Cultivating Immortality: Starting from Ferrying Passengers

Chapter 121 Breakthrough and Advancement
Have the withered branches of the Enlightenment Vine sprouted new buds?
Fang Jingxuan quickly observed this phenomenon. He carefully took the withered vine out of the jade bottle, preparing to transplant it to the open ground outside.

Keeping it in a quiet room is obviously inappropriate. Fang Jingxuan believes that only the Enlightenment Vine, which grows in a natural environment, will be effective.

In the open space outside the courtyard, Fang Jingxuan planted the Enlightenment Vine directly, then fixed the soil and applied fertilizer.

Looking at the lonely Enlightenment Vine, Fang Jingxuan thought for a moment, then found a thick log and placed it next to him for the vine to climb.

After finishing all that, the rest was up to time. Fang Jingxuan's mind was much calmer now, and he was no longer as anxious as before.

Half a month passed quickly, and the five Enlightenment Bamboos truly took root in this place, no longer looking somewhat withered as before.

The successful transplantation of the Enlightenment Bamboo brought Fang Jingxuan a sense of peace of mind. Even if the Enlightenment Vine ultimately failed to grow, he would still have this gain in his hands.

However, these five Enlightenment Bamboos consume several low-grade wood-type spirit stones every half month, which is not a good thing in the long run.

If only there were a first-tier spiritual land, I wouldn't need to use spirit stones to power the spirit-gathering array when I meditate and cultivate. These high-grade spiritual plants could also automatically absorb the spiritual energy from the underground spiritual veins without me having to replenish them with spirit stones.

As his cultivation level increased, Fang Jingxuan discovered that as a rogue cultivator, his future was becoming increasingly bleak. Without control of spiritual lands, he was constrained in everything he did.

Now, sacred sites are to independent practitioners what land is to farmers.

Fang Jingxuan, whose cultivation had reached the sixth level of Qi Refining, began to feel a longing for a spiritual land.

For someone like him who was only at the early stage of Qi Refining, this mansion was undoubtedly a grand mansion.

However, for someone at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, although living there was comfortable, he began to experience various inconveniences.

If I reach the late stage of Qi Refining, will I still have to live in a place with scarce spiritual energy?
Thinking of this, Fang Jingxuan's eyes were deep and mysterious. A late-stage Qi Refining cultivator was already a rare expert in the surrounding area. With the Chu family cultivators from Red Leaf Village not coming out, wherever he went, he would be a guest of honor for those Qi Refining families.

Even if you join a Qi Refining family as a guest elder who doesn't handle any affairs, you can still obtain a great deal of resources, as well as, most importantly, spiritual land.

Why stay cooped up in the market and suffer all sorts of inconveniences?

For a moment, Fang Jingxuan thought of many things, but in the end, he could only sigh and decide to break through the bottleneck first before planning these matters.

Two months later, the Enlightenment Bamboo was growing well, and new roots were slowly sprouting from the roots of the Enlightenment Vine.

Fang Jingxuan discovered that he needed to water the Enlightenment Vine with spiritual liquid mixed with moonlight and jade dew from time to time.

Otherwise, the Enlightenment Vine looked like it was about to wither at any moment, which made Fang Jingxuan feel sorry for it. After all, he had spent a lot of low-grade spirit stones to buy it, and he couldn't let it die like that.

These second-tier spiritual plants are difficult to care for. With no other option, Fang Jingxuan had to take out 15 drops from his monthly allowance of 65 drops and give them to the Enlightenment Vine.

Water it every two days on average, adding one drop of Moon Dew each time.

Now, more than two months later, the Enlightenment Vine has begun to grow new leaves, and from time to time it emits an aura that makes people feel relaxed and at ease.

So Fang Jingxuan would often move a rattan chair, lie down under the rattan to sleep, cultivate his mind and body, and feel very comfortable.

Six months later, Wang Xinyu still hadn't returned, and Fang Jingxuan gradually got used to living alone.

He was just a person, but in the past few years, Wang Xinyu entered his world and left a very deep mark on him.

During this period, Lao He's health deteriorated further, and Fang Jingxuan estimated that it would be within the next few days.

On this day, Fang Jingxuan lay under the Enlightenment Vine, which had grown to over ten feet long, enjoying the pleasant feeling of his soul entering the azure sky, when a knock came at the door.

Fang Jingxuan got up and went over. When he opened the door, he saw He Yu standing at the door with tears streaming down her face.

