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Chapter 38: The Bitterness of Being Single

Meanwhile, Lin Qingyun's voice was heard coming from outside.

"Are you home, Mr. Li?"

Li Nianfan said, "Come on in."

Click.

Lin Qingyun pushed the door open and came in. When she saw that the Holy Emperor and Luo Shiyu were there already, she frowned slightly.

She was not the first to arrive. Swiftly after, she saw the elixirs laid out in front of her. Her beautiful eyes were full of surprise.

It was apparent that the Ganlong Immortal Dynasty brought over their most precious treasures. Luckily, she saw this coming, as she also packed the most precious elixirs from the Lingyun Immortal Court.

"Mr. Li, here are some elixirs from our Lingyun Immortal Court." Lin Qingyun waved her hand and instantly, sixteen elixirs appeared in front of her.

These elixirs had a unique appearance, They even exuded different colored halos that filled up the inner court with sparkles and immortal spirits.

"These, these are…premium-grade elixirs!"

Daji was shocked. So were the Hoy Emperor and Luo Shiyu as they all stared with their eyes wide like saucers.

Seeing the reaction of the rest, Lin Qingyun let out a proud smirk as she thought to herself, 'Hah, since the Ganlong Immortal Dynasty is going with quantity, I'll go with quality!

'With the powerful background of my Lingyun Immortal Court, not many people can offer a collection of these sixteen elixirs!'

The elixirs in this Immortal realm could be divided into Elementary grade, Intermediate grade, Advanced grade, and Premium grade! The grade above Premium would be Immortal grade. The Immortal grade elixirs probably only existed in the Above Immortal Realm. Even the Immortals would treat the Immortal grade elixirs as treasures, or perhaps they only existed in legends.

Li Nianfan halted slightly, too. He could tell by the looks of his guests that these elixirs were extraordinary. Lin Qingyun's generosity was way beyond his expectation.

"Thank you. If you ever need a favor in the future, I'll do all I can," Li Nianfan sighed to himself but did not refuse her generosity.

'Sigh, I do owe them so much, but I cannot refuse their help since these elixirs are beneficial to healing Daji.'

From what he could tell so far, Lin Qingyun seemed to be a cultivator, an art lover, and a foodie. If she were to ever request for a drawing or piece of writing or even meals, Li Nianfan would accept them all.

He did go the distance to get himself a beautiful wife. Who would understand the bitterness of being single?

Seeing that Li Nianfan accepted her gifts, Lin Qingyun was delighted. When she spoke earlier, she specifically said that these were given to him on behalf of the Lingyun Immortal Court, not just from her. This was to see how Li Nianfan would react to the name of the Lingyun Immortal Court.

Since Li Nianfan had accepted their gifts and responded with such sincerity, that could only mean that from today onward, the Lingyun Immortal Court would have an impressive bigshot supporting them.

With that in mind, Lin Qingyun flushed red with excitement. She felt as if her body was floating in the air, buzzing with happiness.

Meanwhile, Daji bit on her lip by the side. She looked at Li Nianfan blankly, feeling immensely touched with tears in her eyes. Li Nianfan was an otherworldly expert that was living an ordinary and hidden life. However, to save her, he decided to owe such a big favor to the Lingyun Immortal Court. Daji felt like she could never repay Li Nianfan.

The Holy Emperor and Luo Shiyu looked at Lin Qingyun in awe, envying how the Lingyun Immortal Court had established such a connection with Mr. Li. It was a pity that the Ganlong Immortal Dynasty did not have as precious a collection as them, or else this opportunity would not have been stolen by them.

"Mr. Li, are you home?" A voice was heard coming from outside.

Bai Wuchen and Zhao Shanhe had arrived.

Upon entering, they were stunned by the overflowing amount of elixirs displayed in the inner court. They purse their lips bitterly. They did expect this to happen, so why did they come to compete anyway? They were just trying to embarrass themselves!

The elixirs in their sects were nothing compared to the Ganlong Immortal Dynasty and Lingyun Immortal Court's collections. Under this circumstance, how could they present the elixirs they brought?

