Casting immortality in the furnace

Chapter 68: Reunion with an Old Friend Leaves Us Speechless

With the help of the remaining power of the pills, Fan Zhou broke through to the fourth level of the Fetal Breathing Realm and the Marrow Cleansing Realm in one fell swoop, and his cultivation improved once again.

"If I were to encounter that assassin again now, I could kill him within ten or so moves!"

Fan Zhou clenched his fists, and his muscles instantly tensed like a bowstring, feeling as if his strength had increased by three or four levels.

He has now mastered the sword's aura, taking a significant step forward in his swordsmanship. His realm has also been elevated, his physical strength has greatly increased, and his inner energy has become much deeper. He is no longer a threat to someone like Hodo.

Moreover, he now has calamus, which is like adding wings to a tiger.

"The higher the cultivation level, the longer it takes to temper the body with spiritual energy. My spiritual root is of low quality, so my cultivation will be slower as I progress, and I will need more resources to assist me... which requires more money."

The higher the cultivation level, the more expensive the elixirs used to aid in cultivation.

Take the Marrow Cleansing Pill as an example; one pill requires five grains of spiritual sand!

Later on, the price of elixirs will only increase.

Although Fan Zhou's net worth has increased exponentially, he only has a dozen or so grains of spirit sand in hand, which is far too little for his cultivation needs.

"I don't know how much my master will give me as a monthly allowance, but the more money the better."

Fan Zhou stroked his chin, thinking of Tian Youliang.

"Yes, if I tell Master Tian that I've become a disciple, he'll be so happy he'll definitely lend me a few more spirit stones!"

He acted immediately, quickly gathering the things on the table, wearing the calamus on his body, and tucking the fan containing the pine and cypress firewood behind his neck before leisurely heading out.

The sky was dusky, the sun was crimson red, and intense fiery clouds covered the heavens.

Several mountain ranges stretch out in a continuous line, with concentric circles of golden rice paddies cascading down. The laborers are bending over in the fields, harvesting rice, sweat dripping from their chins. Bundles of rice ears are tied up in the fields, a scene of a rush to harvest.

The evening breeze rustled the fallen leaves, carrying with it the scent of dry rice.

Above these terraced fields, Tian Youliang sat cross-legged amidst the clouds, slowly breathing in and out. His body shone with a yellow light, absorbing the essence of the ripening rice into his dantian, transforming it into pure true energy.

Fan Zhou saw that Tian Youliang was practicing his internal energy cultivation, so he didn't rush to disturb him.

He simply walked onto the terraced fields, pulled out the calamus from his waist, and with a gentle wave, a large swathe of rice fell to the ground, helping to harvest it as well.

He used to do a lot of rice harvesting work. Back then, he was still young, and he would always be so tired that his arms and back ached.

Now that he has a sword in hand and cultivation, the work that used to be so arduous has become much easier, and for a time he even finds it somewhat enjoyable.

When the sun had set halfway down, Fan Zhou put the calamus back into its sheath and began to tie up the rice.

"Thank you for your help, senior brother. I'll take care of the rest of the work."

The disciple in charge of the rice paddy came over to express his gratitude.

Fan Zhou didn't stand on ceremony and stood up, saying:

"Then it's up to you."

The servant disciple was stunned when he saw his face, and exclaimed in shock:

"Is it you?"

Fan Zhou was slightly surprised that this person actually recognized him.

Looking at the man again, he was not very old. Although his complexion was dark, his face was round and looked strangely familiar.

"Guan Qingyun!"

Fan Zhou suddenly remembered.

The handyman disciple harvesting the spirit rice was none other than Guan Qingyun, one of the five who had been pioneering the market town alongside him.

Fan Zhou suddenly noticed that his friend was quite happy, and asked with a smile:

"Why are you working as a spiritual farmer? Aren't you supposed to be working for Deacon Wang?"

Guan Qingyun's expression changed slightly, and he couldn't answer.

He initially disliked the tiring work of mining, so he went to Zhang Xiaoshan's place to cut down trees and make charcoal. However, after working there for a while, he felt that cutting down trees every day was too tiring, so he simply switched to Tian Youliang's place and became a spiritual farmer.

Earlier, he was worried about running into Fan Zhou and Liu Ergou, fearing that the two would ridicule him. However, he later learned from Tian Youliang that Fan Zhou had gone to the weapon forging workshop. He felt both envious and jealous, but also relieved.

