Immortality begins with raising apprentices

Chapter 25 The Azure-Scaled Serpent (Seeking monthly votes and continued reading!)
She wanted her master to kneel down and wash her feet!

The little girl's expectations were ultimately dashed.

She sat awkwardly opposite Chen Ye, with one pair of feet, one big and one small, soaking in a copper basin.

Zhiwei huddled in the corner, mending cloth shoes.

The stitches were as fine as ever, and her complexion was as pale as before, still showing some embarrassment as the pallor hadn't completely faded.

"That feels good!"

Chen Ye sighed contentedly. Before going to bed, soaking his feet in hot water was indeed the most comfortable thing to do.

The little girl yawned in a very convincing way.

Although she dared not move her feet at all, for if she did, she would touch her master's smelly feet.

But the warmth from the hot water coming through the soles of your feet is real.

For ordinary people, this is nothing more than a common pleasure.

But for Qingjun, it was an experience she had never had before.

but……

She clearly wanted her master to wash her, so how did it turn into the two of them washing together?

The wind howled even more fiercely in the middle of the night, making a loud rustling sound.

Occasionally, a cold wind would pass through the door, causing the flames to flicker and the two girls to shrink back.

If you haven't experienced warmth, you won't feel the chill of this cold wind; you'll have long been used to it.

But once you're immersed in warmth, the sudden cold wind feels especially biting.

"It's so cold!" As soon as Qingjun's bare feet left the water, her toes curled up into pink balls from the cold.

"Go warm up in bed, you can sleep in the bed tonight."

Chen Ye glanced at the straw mat on the ground.

This was where his two disciples used to sleep, so naturally he wouldn't let them sleep on the floor anymore.

With that, Chen Ye wrapped the white fluffy ball in a quilt and threw her onto the couch.

The little girl couldn't help but roll around on the bed.

So soft!

There were at least several layers of cotton quilts underneath, and charcoal was burning under the earthen bed.

It's much more comfortable than sleeping on the floor!

When the older girl saw Chen Ye looking at her, he seemed ready to throw her onto the bed without saying a word.

She immediately and silently took off her outer garment and climbed onto the bed.

"elder sister!"

The little girl couldn't wait to hug her older sister's withered body.

A warm and cozy bed, and a big sister to hug!

Qingjun felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

But soon, she saw her sister's trembling eyelashes and suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

It dawned on me belatedly—Would Master be going to bed with me later too?!

then,

The two little ones hugged each other tightly, wrapped in a quilt and curled up into small lumps.

Two small heads, one black and one white, were huddled together, with only their eyes showing as they blinked at Chen Ye.

Chen Ye couldn't help but chuckle.

He got up and closed the wooden door tightly.

He then propped the shelf against the door before sitting cross-legged on the straw mat where his disciple used to sleep.

……

Early the next morning.

Chen Ye, with dark circles under his eyes, rubbed his eyes and stood up from the ground.

The first half of the night was fine; he slept soundly by the fire pit.

But in the middle of the night, the flame went out, waking him up from the cold.

On the bed, the two disciples were fast asleep, forehead to forehead, huddled together.

He seems to lack a sense of security.

Chen Ye pushed open the door.

The streets were deserted, and the entire shantytown was covered in a blanket of white snow, a far cry from its former squalor.

Lead-gray clouds shrouded the sky, creating an oppressive and somber atmosphere.

To the right of next door, a gaunt man was busily cleaning the house. Previously, only the left-hand room was occupied by Old Zhang, while the right-hand room had been empty for a full year since the previous occupant was killed in a magical duel.

When the new neighbor saw Chen Ye come out, he stopped cleaning, cupped his hands in greeting, and smiled:
"Fellow Daoist, I am new to Yunxi Manor. I hope you will take good care of me in the future."

Chen Ye returned the greeting: "Fellow Daoist, you are too kind. Although this shantytown is simple, it is quiet."

He glanced at the bloodstains on the man's body out of the corner of his eye, and his expression tightened.

The gaunt man saw this, smiled, and pushed open the door:

"Fellow Daoist, please don't misunderstand. On my way to Yunxi Fang yesterday, I casually killed a demon beast. This is just its blood."

