The Secret Art came into her hands with ease, but Lu Qiancha’s heart was pounding wildly with alarm.
Her brow furrowed slightly, her eyes deep pools of undisguised suspicion—immortal cultivation is bound by heavy karma. To receive this technique so easily could hardly be a good thing.
“This Secret Art is a burning-hot matter in my hands. If Your Reverence has any commands or needs, please speak plainly. I will do all within my power to repay fully, to settle the weight of karma.”
Lu Qiancha took a deep breath, locking her gaze on the old man as she cupped her hands respectfully and spoke solemnly.
Upon hearing this, the Old Stone Elder’s eyes rippled with a smile like gentle waves, his crooked wooden staff lightly tapping the ground.
“Heh heh heh… If that’s the case…” His laughter grew louder, carrying a mischievous tone. “This little old fellow truly must become a greedy merchant, raising prices after the deal.”
“Your Reverence, please speak without hesitation.”
Lu Qiancha maintained a polite smile, but the deep caution in her eyes rose slowly like an iceberg beneath the water.
“Good!” The Old Stone Elder’s smile vanished, replaced once more by the compassionate and kind earth god visage.
“The Mountain God only asks for one thing: to grant this little old fellow a single awakened spirit creature. What say you to exchanging this Secret Art for just one such spirit?”
Lu Qiancha, noticing the bustling dozens of crabs coming and going at the temple entrance, muttered quietly to herself: So, this old man has been waiting for me here all along.
This karma must be repaid by her, lest future tribulations block her path to ascension.
Her brow arched slightly as she looked at the Old Stone Elder and said, “Your Reverence, there are already many devotees before you. The spirit creature I can enlighten is young and naive; it may be difficult to meet Your Reverence’s expectations.”
She tactfully declined and proposed again, “How about… allowing me to offer a single Incense of Sincere Heart at Your Reverence’s Divine Altar? This would both clear our karma and add a spark of wishful power to Your Reverence’s incense fire—would that not be more convenient for both parties?”
“Absolutely not!”
At these words, the Old Stone Elder’s usual calm kindness shattered instantly; his aged face twisted grimly as his withered hands waved emphatically.
“Mountain God, you absolutely must not!”
His voice carried unprecedented gravity, tinged with a faint hint of pleading:
“It is but a minor Secret Art of enlightenment. What merit or worthiness do I have to accept incense fire offerings meant for true Divine Positions?! Such heavy karma would ravage my fragile spirit body and drastically shorten my lifespan. Truly… I cannot bear it!”
He gasped for breath, his face darkened as though soaked in Yellow Springs Water, nearly dripping with sorrow, his once-straight back now slightly bent. “As for the devotees you mentioned…”
He sighed deeply, eyes dimly scanning the diligent crabs with a look of bitter disappointment. “Alas! The Mountain God does not know—this secret realm is fine, but the path of enlightenment is constrained!”
“Among the Aquatic Clans’ spirit creatures: fish and shrimp love water by nature, born and dying within it. Even if enlightened, they dwell only in waves and cannot set foot on land—how could they serve incense fire?”
“Sea Shells slumber buried in sand and gravel, their awareness muddled and chaotic. Enlightenment leaves them in a daze, unable to comprehend the subtleties of incense fire…”
He slammed his wooden staff heavily onto the ground, pointing to the stone crabs:
“Only these coastal stone crabs endure hardship and salt, withstand storms, climb reefs, and can survive three to five days away from water… truly the only suitable candidates for refinement and enlightenment!”
“But!” His tone suddenly turned sharp, full of sorrow and anger:
“Stone crabs have too short a lifespan. They molt in early spring and perish by summer! Even if enlightened and awakened, the incense fire power they can offer is but a drop in the bucket—thin as autumn frost!”
The Old Stone Elder pounded his chest and stomped the ground, exhaustion, anxiety, and inescapable worry pouring from his words like a tangible force.
