As Ye Miaomiao was lost in thought, he saw the green-robed immortal gather his sleeves and lower his hands, shedding his previous overbearing presence as he replied warmly, “Thank you for leading the way, fellow colleague.”
Ye Miaomiao: “…” So this immortal wasn’t some high immortal after all, but just like him—a newly appointed Immortal Plant Official starting today? Isn’t this—a bit too imposing! Before ascending, this fellow immortal must have been a figure like the master or head disciple of an immortal sect in the mortal realm!
Following behind that Immortal Plant Official, the two walked all the way north, stopping at a vacant plot of spiritual fields. The Immortal Plant Official raised his hand and cast an immortal art. The surrounding spiritual energy surged violently, and then a door materialized in front of the three of them.
The Immortal Plant Official turned back and said, “Entering through here leads to the true Immortal Plant Garden. Please follow me, you two.” Ye Miaomiao and the green-robed immortal naturally followed closely behind.
The scene behind the door closely resembled what they had seen before—the same vast expanse of spiritual fields and rolling mountain forests. The difference was the presence of scattered houses, as well as figures constantly appearing and disappearing among the spiritual fields and forests.
Thinking of the door behind them, Ye Miaomiao turned his head to look around, unable to resist softly muttering to himself, “Is this… an illusion spell?”
Hearing this, the Immortal Plant Official chuckled softly and said, “A mere illusion spell cannot deceive the eyes of the immortals in the Immortal Realm. What is deployed here is a virtual formation, personally set up by the Master of the Heavenly Realm.”
The words “Master of the Heavenly Realm” made Ye Miaomiao’s eyes widen. “It was actually set up personally by the Master of the Heavenly Realm!” Due to his surprise, his voice inadvertently grew louder. Once he realized it, he hurriedly bowed in apology.
Seeing him like this, the Immortal Plant Official couldn’t help but laugh heartily, waving his hand to reassure him, “No need to mind it. When I first entered the Immortal Realm, I was just like you. In time, you will get used to it.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Miaomiao felt doubtful. “May I ask, Immortal Official, what do you mean by ‘getting used to it’?” That was the Master of the Heavenly Realm—one of only two Realm Masters in the world, whose name resounded like thunder. Ye Miaomiao believed that no matter what, he would never be able to get used to it.
Hearing his words, the Immortal Plant Official laughed and said, “Stop calling me ‘Immortal Official, Immortal Official.’ My name is Mu Xuzhi. We will be colleagues from now on, so you can just call me that. As for why you’ll get used to it, there’s no need to rush. Once you’ve stayed in the Heavenly Realm longer, you’ll understand.”
Ye Miaomiao felt even more perplexed. However, seeing that the green-robed immortal beside him did not say much, he felt that asking further would make him seem overly naggy and bothersome. Thus, he refrained from asking more and followed behind Mu Xuzhi to the front of a dwelling.
This dwelling was quite rustic, constructed atop a tall immortal tree. Its outer walls and roof were covered in lush green vines, dotted here and there with small white flowers. It was undoubtedly a treehouse.
Because Ye Miaomiao possessed a Wood Spiritual Root, he had always studied immortal plants extensively. The immortal tree before him had a pitch-black trunk, bright gold branches, and transparent leaves that shimmered with a faint, crystalline glow under the light. With just a single glance, Ye Miaomiao recognized this tall immortal tree as the premier divine tree of the Immortal Realm—the Xuanchu Tree.
Rumor had it that there were only two Xuanchu Trees in the entire Immortal Realm: one in the Heavenly Realm and one in the Earthly Realm, serving as divine trees that connected the heaven and earth realms. The leaf tips of the Heavenly Realm’s Xuanchu Tree pointed downward, while the leaf tips of the Earthly Realm’s Xuanchu Tree pointed toward the sky, one above and one below, echoing each other from afar.
The Immortal Plant Garden actually built a treehouse on a Xuanchu Tree? He wondered which audacious—ahem, he wondered which extraordinarily talented High Immortal was responsible for this…
The treehouse had no stairs. Directly beneath the doorway hung several dark green vines. Mu Xuzhi stepped forward, picked a vine, and lightly tapped one side of it with his foot. A jade-green light lit up on the vine, which then contracted on its own, delivering Mu Xuzhi to the top in a brief instant.