While slacking off today, I suddenly saw a disciple from the weapon forging workshop helping him harvest rice.

Guan Qingyun saw that he was holding a gleaming sword and guessed that he was a highly skilled senior brother. So he waited until the rice harvest was almost finished before coming over to talk to him.

I never expected that this person would be Fan Zhou!

He still remembered when they were clearing land together, Fan Zhou was a small, ragged village boy who attracted no attention.

In less than a year, the man before him had become cold and aloof, with a tall and imposing figure, a sword and jade at his waist, and a fan tucked behind his head. He was elegant and extraordinary.

"He's really made it big now."

Guan Qingyun was secretly furious. If he had known it was Fan Zhou, he wouldn't have come over to talk to him. Now that he had been recognized, he had truly lost all face.

Fan Zhou was just curious about how he ended up working for Lingnong, and asked casually without intending to humiliate him.

Unfortunately, the speaker meant no harm, but the listener took it to heart.

Seeing Guan Qingyun's embarrassed expression and silence, Fan Zhou knew he had touched a sore spot, so he immediately changed the subject:

"How are Zhang Yu and Wu Xiu doing lately?"

He hadn't seen the two of them for a long time and wanted to get some information from Guan Qingyun.

To his surprise, Guan Qingyun's face darkened even more. Ever since he became a spirit farmer, he had never contacted Wu Xiuzhangyu again, and even deliberately avoided them. At that moment, he could only stammer, "Everything is fine... I guess."

Fan Zhou was speechless, unsure of what to say.

He and Guan Qingyun were inherently different in personality and didn't have much in common, so the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

Guan Qingyun was covered in cold sweat, which stung him painfully. He could only grit his teeth and say:

"How are you now?"

He regretted it as soon as he said it.

Isn't this practically handing Fan Zhou a way to show off?

"It's one thing for him to show off, but what if he turned around and asked me the same question? How am I supposed to answer?"

Guan Qingyun nervously gripped the ground with her toes, looking down at the rice paddy, wishing Fan Zhou would pretend he hadn't heard.

"I'm fine."

Fan Zhou replied briefly.

Guan Qingyun breathed a sigh of relief, remembering that Fan Zhou had always been easy to talk to and not the type to boast or show off.

Now that he's successful, if I can get along with him, maybe he can take care of me a little.

Thinking of this, Guan Qingyun raised his head again, a smile appearing on his face:

"Senior Brother Fan...you..."

"A-Zhou, what brings you here?"

Tian Youliang finished his cultivation and descended from the sky riding on clouds.

Fan Zhou smiled and said, "Teacher Tian, ​​I've come to see you and have some good news to share."

Guan Qingyun could only swallow back what he wanted to say and bowed, saying:

"Deacon Tian."

Tian Youliang had no time to pay him any attention; all his focus was on Fan Zhou, his eyes scanning him up and down in astonishment.

"You've broken through to the Marrow Cleansing Realm? And where did you get this fine sword? How come you even have talismanic artifacts? Did you strike it rich or just hit the jackpot?"

Tian Youliang asked a whole string of questions in one breath.

Guan Qingyun was shocked and almost doubted that he had heard correctly.

"Fan Zhou has already broken through to the Marrow Cleansing Realm? It hasn't even been a year! How could he have cultivated so quickly? Wasn't he the one with the worst aptitude?"

"The sword at his waist is actually a fine one? And he even has talismans? Where did he get so much money?"

Guan Qingyun had even more questions in his mind than Tian Youliang. He stared at Fan Zhou expectantly, waiting for him to explain.

Just as Fan Zhou was about to answer, Tian Youliang suddenly said:

"Go ahead and get busy."

Guan Qingyun froze; these words were naturally directed at him.

Despite his shock and questions, he could only walk away silently since Tian Youliang had spoken.

However, he didn't walk very fast, thinking about eavesdropping on some news.

However, Tian Youliang directly harnessed the clouds and took Fan Zhou into the sky, flying away towards the center of the town.

The only thing he could hear was Tian Youliang's hearty laughter, repeatedly saying, "Good, good, good lad!"

Guan Qingyun stood in the terraced fields, looking up at the gradually disappearing figure, recalling scenes from the past in her mind, and for a moment she almost felt as if she were in another world.

After a long while, he bent down and tied up the fallen rice stalks in the field one by one.