Cultivation begins with harvest.

Chapter 245 The Secret of Xiantang

The essence of cordyceps is itself a nourishing true essence, which is used in delicacies for gourmets. For cultivators who raise insects and beasts, its effects of increasing their source and cleansing their ignorance can greatly enhance the spirituality of Gu insects and raise their grade. For Gu insects, the more cordyceps essence, the better, and it will not cause any harm.

Qu Xunjiang obviously did not expect Chen Guang to be able to produce a complete cordyceps aura. This thing, like the pure spirit aura, is not expensive, but it is mostly in strands and consumes a lot of energy. You can easily raise some Gu worms. You can find two or three out of ten cultivators. As long as the Gu worms are of some quality, you will naturally use the simplest enhancement method - feeding them cordyceps aura.

A complete strand of pure spiritual energy costs at least 60,000 to 70,000 spirit yuan. That's only if you deliberately create it. Even ordinary cultivators can extract one or two strands of spiritual energy. Wherever there is spiritual energy, you can use your magic power to create an extremely narrow pure spiritual space. There are few cultivators like this in the Qingheng Sect, but there are some independent cultivators in the outside world who don't have time to cultivate and extract pure spiritual energy to sell.

The essence of cordyceps is much more difficult to obtain. It requires the complementary relationship between the spiritual herb and the spiritual insect. "The insect dwells beside the spiritual herb, and only after a long time will smoke be produced." A spiritual insect and a spiritual herb accompany each other, never leaving each other's side. It takes several months to produce a single wisp. Most artificial refining involves the corpse of the spiritual insect and the spiritual herb intertwined. It takes about three months to extract several wisps from a single spiritual herb. If this kind of cordyceps essence is not handled carefully, there will be residual death energy, making the cordyceps essence impure. Such cordyceps essence cannot form a complete and genuine essence.

Therefore, a complete cordyceps essence is usually worth more than 90,000 yuan, and if it is bartered, the other party needs to make up the difference for the equivalent value.

The exchange rate between one spirit stone and a Suiyuan is roughly 60,000 Suiyuan. But who among ordinary rogue cultivators would exchange Suiyuan for a spirit stone? Only the Qingheng Sect offers this price to its vassal families.

However, in terms of value, spirit stones fluctuate between 60,000 and 100,000 yuan. This value is already influenced by speculation and the Qingheng Sect's control over it, so when the Cordyceps Qi was presented, Qu Xunjiang accepted it completely.

"No problem, one strand of Cordyceps Qi is more than enough. I only sell one Xiajun Butterfly for four small spirit talismans. You can ask your fellow disciples. I'm not lying." Qu Xunjiang said confidently, even separating a portion from his own colorful Qi. "Come on, junior brother, why don't you catch one yourself? I can tell you how to distinguish between male and female. Once you have a male and female, you can breed them yourself. When I sell to others, I only sell single males and single females."

Qu Xunjiang cast a spell, emitting a sharp whistle. All the Xiajun butterflies that had been hiding fluttered their wings and flew over, crawling on Qu Xunjiang's arms.

"Can I touch it?" Chen Guang asked.

"No problem, just be careful with your movements, fellow Daoist," Qu Xunjiang replied without hesitation.

Chen Guang stretched out his finger and obtained the result with a slight circulation of his magic power. If it was an unclaimed item or something that belonged to him, he would know in an instant. However, he felt his magic power begin to drain away rapidly the moment he tried to find out the information, which once again confirmed his conjecture.

For other people's belongings, or things that haven't been physically touched, it takes a lot of mana to obtain some information.

What is it that grants my every wish, yet remains elusive and unseen?

Chen Guang frowned subconsciously, verifying the information one by one using his understanding of the Xiajun Butterfly and other methods. Finally, he selected three Xiajun Butterflies, and Qu Xunjiang used magic to make the three Xiajun Butterflies unconscious before placing them into the colorful clouds: "Junior brother, would you like a copy of my experience in cultivating Xiajun Butterflies? If you still have the complete Cordyceps Qi, I can record my experience completely and give it to you."

"There isn't that much cordyceps essence. If you have the chance, I'll ask my senior brother for help again. I have urgent business to attend to right now, so I'll take my leave first."

Chen Guang actually understood that he had paid a premium for the Cordyceps Qi to buy the Xiajun Butterfly. No matter how rare the Xiajun Butterfly was, it was not something that could not be obtained. It was just that the Daoists had a great demand for it, not that it was impossible to obtain.

