Chapter 114: True Purpose

Chapter 114: Chapter 114: True Purpose

For the next few days, Sui Sui spent most of his time tending to Elder Shan Li’s spiritual herb garden. He carefully managed the Spirit Jade Fruit Tree and looked after the other herbs according to the elder’s instructions.

Every now and then, he would notice Elder Shan Li standing somewhere in the distance, quietly watching him.

Sui Sui wasn’t sure whether the elder was checking to see if he was doing his work properly or simply observing him out of curiosity. Either way, he had gradually gotten used to the occasional silent stare.

Aside from that, everything went smoothly.

Sui Sui also managed to talk to MuMu several times and eventually got the little beast to spill everything that had happened during the experiments.

As expected, nothing particularly dangerous had happened.

Elder Shan Li had indeed fed MuMu quite a few different things, apparently trying to figure out how his body worked and how he had managed to break through the courtyard’s barrier so easily.

From MuMu’s description, it seemed that Shan Li had become genuinely stumped by the little beast.

That day, before heading to Elder Shan Li’s residence, Sui Sui made a detour to the sect’s herb garden. He had almost forgotten about it with how busy he had been lately, but he still needed to inform Senior Brother Ji Ling that he probably wouldn’t be able to continue helping in the herb garden.

After all, most of his time was now occupied with the work Elder Shan Li had given him.

When Sui Sui arrived and explained the situation, he found Ji Ling and Elder Jingyan together.

"So that’s how it is," Ji Ling said with a teasing smile. "I’ve heard you’ve been going to Elder Shan Li’s residence lately. Don’t you know everyone has already started speculating? Some people are even saying that you’re about to become Elder Shan Li’s disciple."

"Oh? You’re actually working under Junior Brother Shan?" Elder Jingyan said, stroking his beard. "Not bad, not bad. You should take advantage of this opportunity."

Sui Sui quickly waved his hands.

"No, no, it’s all a misunderstanding. Elder Shan Li isn’t actually teaching me. At most, I’m just helping him with some miscellaneous work."

"Aiyah! Since you’re already there, you should take the opportunity to learn from him," Elder Jingyan said, stroking his beard with a knowing smile. "Let this old man tell you a little secret. My Junior Brother is quite different from most cultivators. He doesn’t believe that relying on external resources is the best way to improve one’s cultivation. Instead, he is completely devoted to alchemy and prefers to rely on his own skills. So, those Spirit Jade Fruits aren’t actually very useful to him."

"Is that so?" Ji Ling asked, growing increasingly curious. "Then why does he still keep the tree?"

Sui Sui also perked up at the question.

"Actually, only a few people know this," Elder Jingyan said, lowering his voice slightly. "The reason he keeps that tree is not for the fruits at all. He keeps it purely for practice."

"Practice?" Sui Sui asked in surprise. "How does cultivating a tree help him practice?"

"Most of you youngsters probably don’t know this," Elder Jingyan began, his fingers slowly stroking through his beard as his expression took on a knowing look. "But the Spirit Jade Fruit Tree has another benefit that has nothing to do with the fruits themselves."

He paused, letting the words sink in before continuing. "The true value lies in the process of cultivating the tree."

Ji Ling’s curiosity immediately deepened, while Sui Sui leaned forward slightly, listening more carefully.

"If you repeatedly tend to the tree over a long period of time, the process itself can temper your Soul Force and gradually improve your control over spiritual energy. Didn’t you notice?"

Elder Jingyan gestured toward the distant Medicine Peak as though pointing toward the tree itself.

"Every step requires precision. You have to nourish the roots without overwhelming them, guide the spiritual energy through the tree’s internal circulation, remove impurities without damaging its foundation, and carefully control the energy during every stage of its growth."

He gave a small chuckle before continuing"Isn’t that very similar to refining a spiritual herb?"

Sui Sui’s eyes flickered with understanding.

"It’s just that instead of refining a single herb inside a pill furnace, you’re cultivating an entire spiritual tree. The scale is much larger, and every mistake takes far longer to correct." Elder Jingyan’s voice carried a faint note of admiration as he continued.

"My Junior Brother Shan apparently learned about this somewhere and became interested in the idea. With his obsession with alchemy, he naturally couldn’t resist trying it for himself. That’s why he cultivated the Spirit Jade Fruit Tree in the first place."

He paused again, then added almost casually, "As for the fruits themselves... he doesn’t really care about them."

Ji Ling blinked. "He doesn’t?"

"Not particularly." Elder Jingyan shook his head. "I’ve even heard him complain that they don’t taste good. Whenever the tree produces fruit, he usually gives most of them away to other people."

Sui Sui fell silent and his expression slowly became complicated.

If Elder Shan Li didn’t actually care about the fruits and only kept the tree for practice, then why had he made Sui Sui compensate him for the three fruits MuMu had eaten?

"I think my Junior Brother may have taken an interest in your talent," Elder Jingyan said thoughtfully. "The experiment with your spirit beast is probably only part of the reason he asked you to stay. More likely, he is also using this opportunity to observe you."

Hearing this, Sui Sui immediately thought back to the past few days.

There had been several times when he had caught Elder Shan Li watching him from a distance while he worked in the garden. At first, Sui Sui had assumed that the elder was simply checking whether he was doing his work properly.

Now that Elder Jingyan mentioned it, however...

Could he really be observing him ?

Sui Sui hesitated.

He didn’t want to sound too narcissistic, but the explanation actually made quite a bit of sense.

"If I were you, I’d take this opportunity to learn from him," Elder Jingyan continued. "If Junior Brother Shan has really taken an interest in you, he would probably be happier if you took the initiative to ask him for guidance." He paused, then gave Sui Sui a meaningful look.

"Don’t be fooled by his cold demeanor. He isn’t actually difficult to approach. He’s simply not good with words. If you want him to teach you, you have to be proactive."