33: Chapter 33 The Jade Tree Emerges from Fragrant Splendor, Its Spiritual Roots Planted in the Immortal Garden

The shop's front hall.

Su Yue stood at the doorway, glancing at the lanterns gradually lighting up along the street, but she did not choose to close the shop.

The sounds from behind drifted through the door curtain and into her ears.

She looked down at the Formation token in her hand and channeled her Spiritual Qi into it.

An invisible barrier unfolded between the Backyard and the front hall, sealing off those sounds completely.

The world became quiet in an instant.

Su Yue sat cross-legged on the rattan chair and closed her eyes to regulate her breathing.

The medicinal power of the rejuvenation pill had not been fully refined, so she used this time to absorb it slowly.

As for watching the shop, she kept her left ear tuned to the movements at the door and her right hand resting on the token, ready for action at any moment, so it did not interfere.

As the night deepened, the flow of people on the street did not completely dissipate.

Cultivators are not like Mortals; there were plenty of them active at night.

Some Loose Cultivators had spent the whole day running errands outside and only returned to town in the evening, just in time to need supplies.

Su Yue would open her eyes whenever she heard footsteps, stand up to greet customers as they entered, and collect Spirit Stones according to the prices on the jade token.

She was naturally efficient and capable, so she handled these tasks with ease.

Every transaction was recorded on a slip of paper, and the Spirit Stones were stacked neatly inside the counter.

The System's notification sounds echoed intermittently in Jiang Xuan's mind, but he only heard them groggily.

He didn't look closely, his attention entirely focused on the person in his arms.

...

After the hour of the Ox, the Backyard finally became completely quiet.

A Xiang curled up in Jiang Xuan's arms, her strength seemingly drained away.

Her face was buried against his chest, her breathing warm and steady, fast asleep.

Her plump, smooth body pressed closely against him like a piece of fine porcelain warmed by heat, glistening with a fine layer of sweat from head to toe.

Jiang Xuan rested one hand below her waist, his palm pressed against her soft, warm skin, feeling her even breathing.

Regaining his focus, he began to look through the transaction notifications the System had popped up tonight.

Reviewing them one by one, he saw that Su Yue had helped him conduct quite a bit of business tonight.

His heart couldn't help but warm at the thought.

This cold and aloof Fairy never said anything sweet, but she never slacked when it came to getting things done.

Tomorrow, he would have to give her more Spirit Stones as a commission.

He thought about it again; perhaps he should consider staying open for business at night as well.

After all, the schedule of a Cultivator is different from that of a Mortal, and there were not a few who came out to shop at night.

As he thought about it, sleepiness surged over him; Jiang Xuan pulled A Xiang closer, closed his eyes, and drifted into a deep sleep.

...

The next morning.

Just as Jiang Xuan opened his eyes, a pale golden light screen unfolded in his vision.

The System's notification box popped up:

"Congratulations to the Host for reaching Qi Refining Stage 5!"

"Unlocked feature: Spirit Garden."

"Do not grieve the parting; the heart aches in vain, as the wind stirs the empty pavilion and the pond water turns pale."

"Do not say the Spirit Garden is hard to find; with determination, one may eventually emulate the peach-stealing guest."

"The Spirit Garden can Cultivate immortal plants and Spiritual Plants to be used for Alchemy."

"All those who Cultivate immortality consume Medicinal Pills to aid their progress; Medicinal Pills are the essence of vegetation, and immortal plants and Spiritual Plants are rare treasures."

"The Jade Tree flourishes, Spiritual Roots are planted in the Spirit Garden."

"The spirit garden soil is born from the convergence of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi; it is different from common soil and cannot be obtained by Mortals."

"Initial reward: Five Spirit Garden planting slots."

"For every Rank increased, more planting slots can be unlocked using spirit garden soil."

"Please choose the location for unlocking."

A hint of joy rose in Jiang Xuan's eyes; Qi Refining Stage 5, he had finally reached it!

He turned his head to look at A Xiang, who was still fast asleep beside him.

She was lying on her side, her black hair spread across the pillow, a lingering flush still on her cheeks.

Jiang Xuan lowered his head and gently planted a kiss on her forehead.

A Xiang wrinkled her nose in her dream, hummed indistinctly, and subconsciously nuzzled into his arms without waking up.

