My cultivation is too warm

The spirit of the secret realm didn't know how to describe his feelings. He was looking forward to asking his grandfather, Jiang Nian, for guidance after his sermon, but Jiang Nian suddenly disappeared.

This made him feel very uneasy. His grandfather had always been with him. It was as if he was leaving home for the first time, or even more so, like an abandoned child. He looked around at the world, feeling lost and helpless, not knowing what he should do, what he could do, or what he wanted to do.

Although during this period, the newly established human dynasty treated him very well, regarding him as a sacred object of the entire human dynasty, and granting his every request, even if he asked for many young, beautiful, lively and lovely women to serve him, they would arrange it without hesitation.

The problem is, he's just a medicine furnace now. What can he do with so many beautiful women in front of him?

What he hoped for even more was that he could cultivate himself as soon as possible and be reborn as a human.

However, he could not understand Jiang Nian's sermons and could not cultivate himself no matter what he did, as if he were isolated from the Dao.

This made him harbor more resentment towards Jiang Nian. He was not angry about Jiang Nian's departure, but rather that Jiang Nian left without even saying goodbye, as if he were completely unimportant to Jiang Nian.

Afterwards, the human dynasty entered the era of cultivation. During this time, the spirit of the secret realm did not give up cultivation. Relying on his status as a "sacred object" left behind by Shennong Yandi, he summoned many people to preach to him.

Unfortunately, whenever he was about to attain enlightenment, there always seemed to be a barrier preventing him from entering that state, keeping him stuck at the threshold of the "Great Dao" and unable to enter.

On the contrary, he learned the profession of alchemist very quickly during this period. He could grasp the essence of all alchemy techniques with just a glance and learn them.

Moreover, and more importantly, he was originally a medicine furnace, and after learning the alchemy technique, he directly evolved into an alchemy furnace.

Afterwards, while waiting for Jiang Nian's return, the spirit of the secret realm continued to learn about human alchemy.

Although he harbored many resentments towards his grandfather Jiang Nian for leaving without saying goodbye, he still remembered Jiang Nian's instructions to learn all the knowledge that humanity had acquired, so that if anything happened to the human race one day, he would be the flame of human civilization.

Time passed slowly, and Jiang Nian's worries indeed came true. During this period, human dynasties almost perished several times, civilizations were interrupted, and much knowledge was lost.

However, at such times, a pill furnace would appear. It was like an omniscient and omnipotent prophet, passing on the seeds of civilization to the human race. It knew everything and was proficient in everything, from all walks of life to the three thousand great paths.

The title of Human Saint Master was quietly bestowed upon the Spirit of the Secret Realm.

However, he was not happy at all, because the person he was waiting for had not returned.

As time went by, his resentment towards Jiang Nian grew deeper and deeper. He made up his mind that once his grandfather Jiang Nian returned, he would have to make him coax him desperately before he could forgive him. Otherwise, he would ignore him. After all, he was now the Holy Teacher of the Human Race, who had passed on the flame of civilization to the human race, and his status was no less than that of his grandfather Jiang Nian, the Divine Emperor Yan.

He did this because of his grandfather Jiang Nian's entrustment. Since he had fulfilled his promise, his grandfather naturally needed to praise him.

Time passed slowly as they waited. After the spirit of the secret realm witnessed the fall of the twelfth human dynasty, his beloved grandfather, Jiang Nian, finally returned.

Compared to when he left, Jiang Nian's appearance has changed a lot. He has aged, just like when he was a mortal in the tribe and reached the age of one hundred. His hair is white, his face is full of wrinkles, and his body is hunched.

However, the spirit of the secret realm recognized Jiang Nian at a glance the moment it saw him.

The spirit of the secret realm originally told itself that after Jiang Nian returned, unless he apologized and admitted his mistake for leaving without saying goodbye and tried his best to coax her, she would never forgive him, absolutely never, ever.

However, upon seeing the now frail and elderly Jiang, all his previous resentment vanished instantly, replaced by worry: "Old man, where have you been all these years?"

The spirit of the secret realm roared loudly at Jiang Nian.

He no longer called Jiang Nian "Grandpa". After countless years and witnessing the fall of one dynasty after another, he was no longer the naive and innocent little alchemy furnace he once was.

He is now the revered Holy Teacher of the human race. Every time a human dynasty falls and a new dynasty is established, the first thing they do is build a palace for him and select three thousand young, beautiful, lively and lovely women from all over the world to serve him.

Enjoying the flattery and praise of all kinds of people every day, he has long since transformed from a clueless and naive alchemist into a cunning and shrewd old fox.

Besides, Jiang Nian left without saying goodbye, and he still harbors resentment towards him. How could he possibly obediently call him grandpa?