“I see…”
Lu Qiancha’s expression shifted as the icy doubt within her eyes slowly thawed. The earth god’s predicament made sense.
She then sensed the Secret Art within her body and suddenly her face tightened.
“Mountain God, you seem troubled?” The Old Stone Elder’s gaze was sharp as he spoke. “Why not test it here and now?”
“Please forgive me, Your Reverence,” Lu Qiancha said, blushing. “This technique requires pure incense fire as fuel, but I…”
She spread her empty palms: “My pockets are empty; not a single incense stick remains.”
The Old Stone Elder clearly froze, his fingers stroking his beard paused mid-air. His aged eyes scrutinized Lu Qiancha for a long moment before releasing a faint sigh.
“Little old fellow… you were thoughtless.”
“Enough, enough,” he smiled again, as if making a major concession, waving his hand. “Then borrow seven strands of incense fire from Daoist Friend here! When there’s time, you can repay!”
With that, his crooked wooden staff pointed toward the three incense sticks silently burning before the Divine Altar.
“Go!”
Seven strands of incense fire smoke, about an inch long, refined like golden threads and radiating rich wishful power, rose at once.
They coiled and spiraled like living snakes, precisely entering Lu Qiancha’s Dantian Qi Sea.
At the same time, the incense sticks before the altar seemed invisibly cut off.
The flames visibly shrank by a small segment.
Lu Qiancha felt warmth at her Dantian.
Seven strands of the purest incense fire wishful power had settled inside her, like seven tiny yet intensely warm suns, shining and clashing subtly with her own spiritual power.
“Thank you for your generosity, Your Reverence!” Lu Qiancha suppressed her thoughts and bowed deeply to the Old Stone Elder.
She then closed her eyes and focused, sending her spiritual consciousness into the Peach Blossom Village Secret Realm.
After a moment, Lu Qiancha found a small peach tree by the lake, no thicker than an arm, its branches and leaves still tender and green.
“A flicker of Dan Yuan Fire, illuminating the chaotic abyss.
A sprout of wisdom grows in the Purple Mansion; a sincere heart connects to the profound mysteries.
Go!”
She guided the seven golden threads of incense fire, merging them with a portion of her own pure spiritual power, transforming them into a peculiar stream of golden and azure light that silently entered the peach tree.
Whoosh—!
In an instant,
The once motionless peach tree shuddered violently as if an invisible force had wrenched it awake from slumber. The entire trunk shook fiercely. Branches and leaves swayed wildly without wind, rustling sharply.
Then—
A soft cracking.
The soil cracked open, and the tree’s gnarled roots, coiling and twisting, strained mightily and pulled themselves free from the earth.
It swayed its still-young branches like a drunkard, turning an awkward circle on the spot, twigs trembling wildly.
Then—
Thud!
The trunk, like an arm, faced Lu Qiancha’s spiritual consciousness and the world of Peach Blossom Village.
Like a supreme creator, it bowed reverently…
Once, twice, three times!
The bowing was primitive and clumsy but filled with pure devotion and gratitude.
A faint but unmistakably clear wave of divine consciousness connected to the Mountain God Divine Token within Lu Qiancha’s body.
At the same time, incense fire wishful power began to radiate from the newly awakened Peach Tree Spirit, permeating space and flowing into Lu Qiancha’s Dantian, joining the other six strands of golden incense fire, each occupying its own space.
Following the same method, Lu Qiancha then enlightened the remaining six strands of incense fire simultaneously, awakening both a large and a small peach tree spirit.
The small tree spirit consumed two strands of incense fire for enlightenment, while the large tree spirit used three strands.
By this logic, the more spirits awakened, the greater the incense fire consumption.
After enlightenment, both peach tree spirits bowed to Lu Qiancha three times, granting her two additional strands of incense fire.
At this point, only the three incense fire strands provided by the peach tree spirits and the one borrowed strand remained within Lu Qiancha’s Dantian.
The picture was set.
“Let me suck two drops of your blood—just a little, please, okay?”