Bai Wuchen and Zhao Shanhe exchanged a bitter smile as they kept their storage rings back in their pockets.

"Sect Master Bai, you both brought over some elixirs as well?" the Holy Emperor asked smilingly.

Bai Wuchen answered helplessly, "Luo Emperor, don't fool me further. With the small collections we have, you probably already have what we have, and you probably have what we don't have, too. Of course, I'm not bringing out my collection."

Hearing what Bai Wuchen said, the Holy Emperor felt less embarrassed. At least he was still able to leave a good impression on the expert.

Zhao Shanhe pondered for a long time before he finally spoke, "Mr. Li, I don't have any elixirs, though I brought you a seed. This seed was obtained by my ancestor when he traveled to an ancient realm. Unfortunately, nobody knows what seed this is."

"Obtained by your ancestor?" Bai Wuzhen cried out in shock and he could not help asking. "Zhao Laotou, don't you try to fool us. Your ancestor's period was at least a thousand years ago. What kind of seed can exist for so long?"

Bai Wuchen was trying to warn Zhao Shanhe. He was afraid that his old mate was trying to lie to Li Nianfan.

It would be over if he did. The expert was not someone they could lie to.

"I know what I'm talking about. Why would I lie?" Zhao Shanhe took out a small wooden box. "I can feel that there's still life in this seed, also…"

Zhao Shanhe appeared rather embarrassed. He coughed gently, "I was naughty when I was young. I once took the seed out of the box and realized that it was impossible to be damaged by a sword, water, or even fire! I even thought for a while that this wasn't a seed."

The crowd looked at Zhao Shanhe with a strange look. They did not expect this elderly man to have been a naughty kid when he was young.

However, everyone became more curious. What kind of seed was this? It sounded special. Even Li Nianfan was captivated as he took the box and opened it.

An extremely ordinary round seed was inside the box. The size was just like any ordinary seed, while its color was jade green, dull-looking, and seemingly ordinary.

"Are you sure this seed is still alive?" the Holy Emperor sized up the seed for a while and looked at Zhao Shanhe with suspicion.

Zhao Shanhe answered awkwardly, "Maybe… Should be… Probably alive."

Li Nianfan frowned slightly. He picked up the seed and sniffed it hard. With his many years of farming experience, he could tell that this was indeed a seed and it was not completely dead. It was half dead and half alive.

This meant that this seed was not completely dried out but it would not be able to germinate. Nothing would ever come out of it.

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'I've been crowned as a Saint farmer by the System. Although I don't know if it still contains water, my basic judgment shouldn't be too wrong,' Li Nianfan thought to himself.

He looked at Zhao Shanhe and asked, "Are you sure this seed isn't intimidated by fire?"

Zhao Shanhe nodded.

"I want to try it out."

Li Nianfan picked up the Dragon Fire Pearl and said, "Dragon Fire Pearl, burn it."

Pheww!

A small stream of flame sprayed out from the pearl. The seed remained unscathed.

"Huh? Interesting." Li Nianfan looked at it curiously. Any kind of seed would be intimidated by fire, yet this seed was not intimidated at all? How could it be?

Chapter 39: There Is Such An Operation In The World?

"Are you sure you're giving this to me?" Li Nianfan was intrigued by the seed. He wanted to know what could grow out of it.

Zhao Shanhe saw that Li Nianfan was interested. He trembled with joy and said, "Mr. Li, there's no use letting anyone keep this other than you. Who knows, it might have died a long time ago. You deserve to keep this."

Li Nianfan thought for a while and nodded. "That's true, some efforts are needed to save this seed. I'm afraid not many people can do that, and it'd be a pity if it is dead. I'll keep this."

This seed was indeed extraordinary that even the expert said he needed some effort to save it. How would anyone else be able to do it?

Zhao Shanhe could not hide the grin on his face. This seed was useless in his possession. Who would have thought that it would be appreciated by the expert? It was worth it, so worth it!

The others looked at him with envy. They felt bitter in their hearts. This guy was just lucky.

