Chapter 12 – A Blood Moon and a Harvest Moon

Ren’s life settled into a steady rhythm. He meditated and cultivated every morning. The spirit plants and fields were cared for. The better part of his day went into the task he had undertaken at the Hall of Scripture, trying to establish order over the chaos of the first-floor scriptures. Yet for all the headaches it gave him, he was learning a lot.

Ren now had a far greater understanding of cultivation manuals, auxiliary techniques, and crafting methods. He didn’t know the details, but he knew their requirements, how they were used, and who they were suited for. He wasn’t confident in recommending anything to others, but he could certainly give advice or direct them to something more suitable.

After finishing his work, he would make time to meet and chat with the other members of the outer sect. He had a few casual friends who would give him advice or, more commonly, gossip about the goings-on of the sect. In the evenings, he would practice his formations, cultivate and utilize the Nurturing Rain Sutra.

The days were flying past with only a few things to break the simple but tiring pattern of his days. Once a week he would attend his class on formations. Teacher Fan would give them two formations to learn and practice. He had attended three classes so far, and he had learned various formations. His control of the array flags was getting better with practice as he learned to understand the flow of qi through the sticks of spirit wood.

The other weekly event was market days. Walking through the loud and colorful markets, full of new and mysterious things, was great fun. Not willing to spend the last of his spirit stones on frivolous things, Ren focused on observing everything. Which items were popular, which cultivators sold the best items, and whether they returned consistently.

While looking for someone he could sell his spirit plants to, he met Senior Chun Wei, trading in herbs. He was the one Ren had heard about from gossip, the one who had been injured recently. Since he had a decent reputation, Ren approached him. He had been interested in buying the fire attributed plants from Ren and told him to meet when they were ready.

As the day of harvest approached, one of his ghostvine spirit plants died. Ren was saddened because after all the effort he had put into their care, even dancing for them, he had grown attached to his plants. He had no idea where it had gone wrong, but sometimes things were beyond his ability to control. Even the books he had read warned about how easy it was for spirit plants to die at the hands of a novice. Instead, he was surprised it had lasted so long!

Standing at the back of his hut where the ghostvines had been planted around the dead trees, he examined the drying husk of the vine where it had started to wrap around the tree. Ren stopped for a moment. “Why did it take so long? They are supposed to mature in less than a week. I should have had more failures by now. Even the sunseekers are still growing well! Didn’t I plant them expecting at least four of the six seeds to fail?”

Retracing his steps, he tried to find the reason. It couldn’t have been his qi gathering formations. They were too basic. Was it because the qi in the courtyard, being the ideal fire and water qi, after his cultivation, removed the rest?

“It shouldn’t be that; I’m just at the 3rd layer qi gathering realm. I shouldn’t be making that much of a difference. On the contrary, the plants probably helped me more by removing the fire and water qi.”

Ren hesitated to conclude it was the Nurturing Rain Sutra. It was worth just 4 contribution points, and it was so inefficient at channeling the qi. Whoever had inscribed it couldn’t even be bothered to use jade, only a bit of dried bark!

“Maybe it was because of how often I used it?”

Ren had used it so much recently that even the embarrassing movements had started to feel natural to him. Every morning and evening he danced after he cultivated. Sometimes a 3rd time if he had any qi to spare. He was looking for any other indications when he saw the barest hint of green on the dead trees.

Those trees had been bare when Ren had moved in, and it had been too early for winter. He had just thought the previous owners hadn’t cared for them very well. If the sutra could actually bring back trees from the brink, then maybe there was more to it! Maybe it was an underappreciated and undervalued manual that had somehow ended up falling through the cracks.

Suddenly, Ren felt a lot more excited about his upcoming harvest and the huge profits he could make. If it truly was the sutra and if it could increase the chances of spirit plants surviving till maturity, then that dried bit of bark was now his most valuable possession.

Now he felt even more excited for a different reason! He wasn’t worried about possessing a treasure without having the strength to protect it. He finally had an opportunity to confirm his chosen path. Sure, he could just put it back in the hall of scripture for the next person to find, but if even the elder was willing to discard the sutra to the first person who asked, then was it really safe?

If he informed the sect of its usefulness, would they reward him? Or should he set up a trial like an ancient cultivator and leave it to fate? Ren started to think up a plan to entrust it to the most deserving. Maybe his lessons from the formations class could be applied practically as a test? A puzzle or a trap to solve before being rewarded the sutra.

The longer he thought about it, the less he liked that idea. If he set up a trial with his meager skills, then would the inheritor even value the reward? Even if he waited until he was stronger and the inheritor was strong enough to pass, would they resort to using a qi gathering realm technique?

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Eventually, Ren decided the “test” approach was best left for another treasure. He would inform the sect. However, he didn’t have to turn it in right away, did he? He smiled to himself. It wasn’t even a confirmed fact that the sutra was the main cause. He could wait a while and be reassured before going to an elder.