Hermit in the Mountains

When Zhang Yufu first saw the ferocious-looking Da Huang, he was so frightened that he covered his mouth with both hands, afraid that he would make a sound and attract the attention of the beast in front of him.

Unconsciously, Yang Xiaoyu reached out and grabbed her father's arm, her voice trembling as she asked, "Dad, is this really our little dog that was brought up the mountain a year ago?"

She had heard from her father that the little yellow dog on the mountain had grown up and changed quite a bit, but she thought it was just an adult yellow dog.

She glanced out of the corner of her eye at the ferocious beast in front of her, which was only a head shorter than her. You say Little Yellow has grown up a little? Is this just a little? It's clearly grown up a billion times!

Yang Xiaoshan came to his senses and quickly accepted that Da Huang had doubled in size again. The last time he saw Da Huang, it was nearly a meter tall, and now it looked to be about 1.5 meters tall.

There was no fear in his eyes, only admiration for Dahuang's increased majesty. He raised his right hand and waved, "Dahuang, Dahuang, I'm here again."

The big yellow dog opposite him looked at Yang Xiaoshan's familiar face and smelled familiar, and barked, "Woof..."

"Woof, woof..." (Go inside!)

After confirming the appearance and aura of the newcomers, Dahuang barked twice at Yang Dashan and tossed its huge head toward the bamboo path, signaling them to go inside.

"Thank you, Big Yellow." After expressing his gratitude, Yang Dashan turned back to the three of them and said, "Stay close to me, and don't lose your composure when you see the Peak Master later."

After saying that, he glared at his son, "Xiaoshan, if you talk nonsense again, I'll beat you when we get home."

Yang Xiaoshan shrank his neck, subconsciously put his right hand on his buttocks, and quietly hid behind his sister.

Seeing her younger brother's little tricks, Yang Xiaoyu's tense emotions relaxed, and she covered her mouth with her right hand and chuckled softly.

Her younger brother was mischievous and couldn't concentrate on his studies, consistently ranking at the bottom of his class. He was often disciplined by their father, Qi Pi Lang.

The little incident relieved Yang Xiaoyu and Zhang Yufu, who were initially tense, considerably.

The five people walked on the stone path, passing through a dense bamboo forest.

As the group emerged from the bamboo grove, Yang Xiaoyu and Zhang Yufu were astonished to see the long grape trellis in front of them, the lush vegetable garden on their left, and a large expanse of purple lavender on their right.

"Wow—this is so beautiful! It's like a fairyland from a legend. The air is sweet and fragrant."

Upon hearing the cough, the two women realized their lapse in decorum and quickly shut their mouths.

The five people walked through a hundred-meter-long grape trellis and came into view a wooden house with mulberry and osmanthus trees planted on the left and right sides.

Out of the corner of her eye, Yang Xiaoyu suddenly caught sight of a colorful figure standing on a branch of a tall mulberry tree to the right of the wooden house. She suddenly raised her right hand and pointed at the mulberry tree, unable to speak clearly.

"Then, then, then..."

Zhang Yufu and Yang Xiaoshan followed Yang Xiaoyu's finger and saw a colorful figure. In an instant, their pupils widened.

Yang Dashan grunted in agreement. "Follow me. Don't look around or point randomly."

The three of them realized what was happening and looked away, but they couldn't help glancing at the mulberry tree out of the corner of their eyes.

Yang Dashan and Zhang Yuanfu exchanged a glance, then clasped their hands in a gesture of apology to the large red mulberry tree.

"Coo coo coo..."

The two men turned away when they heard the bright red mulberry tree respond, and led the three children toward the wooden house.

At the entrance of the wooden house, Yang Dashan and Zhang Yuanfu clasped their hands in greeting, "Greetings, Peak Master..."

Yang Xiaoshan followed his father's example and respectfully clasped his hands in a bow. He had been reprimanded before coming, told not to make unfounded claims of kinship. "Greetings, Peak Master."

When Yang Xiaoyu and Zhang Yufu saw Gu Changsheng's face in the room, they were stunned, their eyes sparkling.

With his stunningly beautiful face, extraordinary temperament, and long black and white hair, the two women seemed to see their Prince Charming, and their faces lit up with infatuation.

