67: Chapter 67 A Storm Begins from the End of a Floating Stream

On a late winter morning, the chill of the previous night still lingered in the Qinglin Valley medicine garden. The frost on the bamboo leaves had just melted, and the dripping water droplets shimmered with fragmented light under the rising sun.

Lin Xuan crouched by the side of the thunder-pattern grass experimental field, his fingertips lightly touching the second pair of newly grown leaves on one of the Spiritual Plants.

The silver electric patterns on the leaves were clearly visible, and the touch felt slightly numb. Under his meticulous care, this batch of thunder-pattern grass was growing thirty percent faster than in other areas of the medicine garden, which had already caught the attention of Deacon Wu.

"Record: At the third quarter of the Chen hour, in the third ridge of thunder-pattern grass, seven plants are growing well, while four appear slightly sluggish. The suspected reason for the sluggishness is uneven light exposure; it is recommended to adjust the angle of the bamboo sunshade."

He wrote the words in his book, and light footsteps approached from beside him.

"Senior Brother Lin, morning!"

Liu Qingyan walked over carrying a stack of freshly picked red sun grass leaves, the red squirrel Xiao Huo bouncing on her shoulder, clearly in a good mood.

After these few months of spending time together, she had become adept at working in the medicine garden, and her originally slightly childish face had gained a bit more composure.

"Morning." Lin Xuan nodded in response and continued recording.

Liu Qingyan put down the grass leaves and leaned over to look at his records, her eyes brightening: "Senior Brother Lin, your thunder-pattern grass is growing really well. Although my red sun grass grows fast, I always feel something is missing; it doesn't have the Spiritual Qi yours has."

"Thunder-attribute Spiritual Plants are delicate; they grow slower, but their Spiritual Qi is purer." Lin Xuan put away the bamboo slip and asked, "Do you need something from me?"

"Ah, right!" Liu Qingyan patted her forehead as if she had just remembered. "I just came from the General Affairs Hall and heard some big news!"

She lowered her voice, though she couldn't hide the excitement in her tone: "Senior Brother Chen Yufei—the one who joined at the same time as us and tested for the Earthly Spiritual Root—has been taken in as a Named Disciple by the Golden Core Peak Master of Houtu Peak, 'Immortal Master Xuanyue'!"

As the words fell, several other Disciple working in the medicine garden stopped what they were doing.

Zhao Ming was the first to crowd over: "What? A Golden Core Peak Master taking a Disciple? Is that for real?"

"Absolutely true!" Liu Qingyan nodded heavily. "It's already spread all over the General Affairs Hall. They say Immortal Master Xuanyue came out of seclusion a few days ago and happened to see Senior Brother Chen Yufei practicing sword at the Houtu Peak martial arts arena. His 'Heavy Mountain Sword Technique' already possessed three parts of its essence. The Immortal Master felt his Heart-Nature was composed and his Sword Intent was profound, fitting the Dao lineage of Houtu Peak, so he gave his word and took him as a Named Disciple!"

Qian Xiaohu also put down his medicine hoe, his honest face full of envy: "A Golden Core Peak Master's Disciple... wouldn't resources and guidance just flow like water after this? Senior Brother Chen was already impressive; now he's really going to soar."

Sun Yun whispered: "I heard a Senior Sister from Houtu Peak say that a Named Disciple is only slightly inferior in status to a Personal Disciple, but the resources they should have are all there. Immortal Master Xuanyue even bestowed a High Grade Magical Artifact Flying Sword and a complete set of Foundation Establishment Cultivation Technique, telling Senior Brother Chen to Cultivate with peace of mind and not be distracted by external matters."

Several people began to chatter, their tones a mixture of envy, bitterness, and a hint of imperceptible helplessness.

Zhao Ming sighed: "We all joined at the same time, yet he's already been spotted by a Golden Core Old Ancestor, while we're still here dealing with mud. This is fate!"

"You can't say it like that." Qian Xiaohu scratched his head. "Senior Brother Chen has an Earthly Spiritual Root; his talent is right there. For us with ordinary Spiritual Roots, being able to enter the Outer Sect and having the chance to Cultivate is already much better than being a Mortal."

Liu Qingyan nodded: "Senior Brother Qian is right. Everyone has their own destined Opportunity; we just need to walk our own paths well."

As she said this, she looked at Lin Xuan: "Senior Brother Lin, what do you think?"

Lin Xuan was crouching, checking the root system of another thunder-pattern grass. Hearing this, he looked up, his expression calm: "Senior Brother Chen has outstanding talent; it is a good thing he obtained this Opportunity. We just need to do our own work well."

