CHAPTER 261: CHAPTER 261: A GIFT FOR LU ZHENG

"Thank you, Mr. Hu!"

Liu Qingyan and Elder Liu quickly got up, bowed, and saluted.

"We shall never forget the kindness of imparting the teachings!"

"No problem, no problem." Hu Yijun reached out to help them up, "It’s not some secret teaching, you may also pass it on to your blood relatives."

Liu Qingyan and Elder Liu thanked him again before returning to their seats.

...

After lunch, Lu Zheng went directly to the cellar and brought out ten jars of Wuliangye.

He was about to call Old Huang to load the wine jars onto the carriage to send them to Hu Zhou’s home, but was stopped by Hu Yijun.

Then, Hu Yijun stepped forward, gently stroked the jars, and they disappeared into thin air.

Storage equipment!

The essential novice gear for protagonists traveling across all worlds!

But I don’t have one yet!

Lu Zheng clearly felt the magical power emanating from what looked like a brass bracelet on Hu Yijun’s wrist.

Hu Yijun sniffed and nodded with satisfaction.

Lu Zheng asked, "When do you plan to leave?"

"Nothing else to attend to, the Jade Reishi says we will visit a few neighbors and leave this afternoon," Hu Yijun said as he swept his right hand over the table, and several items appeared on it.

Hu Yijun said, "Younger Brother Lu, being a disciple of White Cloud Temple and renowned for your Innate Cloud Qi, I won’t dare to show off. However, I can’t skip presenting a disciple gift for Zhou’er. A small token of respect, please don’t refuse."

"You’re too polite, Brother Hu," Lu Zheng naturally cupped his hands in thanks, not declining.

"Generous!"

Hu Yijun nodded and introduced, "Here are three bottles of Jade Essence Pills, which can aid in cultivation and enhance the Three Treasures, one pill per year.

This is the ’Western Extreme Wind-Calling Curse’. When practiced profoundly, it can summon the Geng Metal Divine Wind and even let you ride the wind. It pairs perfectly with your Cloud Technique.

Lastly, this is the token of our Dingfeng Mountain. You can travel unhindered within a thousand miles of Dingfeng Mountain, as if I were personally there. It has some prestige elsewhere too.

Ahem, of course, best not to flaunt it in the territory of my enemies.

You’re all welcome to visit Dingfeng Mountain. Though the scenery may not match the splendor of Great Jing, it has its unique views."

...

The Hu family left.

Lu Zheng and the others escorted them to the entrance of Tongyi Lane, where Hu Zhou, teary-eyed, vowed to return in a few months.

Lu Zheng and the others returned home. Elder Liu seriously remarked, "This Mr. Hu must be a significant figure, at least with a thousand years of Dao practice!"

Liu Qingyan was startled, "That advanced?"

Elder Liu nodded, "I just reviewed the ’Celestial Demon Nine Transformations Blood Refining Technique’ and the ’Moonlight Scripture’ he passed to us, along with some of his insightful annotations, none of which are ordinary items."

In terms of knowledge, Elder Liu was indeed more seasoned than Liu Qingyan, "Thanks to Lu Lang’s fortune, we can now cultivate such profound techniques."

"Not at all, this has nothing to do with me. It’s Qingyan’s kind heart that saved Ah Jie and taught Hu Zhou to read. You could even say it’s like his disciple gift," Lu Zheng replied with a laugh.

Although Liu Qingyan and Elder Liu received the cultivation techniques, Lu Zheng didn’t receive any Light of Fortune, indicating that Hu Yijun’s teaching was due to their connection with Hu Zhou’s family, with no direct involvement from Lu Zheng, hence the Jade Seal didn’t extract a share.

So Lu Zheng was quite curious, wondering how much Liu Qingyan’s Daoist cultivation might improve from this.

...

In the evening, Lu Zheng called Liu Qingyan over. After some intimacy, he placed a Jade Essence Pill into Liu Qingyan’s mouth.

