These items meant little to Shi Yu, who now had a steady income, but for an outer disciple like Chen Er, they must have been saved through frugal living.
She immediately tried to return them, but Chen Er steadfastly refused, waving his hands repeatedly. “I’m a sect disciple now, and I receive a monthly allowance. When I first joined, the outer elder gave me a cultivation technique and even advanced me a month’s allowance.”
“You’re all alone out here, and I just couldn’t stop worrying about you. The sect rules forbid sharing cultivation techniques, but these resources are ours to use as we see fit.”
“I don’t have much to spend money on inside the sect, but Young Master, you’re living in this market. Food, shelter, clothing—everything costs silver.”
Having spent half a month in the Origin Realm and attended a few lectures by the outer elders, Chen Er was no longer as ignorant about the path of cultivation as he had been before.
He remembered that Shi Yu possessed only a Low-grade One-fraction Spiritual Meridian. Now that he had caught up on common knowledge of the Origin Realm, he naturally understood even better what “Low-grade One-fraction” meant.
It was the absolute worst aptitude for cultivation; Shi Yu’s future path would inevitably be filled with immense hardship.
Besides, this young master had always been frail and sickly. Having arrived in the Origin Realm all alone, without family or reliance, and at such a young age—how could she possibly survive without someone to support her?
He shoved the small pouch back into Shi Yu’s hands, his expression sincere. “Young Master, please accept it.”
Hearing Chen Er’s words and seeing how genuine he was toward her, Shi Yu felt that refusing any further would only turn away his goodwill.
Taking the small pouch, she pondered for a moment. She remembered that Chen Er frequently ran errands for Lu Yujiao and might take on sect missions to travel outside in the future, where danger would be unavoidable.
Having mastered the method of drawing spirit talismans by using her spiritual sense to channel the spiritual energy from spirit stones, she decided to give the two Blaze Talismans she had already drawn to Chen Er for protection. She could simply craft more after returning home.
With a thought, Shi Yu retrieved the two Blaze Talismans stored inside the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell, concealing her action with her sleeve so it appeared as if she were drawing them from her robes.
She placed the Blaze Talismans on the table, pressed her fingertips against them, and slid them in front of Chen Er. “Take these.”
Chen Er stared at the two talismans in surprise and blurted out, “Are these... spirit talismans?”
He was frequently summoned by Lu Yujiao to run errands, so he had naturally seen spirit talismans in her possession.
Shi Yu nodded. “Keep them safe and use them for self-defense. To activate one, just inject a strand of spiritual energy into it.”
Having run so many errands for Lu Yujiao, Chen Er knew a thing or two about the price of spirit talismans. Compared to these, the things he had given Shi Yu were far less valuable.
He let out a bitter smile. “I don’t know where you got these talismans, Young Master, but they are far too valuable. You should keep them for yourself. They could help you ward off danger if you run into trouble.”
Since Chen Er was good-natured and trustworthy, Shi Yu didn’t bother hiding the truth from him. “I crafted these spirit talismans myself. Just take them.”
Her talent in auxiliary professions couldn't be kept hidden forever anyway. Whether in the game Xian Yuan or here in the Origin Realm, those who mastered auxiliary disciplines like artifact forging, alchemy, array formation, and talisman crafting enjoyed widespread respect. In the future, she would inevitably rely on these skills to accumulate vast amounts of cultivation resources, so why fear letting others know?
Hearing Shi Yu's words, Chen Er froze, half-believing and half-doubting.
Senior Sister Lu Yujiao sent him down the mountain every few days to purchase talisman-crafting materials, spending an astronomical number of spirit stones on her practice. Chen Er had privately tallied the costs before, and aside from drawing a sharp breath in shock, he hadn't known how else to react.
Yet even Senior Sister Lu, whom everyone flattered as a favored daughter of heaven and a peerless genius, had studied talisman crafting for a year and a half, pouring in countless resources, and could barely succeed with a few talismans a day. That showed just how difficult talisman crafting truly was.
And yet Shi Yu claimed she had crafted these two talismans herself?
Chen Er felt the claim sounded somewhat absurd, leaving him momentarily speechless.
Knowing he didn't quite believe her, Shi Yu didn't waste breath explaining. She simply said, “I have plenty left, so just take them.”
Seeing that Chen Er still wanted to decline, she took a sip of tea and said calmly, “Your senior sister constantly sends you down the mountain on errands. Although the spirit beasts near the sect and market have long been cleared away, there’s no guaranteeing one won’t wander out from the distant mountains. If you encounter one without a means to protect your life, wouldn't your path of cultivation end right there?”
Shi Yu's words made sense. After hesitating for a long moment, Chen Er nodded sheepishly. “You’re right, Young Master. In that case, I’ll accept them.”
He carefully tucked the two spirit talismans into his lapel and scratched his head. “It seems I’m the one taking advantage of you, Young Master.”
At the tea table, the two chatted for a while longer. After Shi Yu told Chen Er her current address, they finally parted ways.
...
By the time she returned to her small courtyard, it was close to noon.
A gentle breeze blew through, causing the White Jade Rice in the yard to sway back and forth with a soft rustling sound. Sunlight filtered through the gaps between the ears of grain, casting a golden glow over the scene.
The White Jade Rice she had planted half a month ago had finally matured after fifteen days of growth.
A refreshing fragrance unique to spiritual grain lingered throughout the entire yard, yet not a trace of it leaked past the threshold, as if firmly locked within the premises.
Shi Yu had been cautious, using jade pieces beforehand to set up a simple array that locked the fragrance of the spiritual grain inside the yard.
This stuff was far from cheap. If the aroma leaked out, it would inevitably attract unwanted attention. And if someone traced the spiritual grain back to the secret of the Life Spring water, that would be disastrous.
Bending down to examine it closely, Shi Yu muttered to herself, “It’s about time to harvest.”
Only during the first few days after sowing had she mixed Life Spring water into the well water to irrigate the spiritual grain a few times.
In the days that followed, once her supply of Life Spring water ran out, Shi Yu stopped using it and switched to ordinary well water instead.
Even so, the White Jade Rice before her had grown remarkably well. The stalks bent under the heavy clusters of grain, presenting a truly delightful sight.
Taking out a sickle, Shi Yu resigned herself to farm work and began harvesting the White Jade Rice.
The ears of spiritual grain were slightly larger than those of mortal rice. Unlike mortal rice, which required tedious husking with stone mills or wooden pestles, a gentle rub between the fingers caused the husks to fall away automatically, exposing grains that were jade-white, smooth, and translucent.
Although it was far less troublesome than mortal rice, processing this small patch of land still took Shi Yu a considerable amount of effort.
After reserving some grain for seed, she husked the rest. By the time all the White Jade Rice was harvested, her back was drenched in sweat, and her stomach was growling with hunger.
After husking the rice, she packed it into a cloth bag. Shi Yu lifted and weighed it in her hand; it came to roughly thirty jin.
“Tier-2 White Jade Rice... this single bag is worth a thousand taels of silver. Converted to spirit stones, that’s nearly ten spirit stones.”
That would be enough to feed herself for a while.
Feeling satisfied, she took out a portion to prepare lunch and placed all the rest inside the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell.
She didn't throw away the leftover chaff either, storing it inside as well. Humans couldn't eat chaff, but if she raised spirit chickens or other livestock later, it would serve well as feed.
She had worked hard to grow all of this herself, so nothing should go to waste.
Rate on N.U.
