Climbing to immortality step by step

Chapter 130: Jokes

The situation was not quite as Real Master Yanhuo had imagined. Just as Liu Suiyun was fully immersed in the world of spiritual plants, Shen Yaqin's voice brought him back to reality: "Suiyun, how's your tea planting coming along?"

Shen Yaqin always liked to refer to spiritual plant cultivation as "tea planting," and Liu Suiyun had grown accustomed to this expression. "Master's wife, I've been diligently studying the texts, and I've made some progress!"

"Good!" Shen Yaqin sat directly opposite him. "Let me see how far you've come. I'll give you a special deal today—this won't count as a test, so no hand-slapping this time..."

"Hand-slapping..." Liu Suiyun immediately withdrew his hands and cautiously asked, "Master's wife, isn't it Real Master Wangshan's turn to lecture now? Wouldn't this be a bit disrespectful?"

"It's because I don't want to listen to Wangshan that I came to see you!" Shen Yaqin, rarely showing such helplessness, sighed. "Wangshan's dirty jokes are one thing, but the ones he told last time left me in such a foul mood that I couldn't enjoy my tea for three days. Your two senior brothers even forced themselves to fast for two days."

For someone like Shen Yaqin, a known tea enthusiast, to go without tea for three days, and for the senior brothers to fast for two, the kind of jokes Real Master Wangshan told must have been beyond disturbing! Not wanting to experience such a horror himself, Liu Suiyun quickly said, "Master's wife, feel free to ask. I will answer to the best of my ability!"

"Good!" Shen Yaqin wasn't just testing Liu Suiyun's progress. Though she wasn't an expert in tea planting, her knowledge of spiritual plants was profound, and she was more than willing to offer some guidance to Liu Suiyun. And if it meant avoiding Wangshan's venomous tongue, why not?

For Liu Suiyun, no matter how shocking Wangshan's jokes were, they were nothing more than shallow entertainment compared to the chicken-soup-for-the-soul wisdom that Master Li offered. After all, Real Master Wangshan had an audience of tens of thousands of cultivators at vastly different stages. Some were just breaking into the Qi Gathering and Qi Refining stages, others had been honing their skills in the Foundation Establishment stage for over a hundred years, and there were even some Golden Core experts. Not to mention, there were cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage, comparable to Liu Suiyun himself.

To cater to such a diverse group, the jokes had to be broad. But how could a few crude jokes compare to the personalized one-on-one guidance from his master's wife? Liu Suiyun had never been more focused. He was constantly making connections, having sudden epiphanies, and reviewing what he'd learned. His cultivation was improving at a pace he never thought possible, and his heart was filled with joy. "Master's wife is truly an excellent teacher!"

Shen Yaqin was equally pleased. Initially, she had worried that Liu Suiyun's foundation was too weak to keep up, but after a few exchanges, she realized that, while Liu Suiyun's methods were unconventional, his progress was astonishing. She didn't have to hold back nearly as much as she thought.

Not only was her apprentice bright and eager to learn, but his quick thinking often allowed him to draw inferences and even make his own discoveries. The greatest satisfaction came when she saw him suddenly have a breakthrough, his expression revealing that another layer of understanding had been peeled away.

At first, Shen Yaqin hadn't had much faith in Liu Suiyun's ability to cultivate spiritual plants on Tianwu Peak, but now her confidence grew. She even had the feeling that, while Liu Suiyun's future achievements in cultivation were hard to predict, in the realm of planting, he might very well surpass all expectations.

As master and apprentice taught and learned from each other on the Chonghua Platform, they were completely absorbed, much to the dismay of Real Master Wangshan, who was giving his lecture.