Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Improved Spirit Rice

Chapter 33 Daoist Journal

When Zhao Chengan arrived at Qiansui Valley, the sun had already risen completely, and there was still a little white mist in the valley.

A commotion arose from within the white mist, and upon closer inspection, it was discovered that Chen Heng, Xiang Yunyuan, and several others were present.

It was only then that Zhao Cheng'an remembered that today was the middle of the month, which was the time when Qi Weizhao's group would distribute cultivation resources. However, Zhao Cheng'an usually helped Qi Weizhao take care of the spirit fields, so his resource collection time was different from others.

The others were somewhat surprised to see Zhao Cheng'an there, carrying a small bag.

However, I didn't ask any further questions. Most cultivators maintain a certain distance from each other, even between masters and disciples. Asking too many questions is considered impolite.

Zhao Cheng'an nodded slightly and greeted the group.

He waited patiently there, and before long, the door opened, and Qi Weizhao, somewhat unkempt, walked out of the room.

Qi Weizhao first distributed the cultivation supplies for the month, then answered several people's questions about cultivation, before turning his attention to Zhao Chengan.

"What are you doing here...?"

Qi Weizhao stroked his beard with one hand, his gaze falling on the heavy bag in Zhao Chengan's hand.

His expression froze for a moment, and he even accidentally pulled out a strand of his gray beard.

At this moment, Qi Weizhao recalled what Zhao Chengan had told him earlier, and then thought of the books that had been read and the equipment that had been borrowed. An unbelievable thought suddenly surfaced in his mind:

"No way, Ah An, are you serious?"

Zhao Cheng'an's face showed a happy expression.

Qi Weizhao was both a mentor and a friend to him, and had provided him with a lot of help in the process of cultivating the spirit rice. So he brought the cultivated spirit rice over as soon as possible to share the good news with him.

"Master, my research has made some progress, and I would like to ask you to take a look and give me some guidance," Zhao Chengan said.

Qi Weizhao finally realized what was happening and nodded.

"Okay, okay, come in with me."

Then he waved his hand and said to the remaining people.

"You've collected your things, now you can go back."

The remaining people looked at each other, confused. They could understand every word Qi Weizhao and Zhao Chengan said in their conversation, but they couldn't understand what they were saying when they put them together.

Sun Fuli was a very curious person. At this moment, his clear black and white eyes rolled slightly as he lowered his voice and said.

"It seems Zhao has secretly produced something incredible behind our backs. Have any of you heard anything about it?"

Xiang Yunyuan shook his head.

"I'm not entirely sure. But talking about others behind their backs like that is not the behavior of a gentleman."

"If you want to know, just ask Brother Zhao yourself," Chen Heng, who hadn't said much until now, said calmly.

Sun Fuli immediately burst into laughter.

"Please don't be offended, I was just curious and had no bad intentions."

Xu Baiheng and Sun Fuli had a good relationship, and at this moment she spoke up quietly.

"Young Master Zhao usually helps Master Qi take care of the spirit fields, and it's truly remarkable that his cultivation progress has been so rapid. It's just that he has a rather aloof personality, and sometimes it's difficult to even get a word in with him."

Xu Baiheng and Sun Fuli were among the earlier students to enroll. They had previously held several literary gatherings and wanted to invite Zhao Chengan to participate in order to build a relationship, but Zhao Chengan declined each time.

At this point, the sentence carried a somewhat complaining tone.

After listening, Chen Heng thought to himself that only the weak need to band together, while the strong only need to walk alone along their own path and towards their own goals.

"I have some things to do, so I'll be going now."

She spoke in a cool, clear voice, then turned and left, leaving everyone with only her tall, straight back.

……

……

Meanwhile, in Qi Weizhao's warehouse.

Zhao Cheng'an untied the bag full of spirit rice and handed it to Qi Weizhao.

"Please take a look, sir."

Qi Weizhao's face originally had a smile on it, like an old man watching a child tinker with a toy.

Although it contained no malicious intent, it also lacked seriousness.

But as soon as the bag was opened, the aroma of rice wafted out, and Qi Weizhao's expression immediately turned very serious.

He first took out some of the spirit rice, held it to his nose and smelled it gently. Then, as if appreciating a rare treasure, he lingered on it for a long time before reluctantly looking away.

If it weren't for the fact that the spiritual energy content was indeed different, and that there were subtle differences in details such as color and shape, Qi Weizhao would almost have thought that Zhao Chengan had directly picked some of the spiritual rice from the Imperial Academy and sent it back to him.

Even so, Qi Weizhao found it hard to believe that such high-quality spiritual rice could have been cultivated by his own student.

He looked at Zhao Chengan, his voice trembling slightly.

"Zhao Housheng, did you really cultivate these things?"

Zhao Cheng'an's expression remained calm, after all, it had taken him more than a year, and he knew every step of it by heart.

"Replying to the Master, it was the students who nurtured him."

"I once stumbled upon a wild spirit rice plant in the market area below the Imperial Academy. Later, I wondered if we could combine the superior traits of these two spirit rice plants using the transplantation breeding method taught by the Master."

"The overall idea is this..."

Zhao Cheng'an first explained the general idea, and then took out a thick stack of straw paper from his pocket.

"These are the experimental data that the students have recorded during this period, as well as some formulas for deriving runes. Please take a look, Master."

Qi Weizhao only glanced at it twice before becoming completely absorbed in it.

First, he quickly flipped through the pages, then ran to another table to take out paper and pen to verify the calculations. He even activated the Qingwei Zhaoling Mirror on the table to observe the various rune structures mentioned above.

This took up an entire day.

When Zhao Cheng'an arrived, it was still barely dawn. By the time Qi Weizhao had finally finished reading the contents, the sky outside was already a dusky yellow, and the entire valley was bathed in the red glow of the setting sun.

On the other table was the rice that Zhao Chengan had specially brought back for lunch. The food inside had long since gone cold, and the chopsticks on it hadn't been touched.

……

……

Qi Weizhao shook his slightly sore neck, put down the draft paper he had read many times, and suddenly let out a sigh.

The dim light shone through the window onto his deeply lined face. Qi Weizhao's expression was complex, a mixture of joy, relief, confusion, and even a hint of barely concealed jealousy.

Qi Weizhao spoke as he watched Zhao Chengan walk in through the door.

"Cheng'an, you have truly given me a tremendous surprise. You are a real genius, far exceeding my expectations."

Qi Weizhao paused for a moment, then continued.

"This experimental data is of great value. In fact, this result alone is enough to guarantee you admission to a second-rate or higher lineage."

"In fact, as long as you can get a passing score in the Dao Court's assessment in the next few years, there is a high probability that you will be admitted to a first-class Dao lineage by special consideration."

Qi Weizhao's expression turned serious again as he spoke.

"However, there are some details here that I need to tell you specifically."