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

Lu Qingchen stood there, somewhat puzzled, but he didn't dare to ask.

A short while later, the door was pushed open, and a young female cultivator walked in.

She looked to be in her early twenties, wearing a short jacket commonly seen on spiritual plant practitioners, with the sleeves rolled up to her forearms, revealing half of her fair wrists.

He had a handsome face and clear eyes, and a first-grade high-quality spirit plant master's token hung at his waist.

Upon entering, he bowed to Zhou Yuandao and said, "Master."

Zhou Yuandao pointed to Lu Qingchen: "This is Lu Qingchen, my disciple by name, so he's your junior brother."

The female cultivator turned to look at Lu Qingchen, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes—hadn't her master been preparing for the breakthrough to the Spirit Mansion realm in recent years and had no intention of taking on disciples?

How come there's suddenly a disciple on the list? And a newbie at the second level of Qi Refining.

But she didn't ask any more questions, she just nodded to Lu Qingchen.

Zhou Yuandao then said to Lu Qingchen, "This is your senior sister Gu Qingyi. She is at the ninth level of Qi Refining and a first-grade high-quality spiritual plant cultivator. If I am unavailable in the future, you can seek her out if you have any questions."

Lu Qingchen bowed to Gu Qingyi: "Lu Qingchen greets Senior Sister."

Gu Qingyi nodded slightly: "Junior Brother Lu."

Zhou Yuandao said to Gu Qingyi, "He is at Qingmu Manor, and I can't usually take care of him. You started learning early and have a solid foundation. If he has any questions in the future, please help him take a look."

Gu Qingyi replied, "This disciple has remembered."

Zhou Yuandao waved his hand, indicating that the two could leave.

The two left the quiet room together.

The door closed behind them, and the corridor fell silent, with only the sound of their footsteps echoing one after the other.

After walking a while, Gu Qingyi finally couldn't help but turn her head to look at him: "Junior Brother Lu, how did you become Master's disciple? Master has been preparing to break through to the Spirit Mansion realm these past few years, and he has rarely even paid attention to me, let alone taking on new disciples."

Lu Qingchen did not hide anything: "It was Elder Sun who recommended me. Elder Sun and Master are fellow disciples. He recommended me, and Master accepted me out of consideration for our relationship. Actually, Master did not want to take on any disciples."

Gu Qingyi suddenly realized and smiled, "I see. Master really can't refuse Elder Sun's request."

She hesitated for a moment, then said, "However, since Master has asked me to take care of you, it means he has acknowledged you as his junior brother. From now on, you will be my junior brother. If you have any problems, feel free to come to the Spirit Plant Hall to find me."

As they approached the entrance of the Spirit Plant Hall, Gu Qingyi suddenly stopped, took out a jade slip from her sleeve, and handed it to him.

"These are some insights into spiritual plants that I compiled when I first started learning. I gradually added to them over the years. They can't compare to my master's guidance, but some of the tips might be useful. Consider this a gift from your senior sister."

Lu Qingchen accepted it with both hands.

The jade slip was slightly warm to the touch, and its edges were worn smooth, indicating that it had been turned over many times.

"Thank you, senior sister."

He bowed respectfully.

Gu Qingyi waved her hand and turned back into the palace.

Her figure quickly disappeared at the end of the corridor, and the sound of her footsteps gradually faded into the distance.

......

Lu Qingchen put away the wooden box and was about to leave the Spirit Plant Hall when a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Junior Brother Lu?"

He turned around.

Shen Yao was walking over from the side corridor, carrying a pot of wilted spiritual herbs in her hands.

When she saw Lu Qingchen, she was stunned for a moment, then quickly walked over.

"I heard you were back, and I was wondering if we'd run into each other. And sure enough, we did."

She stopped in front of Lu Qingchen, looked him up and down, her eyes sparkling.

"Did those disease-resistant mutant rice varieties at Qingmu Manor really come from your fields?"

Lu Qingchen nodded: "Yes."

"I knew it!"

Shen Yao's tone was somewhat excited, "I heard people from the Spirit Plant Hall talking about this a few days ago, but I didn't believe it."

"Qingmu Manor, Lu Qingchen—I thought about it for a long time and made sure there were no duplicate names before I dared to believe it was you."

She shook her head, her eyes filled with emotion. "I've only been at Qingmu Manor for a few months, and I first got third place in the Spirit Plant Hall's overseas assessment, and then I grew disease-resistant spirit rice during the Spirit Erosion Disease."

"Junior Brother Lu, your strength and luck are truly enviable."

"You flatter me, senior sister. It was mostly just good luck."

Lu Qingchen felt a little uncomfortable with her praise, smiled, and changed the subject, saying, "Senior Sister, what brings you to the Spirit Plant Hall?"

"It's all because of this potted plant."

Shen Yao held the flowerpot in her hand forward. "I don't know why it's wilted. Let's check the ancient books and see if we can find a solution."

After she finished speaking, she suddenly remembered something and changed the subject, "Oh right, that spirit rice you gave me last time—"

"What's wrong?"

"I tried to breed a second generation."

Shen Yao said regretfully, "The seedlings have sprouted, but their spiritual energy seems to be much weaker than the first generation. The faint spiritual light on the leaves that used to be there is almost invisible in the second generation. I tried for a long time but couldn't retain that characteristic."

Lu Qingchen nodded, showing no surprise.

The spiritual essence left by the Spirit Infusion Technique is, in essence, an external blessing from the Dao Stele, not a permanent mutation of the spiritual plant itself.

If planted in a generation, the traces of its spiritual essence remain, resulting in an excellent natural appearance.

By the second generation, most of that spiritual essence had dissipated, and a decline in spiritual radiance was inevitable.

The second-generation spirit rice planted by Elder Sun of Panlong Peak also showed a decline in spiritual energy with each generation.

This proves one thing—only he, who possesses the Spirit Pivot Dao Stele, can grow truly excellent spiritual plants.

"Thank you for your trouble, senior sister."

Lu Qingchen comforted her, saying, "The mutation of spiritual plants is inherently unstable, and the degeneration of the second generation is a common occurrence."

Shen Yao sighed, "That's true. I was originally planning to show off my research results to you, but it was all for nothing."

She waved her hand, her tone becoming lighter again: "Let's not talk about this. It's rare for you to come back, so you should come and talk to me more often about cultivating spirit plants. Your experience in farming in Qingmu Village might be of great help to me."

"Since Senior Sister has spoken, I will definitely come often," Lu Qingchen replied with a smile.

After exchanging a few more words, Shen Yao carried the wilted medicinal herbs toward the Scripture Pavilion.

After walking a few steps, she turned back and waved to him, signaling him to hurry up and take care of his own business.

Lu Qingchen watched her walk away, then headed out of the hall. Li Si was still waiting for him.

......

After leaving the Spirit Plant Hall, Lu Qingchen found Li Si on the steps at the entrance of the Scripture Pavilion.

Wang Ming was also there; the two of them sat on the steps, neither of them looking too happy.

Li Si was clutching a blade of grass in his hand, unconsciously bending it back and forth until it was broken into several pieces.

Wang Ming rested his hands on his knees, head down, staring at the stone slab in front of him.

Lu Qingchen walked over and sat down next to them.

"Tell me, what happened?"

Li Si was silent for a moment, then threw the grass stalk in his hand aside, his voice hoarse: "Sun Han is in trouble."

Lu Qingchen remained silent.

"While he was working at the Spirit Mine, a piece of gravel that rolled down the mine shaft broke his right leg."

Li Si's voice was low, "The senior apprentice at the mine helped him set it, but the bones weren't aligned properly, leaving him with a limp."