Mysterious Realm

  Zhuang Wei is now twenty-five years old, eight years older than Xu Ziluo. He has already reached the peak of the second layer of Qi Refining. Although his cultivation is slightly inferior to that of Xu Ziluo, among the numerous disciples in the sect who have been unable to break through the third layer of Qi Refining after turning ten, he is considered not bad.

  This Zhuang Wei was a small family member attached to the Xu family, and had entered the sect several years after Xu Ziluo. For some reason, he seemed to have fallen in love with Xu Ziluo at first sight, and initially took good care of her. Later on, Xu Ziluo's cultivation speed surpassed Zhuang Wei's, causing her to look down on him with disdain. However, Zhuang Wei continued to protect her wholeheartedly, not minding her attitude at all. When Xu Ziluo broke through the third layer of Qi Refining before him, she looked down on him even more, but Zhuang Wei remained unperturbed.

  Anyone who knows Zhuang Wei knows that he has a crush on Xu Ziluo. Zhuang Wei has a good temper and is not a bad person, but Xu Ziluo is the opposite - she has some beauty, but her personality is very arrogant. Many of Zhuang Wei's friends think he doesn't deserve this and try to persuade him, but he just smiles it off.

  Xu Ziqing didn't know about the grudge between Zhuang Wei and Xu Ziluo, but he had a good impression of Zhuang Wei. Both were gentle in nature, and after exchanging a few words in the medicine garden, they found themselves getting along well. Xu Ziqing didn't belittle himself, nor did Zhuang Wei look down on Xu Ziqing's humble abilities. Unbeknownst to them, they chatted for half an hour.

  Later, Xu Ziqing reacted and looked at the sky, saying to Zhuang Weixiao: "Brother Zhuang, I haven't asked you yet, what spiritual grass did you come here for?"

  Zhuang Weiye suddenly came back to his senses, slapped his forehead and said: "I was chatting with Brother Zi Qing and got excited, I forgot. Originally, I was ordered by the master of the courtyard to come and ask for ten stalks of red yarn grass..." Later, seeing Xu Ziluo wanting to take action against the people in Bai Cao Garden, he stopped him first.

  Xu Ziqing smiled and said: "It just so happens that the red clover is ripe, I'll go get some for Brother Zhuang."

  Zhuang only smiled and said: "Thank you so much, Brother Zi Qing."

  Hongying grass is a primary spiritual herb that can be harvested simply by cutting it off at ground level with a spiritually-charged knife, without requiring the harvester to possess any spiritual power themselves. This simple spiritual herb was something even Xu Ziqing could harvest himself.

  Xu Ziqing went to that piece of medicinal field, where more than 20 plants had just matured yesterday. He selected the best ten plants, cut them down, and carefully placed them in a wooden box, which he then handed over to Zhuang Wei.

  Zhuang Wei took a look and indeed the color and veins were well preserved. He knew that Xu Ziqing had specially picked it out for him, so he thanked him again before quickly leaving.

  Due to this unexpected event, Xu Ziqing made a friend. At night when he entered the state of meditation, it seemed that there was an epiphany somewhere, and the spiritual energy in his dantian rapidly compressed downwards, finally emitting a loud explosion, transforming quantity into quality, and planting a point of spiritual origin.

  From then on, Xu Ziqing had achieved the first level of Qi Refining!

  He Lao Tou looked Xu Zi Qing up and down, clicking his tongue in amazement: "Good kid, it's only been three months and you've already reached the first level of Qi Refining, truly a blessing from heaven!"

  Xu Ziqing was taken aback for a moment, then hastily said: "It's because of your good teaching."

  He Lao shook his head and said, "You don't have to be humble. Among the young masters who entered with you, they are still constantly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, but only you have managed to lay down your spiritual foundation. This shows that your innate talent is not bad. But I don't know why you were evaluated as having a 'lower' aptitude. If someone like you can cultivate to the first layer of Qi Refining in such a short time, then what about me? I spent three years back then, and wasn't even comparable to 'lower', was I?"

  Xu Ziqing himself was also startled. He had been cultivating the Spiritual Origin for three months, thinking that others were far ahead of him, but now hearing Old Man He say this, he realized that he was actually the fastest.

  He Lao Tou sighed and said, "Xu Zi Qing, with your talent, being a servant here is a waste. If you're willing, I can speak to the master on your behalf and have you transferred to the East Wing's main courtyard. However, considering your initial evaluation by the Law Array wasn't good, you'll probably start from the Fourth Courtyard. If you can break through to the second layer of Qi Refining as easily as a hot knife through butter, it shouldn't be difficult to get directly transferred to the First Courtyard."

  Xu Ziqing listened and pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "No need to, He Guanshi. Ziqing only wants to cultivate in this Baicao Garden and doesn't want to go to the main courtyard in the east."

  He Lao said strangely, "You really don't want to go? Here with me you have no resources, but if you go to the main institute, every month there is an allocation, and you can also take elixirs to improve your cultivation. I see that you are diligent in doing things and bitter in practicing, after going to the main institute, it's not necessarily impossible to stand out."

  Xu Ziqing still refused: "Ziqing is very interested in Lingcao, and also asked He Guanshi to fulfill it."

  Seeing his attitude so resolute, Old He no longer tried to persuade him. He had wanted Xu Ziqing to have a good future, but when he heard Xu Ziqing say that he loved Lingcao and was willing to cultivate himself in the Hundred Herb Garden, he felt both regretful and happy at the same time. He too was a lover of Lingcao; otherwise, with his cultivation of nine layers of Qi Refining, how could he possibly be tending to Lingcao here? He should have gone to become a Supreme Elder and enjoyed a life of ease! Now that he discovered Xu Ziqing shared the same interest as him, his impression of Xu Ziqing changed from 30% favorable to 70% favorable.

