Chapter 40 (Part 1)

Yes, spirit beasts really did have it that easy when cultivating. All they had to do was sleep.

When spirit beasts slept, their bodies would automatically absorb the surrounding spiritual energy. When Yuanyuan had first been carried back, it had only been at the third level of Qi Refining. Now it was already almost at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

One had to admit, before spirit beasts transformed, they had almost no barriers at all. As long as there was enough spiritual energy, they could cultivate all the way to the Golden Core stage. Many spirit beasts were only at Foundation Establishment before they went to sleep, but after waking from that sleep, they would be at Golden Core and able to transform.

Three days passed very quickly. Early in the morning, Yu Yu sat in the courtyard, waiting for his senior brothers and sister to come over.

As for Qingyang’s spirit fruit, he would personally deliver it. There was no way he would trouble his master to come all the way to his small courtyard.

It had been one thing before when they were eating. Spirit fruit would not go bad the moment it was picked, so there was no need to have his master personally run to the small courtyard.

His senior brothers and sister were different. They were all of the same generation, and gathering together could also help deepen their bond.

“Junior Brother, we’re here.”

Lingfeng dragged Linglong into the small courtyard. Behind her was Linglong, looking lazy and loose.

“Where’s Eldest Senior Brother? Why hasn’t he arrived yet? That’s so rare!”

Lingfeng looked around but did not see Lingji, who was usually the most enthusiastic, and immediately grew a little curious.

Their eldest senior brother cared the most about matters involving their youngest junior brother. It was impossible for him to drag things out until last after their youngest junior brother had given instructions.

“Eldest Senior Brother, he…”

Yu Yu had just been about to answer when someone answered for him.

“I’m here. I went to see Senior Brother Lingbao just now and exchanged some of the resources I couldn’t use with the sect for resources that Junior Brother can use.”

When Lingji and the others had gone out this time, they had indeed found quite a few resources. Some were things they could use, some were things their youngest junior brother could use, and some were things no one could use, so after returning, they could only exchange them with the sect.

“I knew it. Eldest Senior Brother dotes on Junior Brother so much. There’s no way he would forget the appointed time.”

Lingfeng nodded. As expected of Eldest Senior Brother, he thought of everything.

“I forgot. Luckily, all the things were with Eldest Senior Brother, so it saved me the trouble.”

Linglong slapped his forehead. Eldest Senior Brother had even thought of exchanging resources. Sure enough, there was a reason he could be eldest senior brother. At the very least, Linglong had not thought of that at all. He had only planned to sell off the things none of them could use and give the spirit stones directly to Junior Brother.

“By the time you remembered, Junior Brother would already be at Nascent Soul.”

Lingzhen walked in behind Lingji. Aside from the resources he could use himself, everything he had found had been placed with Eldest Senior Brother Lingji. This time, Lingji had helped him exchange them as well.

As for why they had been placed with Eldest Senior Brother, of course it was because Eldest Senior Brother was the strongest. No one could snatch those resources from his hands.

“Junior Brother, here.”

Lingji placed the storage pouch containing the resources on the stone table.

“Thank you, Eldest Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, and Third Senior Brother.”

Yu Yu did not say any more words of refusal. If he said too much of that, it would seem fake.

He remembered all the kindness everyone showed him.

This time, he had called his senior brothers and sister over precisely to repay them.

“Eldest Senior Brother, conceal the whole courtyard.”

Yu Yu handed him an array disk.

“All right.”

Lingji had always agreed to whatever Yu Yu said. A concealing array was not difficult for him either.

Now that he had the array disk, he only needed to activate it and start the array. From the outside, all anyone could see was a haze of white mist.

After the entire courtyard was concealed, Yu Yu removed the arrays covering the Five Elements Spirit Fruit and the Wind-Thunder Fruit.

“Brother, are my eyes playing tricks on me? Why do I see the Wind-Thunder Fruit ripe? I clearly remember it still had around thirty years left. Even with Junior Brother accelerating its growth, it should still have taken several years to mature!”

