Chapter 31: Applying Knowledge in Practice

Yunzhi pinched Lu Yang’s collar between two fingers, dangling him before her eyes and giving him a small shake. Still unable to grasp the underlying principle, she set him back down.

Lu Yang was equally bewildered. He had followed the mnemonic formulas and the methods his Eldest Senior Sister taught him to the letter, so why did the execution result in two entirely different spells?

"This makes no sense."

"I shall demonstrate for you once more." Yunzhi was a highly responsible teacher, whose instructional talent was thoroughly mediocre, though she more than made up for it with her patience.

Yunzhi produced an hourglass, placed it upside down upon the ground, and then gripped Lu Yang’s shoulder, leading them both to leap through space.

Lu Yang felt only a sudden blur before his eyes, and then they stood within a bizarre space, flanked on either side by shifting, multicolored streams of light.

Instinctively, Lu Yang reached out to touch the flowing radiance, but Yunzhi checked his hand.

"That is an anomaly born from twisted space. Never mind you, even a cultivator of the Soul Transformation stage would be ground to dust and have their soul scattered upon contact."

Terrified, Lu Yang snapped his hand back.

The pair stepped out of the spatial rift only to find a colossal white serpent coiled around a mountain range, breathing the sun and moon to refine the essence of heaven and earth. Its serpentine eyes gleamed with intelligence. The two happened to land right into the python's maw, slipping naturally down into its belly.

Just as the gastric juices were about to drip upon them, Yunzhi took another step, returning them to that bizarre space.

Following in Yunzhi’s footsteps, Lu Yang witnessed wonders of every grotesque and brilliant description: an ocean composed entirely of molten magma, a great cultivator enduring a heavenly tribulation, a taciturn swordsman bearing a heavy, broad blade upon his back...

These were places Lu Yang had never seen nor heard of, and it was truly difficult to imagine that such extraordinary people and spectacles existed in this world.

Ultimately, the pair returned to their starting point, where Lu Yang stood panting heavily, his mind still shaken.

"The places I just took you to are all realms within the Dao Seeking Sect. In the future, you may visit them on your own when the opportunity arises."

The Dao Seeking Sect was far too vast; the territories beyond the nine core mountains remained uncharted wilderness to Lu Yang.

"Why don't you try casting the spell again?"

Yunzhi felt that perhaps things might be different this time.

Meeting Yunzhi’s eager, expectant gaze, Lu Yang steeled himself and cast the spell once more.

After a full day of practice between the two of them, Lu Yang finally learned how to perceive the underground environment, as well as how to avoid being stepped on after shrinking.

The Earth-Shrinking Stretch had not succeeded even once, yet Earth-Shrinking and Stretching had succeeded every single time, each attempt smoother than the last.

By the end, he did not even require the mnemonic formula; a mere thought sufficed to cast it, as though he had immersed himself in this particular art for months or years.

Lu Yang’s original intention in learning the Earth-Shrinking Stretch was to use magic for travel, and now that he had learned the "Earth-Shrinking" spell to travel, it could be considered in line with his original purpose.

It was just that the method left much to be desired, and the speed was somewhat lacking.

Watching Lu Yang change his size at will and burrow happily through the soil, Yunzhi casually inquired, "Little Junior Brother, I heard that it is quite difficult for you to procure assignments at the Mission Hall?"

"Yes, most missions require the Golden Core stage or above to complete, so there are very few suitable for me." Lu Yang was currently considering squatting at the Mission Hall for a few days to see if he could camp out for a suitable assignment.

"It is rather coincidental, then. A few days ago, during a meeting with the elders, someone mentioned that a slight issue had arisen over at the herb garden. A mission was posted in the Mission Hall, but no one accepted it. I see you as a fitting candidate, so you might as well head over to the herb garden to have a look."

Lu Yang knew that ever since their Master entered secluded meditation, it was always Eldest Senior Sister who presided over the meetings in Master's stead.

"What kind of mission?" Lu Yang found it strange. His talents were hardly prominent within the Dao Seeking Sect, so what kind of mission would be suitable for him to undertake, let alone one at the herb garden about which he knew absolutely nothing?

He had not even fully mastered the knowledge required to distinguish basic herbs.

"You will know once you arrive," Yunzhi replied cryptically.

...

