The next day.
I was on the mountainside platform, tempering my body to consolidate my cultivation base.
My senior brothers were brandishing their swords nearby.
Dust flew and sword qi crisscrossed everywhere—it was quite a magnificent scene.
Then, a figure in white flew in from the distant sky.
He carried a massive burlap sack on his shoulder, riding his sword with an elegant, breezy posture that gave him quite an immortal, sage-like aura.
Except for that sack…
As the wind blew—
An indescribable odor wafted over.
It was a complex smell, roughly like fermented decaying leaves mixed with pickled spirit herbs…
I sniffed.
Confirmed: it was the exact smell of accumulated bat guano from the deep mines of the Demon Realm.
Su Ning was the first to react: “It’s First Elder!”
I thought to myself: Oh, so this is Great Elder Wen Zhiya, who works over at the Beast Taming Sect.
He’s actually pretty handsome.
The senior brothers gathered around him in pleasant surprise.
Yan Chuan: “First Elder, you’re back.”
Murong Zhuo: “First Elder, thank you for your hard journey.”
Gu Chenguang pinched his nose: “First Elder, did you fall into a cesspool?!”
Elder Wen Zhiya landed steadily, thumped the burlap sack onto the ground, and glared at Gu Chenguang:
“What cesspool?! This is the essence of spirit beasts!”
“Those spirit beasts at the Beast Taming Sect eat nothing but spirit herbs and spirit fruits—even their dung carries spiritual energy!”
“When we plant spirit herbs on the back mountain in the future, if we fertilize them with this, they’ll grow super fast!”
Everyone fell silent.
Yan Chuan whispered: “First Elder, you stole spirit beast dung…”
Wen Zhiya said with righteous confidence: “Stole? What stealing! This is called resource recycling!”
Hiding behind my senior brothers, I tried my best to hold back a laugh.
Wen Zhiya parted the crowd and walked over to me.
He squatted down and examined me: “Little Pin’er?”
I nodded: “Hello, First Elder.”
He looked me up and down, growing more and more pleased: “Good, good, good! What a pretty little kid!”
Right after, he took my hand and sent a trace of spiritual energy into me.
Three breath-counts later, his expression gradually turned excited.
Five breath-counts later, his eyes lit up.
“Chaos Spirit Roots!” He lowered his voice, unable to suppress his ecstasy, “It really is Chaos Spirit Roots! Our Heavenly Sword Sect is going to strike it rich!”
He pulled out a jade talisman from his robe and stuffed it into my hands.
“A meeting gift—it can block a single strike from a Soul Formation cultivator.”
Then he pulled out a bag of pet fur and threw it to Su Ning.
“Saved this up from grooming the spirit beasts. Use it to knit a sweater for Little Pin’er.”
Next, he pulled out a bag of spirit beast food and threw it to Yan Chuan.
“Use this to lure monster beasts—it works every single time. Hunt more monster beasts to sell for money.”
Then another bag of spirit herbs, thrown to Murong Zhuo.
“Swiped right out of the spirit beasts’ mouths. Clean them up so Second Brother can use them for alchemy when he comes back.”
Finally, he pulled out yet another bag of spirit stones and threw it to Gu Chenguang.
“The wages I saved up—take it to raise our junior sister.”
Holding their various bags, the senior brothers wore complex expressions.
Su Ning’s eyes reddened slightly.
Yan Chuan pressed his lips together solemnly.
Murong Zhuo rubbed his eyes forcefully.
Gu Chenguang scribbled frantically in his notebook, logging First Elder’s gifts:
— Protective Jade Talisman ×1
— Spirit Stones × Several
— Spirit Herbs × Several
— Spirit Pet Fur × Several
— Spirit Beast Food × Several
— Note: First Elder is so good to me!
Wen Zhiya gave the senior brothers a few more instructions, nothing more than “keep it a secret,” “keep a low profile,” and “don’t let anyone know.”
Then he patted my head, his rough hand calloused.
“Little Pin’er, cultivate well.”
“There’s still work over at the Beast Taming Sect, so I must hurry back, or my wages will be docked.”
I nodded.
He flew off on his sword.
Behind him, he left a faint trail of… manure scent.
Su Ning held the bag of spirit stones and didn’t speak for a long time.
In the end, he sighed: “First Elder doesn’t have it easy either.”
I gripped the jade talisman in my hand tightly.
It felt very warm.
Like the candy Eldest Senior Brother stuffed into my hands.
I made a silent vow in my heart:
When I grow strong, I will definitely make sure my senior brothers live a good life!
So First Elder won’t have to shovel dung anymore!
So Second Elder won’t have to secretly learn techniques anymore!
So Third Elder won’t have to save up for monk robes anymore!
So Second Senior Brother… well, let him keep looking for ore, that actually seems quite lucrative.
Right after I finished making my vow—
Another person dropped down from the sky.
No, flew down.
This time, it was a middle-aged man who looked somewhat immortal-like and otherworldly.
He wore a dusty gray Taoist robe, which even had a few burned holes in it.
The senior brothers gathered around him again.
“Second Elder!”
I thought to myself: Oh, so this is Second Elder Jing Yuan, who works as a stoker in the Alchemy Hall of Qingyun Sect.
