Chapter 14: Tengshe Peak

Zhong Xuan had already found work and spoke up: "The one hiring us is an outer sect deacon named Granny Qian. She is very easy to talk to. She has several acres of spiritual fields on Tengshe Peak, where she grows a type of spiritual tree called the Vermilion Persimmon tree, which bears vermilion persimmons."

"When those persimmon trees bloom, they attract hairy caterpillars. Those caterpillars love to eat the flowers, and once the flowers are eaten, no fruit grows. They don't have any other special abilities, but the hairs on their bodies break easily. If they get stuck in your skin, it hurts terribly. However, Granny Qian will provide us with clothes and face masks so we don't have to worry about being stung."

"If we catch a hundred caterpillars, we get half a spirit stone; two hundred gets us one spirit stone. The more we catch, the more spirit stones we get. It's very simple."

"Once we receive the task, we head to Granny Qian's place. She is on Tengshe Peak among the various peaks of the outer sect. After coming down from Merit Peak, we still have a bit of a journey ahead; we must arrive before the Hour of the Dragon."

The group of three arrived first at Merit Peak, where the outer sect main hall was located. It was only just dawn; the duty disciple was holding a storybook titled *The Peak of Nascent Soul*. Looking at him, Lin Donglai estimated he had stayed up all night.

These storybooks were popular in Qingmu Immortal City. Lin Donglai had seen some in the library of the Immortal Seed Peak academy, but he had only flipped through them briefly and felt no interest.

Zhong Xuan, familiar with the routine, handed over his identity token to receive the task, and the others followed suit.

"You haven't even reached the first level of Qi Refinement; you must be from this year's batch of Immortal Seeds. You've been in the sect for over a hundred days and still haven't achieved Qi Induction? No wonder you're doing these troublesome, time-consuming tasks that don't even grant outer sect merit."

"Just a word of advice: you'd better reach the first level of Qi Refinement soon. Otherwise, if you are demoted to handyman disciples, you won't be able to do these tasks at all. You'll only be able to do menial service, and you won't be able to cultivate anymore."

The three looked at each other and offered their thanks. Zhong Xuan said, "We all have the low-grade Five-Element Root aptitude. It will take at least a year for us to achieve Qi Induction. But Elder Qin of the outer sect said if we don't succeed within two hundred days, he'll demote us to handymen... so we're doing these tasks to earn a couple of spirit stones for use."

"Tsk tsk, Elder Qin, is it? I remember him being quite a good person. He even recommended an introductory cultivation method to me back then. It shouldn't come to that."

"But for this year's batch of Immortal Seeds, even accepting low-grade Five-Element Roots... such requirements must indeed put a lot of pressure on you."

"How do I remember the original minimum entry requirement for our Qingmu Sect being low-grade Four-Element Roots, with most being low-grade Three-Element Roots... Could it be that a war is coming?"

He didn't think too much of it and went back to reading his storybook.

Lin Donglai and the others had grown accustomed to being stared at due to their poor aptitude along the way. Holding their task tokens, they hurried on.

Upon arriving at Tengshe Peak, they finally understood why it bore that name.

The entire mountain looked like a massive, sprawling, reclining serpent. The terraced fields layered upon Tengshe Peak resembled the scales of a snake.

Granny Qian's orchards were located on a sunny slope in a remote corner of the peak.

Zhong Xuan said to Lin Donglai and Ding Zhen, "Be extremely careful on Tengshe Peak. Every spiritual field has an owner, and some are protected by formations. We must stay on the ridges of the fields. Do not, under any circumstances, reach out and pluck someone else's spiritual herbs or grains. Aside from the fact that you won't be able to afford the compensation, if you get killed by a protective formation, you won't even have a leg to stand on."

The two nodded before heading up the mountain.

As soon as they ascended, Lin Donglai clearly felt the activity of his mysterious Dao Seed, and he couldn't help but begin practicing the Primordial Nourishing Breathing Technique.

Tengshe Peak was a specialized spiritual vein used for cultivating spiritual fields. The spiritual energy was dense and suitable for the growth of spiritual plants, making it naturally suitable for his Low-grade Wood Constitution to cultivate. Not to mention, the spiritual herbs and rice here were so full of vitality that it even seemed to overflow.

In a short moment, Lin Donglai could feel a great deal of green botanical vitality accumulating in his mind.

