Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

Although it is just a simple, ignorant, and perhaps no different from the simple intelligence of insects, it still has a spirit.

In these mountains, only dry firewood can be collected for burning; this is a rule set by the valley master.

In reality, the people of Hundred Flowers Valley hardly ever use firewood.

Zhuang Xing discovered that the people in the valley were actually using charcoal.

It's not charcoal, it's coal, coal mined from the mountains.

Their stoves are used only for cooking and heating; they burn coal and are mostly hollow, cylindrical stoves.

This thing gave Zhuang Xing the feeling of a honeycomb briquette stove.

They have been using coal for many years, and they say that this charcoal burns longer than wood charcoal, saving them a lot of work in chopping firewood.

The Valley of a Hundred Flowers feels very different from other places.

The Flower City was only established in the last hundred years. Before the establishment of the Flower City, the Hundred Flowers Valley existed in the mountains and fields, like a paradise.

In reality, it is not an easy thing for outsiders to find Hundred Flowers Valley. Finding Hundred Flowers Valley is just as difficult as finding a paradise on earth.

That spruce tree that can block out the sky is like an umbrella, protecting this place. Its leaves, its roots, and the places it can grow and cover are all its territory.

The Valley Master has his own ingenious methods.

When the valley master doesn't want to see anyone, outsiders who come to the mountains will only feel lost, wandering around and eventually finding themselves outside. Even if they see spruce trees that seem close at hand, they can't reach their destination no matter how they walk.

When the rumor spread that the immortals of Hundred Flowers Valley had vanquished the tiger demon, many people came to visit Hundred Flowers Valley.

There are all kinds of people here: some who think this is a celestial abode seeking the Dao, some uncouth scholars who have read too many miscellaneous books and want to come here to seek romantic encounters, and some government officials who want to come here to make connections.

At first, most people in the valley welcomed them and treated them with courtesy.

But there were just too many people coming, which annoyed people and caused some trouble. So the valley master stopped receiving guests and just let them wander around the mountains on their own before sending them out.

After a while, fewer people came, and now it has almost returned to normal levels.

As for who can enter Hundred Flowers Valley, there is no fixed answer.

The woman said it depended on fate, but Zhuang Xing thought it depended on the Valley Master's mood.

This place was originally almost entirely ruled by one person.

However, she didn't like to interfere with her subordinates and rarely showed her face.

Such is the nature of a tree spirit. What can a tree do? It just stands on the ground all day, basking in the sun and getting rained on.

Before becoming a spirit, it was like this, and after becoming a spirit, its nature will not change much.

It's like a carnivorous tiger that becomes a demon; it won't switch to a vegetarian diet.

Trees and humans are not the same. They have a spirit and take on the appearance of humans, but in essence, they are still trees.

What one person likes, she may not like.

The woman said that sometimes it would take two or three years to see the Valley Master. Even when she did see him, she would only ask him simple questions and occasionally offer some pointers, which always proved to be very beneficial.

The people in the valley all consider it a lucky thing to meet the Valley Master.

What they follow are the ancestral teachings left by their ancestors.

In short: I only ask for a peaceful and prosperous life, and I don't ask for anything more.

They lived peacefully with the outside world, and with the help of the Valley Master, they were able to be self-sufficient, whether they were growing crops or encountering disasters.

Whether in times of war or peace, this is always the case, almost entirely unrelated to worldly affairs.

But in the last fifty years, because it has been peaceful outside, it has not been so closed off.

Zhuang Xing thought to himself that there was another world hidden in this valley.

The two followed the "guide" and walked around the valley. Yunling stopped from time to time to look around. There were many flowers and plants in the mountains that could not be seen outside.

Although it is not a spiritual herb, it is pleasing to the eye, and the name Hundred Flowers Valley is truly fitting.

They walked past the curtain of wisteria blossoms and saw a white flower field where macaques were fast asleep.

Finally, they met the person they were visiting, a senior named Qu Yongbi, who turned out to be a friend of their teacher.

Many years ago, Daoist Yuan Yan, Daoist Qing Xuzi, and Senior Qu Yongbi had a connection in Xizhou.

However, this senior was not as nimble as the two Taoist priests in the temple.

She could barely speak clearly, and it was only with her granddaughter's support that she came out to meet the two men, accepted the letter, and exchanged a few pleasantries with her old friend's disciple.

After reading the letter, the old man was moved and wrote a reply, which he asked Zhuang Xing to deliver to his two old friends on the mountain.

"I don't know if I'll ever see you again in my lifetime, but I'll consider this letter as a way of seeing you in person," the old man said.