Faced with the title of "Spirit of the Secret Realm," Jiang Nian was slightly taken aback, then laughed heartily, seemingly in a good mood, and grinned, "Our little Rui has grown up. Now when she sees her grandfather, she calls me 'old man.'"

The spirit of the secret realm snorted arrogantly upon hearing this. He tried to explain several times, but managed to restrain himself.

He tried to convince himself that the other party hadn't apologized yet, and he hadn't done anything wrong, so he should call him "old man" instead of "grandpa."

Facing the arrogant spirit of the secret realm, Jiang Nian was not angry. Instead, she stared at him for a moment, then gently stroked his furnace body, speaking with pride and satisfaction:

"Xiao Rui, I've seen everything you've done over the years. You've worked so hard. You've done a great job and haven't let me down. In fact, you've done even better than I expected. You're really, really good."

"As expected of my grandson Jiang Nian, you are really good. I am proud of you."

"The proudest and most honorable thing in my life, Jiang Nian, is that I created you, Xiao Rui. Being able to create you is my good fortune, and also the good fortune of my... human race."

Upon hearing this, the spirit of the secret realm trembled slightly as the face conjured on the alchemy furnace appeared, and wisps of gray mist emerged from its eye sockets, indicating that it was deeply disturbed.

He was praised, praised by his most respected and admired grandfather, whom he had always thought about and cared about. Wasn't this exactly the kind of praise he had always wanted to hear?
The reason he stood up to spread the flame of civilization every time a human dynasty fell was not only because it was a promise he made to his grandfather Jiang Nian, but also because he wanted his grandfather Jiang Nian to see his efforts when he returned, to tell him that he had not forgotten his promise, and to get his praise.

However, now that she had actually heard the praise she had been dreaming of, the spirit of the secret realm didn't know how to face her grandfather, Jiang Nian.

After all, although he praised her, he hadn't apologized or admitted his mistake for leaving without saying goodbye, nor had he comforted her.

So, the spirit of the secret realm, who was feeling conflicted and somewhat agitated, snorted coldly and said in a stiff tone, "Hmph, old man, don't think that I'll be happy just because you say that. I haven't forgiven you yet."

But as soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. He clearly didn't mean to say that. How did it turn out like this as soon as he opened his mouth?
Then he felt a little anxious and secretly glanced at his grandfather Jiang Nian's expression, wondering if he was angry.

Was I being too harsh by saying that? Perhaps there was a reason why Grandpa left without saying goodbye; perhaps he had his own difficulties?

She clearly wanted to be close to her grandfather and wanted him to stay with her. He was afraid that she would leave without saying goodbye after returning. She was trying to get along with him, so why did he talk like that?

The spirit of the secret realm silently blamed itself for its attitude.

However, Jiang Nian was not angry with him. Instead, he said sincerely, "Hehehe, it was my fault. I didn't have time to say goodbye to you, Xiao Rui, when I left. It was my fault. Xiao Rui, please forgive me."

The spirit of the secret realm was slightly taken aback by Jiang Nian's sincere words. He hadn't expected the other party to actually apologize, which instantly dispelled all the resentment that had accumulated in his heart, and he even had an urge to burst into tears.

Grandpa still cared about him, otherwise he wouldn't have apologized. What moved him even more was that Grandpa, that old rascal, even put on a pitiful act to increase the credibility of his words. Seeing this, the spirit of the secret realm could no longer hold back and burst into laughter and tears.

Honestly, Grandpa is so old, how can he act like this? It's so unseemly. What am I supposed to do?

After venting his emotions, the spirit of the secret realm adjusted his tone and said somewhat stiffly, "Since you put it that way, old man, then this human holy master will be magnanimous and forgive you, lest you, an old man, make such a pitiful expression." Upon hearing this, Jiang Nian once again reached out his withered hand to touch the spirit of the secret realm's furnace, then smiled happily and said, "Really? In that case, thank you for Xiao Rui's forgiveness, hehehe."

The spirit of the secret realm looked at him in silence for a moment, then could no longer suppress its curiosity and asked, "Old man, where have you been all these years? Why did it take you so long to come back?"

"After you come back this time, will you leave again?"

After asking the question, the spirit of the secret realm stared intently at Jiang Nian.

Actually, none of the previous issues matter. No matter where Jiang Nian has been or what he has done over the years, as long as he comes back, that's all that matters. What he's most worried about is that the other party will leave again after this.

He stared at Jiang Nian, waiting for her reply, his heart filled with unease.

Faced with the question from the spirit of the secret realm, Jiang Nian fell silent and did not answer for a long time.

Seeing Jiang Nian like this, the spirit of the secret realm could no longer hold back. He questioned Jiang Nian, "Old man, you're not going to leave again, are you?"

Jiang Nian remained silent. After a long while, he let out a long sigh and said, "Xiao Rui, I'm sorry, Grandpa can't answer these questions for you."

"Why?" the spirit of the secret realm asked excitedly.

