Chapter 42 Awakening Spiritual Roots
While his senior brother was still puzzled, the junior brother quickly snatched the rice bag.
“It’s just a bag of rice, junior brother, why are you being so secretive?” The senior brother shrugged. “At most, Master will find out you haven’t fasted and punish you by making you do more homework.”
"Isn't doing more homework scary enough?" the junior muttered.
If he hadn't been so excited on his way down the mountain that he forgot to take his storage bag, he wouldn't have been sneaking around like this and had been caught by his senior brother.
"Senior brother, please make yourself at home. I'll head back now." The junior brother clasped his hands in a salute, then turned to leave.
However, his eagerness to leave aroused his senior's suspicion.
"Wait a minute," the senior brother narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "you have a problem."
He walked over to his junior brother, peered at his face, and said, “When I mentioned doing more homework, you didn’t feel guilty or scared. Instead, you seemed relieved. This means you’re definitely not just craving food and don’t want to fast.”
After confidently finishing his analysis, the senior student's eyes sharpened: "You have no problem with this! You..."
"Is that the spirit rice you bought from Li Chang'an?"
"Hey, senior brother!" The junior brother, his thoughts exposed, quickly stepped forward and covered his senior brother's mouth. "Keep your voice down, don't let anyone else hear!"
The senior brother turned his head left and right, breaking free from his hand: "I knew it! Why did you have to sneak around when you bought rice!"
"You brat, you were the most excited one when you learned that he had inherited Xuanling Immortal Mountain. Now you're secretly buying the rice he grows. No wonder you're hiding it like this. If the other disciples find out, they'll definitely laugh at you."
The junior brother's face turned completely red.
Upon learning that Li Chang'an had inherited Xuanling Immortal Mountain, most cultivators were only dissatisfied in their hearts, but in reality, they maintained the airs of cultivators and did not reveal their malice.
But he was different. He was too jealous back then, and talked loudly with others in the disciples' quarters, unable to hide his emotions, and was even warned by his master for it.
On the path of spiritual practice, the greatest taboo is having too deep an attachment, which can give rise to inner demons. His emotions were too intense, and his master was worried that he would go to extremes.
In fact, after that, when he learned that Li Chang'an had beaten up all the people who came to provoke him, his jealousy had completely disappeared, leaving only an indescribable emotion.
"I..." Back in the present, the junior brother stammered, "Senior brother, I'll share half of the rice with you, but please don't tell anyone else, okay?"
The senior brother chuckled, "Alright, did you get that rice from someone in Ling'an City? It's so expensive, you can keep it for yourself. I don't want to be punished with extra homework."
They usually pay attention to news online and know that the vegetables grown by Li Chang'an are very popular recently, and some people from other places are paying high prices to have people from Ling'an City buy them on their behalf.
After finishing his sentence, the senior brother waved his hand and left on his own.
Watching his retreating figure, the junior brother finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He hurried back to his small courtyard and poured out the bag of spirit rice.
The person who was buying the food on behalf of others took orders from ten people, so each of them only received one pound of food, which was only enough for one meal for those with a large appetite.
He bought this rice because he was craving it and wanted to see if the rice grown by Li Chang'an on Xuanling Immortal Mountain tasted any different.
Nowadays, spiritual energy is scarce, and it is unlikely that these cultivators will be able to ascend to immortality or even form a core in their lifetime. Therefore, there are not many cultivators who honestly practice fasting.
The moment the glistening spirit rice was poured into the large bowl, the junior brother was somewhat stunned.
The appearance and luster of this rice far surpassed those of ordinary rice, but most importantly, he actually sensed spiritual energy within this spiritual rice!
The spiritual energy content here is higher than what they felt in the Cangxuan Realm, but it is mixed with the surrounding spiritual energy, so unless you feel it carefully, you can't perceive a significant difference.
The junior apprentice stared blankly at the bowl of rice, his heart pounding.
Rice rich in spiritual energy, no wonder it's called "spirit rice".
I wonder if eating this spirit rice will help my cultivation.
Although the book says that the spiritual energy in food made from spiritual plants is very unlikely to be absorbed by cultivators.
The same spiritual plants, when used for alchemy and medicine making, are of greater help to cultivators.
But nowadays spiritual energy is scarce, and there aren't many spiritual plants left, are there?
Besides, with so little spiritual rice, even if he used it to refine pills, what kind of pills could he make? Moreover, refining pills and medicines requires the assistance of various other spiritual items, and where would he get so many spiritual items now?
After much deliberation, the junior brother decided to simply cook the spirit rice into porridge and drink it.
Having made up his mind, he quickly began boiling water and cooking porridge.
