Chapter 27

For now, the dream of having a planting space could only remain a dream.

After breakfast, Chun Chou saw that Ling Wuji could take care of himself at home, so he felt reassured and went to work.

At the Hundred Herb Garden of the City Lord’s Mansion, news had already spread: a sixteen-year-old spirit-plant cultivator had become a second-tier spirit-plant cultivator, capable of casting the second-tier Growth Spell, Cloud-Rain Spell, and Geng Metal Spell!

A spirit-plant cultivator with such talent was naturally someone the other cultivators in the garden wanted to befriend. Especially because second-tier spirit-plant cultivators were very different from ordinary first-tier ones—not only did their spells cover a larger area, they could also increase the growth speed and yield of spiritual plants.

Even those cultivators who had little ambition for their own medicinal herbs and merely wanted to get by began inviting Chun Chou to their spirit fields so he could cast those spells there. No matter what, even just observing him would be beneficial.

Because Chun Chou’s rank had improved, he now spent less time tending the Marrow-Cleansing Grass and the Spirit Bamboo Garden. Every day he could finish his assigned work in about half a day.

In the afternoons, if another spirit-plant cultivator invited him, he would go to that person’s field and cast the three basic cultivation spells once over the crops.

However, Chun Chou was well aware of the dangers of people’s hearts. He always carried several defensive talismans on him. Each time he worked, he would not exhaust all his spiritual power. Instead, he would sit cross-legged to meditate and recover his energy before casting the spells again.

He would also release his little donkey. Although the donkey had no real combat ability, it knew who its master was and always guarded Chun Chou within three steps.

Most of the cultivators who invited Chun Chou had no ill intentions—they merely wanted to observe and learn. Even those with impure thoughts would think about the City Lord’s strict rules and generous rewards. Killing Chun Chou would bring punishment from the City Lord’s Mansion and they would never again be allowed to work there as spirit-plant cultivators. The cost was simply too high.

Some people considered luring Chun Chou outside Canglan City to kill him and force him to reveal his cultivation methods. Unfortunately, Chun Chou never took the bait.

He always said he had to complete six months of perfect attendance in order to receive the 1,000 low-grade spirit stones full-attendance bonus.

Everyone else: “……”

Some people invited him to visit their homes at night. Chun Chou would only accept invitations from families he had visited before, helping to cast spells on their spiritual herbs.

But today, when someone invited him again, Chun Chou smiled slightly and said that his cousin had just returned home, so he would not be going out at night for the time being.

Others: “???”

He’s only a cousin—so why does that look and tone make it sound like he’s talking about a lover?

Chun Chou didn’t care what others thought.

After arriving at work, he first practiced a round of basic body-tempering exercises, then cast the Cloud-Rain, Growth, and Geng Metal spells on the three mu of Marrow-Cleansing Grass.

Afterward he cultivated quietly for an hour before going to the Spirit Bamboo Garden.

The garden originally had ten mu of spirit bamboo. Previously, he needed to cast his spells four times to complete his daily tasks. But now that his spell range had increased, only two casts were needed. His workload decreased greatly, and his cultivation time increased.

At noon, Chun Chou finished all his work for the day and fully recovered his spiritual energy.

Looking at the ever-growing bamboo, he thought that tomorrow it would be time to harvest a batch. Otherwise it would grow far too tall.

After lunch, Chun Chou went to the spiritual herb field of a cultivator from the City Lord’s Mansion who had booked him several days earlier.

The cultivator was a boy about the same age as Chun Chou. It was said he was related to the City Lord. His name was Ling You, and like Chun Chou, he had been born without a surname.

Ling You had previously exchanged communication talismans with Chun Chou. When Chun Chou called from outside the field, Ling You immediately sensed it and ran to open the field’s protective barrier, inviting Chun Chou inside.

Ling You had a lively personality. Because he and Chun Chou were both people without surnames, he felt particularly close to him.

“You finally came! I’ve been waiting forever! You don’t need to work yet—come, come! I’ll treat you to some spirit tea. The tea leaves are from the tea trees here, and I roasted them myself. Hurry and try it. And these little red fruits were rewarded to me by the City Lord—they taste amazing. Try some!”

Chun Chou did not stand on ceremony. He nodded and sat at the stone table with Ling You to taste the spiritual fruits and tea.

The tea had an especially refreshing fragrance.

Chun Chou exclaimed in surprise.

“Your tea is really good. What kind of tea is it? I’ve never seen it in the jade slips about spiritual plants that I bought at the market.”

Ling You chuckled.

“You really are from Wunie City—you don’t know much about common knowledge in the cultivation world. Whatever is recorded in the jade slips sold in the market is naturally also known by the Seven Great Sects of Guiyuan Continent, the forty-nine mid-level sects, countless small sects, and the eighty-one great clans.

“But things those sects and clans possess are not necessarily available outside. This tea was given to me by the City Lord—it came from the clan he belongs to.”

Chun Chou didn’t ask how Ling You knew he was from Wunie City. Nor did he ask why Ling You, though supposedly related to the City Lord, spoke about the City Lord’s clan as if it had nothing to do with him.

He only frowned slightly.

Ling You seemed to understand what Chun Chou was thinking and sighed.

“In the end, being a wandering cultivator isn’t very good. If you want to join a sect, your aptitude has to be decent.”

He was clearly thinking about how his own aptitude wasn’t great—and Chun Chou’s wasn’t much better.

However, Ling You seemed to feel that Chun Chou was on his side. After thinking for a moment, he lowered his voice and said:

“But it’s not completely impossible for us to enter a major sect. Well… actually, it’s not impossible for you. Chun Chou, do you know about the Guiyuan Sword Sect?”