The two women noticed that their arms had been touched, which brought them back from their reverie, and they imitated the gesture of cupping their fists in a bow.

"Greetings, Peak Master..."

Inside the living room, Gu Changsheng remained calm, his pupils turning grayish-brown and emerald green as he glanced at the three people at the door.

Yang Xiaoshan's spiritual root has awakened, becoming wind-attribute, with a passive spiritual energy conversion rate of 20%.

This was the first time Gu Changsheng had met Yang Xiaoyu and Zhang Yufu. One was nineteen and a sophomore in college, and the other was twenty-one and had just graduated. Both of them looked like they hadn't been ravaged by time, with faces full of collagen.

What surprised him most was that the spiritual roots in the two women had not been extinguished. As the concentration of spiritual energy in the world increased, the spiritual roots were slowly absorbing external spiritual energy to strengthen themselves and resist the erosion of acquired turbid energy.

Gu Changsheng also discovered a pattern: the older a person is, the more likely their spiritual roots have been extinguished, while the younger a person is, the less likely their spiritual roots have been eroded by acquired turbidity.

However, even if the spiritual root is not extinguished, it does not necessarily mean that the awakening can be completed. The recovery process is long, and one can only be satisfied with cultivation after the spiritual root is truly awakened.

The deeper the spiritual root is eroded, the longer the recovery time will be, unless external forces intervene to accelerate the recovery of the spiritual root, such as nourishment from pure spiritual liquid, spiritual pills, rare and precious materials.

After Gu Changsheng awakened the Withering and Flourishing Eye Divine Power, he could determine the attribute of a spiritual root without waiting for it to awaken.

With the power of the Dharma Eye, one can see through cause and effect, fortune, merit, and lifespan at a glance; distinguishing mere spiritual root attributes is child's play.

Zhang Yufu, who is slender and has an oval face, possesses a water-elemental root, but his spiritual energy conversion rate is less than 10%.

With her petite figure and chubby cheeks, Yang Xiaoyu possesses a wood-elemental root, and her spiritual energy conversion rate has just reached 10%.

In Xiahe Village, which has about two hundred people, apart from Yang Xiaoshan, Yang Qingshan, and Yang Xiaoyu, who are the only three with spiritual roots, the probability of someone developing a spiritual root is quite high, around ten to one.

With a population of 1.5 billion, and considering that only one in a hundred can be selected, it is estimated that there are 15 million people in the country who possess spiritual roots.

If we calculate that one in a thousand people are satisfied with cultivation, there are approximately 1.5 million people.

Gu Changsheng did a rough calculation in his mind. He didn't know the exact number; he just wanted to have a general idea.

None of the five people standing at the door spoke; they all waited for Gu Changsheng to speak.

Yang Xiaoyu and Zhang Yufu, being girls, were quite perceptive. When Gu Changsheng's gaze swept over them, their hair stood on end, as if they were being scanned by an X-ray and seen through.

If they hadn't known about Gu Changsheng's extraordinary abilities beforehand, they would have thought he was a pervert staring at them, and they almost instinctively covered their chests with their hands.

Gu Changsheng dispelled his divine eye ability and looked at Yang Dashan and Zhang Yuanfu. "The three of them have more potential than the two of you."

"Let the three of them stay in the village."

He stared at the two of them one last time, wondering if anyone would try some evil cultivation method and create a spiritual root transplant technique.

In the pursuit of immortality and eternal life, perhaps even more cruel things will happen.

"Thank you for your guidance, Master Feng!" Yang Dashan and Zhang Yuanfu smiled and quickly expressed their gratitude.

Gu Changsheng braced his right hand on the ground, turned around, took out two books from the back drawer, and straightened up.

He placed "Qingxu Gong" and "Qingxin Jing" on the right side of his desktop.

"I have revised and supplemented these two books. You five can take them back and practice on your own. If you don't understand anything, you can go to the valley entrance and ask those two for help."

Gu Changsheng had already read the two cultivation manuals, and they were only somewhat useful for reference. He modified and supplemented them according to his own experience, which improved the cultivation effect by about 100%, enough for beginners.