Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

Yunling looked at him, seemingly understanding but not quite, but since Zhuang Xing had said so, she felt that wheat must be some kind of very valuable plant.

Even if the wheat is worthless, she will plant it if Zhuang Xing says so.

So the two of them carefully harvested the wheat ears and wrapped them in Yunling's handkerchief.

Based on Zhuang Xing's experience, he judged that these wheat plants were probably not wild. He took a wheat ear, peeled off the husk, and looked at it. The wheat ears had a fairly high yield, and the grains were quite plump. It was probably because a Taoist priest in the temple had tried to grow them before, but found that processing the husks was troublesome and the cooked wheat was hard to eat, so he simply gave up.

These wheat seeds must have been left over from many years ago.

There are very few seeds, but the meaning of farming is to turn a few seeds into many.

Moreover, Yunling can use life-giving magic to make them grow even faster. Zhuang Xing thinks that in just one or two years, he will be able to get a lot of flour.

However... they can only farm in their spare time. As Bai Sui's disciples, they are very busy with their studies. After the kowtow ceremony, they will officially begin learning professional knowledge and will probably have to do practical training. They may not have much time to take care of the wheat seedlings.

Let's wait and see. There's always a way out. If we don't have time up in the mountains, we can bring the wheat back to the village when we visit relatives in the future and teach my parents how to grind it into flour.

He carefully stored the wheat seeds with great anticipation. To avoid any accidents, he and Yunling each wrapped half of the seeds and carried them with them.

Afterwards, they had lunch in the canteen. By noon, Bai Yu and his friends had already packed up their stall. It seemed that business was quite good, and they had probably sold out of roasted chestnuts.

After dinner, the two continued to exchange their recent insights on sword practice. Zhuang Xing explained the uses of wheat to Yunling. At dusk, the two had dinner together, and Zhuang Xing escorted Yunling to the front of the house before walking back home by himself.

When he returned to the house, Da Chun was playing ball with his neighbors.

The short time before dark was perfect for playing. Zhuang Xing went back inside to lock the wheat seeds in a wooden box and then went outside to play ball with everyone.

Today is a rest day, so there are quite a few people playing ball together. They line up in order, and whoever has three balls knocked down has to switch.

After playing for a while, Zhuang Xing carried a small stool and sat down under the eaves.

The setting sun cast a slanted shadow on the large birch tree. A daring boy tried to climb up the tree, with people cheering him on from below. Unfortunately, he slipped halfway up and fell flat on his backside in the mud.

A burst of laughter erupted around them. Suddenly, a child squeezed into the crowd and, like a monkey, nimbly climbed up the tree trunk, stood on a branch, and made faces at the child who had fallen below.

Seeing this, Zhuang Xing couldn't help but smile, finding it quite amusing.

He felt the evening breeze, stood up, tiptoed, and stretched his body. Just then, he saw the two boys who had sold chestnuts during the day walking over and greeting him.

To be honest, Zhuang Xing still doesn't know their names. They only play ball together occasionally. When there are other people playing, they get together; when there aren't, they are just nodding acquaintances.

However, because Zhuang Xing manufactured the racket, most children recognized him.

To Zhuang Xing's surprise, even Bai Yu came with them.

Chapter 72 First Snow (Please continue reading)

As soon as Bai Yu arrived, some of the children who were playing ball left the open space and went to her side.

Zhuang Xing stood on tiptoe to look and saw Bai Yu take out a bag of copper coins from her bosom and count them one by one before distributing them to the children.

She held a bamboo slip with names engraved on it, followed by numbers.

"All the chestnuts we picked up today have been sold. This is the money for you," Bai Yu said.

Zhuang Xing immediately understood that those numbers probably recorded how many chestnuts each person had picked. Bai Yu kept excellent records, distributing money according to the number of chestnuts picked, ensuring fairness and impartiality, and no one had any disputes over the amount of money to be distributed.

"There are still fifteen days until the next break." After distributing the money, Bai Yu put away the money bag and bamboo strips. "If we pick more chestnuts, we can sell them for more money, and then we will distribute the money to you like we did today."

Her words spurred everyone around her to work harder.

Actually, Bai Yu should have taken the lion's share of the profits from selling chestnuts. She should have gotten that money; if she hadn't organized the people, no one would have made any money.

