Starting as a spiritual plant master, may I eventually become the master of all lands.

Chapter 112 The Old Tortoise and Fairy Cai

This cave dwelling is almost identical to Song Chuan's, except that Steward Qiu is quite particular about it.

Along the passageways of the cave, some flowering spiritual plants were scattered.

At the end of the passage, there was a stone hall for receiving guests, which was larger than Song Chuan's, and it seemed to have been expanded by himself.

Song Chuan could certainly expand it, but he had no intention of doing so. As a newly established Foundation Establishment cultivator, he didn't often invite friends over; it was more than enough for him to use alone.

Inside the stone hall, there are many different spiritual plants, and several of them have practical uses and are very precious.

For example, the herb-spitting technique can release a fragrance similar to that of a spiritual incense, which is even more effective than some refined calming incense.

When Kongsang returned from her adventure, Duanmu Jingyi received her in the cabin. There was such a spiritual plant in that quiet room, but hers was much more valuable.

There is also a peculiar spiritual plant that has no stem but leaves, growing from the ground. Its leaves are like futons, three or four feet in size, and scattered here and there.

Pudun Lotus is actually a type of dryland lotus, and it is also an earth-attribute spiritual plant that cultivators can use as a seat.

Judging from the leaves of this Pudun Lotus, it is already a top-grade second-tier spiritual plant.

Qiu Yingxian truly lives up to his reputation as a steward of the Spirit Seed Hall; he has quite a few rare spiritual plants.

Being a steward is a really lucrative job. But it depends on the branch you're in. Stewards in places like the Five Spirits Pavilion probably don't have much to do all year round, so there's not much to gain.

While the lucrative positions in these branches are highly profitable, they are also quite demanding, with numerous miscellaneous tasks. Furthermore, some of the busy branch duties are not handled by a single person!

Previously, Deacon Wang mentioned the newly built spirit garden. Deacon Qiu will probably have to work hard on this matter for a long time. If he doesn't do it well, he will be criticized by the Core Formation Elder.

From the moment Song Chuan received the Spring Sprout Order, he had already seen through everything. Everything has two sides or even multiple sides; there is never anything that is simply good or bad in this world.

He looked around and saw that about a dozen people, men and women, had already entered the stone hall and were each sitting on a leaf of a lotus plant. Those who were close together were talking in hushed tones.

Two others remained completely silent, each sitting in a corner. One had his eyes closed, looking rather arrogant, and was the only mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator present! The other looked around, somewhat at a loss.

Apart from the one in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, judging from the auras of the others, only one person had reached Foundation Establishment in the last year or two, while the rest had been in Foundation Establishment for more than ten years.

The person who had reached Foundation Establishment in the last two years was a man around forty years old, with black hair tied up high, thick eyebrows, and large eyes. He was the one sitting in the corner scratching his head and looking around. He seemed to be here for the first time, just like Song Chuan.

"Old Chi, why are you only arriving now?"

As soon as Song Chuan and Chi Chun entered, someone greeted Chi Chun familiarly.

"Hehe, I ran into a fellow disciple who recently advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage. We chatted for a while. Let me introduce him to you all. This is Song Chuan," Chi Chun said with a grin.

Song Chuan felt slightly embarrassed. Was this old man being a bit too blunt? He had just come in and was facing so many people; it was a little awkward.

He quickly bowed slightly to his fellow disciples: "My name is Song Chuan, it's a pleasure to meet you all."

"Huh? I've heard of you, kid. You're that guy from Kongsang Lieqi. I didn't expect you to actually reach the Foundation Establishment stage. Heh!" the man who greeted Chi Chun said in surprise.

Some of the others stared intently at Song Chuan, scrutinizing him closely, while others merely glanced at him.

"Fellow Daoist Song, my name is Zuo Chengming. I've also joined the Kongsang Exploration. Would you mind sitting here?" The man with thick eyebrows and big eyes said with delight.

Sure enough, Song Chuan guessed as soon as he saw this person that this person's time to establish his foundation was not much different from his own, and that this person must also be someone who had made great contributions to the exploration of Kongsang.

Before Song Chuan could say anything, Chi Chun interrupted, "What are you doing sitting in that corner? You're a new face, come on, come with us, all of you come over here."

Zuo Chengming scratched his head, got up and went to Chi Chun and Song Chuan's side. Song Chuan smiled politely at him, and the three of them sat on a lotus pedestal close to the other cultivators.

"You two are quite young!" the person who greeted Chi Chun said, with a hint of sourness in his tone.

This person didn't look very old; he had a round, slightly chubby face and some fine lines around his eyes, and looked to be at most in his forties or fifties. But judging from his tone, he was probably much older than that.

"This is Ke Tong, Old Master Ke. Let me tell you, Old Master Ke never goes out on missions, he's a real old turtle," Chi Chun introduced, revealing the man's secrets as he spoke.

Song Chuan felt a strange sensation in his heart. Wasn't this the kind of person that Deacon Wang had mentioned? But everyone has their own way of living, and giving up isn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Hey! Old Chi, how can you talk to a newcomer like that? Where am I supposed to put my old face?" Old Ke laughed heartily, seemingly unconcerned.

A female cultivator beside her covered her mouth and chuckled softly, looking at Old Daoist Ke with a hint of barely perceptible disdain in her eyes.

"Don't compete with Old Master Ke for anything he takes a fancy to later. He relies on his meager salary to acquire some rare items at this internal exchange meeting," Chi Chun added.

"Pfft!" The female cultivator couldn't help but laugh out loud. She said, "Old Daoist Ke, what's with all your shame? Apart from these two lads, who among us doesn't know about your little affairs? You never leave your house, have you ever tasted meat? Do you want to buy some of my foot bath water? Let me tell you, I'm about to break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and by then you won't be able to afford my foot bath water."

Song Chuan was greatly surprised. Are all Foundation Establishment cultivators this uninhibited? No, there are also those like Dai Lingjun.

He looked the female cultivator over again. She was indeed at the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage and was about to break through. However, the bottleneck of the Foundation Establishment stage was not easy to overcome. How many people were stuck at the bottleneck for their entire lives?

Judging solely from her appearance, this woman was only in her thirties, with a certain charm in her eyes and brows, though far less alluring than Steward Wang's seductive manner.

What are you thinking about?

When he was in the Qi Refining stage, he felt that Foundation Establishment cultivators were unapproachable, as if there was an insurmountable chasm between them.

Now that I've become a Foundation Establishment cultivator, sitting with them and listening to their casual conversations is no different from being a Qi Refining cultivator.

And now, he himself is probably just as unattainable to Qi Refining cultivators.

"Fairy Cai, I heard you speaking so recklessly again while I was meditating in the inner chamber of the cave." Qiu Yingxian walked out as the side door of the stone hall opened.

He looked at the female cultivator surnamed Cai and smiled gently. Qiu Yingsi, however, was not there.

Song Chuan glanced around. While the old Taoist Ke and the female cultivator surnamed Cai were talking, five or six more cultivators had arrived. Including those who had already been there, there were a total of fifteen cultivators in the cave.

There are quite a few people involved; many of them must have gone to carry out their missions or simply didn't want to participate.

"Steward Qiu, if you don't come soon, I'll take Fairy Cai back to my cave," Elder Ke suddenly said.

"Haha!" Zuo Chengming slapped his thigh and burst into laughter.

"Hey! You old rascal, you're getting all smug!"

"Alright, let me first tell you about the affairs of the Kingdom of Jing," Qiu Yingxian said with a solemn expression.