Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

Yunling said, "In that case, once I become a Qing Sui disciple, I'll be able to go to that market to buy some spirit plant seeds."

“Speaking of which, I’ve seen a medicinal herb field where all the spiritual herbs are grown.” Zhuang Xing lowered his voice. “I’m wondering if I can find out anything about that place. If you have the chance to go in, your cultivation will be much smoother.”

Compared to sword practice, cultivating the White Lotus Hermit's life-giving techniques is an extremely expensive endeavor. Seeds of various spiritual plants are a necessity, and without these materials, progress in many areas is difficult.

So far, the only spiritual fruit they have actually come into contact with is the snake fruit. Although Yunling has carefully preserved the thirteen seeds, since they are only snake fruit seeds, they cannot proceed with their cultivation.

Zhuang Xing naturally wanted to help Yunling's Vitality Technique advance further. He had already tasted the benefits of the snake fruit. The Vitality Technique might be a bit expensive at first, but it becomes more and more powerful as you progress. Just the ability to cultivate spiritual fruits and plants and accelerate their growth cycle is already of immeasurable value.

Besides, given his relationship with Yunling, he should pay more attention to this aspect.

"Yes, I'll be more careful too," Yunling nodded.

After finishing their meal, they put away their bowls and chopsticks.

Zhuang Xing saw several familiar faces; the children who used to ride in the carriage with them were now doing odd jobs and collecting dishes in the dining hall.

On his way to school that day, Zhuang Xing saw a familiar face.

It was Bai Yu. Bai Yu and several other children had also come to the school to audit the classes.

It seems they've been working very hard lately, earning themselves this opportunity.

The Taoist priest also took great care of these hardworking children. After the course reached the practice stage, he would go there and explain it to them again from the beginning.

After all, these children who are able to come to school are very ambitious. If they learn to read and do arithmetic, they may be able to make a better life for themselves when they go down the mountain in the future.

Although Zhuang Xing did not want to disturb the Taoist priest at this time, they had to go to the sword-dancing area to practice swordsmanship as soon as get out of class was over.

He and Yunling went to the Taoist priest at Qiluzhai and explained their purpose.

The Taoist priest thought for a moment and said, "I am not a pedantic person, but I cannot exempt you from morning lessons based solely on your word."

"Alright, there is actually a set of exam questions in the Seven Records Hall. Originally, they were supposed to be given to you when the classes ended after the New Year. Since you two feel that you are not good enough to attend classes anymore, I will give you the exam questions. There is still half an incense stick's time before the end of the class. If you can finish the exam questions within this time and I am satisfied with them, I will allow you to not come to the morning class anymore. Is that alright?"

"We are willing," Zhuang Xing and Yunling replied in unison.

"Alright, come with me."

The Taoist priest nodded and led them to retrieve the answer sheets, writing brushes, and inkstones.

Chapter 68 Earth Dragon and Red Rice

"These are the test questions." The Taoist priest handed the two bundled bamboo slips to Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling, and glanced at the sandalwood incense in the incense burner, which was only half burning. "There's not much time left, so hurry up and answer them."

"Okay." Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling agreed and returned to their seats to answer the questions.

Zhuang Xing untied the straw rope from the bamboo slips, glanced at the questions, and found they were all very basic questions. If you knew common characters and could do addition and subtraction within 100, you could handle them.

In his previous life, this would have been the difficulty of a first or second grade elementary school final exam, with only twelve questions in total, six in arithmetic and six in writing. It was naturally no problem for Zhuang Xing.

He picked up the brush and, without much thought, wrote the answer on the scroll.

Yunling answered quickly as well, after all, Zhuang Xing had given her special training.

They handed in their papers when the sandalwood incense had burned down to about a quarter of its original value.

The Taoist priest sat down and examined it carefully.

He then verbally asked the two some arithmetic questions related to buying and selling, and nodded after they answered them quickly.

"I initially thought you guys bought the answers from some senior students, but it seems I was overthinking it."

"Buy the answers? Is that even possible?"

"The questions for the morning class's final exam have never changed, so before the class ends, some clever disciples will try to sell the answers to the new students. I know about all of this. However, if they can memorize the answers, their skills are already pretty good. I won't make them repeat the morning class; I'll just have them copy the Taoist scriptures one hundred times."

"So that's how it is."

Zhuang Xing thought to himself, no wonder the Taoist priest wanted to test their mental arithmetic skills. If they couldn't answer, they would probably be treated as cheating and punished by copying books.