  He then smiled and said: "Since you've made up your mind, I'll help you keep this a secret. You should focus on cultivating yourself and take good care of the spiritual grass."

  Xu Ziqing also smiled: "Thank you, He Guanshi, I'm deeply grateful."

  He Lao then instructed Xu Ziqing to be more meticulous, and Xu Ziqing also felt that he was gradually getting closer to the stubborn and strict He Guan.

  Recently, Old Man He suddenly stopped instructing Xu Ziqing on how to tend to the spiritual grass and instead told him to focus on his cultivation. The matters in the garden were also handled by Old Man He himself. Xu Ziqing couldn't understand why, but being able to cultivate for a long time wasn't bad either, so he followed the instructions and sat down to meditate with all his heart.

  The absorption of spiritual energy is still very smooth and stable. The other four attributes of spiritual energy still ignore Xu Ziqing, while the wood attribute is very fond of him.

  The two meridians of Ren and Du can be said to be the beginning of spiritual practice, and it is also quite difficult to open them up. Even with a method to cultivate, but day after day, even one acupoint cannot be opened, this kind of frustrating feeling is also extremely unbearable.

  Unconsciously, another month passed, and Xu Ziqing finally opened up the eight acupoints on the Governor Vessel. The first two acupoints were relatively difficult, but after overcoming the hard pass, the last six were relatively easier.

  Old He also came over to ask about Xu Zi Qing's cultivation progress, and after thinking for a moment, Xu Zi Qing only reported three acupoints. He wasn't intentionally trying to guard against Old He, but he knew that if he wanted to cultivate peacefully in the Hundred Herb Garden, he couldn't become too prominent. Old He indeed valued him, but was also loyal to the Xu family; if Xu Zi Qing continued to progress at this rate, even if Old He kept it a secret, once something happened, neither of them would end up with a good outcome. Xu Zi Qing thought that since his speed in establishing his spiritual foundation had been called "extremely fast" before, then surely his current speed wouldn't be slow either. Subconsciously, he became more modest.

  As expected, Old He was astonished when he heard that he had opened up three acupoints in just one month and said that his progress was extraordinary.

  Xu Ziqing heard this and furrowed his brow, feeling a sense of unease for some reason. He hastily said, "The first acupoint took a lot of effort to open up, the next two were easier, but after opening up three, it actually became stuck again at the fourth acupoint."

  He Lao Tou laughed "Haha": "Cultivation isn't that cheap of a thing, is it? You should focus on cultivating here. Day after day, working hard will eventually pay off."

  Xu Ziqing bowed: "The junior understands, thank you for your guidance, He Guanshi."

  Time flies, and it's already the beginning of spring.

  The so-called Kaiyuan is to open up a vast wilderness and forest, which can also be regarded as a small secret realm. In this small world of the universe, three small secret realms have already appeared, among which Xu's family and the other four major immortal families, Tian, Luo, Meng, and Wei, jointly manage the "Lin Yuan Secret Realm", while the remaining two small secret realms are in the hands of the overseas Xianshan Dapai.

  The Linyuan Secret Realm opens with great regularity, opening once every five years. Inside, there are countless spiritual herbs and exotic beasts, as well as mountain treasures and forest gems. Anyone who can enter will gain something, no matter how small.

  Not everyone can enter this secret realm, and a jade sword is required as a guide. The heads of the five major Xian families each have a jade sword in their hands, which can envelop the people entering in a layer of prohibition before entering. After entering, the prohibition disappears, and then you can start searching for treasure.

  Since it's a secret realm, there are naturally dangers. Over the years, those who can enter the secret realm either have special permission from the master of the house, or they have exceptional qualifications, or other reasons. In short, the number of people cannot exceed one hundred. Otherwise, the effect of the jade sword will be greatly reduced, and the extra people will also be unknowingly transported to unknown places.

  There were only two days left before rushing to the entrance of the secret realm, and Xu Ziqing didn't know until now that he also had a share in entering. It turned out that He Guanshi wanted to bring Xu Ziqing to see the wild because he was very interested in spiritual grass, and if you want to say where the spiritual grass grows and thrives, the secret realm is naturally the best choice.

  The host Xu Zhengtian heard that Xu Ziqing was expected to inherit He Lao's legacy and stay in Bai Cao Garden for a long time, so he agreed to He Lao's request. This is also one of the reasons why He Lao has been asking Xu Ziqing to practice for a long time recently. Although there are many spiritual objects in the secret realm, there are also many people who want to divide them up. In this way, even in the secret realm, some people will take action against others. If they just say that they didn't see anything or were killed by a strange beast when they come out, they can be safe and sound.

  He Lao Tou had made up his mind to protect Xu Zi Qing well in the secret realm, but after all, other people's protection was external. He also hoped that Xu Zi Qing's own strength could be stronger by a few points, even if he couldn't retreat from the enemy, at least he could hold on to his life and hold on until He Lao Tou arrived to rescue him.

  After listening to He Lao's narrative, Xu Ziqing's eyes lit up and his heart was eager to try. Since he knew the vastness of heaven and earth through cultivation, if there was an opportunity to go to the secret realm to gain experience, how could he not be moved? This time, he was indeed hit by a big pie on his head by He Lao!

  The author has something to say: Still want to thank Xiaoyu for the landmines and hand grenades, hug Mua~

  Then, Puchi guessed correctly where Attack is currently located, not accurately but without error, so decided to double update today.

  I'll update at 11am and 8pm. However, I hope that even with double updates, everyone will still give me more comments, don't just not leave any because of the double update... If double updating means no one leaves comments, then I won't do it again in the future...

  Finally, I'll just say one more thing...

  Insert Bookmark