Chapter 59: The Seven-Veined Immortal Leaf

The news of Qin Haoxuan’s accomplishments—growing Grade-1 corn, being strong-armed by Chu Xiangzi, and then having Luo Jinhua from the Hundred Flowers Hall personally come to place an order—quickly spread. The reactions of Zhang Kuang, Li Jing, and Zhang Yang were all different.

Zhang Kuang was not particularly concerned. After sprouting his seedling, his state of mind had improved greatly. He considered himself a true cultivator and took Perfected Man Huanglong’s advice to heart. He couldn’t be bothered with Qin Haoxuan. In his eyes, no matter how much noise he made, he was still just a mortal, unworthy of his precious cultivation time.

Li Jing was focused on his own closed-door cultivation. Two of the three Purple Seeds had already sprouted their seedlings, leaving him no time to worry about others. His goal was clear: his rivals were Zhang Kuang and Xu Yu. Qin Haoxuan was just a weak seed, not even in the same league.

But the Gray Seed, Zhang Yang, was different. After Qin Haoxuan had sent Chu Xiangzi away, he immediately gathered his followers to plot against him.

“Brothers, my master’s nephew, Gu Xiaoyun, was惨惨 by him, and now he has bullied my Senior Brother Chu Xiangzi. This is like slapping my master’s face again and again! I don’t think we can let this matter rest.”

Hearing that their boss wanted to cause trouble for Qin Haoxuan again, his followers exchanged uneasy glances.

Qin Haoxuan was a weak seed, true, but he had taken care of a Seventh-Leaf expert like Gu Xiaoyun. Even the Twentieth-Leaf Chu Xiangzi had to come back and pay him the difference. And now, Luo Jinhua from the Hundred Flowers Hall was trying to win him over. They didn’t have the guts to provoke such a figure. What’s more, they had heard that when he was in the Nine Yin Ice Cavern, seven Sixth-Leaf experts had gone in to ambush him, and all of them had come out heavily injured, half-dead, and now they avoided the mere mention of his name like the plague.

“What, is no one willing to do this for me?” Zhang Yang’s voice rose, his eyes turning cold as he scanned the Sixth-Leaf experts who had joined him.

Under his menacing gaze, one of them said with a pained expression, “Junior Brother Zhang, you know how strange this Qin Haoxuan is. Even Gu Xiaoyun fell at his hands. What good would it do for us to go? Besides, Xu Yu has recently recruited several Sixth and Seventh-Leaf senior brothers. We have even less of a chance now.”

Hearing their excuses, Zhang Yang was displeased but knew they were right. He waved his hand in frustration. “Then for the time being, I need you all to stand guard outside my room. I am going into seclusion to sprout my seedling! I do not wish to be disturbed.”

With Zhang Yang also giving up on causing trouble, Qin Haoxuan was finally able to find some peace.

The next day, a dense spiritual fluctuation emanated from Li Jing’s room, and a faint purple light shot into the sky. A moment later, the light receded. Li Jing had sprouted his seedling.

He walked out of his room, his face beaming. He had been depressed about being left behind by Xu Yu and Zhang Kuang, but now he had finally caught up. One of his followers reported on Qin Haoxuan’s various activities over the past few days. Li Jing just smiled faintly. “Pay it no mind. Continue to try and win him over.”

Like Zhang Kuang, after his breakthrough, he no longer saw the “mortal” Qin Haoxuan as worthy of his attention. His entire focus was now on how to surpass the other two Purple Seeds.

The day after Li Jing’s breakthrough, Zhang Yang also succeeded. And about ten days after that, Murong Chao also sprouted his seedling.

The days passed one by one. Qin Haoxuan spent his time moving between the lecture hall and his field, harvesting one batch of corn and planting another, carrying water, and meditating in class.

Even Elder Chu had come to admire him. It was one thing to doze off once or twice, but for over two months, Qin Haoxuan hadn’t listened to a single complete lesson, yet he came to the hall every day to meditate and sleep. This persistence was both infuriating and amusing to the elder. If not for Xu Yu’s sake, he would have thrown him out long ago.

In truth, it wasn’t that Qin Haoxuan was trying to provoke him. The medicinal power of the One-Leaf Golden Lotus tormented him daily. If he didn’t meditate, he would explode. And with so many people in the Spirit Field Valley during the day, it was hard to find a quiet, safe place to cultivate. Meditating in class, though it earned him the elder’s ire, was at least safe.

