Gu Changhuan hurriedly took out the Storage Bag from his small cloth bag.
Yes, his Storage Bag wasn’t hung on his belt but was kept inside the pouch he used for his books.
That pouch had been made by Fang Yurong.
Back in Jade Clear Town, whenever Gu Changhuan went to the family school, he used it to carry his books.
“You need to channel Spiritual Power into the Storage Bag, then focus your mind on the item you wish to take out.” As Gu Wanhao spoke, a short sword materialized in his hand.
So that was how it worked!
Following Gu Wanhao’s instructions, Gu Changhuan stirred the meager Spiritual Qi within his Dantian and pictured the few Spirit Stones resting inside the Storage Bag.
Instantly, ten Spirit Stones materialized in the air and clattered onto the ground.
Gu Changhuan felt a trace of embarrassment.
It seemed his control was still too crude, causing the Spirit Stones to drop out into empty air instead of straight into his palm.
“Try aiming the mouth of the Storage Bag directly at the Spirit Stones on the ground.” Gu Wanhao instructed once more.
Gu Changhuan aimed the bag’s opening at the stones on the ground.
With a slight effort of spiritual power, he drew them back inside.
How convenient!
This meant he only needed to carry a Storage Bag whenever he went out in the future!
Gu Wanhao stroked his beard and nodded in approval.
He handed the short sword to Gu Changhuan.
“Just like handling the Storage Bag earlier, Changhuan, you only need to inject Spiritual Qi into the spiritual sword to guide it.
Remember, we control the sword; we do not grip it the way mortals do.” “Changhuan understands.” When Spiritual Qi entered the spiritual sword, a faint layer of light flickered across its surface.
Gu Changhuan used every last bit of his spiritual qi before the sword finally rose shakily from his palm, like a child struggling to take its first steps.
“Mm, not bad!
That is enough for now.
“You only began cultivating today, so you don’t have enough qi to use the sword in a fight.
Getting it to move at all is already an achievement.” Gu Wanhao was never stingy with his praise for Gu Changhuan, who had indeed performed exceptionally well.
At that moment, Gu Wanhao seemed to recall something important and turned to him.
“Changhuan, you must remember that Storage Bags cannot be bound to an owner.
Therefore, we must guard our Storage Bags carefully; “Otherwise, everything you own could fall into someone else’s hands.” Hearing this, Gu Changhuan committed the warning deeply to heart.
It was past noon.
Gu Changhuan still needed to eat at his low level of cultivation, so Gu Wanhao took him to the Dining Hall.
Emerald Maple Mountain was home to over three hundred cultivators and mortals.
Aside from the four Foundation Establishment experts, everyone else still required meals.
Along the way, Gu Changhuan noticed that all the mortals on the mountain wore gray robes.
Although they were engaged in heavy labor, every single one of them had a ruddy complexion and looked remarkably robust.
Noticing his gaze, Gu Wanhao explained quietly, “Our clan was founded fairly recently and is short of hands, so we leave some of the simpler manual work to mortals.
“They are Gu Clan descendants too, and they all volunteered to work here.
Every year, we give them a little spirit grain and some gold and silver.
When they grow old or no longer wish to work, they can leave Emerald Maple Mountain and live comfortably as wealthy people among the mortals.” So that was it.
It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
It alleviated the clan’s shortage of hands while shortening the distance between the immortal cultivators and their mortal kin.
At the Dining Hall, Gu Wanhao ordered a lavish spread.
Extra dishes cost money here.
The currency here was naturally neither mortal gold and silver nor the Spirit Stones used by cultivators, but rather the Gu Clan’s Clan Contribution Points.
Typically, a single Low Grade Spirit Stone could be exchanged for one Clan Contribution Point, which spoke volumes about the value of such points.
However, this exchange was strictly one-way: Spirit Stones could be traded for Contribution Points, but Contribution Points could never be converted back into Spirit Stones.
This precaution prevented anyone holding massive amounts of points from draining the clan treasury, serving as a vital safeguard.
Moreover, Contribution Points were used for far more than just food.
The pills needed for cultivation, cultivation methods, Magical Artifacts, Spirit Beasts, and spirit talismans could all be acquired through Contribution Points.
One could say that Contribution Points were absolute necessities for clan cultivators.
For a Novice in the Qi Condensation Realm like Gu Changhuan, the clan distributed one hundred Contribution Points and twenty Spirit Stones each month.
Though it sounded modest, a Qi Condensation cultivator only needed one meal of Qi-infused food per day to remain full, and a standard set meal at the Dining Hall cost only a single Contribution Point.
