Chapter 62: Things Are Different Now
Jiang Weiqing hurriedly bowed and said, "Elder, please calm down. We have lost our way for a moment..."
Wei Tongshan sneered: "He snorted coldly and told you that with your cultivation level, the sect is already merciful not to expel you!"
"If you want to stay, you can go to the Spiritual Medicine Garden, Spiritual Livestock Garden, Sword Washing Pond, etc. and serve as a menial disciple!"
The disciples passing by stopped to watch, their eyes filled with unconcealable delight.
Jiang Weiqing was stunned, and could hardly believe his ears: "After all, I was a direct disciple..."
Wei Tongshan waved his hand and interrupted sharply:
"Personal disciple? Are you worthy? You have brought shame upon the sect!"
"If you don't want to, just become a free cultivator. Your life and death will be decided by fate!"
The two of them looked ashen for a moment.
Being a menial disciple? That was the lowest level of existence they had ever looked down upon and never even considered.
But if you become a casual cultivator...
The monsters and beasts in the outside world are rampant and extremely dangerous.
What's more, they have now lost all their cultivation and it is impossible for them to survive alone in the cruel world of cultivation.
Rong Yan gritted his teeth and whispered, "...We are willing to join the menial service hall."
Wei Tongshan snorted coldly and said, "The Spiritual Medicine Garden is short of people. Starting tomorrow, you will be responsible for the task of eliminating pests from the spiritual herbs in the 100-acre medicinal field."
"Also, your residence will be moved to the North Courtyard's Miscellaneous Servants' Quarters from today onwards to receive your coarse cloth clothes and wooden hairpin identity badges!"
…
There was a lot of noise in the servants' hall.
Jiang Weiqing and Rong Yan were wearing coarse cloth and holding hoes, standing by the medicinal herb field.
They finally truly understood the hardships of menial disciples in the world of cultivation...
The daily tasks are heavy, and if they are not completed before sunset, you will be punished immediately.
There was very little spiritual rice in the rations, and the spiritual springs were only enough for three people to take turns washing.
Even if one's cultivation is higher than that of his peers, without the protection of the peak master, he can only be ordered around by others.
If there is any mistake, they will be punished or even beaten by disciples with higher cultivation or inner disciples.
…
It was late at night, but the spiritual medicine garden was still brightly lit, and the menial disciples were still working in the fields.
Jiang Weiqing knelt beside the medicinal field, holding a small pest control shovel in his hand, with blood mixed with mud and water coagulating in his palm.
He was already exhausted, but the red-striped soul-eating insects in the medicine field were cunning and difficult to deal with. He could not drive them away with spiritual power, so he could only pick them out one by one manually.
Just as he was about to straighten his back, he heard a "click" and felt a sharp pain in his spine... He groaned, but didn't dare to make too much noise.
Not far away, Rong Yan was kneeling beside the sword-washing pool, with a pile of blunt swords waiting to be cleaned in front of him.
The water in the pool was icy cold in the cold night, but he could only wipe it clean with his bare hands. After a whole night, his knuckles were swollen and frozen red, and he almost didn't have the strength to hold the sword.
A young disciple passing by sneered and muttered, "Is this the once-famous Senior Brother Jiang? Tsk."
Someone even deliberately poured the excrement of spirit beasts into the sword-washing pool. Erong Yan could only silently scoop out the pool water and wash again.
Before dawn, Jiang Weiqing finally completed the task and staggered back from the medicine field, but was stopped by the deacon of the spiritual field.
"You still have red stripe worms on that acre. Go back and do it again!"
Jiang Weiqing lowered his head and said nothing. After a long while, he replied, "...Yes."
He looked back at the top of the mountain, which was the direction of Qingyue Peak where he once lived. The mountain was shrouded in mist and the light was bright.
But now, he can only wear coarse linen clothes and look up at the height that once belonged to him in the mud.
The sky at Xialing Peak is always gray.
Rong Yan, carrying two buckets of spiritual spring water, staggered up the steep mountain path.