Several tens of minutes later, the rich aroma of food wafted out of the small courtyard and traveled very far.
...
Within the Qingfeng Sect.
Xie Kuling only bought 300 jin of the first batch of spirit rice that Li Chang'an grew last time.
However, this spirit rice is expensive, and the price doubles when sold in the dining hall. Before the spirit rice became famous, no one thought of spending hundreds of dollars to buy a bowl of spirit rice porridge or spirit rice.
That's not worth it at all.
Therefore, seeing that the spirit rice was not selling well at first, Xie Kuling kept it for himself and his disciples to eat.
The twenty disciples of the Qingfeng Sect, along with him and Xie Xuan, finished eating in about twenty days.
Upon learning that Li Chang'an had grown a second batch, he immediately bought another 600 jin.
Some of it was taken to the dining hall to try selling, and the rest was kept for personal consumption. This way, it would last for a month and a half, by which time Li Chang'an's new batch of spirit rice would also be harvested, and then they could buy new rice.
Early that morning, Xie Kuling was eating breakfast when he heard his junior disciple say, "The mountain master's health has improved a lot recently. It's been so hot this month, but the mountain master hasn't fallen ill at all."
In the past, when the weather got hot, Xie Kuling would either catch a cold from the heat or get dehydrated and suffer from heatstroke after being exposed to the sun for a short while.
Therefore, in the summer, he would choose to stay in his room and not go out much.
Xie Kuling took a sip of porridge and smiled upon hearing this, "You're much healthier than before. You guys too, not only are you no longer sick, but I've also noticed that you've all grown taller recently."
Another junior disciple chuckled, holding up a bowl as big as his face, and said, "The Grand Elder said it's because we eat a lot that we grow tall!"
Xie Kuling wiped the rice grains off her face and said, "Well, try to be even higher than the mountain lord in the future."
"I want to grow as tall as my senior brother!"
"I want to be as tall as two mountain lords!"
"I want to grow as tall as a house!"
The dining table immediately erupted into a noisy commotion.
Xie Kuling couldn't help but laugh.
After breakfast, before the temperature got too high, Xie Kuling went to his study to check the bills.
After looking at the bill for a while, Xie Kuling touched his dantian in a daze.
After drinking that bowl of porridge for breakfast today, he felt a warm sensation coming from his lower abdomen, and his limbs and bones felt warm and comfortable. He felt much stronger and healthier than before.
Did eating more spirit rice improve my constitution?
Xie Kuling didn't understand either.
His study was located next to his bedroom, with a window overlooking a bamboo grove.
Just then, a breeze gently passed through the bamboo forest, brushing against his face.
Xie Kuling rubbed his throbbing temples, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes to rest.
Because the canteen uses vegetables grown by Li Chang'an, the Qingfeng Sect has seen a surge in tourists recently, resulting in revenue far exceeding that of the past few years.
Even without the investment from those big bosses, the Qingfeng Sect continues to operate perfectly.
With sufficient funds, it seems the dining hall can be expanded, and the disciples' dormitories can also be renovated and expanded. We can buy them some new clothes, some small entertainment gadgets, as well as study supplies and cultivation books...
Xie Kuling's thoughts drifted away, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep leaning against the chair.
He seemed to be having a dream, in which he passed through a window and wandered aimlessly through a bamboo forest.
Suddenly, a small, clear pond appeared in the bamboo forest.
That clear pool leans against the mountain wall, its water so clear that the pebbles at the bottom are visible.
Xie Kuling squatted down uncontrollably and reached out to touch the clear water of the pool.
The water in the pool was slightly cool, but not bone-chilling.
The next second, ripples appeared on the pool, and a stream of water climbed up his arm, gently swirling around him.
Xie Kuling seemed to sense a warm kindness and a touch of sacredness from the water.
He involuntarily closed his eyes, feeling the stream of water fall into his palm.
"Bitter Ridge! Bitter Ridge, wake up!"
Xie Xuan's anxious voice seemed to come from afar, and at the same time, Xie Kuling felt his shoulder being shaken.
He slowly opened his eyes and saw Xie Xuan's excited and anxious face looming large before him.
Immediately afterward, Xie Xuan pointed to his side, his voice rising uncontrollably: "Bitter Ridge! Look! Water! It was you, it was you who released it!"
Xie Kuling looked down in the direction he was pointing, bewildered, and saw a wisp of water swirling around him, just like in his dream.
In the palm of his hand, a water droplet, about the size of a ping-pong ball and shimmering with golden light, was bouncing up and down.
……This is?
"Bitter Ridge!" Xie Xuan shouted with a laugh, "You've awakened your spiritual root!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
