I forge immortality with a pagoda.

The spiritual energy here is noticeably richer than that outside the mountain gate, and the environment is also very quiet.

Mo Lin led Shen Yu straight to the gate of a small courtyard, where the nameplate read "Jia Shiliu".

Upon reaching his destination, Mo Lin stopped.

He turned to Shen Yu, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said with a hint of apology, "Senior Brother Shen, since it is Senior Uncle Xu's wish, we can only ask you to rest in this courtyard for a few days for now."

"Let's discuss the matter of the cave dwelling after Senior Sister Yue Ling returns to the sect."

Shen Yu returned the greeting with a cupped hand and said calmly, "It's alright. Cultivators are content with whatever they find; there's nowhere they can't take refuge. I'm very grateful to my junior brother for his tireless efforts in guiding me through the initiation process."

"Not at all, senior brother, you're too kind. This is just my duty, nothing to mention."

Mo Lin waved his hand repeatedly, a smile appearing on his face.

"Now that this matter is settled, I must return to report to my Uncle Ning, so I will take my leave now!"

"Senior brother, if you have any questions or need any help, you can come to the External Affairs Hall to find me."

After saying this, Mo Lin bid farewell to Shen Yu, and with a lightness in his body, he drifted away.

After bidding farewell to Mo Lin, Shen Yu took out the restriction token he had received earlier from his storage bag.

With the activation of true qi, the token emitted a beam of light and disappeared into the courtyard gate.

A faint light rippled across the gate like waves on water, then silently opened inward.

Shen Yu stepped inside and looked up to see that the courtyard was quite spacious and elegantly laid out.

A clear, cool spring is gushing forth, its steam rising and exuding a pure spiritual energy.

Beside the spiritual spring, there is a small spiritual field, about half an acre in size. The soil is dark and fertile, with faint spiritual light shimmering in it. At this moment, a few Dew-Gathering Grasses and a cluster of Star-Patterned Chrysanthemums are sparsely planted in the field, and they are growing well.

In the center of the courtyard, an ancient tree with gnarled branches spreads its canopy, casting a cool shade.

Under the tree is a set of stone table and chairs, where one can enjoy tea and conversation.

Following the bluestone path inwards, there are three side rooms on each of the east and west sides, with doors and windows made of spirit wood and decorated with simple, ancient carvings.

In addition, the courtyard also has a dedicated alchemy room, a wood storage room, and a kitchen for daily living, making it fully functional and complete.

As soon as Shen Yu entered the courtyard, he saw a cultivator dressed in a purple Taoist robe sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, concentrating on his cultivation on the blue stone beside the spiritual spring.

Sensing someone enter, the person immediately stopped their practice, turned to look at Shen Yu, and hurriedly got up to greet him.

This man had thick eyebrows, large eyes, a square face, and a tall, upright posture. He walked up to Shen Yu and respectfully bowed.

"Is this senior brother Shen Yu?"

Shen Yu bowed and said gently, "It is indeed I, a humble Taoist. I have only just joined the sect today, and I apologize for disturbing you."

"It really is Senior Brother Shen." Cao Yancheng smiled warmly and bowed again. "Just now, Pavilion Master Xu sent a decree saying that Senior Brother Shen, who has cultivated superior True Qi, has entered the sect and will temporarily reside in our Jia Sixteenth Courtyard. He instructed me to treat him well. Now that I have met you, Senior Brother is indeed a man of extraordinary bearing and bearing."

Shen Yu was slightly surprised. Xu Sidan was quick to act. Before his own people even arrived at their residence, his imperial edict had already arrived first.

"My skills are mediocre, and I am not worthy of such praise."

"Senior Brother Shen is too modest," Cao Yancheng said seriously. "High-grade True Qi is extremely difficult to cultivate; it cannot be obtained without great perseverance and great opportunity."

"Senior brother was able to refine the seventh level of true qi, which shows how difficult it was. My cultivation is shallow, and I can only admire you."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yu simply smiled and didn't dwell on the topic, instead asking, "I wonder how long you've been living in this courtyard, Junior Brother?"