Chun Chou’s eyelids twitched slightly, but he replied calmly,

“The number one sect on Guiyuan Continent—how could I not know?”

Ling You said,

“The Guiyuan Sword Sect occasionally holds competitions to attract talented wandering cultivators and cultivators from small sects who aren’t sword cultivators. There are separate competitions for alchemists, talisman masters, artifact refiners, spirit-plant cultivators, and others.

“If someone performs exceptionally well and ranks near the top, they may have the chance to be accepted into the sect. Although the Guiyuan Sword Sect usually only accepts disciples with three or fewer spiritual roots, they sometimes make exceptions for people with extraordinary talent in a particular field.”

“This year’s competition will take place in seven months. The City Lord wants me to participate.”

Ling You’s handsome face scrunched up miserably.

“But to register, you must at least be a second-tier spirit-plant cultivator.”

He secretly glanced at Chun Chou.

Chun Chou naturally understood what he meant, but on the surface he simply smiled.

“So what should we do? I could register, but what about you, Ling You?”

Ling You: “……”

He grabbed Chun Chou’s hand anxiously.

“Chun Chou, help me, okay? If you help me, I’ll copy all the spirit-plant jade slips the City Lord gave me and give you a copy!”

Chun Chou was naturally tempted, but he still answered honestly:

“It’s not that I don’t want to help you. It’s just that I don’t know how I advanced either.”

Then he told Ling You that the reason he had advanced a few days earlier was because he had been worried about his cousin’s life. He had desperately wished that he himself could become stronger so his cousin wouldn’t have to risk his life going to the Ten Thousand Demon Forest. And then, suddenly, he advanced.

As for the reason behind it, he truly did not know.

After hearing this, Ling You thought for a moment and said:

“Then would you mind if I follow you around while you’re at the City Lord’s Mansion? Since you don’t know the reason either, I’d like to observe you for ten days… no, seven days should be enough. Maybe I’ll discover something.

“If I don’t, I’ll still copy all those jade slips for you. And as for the competition registration, I’ll ask the City Lord to sign both of us up. You might not know this yet, but registration has to be done half a year in advance. If you’re late, you’ll miss the chance.”

As he spoke, he took out three already-copied jade slips and generously let Chun Chou read them first.

After reading them, Chun Chou was indeed tempted.

Moreover, if he could participate in the Guiyuan Sword Sect competition, perhaps before he found Fusheng and the others, they might find him first.

And even if Ling You later refused to give him the remaining jade slips, having these three plus the City Lord helping with the registration meant he wouldn’t be losing out.

So Chun Chou agreed.

At the same time, he began calculating his savings and decided that in the evening he would go to the marketplace and buy himself a high-grade defensive talisman, just in case.

After that, Chun Chou demonstrated the second-tier Cloud-Rain Spell, Growth Spell, and Geng Metal Spell in front of Ling You.

Ling You watched very carefully, but when it came to actually learning something, he couldn’t really say he understood anything.

Once Chun Chou finished the job in Ling You’s field, he planned to leave and return to his spirit herb garden.

Because they had an agreement, Ling You followed him there.

He watched Chun Chou practice a round of basic body-tempering exercises, then run two laps around the herb field. Only after that did Chun Chou sit down cross-legged to cultivate until the end of the workday.

Ling You scratched his head, completely unable to understand.

But he couldn’t insist on following Chun Chou after work hours, so he could only watch helplessly as Chun Chou “clocked out,” submitted the day’s recording stone, and left.

Perhaps the basic body-tempering exercises and running laps were also useful for a spirit-plant cultivator’s advancement?

The more Ling You thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

So he decided to ask a smart person about it—naturally, the City Lord. And while he was at it, he would also ask the City Lord to register both him and Chun Chou for the competition.

Chun Chou indeed went to the marketplace and bought two defensive talismans capable of blocking a strike from an early Foundation Establishment cultivator, and only then returned home.

When he arrived, Ling Wuji had not rested either. He was just about to tell Chun Chou about the Guiyuan Sword Sect competition, but Chun Chou spoke first, even mentioning the need to register half a year in advance.

Ling Wuji’s brows furrowed more and more tightly.

Toward Liu Ting’er, he felt increasing annoyance—knowing that her life was in his hands, yet she had deliberately concealed such an important matter.

If someone around Chun Chou hadn’t happened to know about this, even if they had gone to the Guiyuan Sword Sect, they wouldn’t have been able to register for the competition. They wouldn’t have been able to participate, and they certainly wouldn’t have obtained that spatial-attribute artifact.

Chun Chou, however, knew nothing about this.

After chatting with Ling Wuji for a while, Chun Chou noticed that Ling Wuji’s injuries seemed much better. Then he leaned closer and sniffed Ling Wuji’s long hair.

It carried a faint scent of moisture and fragrance.

Chun Chou immediately became annoyed.

“You bathed? Your injuries were so serious, and you still bathed?”

Ling Wuji coughed lightly and changed the subject. Pulling open his collar, he let Chun Chou look.

“Look—doesn’t the wound look better than yesterday?”

Chun Chou: “!!!”

This was absolutely a handsome-man seduction tactic!

And yet he still leaned closer, carefully examining the wound from beginning to end. Only afterward did he cough with reddened ears.

“It… it’s better, I guess. But you mustn’t do this again tomorrow. Your injuries still need several days to heal.”

Ling Wuji said gently,

“I’ll listen to my wife.”

Chun Chou glared at him before going upstairs to study the Blood Servant Technique and the man-eating flower seed.

These were things Ling Wuji had obtained with great difficulty.

He had to learn them!

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