He said it lightly, but waves had risen in his heart.

Chen Yufei, Earthly Spiritual Root, was already far ahead of the Disciples who joined at the same time.

Now, having been taken as a Disciple by a Golden Core Peak Master, even if only as a Named Disciple, it meant he had officially stepped into the sequence of core cultivation for the Sect.

Resources, guidance, backing... these things that Lin Xuan had to fight desperately for were already within reach for Chen Yufei.

"One step ahead, every step ahead..." Lin Xuan thought silently.

This was the reality of the Cultivation world. Talent determined the starting point; Opportunity determined the speed.

For a Disciple with poor Aptitude like him, even with a Heaven-Defying Opportunity like the Spirit-Taming Tower, he had to tread on thin ice and could not afford a single mistake.

Once any abnormality was exposed, what awaited him would not be appreciation, but endless trouble.

He continued his work, sinking his mind into the subtle changes of the Spiritual Plant. The bustle of the outside world had nothing to do with him.

A few days later, the winter snow began to melt.

On the mountain road of Emerald Bamboo Peak, the accumulated snow turned into streams, flowing along the stone steps with a murmuring sound.

The air carried the fresh scent of thawed earth, but it was also colder and damper than in midwinter.

Lin Xuan returned from Cultivating in the Gravity Valley. Today, he had Cultivated in the 3.8-times gravity zone.

Returning to the small courtyard, he first entered the Spirit-Taming Tower Space to check on the Spiritual Plants.

A month had passed, and the scene inside the space had undergone new changes.

The thunder-pattern grass planted earliest had grown to three inches tall, sprouting its first pair of complete leaves, with clear silver patterns.

The five seedlings of the thunder spirit flower were adapting well; the leaves had grown slightly larger, and the silver glow at the edges was brighter.

The ten seeds of the shocking thunder flower showed no signs of sprouting yet—this was expected; for such delicate Spiritual Plants, the germination period could last for several months.

And the thunder essence fruit tree seedling in the very center of the spiritual field had the most subtle changes.

The main trunk seemed to have thickened by a sliver, which was almost imperceptible. But the electric sparks on the leaves jumped more frequently, especially when the Thunder-Light Bug flew by; those electric sparks would actively "greet" it, as if they were interacting.

In the soil at the base of the tree, the lightning-struck stone powder had been completely absorbed. Lin Xuan could feel the root system of the seedling slowly and firmly extending downward and outward, greedily absorbing the pure Thunder Spiritual Energy in the space.

"Though it grows slowly, its Foundation is solid." Lin Xuan nodded with satisfaction.

Exiting the space, he prepared to start today's Talisman practice. The success rate of the lightning strike talisman had already increased to fifty percent, and the quality was stable.

The tempering effect of Talisman making on Spiritual Energy control was very obvious.

Just then, the courtyard gate was knocked upon.

It was Chen Hao.

He was wearing a brand-new crimson Magical Artifact robe of Flame Peak, with a small hammer mark embroidered on the cuffs—this was the identifier of an Artifact Refining apprentice.

After not seeing him for a few months, he had grown sturdier, with traces of smoke and fire on his face, but his eyes were very bright.

"Lin Xuan! Busy?" Chen Hao walked in with a smile.

"Just got back." Lin Xuan put away the Talisman paper. "How do you have time today?"

"Master gave me a half-day off to let me consolidate my Cultivation." Chen Hao sat down on the stone stool and poured himself a bowl of water. "I came by to see you while I was at it. I heard you've been keeping to yourself lately; everything alright?"

"Everything is fine, just Cultivating and growing some Spiritual Plants." Lin Xuan sat down opposite him. "How are things at Flame Peak?"

"Good! Really good!" Chen Hao's eyes shone. "Although Master is strict, he teaches seriously. I can now independently process First Grade Low Grade Artifact Refining Materials, and last month I even helped forge the sword blanks for three red copper swords!"

"Although I was just helping out, watching the Materials deform and take shape in my own hands, that feeling... it's awesome!"

He spoke with great animation, clearly truly liking this path of Artifact Refining. Lin Xuan was happy for him: "Finding a path that suits you is a blessing."

"Yeah." Chen Hao drank some water and suddenly lowered his voice. "By the way, have you heard about that?"

"What news?"

"Over at the Main Peak, a Heavenly Spiritual Root has arrived!" Chen Hao's tone carried unbelievable amazement. "Metal-attribute Heavenly Spiritual Root! Twelve years old, and she guided Qi into her body all by herself! It was brought back by an Elder of our Sect who went out on a journey. It is said that when the Elder found her, she was helping someone blacksmith in a mountain village and could casually forge scrap iron into refined steel!"