Jiang Xuan carefully withdrew his arm, rolled out of bed, got dressed, and walked to the Backyard.

The morning air was cool as water, carrying the scent of dew on the blades of grass.

Jiang Xuan stood in the center of the yard, where there was a stone platform, an old locust tree, and a few clumps of weeds clinging to the base of the wall.

The Backyard was not large, but it was more than enough to accommodate the five planting slots.

He cast his gaze on the open space to the east of the old locust tree; it had sufficient sunlight and was the perfect spot.

With a thought, his Divine Sense locked onto that area.

The next instant, the ground trembled slightly.

Five square plots, each about one foot and three inches in size, appeared out of thin air on the soil.

The edges of the plots glowed with a faint Spiritual Qi, as if someone had drawn five exquisite frames on the ground with an invisible brush.

The soil inside the frames was noticeably darker than the surrounding area, faintly exuding a refreshing Spiritual Qi.

Jiang Xuan crouched down and reached out to touch one of the plots.

The soil his fingertips touched was fine and smooth, carrying a hint of cool dampness, completely different from ordinary soil.

The System's supplementary information floated up.

"Current Spirit Garden Rank: Rank 1."

"Limited to: Rank 1 Spirit Medicine."

Rank 1 Spirit Medicine was already enough for him at the moment.

clear heart pills, qi-regulating pills, rejuvenation pills, qi-boosting pills... these Rank 1 Medicinal Pills were the most commonly used consumables for Loose Cultivators in the Qi Refinement Stage.

And the main ingredients for these Medicinal Pills were, without exception, Rank 1 Spiritual Plants.

When his cultivation reached the Foundation Establishment Stage and the Spirit Garden was upgraded, he would be able to plant Rank 2 Spirit Medicine.

One must eat one mouthful at a time, and live life one day at a time.

He pulled up the seed page in the System shop and exchanged contribution points for five rare Rank 1 Spirit Medicine seeds.

Then, he carefully buried the seeds in the spirit garden soil, one in each plot.

As the seeds entered the soil, a faint halo of light shimmered across it, and Spiritual Qi converged inward, wrapping around the seeds.

The System's notification box popped up simultaneously.

"Planting complete, days to maturity: two days."

Jiang Xuan raised an eyebrow, and the corners of his mouth curled up.

In an ordinary Spirit Garden, growing a crop of Rank 1 Spiritual Plants from sowing to maturity takes at least half a year.

During that time, one must water them daily with spirit springs and nourish them with Spiritual Qi; the slightest negligence could damage their medicinal properties.

Some precious varieties even require the Cultivator to guard the Spirit Garden day and night, channeling Spiritual Qi bit by bit—it's more delicate than waiting on one's ancestors.

But for him, he could harvest them after just two nights of sleep.

Jiang Xuan stood up, brushed the soil off his hands, and looked with satisfaction at the five small, glowing plots on the ground.

He was in such a good mood that he wanted to whistle.

He turned and returned to the room.

A Xiang had already woken up groggily and was propping herself up with her arms, trying to sit up.

She had only just moved when a wave of soreness hit her waist, and her legs felt completely devoid of strength; she collapsed limply back into the bedding.

She couldn't help but gasp, her brows knitting together.

Hearing the commotion, Jiang Xuan walked to the bedside in a few quick strides, reached out to press on her shoulders, and gently eased her back onto the pillow.

"Don't move."

His palm pressed against the small of her back, and a wisp of gentle Spiritual Qi seeped in from his fingertips, slowly tracing along her aching spine.

A Xiang's body visibly relaxed, and her knitted brows smoothed out little by little.

That warm, glowing energy circulated in her waist, like a pair of invisible hands kneading away every bit of stiffness.

"Rest a while longer; I'm going out to take a look." Jiang Xuan withdrew his hand and pulled the thin quilt up to her shoulders.

A Xiang nodded gently, her almond-shaped eyes filled with attachment. She watched him for several breaths before obediently closing her eyes.

The corners of her mouth curved into a small arc, carrying the lingering satisfaction from last night.

Jiang Xuan tucked the corner of the quilt for her, stood up, walked through the door curtain, and entered the front hall.

Su Yue was still sitting cross-legged on the rattan chair behind the counter.

In the corner inside the counter, several bags of Spirit Stones were stacked neatly, with a stack of paper slips filled with small writing pressed down beside them.