In an instant, the scene fell into a brief silence. Li Nianfan sat on the stool looking at the five cultivators opposite him. He was waiting for them to ask for favors. They were being so kind-hearted and had brought over so many precious elixirs. Of course, Li Nianfan had to give them something in return. However, after waiting for a long while, none of them asked for favors.

This was awkward.

It would be weird for him to start by offering them a painting, right? This would depreciate the value of the art, and only the most self-absorbed people would offer to give out their paintings. It seemed inappropriate to keep them for dinner, either. It was only in the afternoon, and there was still some time until dinner time, but if he invited them out, it would seem even more inappropriate.

Little did he know that the five cultivators were feeling more uneasy than he was. They could not keep calm at all.

'Why's the expert staring at us?'

'Did we offend him?'

'Argh! What should we do? I feel so pressured! I might pee my pants anytime.'

Under the gaze of Li Nianfan, they felt completely exposed. They even started to believe that Li Nianfan could read their minds.

In short, it was terrible!

It was only for a short moment, yet their backs were soaked in sweat.

"Oh, right. The tea leaves in my backyard have matured. Why don't you all bring some home?" Since they did not ask for a painting, Li Nianfan finally thought of what he could give them in return.

The cultivators paid attention to their cultivation from within, and tea leaves were appreciated among the community of the cultivators. Li Nianfan knew that his self-planted tea leaves were presentable and that they would not embarrass him.

Bai Wuchen and the rest felt so relieved hearing that. They thanked him with delight, "Thank you, Mr. Li! Thank you, Mr. Li!"

'The tea leaves must be special, or else, Mr. Li wouldn't have hesitated for so long to finally decide on giving them to us. Furthermore, even the watermelon and congee were extraordinary. How great would the tea leaves be?'

'It's likely to be an immortal item!'

'We must've touched him with our sincerity so much that he's willing to part with his precious tea leaves and share some with us.'

The visitors' thoughts ran wildly.

'We must impress him more in the future and try to understand every hint of his!'

'Look at these cultivators, they're so polite! Anyone could tell that they're grateful for the tea leaves!' Li Nianfan thought. He then said, "You're all too polite. I'm the one who should thank you all."

Li Nianfan smiled and said, "Xiao Bai, go and pick four portions of tea leaves."

"Yes, my master."

Not long after, Xiao Bai walked back from the backyard with four portions of tea leaves.

Li Nianfan said, "These tea leaves have just matured. They're not much, only one kilo a pack. Hope you don't mind."

"Of course, not! Of course, not!" Bai Wuchen and the rest shook their heads vigorously. They accepted the tea leaves from Xiao Bai and kept them close to their bodies.

With such a precious item in their possession, they did not dare to stay for much longer. They bid farewell and left. Upon leaving the four-part architecture, they did not even bid farewell to one another, they all held onto the packet in their pockets and flew home hastily. They were rushing as if they were carrying one of the most precious items, afraid that someone would snatch it from them. The most nervous person of all was Lin Qingyun. She was the lowest ranking of them all and she regretted not coming here with a guard.

Luo Shiyu was rather tempted. She could not help asking, "Dad, are we going to try them out when we get home?"

"No way!" the Holy Emperor rejected without even thinking. He said with a serious tone, "Shiyu, this isn't a joke. There are so few of them. it's very precious! How can we taste it so casually?" He had decided that once he got back to the palace, he would place the tea leaves at the deepest end of the treasure vault. Only during important occasions would he bring it out to taste some of it.

Inside the four-part architecture, Daji looked at Li Nianfan with a guilty and sincere look. "Mr. Li, my injuries have troubled you greatly."

"It's nothing at all. You only have to rest and get well soon," Li Nianfan answered nonchalantly.

However, the more casual he was, the more touched Daji felt. Because of her, Mr. Li broke the rule of Heaven and saved her from Heaven's lightning. He even gave up his hidden identity to owe so much to the cultivators. Daji felt that she owed Li Nianfan too much. She had decided that whatever Li Nianfan pleased, she would do all she could to please him and never make him worry.

Right. Mr. Li liked to play chess. She would work hard to learn and understand it sincerely to please Mr. Li.