Lin Xuan's heart shook.

Heavenly Spiritual Root? This kind of legendary Aptitude had actually appeared?

"Is the news accurate?" he asked.

"Absolutely!" Chen Hao nodded heavily. "My Master was summoned to the Main Peak for a meeting yesterday and said this when he returned. The Sect Master personally took her in as a Personal Disciple, bestowed the name Jin Ling'er, and she moved directly into the Golden Cloud Cave at the core of the Main Peak's Spiritual Vein. I heard the rewards given are piled up like a mountain."

He paused, his tone complex: "My Master said the Sect's higher-ups were shocked, and even the Nascent Soul Old Ancestor who was in seclusion issued a decree to focus on nurturing her. Now every peak is spreading the word that this is a sign of the Sect's great prosperity, especially at this critical juncture of confrontation with the Xuanyin Sect; having such a Genius arrive has boosted morale significantly."

Lin Xuan listened silently.

Heavenly Spiritual Root... that was a true favored child of heaven. There was almost no Bottleneck before the Nascent Soul stage; as long as there were enough resources, Cultivation could skyrocket all the way. Compared to such an existence, any Earthly Spiritual Root or High Grade Spiritual Root paled in comparison. And his own "Low Grade Lightning Spiritual Root" was even more insignificant, like dust.

"Aptitude..." Chen Hao also sighed, then laughed again. "But then again, that kind of Genius is too far from us. I'd better honestly forge my iron; if I can forge a decent Flying Sword in the future, I'll be content."

Lin Xuan nodded: "It's good that you can think that way."

The two chatted for a while longer about their recent situations. Chen Hao mentioned that Flame Peak was also preparing for war recently, and the Artifact Refining tasks were heavy, but the contribution points were generous. He had saved up some money and planned to buy a better Artifact Refining hammer in a while.

Sending Chen Hao off, it was already evening.

Lin Xuan stood in the courtyard, watching the setting sun sinking on the horizon. The late winter sunset had no warmth, leaving only a bleak orange-red on the horizon.

He thought of the news of Chen Yufei being taken as a Disciple by a Golden Core Peak Master, thought of the sensation caused by the Heavenly Spiritual Root girl joining the Sect, thought of the increasingly tense atmosphere of war preparation in the market, and thought of the high-reward but dangerous border missions in the General Affairs Hall...

This world was accelerating. Geniuses were emerging, Opportunities were being fought over, and undercurrents were surging.

And he, an Outer Sect Disciple with poor Aptitude, how should he conduct himself in this great tide?

Returning to the Quiet Room, Lin Xuan lit the oil lamp.

He spread out the Talisman paper, picked up the Talisman brush, and dipped it in cinnabar. When the tip of the brush fell, his hand was very steady.

Thunder Spiritual Energy flowed along the brush handle, outlining profound patterns on the Talisman paper. This time, he drew with extra focus, pouring all his heart and mind into every stroke.

Failure, one sheet wasted.

Spread another sheet, draw again. Failed again.

The third time, the brush tip moved like flowing clouds and water, and the Talisman runes were completed in one go. When the last stroke was withdrawn, silver light flowed on the Talisman paper, then became restrained—a lightning strike talisman of excellent quality was finished.

Lin Xuan put down the brush, looking at this successful Talisman on the table, and then looked at the two waste Talismans beside it.

Success rate, fifty percent. Progress was slow, but it was indeed progressing.

He put away the Talisman, sat cross-legged, and began tonight's Cultivation.

The Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art circulated, and Thunder Spiritual Energy surged through his Meridians.

Thanks to the "Thunder Gathering" talent and the feedback from the space, his Cultivation speed was actually very fast, but he deliberately suppressed it, letting the Spiritual Energy be repeatedly compressed and purified in his Dantian, not seeking speed, but only stability.

Outside, the wind was rising, Geniuses were emerging, and Opportunities were continuous.

But those were other people's paths.

His path was under his feet, in this Quiet Room, in this space that belonged solely to him.

Hide himself well, polish his strength, grow the spiritual field well, draw the Talismans well, one step at a time.

When the wind truly blew in front of him, he had to have a sufficient Foundation to stand firm.

Outside the window, the last trace of daylight faded.

The night was like ink, and the stars gradually appeared. The late winter wind blew through the bamboo forest, carrying the scent of spring, and the chill of an approaching mountain rain.