Ordinary Bone

"Slap!"

Fairy Lingyue extended a finger and lightly tapped the ghost servant's forehead with a glow of milky white light. A rune was gently inscribed on its brow.

When the rune merged into its forehead, the ghost servant's expression became blank. It stood up stiffly, seemingly unaware of Fairy Lingyue's presence, and muttered to itself as it turned to leave:

"Why did I fall here? Never mind, I'd better return and report to my master. When I see the king, I'll tell him there's now a novice cultivator guarding the medicine garden at Green Bamboo Residence. We can wait until the spiritual herbs in his garden mature, then come back to take his life and claim all the herbs. By then, the king might even reward me with a fresh, tender liver. Exquisite! Marvelous!"

At the end, the ghost servant swayed its head in satisfaction, clearly very pleased with its own plan.

"Sigh… letting a tiger return to the mountain is always risky, but I hope little Taiping will one day understand my good intentions as his teacher," Fairy Lingyue murmured as she watched the ghost servant shuffle away.

Although she had yet to formally accept Xu Taiping as her disciple, and didn't even know if he was willing to take her as his master, it didn't stop Fairy Lingyue from mentally placing herself in the role of a mentor.

Of course, she would never admit that her real motivation was the unbearable loneliness she had endured, trapped within the Earth Fruit for centuries. She simply wanted to amuse herself.

The Next Day

Xu Taiping woke up early.

First, he cleared the weeds in the medicine garden. Afterwards, he added a few more shovels of soil to the spot where the Earth Fruit was buried, knowing that the fruit was his greatest asset for survival in the cultivation world. He couldn't risk anyone stealing it.

Since Fairy Lingyue had returned to the Earth Fruit the previous night and hadn't appeared since, Xu Taiping figured she might truly need a month or two to recover before reemerging.

After tidying the medicine garden, he spent the entire morning cleaning up the three thatched cottages of Green Bamboo Residence.

The cottages were extremely simple. One was a bedroom with only a bed, another was a living room, and the third was a kitchen. There was also an outhouse at the back, near the medicine garden.

While cleaning the kitchen, Xu Taiping stumbled upon two curious items: a water jar that never ran dry, and a rice jar that produced a full jar of rice whenever a single merit coin was placed inside.

With water, rice, and a piece of dried fish hanging on the wall, Xu Taiping managed to cook his first meal since arriving at Qingxuan Sect.

After eating, he made up his bed with the sheets and blanket left in the cabinet, then sat cross-legged on the bed, taking out the jade slip and bronze mirror given to him by the West Wind Pavilion.

"Fairy Lingyue transmitted the Bone-Cleansing Decoction prescription to me with a single touch to my forehead. This jade slip likely works the same way—pressed against my brow to transfer its contents. That must be the common method for imparting knowledge in the cultivation world," Xu Taiping muttered to himself.

According to the master of West Wind Pavilion, the jade slip contained a basic Qi-refining technique of Qingxuan Sect, as well as the sect's rules and instructions for using the bronze mirror.

He pressed the jade slip to his forehead.

"Phew… The information in this jade slip is far more than what Fairy Lingyue transmitted with her touch," Xu Taiping murmured as he felt a torrent of text and knowledge streaming into his mind. It overwhelmed him so much that he grew dizzy and nearly fell off the bed.

Fortunately, the flow of information ceased before long, allowing him to catch his breath.

However, he quickly realized another issue: The information in his mind wasn't immediately digestible. It was like a library of books placed on a shelf—he had to actively read and comprehend the contents to make use of them.

"So, the jade slip's method of transmitting knowledge is different from Fairy Lingyue's method. She directly imparted practical knowledge to me, while the jade slip just dumped all the information into my head," Xu Taiping reflected.

"But this may also be because of the difference in the content being transmitted," he reasoned, dismissing the matter to focus on reading the material in his mind.

Three Days Later

After nearly three days of effort, Xu Taiping finally finished reviewing all the information contained in the jade slip.

As the West Wind Pavilion master had said, the jade slip contained three main items:

The "Remnant Sunset Sutra", a foundational Qi-refining technique.

The "Chronicle of Bronze Mirror Functions", detailing the uses of the bronze mirror.

The "Qingxuan Sect Code of Conduct", outlining the rules of the sect.

During this time, he also worked on tilling the soil of the medicine garden.

"According to the jade slip, after tilling the soil, I should collect animal manure and fallen branches to make compost and enrich the land," Xu Taiping mused.

"But there's no rush for that. Today is the first day of the lunar month, the day Elder Ziyang gives his lecture. He'll be discussing the 'Remnant Sunset Sutra' and foundational cultivation techniques. This only happens once every three months, so I can't afford to miss it."

"After the lecture, I can use the bronze mirror to choose which seeds to buy. That way, I won't waste the merit coin."

While eating in the living room, Xu Taiping planned out his day. He tore a page off the almanac hanging on the wall, exposing the date: the first day of the lunar month. Written in bright red ink were favorable and unfavorable activities: "Auspicious for learning, inauspicious for digging."

The almanac was one of the items he had purchased yesterday through a spirit bird delivery. It had cost him six merit coins, and he still felt a bit pained by the expense.

After the Meal

Xu Taiping returned to the bedroom, carefully placing the bronze mirror on a battered old table.

On the table, he also placed a half-bowl of clean water, a few flower petals, and a Qingxuan Sect merit coin.

Recalling the instructions for the bronze mirror, he dipped his fingers into the water and sprinkled a few drops onto the mirror's surface. Then he added the flower petals and the merit coin.

"Whoosh…"

The moment the merit coin touched the mirror, a soft breeze emanated from it, carrying a faint scent of sandalwood.

A voice emerged from the bronze mirror:

"Xu Taiping, outer disciple of Qingxuan Sect, has taken his seat. Do not leave. Elder Ziyang's lecture will begin shortly. If you miss it today, you'll have to wait three months."

Having already read the "Chronicle of Bronze Mirror Functions", Xu Taiping wasn't startled by the voice. He knew it was the spirit of the mirror speaking.

According to the chronicle, the spirit acted as a guide, helping users navigate the mirror's functions. Of course, the sect's forbidden areas were off-limits, and each use of the guide cost a merit coin.

"Thank you, Spirit of the Mirror."

Xu Taiping expressed his gratitude. The mirror spirit wasn't a simple, lifeless object, so he felt it was only proper to show respect.

[--------------------------------------------]

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