Chapter 97: Fame Spreads, and Visitors Arrive

Hearing his senior brother’s confession, a heroic spirit surged in Qin Haoxuan’s heart. “Senior Brother,” he declared, “I also want to do my part, not just for our master, but for our Nature Hall!”

Pu Hanzhong firmly refused. “You haven’t even grown a leaf yet,” he said, shaking his head. “After you do, you’ll have many more expenses. You need to buy Meridian Protecting Powder and learn how to refine pills. You can’t even take care of yourself right now… ahem…”

“As long as you cultivate diligently, bring glory to our Nature Hall, and make our master happy, that is enough. A good mood might even help him break through to the Spirit Tree Realm! We, his disciples, have been useless. We have caused him so much worry…” A look of self-reproach crossed Pu’s face, and his coughing grew more frequent.

“He has two or three years left. If you truly want to help, then focus on your own cultivation. In your spare time, help Xu Yu. If she can become stronger quickly, she may be able to help him in the future. Junior Brother, you must remember, the most important thing is to raise your own realm and increase your lifespan. That is the foundation of a cultivator.”

Listening to his senior brother’s heart-wrenching coughs, Qin Haoxuan knew he couldn’t argue the point. He sighed inwardly. Life and death were the merciless laws of the universe. Though cultivators lived longer than mortals, they were still fighting against heaven for their fate. If they failed, death was the only end.

Just as Pu Hanzhong finished speaking, there was a knock on the door. It was Xu Yu. She immediately sensed the somber atmosphere in the room. There were tear stains on Pu Hanzhong’s face, and Qin Haoxuan’s usual easygoing demeanor was replaced by a grim seriousness.

“Brother Haoxuan, am I interrupting?” she asked, about to retreat.

“No, not at all!” he said, grateful for the timely interruption. He took out five packets of Qi-Circulating Powder and handed them to her. “Take these to the Sect Master. It should be enough to satisfy his request. In the meantime, I need to focus on growing my first leaf so I can start refining pills.”

Xu Yu took the powder with a sweet smile. “Good luck, Brother Haoxuan! I’ll go accept the honors on your behalf!” Seeing her become more and more playful with each passing day, he just gave her a fond tap on the head. “Go on then,” he said with a smile, “and don’t forget to bring back some rewards.”

Her visit dispelled the gloomy mood. Pu Hanzhong composed himself and had Qin Haoxuan set up a summoning formation to continue his combat training. In the world of cultivators, there was no peace, only battle.

The sect might be relatively stable, but beyond its walls, a ten-thousand-year-old great sect held them in its shadow, demanding tribute. Their own Sect Master was ambitious; a great war was inevitable. To survive, one needed cultivation, techniques, and experience.

Qin Haoxuan took the training seriously. He deliberately refrained from using his Spiritual Sense to instantly annihilate the Nether-Souls, as that would defeat the purpose of the exercise.

At first, Pu Hanzhong stood ready to intervene, but he soon noticed that whenever Qin Haoxuan was in real danger, the Nether-Souls would mysteriously drop dead.

After a while, he grew used to it. Qin Haoxuan progressed from struggling against a single creature to easily defeating one, and then to fighting two, three, and then four at a time.

By the time he could handle four simultaneously, Pu Hanzhong had become numb to the shock. He knew his junior brother was an Uncolored Seed, but anyone who treated him as such would be making a grave mistake.

One day, as they were studying the Six Arts, there was another knock on the door. It was a young, Tenth-Leaf disciple in a brown sect robe, with “Summer Cloud Hall – He Yun” embroidered in gold on his chest. The Summer Cloud Hall? I have no dealings with them, Qin Haoxuan thought.

“Senior Brother He Yun, I am Qin Haoxuan. How may I help you?”

“I wouldn’t dare presume to ‘help,'” the disciple said with a humble smile. “I’ve actually come to ask for your assistance.” His polite attitude was a pleasant surprise.

“It’s like this,” he explained, scratching his head in embarrassment. “I have fifty mu of land, but I’m at a critical point in my cultivation and have no time to farm. My two Attendants can’t handle it all. I was hoping I could hire your monkeys to help.”

So my reputation had spread even to the four great halls… “Of course,” Qin Haoxuan said, “but you know my terms, right?” He held up two fingers.

“Two-tenths of the harvest, I understand,” He Yun said with a grin. “It’s a deal.”

More than a month passed in peace. Two of the three months of the trial were now over. During that time, Qin Haoxuan had become a recluse, rarely leaving his room except to continue his lessons with Pu.

His most frequent visitors were disciples from the four great halls, all coming to hire his monkeys. Every night, he would go to the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley. He found no great treasures, but he did find a few more ruined pills, allowing him to keep himself and Xu Yu supplied with powder. And his Spiritual Sense continued to grow stronger.

The only thing he couldn’t understand was why, while everyone else’s cultivation was advancing by leaps and bounds, he still hadn’t grown a single leaf. News came that the Meridian Protecting Powder was almost ready, which only increased his anxiety. What was the use of it if he couldn’t refine pills?

He felt like he was on the verge of a breakthrough every day, but it never came. Under the constant deluge of spiritual energy from his powder, his Immortal Sprout’s root system had grown incredibly thick and strong.

His six hundred side-roots had once just been anchored in his Dantian; now, they had completely enveloped it, inside and out, becoming one with his sea of Qi. It was a phenomenon that would have baffled even the most powerful cultivators in the world.

During this time, the one who had advanced the fastest was, ironically, Zhang Kuang. Thanks to his unknown fortuitous encounter, he was now a Seventh-Leaf expert. Close behind him was Xu Yu, who, with her endless supply of powder, had reached the Fifth-Leaf. The weakest of the three Purple Seeds was now Li Jing, who had only reached the Fourth-Leaf. The once-favored prince had been left far behind.

(End of Chapter)