Shen Qingmang told the children about the photosynthesis and respiration of plants, and taught them the art of awakening the spirit, which is a wood-based technique that can help people refresh their minds. The principle is to use wood spirit to gather oxygen in the air, and he gave them an assignment: to cultivate flower seeds.
Each child was given a seed. Si Rong held it up to the setting sun and asked, "Master, is this our natal spirit plant?"
"Of course not." Shen Qingmang smiled. "The natal spirit plant is only possessed by Qihuang Sect disciples, and needs to be nurtured in the Dantian. You just need to plant the seeds in the soil."
"Oh." Si Rong felt a little disappointed.
"However, this seed is somewhat similar to your natal spirit plant," Shen Qingmang said. "The seed each of you receives looks the same, because it's just a container for storing wood spirit energy. You need to inject wood spirit energy into it, along with sunlight and rain, to provide nutrients to the seed. This way, the seed will gradually take root and sprout, growing into a unique plant that belongs only to you. It could be a flower, a grass, or even a tree."
As soon as he finished speaking, the children who were playing with seeds or exchanging seeds all guarded their seeds tightly.
Shen Qingmang smiled and waved. "Okay, school's over, let's go play. Sui Han, A Rong, A Xin, you stay for a while."
The children said goodbye to her excitedly and left. Some of them muttered that they would quickly find a flowerpot to plant the seeds, and some said that after learning the awakening technique, they would not feel sleepy when practicing internal energy at night.
Si Rong also came to her skipping and jumping. Shen Qingmang found that this child didn't like to walk properly and was like a happy little pony.
"Master, this seed is so magical, why haven't I heard of it before?"
"This was cultivated by the master." Shen Qingmang's tone rose slightly.
"Wow! Master is so amazing!" Si Rong's eyes sparkled. "Master, why did you ask us to stay? Do you want to have dinner together?"
"No, from now on, I will tutor you three individually at 3:30 every day. Go eat first, and then wait for me at Liuran Cottage."
Liuran Xiaozhu is the name of Si Rong's courtyard, and the three of them nodded in agreement.
Shen Qingmang returned to Qiongzhi Hall and lay down for half an hour, almost falling asleep. Fortunately, there was a homemade alarm clock to remind her. She had recently tinkered with many small gadgets, some of which were teaching aids for class, and some of which improved her living standards.
When they arrived at Liuran Cottage, Si Rong was feeding rabbits and Hao Xin was practicing drawing Qi into his body. Shen Qingmang sniffed the lingering aroma of food, swallowed quietly, and tried to find a topic to distract himself.
"Won't your senior brother have dinner with you?"
Si Rong looked up. "Big Brother seems to be fasting. I've asked him several times if he wants to eat with me, but he always refuses, saying that eating whole grains will affect his practice. Big Brother is really trying hard."
Shen Qingmang's reminder of this revealed another quirk in the original novel's plot. Gu Suihan clearly possessed the Heart of Heaven and Earth, possessing the ideal physique for cultivating immortality, so why was his cultivation level not as high as Hao Xin's in the original novel? Thirty years later, in the Taichu Sect's internal sect competition, it was Hao Xin who won first place. This was why Qiongju delegated half of Hao Xin's affairs to him, leading no one to question Hao Xin's later production of the forged Peak Master's decree.
When reading the original novel, the main narrative perspective was on the male and female protagonists. Shen Qingmang didn't think there was anything wrong, but now the more he thinks about it, the more he feels something is wrong.
Perhaps because her expression was too serious, Si Rong, who was feeding the rabbit, dropped the spiritual herbs, stood up, and poked Hao Xin. Hao Xin reluctantly opened his eyes and said, "What are you doing... Hey, the senior brother is here."
Shen Qingmang came back to her senses and turned her head to look. Gu Suihan came in the afterglow of the setting sun, his fair face was tinged with warmth, and he smiled gently when he met her gaze.
She suppressed all the thoughts in her heart and moved aside to let him into the yard.
"Master."
"Did your father also teach you how to draw Qi into the body?" she asked.
"No. The disciple went to the library to look through it himself."
Upon hearing this, Hao Xin got up from the ground and said, "Master, how did you know I went to the library to learn swordsmanship? I haven't told anyone else."
How did Shen Qingmang know this? Of course, she knew it from the original novel, but she couldn't say that. "Your uncle mentioned to me that you often go to the library."
"Oh, then how come you didn't know that Senior Brother would be there too? I've even run into him in the library before." Hao Xin said, glancing at Si Rong. "Senior Brother and I are both very hardworking, but Si doesn't work hard at all. She just plays around all day."
"Who said that? I will draw the energy into my body right away." Si Rong sat down cross-legged and puffed up his cheeks, but he still couldn't find the right method.
Shen Qingmang stepped forward to give her one-on-one tutoring. The evening tutoring was supposed to be for all three disciples, but in reality, the one who needed the most guidance was Si Rong. She was a little slow in cultivating immortals, so she needed patient instruction.
Si Rong listened attentively at first, but after several unsuccessful attempts to draw in the Qi, she placed her hands on the ground behind her and shouted, "I don't want to learn anymore. I just can't learn it."
Shen Qingmang didn't force it. "Then rest today and continue practicing tomorrow. Have you learned the Soul Awakening Technique?"
Her expression was gloomy. "No. I can't catch the wood spirit. They don't dare to come."
The fire element accounts for the highest proportion in Si Rong's Hunyuan spiritual roots. Fire overcomes wood, so the wood spiritual energy is not very close to her.
Shen Qingmang squatted down. "That's okay. First, learn to capture the wood spirit energy and inject it into the flower seeds. That's the easiest. Don't you like flowers and plants?"
Si Rong perked up a bit, took out a seed from his sleeve, and said he wanted to plant it together with the fire grass.
Shen Qingmang went back to instruct Hao Xin and Gu Suihan. When the sunset faded and the moon rose, she dismissed the class and told them to rest. She then headed straight to the library to find Shi Mingli.
Yesterday's nightmare not only reminded her of the importance of prioritizing her disciples, but also reminded her of the dangers lurking within her sect. Why had the elders collectively lost their spiritual power when the Taichu sect was attacked? And why had the Fangyuan and Wuwang sects wanted to kill them?
There were both inner and outer disciples in the library, but Shi Mingli was nowhere to be seen. Shen Qingmang recognized one of Shi Mingli's disciples by his clothes, and after hearing that he was currently practicing in the pine forest, he went to look for him.
The pine forest of Wuya Peak grows on the peak covered with snow all year round. "Walking in the Snow in the Pine Forest" is one of the seven scenic spots in the world of immortal cultivation. Unfortunately, the beauty of the scenery cannot be appreciated at night. Shen Qingmang just felt that it was too easy to slip.
"Big Brother? Where are you?"
"Junior sister, are you looking for me?" Shi Mingli appeared in front of her almost immediately. Shen Qingmang was startled and cut to the chase, asking him if there had been any unusual movements in Fangyuan Sect and Wuwang Sect recently.
"No. Junior Sister, do you want to buy talismans? Or do you want to take your disciples out for training?"
Shen Qingmang waved his hands, feeling somewhat melancholy. If even the eldest brother didn't know, then he could only ask the Sect Leader. But on what grounds should he ask?
She returned to Qiongzhi Palace with a lot on her mind and almost bumped into someone's chest.
"It's getting late and the dew is heavy. Where has Master gone?"
The fragrance of orchids approached, dispelling the cedar scent on her body.
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