Legend of the Great Sage

“I am willing to pay great heed to senior sister’s teachings.”

Ruan Yaozhu said, “Stop laughing. There’ll be plenty of times to come when you’ll be annoyed.”

Li Qingshan smiled. “The most fortunate thing that has happened to me since I came to the Human realm was meeting you. Even if it’s a little annoying, I can only put up with it.”

“Same here.” Ruan Yaozhu could not help but shift her eyes away from his shining gaze, looking at the clones and puppets busying about in the surroundings. “Perhaps I should give you some more work.”

Li Qingshan clasped his hands. “You are most welcome to!’

As a result, his “field of responsibility” went from five kilometres across to twenty-five kilometres across, growing to twenty-five times the size before all of a sudden. He never faced any more harassment either.

He did not disappoint Ruan Yaozhu. Through the powerful deductive abilities of the Spirit Turtle Transformation and the sharp senses of the Qilin Transformation, the many shadow clones produced from the Heavenly Tome of Liberty worked day and night, not only completing the basic tasks, but also doing everything that they could to unlock the vitality in all of the plants. As such, they flourished vigorously.

Over a month passed just like that. The Hundred Herbs garden entered the season of winter.

When the first snow fell, the light snow drifted through the air and covered the land. Ruan Yaozhu rode over on her deer.

Li Qingshan was currently cultivating arduously under the Golden-leaved Bodhi tree, such that he basically lost track of time completely. It felt like yesterday when they met last time, so in the blink of an eye, he saw Ruan Yaozhu’s smile again.

Ruan Yaozhu looked around and smiled in satisfaction. “You’ve done very well.”

When she said that, she bent her slender finger and flicked it.

The badge on Li Qingshan’s chest lit up. He checked it with his soul sense and was slightly surprised. “So much!”

Ruan Yaozhu smiled. “Originally, your remuneration was supposed to be half contribution and half bookmarks, but I’ve made the decision for you to give you all contribution. I’ve given you an extra bonus too.”

“Is this allowed by the rules? I can’t have that kid Le Tian finding faults in this and saying that I cheated.”

During the month or so in the Human realm, over a year had already passed in the World of the Five Continents. Under the efforts of Qian Lingzhi and the Great Banyan Tree King, the city of novelists was on the rise. It had already kicked off a wave of popularity across the world, such that countless people devoted themselves to his profession. It would bear fruit very soon, and then he would be able to cheat openly.

“What that kid Le Tian? He’s your senior brother. When you see me, you have to greet me by calling me senior sister, do you understand?”

Ruan Yaozhu scolded him, but she did not possess any authoritative bearing usually, so she seemed just as gentle and meek as before.

Li Qingshan smiled. “As they say, there is no kinship when it comes to contests, let alone senior and junior brothers.”

Ruan Yaozhu shook her head helplessly. “Don’t you worry. It’s common practice in the sect to convert bookmarks into contribution. There won’t be any issues.”

“I’m afraid you’re losing out.”

“The better the Hundred Herbs garden operates, the more spiritual herbs it can offer up to the sect. The contribution and bookmarks I’ll receive from the Myriad sect will increase, so how will I lose out?”

“Alright then.” Li Qingshan glanced at the nine-coloured deer curiously. He was curious about how she did not butt in today.

The nine-coloured deer raised her head high and shut her eyes. That day, she had been berated by Ruan Yaozhu, so she decided to never talk to Li Qingshan again. However, because of how different Ruan Yaozhu was when she returned to the dwelling last time, she still had to keep an eye on him for the sake of her master.

Ruan Yaozhu said in marvel, “The Heavenly Tome of Liberty sure is wondrous. You can actually cultivate while sustaining so many clones.”

“It’s nothing worthy of notice.”

Li Qingshan grinned. Over this period of time, he had basically been making rapid progress with the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. His soul nascence became even more consolidated, and he had comprehended the Fractal Shadow technique further too, which was why there were so many shadow clones.

However, the Qilin’s Conventions of Longevity did not set off like he had been expecting. It was still stuck at a bottleneck, unable to free itself from it. If this continued, then he would face the heavenly tribulation before the Qilin’s Conventions of Longevity even reached the first layer.

Ruan Yaozhu smiled. “If that’s the case, I’ll leave everywhere within fifty kilometres to you.”

Li Qingshan said in surprise, “You don’t want me to work and cultivate at the same time?”

Ruan Yaozhu shook her head with a smile.

Li Qingshan said in thought, “Just give me some more time! Once I undergo the fourth heavenly tribulation, I’ll have even more clones. It won’t be an issue by then.”

Ruan Yaozhu shook her head again. “Nope!”

Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows. “Then I can only decline. It’s such a large place, so I definitely won’t be able to take care of it properly. I’ll end up putting off my cultivation and my work.”

Seeing how confused and defensive he was, Ruan Yaozhu felt very interested. “You’re in too much of a hurry.”

“What am I in a hurry for?”

“You’re in a hurry to accumulate contribution so that you can win the bet. You’re in a hurry to cultivate and increase your cultivation. It feels like something is pressing you, such that it’s even worse than losing the gamble.”

“Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?”

“Yes, but you should have heard of ‘more haste is less speed’ as well!”

“All I know is ‘ten millennia is too long. All I can do is seize every moment’!”