Ye Miaomiao and the green-robed immortal followed suit. Mu Xuzhi stood waiting at the door of the treehouse. Seeing the two of them come up, he asked with a smile, “Is this house and this way of entering interesting to you?”
Hearing this, Ye Miaomiao couldn’t help laughing softly. “It is indeed quite childlike and fun.”
The moment these words were spoken, Ye Miaomiao felt as if the green-robed immortal beside him glanced at him. Before he could turn his head to look, Mu Xuzhi had already burst into laughter. “You certainly have a good eye. Rumor in the Immortal Realm has it that this house was originally built by the Master of the Heavenly Realm to coax a child into playing. Only later, when it was no longer used for that, was it turned into a place for storing books and records in the garden.”
Ye Miaomiao’s eyes widened once again upon hearing this. “This—was also built by the Master of the Heavenly Realm?” If it was built by the Master of the Heavenly Realm, it somehow made sense.
Mu Xuzhi nodded. “Indeed. Stop widening your eyes like that. There will be plenty more things coming from such origins in the future. If you keep staring like that, your eyes might fall right out.”
After finishing his words, Mu Xuzhi smiled, raised his hand to form a hand seal, and struck an immortal spell onto the house door. The door opened in response. Mu Xuzhi gestured for the two to wait a moment. Shortly after, a book flew out from inside the treehouse, bearing the title on its cover: Immortal Plant Garden Records.
Mu Xuzhi: “You two, please take out your Immortal Official Tokens and lightly touch this book with them.”
Every immortal entering the Immortal Realm received an Immortal Token. Refined with the immortal’s essence blood, it could not be used by anyone else, making it immensely useful within the Immortal Realm. An Immortal Official Token added the official seal of the Immortal Realm and several entry and exit permits on top of the standard Immortal Token.
Ye Miaomiao pulled out his Immortal Official Token as instructed, using his spiritual power to gently touch the book with it. Once the Immortal Official Token returned to his hand, he gained knowledge of various matters concerning the Immortal Plant Garden.
Mu Xuzhi: “This fellow immortal, please also take out your Immortal Official Token.”
Hearing his voice, Ye Miaomiao raised his head to look beside him. He saw the green-robed immortal take out his Immortal Token as instructed, raise his hand slightly, pull it back, and then make no further movements.
Fearing he hadn’t heard clearly, Ye Miaomiao hurriedly reminded him, “Fellow immortal, you must lightly touch the book with your Immortal Official Token.”
Hearing this, the green-robed immortal turned his head to look at him, a subtle smile curving his lips as he said, “This Duke—ahem, this immortal was precisely doing just that.”
Ye Miaomiao: “Ah?” When did he do it? He hadn’t even seen the edge of the other person’s Immortal Token!
He instinctively looked toward Mu Xuzhi, just in time to see Mu Xuzhi pull his gaze back from the book. Seeing him look over, Mu Xuzhi said, “First-Grade Immortal Official Ye Miaomiao, First-Grade Immortal Official Shi Chu. Both of you are now registered in the records. Your Immortal Official Tokens contain the daily tasks you need to complete, as well as a map of the Immortal Plant Garden. Fellow immortals, please head out quickly. I am stationed in the Summer Plant Garden; if you encounter any difficult matters, you may come to the Summer Plant Garden to find me.”
After speaking, Mu Xuzhi led the two back down to the ground, then bade them farewell and departed. Ye Miaomiao was just about to pull out his Immortal Token to check today’s affairs when he saw Immortal Shi Chu had already taken the initiative to walk away. His heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly caught up with him.
Ye Miaomiao: “Fellow Immortal Shi Chu, where are you heading?” Since Mu Xuzhi had mentioned the other’s name earlier, an immortal’s memory was naturally sharp, so Ye Miaomiao had committed the name to memory.
Shi Chu did not stop his pace, only turning his head to glance at him as he said, “Did you not check your Immortal Token?”
Ye Miaomiao: “I glanced at it just now, but haven’t checked it completely.” When he looked earlier, he had focused on reviewing the Immortal Plant Garden map, rules, and the like, but hadn’t yet looked at his assigned tasks.
Seeing him about to retrieve his Immortal Token, Shi Chu waved his hand and said, “Forget it, just follow me to the Winter Plant Garden.”
Ye Miaomiao naturally caught up in a hurry. Following behind Shi Chu, he noticed that the other walked straight ahead, showing not the slightest hesitation when encountering bends or forks in the road. Curious, he couldn’t resist asking, “Immortal Shi, have you been to this Immortal Plant Garden before? How are you so familiar with this place?”
