Heaven’s Shadow

Lu Chen’s words were directed straight at Su Qingjun, carrying a hint of provocation. However, his expression remained calm and his tone was gentle, making it seem like there was no such intent.

Su Qingjun, appearing to be neither impatient nor hot-tempered, didn’t react to Lu Chen’s words. Instead, she frowned and asked, “From what you’re saying, did I say something wrong just now? Tell me, if I was indeed mistaken, I will naturally admit my fault to you.”

“Hmm?” Lu Chen was taken aback by her words and couldn’t help but reassess Su Qingjun, now seeing her in a different light.

Since joining the Kunlun Sect, Lu Chen had learned a lot about this well-known woman in the sect. Additionally, Old Ma in Kunwu City had secretly gathered and relayed a lot of information about Su Qingjun to him. In fact, Lu Chen knew more about her than most people.

This young and beautiful woman seemed perfect in every aspect. She was highly talented, a top-tier four-pillar prodigy, progressing rapidly in her cultivation far beyond the average person. She came from a prestigious family, the Su family, the largest in Kunwu City, showered with love and resources from a young age. Her background was also formidable; besides the numerous overt and covert influences of the Su family within the Kunlun Sect, her master was the leader of the Tie branch. Even though the Tie branch was temporarily weakened, if all their hopes were pinned on one person, not even the currently strong Kun branch would dare to provoke her lightly.

At a young age, she had already glimpsed the dazzling golden gate of the Golden Core stage, with a broad and unimaginable future ahead of her. Rumors even said that one time, her master, Mu Yuan Zhenren, a lover of fine wine, drunkenly claimed that his disciple might one day have a chance to glimpse the legendary realm of True Lord.

Of course, this was unverified gossip. Mu Yuan Zhenren himself later firmly denied having said such things multiple times. Nevertheless, such rumors persisted, circulating quietly among the Kunlun Sect disciples.

Such a prodigious girl, seemingly born to stand above all, deserving of everyone’s admiration and reverence, now suddenly spoke of admitting her mistake to Lu Chen.

Lu Chen carefully looked into her eyes. Her gaze was clear and bright, seemingly without any impurities, making one instinctively feel that all her words might be sincere.

“Hey?” After waiting for a while and seeing that Lu Chen was just looking at her without answering, Su Qingjun frowned slightly and raised her voice a bit.

However, seeing her demeanor, it was clear that this girl had received the best etiquette education since childhood. Or perhaps she was too beautiful and graceful, so even a prompting call from her did not feel uncomfortable.

Lu Chen withdrew his gaze and smiled self-mockingly, thinking that the gap between people could be so vast. After a pause, he pointed to the red amber ginseng on the ground and said to Su Qingjun, “Senior Sister Su, in cultivating this red amber ginseng, the key is a ‘nine to one’ ratio, meaning one part cultivation and nine parts rest. As long as the one part is done well, gathering the earth-type spiritual energy in the spirit field around the roots of the red amber ginseng, it will grow on its own for the rest of the time.”

Su Qingjun looked slightly surprised and said, “Is that so?”

Lu Chen said, “This method has been passed down by the ancestors of the Baicao Hall. As a menial disciple, I dare not alter it. If Senior Sister doesn’t believe me, you can inquire at the Baicao Hall yourself.”

Su Qingjun nodded and said, “I see.” After a pause, she asked with some doubt, “According to what you said, this red amber ginseng seems easy to cultivate? But in the past, when I sought this spiritual herb from the Baicao Hall, they said it was difficult to cultivate and very rare.”

Lu Chen smiled and said, “That’s correct. The senior brothers and sisters at Baicao Hall didn’t lie to you. The red amber ginseng is indeed hard to cultivate.”

He squatted down and fiddled with the soil particles around the red amber ginseng, casually crushing a small clump of soil, and said, “Although most of the time in cultivating red amber ginseng is idle, the one part that is crucial. The earth-type spiritual energy in the soil must be balanced and evenly directed to all the fine roots in the soil. The gathered and directed earth-type spiritual energy must also be pure and gentle. This step alone is beyond the average person. Either the quality of spiritual energy is insufficient, or their control isn’t precise enough to reach all the roots, which is why the red amber ginseng is considered one of the hardest spiritual herbs to cultivate.”

Su Qingjun glanced at Lu Chen and suddenly said, “So, in this year’s menial disciples, your cultivation skills are quite good?”

Lu Chen said, “I’m the best, which is why the senior brother at Baicao Hall let me cultivate this red amber ginseng.”

Su Qingjun was momentarily stunned, seemingly not expecting Lu Chen to be so blunt and unmodest, unlike the people she usually knew. She couldn’t help but laugh, shaking her head and smiling slightly, saying, “You are quite confident, aren’t you?”

Lu Chen smiled but did not reply.

Su Qingjun no longer looked at him. Her bright eyes slightly lit up, gazing at the red amber ginseng with nine “red beads” on its head, her eyes filled with curiosity and joy, as if delighted by the new knowledge she had just learned.

After a moment, she suddenly squatted down, seemingly not minding the dirty soil of the spirit field, gently touching the red amber ginseng with her fair fingers.