Lingfeng pinched Linglong. Only after he cried out in pain did she withdraw her hand.

“That hurts! Can’t you pinch your own hand?”

“Pinching myself would hurt. I’m not stupid!”

Lingfeng’s words left him speechless. So because you’re afraid of pain, you pinch me instead?

“After my sudden enlightenment, I accidentally used too much force.”

Yu Yu scratched his cheek and explained the situation from that time in detail, letting everyone know he had not done it on purpose.

It was just that even he had not expected that after reaching Foundation Establishment, the boost he gave spirit fruits would be so good. So good that it was frightening.

“Don’t worry about that for now. Pick them, divide them, and eat them.”

Lingji knew what Junior Brother was worried about. Otherwise, Yu Yu would not have asked him to use an array to envelop the entire courtyard. He simply did not want anyone to see.

“Okay.”

Everyone acted as soon as they spoke. They picked the spirit fruit as fast as possible and divided it into several portions.

The Gold Jade Fruit was divided into two portions. One portion was for their master, one portion was held by Lingji, and the extra was given to Yu Yu. Even if he could not use it, he could exchange it for resources. Spirit fruit that could purify spiritual roots could be exchanged for many resources, because there were so few of them.

“The Wind-Thunder Fruit will be split between Second Senior Brother and me. Brother, save a little of the Fireflame Fruit for little Yuanyuan. Leave the rest for Junior Brother.”

After everyone divided the spirit fruit, they planned to return to their cave residences to cultivate.

“I’ll go with you. I’m going to see Master.”

Yu Yu placed the sleeping little Yuanyuan in its nest, put away its share of the spirit fruit as well, and left with everyone.

The current Yu Yu could fly on a sword and also teleport, so he simply teleported directly outside the great hall.

“Little Martial Uncle.”

When the door-guarding attendant saw him, he immediately bowed.

“No need. Is Master inside?”

Yu Yu waved his hand, telling him there was no need for so much ceremony.

This Dao attendant was about the same age as Liu Le. He would usually go to Yu Yu’s spiritual field to catch spirit insects to eat, so they were old acquaintances.

“Replying to Little Martial Uncle, the Daoist Lord is inside!”

Naturally, the Dao attendant did not dare stop Yu Yu. Everyone on Holy Sun Peak knew this little martial uncle was the treasure in the Daoist Lord’s heart.

If he dared stop him, did he not want to keep working on Holy Sun Peak anymore?

“Then announce me. I would like to see Master.”

After receiving a definite answer, Yu Yu planned to have the Dao attendant go in and tell Qingyang. Only after receiving Qingyang’s permission would he enter.

“No need to announce it. Little Yu’er, come in.”

Qingyang’s voice sounded from outside the hall. The Dao attendant hurriedly lowered his head.

“Thank you, Master. This disciple is coming in.”

Yu Yu walked in and saw Qingyang sitting in the great hall, keeping time with one hand while enjoying the puppets dancing.

“…”

To be honest, if he did not know his master was a Daoist Lord, he really would have thought Qingyang was some spoiled young wastrel.

Looking at the way he was enjoying himself, one could not do the same thing without several decades of experience as a wastrel.

“What brings you here to your master? Not in a hurry to cultivate?”

With a wave of Qingyang’s hand, the puppets disappeared from the great hall. He was rather curious that his little disciple had rarely come to him on his own.

“I have something to discuss with Master, and I also brought you some spirit fruit.”

Yu Yu took out the Gold Jade Fruit and placed it on the small tea table in front of Qingyang.

The Gold Jade Fruit could bear at most sixty-six fruits, and its maturation time was several decades longer than the azure jade peach.

Qingyang and Lingji split sixty of them equally. Right now, there were a full thirty Gold Jade Fruits in front of him.

And even that many had only been possible because Yu Yu had acted. If it had been another planting master, producing twenty or thirty would already have counted as impressive.

“Good heavens. You already grew them?”

Qingyang instantly sat up straight and picked up a Gold Jade Fruit to examine it.

