Examine one's conscience

  Xu Ziting took the spiritual grass and bid farewell, Tian Liang saw the beauty leave, naturally followed closely behind. In the end, he didn't forget to throw a sharp glance at Xu Ziqing, who lowered his head and closed his eyes.

  In the following days, Xu Ziqing continued to recite medical books as usual. Unexpectedly, after dinner that evening, he had just memorized a copy of "Shennong Ben Cao Jing" when Old Man He called him over to one side.

  Xu Ziqing was puzzled, at this time, they should be resting in their respective rooms, and didn't know why they were summoned over.

  He saw Old He take out a bag of tobacco and ask: "Why didn't you come to me?"

  Xu Ziqing didn't quite understand: "Recently, Manager He has been giving me a lot of guidance, I'm already deeply grateful..."

  Old He shook his head: "It's not that. That day you were bullied by the young master of the Tian family, he will probably still look for trouble with you, and you don't have even a bit of cultivation on your body, aren't you worried about your life? You should understand, even if it's old me, I won't be able to protect you all the time."

  Xu Ziqing suddenly understood what Old He meant. After some thought, he said: "I am indeed worried about my own life and also want to practice the skill earlier, so that I have a technique to rely on. However, I had already promised Manager Guan that I would first memorize the few medical books in hand. A person without credibility cannot establish himself; the medical books are not yet finished reading, how can I come to find Manager Guan with a thick face to ask for that skill?"

  He Lao stared at his face: "You've lost your life, what's the point of talking about reputation?"

  Xu Ziqing said seriously: "If everything can be turned upside down, then I'm just an indecisive person. Although I haven't cultivated yet, I also understand that it's a very difficult path. If even one's thoughts cannot persist, I'm afraid that even if one enters the immortal path, they will not achieve anything and cannot preserve their life."

  "Good, good, good!" He said three "good"s in a row, and Old Man He's face also rarely showed some smile, "You have this heart, indeed not letting me misjudge you." After he finished speaking, he asked again, "How many more medical books haven't you read?"

  Xu Ziqing replied: "Then there is only 'Huangtian Cao Gang' left."

  He Lao Tou pondered for a moment, then said: "First memorize this Materia Medica, and come find me whenever you're ready. I'll teach you the skills." He snorted coldly again, "You don't need to worry about Tian Liang, just do your chores here for one day, and he won't dare bother you."

  Xu Ziqing was overjoyed and immediately performed a grand bow: "Thank you, He Guanshi."

  These days, Xu Ziqing has not been disturbed, it's not that Tian Liang let him go, but because he didn't have many helpers in the Xu family. Even if someone from the clan wanted to curry favor with the young master of the Tian family, they couldn't get their hands on the spirit tablet for entering the Hundred Herb Garden, so they had no choice but to reluctantly give up. Just yesterday, the Tian family finally sent someone to pick him up, and Tian Liang had no choice but to return.

  After arriving at the Tian family home, Tian Liang went straight into the main house and said to the master of the house: "Father, why are you so anxious for me to return? Xu Zitang has been softening up a bit towards me these past few days. If I stay a little longer, won't it be easy to capture her?"

  Xu Ziting had received favors from He Lao, so he deliberately gave him some face and spent some time with Tian Liang, pretending to be friendly, not letting him bother Xu Ziqing. However, his attitude was neither hot nor cold, but unexpectedly, Tian Liang thought he was interested in him and became self-satisfied.

  The host Tian Ting heard this and was overjoyed: "Liang'er, are you telling the truth?"

  Tian Liang's face lit up with a pleased smile as he said, "Father, you think I'm what kind of person? If I wasn't certain, would I dare speak to Father like this?"

  "Ha ha, that Xu Ziting is the most outstanding woman of the Xu family in nearly a hundred years! If Liang'er can marry her, she will definitely give birth to an extraordinary child for me!" He was so excited that he couldn't help but get up and pat Tian Liang's shoulder. "I'll prepare the betrothal gifts right away, let the elder go to the Xu family to propose the marriage!"

  Tian Liang heard it and was overjoyed. He immediately bowed deeply: "Thank you, Father! Thank you, Father!"

  Xu Ziqing's memory was indeed extraordinary, and in just a few days, he had already memorized the last book of medicine. He then went to find Old Man He. Old Man He tapped Xu Ziqing's back with his pipe stem, asking him to recite it from start to finish, and indeed, there wasn't a single mistake. Xu Ziqing also admired Old Man He; if he had simply memorized the contents of the book, then Old Man He had truly grasped its essence. Sometimes when asked questions, even though Xu Ziqing could recite them fluently, he would still have to think carefully before answering.

  After answering correctly, Old He nodded in approval: "It seems you've indeed put in effort, not bad."

  Xu Ziqing smiled and said: "Thank you also to He Guanshi for his careful guidance."

  He Lao Tou was satisfied with Xu Zi Qing's homework, so he spread out his palm. In an instant, a yellowed booklet appeared in the center of his palm: "This is an introduction to your skills, you should understand it first."

  Xu Ziqing took it over, but still couldn't help asking: "He Guanshi, what's with this book..."

  Old Heh laughed and patted his waist, saying: "I have a storage bag here that is connected to my heart. This book was originally placed inside it. As soon as I think about it, it will naturally come out."

  Xu Ziqing smiled, and his heart was shocked by these means. In his previous life, the so-called "technology" he had seen was nothing more than compressing objects to hold more things in a space of equal volume. But it wasn't as convenient as what he saw now, that steward's waist hanging with a small brocade pouch. The brocade pouch looked exquisite on the outside, who would have thought that there was another space inside?