“You, oh you! Do you know why I just let you be when you neglected these precious plants and focused on cultivation? Do you know why the Hundred Herbs garden has seasons?”

These two questions seemed simple, but upon thinking about them, Li Qingshan was actually unable to answer.

Even if Ruan Yaozhu played favourites with him, she could wake him from cultivation or arrange for others to take care of his plants. Most of the plants liked summer. Once winter came, they all stopped growing. With the wondrous techniques of the Myriad sect, they were completely capable of maintaining summer in this region. Winter did not seem to be particularly necessary.

“Don’t tell me the Hundred Herbs garden isn’t for nurturing the exotic plants and providing resources to the sect? There’s some other motive involved?”

Ruan Yaozhu extended her hand and caught a translucent snowflake. She said with a smile, “You can say that, but don’t think that.”

Li Qingshan said, “Senior sister, just stop making me beat around the bush.”

“I’m afraid you’ll just become annoyed by my preaching.”

“I will pay great heed to senior sister’s teachings.”

The nine-coloured deer suddenly coughed loudly.

Ruan Yaozhu said, “You possess the bloodline of the qilin. You can sense the hearts of the plants and understand their requests at all times. You have pushed the watering and fertilising process to the limits, controlling it down to the tiniest portion.”

“Is there something wrong with that?”

“All creatures living in this world must face hardships and difficulties in order to grow and thrive. They need sunlight, rain and dew, but they also need ice, snow and drought. These plants may have a spiritual nature about them, but they know nothing more than their instincts. Speaking of which, even when it comes to the paragons of creatures, humans, if you give them whatever they want all the time, what will they turn into?”

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“Heh, great fatties at the very least.”

“When you just let them be and focused on cultivation, the plants did wilt a little, but in order to obtain nutrients, their roots have reached deeper into the ground. I did not find that to be anything inappropriate, so I let you be. Instead, I’m worried that you’ll take care of them far too meticulously, which is why I increased your workload. I never expected you to still be able to keep up with this.”

Li Qingshan sighed. “I didn’t think that working too hard would be an issue.”

Ruan Yaozhu comforted him with a smile. “If it were others, I’d advise them to take care of these plants carefully, as no matter how careful they are, they can’t reach your level. However, you can do better. Cultivation is no different. Advancing valiantly is good, but there’s no need to be in such a hurry.”

“More haste is less speed. If you’re in too much of a hurry for success, doing your all for everything, it’ll instead leave you further away from your goal. In more practical terms, even if it’s just to collect their fruits, leaves, and flowers to refine pills, they only have their greatest effect when they grow slowly. Just let nature take its course!”

Li Qingshan had a flash of inspiration, like the first ray of light that pierced the dark night. He murmured, “Let nature take its course, let nature take its course… I understand now!”

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He finally understood why his Qilin’s Conventions of Longevity had always stagnated. As it turned out, it was not because he was too “wicked”, but because he was in too much of a hurry.

All this time, he had paraded the concept of advancing valiantly, facing the dangers fearlessly and pushing forwards constantly. This spirit had merged with his blood a long time ago, becoming an instinct.

The bottleneck with the Qilin’s Conventions of longevity originated from this belief. However, the Qilin Transformation was different from the other transformations. It was not that he was not trying hard enough. Instead, he was trying too hard and spending too much effort on it.

If the exotic plants and flowers in the Hundred Herbs garden were to share a certain characteristic, then that would be their painfully slow growth rate. Some spiritual trees could even go for over a decade without changing in appearance.

However, he was far too impatient. As a result, he did good only to conform to the path of the qilin. He cultivated arduously without rest, tempted to devote all of his efforts to it.

It was like planting a seed that never sprouted, so he watered it often and added fertiliser often, even tempted to dig it up and take a look to see whether there was something wrong with the seed. The end result would obviously go against his wishes. There was nothing wrong with the seed. He was the problem.

He had once heard a story. There was a hunchback by the surname of Guo who was extremely skilled at growing trees. The ones he planted always lived, and they would thrive extremely well too. No one could understand how he did it. When someone asked him, he said, “I can’t make trees grow faster or live longer. I only abide by the nature of the tree, to let the root system spread, to make the tree grow more firmly and so on.”

Once it took root properly, he no longer had to care too much about it. The tree was free to grow naturally. Others either were far too casual and neglectful, or they were far too concerned about it, checking it in the morning and touching it at night, even shaking it about to see whether it was rooted properly and prodding the bark to see whether the tree was wilting. Instead, they killed the tree.

The Qilin, with its Hovering Steps, Sympathises with the Living. Originally, as long as he had a heart of benevolence and compassion, he could establish the foundation of the Qilin’s Conventions of Longevity. However, he could never remain as a good person. He was bound to become conflicted, so the more he tried to conform to the path of the qilin, the further away he was from the path of the qilin.

The very nature of the qilin’s path was not paramount benevolence and compassion, but letting nature take its course. It was like the growth of plants, wilting and blooming with each passing year.

As long as he never completely abandoned this heart of benevolence, the Qilin Transformation would grow like a tree. His killing intent and wicked thoughts were all just wind and frost it was supposed to encounter. It was impossible to avoid it, and he needed it too.

If his guesses were correct, then even if progress would be very slow, the Qilin Transformation should have been the last transformation he had to worry about among the various transformations of the demonic and divine.