"This poor Daoist's religious name is Chuhe. I hail from the Hall of Jianmu in the Palace of Grand Beginning, and I happen to have a bit of bad blood with that old thief Fenhai, your grandmaster." The Daoist introduced himself with a beaming smile—one so broad that his eyes nearly disappeared into creases.
Wei Yuan hurriedly offered a salute. "Greetings, Perfected Chuhe."
Wei Yuan performed the courtesies to perfection, his voice earnest and his expression solemn, not daring to let a single flaw show from head to toe.
Never mind the fact that anyone who had bad blood with Perfected Fenhai and could still skip about boasting of it had to be a formidable figure in their own right; the three words "Hall of Jianmu" alone carried immense magnetism. Just like the Hall of Heavenly Craft, it was a place Wei Yuan had yearned for over many days. Now that a Perfected Person from there stood right before him, no matter what happened, Wei Yuan could never let him slip away... or rather, could never afford to offend him.
Though Wei Yuan maintained utmost deference on the surface, he was muttering to himself inside. Having old grievances with Fenhai, who knew how badly this old Daoist had been beaten back in the day? Hopefully he would not take his frustrations out on a junior like him. If it was merely a beating, Wei Yuan could endure it; his real fear was that the Daoist might flick his sleeves and storm off in a huff.
Yet despite his honest, simple appearance, Perfected Chuhe saw right through Wei Yuan’s thoughts. His expression darkened with displeasure, and he asked, "Do you know why, whenever people talk about Sky Azure Hall, they always say it's one of the strongest fighting halls? Why do you think that 'one of' is there?"
Wei Yuan answered honestly, "This junior does not know."
Perfected Chuhe glared with his beady eyes and declared in a grim voice, "Because as long as my Hall of Jianmu stands, they can forget about ever dropping that 'one of'!"
Wei Yuan stood dumbfounded. He had never imagined that a hall making its living off agriculture could be compared to Sky Azure Hall when it came to brawling. Even farmers were no longer honest these days.
However, Perfected Chuhe also felt he had bragged a bit too grandly. Looking somewhat sheepish, he amended, "Of course, you have to include the Monastery of Creation, the Hall of Heavenly Secrets, and Haotian View as well."
Wei Yuan remained skeptical. Aside from Haotian View, none of the others sounded like they were particularly adept at fighting.
Perfected Chuhe's face dropped into a scowl, and he snapped coldly, "What, you don't believe me? How about you summon your grandmaster here and ask him yourself! This poor Daoist possesses eight immortal swords—metal, wood, water, fire, earth, ice, wind, and lightning, complete in all aspects. Which time did I not fight him until both of us were battered and bloodied? Did he ever gain an advantage over me even once?"
Now Wei Yuan was genuinely astonished. What was an old Daoist from the Hall of Jianmu doing with eight immortal swords? Setting the others aside, a single lightning sword alone was squarely an immortal foundation.
"Elder... aren't your swords a bit too numerous?"
Perfected Chuhe retorted, "Not numerous, not numerous in the least! Now do you see this old Daoist wasn't bragging? That teacher of yours has four immortal swords, already surpassing his master. Once he manifests his dharma idol, that old thief Fenhai won't have any face left. Oh, aren't you an immortal sword cultivator as well? How many do you have now?"
Weren't immortal swords meant to emphasize quality over quantity? When it came to the number of his swords, Wei Yuan found it rather difficult to speak up. He stammered, "Well... not that many..."
Perfected Chuhe gave a heavy harrumph and said, "I originally thought you were a fine young fellow, but I never expected you to be so unwilling to keep your feet on the ground! However many you have, just say so. Even if you only have one or two, no one will laugh at you. What are you afraid of? Speak the truth!"
Left with no choice, Wei Yuan could only say, "This junior has... one thousand and twenty-four immortal swords in total."
The old Daoist had been stroking his beard with a smile, but suddenly plucked out several whiskers by accident.
Seeing that the old Daoist had lost his composure and looked ready to erupt at any moment, Wei Yuan observed his expression and swiftly brought out a bundle of immortal swords, saying, "This is just a small portion."
The old Daoist's mouth opened and closed, rendered utterly speechless for a time. A breath seemed lodged sideways in his chest, impossible to exhale for half an eternity.