Shi Chu seemed to let out a low chuckle upon hearing this, then replied, “I stayed here for a period in my youth, so I am somewhat familiar with it.”
Ye Miaomiao realized: “So that’s how it is.” But upon second thought, he felt something wasn’t right. An immortal capable of entering the Immortal Realm would be at least several thousand years old no matter how young they were, so how could there be a “youth”? Could he have misheard? Did Fellow Immortal Shi Chu say “earlier days” instead?
Before he could overthink it, Shi Chu had already led him across a barrier. The surrounding temperature plunged abruptly. Snapping back to his senses, Ye Miaomiao found that the two of them were already standing on the grounds of the Winter Plant Garden.
Shi Chu swept his gaze lightly across the spiritual fields of the Winter Plant Garden, then turned his head to ask Ye Miaomiao beside him, “Individual duties vary. Have you checked the task you are to carry out today?”
Ye Miaomiao nodded hurriedly and replied, “I just checked it. It is to restore the damaged Winter Ling Grass across spiritual fields No. 20,009 through No. 25,000 in the Winter Plant Garden.”
Winter Ling Grass was an immortal herb with white stems and green leaves; its white stems were exceptionally tough and could be spun into fine, long threads. Furthermore, because Winter Ling Grass threads could carry a bountiful infusion of spiritual energy, threads made from Winter Ling Grass were primarily used in the Immortal Realm to draw array formations onto immortal robes and garments, making it an extremely common and heavily consumed class of immortal material. A total of thirty thousand spiritual fields of Winter Ling Grass were cultivated in the Winter Plant Garden, yet even so, meeting daily demand remained a stretch.
Ye Miaomiao: “I heard that the Immortal Realm’s demand for Winter Ling Grass is immense. How could so much of it be damaged all at once?” Five thousand spiritual fields of Winter Ling Grass could naturally not be restored in a single day; this was his assignment for this upcoming period, with a time limit of ten immortal days to complete it.
Hearing this, Shi Chu let out a cold snort and said, “Do you know why the previous Immortal Plant Official was dismissed from office?”
Ye Miaomiao was taken aback, but still answered truthfully, “It was said that a blunder occurred while handling duties?”
Shi Chu nodded lightly and said, “Having stayed in the Heavenly Realm for a few days, you should be able to tell that the rules here are actually not particularly strict, right?”
Ye Miaomiao nodded hurriedly: “Yes.”
Shi Chu continued, “Take this Winter Ling Grass for instance. The Immortal Realm’s demand for Winter Ling Grass is immense, and now that so much has been damaged, even if they had the Immortal Plant Official restore it day and night without rest and then granted some compensation afterward, it would be acceptable. Yet they did not demand such a thing from you, did they?”
Ye Miaomiao nodded solemnly: “The time limit given by the Heavenly Realm is very generous.” Indeed, if such an incident occurred within a mortal cultivation sect, they would naturally prioritize the immortal herbs, giving their all to restore them first. Yet the Immortal Plant Garden only required him to restore it within ten days. Ye Miaomiao had calculated it in his head—even if he paced himself steadily, he could finish in nine and a half days.
Hearing him say this, Shi Chu nodded lightly with satisfaction and said, “Within the Immortal Realm, whether in the Heavenly Realm or the Earthly Realm, immortals are always prioritized. Unless someone commits an act that is truly unbearable, it would never reach the point of dismissal.”
Ye Miaomiao was startled in his heart and hurriedly asked, “May I ask, Fellow Immortal Shi, what did the previous person do?”
Shi Chu glanced at him, the corner of his lips curving slightly as he said, “There are other Immortal Plant Officials in the Winter Plant Garden. Go ask around, and you will know. My assigned task lies in the mountain forest behind us, so I shall take my leave first.”
With that, before Ye Miaomiao could say anything more, Shi Chu shifted his stance slightly and vanished without a trace in an instant!
Gazing in the direction where the other had departed, Ye Miaomiao murmured to himself, “I should also be like Fellow Immortal Shi. Even if the time limit given by the Heavenly Realm is generous, I shouldn’t waste time. The earlier these damaged immortal plants are restored, the better!”
Thinking this way, he dared not delay any longer. Spotting a busy figure among the spiritual fields, he cast a hand seal and headed straight over!