In the final month of the initial training period, the two disciples with full seeds and a few others also successively sprouted their seedlings. Qin Haoxuan was still persisting with his classroom meditation. Elder Chu had completely given up hope that he would succeed. Although he had been the sixth person to complete the Rooting Stage, he was still a weak seed, and his refusal to learn the basics of cultivation was a case of putting the cart before the horse. He was destined to fail on the path of cultivation. It was a pity about his firm Dao Heart.

“Something’s not right,” Qin Haoxuan thought to himself. In the blink of an eye, three months had passed. The first step of the Trial of the Immortal Path was less than ten days away, but his Immortal Seed, though it had grown to three times its original size, still showed no sign of sprouting.

It was now early spring. At night, a heavy snow began to fall, blanketing Great Islet Mountain in a layer of silver.

Even the disciples who had already sprouted their seedlings were wearing thick cotton robes, but Qin Haoxuan was still in his thin clothes, perfectly at ease in the biting cold. He went to his usual thicket to meditate and wait for Master Guyun to deliver his Corrosion Pill.

For over a month, Master Guyun had come every day without fail. In order to help Zhang Yang, he had spared no expense. He was happy to see Qin Haoxuan’s body grow stronger, but he was also frustrated that his mind had not yet been corroded.

The poison from the pills was half-consumed by his Spiritual Sense, making it stronger, and half-consumed by his Immortal Seed. Qin Haoxuan discovered that a thick, black root had begun to emerge from the bottom of his seed.

Could it be that the Rooting Stage wasn’t complete?

The true culprit, the Undying Witch Fiend, was laughing with glee. The Demon Seed had absorbed the poison, and its main root was slowly emerging. This meant that Qin Haoxuan’s Immortal-Demon Seed would soon sprout, and the day he could seize the body was drawing near.

The next morning, as Qin Haoxuan was walking towards Xu Yu’s room, he suddenly felt a powerful spiritual fluctuation. The nearby spiritual energy was rapidly converging on her room from all directions. The phenomenon attracted a large crowd. “Heavens, is this the aptitude of an Unsurpassed Purple Seed? She’s about to sprout her first immortal leaf after less than three months!”

More and more people gathered. The followers of Xu Yu’s faction rushed to maintain order, preventing anyone from disturbing her at this critical moment.

“It’s taking so long. Could it be that she’s sprouting the legendary Seven-Veined Immortal Leaf?”

“It’s possible! For us, it’s a distant dream, but for her, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Wow, a seven-veined leaf for her very first one. If even half of her 49 leaves are like that, it would be incredible.”

Just as they were discussing this, the spiritual fluctuation from her room subsided. A moment later, the door opened, and a calm and composed Xu Yu walked out with a gentle smile. The crowd instantly swarmed her with congratulations.

Seeing her succeed, Qin Haoxuan also smiled, proud of her achievement. The crowd around her was so dense that if Murong Chao hadn’t organized her followers to form a protective circle, she might have been lifted into the air.

It was no wonder they were so excited. Previously, Zhang Kuang had always been the fastest. But this time, it was the low-profile Xu Yu who had taken the lead.

The news of her success quickly spread. Upon hearing it, Zhang Kuang, Zhang Yang, and Li Jing all chose to go into seclusion. For the first time, all three of them skipped class.

Seeing the elegant aura emanating from Xu Yu, Elder Chu was overjoyed. To sprout a seedling within three months was already a sign of top-tier talent. For her to now be the first to sprout a leaf… And with the competitive Zhang Kuang and Li Jing sure to follow, this was a great sign for the sect.

However, seeing their empty seats, he sighed. “A competitive spirit is good, but is it really necessary? They are just starting on the path of cultivation. Is a momentary gain so important? The fundamentals are crucial. I hope they don’t follow Qin Haoxuan’s example and put the cart before the horse.”

He shot a fierce glare at Qin Haoxuan, who was already meditating, and then began his lecture.

When class ended in the evening, just as they were leaving the lecture hall, they felt two strong spiritual fluctuations erupt from Zhang Kuang’s and Li Jing’s rooms.

Their followers immediately gathered at their doors.

Before long, Zhang Kuang was the first to succeed in sprouting his leaf, followed shortly after by Li Jing.