Jiang Nian sighed and said, "Because there are some things that Grandpa has to do."

After saying that, he looked at the spirit of the secret realm who was somewhat agitated and said, "Xiao Rui, I think I have told you before that our human race has always been very fragile in this world. Therefore, in order for the human race to survive forever, I must do some things."

As he spoke, he cast an apologetic glance at the spirit of the secret realm and said, "Grandpa, I am Shennong Yandi of the human race. I hope you can forgive me."

Upon hearing this, the spirit of the secret realm fell silent. After a long while, he asked, "How long will you be staying this time?"

Jiang Nian was silent for a moment after hearing this, and then said, "I came back this time because there are some things I want to teach you. After I teach you, we will have to part ways again."

"I..." The spirit of the secret realm originally wanted to say that he was unwilling to learn, but looking at Jiang Nian's pitiful expression and his aged face, he ultimately did not say the words of refusal. Instead, after thinking for a moment, he said, "Can I learn it in a few days?"

Seeing that Jiang Nian did not answer, he felt a little uneasy, so he lowered his expectations and said, "Three days, can we learn again in three days?"

"One day, one day later... if all else fails, tomorrow morning is fine too." He really wanted to spend some time with his grandfather.

Looking at the spirit of the secret realm, Jiang Nian sighed softly and said, "Then let's learn it again tomorrow morning. Let's have a good chat today."

Even so, they didn't actually talk much that night. Jiang Nian simply carried the spirit of the secret realm around the current human dynasty, and the spirit of the secret realm introduced the place to him. That was all.

Then the next day, just as the sun was rising, Jiang Nian said with a serious expression, "Xiao Rui, what Grandpa is going to teach you is very important, so please be sure to study it carefully."

"please."

After saying that, Jiang Nian slowly raised his head, glanced at the sky with a meaningful expression, and said in a drawn-out tone, "Little guy, you must not be careless, and you must not give up. Whether you understand it or not, you must study it carefully until you understand it thoroughly."

After he finished speaking, he nodded to the spirit of the secret realm, then stood up solemnly and performed a set of movements.

The set of movements was awkward, comical, and extremely long, with a total of 10,001 movements. Jiang Nian remained silent throughout the entire process.

After completing the set of movements, he looked up at the sky, then turned to the spirit of the secret realm and asked, "Little guy, did you remember that?"

The spirit of the secret realm replied, "I've remembered, but Grandpa, is this all you wanted to teach me? What's the point of this set of movements?"

Jiang Nian nodded and replied calmly, "That's it. As for its significance, you don't need to ask. Just remember it."

The spirit of the secret realm was completely bewildered, unable to understand why Jiang Nian had made such a serious show, only to teach such a ridiculous set of movements.

However, Xu Mo, who had been observing all of this through the vision of the spirit of the secret realm, understood.

Because from the very beginning, the person who taught Jiang Nian these movements was not the spirit of the secret realm, but himself who had been watching all of this.

And what Jiang Nian said just now wasn't addressed to the spirit of the secret realm, but rather to himself.

After all, Jiang Nian had always referred to the spirit of the secret realm as Xiao Rui.

The "little guy" he was referring to was, of course, himself.

My intuition was right; Jiang Nian had indeed discovered me.

So, is that why he disappeared for so many years?

So that he might leave his legacy for his descendants, who will live on for countless years to come...

Xu Mo felt a bit conflicted. Now he finally understood why he had been unable to understand the "Shennong's Classic of Herbs" after receiving the inheritance in the Shennong Secret Realm.

Because this was originally left to him by Shennong Yandi Jiang Nian, and he couldn't understand it before because the time wasn't right.

This is all thanks to the painstaking efforts of our ancestor, Shennong Yandi. I should have been more careful in criticizing and blaming him.

Xu Mo felt a little guilty.

Just then, Jiang Nian, having finished teaching the set of movements, looked at the spirit of the secret realm and said, "Xiao Rui, it's time to say goodbye."

The spirit of the secret realm paused slightly upon hearing this, and was just about to say goodbye when Jiang Nian spoke apologetically, "I'm sorry."

Upon hearing this, the spirit of the secret realm was slightly taken aback. Just as it was about to say no, Jiang Nian continued, "I understand what you want to say, Xiao Rui, but I still have to apologize, because it is not me who is leaving this time, but you, Xiao Rui."

The spirit of the secret realm was startled upon hearing this and was about to ask a question when he saw Jiang Nian slowly point at him. Immediately afterward, he felt a force enveloping him and flying in a certain direction.

The sudden turn of events terrified the spirit of the secret realm. He roared at Jiang Nian in disbelief, "Old man, what are you trying to do...?"

The spirit of the secret realm cursed loudly, but Jiang Nian remained unmoved, silently watching it gradually disappear into the distance...

(End of this chapter)