He looks quite refined, like a scholar.
Elder Jing Yuan waved his hand, telling the senior brothers to clear a path.
Then he walked straight toward me.
Squatted down.
Examined me.
His eyes gradually turned excited.
“Let me take a look.” He took my hand and sent a trace of spiritual energy into me.
Three breath-counts later, his eyes lit up.
Five breath-counts later, his expression shifted from shock to ecstasy.
He threw his head back and burst into laughter: “Hahaha~~ Those blind fools at Qingyun Sect! A useless Five-Elemental Spirit Root? This is a fucking Chaos Spirit Root! The legendary Chaos Spirit Root!”
He laughed until tears almost came out: “They missed a treasure! They missed out big time!”
His laughter left me a little bewildered.
Su Ning leaned over: “Second Elder, why are you back?”
Elder Jing Yuan stopped laughing and shot him a sideways glance: “You guys sent a message saying Junior Sister reached Foundation Establishment, shouldn’t I come back to see?”
Yan Chuan scratched his head: “Aren’t you supposed to be working?”
Elder Jing Yuan waved his hand: “I took leave—just docked half a day’s wages. Totally worth it!”
He pulled out a jade pendant from his robe.
The jade pendant was warm and smooth, carved with intricate patterns, with spiritual energy subtly flowing across it.
He stuffed it into my hands.
“A meeting gift. It can block a single strike from a Soul Formation cultivator.”
Then he pulled out a cloth bag and threw it to Su Ning.
“The pills I’ve saved up—take them to raise Junior Sister.”
He pulled out another cloth bag and threw it to Yan Chuan.
“Herbs—wait until I come back and I’ll teach you all alchemy.”
He pulled out another cloth bag and threw it to Murong Zhuo.
“Pill recipes—copied by hand. Don’t let Qingyun Sect find out.”
He pulled out another cloth bag and threw it to Gu Chenguang.
“This… uh, charcoal saved up from the kitchen fire pit. For keeping warm in winter.”
Gu Chenguang took the charcoal with a complex expression.
I looked at the jade pendant in my hand, then at Second Elder: “Second Elder, aren’t you working as a stoker at Qingyun Sect? How did you save up so many things?”
Elder Jing Yuan chuckled impishly: “What’s wrong with being a stoker? Being a stoker is a skilled job! Because I stoke the fires well, even the Alchemy Hall elders treat me with politeness when they see me! So swiping a few herbs and pill recipes on the side—that’s not too much to ask, right?”
Me: “…Swiping?”
Elder Jing Yuan: “Swiping.”
Me: “A few?”
Elder Jing Yuan: “A few.”
The senior brothers fell silent.
I fell silent too.
After a long pause, Su Ning whispered: “Second Elder, isn’t this… stealing?”
Elder Jing Yuan glared: “What stealing! This is called resource redistribution! Qingyun Sect is so wealthy, what’s wrong with sharing a bit with us?”
The senior brothers fell silent once again.
Elder Jing Yuan gave a few more instructions: “Take good care of Little Pin’er, and don’t let anyone know she has a Chaos Spirit Root. I’ll keep an eye on things over at Qingyun Sect and send word if there’s any news.”
He turned to leave.
I suddenly remembered something: “Second Elder, do you know if the Sect Master of Qingyun Sect has come out of seclusion?”
Elder Jing Yuan froze for a moment: “That Qingmeng girl? No, she hasn’t. She’s still in seclusion.”
Me: “Why do you call her ‘girl’?”
Elder Jing Yuan smiled: “The older generation of our Sword Sect and Qingyun Sect had quite a good relationship. When little Qingmeng was young, she used to visit the Sword Sect with her master all the time. That girl was a genius and even secretly learned a lot of our Sword Sect’s sword techniques.”
He stroked his beard, a look of nostalgic remembrance on his face: “Back then, she was only this high~”
He gestured to a height near my waist, “wearing two little hair buns, trailing behind me all day calling out, ‘Brother Jing Yuan, teach me sword techniques!'”
Me: “…”
Brother Jing Yuan?
I looked at Elder Jing Yuan’s current appearance as a middle-aged Taoist, then tried to imagine what he looked like when he was young.
It was hard to imagine.
But since he could call her “girl,” it was only natural for her to call him “brother.”
After all, in the cultivation world, age is the cheapest commodity.
My dad is over three thousand years old, my brother is a hundred and eight, and I’m only three years and three months old.
By that logic, would my dad have to call Elder Jing Yuan “little brother”?
The relationships were far too messy—I decided not to overthink it.
Still~
Since my mom visited Heavenly Sword Sect when she was little and even learned Heavenly Sword Sect’s sword techniques, doesn’t that make me…
Following in my mother’s footsteps?
Elder Jing Yuan looked down at me: “Why are you asking about her?”
Without batting an eye, I said: “Just curious. I heard she’s the number one beauty in the cultivation world.”
Elder Jing Yuan laughed heartily: “Cultivate well, and you’ll have the chance to meet her in the future.”
He rubbed my head again, then flew away on his sword.
Leaving behind a faint scent of burnt ash.