Immortality begins with inheriting the myriad arts of cultivation.

Chapter 56 Yao's Triumph

After Li Ping declined the invitation to the banquet, Master Hu left with a displeased expression.

Li Ping was left standing alone in the courtyard, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Perhaps I'm overthinking it?" Li Ping shook his head slightly. He seemed to have been too suspicious lately.

Fairy Miaorou asked him to escort goods, and Master Hu invited him to explore and attend a banquet; surely it wasn't all just to lure him out of the city.

There shouldn't be any relationship between these two.

Li Ping felt no guilt about rejecting Miao Rou.

After all, he's a customer, and the customer is king.

However, he also hoped to obtain the second-tier high-grade alchemy technique from Master Hu, and maintaining a friendly relationship with Master Hu was the only way to achieve this.

It would be quite unwise to offend the other party based on a mere unfounded speculation.

Master Hu just left not long ago; if he agrees to attend the banquet now, it should still be in time…

After standing in the courtyard for a long time, looking uncertain, Li Ping finally sighed softly.

He decided not to attend the banquet.

The second-tier superior alchemist lineage is not unique to Master Hu.

He himself only had one life.

To risk one's life just to avoid damaging one's relationship with Master Hu is truly foolish.

Having considered this, Li Ping had no more hesitation in his eyes and turned to walk towards the alchemy room.

Regardless of the winds from all directions, I remain steadfast and unmoved like a mountain.

As he took a step, his gaze fell on the sacred ground beside the pond, where three figures were busy at work.

They are Cheng Yao, the fourth sister; Bai Lin, her maid; and a thin figure dressed in a black robe.

Cheng Yao was invited by Bai Lin to help cultivate spiritual herbs. As for the thin figure in black robes named Wang Xingwei, Cheng Yao said he was the new manager of the spiritual herb garden and his strength had already reached the peak of Qi Refining.

Although Wang Xingwei was stronger than Cheng Yao and held a higher position in the Spirit Herb Garden, he was completely obedient to Cheng Yao.

Even after Cheng Yao spoke up, he followed her to Xiantao Mountain without hesitation and worked for free.

Li Ping found this rather strange.

After all, his fourth sister was rather plain-looking.

As for her family background, the Cheng family had not produced a cultivator for many years by her generation, so she could be said to be a complete grassroots person.

Even with such conditions, there are still sycophants.

Moreover, if Li Ping's observation is correct, this cultivator named Wang Xingwei is at most twenty-four or twenty-five years old, but his cultivation level has already reached the peak of Qi Refining.

At such a young age, to possess such cultivation.

Li Ping guessed that he not only had a high spiritual root aptitude, but also must have been continuously taking spiritual medicines to enhance his cultivation.

In short, they likely come from an extraordinary background.

So what is this called?

A rich young master falls in love with me, a girl who farms?

Li Ping shook his head, no longer thinking about these trivial matters, and went back to his room to refine pills.

……

In the spirit field, the three were busy.

Cheng Yao glanced around, then suddenly her face hardened, and she coldly demanded, "Wang Xingwei, is this how you grow the spiritual herbs here?"

Upon hearing the cold rebuke, Wang Xingwei, who was busy casting spells, was startled and stood frozen in place, seemingly at a loss for what to do in the face of Cheng Yao's blame.

"Sister Yao." Bai Lin tugged at Cheng Yao shyly.

In her view, Wang Xingwei was there to help without expecting anything in return, so how could Sister Yao scold him like that?

Cheng Yao, however, didn't take it seriously and continued to scold Wang Xingwei: "Replant it as I just said, understand?"

"Yes, yes, yes..." Wang Xingwei bowed his head and stammered a few words, without offering any rebuttal, and actually went to replant it. He showed absolutely no trace of the demeanor of a young master from a noble family at the peak of Qi Refining.

Upon seeing this, a hint of smugness appeared in Cheng Yao's eyes.

The ancestor of the Cheng family was a cultivator in the Qi Refining stage. As he grew old, he felt hopeless about the path to immortality and had no choice but to give up cultivation, marry, have children, and continue the family line.

However, this cultivator was very unlucky. Despite his great efforts, he was unable to leave behind a second cultivator with spiritual roots for his family when he passed away.

In the Immortal City, where cultivators and mortals live together, the Cheng family, without a cultivator in charge, is actually at the very bottom.

Fortunately, after several generations, Cheng Yao was found to have three spiritual roots when she was twelve years old, and became a cultivator, which allowed the Cheng family to get out of their predicament.

Cheng Yao grew up in such an environment, which fostered her complex personality. She possessed both inherent kindness and a shrewishness and ruthlessness stemming from her humble origins, willing to stoop to any level in order to compete for resources.

When Wang Xingwei first arrived at the Spirit Herb Garden as its manager, his cultivation and status far surpassed Cheng Yao's, and Cheng Yao dared not provoke him at all.

Treat him as you would a superior.

One day, Wang Xingwei was standing in the herb garden in a daze when Cheng Yao mistook him for another early-stage Qi Refining cultivator whom she was in charge of guiding.

Thinking the other person was slacking off, Cheng Yao bluntly scolded, "Get back to work!"

Her rebuke immediately made Wang Xingwei tremble all over and dare not utter a sound.

Cheng Yao realized she had mistaken the person for someone else after getting closer.

She originally wanted to apologize, but Wang Xingwei had already timidly apologized and admitted his mistakes.

Cheng Yao then realized that the new manager was an idiot. She was a master at manipulating idiots.

From then on, Wang Xingwei, the manager, became her follower and obeyed her every word.

As for whether the idiot's family will come knocking on our door?

Cheng Yao might have been worried and scared before, but now she thinks: My older brother is a Foundation Establishment cultivator!

……

Wang Xingwei kept his head down and busied himself, feeling very fulfilled.

After failing to establish his foundation, the ancestor was completely disappointed in him. He didn't even get to see the ancestor's face before the patriarch assigned him to the Spirit Herb Garden as a manager.

He went from being hailed as "our family's prodigy" by his ancestor to being "a good-for-nothing who can't be helped," and was completely marginalized within the family.

Wang Xingwei was not frustrated at all; on the contrary, he was very happy.

Because he doesn't have to stay by the ancestor's side all the time and be scolded by him.

He is free.

He was happy at first, but soon after arriving at the herb garden, he sensed something was wrong.

Previously, the ancestor had assigned him a full schedule of tasks every day, leaving him no room to think for himself, nor any need to think for himself; he only needed to follow the ancestor's instructions.

Upon arriving at the Spirit Herb Garden, the ancestor abandoned him, and he found himself at a loss, living each day in a daze.

Cultivation is tedious.

The meal was very boring.

Taking a walk is boring.

Planting is also very boring.

……

He was free, but it seemed he had also lost himself.

This boring life even made him miss the days when he was scolded by his ancestor every day.

So fulfilling, so satisfying.

Unfortunately, the patriarch would no longer reprimand him.

He originally thought he would continue living in this muddle-headed state.

One day, while he was lost in thought in the herb garden, he suddenly heard a reprimanding voice that sounded similar to the way the ancestor usually spoke.

He looked and realized it was one of his subordinates. According to the rules, he should have been angry when this subordinate reprimanded him.

But for some reason, he wasn't angry; instead, he felt incredibly comfortable.

"That's the tone, just like the old patriarch's scolding."

"Let the shouts come even louder!"

……

While his body trembled reflexively, Wang Xingwei was filled with anticipation.

"They yell at me, order me around, and tell me to keep doing things."

"My life has meaning again."