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

This is a rather exquisite quiet room. On the table is an incense burner, inside which is a small spiritual plant. The plant emits wisps of smoke, like a spiritual fragrance.

Duanmu Jingyi sat cross-legged on the couch, while Song Chuan stood with his hands hanging down.

"I never expected to find such an extraordinary Qi Refining cultivator in A-Can's spirit garden," Duanmu Jingyi said calmly.

"You flatter me, senior. This junior..."

"Discovering the Jiazi Cicada, rescuing the Nüba and the Fengli Beast—each individual act will be rewarded by the sect."

Hiss, it seems she already knows. I guess Chi Ying Shu told her something.

"Uh... Elder, are there rewards for all of these?" Song Chuan asked cautiously.

"That's the Burning Heaven Demoness, with a special bloodline. The Demoness clan has a good relationship with our Vine Flower Valley, and I was worried that something might happen to her."

As for the Wind Fox Beast, it did a good job. If it were brought back, it would be quite troublesome unless the old Wind Fox discovered it.

Besides, we're not the Beast Taming Sect; there's no need for us to create conflict with the demon race.

Song Chuan immediately took out a wooden box and respectfully handed it to Duanmu Jingyi: "This is Senior Li's expression of gratitude to Teng Hua Valley. He asked me to give it to the elder."

Duanmu Jingyi reached out her jade-like hand, adorned with bright red nail polish, and took the wooden box. With a gentle flick, the box opened.

"Huh? A third-tier Yang Spirit Grass. This old Wind Fox knows how to do things. Very good!" Duanmu Jingyi was very satisfied.

She put the wooden box directly into her storage bag and glanced at Song Chuan:

"Give me the spiritual plant I asked for. You wouldn't tell me that after doing all that, I still haven't found any, would you?"

Song Chuan quickly took off a storage bag: "Elder, please take a look."

Duanmu Jingyi picked it up with her jade-like hand; it was quite heavy. When she opened it, the flower ornament on her forehead trembled slightly.

"They found them all. There's even one extra one. This is a third-tier Yin-withered Vine. This wasn't on the list, was it?" Duanmu Jingyi asked in surprise.

The Yin Ku Luo she mentioned was the poisonous spiritual plant in Zou Qingfa's storage bag. Song Chuan felt it would be better to offer it to Duanmu Jingyi.

"I don't actually recognize this spiritual plant, but I thought the elder might need it, so I included it here," Song Chuan said.

"Excellent! You not only rendered meritorious service to our sect this time, but also exceeded expectations in fulfilling the tasks I assigned you. This elder will not treat you unfairly! How is things going on Ku Zhuo's side?" Duanmu Jingyi praised Song Chuan repeatedly before asking.

"I have basically completed the task assigned by Senior Kuzhuo," Song Chuan said.

Duanmu Jingyi nodded slightly: "When I first met you, you were only at the sixth level of Qi Refining. I really underestimated you. You are now at the eighth level of Qi Refining. I heard that Chi Ying Shu gave you a breakthrough pill. Is that true?"

"That is indeed the case. Fellow Daoist Chi insisted on repaying me, and I thought that increasing my cultivation would be beneficial to the elder's mission, so I accepted it."

"The sect's reward will be dealt with when we return. I will keep track of your matter. As for me, besides the Fire-Cultivating Hoe I promised to give you, you can make one more request."

Upon hearing this, Song Chuan was overjoyed. He knew that doing more work was always the right thing to do.

"This junior wishes to request a Foundation Establishment Pill from the elder. I wonder if the elder would be so kind as to grant my request?"

"My Foundation Establishment Pills have already been distributed. You can suggest something else. Cultivation techniques or top-tier magic artifacts are both acceptable." Duanmu Jingyi shook her head, her head full of jewels swaying.

Before Song Chuan could show any disappointment, she suddenly said:

"The sect should reward you with a Foundation Establishment Pill, barring any unforeseen circumstances."

"Huh?" Song Chuan was incredulous. He never expected that the three things—the Jiazi Cicada, the Nüba, and the Wind Fox Beast—would actually earn him this prize!