Those senior brothers and sisters selling answers are really ripping people off. What money could they possibly make from Bai Sui disciples? They're probably just trying to expose the newcomers to the traditional culture of Xuanqing Temple because they were scammed themselves in the past.

This can also be seen as a lesson for the new disciples, letting them understand that cheating is unacceptable and that being down-to-earth is the right path.

“This morning class is a bit unnecessary for the two of you. You don’t need to come starting tomorrow. You can arrange your own time, but it’s best not to stay in your room and sleep in.” The Taoist priest put away the answer sheets.

"The disciple understands."

"Also, this is the closing ceremony for the morning classes."

The Taoist priest took out two sets of writing implements from the cabinet, both of them new. There were many sets in the cabinet.

Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling thanked the Taoist priest and received writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, thus exempting them from the morning lessons.

From that day on, the two stopped going to Qiluzhai. They had more time alone. After breakfast, they would stay together as before, or wander around the Taoist temple, practicing their swordsmanship or something.

When they were indoors, Zhuang Xing would tutor Da Chun in his studies whenever he had free time.

Da Chun took care of all the housework, fetching water and sweeping the floor. He would remember to bring in the laundry when it rained, and he would even help bring in the neighbors' clothes. Thanks to his honest and kind nature, Zhuang Xing became more familiar with the neighbors.

Zhuang Xing made new rackets and shuttlecocks, and occasionally they would play together in the open space in front of the house. After all, they were still children and liked to play. Over time, the children who lived together got to know each other.

Even the kids who don't wear practice clothes play ball with them.

However, even while having fun, Zhuang Xing didn't forget to spend more time with Yunling.

At least the time for meals is entirely reserved for the two of them.

Sometimes, they would sit together to watch the sunset, and there was no longer any distance between them.

Time flies, and the days when we can see the sun are getting shorter and shorter, and the weather is getting cooler.

Zhuang Xing looked up at the canopy of the birch tree. The leaves on the branches had almost all fallen off, leaving it bare and somewhat unsightly.

Today is the first day of the eleventh lunar month, a day off. He stretched under the tree and suddenly saw a somewhat familiar figure.

It was Senior Brother Lingyi. He had returned. The green tassels on his waist had turned into red tassels, and Zhuang Xing realized that his senior brother had advanced in rank.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother, on becoming a disciple of Chi Sui." Zhuang Xing cupped his hands in congratulations.

The senior brother nodded: "Now that I'm back, you can come to the sword-dancing area to practice swordsmanship with me tomorrow afternoon."

"Understood, but senior brother, what kind of demon did you go down the mountain to exorcise this time?"

Zhuang Xing was very curious about what was happening down the mountain. He enjoyed reading the layman's little diary about exorcising demons, and now that there was a new story, he naturally wanted to find out more.

"We eliminated a demon-like earth dragon," the senior brother said calmly.

According to the previous life's explanation, the earth dragon is actually a crocodile. Zhuang Xing listened to his senior brother explain the dangers of this trip. This time, it was a commission issued by the government. It was said that an earth dragon the size of a small boat appeared at the mouth of the canal in the south. That place was a major trade route. When the earth dragon came, it sank two transport ships, which angered the local officials.

The government originally planned to use fishing nets and iron chains to bind and pull up the river monster. If the river monster was weak, it would not be able to break free once bound and pulled by dozens of people. At this time, the disciples of Xuanqing Temple could attack its abdomen and kill it. However, the plan was very good. The earth dragon's scales were as hard as iron, and it could control its scales to stand up and turn into sharp blades.

Although it was initially bound, the earth dragon raised its scales and rolled in the water, pulling several people into the water.

The fishing nets were torn to shreds by it, and the earth dragon was about to open its blood-red maw to swallow the people who had fallen into the water. At this moment, Senior Brother Lingyi and his fellow disciples could not care about anything else. They simply asked the government officials to tighten the iron chains and stepped on them as if walking on a tightrope to fight the earth dragon.

Although my senior brother made it sound so easy, saying that after a fierce battle, he successfully eliminated the earth dragon, just thinking about it makes one realize how dangerous it would be to fight a huge monster that was proficient in water while standing on swaying iron chains.

Zhuang Xing was both excited and thrilled to hear this. His senior brother said that after the incident, the government gave him more money as a reward, and the earth dragon was handed over to Xuanqing Temple to deal with.