After dividing the money, Bai Yu nodded and turned to leave.

Zhuang Xing felt that this young girl was truly extraordinary, with sharp and insightful thoughts.

However, after that day, he and Bai Yu had no further contact.

Although Bai Yu and the other children could occasionally be seen somewhere in the Taoist temple, Zhuang Xing was busy with his studies, and with Senior Brother Ling Yi returning, he would ask him to practice swordsmanship even more frequently, leaving him with much less free time.

However, he still took the time to make two new rackets and gave them away.

Sometimes you can see Bai Yu and other children playing ball in the open space. This simple and easy-to-understand recreational activity has gradually become popular among children.

Zhuang Xing practiced swordsmanship on the mountain day after day, as the weather grew colder and the sunrise came later and later.

One morning, when he got up and opened the window, he suddenly realized that the outside world had turned completely white.

Fine, goose-feather-like snowflakes drifted down from the gray sky. He stepped out of the house and looked up to see clusters of snowflakes hanging from the branches of the large birch tree.

Suddenly, like a spring breeze overnight, thousands of pear trees burst into bloom, and he truly experienced this state of mind.

The rooftops, the bluestone bricks, and the mountains and forests outside were all covered in a layer of pure white silver.

He welcomed the first snow of the year at Xuanqing Temple.

Counting the days, it has been more than three months since he left home.

He definitely won't be able to go back for the Spring Festival this year. Not to mention that as Bai Sui's disciple, he can't leave the Taoist temple, even if he wanted to take the snowy road back, the journey would be fraught with difficulties.

I could only calm down and continue practicing swordsmanship.

However, since it's snowing, I should probably go and visit Master Qingxu.

On the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, a day of rest, Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling went to see Master Qingxuzi.

The Taoist priest usually teaches classes at the school, mainly teaching talismans and magic. Even the disciples of the Red Harvest Sect attend his classes.

Although Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling are very talented, they still need to lay a solid foundation if they want to learn these advanced things. They spend most of their time practicing swordsmanship and body training, so they don't see the Taoist priest often.

However, the Taoist priest would visit the two of them every month and bring them a piece of candy along the way.

That day, Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling arrived at Qi Lu Zhai and went up to the second floor on the ash wood floorboards.

The Taoist priest said that if anyone needed to find him, they could come to the second floor of Qiluzhai. He spent most of his time there when he wasn't teaching.

Upstairs was quiet. Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling tiptoed and pushed open a door with a creak.

The old Taoist priest, holding a wolf-hair cinnabar brush, lifted his sleeve and applied cinnabar to the cut-out yellow paper.

He was drawing a talisman, and he was extremely focused on it.

Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling knew they shouldn't disturb him at this time, so they simply stood aside and waited quietly.

Zhuang Xing focused his Qi into his eyes and carefully observed the old Taoist's brushstrokes. The vermilion brush seemed to be no ordinary object. Zhuang Xing saw the old Taoist's true Qi being transmitted through the vermilion brush, leaving traces on the yellow paper.

The old Taoist priest finished drawing a talisman, put away his brush, and looked over with a smile.

Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling no longer concealed their auras; their true qi radiated outwards.

"Good, good, good."

The old Taoist priest said "good" three times in a row, having already sensed the aura emanating from the two individuals.

"Come here, child," the old Taoist priest beckoned.

"Daoist Master, we have already cultivated true Qi," Zhuang Xing said.

“You’ve come at just the right time,” the old Taoist priest smiled. “Come with me, and I’ll take you to retrieve the pearl.”

"Has the pearl not been extracted yet?" Zhuang Xing asked.

"The pearl is a companion of the clam demon. The pearl is to the clam demon as dates and chestnuts are to the branches. It remains in the clam demon's shell until it is needed."

The old Taoist priest led the way, took out a key, and unlocked a copper lock. Only then did Zhuang Xing see that there was another door hidden on the second floor of Qiluzhai.

Behind the door was a spiral wooden staircase. Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling followed the Taoist priest up to the third floor of the Qiluzhai, a small pavilion that was not open to the public.

As soon as Zhuang Xing arrived, he saw the giant clam demon. The creature was soaking in a large blue vat with several talismans pasted on the outside. The Taoist priest stopped and pasted the paper talisman he had just drawn onto it.