Daji saw that Li Nianfan seemed to be organizing the Elixirs and Spiritual Herbs as if putting them in order.

Out of curiosity, Daji could not help asking, "Mr. Li, what're you doing?"

Li Nianfan explained, "These elixirs are pretty good. I'm checking to see which are useful for your injuries and which are good for planting."

"Planting?" Daji was shocked. She looked at Li Nianfan stunned.

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Elixirs were not easy to plant, they had strict requirements for their surroundings. Also, planting the elixirs required a great deal of time and sacrifice. Especially the Premium grade elixirs which required a certain technique of planting. Even so, only a few would survive. To put it simply, even if one succeeded at planting them, the elixirs took at least a hundred years to mature which was extremely time-consuming!

In this Immortal Realm, one could only come across elixirs by chance as they were grown and nurtured by nature. Finding an elixir was completely due to someone's luck in finding it. Planting the elixir artificially was almost impossible, and to mass-produce them was even more impossible!

Li Nianfan nodded. "Yeah, I'm planning to use these Spiritual Herbs as a bonsai, placing them here at the inner court to decorate the place."

The Spiritual Herbs he was talking about were the sixteen Premium grade Spiritual Herbs given by Lin Qingyun.

Using the Premium Spiritual Herb as decorations?

Daji's tiny brain almost exploded as she thought, 'There's such a practice in the world?'

After staying silent for a while, she still decided to persuade him. "Mr. Li, the growth of the elixirs depends on the will of nature. If the planting technique is wrong, these elixirs might not be able to live and might even be ruined!"

It was alright if they were normal elixirs, but the more precious the elixirs were, the more difficult it was to plant them. If they were ruined, it would be a total waste! Daji knew that Li Nianfan was a hidden bigshot but his attitude was too careless. Who would plant Spiritual Herbs in his backyard? One should at least design an elixir garden first, right?

Chapter 40: Why Would There Be A Monster Here

"Planting Spiritual Herbs is difficult?" Li Nianfan found it weird. "I think it's alright. I'll give it a try."

Once these Premium grade Spiritual Herbs were taken, they would be gone forever. Yet if he could sustain their growth, it would be the right thing to do!

Daji parted her lips and forced herself not to speak.

'You've never planted these before? And you're going to try it for the first time?

'This world is so insane! However, if Mr. Li wants to plant them, then let him do it. As long as he's happy,' Daji thought to herself as she rolled up her sleeves, ready to help out.

Not long after, Li Nianfan smiled. "It's done, we can bring them to the backyard now and put some oil over them to turn them into a bonsai."

Daji blushed a little as she asked in anticipation, "May I go with you?" She was curious about how his backyard looked like. What kind of yard could grow such a mysterious watermelon?

"Of course, you may." Li Nianfan nodded.

Daji was delighted. She followed Li Nianfan with excitement.

Walking along the cobblestone trail from the inner court, they arrived at a moon-arched door in which another burgundy wooden door lay behind.

This wooden door seemed old, aged by the passing of time. As they got closer to the wooden door, Daji grew increasingly anxious. She even had the urge to turn and run away.

Nine-tailed foxes were born with inherently sharp perceptions and with strong fight-or-flight mechanisms. She could feel that what lay behind the door was too terrifying, yet it contained a huge opportunity.

She might be about to witness the most unbelievable thing!

'If there's danger, Mr. Li will protect me.' Daji watched Li Nianfan's back as she tried to calm herself down.

Click.

The door was opened.

Vroom!

Behind the door, an unimaginable wave of Insights rushed toward Daji. In an instant, she was completely engulfed. Her thousand years of cultivation were like a joke in comparison to this. At this moment, she felt like a droplet of water in a vast ocean, completely blended in and lost from within.

"What's the matter?" Li Nianfan's voice pulled her back to reality.

Daji's face was pale as she took a glance at what lay behind the door. A layer of cold sweat covered her body.

Terrifying. What she just felt was just the residue of the Insights.

