Chapter 31: Applying What You Have Learned

Yun Zhi pinched Lu Yang's collar with two fingers and shook it in front of her eyes, still not understanding the principle, and put him back.

Lu Yang was also very puzzled. He followed the formula taught by the Senior Sister and the method taught, so how did it become two different magic spells when cast?

"This makes no sense."

"I will demonstrate it to you again." Yun Zhi is a very responsible teacher, and her teaching level is quite average, but she is patient. 【31-5

Yun Zhi took out an hourglass, placed it upside down on the ground, and then supported Lu Yang's shoulder; the two of them performed a spatial jump together.

Lu Yang only felt a blur before his eyes, and he arrived in a strange space where colorful flowing light was on both sides.

Lu Yang subconsciously wanted to touch the flowing light, but was stopped by Yun Zhi.

"That is a strange phenomenon formed by spatial distortion. Never mind you, even a Spirit Transformation stage cultivator would be ground to powder and have their soul scattered if they touched it."

Lu Yang was so frightened that he jerked his hand back.

The two stepped out of the space, only to see a giant white snake coiled around a mountain, swallowing the sun and moon and refining the essence of heaven and earth. Its snake eyes were agile, and the two happened to land in the giant python's mouth, taking the opportunity to enter its belly.

Just as the gastric juices were about to drip down, Yun Zhi stepped forward again, arriving in a strange space.

Following Yun Zhi's footsteps, Lu Yang saw bizarre and grotesque sights: an ocean composed of magma, a great cultivator suffering through a heavenly tribulation, a silent swordsman carrying a thick, broad blade on his back...

Lu Yang had never seen or heard of these places before; it was truly hard to imagine that such strange people and sights still existed in the world.

Finally, the two returned to the starting point; Lu Yang was panting, his heart still pounding with fear.

"The places I took you just now are all realms within the Congwendao Sect. In the future, you can go there yourself when you have the chance."

The Congwendao Sect was too vast and broad; the places outside the nine core mountains were still unknown territory to Lu Yang.

"Why don't you try casting the spell again?"

Yun Zhi felt that this time might be different.

Meeting Yun Zhi's eager and expectant gaze, Lu Yang braced himself and cast the spell again.

After the two practiced for a day, Lu Yang finally learned how to perceive the underground environment and how to avoid being stepped on after shrinking.

He never succeeded once at 'Shrinking the Earth to an Inch,' but 'Shrinking the Earth' and 'Becoming an Inch' succeeded every time, becoming more proficient with each attempt.

By the end, he didn't even need the incantation; he could cast the spell with a single thought, as if he had been immersed in this path for months or years.

Lu Yang's original intention for learning 'Shrinking the Earth to an Inch' was to use the spell for travel; now that he had learned the spells 'Shrinking the Earth' and 'Becoming an Inch' for travel, it could be considered consistent with his original intention.

It was just that the method was hard to describe, and the speed was a bit slower.

Watching Lu Yang change his size at will, drilling back and forth in the dirt, playing happily, Yun Zhi asked casually: "Junior Brother, I heard that it's very difficult for you to accept missions at the Mission Hall?"

"Yes, most missions can only be completed by those at the Golden Core stage or above; there are very few missions suitable for me." Lu Yang was considering going to the Mission Hall to camp out for a few days to see if he could snag a suitable mission.

"It's quite a coincidence. A few days ago, I held a meeting with the elders, and someone at the meeting said that there was a problem at the Herb Garden and a mission was posted at the Mission Hall, but no one took it. I think you are a suitable candidate; you might as well go to the Herb Garden and take a look."

Lu Yang knew that ever since his master went into seclusion, it had been the Senior Sister who presided over the meetings on his master's behalf.

"What kind of mission?" Lu Yang was puzzled. His specialties were not prominent in the Congwendao Sect, so what kind of mission would be suitable for him to do, let alone the Herb Garden, about which he knew nothing?

He hadn't even fully learned the knowledge of identifying herbs yet.

"You'll know when you go." Yun Zhi did not answer.

