“I intend to temporarily stay in the village, while I look for other solutions, would that be possible?” Shen Luo pondered and then spoke.
“That’s great, on behalf of the entire village, I welcome Big Brother Shen to join us! You can make any requests you have, and we will do our best to fulfill them.” Ying Luo couldn’t contain her joy.
“Since I have decided to stay, I naturally plan to share the joys and hardships with the villagers. You do not have to treat me differently, Miss Ying, just arrange a place for me to stay,” Shen Luo said.
“No problem. When I observed you practicing, it seemed like you required water to aid you. On the eastern side of the village, there is an empty house with a large well in the courtyard. Living there should be more convenient. It just hasn’t been inhabited for many years, so it needs some cleaning,” Ying Luo immediately responded.
“Then, I have to trouble you,” Shen Luo smiled and casually replied.
“I’ll take you there first.” Ying Luo said as she led Shen Luo towards the east of the village, soon they reached an old small courtyard.
Ying Luo pushed the slightly decayed front gate open, a wave of dust fluttered down, and she hurriedly covered her nose and mouth with one hand while waving the other around.
Shen Luo didn’t mind. He entered the courtyard. Inside there were two main rooms, a side room, and a kitchen, forming a complete small Siheyuan.
On the left side of the courtyard was a large well covered with a wooden lid.
Next to the well stood a big mulberry tree, its leaves rustling in the wind.
Shen Luo walked over to the well, removed its wooden lid, revealing clear well water below and emitting a refreshing aura.
“It’s great, let’s just stay here,” Shen Luo turned around and said to Ying Luo, who had followed him into the courtyard.
“I’ll go get some people to clean up this place a little,” Ying Luo, satisfied to see Shen Luo’s contentment, walked outside showing her efficient disposition.
In no time, she came back bringing along seven or eight male and female villagers to clean the courtyard and tidy up the rooms.
The people had already learned about Shen Luo’s decision to stay in Longevity Village. Out of respect and enthusiasm for him, they worked exceptionally hard. Within an hour, they had not only cleaned every corner of the courtyard but also repaired the damaged parts and even re-plastered the windows in the room.
In the end, Ying Luo had some bedding, pots and other daily essentials delivered before leading the villagers away.
After seeing off the group, Shen Luo returned to sit by the well, his eyes flashing with deep thought.
Rather than being worried about his current predicament, he wanted to understand the connections between the events in his dreams.
After all, once he woke from his dream, he would return to reality, and so, didn’t have to worry about it. However, after several experiences, especially the Nameless Heavenly Book and spiritual perception, he developed great interest in his dream experiences. If he could gather more clues or make breakthroughs in his cultivation, it could bring him significant benefits in the real world.
However, the duration of his stay within the dream varied with each entrancement. Sometimes it was only a few hours, and at other times it was more than two months. For now, he couldn’t find any pattern, and he didn’t know how long he would stay this time.
Shen Luo took a deep breath, no longer thinking about it. He reached out with one hand and spread his fingers to form the shape of an empty claw at the mouth of the well.
A stream of well water shot out and formed a blade, producing a soft sound as it pierced the ground next to the well.
He made a circular motion with his hand in front of him, and the water blade followed the same motion, engraving a circle a few feet in diameter into the ground. It then entered the ground through the mark, disappearing underground. ꞦＡＮΟВÈ𝙨
After a few muffled thuds, a cylindrical chunk of earth slowly rose from the ground like it was supported by a mirror-like sheet of flowing water. The chunk of earth, half a foot high, was thrown to the side, revealing a newly dug pit.
The pit was near the well, and soon, water started seeping from the bottom.
Shen Luo gestured, and another stream of water rose from the well and poured into the freshly dug pit. After half the pit was filled with water, it stopped.
After doing this, he jumped into the pond, sat cross-legged and started executing the Nameless Cultivation Technique.
The Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Qi started to continuously blend into his body through the pond water, slowly filling his somewhat deficient Dantian.
All the meridians in his body had been unlocked by now, and his mana was flowing more quickly through them, giving him a vague feeling of ascension.
“Since I cannot leave in the short term, I might as well calm my mind and cultivate here, seeing if I can break through to the Grain Avoidance stage,” Shen Luo muttered to himself, closing his eyes.
Although he didn’t know much about cultivation, he was aware that breaking through to the Grain Avoidance stage marked a significant milestone in the path of Cultivating Immortality. If he succeeded, his lifespan would increase by two hundred years. He would be able to live without eating or drinking for an extended period and his mana would increase dramatically. He would then be able to begin learning actual Daoist magical skills and activate magical instruments, amongst other things…
The benefits of the Grain Avoidance stage were numerous and countless people desired to enter this realm. However, very few succeeded because this stage was difficult to break through, with only one out of a hundred odds of success.
The toughest part was transforming the mana within the body from gas to liquid.
Although it may seem like a simple change in the state of mana, it was a huge transformation that greatly influenced future cultivation.
According to the heavenly book, after reaching the peak of the late Qi Refining stage, a monk usually required some natural talent, preparation of various elixirs, extraordinary willpower, and a bit of luck to have a chance at success.
As he was in the resource-poor Longevity Village, he could only hope that his top-notch Dao Body would suffice. Deep down, he wasn’t certain of success.
As Shen Luo pondered, he stood up from the water, stomped his foot, and droplets of water immediately flew off from his clothing, landing on the ground around him. His clothes instantly became as dry as new.
After pacing a couple of rounds in the courtyard, he stepped out of it and headed towards Ying Luo’s residence.
Despite knowing that the chances were slim, he still wanted to ask Ying Luo to see if she had any methods that could aid in breaking through the Grain Avoidance stage. After all, there had been Grain Avoidance cultivators in Longevity Village before, and there may be some insights left behind by them.
A moment later, he returned from outside to the small courtyard and took his place at the pond again. He let out a sigh.
As expected, Ying Luo knew nothing of it.
It seemed like he could only rely on himself in this matter.
After steadying his mind, Shen Luo extended one hand, spread his fingers, and a blue light flickered in his palm.
With a surge in the pond below, a water ball flew out and landed in his palm. As it rotated, a blackwater tunnel emerged, followed by a “whoosh” sound – a half-man, half-shrimp creature appeared. It was the Shrimp Soldier Protector.