The Legend of Fangren

More than ten days passed in the blink of an eye, and Fang Shi had been waiting in this mountain forest for a month.

In the past ten days or so, he first ruthlessly decomposed the large fire heart grass, and luckily obtained several seeds, which he planted together with the fruit pits left over from the first batch of fruits he had picked.

Thus, patches of fire-heart grass grew on this open space.

Fang Shi understood the principle of proper intercropping and did not plant too densely. Afterwards, he not only sprinkled in nutrients mixed with fruit pulp, but also mixed in the excrement of the gray fish to increase nutrients.

At the same time, he learned from the previous heavy rain and built a light-transmitting wooden frame with sticks and vines. Whenever it rained, he would spread the branches and leaves on the frame to prevent the rainwater from directly hitting the fire heart grass.

Such meticulous care allowed this patch of fire heart grass to grow taller than a person, and within just eight or nine days, it all produced its first batch of fruit.

With the joy of a bountiful harvest, Fang Shi collected all the fruits from the dozen or so Fireheart Grass plants. The riper ones were put into earthenware jars to make jam, while the remaining forty or fifty unripe ones were cut off along with small pieces of stem.

Although the fruit is extremely perishable, its unripe skin is thick enough. The skin and stem belong to the wood element, which can be used to keep the flesh fresh by following the principle of wood starting fire. As long as you avoid hard impacts, you can keep the fruit fresh.

Even so, the fruit will ripen within ten days and then rot.

Fang Shi brought these fruits with him because he wanted to make some money.

Otherwise, even if there were a lot of dried fruit in the warehouse, it would be too time-consuming and exhausting for him to travel back and forth along the mountain road at an altitude of over two thousand meters, and it would also easily attract the attention of those who covet it.

Of course, besides the fire heart fruit, there are also lotus seeds and lotus roots from the Luo River.

This thing is easy to preserve; simply place it in silt or flowing water. Things made of metal and earth are inherently prone to condensation and accumulation, and are not easily rotten.

Thus, Fang Shi carried a large bag on his back and headed towards the sect.

Strangely enough, Fang Shi has been busy farming and raising fish these days, and the fish have not grown into mystical beasts, so he has not been able to refine the mystical energy ball (experience ball) into his body.

However, his physique still improved with training, perhaps due to the smooth flow of his inner energy. But the thought that he had traded future magic for it made him feel heartbroken.

In less than half an hour.

Upon seeing Fang Shi at the back mountain gate, he moved with incredible speed, stepping over several tree branches and leaping over the outer sect's three-meter-high wooden wall without even leaving the gate. He then carried a heavy load on his back and jumped over the tree below the slope, landing inside.

"Why are there so few passersby? Has something happened?"

He traveled quickly today, and by the time he arrived at the outer sect, it was only a short while after breakfast. At this time, the disciples in the human realm should be either working or practicing their skills, and it should be a busy time for them.

Ask someone in the street.

"What? Did you oversleep or something? Don't you know today is the preliminary exam?"

"May I ask, senior brother, what is this preliminary examination?"

"Oh dear, you've made things difficult."

This senior brother was quite kind. He first led Fang Shi towards the inner sect on the mountain, and then explained along the way: "New disciples undergo a preliminary examination a month after joining the sect. This is to test your diligence in cultivation. If you perform well, you might be accepted as disciples by an elder and promoted to a formal disciple. This is a rare opportunity since you joined the sect. You don't even know about this? Where have you been?"

Fang Shi scratched his head: "To be honest, I've been searching for spiritual fruits in the mountains these past few days."

"Oh dear, you've got the priorities backwards. There's no point in saying more. The preliminary exams have only just started, and the order begins with the Heavenly Rank disciples. It shouldn't be your turn yet. Hurry up and go."

The senior brother seemed to have other matters to attend to, and urged him on before leaving with kind words. Although he seemed a little impatient, Fang Shi felt a sense of concern.

So he called out to his senior brother, took out a jar of fire heart fruit from his backpack, and handed it to him.

"What is this? I was just trying to be kind and didn't want anything from you."

"Since you mean well, senior brother, I will naturally thank you in return. Please accept this."

Weigh it in your hand. After deducting the weight of the square jar, the contents inside aren't heavy either, so there shouldn't be much stuff inside.

"Alright then."

The senior brother accepted the jar, and only after Fang Shi left did he curiously open it, wanting to see what good things his junior brother had found in the mountains.

To my surprise, when the jar was opened, it contained only some straw fluff, among which were four or five fruits the size of beads, with greenish-white skins, not yet ripe.

They seem to be just wild fruits, hardly worthy of being called spiritual... wait, that's not right.

The senior brother picked out one of the fruits, and the more he looked at it, the more familiar it seemed, as if he had seen it in the cultivation manual.

"Could it be a Fire Heart Fruit? Oh dear... that kid actually managed to find this spiritual fruit, could his whole backpack be full of them? I have to find him quickly."

However, when the senior brother looked up the mountain steps again, Fang Shi had already disappeared.

……

Inner Sect, Azure Dragon Platform.

This platform is very spacious, with a diameter of over a hundred meters. Each of its four sides has a dragon-shaped pillar. It is the largest square in the inner sect and can accommodate thousands of people. It also serves as a martial arts arena.

However, disciples are strictly forbidden from fighting each other within the sect. Only elders can witness such fights, or it can be like today.

The preliminary examination is an opportunity for new disciples to prove themselves in aspects other than their aptitude.

The path of cultivation begins with aptitude, including wealth, companions, methods, and environment. However, many people start but never finish. Aptitude is a very important factor, but it is not the only one.

Within a month, new disciples can feel the huge difference in treatment brought about by their aptitude. Whether it is accommodation, performance, or preaching, they are worlds apart.

Superiority and imbalance... these inevitably exist in the minds of disciples at all levels.

Self-cultivation is the beginning of spiritual practice. The principles are few and simple. What may seem like a huge difference in treatment can actually be bridged by diligence.

Therefore, the purpose of the initial examination is to select disciples who are not swayed by these two factors.

When Fang Shi arrived at Canglongtai, the area was already crowded with people, including both new and old disciples watching the spectacle.

Elder Liu Yiyuan stood alone in the Azure Dragon Platform, reading out the original intent of the preliminary examination.

It seems that Fang Shi arrived just in time.

He stood on tiptoe and looked around, and found that the disciples around him were very easy to identify, just by looking at their belts.

The belts worn by Heavenly Rank disciples not only had embroidery but also several reflective lines.

Rubbing his eyes, Fang Shi realized that his eyesight seemed pretty good.

But what does the preliminary examination have to do with him? Who has time to care about a disciple from an outer sect? Even in a competition among disciples of the same rank, there are no disciples of the same rank as him.

It would be better to sell the fruit first while Hezi is busy with her preliminary exams, and then go back to the house with her to put the things away.

This feeling of being in the exam hall but having nothing to do with me is truly delightful.

Especially with the thought of the group of people on stage about to fight each other to the death, he just wanted to sit down and enjoy the show.

Unfortunately, we still need to make a living.

He slipped through the crowd and arrived at the group of wealthy people among the Earth and Heaven Rank disciples. Fang Shi secretly changed into his fine clothes, ready to discuss business.

"Hey friend, I have some pretty good fruit here, wanna get some?"

"Hey, beautiful, I have some good stuff to share."

The disciples: "..."

Junior brother, do you think eating fruit right before a big exam will be helpful?

This is not how you cram at the last minute.