Chapter 38: The Spring Water Has Spirit

"Junior sister, you have been in the temple for two days, are you accustomed to it?" The first senior brother asked them with concern.

"Accustomed."

"Accustomed!"

"There are some chores in the temple, do you feel it's hard?"

"Not at all. I had to work in the village anyway. Being too leisurely makes me unaccustomed to it." Lin Jue answered truthfully.

"I am also not, not hard."

"I found some things for you to do, junior brother and junior sister, also because I want you not to be idle and to adapt to life on the mountain." The first senior brother said, "Life on the mountain is just like this."

"Understood, senior brother, please give orders if you have any work."

"I also understand."

"There really is work. The water in the temple is about to run out. Junior brother, after you finish eating, go to the nearby mountain spring and fetch a few buckets back. Fetch a little less each time and walk a few more trips. You can get tired, but don't get hurt."

"Understood."

"I'll go too!"

"It just so happens, junior brother, I have time today, so I will start helping you refine your Earth-Wood Essence." The second senior brother sitting beside him also spoke and said to Lin Jue, "Refining this kind of Five Elements spiritual aura of heaven and earth requires the use of spiritual water. There is a Holy Water Spring in the mountain, which gathers the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and gathers the essence of the sun and moon, making it most suitable for this purpose. It's just that the road is a bit far. Let the big black dog in the temple lead the way, and you go and fetch a bucket back first."

"Good."

"The road is far, I will give you a Spirit-Walking Pill. Don't eat it yet, just treat it as exercise. If your physical strength is insufficient and you really can't walk, or it's too late, or you are chased by monsters, then eat it. After eating it, your foot strength will naturally be abundant, as if you have wind, and whether you walk or run, it will become much faster." The second senior brother said, "Remember that the Holy Spring has spirit. When you are in front of the spring eye, you must be sincere and earnest, do not harbor blasphemy, state your purpose, and say 'Please let the Holy Spring release water', and the spring water will naturally come out."

"I have remembered."

Lin Jue obtained a cyan pill from him, which was contained in a small porcelain bottle only as big as a thumb.

There was actually not much work to do in the temple.

This was especially true for the senior brothers. Because they did not even do morning and evening classes, and their cultivation and practice of spells were all up to themselves, there were only a few chores every day.

It was receiving incense pilgrims, chopping firewood, fetching water, and going down the mountain to purchase things. In addition, the world was becoming more and more chaotic, and there were more incense pilgrims coming up the mountain than before. Sometimes incense pilgrims would come with requests, and at this time, they would often have to follow the incense pilgrims down the mountain to remove monsters and drive away evil. Most of the time, they were just killing time.

After having two junior brother and junior sister, these chores were also shared quite a bit.

It was probably even more leisurely.

The matters for Lin Jue and the other one were slightly more, because they had to recite scriptures every morning, and in the future, they would have to learn to practice Spirit Methods and spells, and they also had to do chores.

Lin Jue did not feel there was anything wrong with this.

The junior sister seemed to be the same.

It was just like fetching water today. This kind of thing had nothing to do with cultivation. Lin Jue just knew that practicing Spirit Methods could not be anxious, and being idle was also being idle, so doing some things was not impossible. And as the first senior brother said, they had just arrived here, so it was inevitable that they would have some unease and unaccustomedness in their hearts. If they were too idle, it would be uncomfortable. It was better to have some things to do, which would help them slowly adapt to the mountain and the Daoist temple.

But he did not expect that the junior sister, who had not been arranged to go, would also take the initiative to come with him.

Even for Lin Jue to refine the Earth-Wood Essence, he had to go to the Holy Water Spring to fetch water, which would take half a day, and she also carried a bucket and insisted on going with him.

Lin Jue guessed that it should be because he had yielded to her in learning spells and choosing rooms, and he had recited scriptures and helped her interpret them in the morning, so she was grateful to him and it was reasonable to want to repay him.

At the same time, both sides were senior and junior brother and sister, and they were the last two in the temple, and their ages were similar, so they should naturally be closer. It was normal for her good feelings toward him to increase after he took care of her several times.

Perhaps she would even regret it extremely when she thought of how she had guarded against this good senior brother of hers before.

Lin Jue thought of this and wanted to laugh.

In short, at this time, the two of them had each carried a wooden bucket, led by a black thin dog, and were traveling through the mountain roads and forest paths, heading toward the Holy Water Spring.

Behind them followed a little fox less than a palm wide.

This little thing was just like an ordinary cat or dog cub. When there was no one, it was very uneasy and kept calling. When someone followed, it was neither noisy nor restless. The disadvantage was that it insisted on running after people. Lin Jue took one step, and it had to take at least ten steps to keep up. He was really afraid that it would be exhausted halfway.

The mountain path was lush with grass and trees, steep and difficult to walk.

"Third Shixiong brother..."

The little girl spoke weakly and took the initiative to talk to him: "Do you know how our Daoist temple came to be?"

"How did it come to be?"

"I heard that a long time ago, the founder was a good person with great virtue and reputation. He always wanted to become an immortal and wanted to learn immortal arts. One day he met an immortal on the road. He asked the immortal to teach him how to cultivate immortality and spells. Because he had done many good deeds, the immortal could not refuse, so he pointed to a mountain slope in front, oh no, not in front, and said to him...

"If you can flatten this mountain, I will teach you immortal arts.

