Cultivating a family of immortals

Changkong Xianzhou, Mohe County.

Mohe County is located in a remote area, with very short spring, summer and autumn seasons, and almost year-round cold winter with heavy snow.

There is a sacred mountain in the area, thousands of feet high, shrouded in thick fog all year round.

The snow fell and melted upon encountering the fog, as if some divine means had prevented it from melting away; it was truly wondrous.

It is therefore named Huaxue Mountain.

Dozens of pavilions and towers stand atop Huaxue Mountain, usually invisible, but if you're lucky enough, you might catch a glimpse of them on a few sunny days of the year.

This mountain belongs to the immortal sect of a Qi cultivation family in Mohe County, and the family name is Lin.

At the foot of Huaxue Mountain lies a vast expanse of farmland, stretching as far as the foot of the mountain can be.

This farmland belongs to the Lin family, and the people who cultivate it are villagers from the foot of the mountain. The villagers make a living by planting spiritual seedlings and herbs for the Immortal Sect, which is far better than farming and hunting.

Xu Wanghe, the head of the Xu family, stood in the field, holding a hoe and working hard to remove weeds.

With heavy snow falling, it shouldn't be a suitable time for planting.

But the spirit seedlings are no ordinary things; they are born with spirituality and are not afraid of wind, cold, or heavy snow. Therefore, these ordinary weeds also acquire spirituality and grow into something extraordinary.

"Why are these seedlings still a bit wilted?"

Xu Wanghe squatted on the ground, carefully examining the spirit seedling.

Xu's wife, Li Rongping, came over carrying a basket containing lunch. She approached Xu Wanghe and, looking at the dejected Lingmiao, said:

"Let's eat first. After we eat, we'll ask the Chen family how their spiritual seedlings are growing. Is there something wrong with the spiritual seedlings the Immortal Master sent this time?"

Xu Wanghe took the bamboo basket, wiped the snow off Li Rongping's hair with his sleeve, and said with a smile, "Alright, where did Guanyi and Changle go?"

"They said they went hunting at the foot of Huaxue Mountain."

Upon hearing this, Xu Wanghe frowned, "Don't offend the Immortal Master."

"I have already given instructions. Besides, we are only at the foot of the mountain, so we will not be able to meet the immortal master."

As the two were talking, a figure came running quickly from a distance.

"Uncle Xu, how are your seedlings growing? Mine are all wilted!"

The newcomer was Chen's youngest daughter, with a ponytail, a flushed face, and panting heavily as she stood before the two.

Xu Wanghe frowned, put the bamboo basket on the ground, and said, "Let's go and take a look."

The little girl, panting heavily, gritted her teeth and ran after him.

The Chen family's rented land was right next door, and the two families were not far apart, about two miles apart.

Before long, Xu Wanghe saw Chen Mingyuan, the head of the Chen family, in the fields.

"Brother Xu, come quickly and see what's going on."

Chen Mingyuan was so anxious that he developed a large blister on his lip, and his eyes looked extremely tired with dark circles under them.

Xu Wanghe squatted in the field for a long time and found that the seedlings were also drooping and looked as if they had been hit by frost.

Logically speaking, since the spirit seedling is not afraid of wind and frost, how could these problems occur?

"Could it really be a spiritual seedling sent by the immortal master..." Li Rongping said worriedly from the side.

"Shut up, watch your words!" Xu Wanghe glared at Li Rongping.

"Brother Xu, this..." Chen Mingyuan asked in confusion.

"Ignore her words. How could there be anything wrong with the spiritual seedlings sent by the immortal master? Perhaps we used too much of the Green Wood Powder..."

The Qingmu powder was distributed to the villagers along with the Lingmiao seedlings and was used for fertilization.

"So what should we do now?" Chen Mingyuan asked.

"Pour some more water, but be careful not to add any more Qingmu powder to the water. See if we can revive it. Also," Xu Wanghe said solemnly, "we should split up and ask the Wang and He families if there are any problems with their spiritual seedlings. If there are, then it's not a big problem."