Water is scarce at Xialing Peak, and one has to carry water up from the spiritual spring at the foot of the mountain. This is one of the hardest chores.
His shoulders were worn and his steps were weak, his throat felt like it was burning, but he didn't dare drink a sip of the water in the bucket.
The spiritual spring is needed for refining elixirs, and even if a drop is missing, there will be punishment.
When we were halfway up the mountain, we suddenly heard someone shouting, "Get out of the way!"
It was too late for Rong Yan to turn around. He felt a sharp sword wind brush his face, and a surge of spiritual energy sent him flying several feet, tumbling heavily into the dirt. The spring water in the bucket splattered all over him.
He looked up, only to see Ye Wange, dressed in a dark purple robe, looking down at him coldly: "You useless thing, don't you even see if there's anyone in front of you?"
Rong Yan didn't dare to argue, so he could only lower his head, get up, pick up the empty bucket, and go down the mountain again.
…
At night, Rong Yan dragged his tired body back to the servants' yard and was about to find a corner to rest, but he saw Jiang Weiqing walking towards him with high spirits, as if he was in two different worlds.
"...What are you doing?" Rong Yan asked in a hoarse voice.
Jiang Weiqing smiled and said, "I was assigned to Qingyue Peak to do odd jobs. Ye Zhao is very kind to his disciples. Not only do we not have to do any heavy work, but he also provides us with spiritual food and tea. During the day, we can meditate and practice in the back mountains. It's even easier than being an outer disciple before."
Rong Yan was startled, and suddenly felt bitterness rising in his throat, but he forced himself to swallow it back: "You are so lucky..."
Jiang Weiqing became more and more cheerful, sitting aside and humming a song softly. It was obvious that he had forgotten his job as a servant and was only hoping to take the opportunity to return to Qingyue Peak.
…
The next morning, Jiang Weiqing skipped to Qingyue Peak again. He slipped in quietly through the mountain gate path as if he was familiar with the route, but was locked into a sharp gaze in front of the Linghua Corridor.
"...You dare to come back?"
The one who spoke was Song Zhi.
Jiang Weiqing paused and smiled ingratiatingly: "Brother Song, I was assigned to do odd jobs, I..."
"Go back the same way you left." Song Zhi sneered, "Qingyue Peak is not a place where you can come and go as you please."
After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and directly knocked Jiang Weiqing out a few feet away. His teeth were bleeding when he landed on the ground.
"Come, take him down the mountain!"
"yes!"
Two gatekeeper disciples grabbed Jiang Weiqing's arms and dragged him down the mountain, throwing him to the foot of the mountain like a dead dog.
"Don't even think about coming in again. Senior Brother Song has already given instructions. If he sees you once, he'll blast you."
Jiang Weiqing lay on the ground in a mess. He looked at the sword shadow towering into the clouds on Qingyue Peak, as if he saw the scene when he was a disciple of Ye Zhao.
But that scene is now a dream that can never be returned.
…
Qingyue Peak.
Ye Zhao sat quietly at the place where the spiritual veins converged at the top of the mountain, but the fluctuations of spiritual energy around him became stronger and stronger, like an invisible vortex, madly absorbing the spiritual energy of the surrounding heaven and earth.
Her bones were like the sound of flint, and with every breath she took, her spiritual power surged into her dantian like a tide.
Inside the Dantian, the golden elixir that was originally rotating silently suddenly began to vibrate violently. The golden patterns wrapped around it cracked one after another, revealing the shadow of the second golden elixir.
Her meridians had originally been transformed due to innate cause and effect, and now the potential of her spiritual roots had been completely activated. Every inch of her meridians was as clear and translucent as glass, and the efficiency of absorbing spiritual power had increased by more than a hundred times compared to before!
The air suddenly made a slight sound, and the spiritual energy around it rolled like boiling water, with strong winds blowing up dust.
Suddenly,
Above the sky, a purple-gold thundercloud condensed from the void, hanging down silently and covering Qingyue Peak.
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