  Xu Ziqing couldn't help but sigh as he thought about his recent encounter. He had originally just wanted to live a simple life by the mountains and rivers, but now that he had seen how vast the world was and understood that the path of immortality was unknown and mysterious, he also couldn't help but develop some wild ambitions. He wanted to see the mountains and waters, he wanted to be accompanied by flowers and grass, he wanted to be healthy and live a long life... and so on. If he didn't have any real power at his disposal, he probably wouldn't be able to live for very long either.

  Xu Ziqing didn't want to cause trouble, but somehow there was always trouble that needed to be caused by him. In the past, he had always thought that everyone in the world wanted to talk reason, now it seems that people who talk reason do exist, but if they encounter someone who doesn't talk reason, they also need to have the strength to protect themselves well.

  He held up the book and nodded at Guan Shi before eagerly starting to read.

  The records in the book all contain common knowledge of cultivating immortals, and also let Xu Ziqing know after being confused for more than a decade that he was born in a certain place.

  The universe is vast and wide, with 9,000 great worlds, divided into upper 3,000, middle 3,000, and lower 3,000. Each of the great worlds has countless small worlds surrounding it, communicating with each other, and interconnecting. Among them, the area of each small world is a multiple of 99, and the area of the great world is 99 times that of the small world. The population is numerous, like a vast ocean.

  Xu Ziqing's current world is the Small World of Haotian, which is an affiliate of the Great World of Zhong Sanqian. Although Xu's family is a well-known and respected clan, there are other families in the Eastern continents that are equally renowned, such as the Tian, Luo, Meng, and Wei families. Moreover, there are numerous overseas Xianshan sects, with dozens of them having some reputation.

  In these countless big and small worlds, ordinary people all want to cultivate immortality, but only those with a spiritual root can do so. If the immortal fate is deep, then there is hope for longevity. And if you want to measure whether the immortal fate is deep or not, look at the aura, secondly, look at the heavenly talent. The aura is said to be ethereal and elusive, ordinary people cannot calculate it. Heavenly talent is said to be very clear. Those with a single spiritual root have the thickest immortal fate, while those with five spiritual roots have the thinnest immortal fate.

  After entering the immortal path, achievements depend on the quality of one's skills and innate talent. Skills also have attributes, and if they match with the spiritual root attribute, progress will be rapid; otherwise, progress will be slow.

  There are six levels of Gongfa, namely Tian, Di, Xuan, Huang, Ren, and those that do not enter the mainstream. Each level is further divided into three grades: upper, middle, and lower. In the small world of Haotian, loose cultivators without a sect or low-ranking disciples from various families often practice non-mainstream Gongfa. Those with high expectations cultivate human-level Gongfa. The Huang-level Gongfa is already extremely rare and can only be learned by those with exceptional talent. As soon as Xuan-level Gongfa appears, all the cultivators in the small world flock to it, competing fiercely. As for the Tian and Di levels, from ancient times to the present, they have never been seen in the small world...

  There are also transactions between cultivators using spirit stones and spirit pearls, with spirit stones and spirit pearls having different grades. The formation arrays have grades, the cultivator's own cultivation has grades... and so on.

  He was so absorbed in it that Xu Ziqing forgot to sleep and eat, and after three days and two nights, his eyes were filled with bloodshot, he finally finished reading what was written in the book.

  Closing the book, Xu Ziqing took a deep breath, with reverence in his heart and an even stronger sense of longing.

  No wonder people all want to cultivate immortality and those who have obtained the fate of immortality are admired by everyone. It's just that the path to immortality is vast and profound, and when one stands on it, looking up at the sky, they can't help but be intoxicated and bewildered. Therefore, they seek immortality, ask about immortality, search for immortality, and cultivate immortality.

  After reading this, Xu Ziqing was also deeply moved. Now he finally knew the vastness of the world and understood his own insignificance. Even if he had previously been content with living a carefree life in the mountains and forests, at this moment, a sense of grandeur arose within him. If he wanted to be accompanied by mountains, water, flowers, and grass, why not traverse the nine heavens, gaze upon the mountains and waters of the nine skies, and appreciate the flowers and grasses of the world? It was easy to shed off the illness that had plagued his body for many years in his previous life. How could he be content with just living a hundred years when he clearly had hopes of living forever?

  "Understood?" At this time, a loud voice sounded from his eardrum, striking directly into the sky and shaking his heart.

  Xu Ziqing was shocked and surprised: "He Guanshi?"

  He didn't know when Old He came and went, and now he was staring at him intently.

  He Lao Tou smiled and said: "Young man, you're completely absorbed in it, but have you understood?"

  Xu Ziqing slowly shook his head and then slowly nodded: "Although I haven't found my own way yet, my determination has been made."

  He Lao Tou contentedly took a puff of smoke: "I haven't taught you any skills for a long time, have you ever blamed me?"

  Xu Ziqing said: "He Guanshi is able to manage the affairs of the garden well, and I am not an ungrateful person."

  He Lao Tou spat out smoke and said, "Not bad, in my Baicao Garden, even if you can't fully recognize the spiritual grass, what use is it?!" Then he changed his tone, "However, simply recognizing spiritual grass is not enough to be a master. To cultivate spiritual grass, one must not only understand its nature but also possess spiritual energy, so as not to damage its foundation when cultivating."

  After he finished speaking, his palm opened again, and this time it was still a book with only a few pages. On the cover of the book, three small characters were written.

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