I forge immortality with spiritual treasures.

Chapter 67 The Hundred-Year-Old Wood Spirit
"Oh?"

Professor Qi was somewhat surprised.

She had thought that Ying Chan would want a spiritual elixir or a magical artifact, but she never expected that what he asked for would be so simple.

Therefore, she hesitated for a moment before saying, "Is this really all you want?"

Ying Chan replied without hesitation, "Exactly."

"I can promise you."

Professor Qi's willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed slightly: "However..."

“I am different from other academy teachers. I will not serve as a Daoist for long. I do not know when I will return to my sect.”

Ying Chan's heart had just been in his throat when he heard this, but he immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "What I ask for is only to clear my mind. It would be enough if I could get a little guidance from the academy master."

“In that case,” said Academician Qi, “if you wish to seek my guidance, you may come to Songfeng Altar.”

"Songfeng Altar?"

Although somewhat surprised, Ying Chan still respectfully agreed: "Thank you, Academician."

Professor Qi nodded slightly and said, "Go."

Upon hearing this, Ying Chan bowed again before turning and descending halfway down the mountain. Looking back, he saw that Master Qi and the two-tailed white fox, Li'er, had vanished without a trace.

"Taoist priest."

At this moment, Cai Que'er cautiously asked, "Is this Master Qi also a Daoist Master in the academy? I've never seen him before."

It attended lectures at various lecturing platforms every day, even more diligently than Ying Chan, yet it never actually met this Master Qi.

Ying thought for a moment before saying, "Professor Qi is indeed rare in teaching; perhaps we just didn't get the chance."

"Hmm." Cai Que'er shook her head, then suddenly veered off-topic: "The teachers and students of Qi Academy are so good-looking!"

In fact, practitioners are usually not too ugly because they are filled with the Three Jewels and have a pure body. However, Master Qi is indeed more outstanding.

"This……"

Ying Chan didn't know how to respond for a moment, so he just smiled and let it go.

Cai Que'er didn't care, and instead envied the two-tailed white fox Li'er: "I wonder when I'll be able to refine my transverse bone..."

"The fairy was born with the ability to understand human speech."

"Huh?" Cai Que'er said angrily, "That requires refining the transverse bone to be able to absorb and expel large amounts of spiritual energy from heaven and earth like a Xuan Guang cultivator. The Daoist clearly doesn't understand anything!"

"Yes Yes."

"Crane Lord, you be the judge, isn't that right?"

This sentence was spoken by the colorful sparrow and the crane.

Crane Lord remained silent, only letting out a clear cry, before carrying Ying Chan into the sky and flying towards the Daoist temple.

……

When we finally saw the Mirror Lake embraced by a thousand peaks, the sun was just past its zenith.

Crane Lord escorted Ying Chan to the Capital Affairs Office. Ying Chan offered several Jade Dew Pills as a token of gratitude, but Crane Lord only took one and then returned to Crane Pond alone.

Ying Chan watched it disappear before turning and entering the State Council.

The Ministry of State Affairs was unexpectedly quiet today, and even Master Zheng had the leisure to leisurely flip through Taoist books.

Ying Chan approached with curiosity, cupped his hands and smiled, "Senior brother, you seem to have a rare moment of leisure."

"Ok?"

When Zheng Daoren raised his head and saw that it was Ying Chan, he laughed and scolded, "Since you know that I rarely have time to relax, why do you still come to disturb me?"

Ying Chan said helplessly, "I received the academy's talisman from my senior brother, so naturally I have to report to him."

Master Zheng shook his head, opened the booklet, and picked up his pen again: "Junior brother is indeed impatient."

"Actually, it wouldn't be a problem if you went back to rest first and then came to the courtyard to report. Are you perhaps afraid that your cultivation will be wasted?"

"Senior brother is too kind." Ying Chan smiled and returned the palanquin and other items to Zheng Daoren. He then answered some questions for him, and Zheng Daoren quickly jotted down a few notes:

"Junior brother patrolled for five days, accumulating five merits, and eliminated a wolf spirit, a demonic tree, and a group of four-eyed shadow bats..."