As long as one did not squander them, one hundred Contribution Points were more than enough to sustain a disciple’s daily needs.
Naturally, a Foundation Establishment expert like Gu Wanhao received one thousand Contribution Points from the clan monthly.
But most of Gu Wanhao’s points came from refining pills for the clan, since he was its finest alchemist.
Yet at Gu Wanhao’s realm, the necessity for Contribution Points was far lower than it was for ordinary Qi Condensation disciples.
Before long, the Spirit Meals were brought out one by one.
There was clearly more food than Gu Wanhao and Gu Changhuan could finish.
Gu Changhuan had only just begun cultivating, and all these dishes contained some spiritual qi.
Afraid of bursting his belly, he dared not eat too much.
“Grandfather, isn’t ordering this much rather wasteful?
Can we possibly finish it all?” Gu Changhuan asked with some concern.
Though he had grown up in comfort, he had never liked wasting food.
“No matter, we can simply invite a few others to share the meal.” Gu Wanhao glanced around the hall and spotted several familiar young faces.
“Changze, Changqing, Shiyou!
Come over and share a meal with this old man.” The youths did not stand on ceremony.
They walked over and offered formal bows to Gu Wanhao.
“Greetings, Elder.” “Greetings, Twelfth Uncle.” “Greetings, Twelfth Grandfather.” Gu Changhuan also stood up.
“Greetings, senior uncles and older cousins.” Gu Wanhao stroked his beard.
“Rise, all of you!
No need for formalities.” After greeting Gu Changhuan in turn, they sat down.
“This is my direct grandson, Gu Changhuan.
“The boys and girls are ranked separately in each generation.
Changhuan should be your Seventeenth Brother.” Gu Changhuan clicked his tongue inwardly.
With sixteen older male cousins and goodness knows how many female cousins ahead of him, this truly was a massive family!
“Seventeenth brother, I am Gu Changze, ranked sixth in the clan.
You should call me Sixth Brother.” Gu Changze spoke with a playful grin.
He was clearly good with people.
“Gu Changqing.
Ninth in the Chang generation.” Gu Changqing was handsome but a man of few words.
“I am Gu Shiyou.
Changhuan can call me Little Uncle, just as Changze and Changqing do.” Gu Shiyou stated.
Because his father belonged to the older Wan generation of the clan, he held a higher seniority than his peers and was the youngest member of the Shi generation.
At fifteen, he was the same age as Gu Changze and Gu Changqing.
“Greetings, Sixth Brother, Ninth Brother, Little Uncle.” Gu Changhuan murmured in a daze, before realizing with a start that since the Spirit Root Testing Assembly had not yet taken place, he was currently the youngest member on the mountain in both age and generation!
At that thought, a wave of disappointment washed over him.
“Don’t be unhappy, Changhuan!
After the next Spirit Root Testing Assembly, you won’t be the youngest in the clan anymore.” Gu Shiyou immediately sensed the reason for his gloom and offered comforting words.
“When you have free time, Seventeenth Brother, come find us at the Teaching Hall!
“We can introduce you to the other clan members.
“Don’t worry.
Everyone will love our Seventeenth Brother,” Gu Changze said with a smile.
“Then I’ll be sure to visit when I’m free, Sixth Brother,” Gu Changhuan said earnestly.
He was curious about everything new.
Would the Teaching Hall elder be stricter than his teachers back home?
Gu Wanhao did not interrupt the banter among the juniors.
Instead, he produced a flask of Spirit Wine from his Storage Bag.
Upon seeing it, Gu Changze immediately dropped his playful teasing.
“Twelfth Grandfather, is that Spirit Wine?” He stared at the wine flask with shining eyes, looking as though he had just laid eyes on a peerless beauty.
“You know a good thing when you see it!
I brewed this with spirit peaches from my courtyard tree and Red Sand Ginseng.
It’s called Scarlet Jade Spirit Wine.
What, would you like a taste?” Spirit Wine?
Gu Changhuan looked at the pale red liquid in Gu Wanhao’s cup.
Setting aside the rich aroma, it looked remarkably similar to the iced hawthorn drinks he used to have at home.
“Changze thanks Twelfth Grandfather.” Gu Changze seized the opening without hesitation.
Gu Wanhao produced three more cups and filled them one by one.
“Though this wine is fine, it is far too potent for your current levels.
Each of you may only have a single cup.” “As for Changhuan, since he has only just begun cultivating, he cannot touch even half a cup.” Gu Wanhao chuckled.