Then, Fairy Lingyue stretched out her hand and pointed at the ghost's forehead, drawing a rune with a milky white light.
When the rune sank into the ghost's forehead, the ghost stood up with a blank expression, then, ignoring Fairy Lingyue in front of him, turned and left, muttering to himself:
"Why did I fall here? Well, well, I should go back and report to the king. When I see the king, I'll tell him that another young cultivator has come to manage the medicinal garden in Qingzhu Residence. We can wait until the spiritual herbs in his garden mature before coming back. At that time, we can take his life and all the spiritual herbs in the garden. The king might even reward me with a fresh and tender heart. How wonderful, how wonderful!"
By the end of his speech, the ghost couldn't help but nod his head, clearly very satisfied with his plan.
Sighing, Fairy Lingyue watched the ghost leave, muttering to herself, "Although letting the tiger return to the mountain is a risky move, I hope Xiaotai will understand my good intentions in the future."
Although she hadn't yet accepted Xu Taiping as a disciple and didn't know if he would be willing to become one, this didn't stop Fairy Lingyue from assuming the role of a master.
However, she would never admit that the main reason for doing so was that she had been too lonely after spending several hundred years in the Dizang Fruit, and she wanted to find some amusement.
Xu Taiping got up very early.
First, he cleared the weeds in the medicinal garden, then added a few shovels of soil to the spot where the Dizang Fruit was buried. After all, the Dizang Fruit would be a major support for him in the cultivation world, and he couldn't let it be stolen.
After Fairy Lingyue returned to the Dizang Fruit last night, she didn't appear again. Xu Taiping thought she might not come out for a month or so.
After clearing the weeds in the medicinal garden, he
spent the morning tidying up the three thatched cottages in Qingzhu Residence.
The thatched cottages were very simple, with one bedroom containing only a bed, a hall, a kitchen, and a thatched toilet built behind the medicinal garden.
While cleaning the kitchen, Xu Taiping found two very interesting things—a water vat that never ran dry and a rice vat that would fill up with rice when a merit coin was inserted.
With water and rice, plus a dried fish hanging on the wall, Xu Taiping's first meal at Qingxuan Sect was settled.
After eating, he used the sheets and blankets from the cabinet to make the bed, then sat cross-legged on the bed and took out the jade slip and the bronze mirror given to him by Xifeng Pavilion.
"Fairy Lingyue lightly touched my forehead to pass me the recipe for the bone-washing soup. The method of transmitting knowledge through the jade slip is also to touch the forehead. This must be the standard method of transmitting knowledge in the cultivation world."
He picked up the jade slip and muttered to himself.
According to the Pavilion Master of Xifeng Pavilion, the jade slip contained a cultivation technique of Qingxuan Sect, as well as various rules of Qingxuan Sect and instructions on how to use the bronze mirror.
"Phew... The amount of information transmitted through the jade slip is much more than what Fairy Lingyue passed me with a touch."
Feeling the continuous flow of text in his mind, Xu Taiping felt dizzy and almost fell off the bed.
Fortunately, after a short while, no new text appeared in his mind, and he let out a sigh of relief.
However, he soon discovered a problem.
The text that entered his mind was like books on a bookshelf, needing to be read and understood.
"So the method of transmitting knowledge through the jade slip is different from what Fairy Lingyue taught me. Her touch directly taught me how to prepare and boil the medicine according to the recipe, while the jade slip only stuffed this information into my head."
Xu Taiping carefully felt the difference between the two methods.
"However, it might also be because the content is different, leading to this difference."
He immediately added this thought, then stopped worrying about it and began to read the lines of text in his mind one by one.
It took Xu Taiping almost three days to finish reading the content of the jade slip.
As the Pavilion Master of Xifeng Pavilion had said, the jade slip contained three main things—a cultivation technique called "Residual Afterglow Scripture," a summary of the "Mystical Mirror's Functions," and the "Qingxuan Sect Code of Conduct."
During this time, he also dug up the land in the medicinal garden.
"According to the method taught in the jade slip, after digging up the land, I can collect some wild animal droppings and dead leaves to burn and fertilize the soil."
"However, this step doesn't need to be rushed. Today is the first day of the month, and Elder Ziyang will be lecturing on the 'Residual Afterglow Scripture' and the basics of cultivation. This lecture only happens once every three months, so I can't miss it."
"After listening to the lecture, I can also use the bronze mirror to select seeds to buy, so I won't waste that merit coin."
While eating alone in the hall, Xu Taiping began to plan what he needed to do today, then casually tore a page from the almanac on the wall.
The page torn off revealed the word "first" and a note in red ink that read "suitable for studying, unsuitable for digging."
He had bought this almanac along with other daily necessities yesterday, using a spirit bird to help him. It cost him six merit coins, and he felt quite heartbroken about it.
After eating, he returned to the bedroom.
Xu Taiping took out the bronze mirror from the box and carefully placed it on a broken table in front of him.
On the table, besides the bronze mirror, there was half a bowl of clear water, a few petals, and a merit coin of Qingxuan Sect.
Xu Taiping recalled the method of using the bronze mirror, then dipped his hand in the water and dripped some on the bronze mirror, followed by placing a few petals and the merit coin on it.
Almost as soon as he placed the merit coin on the bronze mirror, a gentle breeze suddenly blew out from the mirror, carrying a faint scent of sandalwood.
Then, a voice came from the bronze mirror:
"Xu Taiping, an outer sect disciple of Qingxuan Sect, please do not leave. Elder Ziyang will begin the lecture shortly. If you miss it today, you will have to wait another three months."
Xu Taiping, who had already read the entire content of the jade slip, was not startled by the voice, as the "Summary of the Mystical Mirror's Functions" mentioned that this was the voice of the spirit of the Mystical Mirror.
According to the "Summary of the Mystical Mirror's Functions," the spirit of the Mystical Mirror is like a guide, helping you find what you want to see in the mirror.
Of course, it cannot access the forbidden areas of Qingxuan Sect, and each "guidance" costs one merit coin.
"Thank you, Lord Mystical Mirror."
Xu Taiping expressed his gratitude.
The spirit of the Mystical Mirror is not entirely an inanimate object, so he believed it was necessary to thank it.