“The quality has improved. It’s only a little short of top-grade spirit fruit.”

Qingyang’s eyes were still very sharp. He immediately saw the quality of the Gold Jade Fruit.

“This is also an effect brought by the Classic of Nature?”

Since his master had guessed the truth, Yu Yu nodded. He had originally come to have his master think of a way to cover for him, so he could not hide it from him.

“When I had you cultivate the Classic of Nature back then, I didn’t expect it to become this troublesome.”

Qingyang regretted it a little. His little disciple had performed far beyond normal with the Classic of Nature, but the consequences were not something an ordinary person could bear.

Thinking of the Tree of Life that his little disciple had nurtured into vitality, Qingyang’s head started to ache. He was happy that his little disciple had good talent, but when it was too good, it gave him a headache too.

“Master, is it very troublesome?”

Yu Yu sat beside Qingyang and propped up his chin, looking at him.

“Very troublesome. Not just ordinary trouble. You should also have heard that there are still some old monsters in the cultivation world who live in seclusion and do not come out.”

Qingyang leaned over and spoke softly beside his disciple’s ear.

“This disciple knows. Even our Taizhen Immortal Sect has some ancestors in life-and-death seclusion who do not come out lightly.”

Yu Yu was speaking of seniors who had lived even longer than Qingyang and the others. Some of them were of even higher seniority than the master of Qingyang and Qingsheng. It was only because of talent and certain external factors that they had been unable to ascend. Now their lifespans were nearly exhausted, and in order to live longer, they rarely appeared before others.

That way, they consumed less, and their lifespans could be extended somewhat.

They were all waiting for an opportunity, an opportunity that would allow them to extend their lifespans.

“Your master isn’t afraid of them. Although their realms are still there, because they don’t have much lifespan left, their strength has declined badly. Even if all of them came out, your master would not be afraid.”

When Qingyang mentioned the sect’s ancestors in life-and-death seclusion, his tone carried pride. Clearly, he truly was not afraid of them.

“If it’s only the ancestors within the sect, we can still restrain them. The old monsters outside are not necessarily the same. In order to survive, they are capable of using any means. The longer they have lived, the more good things they have on hand. There will always be some things that even your master cannot defend against.”

Qingyang was not afraid of them coming at him openly. He was afraid they would use low, underhanded methods. Qingyang only had two hands. He could defend against one, but not another.

“That’s why I hid them.”

Yu Yu knew what his master was worried about and told him what he had done earlier.

“Not bad. You do have some sense after all. You know that what should be hidden cannot be exposed.”

Qingyang was satisfied with this little disciple no matter how he looked at him. He was unlike Lingfeng, that little debt collector. If the same thing happened to her, she would never think that much.

“Master, Martial Uncle and the others…”

Before Yu Yu could finish speaking, Qingyang raised a hand to stop him from continuing.

“You don’t need to worry about them. Every one of them is an old fellow more than a thousand years old. Naturally, they know what should be said and what should not be said.”

Qingyang had great confidence in those senior brothers of his. Their relationship was extremely close. Otherwise, Qingyang would not have given them small secret realms.

As for those elders whose relationships with Qingyang were distant, they had not even managed to become Supreme Elders, let alone receive a small secret realm. They did not even know that Qingsheng and the others had small secret realms in their possession.

The disciples usually cultivated in the secret realms within the sect, while the small secret realms in their hands were their own trump cards and would not be lightly exposed to outsiders.

Even with the small secret realm in Yu Yu’s hands, apart from transplanting some spiritual plants into it, he usually never went inside. Even Liu Le did not know there was a small secret realm in his possession.

This was exactly what it meant to have no intention of harming others, but never lack the heart to guard against them.

“I still have some spirit fruit here. My senior brothers and sister divided it for me. Master can give it to Martial Uncle and the others. These spirit fruits are used to purify spiritual roots, and their effect is better than ordinary spirit fruits of the same type.”

Repaying a peach with a plum. Since his martial uncles were protecting him, Yu Yu could not be stingy either.

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