Gu An and Zhang Song hastened to Green Bamboo Peak. They saw a lone green peak rise abruptly from the earth and pierce the clouds.
Mist and clouds coiled around the mountain, a sea of bamboo swayed, and waves of emerald billowed, as if an immortal had waved his sleeve, alive with spiritual charm.
A stone path wound upward, covered with traces of moss. A few rays of heavenly light leaked through the bamboo leaves, spilling onto the damp, mossy stones, glittering like jade, lightly dancing, adding a touch of profound mystery-a scene worthy of an immortal mountain.
Yet even immortals must worry about their livelihood. Sixty years ago, during the transition of the Qingyuan Sect's Golden Core inheritance, the entire sect pooled its strength to purchase a Golden Core Spirit Material, helping True Person Qingxiao form his Golden Core.
To raise the spirit stones, the old True Person personally promoted increasing income and reducing expenditure. Green Bamboo Peak was then converted for spirit beast breeding. At the foot of the mountain, over eighty Bamboo-Fragrance Pigs were raised; on the mountainside, over two hundred Colorful-Feather Chickens; and at the summit, seventy-six Green Bamboo Snakes were kept.
The Qingyuan Sect had four or five such places that raised only these three types of spirit beasts, not to mention other industries-truly a large and prosperous sect.
The ingredients for the Qingyuan Sect's restaurant, Qingyun Tower's famous Heavenly Fragrance Pork Elbow, Spirit Ginseng Stewed Chicken, and Green Bamboo Snake Wine, all came from these three spirit beasts.
Unfortunately, Gu An was a pauper. He didn't even dare to enter Qingyun Tower's door, let alone taste its flavors.
Gu An and the other ascended the stone steps, lost in thought, and unknowingly reached the mountainside.
A small path branched off to the left, and after no more than a hundred steps, they arrived at the Spirit Chicken Farm.
"Oh, if it isn't my two lords! Has the sun risen from the west today? That you two actually aren't late-rare, truly rare."
As soon as Gu An and the other stepped into the Spirit Chicken Farm, they heard a sarcastic voice. A thin, gaunt figure came into view.
The newcomer had a pale, greenish complexion, deeply sunken cheeks, high cheekbones, a pair of triangular eyes, thin lips pressed tightly into a thin line, the corners of his mouth slightly drooping. He squinted sideways at the two.
"Hehe, Steward Liu, look at what you're saying. The apricots in the courtyard just came down, so I brought some especially for you today."
"Here, eat some apricots, eat some apricots."
Gu An stepped forward, pulling two greenish-yellow apricots from his storage bag. These apricots came from the tree in his own small courtyard. It was the height of summer, and the apricots had just ripened. Though they weren't considered spirit fruits, they were sweet and sour, quite tasty.
As for Steward Liu's sarcastic tone, Gu An naturally paid it no mind. Despite Steward Liu's harsh appearance, he had never truly made things difficult for the two of them.
The Qingyuan Sect's roll call was set at the third quarter of the Chen hour, giving disciples enough time for morning cultivation during the arrival of the Purple Qi from the East and for traveling to their duties.
Unfortunately, Green Bamboo Peak was remote, and Gu An's cultivation was low. Moreover, Gu An insisted on cultivating until the Purple Qi had completely dissipated. This led to Gu An often being late, and since Zhang Song insisted on coming with Gu An, they were both late together.
Steward Liu took the apricots, his expression improving slightly, but he didn't ask for an explanation. Ridiculous! With Gu An's aura occasionally leaking like that, it was obvious he had just broken through. Could he, a great expert at the seventh layer of Qi Condensation, not see that?
Ask what? Have this kid describe his breakthrough experience? Share his insights?
Didn't he have any face to save?!
Thinking this, Steward Liu's heart soured.
He recalled how, back in the day, relying on his grandfather-a Foundation Establishment Elder-he had entered the Qingyuan Sect with the talent of a Five Spirit Root. He had stumbled along the path, cultivating all the way to the seventh layer of Qi Condensation, enduring untold hardships.
Now seventy years old, he had lost the drive to cultivate further. He had no descendants with spirit roots, so he had sought out a steward position. Every day, he drank a little wine, occasionally ate a spirit chicken, was Stealing half a day of leisure from fleeting life, and enjoyed some peace and quiet-that was enough.
Don't be fooled by Gu An's Three Spirit Roots; his talent was average only when viewed across the entire cultivation world.
