"Well, let's not talk about it. It's because we have no skills and low cultivation." Huang Zheng sighed and continued, "Wang Fu, Zhu Zhen has also assigned you a task. I advise you not to think about resisting, otherwise you will be beaten badly."
"A few days ago, a newcomer came. He relied on his natural strength and refused to obey Zhu Zhen's arrangement. He was beaten and had his legs broken. Zhu Zhen and his men are all at the second or third level of Qi Refining. How could a mortal be their opponent?"
Wang Fu was deeply touched by this and felt that everyone was in the same boat. He sighed and said indignantly: "I was asked to carry 20 buckets of water from Qingling Pond to Lingchi above Baicao Valley. Where is this Qingling Pond?"
"I know. Let's go together. I also need to complete the work assigned by Zhu Zhen." Huang Zheng pointed to the south. "Qingling Pond is to the south of Baicao Valley. The water in the pond is different from ordinary water. The water there is rich in spiritual energy. The spiritual herbs in Baicao Valley must be irrigated with the water there to shorten their growth cycle."
"I have been here for more than half a year. In addition to completing my own tasks, I also have to carry 20 buckets of water every day. I have very little time to practice. If this continues, I don't know when I can succeed in my practice."
As he spoke, Huang Zheng shook his head.
Wang Fu followed Huang Zheng to Qinglingtan and they communicated all the way. Most of the time, Huang Zheng was the only one talking. He was like a chatterbox, talking non-stop, and Wang Fu would occasionally join in.
He did learn a lot about Baicao Valley from the other party. As a result, Wang Fu felt that he had found some comfort in this unfamiliar place.
Huang Zheng's technique was a water-attributed technique that Feng Dafu casually threw to him. He had been practicing it for nearly ten months, but still had not succeeded in drawing spiritual energy into his body. When Huang Zheng learned that Wang Fu was practicing the [Thick Earth Technique], he almost laughed out loud. He kept saying that the [Thick Earth Technique] had one less spell, and he felt quite superior.
Wang Fu just smiled at this.
Qinglingtan is a fairly wide pond surrounded by a bamboo forest. It is deep, secluded and quiet. The source of the pond water comes from a waterfall pouring down from the mountain not far away. The sound of the water is quite spectacular.
The only downside is that this place is extremely cold, just like winter.
"It's much colder around Qingling Pond, so few people want to come here on weekdays." Huang Zheng signaled Wang Fu to quickly get water from the wooden bucket beside the pond.
The two men filled the pond with water, carried the wooden buckets on their shoulders, and headed north towards Baicao Valley.
Wang Fu had never done any hard labor since he was a child, let alone heavy work like carrying water. Fortunately, he took the medicine in the small tripod in the morning, which increased his strength a lot. Otherwise, he would not have been able to reach his destination at all. Even so, he was very tired.
On the way, they met many disciples who were doing odd jobs and were carrying water together. They looked at Wang Fu, a stranger, with a look of gloating on their faces. They all wanted to see this newcomer make a fool of himself.
Unfortunately, Wang Fu disappointed them.
Although much slower than Huang Zheng, Wang Fu still arrived at his destination slowly.
There is a large man-made pool here, with lush green grass growing around the pool. Small channels extend from the periphery of the pool and spread to the various medicinal fields in Baicao Valley.
There was a pavilion next to the spirit pond. A man was lying on his back in the pavilion basking in the sun. When he saw Wang Fu coming over, he glanced at him.
"Are you the new Wang Fu?"
Wang Fu nodded.
"You've recovered well. After being kicked by Senior Brother Zhang, you actually got up the next day. That's quite rare."
Wang Fu was stunned and said nothing. He just poured the water into the large pool woodenly and turned away.
"Hehe, you have a temper, but you still have to fetch water obediently." The man sneered. No matter who they were in the entire Baicao Valley, they had to listen to the arrangements of Senior Brother Zhu Zhen.
…
Huang Zheng did not accompany him the second time because he thought Wang Fu was too slow.
Wang Fu was also happy about this. He returned to Qingling Pond and filled the wooden bucket. After walking for a while, he saw that there was no one around, so he summoned the small tripod and threw it directly into the bucket.
When Huang Zheng said that the water of Qingling Lake was rich in spiritual energy, he had this idea. Since the small tripod can extract essence from weeds, can it also extract essence from the water rich in spiritual energy?
You won't know until you try it.
As he walked with the wooden barrel on his shoulder, he observed the condition of the small tripod in the barrel. He found that the pond water could not enter the small tripod at all. Instead, a little faint and barely detectable light flowed into the tripod.
"It can be done." Wang Fu's eyes lit up and he almost laughed out loud. He looked around nervously and when he saw that no one was paying attention, he breathed a sigh of relief and became even more careful.
After anxiously waiting until there was no more light in the wooden barrel, Wang Fu looked around and saw that there was no one. He immediately took out the small tripod and threw it into another wooden barrel.
The light reappeared...
The spirit pool was huge, and all the water that everyone carried was poured into it at once. Wang Fu did not have to worry about being discovered. He did this for ten buckets of water in a row, and a drop of transparent liquid condensed in the small tripod.
Wang Fu, who had never carried water before, had done heavy work for the first time and his shoulders were worn out. However, compared with the tragic experience on the Thousand Cliffs Stone Steps, this injury was nothing. With his strong willpower, he finally completed the task of carrying twenty buckets of water before the sun set.
Even the man in the pavilion looked at Wang Fu with some admiration.
After returning to his room, Wang Fu couldn't wait to drink a drop of spiritual liquid. Yes, spiritual liquid, this was the new name Wang Fu gave it.
The scorching breath reappeared, and with his breathing, Wang Fu's body became stronger and stronger.
Day after day, in addition to clearing the weeds in the medicine field, Wang Fu went to Qingling Pond to fetch water. He used a small tripod to collect a lot of spiritual liquid. He took a drop of spiritual liquid every night to practice. His strength increased every day and his mind became clearer. He had a feeling that if he continued like this, he would soon be able to successfully draw Qi into his body and become a cultivator.
Within half a month, Wang Fu's water-carrying speed had caught up with Huang Zheng, and after a month, he had completely surpassed him. He could carry water and pour water in one go. If he did not have to wait for the small cauldron to absorb the essence of the lake water, Wang Fu could be even faster.
Even so, it took Huang Zheng more than two hours to carry the twenty buckets of water, but Wang Fu only took more than an hour. He had a lot more time for daily practice, and he also had time to refine the two drops of spiritual liquid after taking it.
He even thought about putting the small tripod into the Qingling Pond, but he was worried about being discovered. If he lost this treasure, it would be all over.
Wang Fu was full of energy, but his neighbor was very annoyed.
Huang Zheng saw that Wang Fu completed his tasks early every day and had much more time to practice than himself. He felt jealous that he had been in Baicao Valley for so long, but was not as good as Wang Fu, who had just been there for a month. That night, the jealousy that he had accumulated for a long time finally broke out again and poured out.
"Since you are so capable, twenty buckets of water would not be enough... hehe..."