Hermit in the Mountains

The next morning, as dawn broke, Gu Changsheng finished his training, filled his stomach, fed his three pets spiritual liquid, and then carried a small bamboo basket to the small warehouse to check on the cultivation of the ten ginseng plants.

Inside the warehouse, Gu Changsheng placed his fingers on the soil in a wooden cup and first sensed the three samples that had not been interfered with by any external force. Since the vitality inside the seeds had not declined, he ignored them.

His gaze fell on the seven ginseng seedlings on the right wall, their green shoots full of vitality, showing no signs of adverse reactions to the environment.

Sitting on the wooden stump, he sensed that there were no major problems with the vitality of the seven seedlings in turn. Following the previous day's spiritual energy ratio and formula, he began to inject the Water and Wood Spirit Liquid and the Power of Glory.

With his left hand, he took out a jade bottle containing spiritual liquid from the bamboo basket, and with his right hand, he used a sword-finger gesture to separate the spiritual liquid in the bottle and inject it into the ginseng seedling to help it absorb spiritual energy and grow.

After observing for half an hour, the ginseng seedlings showed no abnormalities; in fact, they doubled in size.

The ginseng seed cultivated with the spiritual liquid absorbed two drops of the liquid, causing its roots to double in size, and cracks to appear on the seed coat, through which a faint bluish light could be seen.

It was expected that after absorbing just one more drop of the Water Spirit Liquid, the plant would sprout from its shell. Gu Changsheng did not feed it more Water Spirit Liquid, taking his first time cultivating the herb slowly and proceeding according to plan.

After the ginseng seedlings cultivated with the Wood Spirit Liquid absorbed the second drop of the liquid, they sprouted a one-centimeter-long green shoot.

The ginseng cultivated with "Rong Zhi Li" grows faster, and after absorbing the second strand of "Rong Zhi Li", the green shoots have grown to two centimeters.

The ginseng seeds cultivated with "Wood Spirit Liquid" and "Water Spirit Liquid" are twice as good as those cultivated with "Glory Power" alone, and the green shoots have grown to four centimeters.

The ginseng seedlings, nurtured with the Power of Glory and the Elixir of Water, grew to six centimeters after absorbing the second strand of Power of Glory and the second drop of Elixir of Water.

The ginseng seedlings, nurtured with the Power of Glory and the Wood Spirit Liquid, grew to eight centimeters after absorbing the second strand of Power of Glory and the second drop of Wood Spirit Liquid.

The best cultivation formula that Gu Changsheng has mastered so far has not disappointed him. After absorbing the growth liquid made by mixing the three kinds of spiritual energy in proportion for the second time, the ginseng seedling is still ten centimeters tall, but it has grown a layer of gray bark, and the roots in the soil have thickened and become the main roots.

Gu Changsheng stretched out his right hand and gently pressed down on the seedling. After he released his hand, it would bounce back on its own, its resilience increasing several times over.

Other ginseng seedlings are still very brittle; they will break if the bend exceeds 90 degrees.

With no major problems in cultivating the ten ginseng seedlings, Gu Changsheng got up to tidy up the things he had bought yesterday on the wooden shelf.

There are various medicinal seeds such as yam, lavender, purslane, poria cocos, codonopsis, and ganoderma, as well as various edible vegetable, fruit, and staple food seeds.

The complete set of traditional tools for making pills includes a medicine grinding boat, a purple clay medicine pot, bowl, kettle, jar, stove, small medicine bottles, medicine cutting knife, stone mortar and pestle, steel scale, medicine drying folding rack, filter screen, etc.

He sorted and arranged the items neatly, then left the warehouse, closed and locked the door behind him. He returned to the wooden house and checked the sixty saplings placed under the eaves, which were in much better condition than yesterday.

Yesterday, these saplings looked listless after being brought back from Chang'an City, with their leaves wilted. After a night's rest, they have regained their vitality.

These saplings are to be planted outdoors. He hasn't used the spiritual liquid to water them yet. He'll plant them first and then nurture them slowly, making sure their growth isn't too rapid.

After washing the mud off his feet and hands by the wooden stump at the door, Gu Changsheng returned to the living room, sat cross-legged by the stove, poured himself a cup of hot water, and placed it on the small wooden table.

The kettle on the stove spouted white steam, and wisps of steam rose from the water cup on the wooden table. Gu Changsheng took out a Taoist book, "The Secret of the Golden Flower of Taiyi," from the wooden cabinet behind him and began to study it.

Just as he was quietly studying the scriptures, Big Yellow, who had been wandering off somewhere, quietly returned to the cabin.

In Gu Changsheng's eyes, Dahuang was like a sensible, model student. It stepped into the basin of water by the door and rubbed its paws up and down. Only after washing its paws did it trot into the living room to fawn over Gu Changsheng.

Seeing its owner reading, it didn't bark but quietly lay down at its owner's feet.

Just as Da Huang lay down, Gu Changsheng reached out his left hand and patted Da Huang's head. He sensed Da Huang's return when it was within forty meters of the wooden house.

The Rooting Technique and the perception left by the Yin Spirit are like Gu Changsheng's instincts; he can keep his mind active all day without feeling tired.

Although the rooting technique can only sense plants, it can determine whether it is wind or an animal by the movement made when the plant is touched.

Although mental perception cannot see or hear like divine sense, it can determine the trajectory of movement through energy fields.

All living things in the universe possess a life energy field, and spiritual energy is also a pure form of energy.

Gu Changsheng can determine the attributes of spiritual energy based on the energy field emitted by the spiritual energy.

Water elemental energy is gentle, fire elemental energy is scorching, metal elemental energy is sharp, wood elemental energy is soothing, earth elemental energy is substantial, wind elemental energy is ethereal, and elemental energy of no attribute is neutral and cool...

Each type of spiritual energy has its own unique characteristics, and each living being's energy field also has its own special differences.

Gu Changsheng was most familiar with his three pets, Big Yellow, Green Ox, and Big Red. As long as they appeared within his perception range, he could instantly identify them.

The energy field on Dahuang's body is an aggregate of life and wind attributes;

The energy field on the green ox is an aggregate of life and earth attributes;

The energy field on Da Hong's body is an aggregate of life and fire attributes;

In addition, the energy fields of the three pets also have their own aura or 'causal lines', which constitute their unique identity markers.

As long as Gu Changsheng concentrates on perceiving that indescribable 'causal line,' he can at least clearly sense that the line does exist, if not see it clearly.

Gu Changsheng could not clearly perceive the 'causal lines' that existed between other people or animals and plants; he could only judge them based on a fleeting 'feeling'.

Just because you can't see something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Many people don't know things themselves, and when others tell them, they say they won't believe it, unless they have personally experienced mysterious events before they believe that gods and ghosts really exist.

Gu Changsheng used to enjoy reading novels, but deep down he didn't really believe in things like gods, ghosts, or karma, until a mysterious event happened to him.

Suddenly, Gu Changsheng sensed two familiar energy field points entering his perception range, pulling his scattered thoughts back.

He closed the "Taiyi Jinhua Secret" in his hand, placed it on the wooden table, bent back to take the hat from the wooden cabinet, and put it on to cover his long hair.

He straightened up, took two water cups from the wooden tray and placed them on the wooden table in front of him, picked up the kettle on the stove and poured two cups of boiling water, and quietly waited for the guests to arrive.

A moment later, the big yellow dog, which was lying on the ground, twitched its ears and got up to go out and check, but Gu Changsheng pressed it back into place with his left hand.

Dahuang, puzzled, made two "woof woof..." sounds.

Gu Changsheng gently patted the big yellow dog's head and softly comforted it, "It's a friend."