The Qingyuan Sect had been established for twelve hundred years. Only the second-generation Golden Core Ancestor had been a Heavenly Spirit Root cultivator. Outstanding Dual Spirit Roots cultivators were Golden Core Seeds; at the very least, Foundation Establishment Is Within Reach.
Three Spirit Root cultivators achieving Foundation Establishment happened frequently. Half of the current Foundation Establishment True Persons of the Qingyuan Sect were Three Spirit Roots. Barring accidents, this kid Gu An likely had one chance to attempt Foundation Establishment.
But Four Spirit Roots and Five Spirit Roots were difficult. Under normal cultivation, reaching Grand Perfection of Qi Condensation before the age of sixty was impossible. After sixty, qi and blood declined, making Foundation Establishment even more remote.
Although declining qi and blood didn't completely rule out Foundation Establishment, what did that have to do with Four Spirit Root or Five Spirit Root cultivators? If they couldn't do it when young, would they be able to when old?
Thus, Pseudo Spirit Root cultivators without resources, fated chances, or perseverance had no hope of Foundation Establishment.
Steward Liu took another bite of the apricot. The juice flowed into his throat, and he couldn't help but curl his lip.
This apricot was really sour!
"Steward Liu, about that Senior Brother from Qingyun Tower you mentioned earlier who's coming to collect the spirit chickens today..."
Just then, Zhang Song interrupted Steward Liu's wandering thoughts, shouting loudly, only to earn a roll of the eyes.
"What, so concerned? Can't bear to part with them? The chickens are raised, then killed to sell for spirit stones. Did you want to keep them to warm your bed?"
"You, you, you-how can you slander my innocence like this!!"
Though he had been at the Spirit Chicken Farm for nearly three years, Zhang Song still couldn't handle Steward Liu's sharp tongue. His face flushed bright red as he angrily protested, unaware that his flustered demeanor only piqued Steward Liu's interest further.
But this time, Steward Liu only glanced sideways at him, ignored him, and turned to look at Gu An.
"Gu An, you two have been at this Spirit Chicken Farm for almost three years now, right?"
"Almost three years. In the summer of my eleventh year, I took on the Spirit Chicken Farm task. First, I learned to mix spirit grain, collect spirit chicken eggs, groom feathers... that took a year."
"The next summer, a new batch of spirit chickens hatched. I followed you through the entire process, from chick to adult chicken!"
"The third summer, the spirit chickens hatched again. Zhang Song and I each took fifty to care for on our own. Now it's summer again. The Senior Brother from Qingyun Tower takes the adult chickens, and it's time to hatch new chicks."
Gu An earnestly recounted his experiences over the years. Counting carefully, it had been nearly three years.
The Qingyuan Sect's tasks of this type had a three-year term. That meant Gu An and Zhang Song were about to hand over their tasks and leave the Spirit Chicken Farm.
Though new junior brothers would take over the Spirit Chicken Farm task, it certainly wouldn't be Gu An or Zhang Song. The two had already reached the middle stage of Qi Condensation and were no longer permitted to take on such tasks.
Moreover, the reward for this task was no longer sufficient to support their cultivation at the middle stage of Qi Condensation.
"Alas! I worked hard teaching for two years, and you only work for one year before running off. How did the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall set this task?"
Steward Liu grumbled, expressing much dissatisfaction with the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, yet he knew these two would definitely leave.
Gu An, however, silently complained in his heart: "It's not like you didn't make us work hard the first two years."
Of course, Gu An was still very satisfied with this task.
Zhang Song had always looked out for him. The two went to work together every day. Steward Liu was also someone with a cold face but a warm heart. Though he often mocked them, he never truly made things difficult.
If it had been any other steward, let alone being late often, even being late once would have resulted in a task rating of B or C, and some of the task reward would have been deducted.
Not to mention that Steward Liu occasionally got greedy, killed a spirit chicken to eat, and the two could share a bite, increasing their spiritual power. This was precisely why Zhang Song's grandfather had called the Green Bamboo Peak Spirit Chicken Farm task a cushy job.
Thinking of this, Gu An felt a little emotional.
He had heard that in previous years, some senior brothers had fallen into the hands of certain stewards. Not only were they worked to death, but their spirit stones were also docked, let alone any regular benefits.
Once this Spirit Chicken Farm task was done, he would have to take on a new task. He would have to keep his eyes open and not fall into the hands of some scoundrel.
Steward Liu sighed for a while and said no more. He pointed at the chicken coop, indicating for the two to go get spirit grain to feed the chickens, then turned and went back to his small courtyard.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ihcEhBhrZ
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