Heaven’s Shadow

“Who is it?” Lao Ma asked.

“In the city, it’s Bai Lian from the Bai family, the ten-year-old genius girl.”

Lao Ma’s face changed immediately, as if he had just sucked in a cold breath. He frowned and said, “What are you doing? She’s just a ten-year-old girl, not to mention she’s a five-pillar genius and will soon become a disciple of Bai Chen Zhenjun. You…”

His words suddenly stopped abruptly, as if he had realized something. He looked at Lu Chen, moved his mouth a few times, but didn’t say another word.

Lu Chen calmly looked at him and after a moment said, “Don’t forget, I was only eleven or twelve back then. As for being a disciple of the True Lord, a five-pillar genius…” He smiled faintly, with a hint of sarcasm on his face, then looked up at the sky.

Behind him, Lao Ma’s voice sounded, somewhat strained, “I understand. I will investigate.”

“Good.” Lu Chen responded, then walked out of the gate and headed into the distance.

※※※

Life on Kunlun Mountain was calm and peaceful, much like the clear stream in Qingshuitang back then, flowing quietly day by day, almost imperceptible.

Here in the Flowing Fragrance Nursery, Lu Chen gradually became familiar with the situation and, with his gentle nature, also got to know many people here. Many of them were miscellaneous disciples like him, and some were formal disciples who managed this area for the Baicao Hall. As for his own job, the peculiar Red Amber Ginseng, which had been thriving these days, seemed even more dominant. Specifically, the area around the Red Amber Ginseng had expanded slightly due to its overbearing nature.

After that day, Su Qingjun visited again. Seeing the vigorous vitality of the Red Amber Ginseng, she seemed pleased. Although she didn’t genuinely smile, her attitude towards Lu Chen had improved considerably.

However, compared to the Lingtian at Shipangu, the Lingcao quality here at Flowing Fragrance Nursery was generally much higher, but it also took longer to grow. Even though the Red Amber Ginseng had grown this large, it would still take at least three more months before harvest.

Such things couldn’t be rushed, and Baicao Hall wouldn’t engage in forcing growth. In fact, at this current speed, it was already twice as fast as the growth rate of wild Red Amber Ginseng, thanks to the careful cultivation by human cultivators using spiritual power.

However, this made Lu Chen a bit bored after finishing his work. Perhaps it was because Su Qingjun had mentioned it once, although Lu Chen hadn’t conceded at the time, he hadn’t slept in the Lingtian since that day.

He began to wander around aimlessly. In the Flowing Fragrance Nursery, however, because the deeper areas were planted with higher-grade and invaluable spiritual materials, they were temporarily off-limits to miscellaneous disciples like him, so he mostly wandered around the herbal garden.

The area of the herbal garden was actually quite large, with many types of spiritual herbs and materials planted over the years, and there were indeed quite a few miscellaneous disciples who had worked here over the years. However, for Lu Chen, the closest and easiest to get along with were undoubtedly the group of miscellaneous disciples who had come with him this time.

After some time, he got to know the other nine miscellaneous disciples in this group, and the one he usually got along with the best was a 25-year-Lao Man named He Changsheng.

He Changsheng had an interesting name. It sounded a bit rustic but had a grand vision. Under the heavens, what millions of people dream of day and night isn’t just longevity and immortality? Therefore, this name had long been overused. In the path of cultivation, longevity and becoming an immortal were almost the ultimate goals for all cultivators. Since ancient times, it seemed that no one had been able to achieve it, even if they were True Immortals who had transcended human form.

He Changsheng himself was quite interesting. He was a very diligent and down-to-earth person, serious in everything he did, and had a good temper. In simpler terms, he was an honest man. But for some reason, his luck seemed a bit poor, making He Changsheng’s life seem somewhat unlucky.

A hundred years ago, the He family in Kunwu City was a famous and prestigious clan, but thirty years ago, hardly anyone remembered them. He Changsheng’s ancestors had indeed produced remarkable figures, and one of them had even been a genuine Yuanying True Immortal of the Kunlun Sect, commanding the winds and clouds and laughing among the heroes. But later, things didn’t go well, and he died tragically at the hands of the brutal demons and monsters in the Confusion Realm during a major battle.

The speed of the He family’s decline was quite astonishing, and no one knew the specific reasons. In any case, from being a prominent clan back then, they rapidly declined to obscurity today. By He Changsheng’s generation, there was no one left to talk about their connections.

He Changsheng loved cultivating immortality. Since he was young, he had dreamed of restoring the glory of the He family’s ancestors and restoring the family’s reputation. He was ambitious about it and had been preparing for over twenty years. In the end, he sold all the ancestral property left behind in Kunwu City in exchange for an opportunity with the Immortal Mirror.

However, fate always seemed malicious towards honest people. In the Immortal Mirror, his Five Elements Divine Plate dealt him a heavy blow, and his talent was so poor that he almost couldn’t embark on the path of cultivation. It was only after pleading bitterly that he obtained a nominal position as a miscellaneous disciple that seemed destined to have no future. This position also completely emptied his last remaining wealth.

“Is it worth it?”