“The world is full of wonders. Even such a small spiritual herb has so much knowledge behind it. It’s truly amazing.” She smiled, softly praising.

After a moment, the two stood up together. Su Qingjun turned to leave but suddenly paused and looked back at Lu Chen.

Lu Chen slightly lowered his head and said, “Senior Sister Su, is there anything else?”

Su Qingjun glanced at him and said, “Earlier, I was unaware of the red amber ginseng’s characteristics and wrongly accused you. That was my mistake.”

Lu Chen was silent for a moment, then said, “Senior Sister Su, given your status, you don’t need to apologize to me.”

Su Qingjun replied calmly, “A mistake is a mistake, there’s no need to cover it up. But speaking of which, this red amber ginseng is indeed important to me. I would like to ask you to… Oh, I haven’t asked your name.”

“Lu Chen.”

“Ah, Junior Brother Lu, please take good care of this spiritual herb. If it matures with potent medicinal properties, I will certainly reward you.”

Lu Chen smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Senior Sister.”

Su Qingjun nodded and then pondered for a moment before adding, “One more thing, consider it my unsolicited advice. Perhaps the red amber ginseng does require such care, and you have done your part, but lying down in the spirit field to sleep, regardless of who sees it, gives an impression of laziness and slyness, which is not beneficial to you.”

Lu Chen gave the beautiful woman a deep look, then nodded and said, “I understand. Thank you for the advice, Senior Sister.”

Su Qingjun acknowledged with a soft “Mm,” said no more, and turned to leave the spirit field.

A gentle breeze blew from afar, fluttering her light, beautiful clothes. The fiery red feathered cloak on her shoulders trembled, like a burning scene, stunning in the daylight.

※※※

When Lu Chen was caught slacking off in the Liuxiang Garden, Ah Tu, whose injuries had nearly healed, ran out of the house to play.

The environment around the new house was different from Stone Disk Valley, but since both were in Kunlun Mountain, there were still many mountains and forests. Ah Tu quickly adapted to the surroundings and familiarized itself with the mountain forest around Liuxiang Garden.

Compared to the freedom in Stone Disk Valley, the mountain forest around Liuxiang Garden had a noticeably heavier air of vigilance. The perimeter of the herb garden was constantly patrolled, and even in the forest, patrol teams occasionally passed by. Clearly, Baicao Hall valued this area highly.

Ah Tu, though not a particularly powerful beast, had a keen nose and agile movements, allowing it to roam the forest freely, avoiding the patrol disciples without incident.

Everything seemed normal and enjoyable, but there was a minor regret. Ah Tu had been unable to find the peculiar “Dog Head Mountain” again. This was understandable, given the distance from Stone Disk Mountain to Liuxiang Garden and the vastness of Kunlun Mountain. The Dog Head Mountain, hidden among the mountains, was not easily found in a short time.

For some reason, Ah Tu remained fixated on Dog Head Mountain. Despite being injured there, it still wanted to visit.

After wandering for a long time without success, and with the sky getting darker, Ah Tu had to head back. After all, there was plenty of time to find Dog Head Mountain later.

The way home was easy for Ah Tu. Following familiar scents, it made its way back, reaching near Liuxiang Garden as the sky dimmed.

But then, Ah Tu suddenly stopped in its tracks, body trembling. In the dim light of the forest ahead, a large figure appeared — the green ox.

Ah Tu stopped and stared at the ox from a distance, puzzled.

It quickly noticed that the green ox seemed to be gazing at something in the distance. Following its gaze, Ah Tu saw the vast Liuxiang Garden below the forest, with neatly arranged spirit fields and the faint fragrance of spiritual herbs and plants wafting through the evening breeze, filling the forest.

Ah Tu looked at the green ox.

The green ox let out a low moo, lifted its head to take a deep breath of the air, and seemed to show a look of contentment.

A/N – (Starting early in the morning with the goal of writing three chapters today, I had to hurry and start writing. I wrote some last night and finished this chapter this morning. Looking at the precarious situation on the monthly ticket leaderboard, I sigh at how fierce the competition is. Today is the last day of double tickets and the National Day holiday. Please vote. Back to writing.) (To be continued.)

Author Announcement – 57,000 Words in Seven Days, Asking for Monthly Tickets

The seven-day National Day holiday is finally coming to an end. My new book *Heaven’s Shadow* has been doing quite well. As a newcomer to Qidian, I sincerely thank everyone for their support.

Did everyone have a good holiday? Mine was pretty good too, except for the fact that while my family went to Sanya for vacation, I stayed home alone writing on my computer. Other than that, everything was great ^_^.

It’s strange. Sometimes when I look at the comments section, I hear that other authors often get bombarded with demands for more updates, yet I often see many of my readers urging me to take my time and focus on quality over quantity. It seems my readers are quite unique, haha.

I’ve been writing for a long time, and those who have followed my works over the years might notice that my books are a bit different from others. The world is so diverse and exciting. If every book followed the same old formula, what would be the point? I believe that, at least so far, *Heaven’s Shadow* has lived up to the votes it has received.

The current results are decent, but the month isn’t over yet. I hope everyone continues to support me as I strive to write an engaging and unique book.

A newcomer to Qidian asking for votes… (To be continued.)

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