Zhuang Xing sighed with emotion. In these days, transportation is inconvenient. Let alone traveling hundreds or thousands of miles, even traveling twenty or thirty miles is considered going on a long journey. If you want to see an old friend from afar, it's not something that can be solved by buying a ticket. A letter that can be delivered to its destination is already very precious, and meeting in person is even more difficult.

When it was time to rest at night, Zhuang Xing lay on the stone bed, looking at the arched roof.

He began to recall the many things he had seen that day. It was only one day, but there were many things worth remembering and recording.

He looked at the green fluorescence on the wall, which enveloped him, and he felt as if he had entered another world.

Unable to sleep, he would get up, take out paper and pen, and write down what he saw and heard.

I spent the whole day sightseeing and didn't walk very far.

Although I was a little tired, I felt excited and didn't fall asleep until late at night.

Before he closed his eyes, he was still thinking about the monkey wine, wondering what it tasted like.

Today he learned the name of the red fruit he had seen on the grass during the day; it turned out to be called the goat's milk fruit.

I heard that monkey wine is brewed from more than ten kinds of wild fruits.

Simply put, the monkeys use whichever fruits they picked this year to make wine.

There are not only wild fruits, but also spiritual fruits.

The macaques move freely in these mountains, and in such a blessed land full of spiritual energy, there are naturally many spiritual fruits and herbs growing there.

Every year, the taste of monkey wine is different. Even if it is from the same year, the flavor will be different if the tree hole is sealed differently.

As Zhuang Xing pondered this, anticipation began to rise within him.

He plans to thoroughly evaluate it. If it's really delicious, he'll be able to recall the taste when he reads his own writing about it in the future. If it's not delicious or just average, it'll still be a great experience.

His breathing gradually calmed down, and he finally fell asleep.

On the other side, a small shadow passed through the night and arrived at Yunling's cave, peeking inside quietly.

Chapter 193 Zhuang Xing will definitely like it

Yunling heard footsteps coming from outside the door.

It was already late at night, and all was quiet outside.

At this time when she should have been sleeping, someone sneaked up to her door.

She hadn't fallen asleep yet, so she got out of bed and held her breath.

She grasped the seed of the earth-hidden vine and approached the door with light steps.

At the same time, she was also ready to use the teleportation technique she had learned from the murals years ago to get to Zhuang Xing's side.

During her time away from home, she maintained this level of vigilance.

She dislikes unfamiliar environments and unfamiliar people, as they make her feel uneasy.

She still remembers the day she was taken away.

When she was three years old, she was at home with her father. She clearly remembers that strangers broke into her house. Even though she used all her strength, she could not resist being lifted up by the strangers and taken outside the house to the home of her uncle and aunt, whom she did not know at the time.

The fear and resentment of being unable to resist or struggle still linger in her heart.

Every time she arrives in a new place, she suffers from insomnia and has difficulty falling asleep.

The worst incident occurred at the inn run by the corpse transporter.

She didn't know how to describe the feeling. It was as if something unseen was approaching in the darkness, just like when she was little and hiding in the cellar, hearing noises outside. The dead bodies made her uneasy; she felt that something bad was going to happen.

Only by sleeping next to Zhuang Xing could she alleviate the various emotions in her heart.

But today, the two people's rooms are not together. Hundred Flowers Valley is very large, so of course, guests will not be squeezed together.

So it was no surprise that she suffered from insomnia.

Even though Hundred Flowers Valley was a place filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, she still couldn't sleep.

At this moment, she was glad that she hadn't fallen asleep.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to notice the strange person outside.

Who could it be?

She was deep in thought when she hid away.

She was certain that it wasn't Zhuang Xing. If it were Zhuang Xing coming to see her, she would have heard his voice before he even got close.

They would say things like, "Yunling, come out quickly, I need to talk to you!" or "Yunling, Yunling, I've found something fun, come and see!"

Zhuang Xing was always full of energy, unlike her who couldn't even say a funny thing.

Moreover, Zhuang Xing's footsteps wouldn't be so light; his steps are much heavier.

It sounded like the footsteps of a woman or a child. She was hiding in a blind spot, and with a muffled sound, the slightly heavy stone door was opened.

Yunling saw the shadow reflected on the ground; it was a slender figure with long hair.

"Hello," a soft voice came from inside. "My name is Huai Xia."

Yunling immediately realized she couldn't hide any longer, so she came out from behind the door.

Standing before her was the girl in the green dress she had seen at the valley entrance during the day.

The girl smiled faintly, her hands behind her back, her graceful figure leaning slightly forward.

She was about the same height as Yunling, and had a herbal fragrance about her.

Yunling was very familiar with this fragrance; when she was on the mountain, she spent her days surrounded by flowers and plants.

The warm and gentle atmosphere allowed Yunling to relax naturally.