Liu Qingyan didn’t refuse, merely smiling shyly, hugging Lu Zheng gently, then revealing her fair skin to sit cross-legged on the bed to absorb the pill’s power.

"This pill alone can increase ten years of Dao practice. I’ve only absorbed just over one-tenth now; the remaining power will take months to slowly assimilate," Liu Qingyan said. "No wonder they recommend taking just one a year; taking more might significantly reduce the effect."

"So effective! I wonder what the Jade Essence Pill is made of," Lu Zheng remarked.

Liu Qingyan laughed, "All are aged and high-quality medicinal materials, including Jade Reishi, Thousand-year-old Yellow Essence, and Profound Yuan He Shou Wu, among others. Compared to that, even your Zhi Ma at Peach Blossom Plain might not make the cut."

Lu Zheng was surprised, "But the Zhi Ma has developed intelligence."

Liu Qingyan shook her head, "Developing intelligence and possessing strong medicinal power aren’t the same. Some thousand-year-old spirit medicines may not gain intelligence. Your Zhi Ma, with only over three hundred years of potency, is just lucky enough to develop intelligence."

"I see." Lu Zheng nodded, beginning to understand.

"Have the cultivation techniques been transcribed?" Lu Zheng asked.

"I’ve already passed them to mother and Qing Quan," Liu Qingyan said. "No need to transcribe them; in case they get lost, it would be unfair to Master Hu."

"You’re considerate, aren’t you worried you’ll forget over time?" Lu Zheng laughed.

Lu Zheng had once experienced having a technique directly imparted into his mind, like when the elder in the cave taught him the ’Earth Travel Technique’.

Lu Zheng clearly understood that over time, the knowledge imparted directly into the mind also fades away.

"There are four of us, and we’re not passing them outside, so we’ll master them quickly."

"Alright." Lu Zheng nodded, deciding not to bring up the Hu family’s matter anymore and rather settled in for the night with Liu Qingyan.

...

In the following days, except for delivering a bottle of Jade Essence Pill to Shen Ying, Lu Zheng also went to chat with Xin Zhanting about the Hu family’s matter, and inquired about the fame of Dingfeng Mountain.

"Never heard of it. There are many large and small powers in the Southern Border. What I know isn’t very comprehensive, not having heard of it doesn’t necessarily mean their hill is small, it could also be they’ve never had conflicts with the Great Jing Dynasty," Xin Zhanting remarked. "If you’re interested, you could ask the Anomaly Suppression Bureau; after all, the City God Temple only handles matters related to the Netherworld, whereas the Anomaly Suppression Bureau is in charge of worldly cultivation matters and has more detailed information about the Southern Border than the City God Temple."

Lu Zheng nodded, then shook his head. His relationship with the Anomaly Suppression Bureau wasn’t as close as Xin Zhanting’s, so there was no need to inquire for such a trivial matter.

Lu Zheng and Xin Zhanting drank and talked about the Hu family.

"Honestly, Hu Zhou is truly a talented cultivation prospect. In such a short time, his vital energy surged, his sword technique fierce. Recently, he even fought against a Ghost General from Yelan Mountain and Broken Blade Mountain. I intended to recruit him under me when he died."

Lu Zheng, "..."

Xin Zhanting couldn’t help shaking his head, "Now it’s clear he’s the son of a Southern Border Great Demon. It’s likely that even when my ghost body perishes, he may not even die."

Lu Zheng could only smile politely.

The so-called ghost body perishing is akin to human death. Ghosts, too, can’t live forever; after a certain period, they fade away and scatter.

However, the lifespan of ghosts is longer than that of the living, and the higher their cultivation, the later the time of perishing. Those little ghosts with ten to twenty years of Dao practice might continue as ghosts for another hundred or two hundred years, while who knows how long the old ghosts deep in the Netherworld have existed?