Cultivating Immortality: Starting from Ferrying Passengers

Chapter 46 Longevity Cypress
Seeing the tree, Fang Jingxuan looked at it carefully.

The three-foot-tall tree was planted in an earthen pot, but its branches were twisted like a dragon or snake, and its vigor revealed a sense of seclusion.

Its trunk is mottled and cracked, like an inscription on a bronze ware; its scaly leaves are green and fine, like jade seal carvings.

The curled branches are like solidified thunder patterns, and every scar is a mark of the game with time. The spiritual energy flows through the annual rings.

It can truly be described as "a dragon hibernating in a shallow basin hides its ancient spirit, its scales and leaves shaking with light, about to transform into clouds."

There is no doubt that this cypress tree is alive.

Well, Fang Jingxuan admitted that he loved this cypress tree too much, so he liked it no matter how he looked at it, and the adjectives he used were rather exaggerated.

But in the eyes of others, this is just a spiritual cypress tree, nothing special about it.

"Very good, very good. It has a good meaning. I want this cypress tree. What is your price?"

Fang Jingxuan walked forward to take a closer look before asking the price readily.

The shopkeeper was already a thousand-year-old fox and had long seen through Fang Jingxuan's thoughts. Fang Jingxuan was still too naive in this regard.

The shopkeeper said calmly:
"Cheng Hui, one thousand low-grade spirit stones."

"What? A thousand? This is just a fellow practitioner's item, not a magical tool. Why would it cost a thousand low-grade spirit stones?"

Compared with magical instruments, items of the same level and quality are much cheaper.

Because the objects of the same practice, although they are also spiritual objects, have too low adaptability. Unlike magic tools, basically any cultivator can use them.

And the incompatible spiritual objects are just consumables in the hands of other cultivators.

Therefore, magic tools of the same rank are much more expensive than those of the same rank, and one thousand low-grade spirit stones are enough to buy a first-rank mid-grade magic tool, so Fang Jingxuan said that the shopkeeper's asking price was too high.

In Fang Jingxuan's mind, this Wanshou Cold Cypress is very good, but he would rather get it with 500 low-grade spirit stones.

The shopkeeper calmly began to justify his price:

"This [Wanshou Cold Cypress], although it's only three feet tall, it's already a hundred years old.

As the name suggests, if properly cared for, this tree can live for ten thousand years, which is a very good meaning.

Secondly, as a spiritual object, this cypress has miraculous properties. Its leaves can be used as medicine, its dew can be used in elixirs, and its meaning can enter the soul."

Next, the shop owner explained in detail the selling points of his spiritual object, the Ginseng.

It is easy to understand that cypress leaves can be used as medicine, so I won’t explain it.

Every morning, dewdrops condense on the cypress trees. This dew gathers spiritual energy and is needed for refining some elixirs. Although the price is not high, it is produced every day, and over time, it can be of some benefit.

The key lies in its meaning. The cypress stands proudly in the wind and snow, unafraid of the severe cold. Observing its meaning can make one's spirit and soul more resilient, and understanding its way can make one's determination to follow the Tao more resolute.

The shopkeeper slowly stated these three benefits, which made Fang Jingxuan even more excited, but a thousand low-grade spirit stones were still too expensive.

He only had 1,100 coins in his pocket, and he had to take out 1,000 at once. How was he going to live the rest of his life?
Rent, food, social interactions, taking care of Tuoyuan, which one doesn’t cost money?

You can't just live your life to the bitter end just for something you share with others.

So Fang Jingxuan began to bargain hard with the shopkeeper.

"Although you put it very well, I still have a few flaws. For example, it's overall short, how many leaves can fall off naturally, and how many dewdrops are condensed?
Secondly, it grows too slowly, only reaching three feet in a hundred years."

