"Slap!"
Next, Fairy Lingyue extended her hand and pointed at the forehead of the ghost, drawing a rune with a pale white light.
When the rune entered the ghost's forehead, the ghost stood up with a blank expression and then turned away, ignoring Fairy Lingyue as it mumbled to itself:
"How did I fall here? Forget it, forget it. I'll go back to report to the King. When I see the King, I'll tell him that a small cultivator who watches over the herb garden has arrived at Qingzhu Residence. We can wait until the spiritual herbs in his garden mature, then come and take his life along with all the spiritual herbs. Perhaps the King will even reward me with a fresh, tender heart. How delightful!"
As it said this, the ghost couldn't help but shake its head, clearly satisfied with its own plan.
Sighing, Fairy Lingyue muttered to herself, "Although letting the tiger return to the mountain is risky, I hope that in the future, Little Taiping will understand my good intentions."
Although she hadn't formally accepted Xu Taiping as a disciple yet, and wasn't even sure whether he would want to be her disciple, this didn't stop Fairy Lingyue from imagining herself in the role of a teacher.
However, she would never admit that the real reason she was doing this was simply because she had been in the Earthly Tomb Fruit for hundreds of years, feeling lonely and wanting to find some amusement.
The Next Day.
Xu Taiping woke up early.
He first went to the herb garden to clear out some weeds, then added a few shovels of soil to the area where the Earthly Tomb Fruit was buried. After all, the Earthly Tomb Fruit would be a key resource for him in the future cultivation world, and he couldn't let anyone steal it.
After Fairy Lingyue returned to the Earthly Tomb Fruit last night, she hadn't appeared again. Xu Taiping thought to himself that it might be a month before she came out.
After clearing the weeds from the herb garden, he spent the whole morning tidying up the three thatched huts of Qingzhu Residence. The huts were very simple—one bedroom with just a bed, one living room, a kitchen, and a latrine built behind the herb garden.
While cleaning the kitchen, Xu Taiping found two very interesting items—a water barrel that never emptied, and a rice barrel that, when a merit coin was tossed inside, would produce a full barrel of rice.
With water and rice, plus a dried fish hanging on the wall, Xu Taiping's first meal at Qingxuan Sect was solved.
After eating, he made the bed with the sheets and blankets from the cabinet, then sat cross-legged on the bed and took out the jade slip and the copper mirror that were given to him earlier by Xifeng Pavilion.
"Fairy Lingyue passed on the Bone-Purging Decoction prescription to me by tapping my forehead. This jade slip also transfers knowledge by pressing it to the forehead. This must be the common method of transferring cultivation knowledge in the cultivation world," Xu Taiping muttered to himself as he picked up the jade slip.
According to the Pavilion Master of Xifeng Pavilion, this jade slip contained the cultivation method for refining Qi, along with various rules of Qingxuan Sect and instructions on how to use the copper mirror.
"Phew… The information from this jade slip is much more than the one Fairy Lingyue gave me," Xu Taiping thought as he felt his head spinning from the flood of words pouring into his mind, almost causing him to fall off the bed.
Fortunately, after a short while, no more words appeared in his mind, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Xu Taiping soon realized another issue.
The words that entered his mind felt like books on a shelf that needed to be opened and read to fully understand.
"So, the method of transmitting knowledge from this jade slip is different from what Fairy Lingyue taught me. Her tap instantly made me understand how to prepare the Bone-Purging Decoction, but this jade slip just dumps everything into my brain," Xu Taiping reflected carefully on the differences between the two methods.
"But maybe the difference is due to the content being different," he added quickly in his mind, deciding not to dwell on it any longer. He focused his mind and began reading the rows of text that had appeared in his mind.
Three Days Later.
After nearly three days of study, Xu Taiping had finally finished reading all the contents of the jade slip.
As the Pavilion Master of Xifeng Pavilion had said, the jade slip contained three main items: The Remnant Sunset Sutra, The Notes on the Functions of the Mirror, and The Qingxuan Sect Disciplinary Code.
During this time, he had also been digging the soil in the herb garden while reading.
"According to the method taught in the jade slip, after finishing digging the soil, I should gather some animal droppings and dead branches to use as fertilizer for the soil," Xu Taiping thought to himself. "But there's no need to rush this. Today is the first day of the month, which means it's the day Elder Ziyang gives a sermon. He will be talking about the Remnant Sunset Sutra and the basics of cultivation for beginners. This sermon only happens once every three months, so I can't miss it."
"After the sermon, I can also use the copper mirror to pick out the seeds I want to buy, so I won't waste that merit coin."
While eating alone in the living room, Xu Taiping was planning his day and casually tore off a page from the almanac on the wall.
The page revealed the words "First Day" and the note next to it written in red ink said, "Suitable for learning, avoid digging soil, etc."
This was something he bought from a spiritual bird that he summoned yesterday to purchase daily necessities, spending a total of six merit coins. He had felt quite heartbroken after spending so many coins.
After finishing his meal, Xu Taiping returned to his room.
He took out the copper mirror from the box, carefully placed it on the rickety table in front of him. On the table, there was also half a bowl of clear water, a few flower petals, and a merit coin from Qingxuan Sect.
Recalling the instructions for using the copper mirror, Xu Taiping dipped his fingers in the bowl of water and dripped some onto the surface of the mirror, then placed the flower petals and the merit coin on top.
"Whew…"
As soon as he placed the merit coin on the copper mirror, a breeze suddenly blew out from the mirror, carrying with it a faint scent of sandalwood.
Then, a voice came from the mirror:
"Qingxuan Sect outer disciple Xu Taiping, please take your seat. Do not leave. Elder Ziyang will begin the sermon shortly. If you miss it today, you'll have to wait three months for the next one."
Having already read the content of the jade slip, Xu Taiping was not startled by the voice, as it had been mentioned in The Notes on the Functions of the Mirror that this was the voice of the spirit of the copper mirror.
According to the Notes, the spirit of the copper mirror acted like a guide, helping one find what they wanted within the mirror.
Of course, forbidden areas of Qingxuan Sect were excluded, and each "guidance" required one merit coin.
"Thank you, Mirror Spirit," Xu Taiping said with respect.
Since the spirit of the copper mirror wasn't a completely inanimate object, Xu Taiping thought it was necessary to thank it.
This chapter highlights Xu Taiping's continuing cultivation journey and his exploration of the mystical copper mirror and jade slip that guide his progress, with some humor and insight into the workings of Qingxuan Sect and his personal growth.