After binding with a genius, I became an immortal by exploiting loopholes.

"Qingchen..."

Wang Ming rubbed his hands together, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "If you have some spare money, could you lend me a few? Buying materials from the Refining Hall is too expensive with spirit stones; I'm almost broke this month."

Li Si hesitated for a moment and said, "The Array Dao Hall is in the same boat. They spent a lot of money buying array plate materials, and I'm also short on funds."

Lu Qingchen glanced at them, and without hesitation, took out a few spirit stones from his sleeve pocket, handing two to Wang Ming and two to Li Si.

"Take this first, and we'll talk about it if it's not enough."

Wang Ming clutched the spirit stone, his eyes slightly red: "Qingchen, this..."

"Stop talking nonsense, take it."

Lu Qingchen waved his hand, "You've helped me before, don't be so formal."

Wang Ming sniffed, carefully put away the spirit stones, and nodded heavily.

Li Si also put away the spirit stones, patted Lu Qingchen on the shoulder, and said nothing, but that gesture was more weighty than any words.

Qian Wanliang and Zhao Ming sat opposite him. Lu Qingchen glanced at them and thought to himself that since he had lent the money to Li Si and Wang Ming, he couldn't just ignore them, otherwise their relationship would become distant in the future.

He took out two more spirit stones from his sleeve, placed them on the table, and pushed them over.

"Would you like to borrow a few dollars too?"

Qian Wanliang looked up at the spirit stones on the table, then at Lu Qingchen, and waved his hand: "No need, no need. I still have some savings, I can manage. Although talisman paper is expensive, I don't draw many, so I won't use many a month."

Lu Qingchen knew he was a wealthy man, so she didn't say anything more and looked at Zhao Ming.

Zhao Ming shook his head: "I'm a farmer, and my monthly salary is enough to live on. Seeds and fertilizer cost money, but the amount is small, so I can manage for now. I'll come to you when I really need more."

Lu Qingchen nodded, said nothing more, and put the spirit stones back into his sleeve. Since the two said they didn't need them, he couldn't insist.

Wang Ming chimed in from the side, "You two are really tough. Li Si and I are really broke. We have no choice but to lend you money."

Li Si glanced at him: "If you forge two fewer iron ingots, you'll save some money, won't you?"

"That won't do. How can you practice your skills if you don't forge iron blanks?" Wang Ming said matter-of-factly.

After exchanging a few words, the atmosphere became lively again.

As Lu Qingchen listened, he was thinking about something else.

He has a Taoist tablet, some spiritual powers, and his path is much wider than theirs.

But this is not a reason for him to slack off.

The wider the road, the more steadily you must walk.

......

The next morning, Lu Qingchen went to the Spirit Plant Hall.

Now that I've officially become a spiritual plant practitioner, I can't neglect any of the things I need to learn.

He went to the library and found the spellbooks used by Spirit Plant Masters—"Spirit Cultivation Technique," "Insect Extermination Technique," and "Birth-Inducing Spell." These were all basic spells, but one needed to reach the second level of Qi Refining to formally cultivate them.

Although he can't use it now, he can memorize the incantation and the path of spiritual energy circulation in advance, so that he can use it as soon as he breaks through to the second level of Qi Refining.

The deacon on duty told him that he could only borrow one book at a time.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Qingchen chose "Spirit Cultivation Technique"—the most basic and practical method for nourishing the roots of spiritual plants.

He borrowed the jade slip and sat in a corner of the library for the entire morning.

While watching, he silently memorized the incantation and mentally simulated the path of spiritual energy circulation, over and over again, until he had engraved each step in his mind.

In the afternoon, he went to the training ground behind the Spirit Plant Hall and practiced on several pots of unwanted, damaged spirit herbs.

It was called practice, but it was really just empty circulation of spiritual energy—without the support of the second level of Qi Refining cultivation, spells couldn't be cast at all.

He circulated his spiritual energy repeatedly, trying to follow the steps in the incantation. Although he always got stuck at the last step, his control over his spiritual energy was noticeably more proficient than before.

When he returned to his room that evening, he didn't rush to practice. Instead, he organized the incantations and insights he had memorized during the day, wrote them down on paper, and pasted them on his bedside table.

He stopped practicing and lay down to sleep as he grew increasingly sleepy.

......

Three days later, Lu Qingchen got up early, washed up, changed into clean clothes, and headed towards Panlong Peak.

The mountain path was exceptionally quiet in the early morning. Dew dampened the shoes, and birds chirped and twittered in the branches.

He walked slowly, his mind preoccupied with what Old Sun meant by "opportunity."

Cultivation techniques? Spiritual plants? Or something else entirely?

When he arrived at the No. 3 medicinal herb garden in Dingmao, Old Sun was standing at the entrance waiting for him.

Today, Old Sun wore a clean, light gray robe. Unlike his usual barefoot appearance, he changed into a pair of cloth shoes, and he looked much more energetic.

He held the pipe in his hand, slowly took a puff, and exhaled a cloud of white smoke.

"You're here?" He glanced at Lu Qingchen. "Come with me."

"Where to?" Lu Qingchen asked.

Old Sun did not answer, and turned to walk down the mountain.

Lu Qingchen quickly followed, his curiosity growing.

The two walked one after the other through the mountain path of Mingfa Peak, heading towards the Lingzhi Hall.

Along the way, they encountered several disciples from the Spirit Plant Hall. They all bowed respectfully to Elder Sun, who simply nodded slightly and continued walking.

Lu Qingchen followed behind him, feeling a little uncomfortable under the curious gazes of the disciples, but he didn't show it on his face.

Upon arriving at the Spirit Plant Hall, Elder Sun did not linger in the main hall but instead led him directly through the corridor into the depths.

The corridor was long, with rows of closed wooden doors on both sides, each with a brass plaque bearing a different name.

Lu Qingchen glanced around and saw that most of the rooms belonged to the elders and senior disciples of the Spirit Plant Hall.

Finally, Old Sun stopped in front of a door and knocked.

"Come in."

A deep voice came from inside.

Old Master Sun pushed open the door and went in, with Lu Qingchen following behind.

This is a small, quiet room with simple furnishings.

A table, a few chairs, and a landscape painting hanging on the wall.

A man in his forties sat behind the table. He had a thin face and a tired look between his brows, but his eyes were sharp.

He was wearing the robe of the deputy hall master of the Spirit Plant Hall, and a token with his name engraved on it hung at his waist.

Deputy Hall Master of the Spirit Plant Hall, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

He was flipping through a booklet when he heard footsteps. He looked up, saw Elder Sun, and frowned slightly: "Senior Brother? What brings you here?"

Without any formalities, Old Sun walked straight to the table, pulled up a chair, and sat down: "I've brought someone over for you."

"Giving him away?" Zhou Yuandao's gaze shifted to Lu Qingchen, and he looked him up and down.

"I've recently taken a liking to a young man," said Old Sun. "He just passed the Spirit Plant Master assessment, and he's got a knack for farming. Why don't you take him on as your disciple?"

Zhou Yuandao's brows furrowed even more.

He put down the booklet in his hand, his tone somewhat impatient: "Senior brother, you know my current situation. These past few years I've been busy preparing to break through to the Spirit Mansion realm. How could I have time to take on disciples?"

"That's why I'm letting you take on a nominal disciple; you don't need to put in any effort."

Old Sun said unhurriedly, "Let him farm and cultivate on his own on weekdays. You can give him a few pointers when you have time."