If one has a Foundation Establishment Pill from the sect, a Foundation Establishment Pill from Kuzhuo, plus Emperor's Essence, one is absolutely confident in establishing one's foundation.

His mind raced, and he said, "Does the elder possess any top-tier earth-elemental cultivation techniques suitable for a junior like myself?"

The sect's Yuewei Hall certainly has high-level earth-elemental cultivation techniques, but those that can be exchanged for spirit stones are unlikely to be very advanced. The elders' personal techniques are the real gems.

If Duanmu Jingyi has a top-tier earth-elemental cultivation technique, even if it's not suitable for him to cultivate, he can exchange it at the sect and compare the two before making a decision.

Duanmu Jingyi's expression turned slightly strange: "It seems you want to pursue a pure earth-based path. I do have a top-tier cultivation technique. But with your four spiritual roots, cultivation is very difficult, and you'll only be wasting your time."

"Elder, could you please allow me to take a look at this cultivation technique before making a decision?" Song Chuan asked.

Duanmu Jingyi pondered for a moment, then raised his hand to touch the hairpin, whereupon a book appeared in his hand. This hairpin was actually a storage magic artifact!

Song Chuan took the manual; the cover had five large characters written on it: "Earth Prison Seed Cultivation Technique".

I don't understand, but it looks impressive.

After quickly flipping through a few pages, Song Chuan sometimes frowned deeply, and sometimes looked thoughtful.

"If senior allows, this junior will take this technique." After a moment, he made up his mind.

Duanmu Jingyi raised an eyebrow slightly, but still nodded.

Song Chuan hurriedly took out a jade slip, intending to use his divine sense to copy the cultivation technique.

Duanmu Jingyi suddenly asked, "Did you obtain the Imperial Elixir?"

"I was lucky to get it." Song Chuan was taken aback.

Duanmu Jingyi sized him up a few times: "It seems you have a good chance of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage."

Then, the woman directly tossed the original cultivation manual to Song Chuan and slowly said:

"This technique was obtained by me during my exploration of a secret realm, and it can be cultivated up to the Nascent Soul stage."

According to sect rules, such cultivation techniques are not allowed to be given to Qi Refining cultivators. However, this technique is very unique, with each realm closely linked and inseparable. Considering your considerable contributions, we will make an exception this time.

Don't be too happy to have obtained a top-level cultivation technique. The early cultivation conditions of this technique are harsh and the progress is slow. Even I wanted to learn some earth-type spells from it, but I had to give up because it was too time-consuming and laborious. It is useless to me and a useless thing to others!

Since you've made your choice, don't regret it; just take the original one.

Song Chuan was overjoyed and quickly put it away.

Duanmu Jingyi must have seen that I had the potential to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, which is why she gave me the original directly. If I hadn't obtained the Emperor's Elixir, this woman would probably have had to reconsider.

I just glanced at this technique, and it is indeed as Duanmu Jingyi said, extremely difficult.

Fortunately, the bead had a way to overcome some of the difficulties. Although it was still more difficult to cultivate than the normal techniques, the power described inside was too tempting to resist.

"Thank you, Elder!" Song Chuan bowed respectfully.

"If you can establish your foundation in the future, you will no longer need to manage Canxiang Garden," Duanmu Jingyi said meaningfully.

Before Song Chuan could ask anything else, Duanmu Jingyi closed his eyes and remained silent.

Upon seeing this, Song Chuan quickly and quietly left the cabin.

I was in a great mood when I got to the deck!

I need to go back and study that cultivation technique carefully. Although I don't plan to practice it before I reach the Foundation Establishment stage, it's good to broaden my horizons first.

"Senior Duanmu must have given you quite a few benefits, right?" Chi Ying Shu walked over and said with a light laugh.

"Thank you for speaking so kindly to me, Fellow Daoist Chi. It wasn't in vain that I went to all this trouble to save you!" Song Chuan chuckled.

"Pah! That's incredibly rude! Let's not talk about that again."