With great effort, the old Daoist squeezed out a smile and said, "These immortal swords are of somewhat poor quality. Bring out the good ones."
Wei Yuan wore an embarrassed look. "These are already the best ones. There are several other batches of inferior quality; would you care to look at those?"
The old Daoist opened his mouth again, but found no words. Only after a good while did he manage to say, "No need. Sigh, not to lecture you, but what use is procuring all this junk? A thousand pieces of junk..."
The rest of his sentence abruptly vanished.
That was because the old Daoist suddenly realized that one sword might be junk, but a thousand pieces of junk gathered together was no longer junk at all.
"This old Daoist will go inspect your fields first." The Perfected Person decided to drop the subject altogether.
As he walked into the fields, Perfected Chuhe seemed to transform into an entirely different person. At times, he would crouch down and stroke the crop shoots as tenderly as if caressing a lover's thigh. At other times, he would speak to several shoots that were growing poorly, continually encouraging them as though they could truly understand.
Yet eerily enough, the shoots the old Daoist spoke to truly saw their vitality surge, and their growth rate accelerated—not by just a tiny bit, but several times over!
Now and then, the old Daoist would stand and gaze up at the sky, studying the flow of surrounding earth veins and the direction of the wind. At other times, he would scoop up a clod of soil, inspect it closely, and even pop a bit into his mouth to taste it.
He busied himself like this for a full half-hour, leaving Wei Yuan entirely disregarded at the side. Wei Yuan was in no hurry, waiting patiently where he stood. Just then, someone beside him asked, "Martial Nephew Wei, may we also go in with Master to have a look?"
Wei Yuan turned around to look, discovering four cultivators—some in Daoist robes, some in lay attire—standing beside him. The Daoist power in their bodies bore a resemblance to Perfected Chuhe’s, tracing back to the same origin.
Wei Yuan smiled and said, "Martial Uncles, please make yourselves at home."
The four immediately rushed into the fields; only the youngest among them still remembered his manners and bowed to Wei Yuan before darting off.
Watching from the side, Wei Yuan realized that these people had auras remarkably similar to vegetation. If one relied purely on spiritual senses, anyone with slightly lesser perception would simply mistake them for common grass and trees found anywhere. The deeper their cultivation, the closer their aura resembled ordinary flora.
Wei Yuan could still distinguish the four disciples to some extent, but in his perception, Perfected Chuhe was entirely indistinguishable from a sprig of grass—the kind seen everywhere. That was precisely why Wei Yuan had failed to detect his arrival in the first place.
Finally, the master and disciples finished examining the entire field. Perfected Chuhe returned before Wei Yuan and said, "Do you have other spirit fields? Take me to see them."
When he had walked in, the Perfected Person had been full of joy, but upon emerging, his brows were tightly furrowed. Seeing this, Wei Yuan felt a jolt of apprehension, but he did not ask, simply leading them toward the herb garden.
Perfected Chuhe was full of praise for the Wood Spirit Ginseng. But when he came to a stop before the Celestial Star Nightshade marked with platinum striations, he fell into deep contemplation. Only after a moment did he say, "Celestial Star Nightshade was originally a middle-grade spiritual plant. It has a history of well over a hundred thousand years since its discovery, rarely undergoing any mutation. Yet this stalk has somehow absorbed a wisp of lunar laurel immortal spirit qi. It can be called Moon Tree Nightshade, which qualifies as a top-grade spiritual plant."
His gaze fell onto another patch of black ground, and he let out a sudden gasp. Hurrying to the edge of the plot, he took a deep whiff, a look of shock slowly spreading across his face. "You added Nether Soil here?"
"I added a little, yes."
"Where did you get Nether Soil? Let me see!"
Within Wei Yuan's perception, both Ji Liuli and Zhang Sheng nodded. With that, a handful of Nether Soil appeared in his palm.
This handful of soil was not the original earth brought out from the Nether Cold Realm, however. Instead, it was prepared by taking one portion of Nether Cold Realm soil, blending it with nine portions of earth generated within Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, and stirring the mixture thoroughly before manifesting it.
Speaking of which, whenever he stirred the soil, Wei Yuan always felt he was missing a stick in his hand.