This vitality stimulated the mysterious Dao Seed, and soon, another white root, as thin as a mosquito's leg, grew out.

This root absorbed the green botanical vitality, turning a faint cyan color, and grew many fine hairs even thinner than a mosquito's leg.

The two roots simultaneously plunged into the void, drawing in spiritual energy and, following the breathing rhythm of the Primordial Nourishing Breathing Technique, helping to nourish his physical body.

Now, he wouldn't have to work hard to earn spirit stones to buy medicinal herbs to support his cultivation. The consumption for Marrow Cleansing was much greater than for Tendon Strengthening, as Marrow Cleansing required the condensation of essence blood. A single drop of essence blood was worth as much as eating a whole ox; the consumption was immense.

For a moment, Lin Donglai felt a sense of total refreshment throughout his body. A light sweat broke out on his skin, and with every breath, it felt as if a spring breeze were blowing.

"The vitality here is so dense!" Lin Donglai, walking barefoot on the field ridge, felt the emotions transmitted from the Dao Seed's roots: "The earth energy is abundant, and the spiritual energy is abundant."

As long as there was sufficient sunlight and dew, this Dao Seed could produce even more of these tiny roots capable of running the Primordial Nourishing Breathing Technique.

"If I become an outer sect disciple in the future and have no better place to go, this will definitely be my first choice."

However, these thoughts were fleeting, as Zhong Xuan had already led the two to Granny Qian's orchard.

Granny Qian's orchard was enclosed by thorns. A shed had been built outside the orchard, where she rested on a lounge chair. Beside her was a young girl of about seven or eight, reading a storybook titled *The Chronicles of the Empress's Immortal Journey* with great emotion.

"Le Nihuang sneered: 'What kind of thing do you think you are? You think my shoes are too dirty to lick, yet you still want to marry me?'"

"Ma Zhenyuan chuckled: 'My father is a Nascent Soul cultivator, and I am the number one person below the Golden Core stage, at the peak of the Purple Mansion. To take an interest in a female cultivator at the early stage of Foundation Establishment is a favor to you. Others respect you as a Golden Core disciple, but I am not afraid!'"

"Le Nihuang thought to herself: 'My Master and I have long been in love, regarding each other as Dao companions for immortality. Now that Master is in seclusion to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, this man's arrogance must be a scheme by a sect enemy to disrupt Master's Dao heart...'"

Zhong Xuan didn't dare interrupt the reading; he could only watch expectantly, hoping the little girl might give them a hint.

"Granny! People are here." Having read the storybook for a long time, the little girl was thirsty and stopped reading.

Granny Qian opened her squinting eyes and looked at them, her gaze finally landing on Zhong Xuan. "The clothes and masks are in the shed, but there are only two sets. Since there are three of you, you'll have to take turns. The price is the same: one hundred caterpillars for half a spirit stone. If you don't reach a hundred, I'll settle the difference in spirit beads."

"Then I'll pass. You two go ahead." Lin Donglai now had the Dao Seed roots to assist his cultivation, so he didn't lack the spirit stones needed to buy pills for breakthroughs. Moreover, the botanical vitality here was so abundant that he didn't need to specifically buy herbs to absorb vitality to satisfy the Dao Seed roots. He might as well focus on practicing the Tendon Strengthening and Marrow Cleansing Stance and take advantage of the resources on Tengshe Peak.

Ding Zhen gave Lin Donglai a grateful look, while Zhong Xuan said, "Granny Qian, do you have any other work? My brother here is willing to do anything!"

Granny Qian chuckled. "That works. The shed next door has communal kitchens used by several families. It's my turn to replenish the firewood. The wood has been bought; go split some. Once you're done, I'll give you half a spirit stone."

Low-level Qi Refinement cultivators, if they didn't want to eat Bigu (Fasting) Pills every day, still had to light fires to cook. While one could use spells to light a fire, maintaining it constantly was not cost-effective, so firewood was necessary.

However, since this was the world of cultivation, everything was touched by the word "spiritual." Firewood became spiritual wood, which required at least a Pre-natal expert—someone who had mastered Embryonic Breathing—to split it with ease.

Lin Donglai thought about it; splitting wood was fine. It wouldn't interfere with his practice of the Marrow Cleansing Stance. Though splitting wood was a small task, it could be considered a form of cultivation, helping to train his focus and his indomitable spirit.