The more Fang Jingxuan spoke, the more he felt like he was being unreasonable, but for the sake of his meager wallet, he still tried to bargain. Perhaps this cypress was really hard to sell, or perhaps the shopkeeper was persuaded by Fang Jingxuan, and finally the shopkeeper said:

"Alright, we are all sensible people, I won't say anything empty. The price is nine hundred low-grade spirit stones. If you want it, take it. If not, I will keep it for the next person to come."

After struggling for a long time, he only managed to chop down 100 pieces. Fang Jingxuan felt a little discouraged. If he had asked Lao He to do it, he might have been able to chop down 800 pieces.

But nine hundred is nine hundred, this Wanshou Cold Cypress is indeed worth the price. If there were not so few cultivators who awakened the cypress nature, this Cold Cypress could be sold for at least more than two thousand.

"If you said nine hundred, then nine hundred is fine, but boss, you have to give me some spiritual soil and fertilizer, so I don't have to buy it specially."

The shopkeeper looked at Fang Jingxuan and said with gritted teeth:
"Okay! I'll take you there!"

Half a minute later, Fang Jingxuan sat cross-legged on Tuoyuan's back and turned around with an expressionless face.

[Wanshou Hanbai] had been put into his storage bag. Fortunately, his storage bag was double-sided, so some space was left out and it could barely fit in.

At this time, Tuoyuan was carrying several bags of spiritual soil and fertilizer on his back, which were used to cultivate Hanbai.

These spiritual soils and fertilizers are still worth a few low-grade spirit stones. Use them sparingly and you won’t have to worry about them for the next three years.

On the surface, Fang Jingxuan had a blank expression on his face, but he was actually very excited.

What is it like to change from the lower-grade [Jade Cypress] of the first rank to the upper-grade [Longevity Cypress] of the first rank?
It is not enough to describe it as a qualitative leap, it is a qualitative leap.

Moreover, [Wanshou Hanbai] is a living thing, while [Jadeite Green Cypress] is a dead thing. The upper limit of [Jadeite Green Cypress] has been locked, but what about [Wanshou Hanbai]?

It can still grow and advance. Once it is properly cultivated in the future, its grade can be advanced from the upper grade of the first grade to the middle grade of the second grade.

Of course, the probability of this happening is relatively small, and it will take a very long time. It may not succeed for hundreds of years, but there is hope after all.

Having hope is better than anything else, isn't it?
After returning home, Fang Jingxuan couldn't wait to return to the quiet room, and then took out the [Wanshou Hanbai] to appreciate it quietly.

Just now in the store, he didn't look so carefully, for fear that the store owner would notice and charge him a higher price.

Now that there was no one around, Fang Jingxuan no longer felt any sense of urgency and seemed much more relaxed.

He reached out and gently stroked the branches of the cypress, feeling its texture.

It felt slightly cool to the touch, but very delicate. A sense of vitality passed through the fingertips and into Fang Jingxuan's body.

Fang Jingxuan was shocked, then laughed out loud. After he took out the cicada shell, he immediately sat down to meditate and practiced, starting his first practice with Ci Hanbo.

Three hours later, Fang Jingxuan slowly opened his eyes, the joy he had during his practice still lingering in his eyes.

After changing to the same things as his fellow practitioners, Fang Jingxuan clearly felt that his cultivation speed was accelerating.

Moreover, unlike the coldness of the [Jade Cypress], the vigorous vitality of the [Wanshou Winter Cypress] has greatly benefited him in his practice.

Fang Jingxuan turned his gaze towards the Wanshou Cold Cypress and discovered that after this training, the tree had become more energetic.

Participating in the life force together is complementary to each other. Fang Jingxuan's practice is actually accelerating the growth of [Wanshou Hanbai].

It’s just that Fang Jingxuan’s two fellow practitioners were all dead objects, and the degree of their sacrifice and refinement was very small, so Fang Jingxuan couldn’t feel it.

Thinking of this, Fang Jingxuan opened the attribute panel, wanting to see how the attribute panel recorded the results of this practice.

(End of this chapter)