That afternoon, with the warm sunlight shining warmly on the Lingtian in the Flowing Fragrance Nursery, Lu Chen sat side by side with He Changsheng, chatting by the Lingtian. Lu Chen asked him like this.

Lu Chen looked very serious, and he gestured lightly with his hand, saying, “If you give up the idea of immortality, relying on the two old houses left by your ancestors in Kunwu City, perhaps you could live a peaceful and stable life. Why suffer here?”

“It’s not particularly painful,” He Changsheng, with an honest face, looked ordinary and plain. He seemed to have some goodwill towards Lu Chen, or perhaps their similar life situations brought them closer. So he smiled and said to Lu Chen, “Besides, if I drift aimlessly in Kunwu City for my whole life, wouldn’t that be completely hopeless?”

“Hope?” Lu Chen shook his head and looked at He Changsheng. “But I don’t think miscellaneous disciples have much hope. Throughout history, I’ve never heard of a single-pillar disciple achieving the level of Yuanying True Immortal.”

He Changsheng nodded, seemingly in agreement with Lu Chen’s words. He said, “That’s indeed very difficult. However, in our Kunlun Sect, there’s a high-grade spiritual medicine called ‘Xianze Pill’. It’s said to have a miraculous effect in enhancing the talents of disciples who are lacking, and the effect is even better for those with poorer aptitude.”

Lu Chen chuckled and shook his head. “I’ve heard of that Xianze Pill, but that stuff is priceless. The spiritual materials needed for its preparation are all top-grade treasures. Throughout history, only wealthy and powerful families occasionally seek its production, and more than half the time, it has no effect.” He sighed and continued, “If you pin your hopes on that, it won’t work.”

He Changsheng fell silent for a moment, then nodded and said, “You’re right.”

Lu Chen glanced at him and asked, “So, do you have any other thoughts?”

He Changsheng uttered an “mmm” and replied, “Yes.”

Lu Chen became interested and smiled, “Tell me about it.”

He Changsheng smiled back and glanced around. In the herbal garden, he could see other miscellaneous disciples like them toiling in the fields. He stared at those figures for a moment before saying, “Our He family has been mediocre for three generations. If I don’t pick myself up, in the future I’ll have to pass on my family line and have children of my own. Should I let them live ordinary lives?”

“If I’m destined to be stuck at the bottom of Kunlun Mountain in this lifetime, unable to stand up, and can only struggle and toil in these fields, should I let my children suffer the same fate?”

He Changsheng looked at Lu Chen, his eyes uncommonly bright with a flicker of hope. He softly said, “By enduring a bit more hardship here in Kunlun Mountain, I will eventually accumulate something. In the future, my children will be better than me now. Even if he still can’t make it, as long as he continues like this, my grandchildren will definitely be better. If we persist like this for a long time, one day, our He family will surely rise again. Don’t you think so?”

He smiled at Lu Chen, his eyes glowing with hope.

Lu Chen looked at him quietly for a moment before saying, “It’s impossible. You’re dreaming.”

※※※

When Su Qingjun walked into the Flowing Fragrance Nursery from outside, she hesitated at the fork in the broad road. In the end, she decided to turn towards the herbal garden. The Red Amber Ginseng currently planted there was the main herb for refining a rare elixir. Her master, Senior Mu Yuan, had already told her that once the Red Amber Ginseng matured, if its medicinal effects were excellent, he would personally request Senior Qiandeng, the top alchemist of Baicao Hall, to refine that precious elixir. After consuming the elixir, she could break through to the Golden Core realm.

The Golden Core realm!

She was only twenty-two years old now, so young that in nearly two hundred years, Kunlun Sect had never seen such a genius. Although she had been accustomed to her rapid progress in cultivation since childhood, the thought of reaching the Golden Core realm filled her with longing and excitement.

As she walked along the road, two figures approached her—one old and one young. Su Qingjun recognized the elderly white-haired woman, who was none other than Yan Luo, the Golden Core cultivator of Baicao Hall. She quickly paid her respects. Then, she noticed the young girl beside Yan Luo, feeling vaguely familiar. Soon, she saw the scar on the girl’s cheek and realized that she was Yi Xin.

That incident had caused a stir throughout Kunlun Sect, and of course, Su Qingjun was aware of it.

She smiled at Yi Xin, who returned the smile with a nod. In this clear weather, the girl seemed in good spirits, gradually emerging from the shadow of recent events.

After bidding farewell to Yan Luo, Su Qingjun continued towards the herbal garden. However, not long after, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her. Turning around, she saw Yi Xin hurrying towards her.

“Lingcao” (灵草) translates to “spiritual herb” or “spiritual grass” in English. In the context of Chinese novels, especially in the xianxia (fantasy) genre, lingcao often refers to magical or mystical herbs that possess special properties, such as healing, enhancing cultivation, or providing various supernatural abilities.

“Lingtian” (灵田) translates to “spiritual field” or “spiritual farmland” in English. In the context of Chinese novels, particularly in the xianxia and wuxia genres, a lingtian typically refers to a special type of farmland that is imbued with spiritual energy. These fields are used to cultivate spiritual herbs, plants, or other resources that are essential for cultivation and the enhancement of one’s abilities. The crops grown in a lingtian are usually of higher quality and possess unique properties due to the spiritual energy present in the land.

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