According to legend, when one's understanding of Insights exceeded the realm of the ordinary, his Insight would leave traces in the world, also known as the Residue of Insight. If Li Nianfan left this place, the Residue of Insights would remain.

What happened in this backyard? How was there so much residue? And who was the man leaving behind so much Residue of Insight? What realm could he possibly be at?

Immortal? No way!

Way beyond Immortal!

Daji's beautiful eyes looked at Li Nianfan. She could not calm down for a very long time.

What kind of cultivation was Mr. Li doing?

Li Nianfan asked caringly, "Is your injury hurting?"

Daji took a deep breath and shook her head, "I'm fine, Mr. Li. Let's keep walking."

Li Nianfan nodded and brought Daji into the backyard.

Upon entering the backyard, Daji could feel the Insights growing stronger. Every corner of this backyard was overfilled with thick-moving Insights. Even a faint hint of this Insight would be able to make the cultivators fight to the death.

She took a glance at the plantation. They were ordinary fruits and vegetables. However, she could tell from the surface that these were no ordinary plantations!

'No wonder. To grow in a surrounding overflowing with Insights, even an ordinary thing could turn into an Immortal item,' Daji thought.

The backyard was huge. The surrounding stone mountain formed a natural wall, pleasing one's sight with just a glance. Other than the fruit trees and vegetables, there were some strange-looking trees, too.

At the center of the backyard, there was a pond. The pond reflected the blue sky, its surface like a mirror.

A mysterious world.

Daji felt as if she had been cut out from the original world and that she had entered a whole new world. She kept looking around, feeling as though she had missed something. This backyard was not as simple as it seemed. She was only able to grasp a little of it.

"My backyard has a good view right?" Li Nianfan smiled.

He was a little emotional. Every time he came to the backyard, he could not help recalling the scenes of how the System exploited him here.

Five years. Five whole years. Not only did he master Language, Maths, English, Physics, and Chemistry, he also transformed from an ordinary boy into a skillful man who could play chess, music, paint, and farm.

Yet, after putting in so much effort, the System ran away!?

'Do you know how I've lived and survived the past five years?' Thinking about it made him want to cry. He did not want to think about it anymore.

"Alright, let's plant the Spiritual Herbs here." Li Nianfan found a good spot.

The tools in the backyard were complete. Li Nianfan picked the tools and started digging skilfully.

"Hmph? The soil…" Daji saw the soil that was dug by Li Nianfan. Her gaze sparkled.

The soil was a dark burgundy red, seemingly ordinary, but when Daji looked closely, the soil was too neat.

That was right, too neat!

Normally, the soil would be mixed with gravel, and each granule would be shaped differently and of different shades. However, the soil here was purely soil, and every grain looked identical, neat and tidy. The ground Daji was stepping on seemed to have been made from countless symmetrical soil grains.

She could not help bending down to scope up a handful. It was only a handful yet it weighed so much, she almost could not lift her hands.

What soil was this? Why was it so heavy?

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Was it brought down from Heaven?

Terrifying! Incredibly terrifying!

Daji's heart sank. The shock she experienced today was more than all the shock she had experienced over her thousand years of cultivation. They almost reversed her world view completely. She could not help laughing bitterly to herself as she thought, 'I was clearly overthinking. Why did I even doubt Mr. Li could plant the Spiritual Herb? With this soil, of course, he can plant anything he wishes! My vision is too shallow. What rights have I got to question Mr. Li? I hope he wasn't offended by that.'

Prr.

Suddenly, a small bump rose from the calm pound. The water ripples grew bigger and bigger. Finally, a tortoise appeared from the ripples, floating on the water and looking languidly at Li Nianfan and Daji. It then slowly climbed out of the water and laid by the side of the pond, resting with its eyes closed.

Daji was terrified. She asked in shock, "This is…a tortoise?"

Li Nianfan nodded. "I forgot to introduce you, its name is Lao Gui. When I first bought it, it was only the size of my palm. Who'd have thought that within a month, it'll grow to half my size. It grew up rather quickly!"

He remembered that he bought the tortoise because he thought there were monsters in the pond. This proved that there was no monster in there!