"The founder began to move the mountain, digging from morning to night every day, without stopping even when it was windy or rainy. After thirty years, he finally moved that mountain slope to the other side.

"The immortal then taught him these seven immortal arts.

"Master told me yesterday!"

This junior sister was taking the initiative to pull closer to him.

A fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl, every tone of every sentence really revealed emotion and personality.

"So that's what this 'moving the mountain' is."

"That's right! Later, that immortal told the founder that this was his, his, the place where he had cultivated before..."

"Daoist field."

"Right! Daoist field! Then he let him cultivate here, and he came here to build a Daoist temple, which is our Fuqiu Temple."

"So that's how it is."

No wonder Daoist Yunhe liked to pick up disciples halfway. It turned out that the founder also obtained the inheritance on the road.

It was just that legends in the world would always be stained with the preferences and biases of people in the world. Sometimes there were often places that were untrue, flattering, beautifying, or uglifying. Therefore, words like 'immortal' and 'immortal arts' in stories needed to be interpreted in combination with people's cognition and the customs of that time. Whether it was true or false, it had been too long, so it was hard to say.

"Then what spell is 'Jishi'?"

"Master said it is a very powerful Earth Element spell, suitable for fighting, which can turn stones into powder, and can also beat other things into paste. However, it is best used to deal with stones."

"Sounds very powerful."

"I haven't learned it yet..."

"Junior sister, study hard. Maybe in the future, senior brother will have to rely on you for protection."

"I will work hard!"

This sentence was very firm.

Judging from the observations of the past few days, this little girl was indeed diligent and earnest, and somewhat did not fear hardship or fatigue. Lin Jue really believed her words.

Chatting and chatting, they arrived at the Holy Water Spring.

Looking back, the little fox cub was still running after them, jumping over the branches on the road, crossing the small pits on the ground, its four legs moving extremely fast, and even looking somewhat pitiful for it.

"You little thing..."

Lin Jue looked down at it running closer and slowing down as it approached.

"Did you hear today? Fourth senior brother didn't find your parents on the mountain. If he still can't find them in a few days, you will only be able to follow me in the future."

Naturally, he did not get any response.

When ordinary people say such things to cats and dogs, they often do not really think they can understand.

Lin Jue shook his head, could not bear to let it continue running, so he picked it up and stuffed it into his bosom, and then carried the two buckets and followed the black dog toward the front.

There was a spring eye there.

The spring eye was on a stone wall, about three feet above the ground. The stone wall was inscribed with the three seal characters "Holy Water Spring". Below it was shallow grass and a pile of broken stones, which had been washed out with a trace.

At this time, no water flowed out.

Lin Jue walked to the spring water, followed the instructions of the second senior brother, was sincere and earnest, and reported truthfully:

"Holy Spring is above, disciple is the twelfth-generation newly received disciple of Fuqiu Temple, surnamed Lin, named Jue. Because I met a spirit or monster halfway who was thirsty for spiritual wine, and I happened to have spiritual wine, I exchanged a piece of Earth-Wood Essence with him. At this time, I want to refine the spiritual aura in it and need to use spiritual water."

Although he said so, he was actually very curious in his heart. Would this spring eye really release water at a person's request?

Thinking of this, his heart felt cold again. He did not know if thinking this way counted as being disrespectful to the Holy Spring and harboring blasphemy. He did not dare to gamble, fearing that gambling was also a kind of offense, so he hurriedly stopped his thoughts.

"Please Holy..."

Before he finished speaking, he heard a *pu* sound.

The sound came precisely from the spring eye.

Just when Lin Jue was surprised and ashamed, feeling that his thought just now really offended the spiritual spring, he heard the sound of air and gurgling coming from the spring eye. In just a moment, spring water actually flowed out.

First it was a thin stream, and in a moment it was like a spray column.

Lin Jue reacted and hurriedly carried the bucket to catch it.

The junior sister behind him was also very surprised.

The little fox, which only revealed a head in his bosom, also opened its eyes wide.

Half a bucket for one, a small half bucket for the other, and soon what Lin Jue wanted was finished.

"Enough, enough."

Lin Jue could not help but speak.

Strange to say, as soon as his voice fell, the water became small.

In less than a moment, it had stopped.

Lin Jue could not help but be sluggish and puzzled.

"Thank you, junior sister."

"Not hard!"

So he carried the water back with his junior sister, walking and stopping in between, eating eggs to satisfy his hunger, and picking some wild fruits he recognized to satisfy his cravings, spending much more time than when he came, and finally returned to the Daoist temple—originally, one person fetching water had to make two trips to make up a bucket, but with the help of the junior sister, it only took one trip.

He handed it to the second senior brother.

Just as he was about to continue fetching water, he happened to meet the old Daoist, so he could not help but stop and ask.

He only saw the old Daoist look up and smile while stroking his beard:

"This mountain has a god, and the Holy Spring has spirit. How can the spring water not know whether you are respectful or disrespectful in your heart? And how can it not know what your character is like? Since your heart has arrived, why do you need a spell to urge it?"

"Since your heart has arrived, why do you need a spell to urge it..."

Lin Jue could not help but murmur, lost in thought.

The cultivation of spells in this world was not the same as what he had originally thought, but through his experiences along the way, he continued to update his cognition and perfect this world in his heart. ===== CHAPTER 39 =====