Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 204 Strange Mountain Spring Water

Contribution points are extremely difficult to obtain, a fact well-known among the disciples of the White Stone Immortal Sect.

Because its requirements are extremely demanding, but completing these trial tasks only yields 1 basic contribution point.

That's right, it's just 1 point. Each trial task only gives 1 point per person, but to advance to the intermediate immortal disciple level, you need 500 contribution points. Moreover, these 500 contribution points cannot be used to exchange for rare resources worth tens or hundreds of contribution points at the sect market with Manager Ye.

If you don't encounter a real spiritual event, even if you do it every holiday, it will still take at least ten years to accumulate enough.

While it's true that it takes cultivators of average talent more than ten years to reach the Core Formation stage, such an outrageous number is simply too exaggerated.

However, if a spiritual event occurs, then it's a different story.

The incident involving the weasel demon that the eldest brother encountered back then—the same weasel demon who now calls himself Huang Pingding—added a full 20 contribution points to both the eldest brother and the second sister!
A while ago, some outer disciples took on a mission and went to patrol the mountains. They found a naturally "spiritually transformed" pine tree. After registering it, each of them received 5 extra points!
While 20 points and 5 points may seem far from 500 points, they are at least not out of reach. Therefore, whenever the disciples accept a trial mission, they will go to Tianchi to wash their faces beforehand. It is said that this will bring good luck and they might even encounter a "spiritual transformation event".

However, the probability of encountering a spiritification event is actually very low. For example, since the sect leader designed this contribution point system and issued trial missions for a long time, there have only been three or four instances of encountering a spiritification event. These were mostly newly spiritualized flowers and grasses, and there wasn't even a pheasant that had awakened its intelligence and spirit!
Therefore, it's no wonder that Ye Hanxing's eyes lit up immediately when he heard that it might be a spiritual transformation incident.

These are all valuable contribution points!
"Um……"

Zhong Hui pointed somewhat awkwardly to the white atractylodes in the herb garden and said, "Although these white atractylodes do have some spiritual energy due to the nourishment of spiritual energy, it is too little. It is not even comparable to the ordinary herbs that are just beginning to be cultivated on our Spirit Herb Peak. It may not be counted as contribution points."

"Senior Sister Zhong, you should know that this place is thousands of miles away from White Stone Mountain. It is no accident that such a far place can nurture medicinal herbs with spiritual energy!"

As he spoke, Ye Hanxing cupped his hands in greeting to Qin Yingyue beside him and said, "Sister, you must be a disciple of the Peach Blossom Sect, right? I wonder how your sect cultivates these white atractylodes plants? Could you tell me? If we can find a way to keep these white atractylodes alive, perhaps other medicinal herbs can also be used!"

Qin Yingyue quickly returned the greeting: "I dare not call you 'elder sister,' I am Qin Yingyue, the head of the Peach Blossom Sect. I greet this immortal."

After exchanging greetings, Qin Yingyue frankly stated, "Our Peach Blossom Sect is renowned for its medical skills. Our 'Peach Blossom Golden Wound Powder' is highly praised throughout the martial arts world. This is because our sect's medicinal gardens are meticulously tended. Every few days, we fetch spring water from Shennong Mountain to irrigate the gardens. As for whether these white atractylodes plants are anything special... to be honest, they are not. The methods of maintenance are the same as before, without any difference."

Zhong Hui also asked, "Do other herbs, like this Bletilla striata, possess spiritual energy?"

Qin Yingyue replied, "This...we are all ordinary people and do not know what 'spiritual energy' is, but if we are talking about medicinal effects, the medicinal effects of these few herb gardens are much better. Although the others are not as good, they are still better than before. We really cannot tell what is special about them..."

As they were talking, Ye Hanxing also picked some flowers and leaves from other herb gardens and, like Zhong Hui, put them in his mouth and chewed them—this was the fastest way to distinguish whether a herb or a plant was spiritual or not.

If it were wild plants, the two of them wouldn't dare to do this, for fear of accidentally eating something poisonous.

However, these are all the medicinal gardens of the Peach Blossom Sect. Even if there are poisonous herbs, the toxicity of ordinary herbs would not cause any harm to these cultivators. That's why the two of them used this most convenient and quickest method.

"Senior Sister Zhong, these Solomon's Seal seeds also have spirits, but just as you said, there are indeed too few of them!"

Ye Hanxing frowned.

With such a low spiritual energy content, it's probably not even comparable to the ordinary medicinal herbs that are just starting to be cultivated on Spirit Medicine Peak, let alone the flowers and plants at the foot of White Stone Mountain!
It seems that you might not be able to earn contribution points by relying on these things!

This is how to do!
Zhong Hui and Ye Hanxing both came from Lingyao Peak, so their knowledge of herbs and medicinal plants was naturally greater than that of others.

So when they saw that neither of them was very optimistic about the medicinal herbs, the group became somewhat discouraged.

Then Feng Guang suddenly suggested, "Why don't we go and take a look at that so-called place where we get 'mountain spring water'?"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Hui jumped up excitedly from his squatting position: "Yes! Maybe it was the water that caused these medicinal herbs to become spiritual! Who knows, it might even be spiritual spring water!"

"Yes, yes!"

This suggestion was also approved by Qin Jiang and others—now everyone is putting in their best effort to find a way to solve the mystery of the Peach Blossom Sect's medicinal herbs becoming spiritualized. If it turns out to be some kind of spiritualization event, then the contribution points will really be secured!