Just like three months ago, the clam demon kept its shell tightly closed, showing no sign of opening.

“This clam demon has been starving for three months,” the old Taoist said. “For the past three months, I have sealed it inside this water vat. Its breath has gradually weakened, but it has kept its shell tightly shut and refuses to open it.”

"Although I can pry open its shell with brute force, it will inevitably damage the essence of the pearl. If it gets too bad, the clam demon will fight to the death, and then I will have no choice but to get rid of it."

"However, it is nearing its limit now. If you give it some meat, it will break down on its own."

As the old Taoist priest spoke, he actually took out an egg from his sleeve, tapped it on the blue jar, and poured the egg white and yolk into the jar.

The clam demon did indeed make some movement. A crack appeared in its shell, and some bubbles spewed out. The next second, the water in the tank was stirred, and the egg whites and yolks were immediately sucked in.

The old Taoist smiled and cracked another egg.

Having tasted the sweetness, the clam demon opened its shell a little wider. At this moment, the old Taoist waved his whisk, and the whiskers extended into the water, holding the clam shell shut.

The clam demon initially resisted, but as the old Taoist knocked the last egg into the water, its shell opened again. Seizing the opportunity, the old Taoist lifted his whisk and pulled out something. Before Zhuang Xing could see clearly, in the blink of an eye, a round, shiny, crystal-clear clam pearl the size of a goose egg was in the old Taoist's hand.

The old Taoist priest opened his palm and placed the pearl in front of Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling.

Zhuang Xing thought to himself, "Such a big pearl, I wonder how much it could fetch if I exchanged it for money. Clam demons are already hard to catch, and it's even harder to extract a pearl of such good quality."

If it weren't for Daoist Qingxuzi, he would have only managed to scoop up a bunch of seaweed that day. In fact, the pearl shouldn't have been given to Zhuang Xing and Yunling, but the Daoist, appreciating their talent, gifted it to them.

Zhuang Xing kept this kindness in his heart. He should not take it for granted when others are kind to him. He should know how to repay kindness. His mother taught him this since he was a child. He is not capable of repaying the kindness now, but he will definitely repay it when he is able in the future.

Chapter 73 Taking Drugs, Feeling Great (Bonus Chapter, Please Read On)

The old Taoist priest took out a pestle and a stone bowl from the cabinet next to the large blue vat, and then placed a small, exquisite bronze cauldron on the table.

Zhuang Xing then realized that the small attic looked like a pharmacy, with a whole row of wooden cabinets behind the large blue vat.

The old Taoist priest placed the pearl into the stone bowl and pressed it down with a pestle.

"Ordinary clams produce pearls because they cannot expel foreign substances from their flesh. They can only secrete pearl liquid to encapsulate the foreign substances and thus relieve the pain." The old Taoist carefully ground the clam pearl into powder. "Although the clam demon is a demon, it has similarities with ordinary clams."

"This pearl is actually a healing pearl that it nurtures. Clam demons like to eat carrion. They release clam energy at once. If they hunt a lot of meat, they will eat it all within a day after it rots."

"Although they eat, the clam demons cannot completely digest the vital energy within them. They store the excess vital energy in the clam pearls. Sometimes, when they cannot hunt, they feed on the clam pearls. If they are injured, they can also use the clam pearls to quickly recover from their injuries."

The old Taoist priest slowly and methodically explained the secrets of the pearl. As they talked, the pearl had already been ground into fine powder.

“Look closely at the patterns on this clam demon’s shell. Every year, a ring of annual markings grows on the shell. This clam demon is over forty years old, and this pearl is the essence accumulated over forty years.”

"The reason I starved it for three months, besides to get the pearl, was to let it absorb all the filth and impurities inside the pearl. Only in this way could I obtain a pearl that could be used as medicine without any processing."

"I see, I've learned something new," Zhuang Xing replied.

The jade slip contains many things, but the most detailed descriptions are of spiritual plants and herbs. Things like pearls are only mentioned briefly by the layman.

It wasn't mentioned that the pearls had these characteristics. However, it's possible that the layman didn't know enough about clam demons back then. Times change, and Zhuang Xing thinks that it's possible that later generations studied clam demons more extensively and only today developed this method of processing pearls.

"Does the Taoist priest intend to use this pearl to refine medicine?" Zhuang Xing asked again.