Cao Yancheng slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing, "Ah! I was so busy talking that I forgot about this. I am Cao Yancheng, and I have been a disciple for more than five years. I am now an outer disciple with the third level of the Kaiyuan realm. I greet Senior Brother Shen."

Shen Yu cupped his hands in return.

Then he turned his gaze to the spiritual spring and said, "This spring must be the Gui-level spiritual spring recorded in the register, right?"

"Indeed, if you don't have any other studies, you can cultivate by this spring and absorb its spiritual energy. Many of the other senior brothers and sisters in the academy also rely on this spring for cultivation."

Shen Yu nodded, strolled to the edge of the spiritual spring, reached out to touch the misty vapor, and closed his eyes to carefully contemplate it.

He felt that although the spiritual energy in the spring was not vast and boundless, it was pure, gentle, and inexhaustible, similar in quality to the spiritual springs he had seen in the Yu and Xian kingdoms before, undoubtedly belonging to the Gui level.

He then asked, "I'm new here and not yet familiar with the sect's rules. I just heard you mention lessons; could you tell me what you mean by that?"

"After we disciples have entered the sect, in addition to diligently cultivating ourselves and improving our realm, we also need to regularly go to the various major temples of the sect every month to listen to the lectures on the Dao by our senior masters."

"This covers a wide range of topics, including the ways of swordsmanship, alchemy, weapon crafting, talisman arrays, and even some heretical methods such as the Blood Demon Path and the Netherworld Ghost Path. These regularly held lectures are collectively referred to as lessons."

He paused, then added, "Of course, if you encounter a topic that you are not interested in, or if you are at a critical juncture in your cultivation, you can naturally ask the steward for leave and not go."

"Today, Elder Xun is explaining the key to breaking through to the Qi Refining stage. The other senior brothers and sisters have all gone to listen to the lecture. I am here to wait for the senior brother who is to guide me, as ordered by Pavilion Master Xu. That's why I couldn't leave."

Shen Yu was a little embarrassed and said, "I see. I've kept Junior Brother Cao from listening to the Daoist teachings. If you have any questions about your cultivation or would like to discuss the Dao of Qi Refining, you are welcome to come to me anytime. I will answer all your questions to the best of my ability."

Upon hearing this, Cao Yancheng was overjoyed.

It is an opportunity that one could not ask for more than a chance to be personally guided by an inner disciple who has cultivated superior true qi.

Cao Yancheng didn't stand on ceremony and immediately bowed, saying, "I am deeply grateful for your kindness, Senior Brother. I will definitely trouble you more often in the future and learn from you."

After saying that, he began to describe the detailed layout of the courtyard.

"My room is the second one on the west side. If you have some free time, senior brother, you are welcome to come and have tea and discuss philosophy with me."

He pointed to a row of rooms on the west side and said.

Then, he led Shen Yu to the spiritual field in the courtyard. "Senior brother, please look. This small spiritual field in the courtyard has decent soil quality and can be used to grow some spiritual herbs and immortal fungi. It is quite practical whether it is used to assist cultivation or for alchemy in the future."

"Currently, my fellow disciples and I are not very skilled in this art, so we just planted some easy-to-grow plants. Senior brother, please feel free to use them if needed."

Then, he pushed open the door to the alchemy room. The interior was simply furnished, with a dark black iron furnace in the center. "This is the alchemy room. This black iron furnace is standard equipment for the sect, and the earth fire igniter is already connected."

"If you wish to try refining some basic fasting pills or rejuvenating pills, you are welcome to practice here."

"However, if you want to refine pills like the Qi-Nourishing Pill, which require higher standards for heat control and furnace quality, this furnace may not be sufficient, and there is even a risk of the furnace exploding."

"At that time, Senior Brother can rent the sect's alchemy room. The alchemy furnace there is of a higher grade, and the success rate of alchemy is also greater."

"This is the woodshed, where we store miscellaneous items."

"This is the kitchen. Although we cultivators can abstain from grains, we still need it occasionally to satisfy our appetites or to process some special spiritual foods."

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