The five of them immediately agreed, and Wu Shuang looked at Qin Yingyue expectantly. Zhong Hui even asked eagerly, "I wonder if it's convenient for you to take a look at the place where you get the spiritual spring... cough, no, I mean the mountain spring water?" How could they possibly say it wasn't convenient in this situation?
Qin Yingyue smiled awkwardly and nodded, saying, "Then please come with me, fellow immortals!"

After saying that, she turned to the only elderly man among the Peach Blossom Sect disciples and said, "Uncle Xue, please help your junior brothers and sisters with bandaging. I will take care of the immortals."

"Oh, no need for such trouble. It's us who have bothered you. We happened to bring some spiritual medicine with us, which works well for minor injuries. Consider it an apology for disturbing Sect Leader Qin!"

As she spoke, Zhong Hui took out several bottles of [Traumatic Injury Powder] from her Qiankun bag. This stuff was very cheap in the sect's shop, making it the most cost-effective gift. As a disciple of the Spirit Medicine Peak, she had even helped prepare some for others!
Qin Yingyue was deeply moved: "This, this is unacceptable!"

"It's alright! You probably heard it just now. We were searching for spiritual herbs and plants everywhere for contribution points for the sect, not purely to help you. Of course, it's also because our sect leader is worried that some sects won't be able to handle certain spiritual events after the spiritual energy revival, so he sent us disciples to investigate everywhere. But in the end, we also benefit from it! So you don't need to worry about it!"

As Zhong Hui spoke, he stepped forward and forcefully stuffed the [Trauma Powder] into the hands of several Peach Blossom Sect disciples, emphasizing, "Actually, these are just the cheapest [Trauma Powder]! It's just that because they're made with spiritual herbs and plants, their medicinal effects are stronger than those of external wound medicines. For your superficial injuries, they'll heal in no time!"

Since Zhong Hui had given such a generous recommendation, Qin Yingyue could no longer refuse. She could only nod and instruct the disciples of the Peach Blossom Sect to accept the gift, before saying gratefully, "Our Peach Blossom Sect truly does not know how to repay the kindness of the immortals!"

Zhong Hui waved his hand: "Hey! As long as we can find out the reason why these medicinal herbs have become spiritualized, that will be the greatest reward for us!"

Qin Yingyue quickly replied, "I will certainly do my utmost to help!"

……

The group soon arrived at the mountain spring mentioned by the Peach Blossom Sect disciples.

It's called a mountain spring, but it's actually just a small puddle, and there doesn't seem to be much water in it.

Qin Yingyue replied, “Immortals, don’t be fooled by the small size of the spring. There is a hidden paradise inside. At the bottom of the spring, there is a crevice about the width of an arm, which is unfathomably deep. I once used a tied bamboo pole to probe it, and I couldn’t reach the bottom even after ten or so feet. Therefore, this mountain spring flows year-round and has never dried up. Moreover, the spring water is cool and refreshing, and drinking it is quite invigorating. That’s why my Peach Blossom Sect has always used it to irrigate our medicinal garden… To tell you the truth, the late sect leader, who was also my ancestor, settled here and established the sect precisely because of this spring, but it is unknown to outsiders!”

The more Zhong Hui and the others listened, the more uneasy they felt. Qin Jiang even couldn't help but whisper, "Could this really be a spiritual spring?!"

Feng Guang scooped up a handful of spring water. The water was clear and colorless, and indeed icy cold to the touch—definitely unlike ordinary water, but…

He casually took a sip to try it, but found that there was no spiritual energy in it.

So he shook his head and said, "It doesn't seem like spiritual spring water."

Zhong Hui, unwilling to give up, also scooped up a mouthful of spring water and tasted it.

As expected, it was just ordinary spring water, containing no spiritual energy at all!

"But even without spiritual energy, this doesn't seem like ordinary mountain spring water!"

Ye Hanxing, who also tasted the spring water, had a different opinion, saying, "When I was in the Ye family in Jiangnan, I went to the Mirror Abyss Cold Pool with my senior brothers and sisters. This mountain spring water seems to be very similar to the water in the Mirror Abyss Cold Pool. Both are icy cold, and even a bit abnormal!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, but Qin Jiang was the first to ask, "Mirror Abyss Cold Pool? You mean the Mirror Abyss Cold Pool of the Hundred Forging Sect?"

Ye Hanxing nodded: "It's that Mirror Abyss Cold Pool! If it weren't for the Ye family head leading us, we wouldn't have been able to get close, let alone have a taste!"

Having never heard of the "Mirror Abyss Cold Pool" before, Feng Guang was somewhat bewildered and asked, "What is the 'Mirror Abyss Cold Pool'?"

"You must know about the Hundred Forging Sect, right? It's a sect that's famous for its forging skills and is said to be on par with the Sword Casting Manor!"

Zhong Hui explained, "'Mirror Abyss Cold Pool' is a lake, or rather a pool of water, within the Hundred Forging Sect!"

"'Mirror Abyss' refers to its crystal-clear appearance, like a mercury mirror, while 'Cold Pool' is named for its extreme yin and coldness, making it an excellent choice for quenching weapons after forging! I heard that the Hundred Forging Sect was established in Southern Chu precisely because of this 'Mirror Abyss Cold Pool'!"

(End of this chapter)