Inside the empty room, a python lay coiled on the table, its body emerald green and its scales hard.

This is a Tier 1 demonic beast, the Azure Scale Serpent!

It is far more troublesome than ordinary beasts, and it usually takes four to five cultivators at the mid-stage of Qi Refining to work together to kill it.

Chen Ye clicked his tongue in amazement; it seemed this new neighbor was a formidable character.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries and introduced themselves to each other.

The gaunt man's name was He Qi, and he looked to be around forty years old. He came from Yuexi Lake Market.

He makes a living by hunting demons and has not revealed his cultivation level, but Chen Ye estimates that he is at least at the sixth level of Qi Refining, or even the late stage of Qi Refining.

"I never expected Fellow Daoist Chen to be a spirit plant master! If I ever find any spiritual herbs in the Three Thousand Mountains, I can ask Fellow Daoist Chen for help." He Qi was easygoing and didn't hold back his praise.

Chen Ye knew that this was just him being polite.

A true spiritual plant master must at least master the three arts of spiritual plants.

It can independently cultivate a spiritual field.

Within the market, plant spirit masters are all considered prominent figures.

They could even join the Lingyin Sect as outer disciples, responsible for looking after the spirit fields.

Although she is only in charge of tending the spiritual fields, her status is higher than that of Li Qiuyun, who previously inspected the shantytowns.

In other words, plant sculptors are strategic talents.

For a large sect like the Lingyin Sect

The acquisition of spiritual herbs does not rely on disciples picking them in the Three Thousand Mountains, but on the continuous cultivation and planting by the spiritual plant masters within the sect.

Only in this way can a stable reserve and resource cycle be established.

"No, no, no, I just know a little about spiritual plant cultivation. But you, fellow Daoist, are truly remarkable for hunting down the Azure Scale Python. Your combat skills are second to none in this shantytown!" Chen Ye praised sincerely.

To be honest, just looking at such a huge serpent makes my legs weak.

He Qi sighed, "Fellow Daoist Chen is a respectable person who understands the art of cultivating spiritual plants, while I, a rogue cultivator with no special skills, can only fight for resources to cultivate. How bitter!"

Seeing He Qi's modesty, Chen Ye quickly lowered his stance and flattered him again, making the gaunt man's smile even more genuine.

It was only with great difficulty that this mutual flattery finally came to an end.

"Master..."

Qingjun timidly peeked out with half her head out.

Seeing Chen Ye talking to a strange man, he quickly shrank back.

"Is this your disciple? I didn't expect you to bring a baby with you."

He Qi was surprised, his gaze softened, and he said sincerely,
"To be honest, I've already started a family at Moon Rhinoceros Lake and have a child. I came to the Three Thousand Mountains this time to hunt some monsters and earn spirit stones to support my child's future cultivation, taking advantage of the heavy snow."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye suddenly understood.

No wonder He Qi, with his cultivation level, would live in a shantytown; it turns out he was only staying there for a short time.

It's worth noting that renting in Yunxifang requires a minimum of six months and is quite expensive.

Many people who are only staying for a short period of time prefer to live in shantytowns.

After finding common ground, the two hit it off immediately and chatted for a long time about their experiences raising children.

Before parting, He Qi gave Chen Ye two catties of demon snake meat. Despite Chen Ye's repeated refusals, he eventually gave in.

"This guy is not bad, although he likes to flatter and praise each other, and subtly shows off..."

Chen Ye examined the glistening snake meat in his hand.

The price of this pound of cinnabar fluctuates around 50 yuan in Yunxifang.

He estimated that the green-scaled snake weighed about forty pounds, and its meat alone could be sold for more than twenty spirit stones.

"The demon hunter is really rich and generous, giving away a spirit stone like that."

Chen Ye sighed, guessing it was Qing Jun's doing that moved He Qi to tears, which is why he was willing to send two catties of demon snake meat.

In this vast shantytown, he's probably the only one left with such a young child.

　Thank you "Baojun" for the monthly pass!
　　Thank you to the person driven by desire for the 100 coins!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)