50: Chapter 50 A Rare Moment of Peace

From sunrise to sunset, no one came.

The second day, still no one came.

On the third day, Ding San returned from outside and brought him a message.

"Junior Brother Li, I heard that Zhao Yan from Wanqi Peak has gone into seclusion to do some Artifact Refining and won't be out for at least half a month. That batch of Materials of yours..."

"It's likely we'll have to wait until he comes out of seclusion before someone is sent to collect them."

Li Changsheng was taken aback for a moment.

Then, he smiled.

It wasn't a mocking smile, nor one of relief; it was just a very light, somewhat surprised smile.

"Many thanks for letting me know, Senior Brother Ding."

Ding San looked at him, wanting to say something but hesitating.

For the past month, he had watched with his own eyes how Li Changsheng had endured.

Rising the earliest and sleeping the latest every day, doing the dirtiest and most exhausting work, while also having to deal with those open and hidden provocations.

If it were anyone else, they would likely have been filled with resentment or given up on themselves long ago.

But this youth remained the same. He did not complain, did not argue, and did not try to curry favor.

He simply did his own work in silence.

"Junior Brother Li,"

Ding San suddenly lowered his voice.

"Do you think... Zhao Yan going into seclusion for Artifact Refining might be on purpose?"

Li Changsheng looked at him.

"Hasn't he always been giving you trouble?"

"Suddenly going into seclusion, could it be that he wants to make you waste your effort for nothing?"

"When he comes out in half a month and says 'I forgot' or 'the Materials are not up to standard,' wouldn't all your work over these three days be wasted?"

This was a very reasonable inference.

Given Zhao Yan's character, he was perfectly capable of doing such a thing.

Li Changsheng was silent for a moment, then said.

"Perhaps."

"Then why are you still..."

"Preparing the items is my responsibility."

Li Changsheng interrupted him.

"Whether he collects them or not is his business. I cannot control that, nor do I intend to."

He turned and walked back into the warehouse, leaving Ding San stunned in place.

For some things, thinking too much is useless.

What needs to be done has been done; as for the rest, let it be.

The days that followed were a rare period of peace.

With Zhao Yan in seclusion, his band of cronies also quieted down a lot.

Occasionally, a few Outer Sect Disciples would come to collect or deliver miscellaneous items; although their attitudes were arrogant, they no longer deliberately caused trouble.

Li Changsheng seized this rare gap of time and poured all his energy into two things.

Cultivating, and taking care of the Spirit Nourishing Grass.

The hint of yellow on the Spirit Nourishing Grass gradually recovered its verdant green after he nurtured it with Spiritual Qi for three consecutive days.

The leaves had grown a bit taller, now about half a foot high, and the roots and stems had also thickened slightly.

The "Evergreen Plant Truth Scripture" states: Plants and trees know gratitude; if you treat them with your heart's blood, they will repay you with essence and Qi.

Every day during the nurturing process, Li Changsheng could clearly perceive that the free-roaming Spiritual Qi in the air around the Spirit Nourishing Grass was slightly denser than elsewhere.

This was the "reciprocation" of the Spiritual Plant—although weak, it was better than nothing.

He moved the wooden box containing the Spirit Nourishing Grass to a spot deep in the warehouse that was well-ventilated and could receive a little moonlight.

Every night, after finishing the nurturing exercises, he would use this faint Spiritual Qi to circulate the "Evergreen Plant Truth Scripture," washing his Meridians over and over again to condense his Spiritual Qi.

Day after day.

The pale green mist of Spiritual Qi in his Dantian, which was originally just a thin layer, gradually became dense and solid after continuous nurturing and Cultivating.

With every circulation of the minor cycle, he could feel the Spiritual Qi flowing more smoothly through his Meridians, and the sense of fullness in his Dantian was also slowly increasing.

Finally, in the dead of night.

When he finished another round of circulation and was about to conclude his practice, a slight tremor suddenly came from his Dantian.

The mist of Spiritual Qi seemed to be pulled by some force, suddenly shrinking inward, and then began to rotate slowly, forming an extremely faint, ethereal vortex.

At the center of the vortex, a wisp of Spiritual Qi, purer than before, quietly condensed.

Qi Refining Level 2.

Li Changsheng opened his eyes, feeling the power within his body, which was nearly twice as abundant as before, and a faint joy welled up in his heart.