In Lu Yang’s view, the Dao Seeking Sect was a miniature cultivation world in its own right; one could find someone to help refine pills, forge weapons, or lay down arrays without ever stepping past the mountain gates... most of the time, self-sufficiency was entirely possible.

Pill refinement required spiritual herbs, and the Dao Seeking Sect’s demand for pill refinement was immense, so they could not rely on external purchases forever.

To solve the spiritual herb problem, a vast herb garden had been carved out within the Dao Seeking Sect for the cultivation of medicinal plants, and the Mission Hall frequently posted assignments to assist in nurturing them.

Nurturing spiritual herbs required specialized knowledge of which Lu Yang knew absolutely nothing. To this day, he could not even clearly distinguish what kinds of herbs and spiritual beasts he was eating for his daily meals, let alone cultivate medicinal flora.

From a great distance, Lu Yang could already catch the fragrance of the herb garden. Unlike the scent at Pill Cauldron Peak, which carried a fair probability of being poisonous, this was the purest medicinal aroma. A mortal inhaling it over a long period would extend their lifespan and live free of sickness and disaster.

An elderly man lay by the entrance of the herb garden, a cattail leaf fan covering his face, leisurely dozing in a rocking chair.

"Elder, excuse me, is this the herb garden?"

The old man drooped his eyelids and squinted at Lu Yang. "Who are you?"

"Lu Yang."

"I didn't ask your name, I asked your identity."

"The fourth disciple of the Sect Master, and the Little Junior Brother of Eldest Senior Sister Yunzhi."

The old man thought nothing of the first part; that old fellow of a Sect Master had vanished ten years ago, who cared about him? He ought to retire properly instead of occupying the seat all day and leaving Yunzhi to do all the work—what nonsense. But upon hearing the latter part, he suddenly snapped awake.

A disciple of the Sect Master meant he was Yunzhi's Little Junior Brother!

The old man bolted upright, his movements nimbler than Lu Yang’s.

This was only natural; in the cultivation world, one could not judge a person’s prowess or age by appearances. When an old man and a child stood together, it was hard to say who was the grandfather and who was the grandson.

No one in the cultivation world advocated respecting the old and cherishing the young either, for it was entirely possible that both the old man and the child could beat you to a pulp.

"So you were introduced by Yunzhi, you should have said so earlier." The old man slung an arm around Lu Yang’s shoulders, as intimate as brothers.

"We are all from the Dao Seeking Sect, you can just call me Old Ba. This whole plot of the herb garden is under my say."

Lu Yang suspected that Old Man Ba was taking advantage of him, but he lacked proof.

"What did Yunzhi send you over to do? Pick herbs? What age do you need, a thousand years or two thousand years?"

Seeing Old Man Ba like this, Lu Yang was unaccountably reminded of the meals his Eldest Senior Sister cooked for him. Could those all have been thousand- or two-thousand-year-old herbs picked from the herb garden?

A thousand-year-old medicinal ingredient was no common cabbage; it was relatively precious even to the Dao Seeking Sect.

No, surely not. Eldest Senior Sister was a rather thrifty and frugal person; she wouldn't waste such medicinal ingredients on him.

Lu Yang asked politely, "Eldest Senior Sister mentioned that the herb garden posted a mission a few days ago that went unaccepted. May I know what kind of mission it is?"

Old Man Ba suddenly understood. So it was that mission. "Do you know how to cultivate spiritual herbs?"

"Not at all," Lu Yang spoke the honest truth.

"Then let me explain it to you simply. The steps to cultivate spiritual herbs are quite tedious. One of the steps is loosening the soil, which allows the roots of the herbs to better absorb the spiritual energy within the earth, as well as complete the exchange with the spiritual energy in the air."

"The task of loosening the soil has always been carried out by a pair of Silver-Ringed Heavenly King Earthworm spouses."

"Recently, some trouble arose in their household and no one is working. Thus, I posted a mission to loosen the soil for the herb garden. This requires the Earth Evasion Daoist magic, one of the five elemental arts. There are plenty of little fellows who know Earth Evasion, but they all find it too troublesome and refuse to take it. It just so happens that Yunzhi sent you here."

"So what I need to do is..."

"Imitate an earthworm, burrow into the soil, and loosen the earth for the herb garden."

Lu Yang went silent.

Lu Yang suspected his Eldest Senior Sister was playing a trick on him, but he still lacked proof.