As the saying goes, when there are three monks, there’s no water to drink.
Right now, there aren’t even three—just two monks, and they’re already fighting over water.
The Lingcaifeng Master casually tossed a small booklet to Hua Jian, then stormed out with Fenghua Venerable, bickering all the way.
Judging by their manner, they definitely weren’t going out for a friendly heart-to-heart.
Hua Jian figured it was best not to comment on the friendly and enthusiastic “relationship” between the two Venerables, and instead turned her attention to the little booklet the Lingcaifeng Master had given her.
She opened it, and her eyes lit up—the booklet was full of gardening tips, basically an introduction to cultivating Spiritual Flowers.
It contained many notes summarized by the Lingcaifeng Master herself: for example, tailoring the growing environment for each Spiritual Flower based on its habits, watering and fertilizing as needed and on schedule.
Just reading this booklet, Hua Jian could feel how seriously the Lingcaifeng Master took the art of growing flowers.
But for Hua Jian, most of these techniques weren’t of much use—after all, to do these things, you needed a stable base of operations and constant care for the plants.
With her current wandering lifestyle, there was no way she could accomplish the great task of cultivating Spiritual Flowers and Lingcao.
Unless she could carry her flowerbed everywhere she went—but that was something a low-level cultivator like her simply couldn’t manage.
A Storage Pouch couldn’t be used as a flowerbed. She’d need to obtain a Secret Realm space of her own, and even Saints and Venerables didn’t necessarily have one.
Let alone a Spiritualist like her.
“In the end, all I can try is making some Fertilizer, huh?” Hua Jian flipped through the little booklet several times, finding only one thing she could do right now.
That was: preparing Fertilizer.
Ordinary Fertilizer was easy to make and didn’t require much skill. But the Fertilizer used for cultivating Spiritual Flowers and Lingcao was another matter entirely.
It had to be tailored to the specific needs of the plant, in order to provide the best nutrition.
And one essential ingredient was Bone Meal infused with spiritual power—it could come from Spirit Beasts or cultivators.
Of course, the Lingcaifeng Master’s instructions never used Bone Meal from cultivators; after all, that would lead straight down the path of the Magic Path.
Using humans as flower Fertilizer was something the entire Right Path found unacceptable.
As a Venerable of the Right Path, the Lingcaifeng Master would never do such a thing.
“That old woman didn’t scam me? This Bone Meal is actually useful?” Hua Jian muttered under her breath.
She’d thought she’d been tricked again, but this time, the old woman had actually given her something useful.
Oops—too careless! Who would have thought that sly old fox would actually be honest for once!
A little regretful for being caught by her own biases, Hua Jian soon realized that she didn’t even have any use for the item at the moment—Flower Spirit Stones wouldn’t help if she had nothing to buy.
All in all, she hadn’t really lost out.
“Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he eats for a lifetime. She only gave me a fish, but what I want is the fishing rod.”
Hua Jian silently resolved to start learning these things in her spare time between cultivation sessions.
Just like that, she added another item to her schedule, making her already busy life even more fulfilling.
……
Essentially, Hua Jian was not a particularly diligent person. But when she encountered something she was interested in, she could muster a passion unmatched by others.
Ironically, caring for flowers and plants, something she’d never liked in her previous life, had become her greatest hobby in this one.
Hua Jian herself didn’t know why—who needs a reason to like something?
Whenever she thought of growing flowers, she’d feel a tickle in her heart and an endless surge of energy from within—there was no logic to it.
“Grinding Bone Meal requires patience. The materials need to be thoroughly mixed, and then, on that foundation, gradually infuse your own spiritual power…”
The Lingcaifeng Master stood by Hua Jian’s side, her voice gentle as she taught her how to make the Bone Meal that Spiritual Flowers favored.
Infusing Bone Meal with one’s own spiritual power allowed the Spiritual Flowers to develop an attachment to their cultivator—never think of Spiritual Flowers and Lingcao as mere plants without feelings; they’re not any duller than Spirit Beasts.
They were simply limited by their forms and couldn’t easily express their emotions.
If you built a good relationship with them, when it came time to harvest, they would often yield much more—some might even offer their fruits to the cultivator on their own.
Just like the Seven-colored Lotus that had willingly come to Hua Jian.
Most cultivators would never “drain the pond to get all the fish” when raising Spiritual Flowers.
They ensured the flowers could continue thriving after a harvest, just like shearing sheep.
At its core, this was a kind of exchange.
Cultivators provided the Spiritual Creatures with excellent living conditions, while the creatures gave back premium cultivation materials—a win-win situation.
Fenghua Venerable sat nearby, quietly watching the harmonious scene between Hua Jian and the Lingcaifeng Master, feeling oddly sidelined.
At this moment, she really wanted to shout: “I was here first!”
Whether it was teaching or spending time with Hua Jian, she’d been the first!
Yet now she had to watch Lingcai—that wicked woman—handling her favorite disciple. It was infuriating.
But what could she do? She really didn’t know as much about Spiritual Flower cultivation as the Lingcaifeng Master, and Hua Jian’s main interest happened to be these flowers and plants.
On this matter, the Lingcaifeng Master was simply starting at the finish line; whenever Hua Jian wanted to learn about growing things, the Lingcaifeng Master was a mountain she couldn’t get around.
“A bit harder. The bones won’t cry out in pain. Don’t worry about breaking them—they’re sturdier than you are.”
The Lingcaifeng Master paid no mind to the loser’s aura radiating from Fenghua Venerable and focused all her attention on Hua Jian.
Batty old Fenghua couldn’t compare to Hua Jian’s importance!