Seeing He Yu in this state, Fang Jingxuan sighed inwardly. It seemed that Old He was completely beyond saving.

"Uncle Fang, my grandfather is on his deathbed. He told me that he wanted you to come and see him one last time. Is it convenient for you now?" "Since Mr. He is so willing, how can I not go? You go first, I will be there shortly."

A sorrowful expression appeared on Fang Jingxuan's face. He felt truly uncomfortable with the impending death of Lao He, an old friend he was fairly familiar with.

But people always die. Without reaching the Divine Transformation stage, how can one have the confidence to live forever and watch the clouds rise and fall?

He Yu touched the tear stains on his face, bowed to Fang Jingxuan, and then said:
"Thank you, Uncle Fang, for coming and fulfilling my grandfather's wish. I still need to inform my grandfather's other old friends, so I'll take my leave now."

After He Yu left, Fang Jingxuan shook his head. He was a good kid, but it was a pity that with Old He dead, his cultivation resources would be greatly reduced.

Half an hour later, Fang Jingxuan, with Tuoyuan in tow, arrived at Lao He's residence.

The person who came out to greet him was a middle-aged cultivator with a slightly arrogant demeanor. He looked somewhat similar to Old He, so it seemed that this was his son, who was in charge of things at the Dan Ding Sect.

He probably knew his father didn't have much time left, so he rushed back to handle the funeral arrangements.

Inside the courtyard, a group of people were waiting silently; there were men and women, young and old.

"This must be Fellow Daoist Fang Jingxuan. My father has been talking about you a lot. Please come in. He is catching up with some old friends right now, so please bear with him."

It must be said that someone who can work within the Dan Ding Sect must have a certain level of skill in dealing with people.

As Fang Jingxuan put Tuoyuan into his spirit-controlling bag, the other party took a few more glances at it, and then his expression became even more eager.

"This way, please. Let's have some tea first. This is a spiritual tea I brought back from the sect. It's called Rain Pine Tea and has the effects of refreshing the mind and nourishing the spirit."

"This tea tree only sprouts leaves once every ten years, and each time it produces only about a pound of tea leaves, so it is quite expensive, costing thirty-five low-grade spirit stones for one ounce."

At this moment, Old He's son inexplicably steered the conversation to the spirit tea, praising it highly.

Fang Jingxuan was led to a tea room on the side, clearly because the person had taken a great deal of attention to him after seeing Tuoyuan and the spirit bag.

Once the tea was brewed, a refreshing aroma wafted into Fang Jingxuan's nostrils, making him feel as if he were in a natural mountain forest after the rain, which was relaxing and left a deep impression.

Fang Jingxuan took a sip of the tea, smelling its aroma. Soon after the tea entered his stomach, a cool sensation rose from his abdomen, ascended to the top of his head, and finally entered his Niwan acupoint.

Immediately afterwards, a cool sensation came over my soul, as pleasant as taking a big bite of chilled watermelon on a summer day, making me feel completely satisfied.

"Good tea, indeed very good."

"I'm glad you like it, Fellow Daoist Fang. When you leave, take some back with you to use for entertaining guests. Of course, I only have a few taels here, so I can't give you too much. But if you need more in the future, Fellow Daoist Fang, I can collect more from the sect for you."

At this moment, Fang Jingxuan finally understood. It turned out that seeing him raising spirit beasts and using a spirit control bag, Fang Jingxuan thought he was very rich, so he took the opportunity to promote his spirit tea.

Is it appropriate for you to do this, since your father is still in there having a final burst of energy before his death?

Just as Fang Jingxuan was feeling absurd, a series of wails suddenly came from the courtyard. The two men's expressions changed, and they quickly went over.

In the end, Fang Jingxuan was unable to say a few final words to Lao He; an acquaintance had simply vanished forever.

Seven days later, Old He was buried. Fang Jingxuan saw him off on his final journey. The funeral was not very grand. Old He was finally laid to rest in the cemetery built by the Chu family in the market. There were cultivators who guarded the cemetery on a daily basis to prevent his remains from being dug up and used to refine demonic artifacts.

After finishing all these tasks, Fang Jingxuan also felt somewhat tired, not physically, but emotionally.

After a few sighs, Fang Jingxuan lay down under the Enlightenment Vine and, for some reason, fell into a deep sleep.

Tuoyuan, who was in the distance, glanced at the commotion and silently lay down at Fang Jingxuan's feet, closed his eyes, and patiently waited for him to wake up.

(End of this chapter)