It had been over three months since he arrived at the Qinglan Sword Sect.

From Qi Refining Level 1 to Level 2, including his previous groping for the way, he had spent over half a year in total.

This speed was not worth mentioning in the eyes of the true Disciples of the Qinglan Sword Sect.

But for a Named Disciple of the General Affairs Hall who had been judged as having "mixed Spiritual Roots and no talent," and could only rely on secretly Cultivating in the dead of night, it was already rare.

More importantly, he had truly felt the power of the "Evergreen Plant Truth Scripture" and his post-Fusion Dao body.

With the same Cultivation Technique and the same duration of Cultivating, the efficiency was more than double what it had been before.

He brought the wooden box of the Spirit Nourishing Grass in front of him, looked at the verdant green seedling that was already half a foot tall, and whispered.

"Thank you."

The Spiritual Plant was silent, but its leaves seemed to sway slightly, as if in response.

Days passed by like this, one after another.

When the Spirit Nourishing Grass grew to a foot tall, he changed its pot for the first time.

He used a damaged earthen jar he had scavenged from the waste pile, punched a few holes in the bottom, and filled it with the new soil he had mixed.

That night when he changed the pot, he discovered three new rice-grain-sized seeds next to the roots.

The Spirit Nourishing Grass had borne fruit.

He carefully collected the seeds, waiting for spring to come when he could plant the second batch.

Outside of Cultivating, he continued to sift through the waste, accumulating scraps of spiritual Materials and mixing spiritual soil.

As days accumulated into months, there were already seven or eight earthen jars of various sizes piled in the corner, buried with all kinds of low-grade Spiritual Plant seeds he had collected from the mountains.

Some had sprouted, some had not, and some had withered halfway through growing.

He summarized his experience, adjusted the formula, and continued to try.

The Disciples of the General Affairs Hall gradually grew accustomed to the taciturn Junior Brother Li.

No one knew what he was doing in the warehouse every night, and no one cared.

As long as he did his chores well during the day, no one would ask a single extra question.

In the blink of an eye, it had already been five months since Li Changsheng arrived at the General Affairs Hall.

One day, he was squatting in the corner of the warehouse, watering a newly sprouted "clear heart grass," when footsteps suddenly came from outside.

"Is Li Changsheng here?"

The voice was cold and clear, yet somewhat familiar.

Li Changsheng's hand paused; he put the earthen jar back in its place and stood up to walk out of the pile of miscellaneous items.

At the warehouse entrance stood a figure in white.

Liu Qingchen.

Having not seen him for several months, his complexion was much better than when he first returned to the Sect; although still somewhat pale, he was already out of danger.

The "autumn water sword" was still hanging at his waist, and the cracks on the sword body seemed to have been repaired somewhat.

"Senior Brother Liu!"

Li Changsheng hurried forward to greet him and cupped his hands in a salute.

"Have your injuries fully healed?"

Liu Qingchen nodded slightly.

His gaze swept over the mountain of miscellaneous items inside the warehouse, then looked at the dust-covered gray cloth robe on Li Changsheng, a flash of complex emotion appearing in his eyes.

"I heard about your situation."

He said calmly.

"The General Affairs Hall... you have been wronged."

Li Changsheng shook his head.

"There is nothing to be wronged about. Having a place to stay, food to eat, and being able to Cultivate is quite good."

Liu Qingchen glanced at him, seemingly wanting to find traces of a forced smile on his face, but only saw tranquility.

He was silent for a moment, then said.

"That day when I returned to the Sect, I went into seclusion due to severe injuries and did not manage to settle you in."

"It was only after I came out of seclusion that I learned you had already entered the General Affairs Hall."

"Regarding this matter... I bear responsibility."

Li Changsheng felt a slight warmth in his heart.

This Senior Brother Liu, although cold in temperament, was someone who remembered favors.

"Senior Brother Liu, you speak too seriously."

He said earnestly.

"To protect the four of us, Senior Brother fought with your life; Changsheng will remember it in his heart. These minor setbacks are not worth mentioning."

Liu Qingchen looked at him, his gaze containing a bit more scrutiny, and also a bit of approval.

"You are more composed than I imagined. It seems you have already mastered the basics of the 'Qingyuan Formula'?"

Li Changsheng smiled awkwardly.

"I was lucky to have mastered the basics."