It's alright to give up a bit of Cordyceps energy; I can just buy some more Biguo Qu and Bingweng Stone later to expand the cultivation area of ​​the three-smoked rice. But I'm not going to be a fool. Even if it's easy to get, it doesn't mean I have to be a fool forever. No matter how much Xiajun Butterfly desires it, I have to take it one step at a time. I'll raise these three well first.

After saying goodbye to Qu Xunjiang, he checked the Xiajun Butterfly, put the insect into the Orchid Insect Pouch, and separately put the Three-Colored Xia into his storage artifact. He took out a bottle of Star Leaf Powder to replenish the mana he had consumed while flying, and headed towards the Migration Corridor.

Walking through the Migration Corridor again felt completely different, and my heart was even more excited. Only now did I fully accept the fact that I had become an inner disciple of Tianhengyuan. With a cheerful mood, I entered the Migration Corridor and arrived at the Xin-character building on Loufei Street. I leisurely flew towards Xiantang.

When Chen Guang explained his purpose, the disciples of Xiantang specially led him to find Master Zhou, because Chen Guang was the last disciple with extraordinary talent that Master Zhou had discovered, and they had been waiting for him.

"What does the last one mean?" Chen Guang asked, somewhat uneasy.

"Haha, don't overthink it. Old Zhou turned 100 two years ago. Although turning 100 isn't considered particularly long-lived among Qi Refining cultivators, it still means that Old Zhou only has a few years or a decade left. Once a Qi Refining cultivator is over 100, even if they still retain their resilience, the marks of time can no longer be concealed. Maintaining focus for a short time is still possible, but maintaining the intensity of routine affairs for a long time is no longer feasible. So, apart from organizing the affairs he has handled in the Hall of Virtue throughout his life, he has begun to withdraw his energy from outside the Hall of Virtue."

"Our Xiantang is special because we voluntarily dedicate everything to the sect. Therefore, many highly confidential matters must pass through our hands, and we are involved in many reviews and ceremonies. Moreover, this started very early. I was already working in Xiantang before I even began my cultivation. Four generations of my family have been in Xiantang. Every disciple of Xiantang will die by divination and become a spirit or deity of this sect. It is this experience and recognition that allowed me to enter Xiantang before I even began my cultivation."

The disciples of Xiantang who led Chen Guang spoke of it casually, but Chen Guang's heart skipped a beat. To dedicate oneself to divination and become a spirit or deity meant sacrificing everything: one's physical body, spiritual energy, and soul. That is why the spirits and deities of divination could continue to protect the sect with their consciousness.

According to legend, only those who are properly buried after death are likely to be reincarnated. The truth of this is hard to discern, but Chen Guang believed it to some extent, since he himself had been reincarnated once, albeit in a rather unusual way.

But becoming a divination spirit means squeezing everything dry after death.

For cultivators, some things can hold an exceptionally deep attachment, and Chen Guang could only admire their ability to reach this level.

Chen Guang believed that no disciple of Xiantang would have told him these things before. This time, after he moved into Tianheng Plain, he gained unexpected trust, and the disciple of Xiantang became more talkative, starting to tell him things that might be secrets, but were no longer secrets. The disciple of Xiantang left after escorting Chen Guang to a simple mud-walled thatched hut.

Chen Guang looked around the small house. There was a small, rammed earth courtyard with weeds growing along the walls. As soon as he stood there, the half-closed door opened by itself. Old Zhou was sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, looking very energetic. Apart from his white hair and beard and deep wrinkles on his face, he did not look old. He was beckoning Chen Guang over.

"Mr. Zhou," Chen Guang bowed, then asked, "Is such simplicity necessary?"

"I just miss my father. He passed away early. When he was still alive, I felt that this way I could be closer to nature and keep myself busy, instead of always thinking about going home. I do prefer a more comfortable place, and the church also encourages us to enjoy ourselves. Before, this place was a small building, but in recent years, I've had this urge to imitate it. The way it is now is similar to what I remember."

"It doesn't seem like it, but I do feel that this way is closer to nature, so I've kept it this way. If you're uncomfortable, I'll keep it short and get to it as soon as possible." Old Zhou poured Chen Guang a cup of tea. "【Yu Xin Tea】can calm the mind and also relax the mind. Once you've sensed the heavens and earth, I'll give you two seeds, which will help you sense the Dao."

"Elder Zhou, I can already vaguely sense the world." Chen Guang shook his head, somewhat influenced by the way old friends chatted, and said softly, "How could a cultivator's search for his memories be vague? He wanted to see things and think of people, but felt that they were similar yet not quite. It was because his Dao heart was fond of the world and his feelings were still immature."

Mr. Zhou is truly getting old.