Of course, it was said that the Spirit Sparrow's rage was caused by a Spirit Fox carried by a Taiyuan Sect disciple, so the Taiyuan Sect could not be said to be completely without responsibility; if one were to force an investigation, True Person Yulong's injury could still be pinned on the Taiyuan Sect, and Liang Feng also died violently because he went to hunt down the three of them for revenge, so this debt could also be barely pinned on the Taiyuan Sect.

But neither of these two reasons was sufficient.

At present, the Yuqing Hall was wrangling with the Ziyang Sect of the Ming Kingdom over Immortal Treasures from the Xianren Gumu and did not have much energy to deal with this matter.

Therefore, in the end, the Elder Council sent a Transmission Jade Slip to the Taiyuan Sect, using a reprimanding tone to demand that the Taiyuan Sect hand over the three disciples to be dealt with by the Yuqing Hall.