"Based on the findings of the court, he is commended with sixteen merits."

“Besides…” Zheng Daoren paused, shaking his head, “Junior brother is too negligent. Do you know what you’ve overlooked?”

“I did not know that,” Ying Chan said in surprise. “Please explain, Senior Brother.”

"You managed to find the millstone-sized stone Tai Sui after eliminating the Four-Eyed Yin Bat, but didn't you ever consider searching for the remains of that demonic tree?"

Master Zheng said, "Do you know that there is also a piece of century-old wood essence inside?"

"what……"

Ying Chan shook his head: "I thought that I had burned it to the ground, so there was nothing left."

"Although wood can be used to start a fire, this century-old wood spirit is not something that can be easily refined. Fortunately, the senior brother in charge of assessing the situation took a closer look."

Master Zheng asked, "Do you want to take it away, or exchange it for Daoist cultivation?"

"This?" Ying Chan asked in surprise, "Since I didn't discover it, does it still belong to me?"

"Does the courtyard lack a piece of wood spirit?" Master Zheng laughed and scolded again, "But if you don't want it, I'll keep it for myself."

Ying Chan smiled and said, "I'm afraid you're violating the academy rules, so please take it."

Zheng Daoren feigned disappointment, rummaged in his sleeve for a long time before taking out the wood essence. He then quickly jotted down a few notes in the book and said, "Alright! I'll also write down the Daoist merits that Shi Taisui obtained. Hurry up and leave, you're disturbing my peace."

"In that case, I'll take my leave."

Ying Chan accepted the wooden spirit, smiled, cupped his hands in greeting, and then turned and left the Capital Affairs Office.

Originally, after he finished his task, he was supposed to return to the hospital to rest.

Having unexpectedly acquired a piece of wood spirit, he hesitated for a moment before turning around and heading to the artifact workshop, where he found Lei Xiuyuan's quiet room.

His arrival was quite timely, and Lei Xiuyuan rested here.

But when he saw Ying Chan, he put on a cold face and said, "Why are you here again?"

Seeing this, Ying Chan couldn't help but feel somewhat apologetic.

Throughout the past year, he had also worked odd jobs at the equipment workshop, but his cultivation studies were far more demanding, so in total, he only did so two or three times.

However, the number of times he came to Lei Xiuyuan to ask about difficult weapon-refining problems doubled, which is why Lei Xiuyuan was annoyed.

However, he also knew that this senior brother didn't actually dislike him, so he awkwardly approached and cupped his hands, saying, "Senior Brother Lei, I have something I'd like to ask you..."

Lei Xiuyuan rubbed his forehead and said helplessly, "Speak."

"Senior brother, look at this hundred-year-old wood spirit." Ying Chan took out the wood spirit he had just obtained and asked, "If I were to borrow this to forge a magic bow, what do you think, senior brother?"

"A century-old wood spirit?"

"This substance is the essence of wood energy, making it perfect for crafting wood-based magical artifacts. However, if used to craft a magic bow..."

Lei Xiuyuan frowned and said, "A bow is a weapon of strength. Although flexibility is indispensable, this hundred-year-old wood spirit is more flexible than strong, so it is not very suitable."

"What if we combine it with lightning-struck wood?"

"Lightning-struck wood? Using lightning-struck wood for the bow's body would be quite suitable..."

Lei Xiuyuan stroked his chin, realizing what was happening: "You want to use this hundred-year-old wood essence to refine the lightning-struck wood?"

Ying Chan nodded: "Exactly."

"Good lad." Lei Xiuyuan snorted, "Have you even studied the Refining Technique? You dare to have such thoughts? Be careful you end up losing on both ends, failing to refine the magic weapon and ruining this piece of wood spirit for nothing..."

"Cough cough."

Ying Chan coughed lightly: "So, that's why I invited my senior brother here."

"..."

(End of this chapter)