What does this mean?

"Since everyone's seedlings have encountered problems, I suppose the Immortal Sect won't blame us."

Xu Wanghe said.

…………

Late at night, the Xu family lit candles, and on a small table inside the house were stir-fried wild boar and two plates of green vegetables.

Under the table lay a mountain beast the size of a small calf, its body covered in bloodstains, with a knife still stuck in its chest.

The mountain beast was captured by the brothers Xu Guanyi and Xu Changle, and it took a lot of effort to drag it back.

The two brothers had just finished washing up and were playfully fighting as they entered the house. Xu Wanghe followed right after them.

"Father, you're back! Look at the mountain beasts my brother and I fought, aren't they big?"

Xu Guanyi triumphantly threw himself into Xu Wanghe's arms.

Xu Wanghe forced a smile, reached out and patted his head, saying, "Hmm, not bad. Go play over there first. Your mother, your older brother, and I have something to discuss."

"Oh..." Xu Guanyi was only thirteen years old this year, and his mind was not yet developed, so he started playing on the side.

Xu Changle's eyes narrowed, and he reached out to take Xu Wanghe's coat, asking, "Father, what happened?"

"Could it be that the spiritual seedlings of those two families are alright?" Li Rongping walked in carrying the food.

"Not only that, the spiritual seedlings of the Wang and He families are growing normally, so I went south and found that the spiritual seedlings of the Li family there were also fine..."

Xu Wanghe sat down, his brows furrowed with deep sorrow.

The eldest son, Xu Changle, said from the side:

"Father, could it be that too much Aoki powder was used?"

Xu Wanghe shook his head. "Absolutely not. The fertilizer was applied exactly as instructed by the Immortal Sect. How could there be a mistake?"

"That's strange," Li Rongping said hesitantly. "Why don't we report this matter to the Immortal Sect for handling?"

"Absolutely not, Mother! Master Chang said last time that these spiritual seedlings are extremely precious, and each one is of great use. If anything goes wrong, we will have to bear the consequences ourselves... We don't have much food at home. If we are punished by the Master because of this, it will probably be a loss for us." Xu Changle said hurriedly.

"Then, as you say..."

"Tomorrow morning, Dad and I will go and investigate again. Perhaps it has been infested with spirit-devouring worms. In any case, let's figure out the situation first, and then we'll consider what to do," Xu Changle said after a moment of contemplation.

"The spirit seedlings that the spirit-devouring insects have eaten would definitely not look like this. Fine, I'll do as you say and see for myself tomorrow. Let's eat first," Xu Wanghe said with a sigh.

The group sat down.

"Guanyi, come and eat!" Xu Wanghe called out.

Xu Guanyi was squatting in front of the mountain beast, using a small knife to pry open its mouth, his expression focused, and he did not hear the shout.

"You child, what's so fun about a dead mountain beast?" Xu Wanghe stood up, grabbed Xu Guanyi, and tried to shove him onto the dining table.

"Dad, look, what's that?" Xu Guan pointed his little finger at the corner of the mountain beast's mouth.

Upon hearing this, Xu Wanghe and Xu Guanyi looked over and saw that the mountain beast's mouth had been pried open, and something seemed to be seeping out green liquid.

Liquid dripped onto the ground, drip-drip-drip.

Then, a rich fruity aroma spread throughout the room.

"This smells like the fruit that the spirit seedlings have borne?"

Li Rongping stood up, sniffed the air, and exclaimed in shock.

Xu Wanghe paused for a moment, then quickly took the knife from Xu Guanyi's hand, inserted it into the mountain beast's mouth, and pried it open.

Just then, the mountain beast's eyes suddenly shifted, and Xu Wanghe felt a faint gaze fixed on him.

Looking down, I saw that the mountain beast had opened its eyes at some point.