In Lu Yang's view, the Congwendao Sect itself was a small Cultivation Realm; one could find people to help with pill refining, weapon forging, array setting... without leaving the sect gates. Most of the time, it could be self-sufficient.

Pill refining required spiritual herbs, and the Congwendao Sect had a huge demand for pill refining; it couldn't always rely on external purchases.

To solve the spiritual herb problem, the Congwendao Sect opened up a large Herb Garden inside for planting herbs, and the Mission Hall also posted missions to help cultivate herbs in the Herb Garden.

Cultivating herbs required professional knowledge, and Lu Yang knew nothing about it. To this day, he hadn't even distinguished what herbs and spiritual beasts he ate every day, let alone being able to cultivate herbs.

From far away from the Herb Garden, Lu Yang could smell the fragrance of the Herb Garden. Unlike the fragrance at Pill Cauldron Peak, which had a probability of being poison, this was the purest medicinal fragrance; if mortals smelled it for a long time, they would prolong their lives and be free from illness and disaster.

An old man was lying at the entrance of the Herb Garden, a palm-leaf fan covering his face, napping leisurely on a rocking chair.

"Grandpa, may I ask if this is the Herb Garden?"

The old man drooped his eyelids and glanced at Lu Yang: "Who are you?"

"Lu Yang."

"I didn't ask what your name is; I asked for your identity."

"The Sect Master's fourth disciple, Senior Sister Yun Zhi's Junior Brother."

The old man didn't think much when he heard the first part—that old guy, the Sect Master, had disappeared for ten years; who cared about him? He should have retired long ago instead of occupying the position all day and making Yun Zhi do all the work; what kind of behavior was that? When he heard the latter part, he suddenly realized.

The Sect Master's disciple meant he was Yun Zhi's Junior Brother!

The old man stood up abruptly, his body more agile than Lu Yang's.

This was also normal; in the Cultivation Realm, one cannot judge the other's skill and age by appearance. When an old man and a child stand together, it's hard to say who is the grandfather and who is the grandson.

No one in the Cultivation Realm advocated respecting the old and cherishing the young, because it was possible that both the old man and the child could beat you.

"So it was Yun Zhi who introduced you; you should have said so earlier." The old man put his arm around Lu Yang's shoulder, as close as brothers.

"We are all from the Congwendao Sect; you can just call me Old Ba. I'm the one who calls the shots in this little patch of the Herb Garden."

Lu Yang suspected that Old Man Ba was taking advantage of him, but he had no evidence.

"What did Yun Zhi send you here to do? Picking herbs? How many years old do you need, one thousand or two thousand?"

Seeing Old Man Ba like this, Lu Yang inexplicably thought of the food the Senior Sister made for him; could it be that they were all herbs picked from the Herb Garden that were one or two thousand years old?

One-thousand-year-old medicinal materials were not Chinese cabbage; they were relatively precious to the Congwendao Sect.

No, no, the Senior Sister was quite a thrifty person; she wouldn't waste medicinal materials on herself.

Lu Yang asked politely: "The Senior Sister said that a mission was posted at the Herb Garden a few days ago and no one took it. I wonder what kind of mission it is?"

Old Man Ba suddenly realized; so it was this mission: "Do you know how to cultivate herbs?"

"Not at all." Lu Yang told the truth.

"Then I'll explain it simply to you. The steps for cultivating herbs are quite tedious. One of the steps is loosening the soil, allowing the roots of the herbs to better absorb the spiritual energy in the soil and complete the interaction with the spiritual energy in the air."

"This task of loosening the soil has always been completed by a pair of Silver Ring Heavenly King Earthworm husband and wife."

"Recently, there has been a problem in their family, and no one is working, so I posted a mission to loosen the soil for the Herb Garden. This requires one of the Five Elements Daoist Arts, the Earth Escape Daoist Art. There are quite a few little guys who know the Earth Escape Daoist Art, but they all think it's too troublesome and are unwilling to take it. It just so happens that Yun Zhi sent you here."

"So what I need to do is..."

"Imitate an earthworm, drill into the soil, and loosen the soil for the Herb Garden."

Lu Yang: "..."

Lu Yang suspected that the Senior Sister was playing with him, but he still had no evidence.