“But I’m already using all my strength…” Hua Jian said awkwardly. Her arms and legs were slim and didn’t have much strength.
Who would have thought grinding Bone Meal would be so exhausting… Well, she probably should have. Bones were always hard things.
Her arms were already aching, and those pieces of Spirit Beast bone still hadn’t turned to powder.
“…Fenghua, you should train her body after this. She’s just too weak right now.” The Lingcaifeng Master paused, then turned to Fenghua Venerable.
“Oh, now you remember me?” Fenghua Venerable rolled her eyes.
She wanted to take this chance to tease the Lingcaifeng Master, but then realized the other was generous enough to “share” Hua Jian back.
Acting stingy would only hurt her own reputation.
Right now was the time to win Hua Jian’s favor—not to lose points over petty squabbles.
With this thought, Fenghua Venerable understood: the Lingcaifeng Master was plotting, using this opportunity to make her look bad in Hua Jian’s eyes.
Hmph, such a devious woman. Unfortunately, I won’t fall for your tricks!
With a dazzling smile, Fenghua Venerable declared this small matter was on her—she couldn’t teach flower growing, but when it came to fighting, she was a master!
Training Hua Jian’s body? Piece of cake!
“If only Honghu Academy still existed…” The Lingcaifeng Master sighed.
“My senior sister actually wants to reopen the Academy, but the Tiandao Sect won’t approve it and keeps blocking the initiative.”
At this topic, Fenghua Venerable’s tone turned a bit emotional.
Honghu Academy was really the Saint Sect’s preparatory class, where talented disciples from all over would receive guidance from the elders.
The most outstanding would be recruited directly into the Saint Sect.
Back when the Academy still existed, the Ascension Gathering only happened every five or ten years, not every year.
The Academy’s entrance exam was much like today’s Ascension Gathering.
But several thousand years ago, during the invasion of the Mad Dao, the Academy was forced to close, and even its old site was destroyed in the war.
After defeating the Demons, the Saint Sects wanted to reopen the Academy, but the Heavenly Dao Sect was unwilling.
The reason was simple: without the Academy, they could recruit more disciples and pick up more leftovers; with the Academy, all the geniuses would be found out in a few years, and they couldn’t compete with powerful sects like the Yaochi Sword Sect.
In the end, it was about interests. Their opposition kept the Academy’s restoration on hold until now.
“If the Academy were still around, we wouldn’t have to fight so fiercely—we could just take turns, half a day at yours, half a day at mine.” The Lingcaifeng Master sighed again.
The benefit of the Academy model was that multiple Saint Sects could train one cultivator together.
Even if the cultivator ended up joining a particular sect, they wouldn’t forget the help from the others.
Some even just kept a nominal affiliation with a Saint Sect but still received instruction from multiple elders.
Gathering the strengths of all—no sect’s methods were perfect. Filling in weaknesses with other sects’ strengths was the path to immortality.
Those who achieved immortality in the end rarely practiced the Saint Sect’s original arts—they always modified them to suit themselves.
“I recall you’re not too busy at the Jade Pool, Fenghua. Why not come visit Lingcaifeng for a few days?”
“Why can’t it be you visiting me at the Jade Pool?” Fenghua Venerable’s face darkened.
What kind of logic was that? Did she want Hua Jian and herself for free?
Hah! As if there was such a good deal!
“I have Lingcaifeng to manage. You don’t.” The Lingcaifeng Master pointed out bluntly that Fenghua Venerable was essentially jobless.
Fenghua Venerable fumed but couldn’t refute it—she really was jobless.
Compared to the Lingcaifeng Master, she did have fewer skills, but her combat strength was unmatched!
She’d been one of the best fighters at the Jade Pool—those Venerables from the Sword Sect couldn’t beat her!
As the two Venerables seemed about to argue again, Hua Jian hurried to stand between them and mediate, using up all her energy to finally calm them down.
Why did it feel like her parents were fighting over custody? This was way too weird!
For the first time, Hua Jian realized the downside of being too popular—she liked both Venerables and couldn’t choose between them.
She’d originally leaned toward Fenghua Venerable, but after meeting the Lingcaifeng Master, her heart shamefully wavered.
She realized the Lingcaifeng Master was actually pretty nice—she gave off a “Mother”ly vibe.
Ah, what a dilemma.
For now, all Hua Jian could do was be an ostrich, burying her head in the sand to avoid these messy problems.
She’d just wait until the Ascension Gathering. When the time came, things would work out.
Although she’d almost gotten into another fight with the Lingcaifeng Master, Fenghua Venerable still accepted her suggestion and spent that afternoon rigorously training Hua Jian.
After a tough session, Hua Jian was so exhausted she could barely cultivate, lying limp on her bed like a worm, as if she might ascend at any moment.
“Are you all right?” Linglong, having heard about it, came in and was almost scared to death.
Hua Jian looked like she was about to die.
“Not really. I feel like there’s nothing on my body that’s still mine.”
Don’t be fooled by Fenghua Venerable’s doting appearance—when it came to training, she was a true strict teacher.
Hua Jian didn’t even get a chance to slack off.
Venerable eyes saw everything—even the smallest deviation in posture would be called out, let alone any attempt to be lazy.
That was why Hua Jian was now lying on her bed in a “大” shape, completely spent.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Linglong sat beside her, gently bringing Hua Jian’s legs together.
“You shouldn’t lie like this in front of others.”
Hua Jian covered her eyes with her hand.
She should have said “no need,” but when she opened her mouth, what came out was, “Could you massage my feet?”