Seeing this handful of soil, Perfected Chuhe's expression shifted repeatedly. He received it with utmost care, sensing the power of Everlasting Silence within. Only after a long while did he say, "So that's how it is."
He looked toward Wei Yuan and asked, "How can your Dao Foundation possess the power of Everlasting Silence from Nether Soil?"
Wei Yuan shook his head. "This disciple does not know."
"How much more of this Nether Soil can you manifest?"
Wei Yuan made a rough calculation. If mixed according to the current ratio, the soil he could manifest would probably cover several hundred mu. Thus, he said, "There is still some left."
Perfected Chuhe grabbed a handful of the dark soil and asked, "How much is 'some'? How many plots like this can you cover?"
"Three plots." Wei Yuan had initially intended to say one, but remembering he had also given Sun Yu several tens of jin, he changed his answer to three.
Perfected Chuhe immediately declared, "Find me a place to stay. This old Daoist isn't leaving!"
Wei Yuan was naturally overjoyed and promptly arranged lodgings on the peak. But the Perfected Person shook his head after looking at it. In the end, he simply picked a piece of land beside the millet rice fields and had his disciples build a house right there.
"Why do you choose to stay here, Perfected Person? Wouldn't the herb garden be better?" Wei Yuan asked.
"The spiritual plants over at the herb garden may be of higher grade, but they are too few in number; there isn't even enough spiritual qi there for my disciples to cultivate with. But here it's different. With several thousand mu of spirit fields, spiritual power has already converged into a stream. What's more, doing good work here is where true great merit lies."
Wei Yuan was somewhat puzzled and asked, "Please enlighten me, Perfected Person."
Perfected Chuhe explained, "Those spirit herbs are only supplied to lone autocrats and powerful elites, whereas the millet rice before us can be eaten by everyone. It is also the key for mortals to shed their mundane bodies, cast their physiques, and embark on cultivation. The vast majority of mortals are not incapable of cultivating; they simply lack access to spiritual food. You might not like hearing this, but to this old Daoist, rather than planting a few more stalks of spirit ginseng or a few more Celestial Star Nightshades in that garden of yours, it is far better to find a way to increase the harvest of millet rice in these fields by ten percent. Helping more people transcend the mundane and step onto the immortal path—that is what truly contributes merit to Heaven and Earth."
Wei Yuan bowed in heartfelt admiration. "Your righteousness is lofty, Perfected Person!"
Chuhe suddenly remembered something and hastily added, "That other Celestial Star Nightshade—the one planted in the Nether Soil—make sure to post guards around it. That one is very likely already brushing against the threshold of an immortal tree!"
Once the people from the Hall of Jianmu were settled, Wei Yuan returned to the main peak to see Zhang Sheng. After paying his routine respects, Wei Yuan asked, "Perfected Chuhe claims he has eight immortal swords and could trade blows evenly with Grandmaster Fenhai. Is that truly the case?"
Zhang Sheng remained absorbed in his history book, remarking indifferently, "Listen to him bluster! Aside from his lightning sword, which is barely passable, the others are utterly mundane. How could he possibly match your grandmaster with just those swords? But the Hall of Jianmu also rears spirit beasts, and many of their spiritual plants are carnivorous. Whenever the Hall of Jianmu gets into a fight, they usually release a massive horde of spirit plants and beasts, swarming their opponent all at once. The reason that old Daoist could fight your grandmaster to a draw was because he has two spirit beasts at the dharma idol level."
*So that was it.*
At this moment, Zhang Sheng was seated by the window, holding the scroll in his hands. Sunlight streamed through the lattice and fell upon his hands, stirring a jade-like luster.
Wei Yuan suddenly noticed that his teacher's hands were slender, fair, supple, and strong. In bone structure, skin and flesh, and refined aura, they were not the least bit inferior to Bao Yun or Ji Liuli.
It was this very hand that had brandished a sword to sever the Northern Realm snow eagle that day, saving Wei Yuan. Back then, blood had welled between the fingers like red plum blossoms against white snow.
In his daze at that time, Wei Yuan had felt that this hand was exceedingly, breath-takingly beautiful.
All of a sudden, he had the urge to touch it.
Chapter 222