"Senior brother, you became a disciple of the Red Harvest Sect because you eliminated that earth dragon!" Zhuang Xing asked, his eyes shining.

"To become a Red Spear disciple, you need the recommendation of at least two Red Spear disciples and one elder. This trip should have been led by two Red Spear leaders, but because the elders trusted me, they let me take on the role of another Red Spear." Senior Brother Lingyi patted Zhuang Xing's head. "So it's not because I killed that earth dragon that I became a Red Spear, but because I can stand on my own."

“To be able to stand on one’s own…” Zhuang Xing chewed on the word.

He admired his senior brother very much, and he felt that he probably wouldn't have dared to make such a decision if he were in the same situation.

He originally thought that with his talent, he would become a member of the Red Serpent soon, but now he felt that even if his cultivation level improved, he was still far from being able to "stand on his own".

Chapter 69 Street Vendors

Senior Brother Lingyi came back, told Zhuang Xing, and then left. Today was a rest day, so there was no need to go to class, but Da Chun still went out early to eat and practice.

Someone from next door came to ask Zhuang Xing to play badminton, but Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling had arranged to meet at the sword-dancing area today, so he gave his racket and shuttlecock to his neighbors and let them play by themselves first.

When Zhuang Xing arrived at the sword-dancing platform, he saw the slender figure waiting for him in the distance. He walked over, and the two of them walked in unison towards a less crowded area.

It wasn't that they wanted to go somewhere secluded to do anything indecent. Even if they had that thought, Zhuang Xing didn't have the ability. They wanted to discuss when to make an appearance at Master Qingxuzi's place.

Zhuang Xing kept the pearl the old Taoist had promised him in mind. Speaking of which, he wondered how the giant clam demon was doing. He wondered if it had died from not being able to adapt to the new environment.

He'd never eaten clam meat before. Would the clam demon's meat taste very fresh and tender, similar to beef? Or would it be like oyster jelly that you could suck out and eat?

As he thought about it, Zhuang Xing's mouth started to water.

"Zhuang Xing, when do you think would be a good time for us to go see Master Qingxuzi?"

Yunling's question brought him back from his reverie.

Zhuang Xing snapped out of his daze, coughed, and cleared his throat.

“I recently asked around, and none of the disciples of Bai Sui who entered the temple with us have reacted yet. Senior Brother Lingyi said that the fastest disciple in their class took two and a half years to cultivate true qi.”

“I think we should hold off for a bit. We’ve only been at the temple for a little over a month. Going too early might scare Master Qingxuzi,” Zhuang Xing said. “How about we wait until it snows on the mountain before we go to see the Master? What do you think?”

"I'll listen to you," Yunling said softly.

"Let's wait until it snows to talk about it then," Zhuang Xing nodded.

The two of them wandered around for a while. Back in the village, they used to catch their own fish to eat. Now that they were at Xuanqing Temple, they had plenty of food, but they had lost much of the fun of playing around.

It's a rare day off, and Zhuang Xing doesn't want to spend his time practicing martial arts and swordsmanship in a boring way. This requires a balance between work and rest. If you practice until you feel uncomfortable and then keep it to yourself, it will only backfire in the end.

He's not Da Chun. Da Chun can do only one thing all day, but if you make him do only one thing all day, he'll definitely get bored.

Today, he simply took a walk with Yunling. Yunling said that she recently found a place with pretty good soil, and maybe she could plant apples there next spring.

Zhuang Xing then asked her to take him to see it. When they got to the canteen, Zhuang Xing was surprised to see a group of children setting up a stall there.

"Roasted chestnuts, three coins a serving."

A sheet of Xuan paper with writing on it was placed on a vertical washboard. The writing looked surprisingly neat and had a touch of calligraphic charm.

There was an older boy shouting loudly.

"Chestnuts for sale! Roasted chestnuts, only three coins a serving!"

The children were dressed in coarse cloth clothes; there were both boys and girls among them. Zhuang Xing recognized some of the faces, including two boys with whom he had played badminton.

Their business was doing fairly well. Late autumn was the season for eating chestnuts, and Zhuang Xing smelled the faint sweet aroma in the air. He was tempted to buy some roasted chestnuts to eat.

To Zhuang Xing's surprise, the children worked together very clearly, as if they had trained in private. They didn't know where they found the big pot and the charcoal stove. Two of them were stirring the food with spatulas, one boy was adding charcoal to the stove, and the other boy was fanning the fire with a bamboo fan.