He arrived in the afternoon. All the plants she grew possessed spiritual energy.
Moreover, in this year of war and drought, her plants grew vigorously against the wind.
At this moment, Xue Zhen still remembered the look in her eyes as she diligently turned the soil, as if the entire world had narrowed down to the earth in her hands.
He was first inspired by Yangming's philosophy of the mind, the concept of unity of knowledge and action, and the importance of the present moment.
That state of being able to immerse oneself in one's heart and mind at any time and place forged her perpetually clean and pure soul.
When A Jiu turned back to look at him after wiping her hands, Xue Zhen withdrew his gaze and lowered his eyelids slightly.
"Although I am a weak woman, I don't like to beat around the bush. To put it plainly, if you can lend my husband a hand, I am willing to exchange spiritual energy for your help."
It was direct.
Xue Zhen did not perceive her as "mature" in the eyes of the world from her calm, collected, direct, and decisive tone. Instead, she smiled purely.
Xue Zhen had contemplated this matter since receiving the tomatoes.
"Alright," Xue Zhen replied, equally directly.
For a cultivator, the greatest goal was to ascend to the heavens in broad daylight.
Furthermore, he had seen this young woman bring out large sums of military pay from the house, realizing that King Qi's tactics would be useless against Tuoba Yan's side.
"You are also a straightforward person," A Jiu said, stepping out of the threshold and into the kitchen.
Taking out a water flask to pour water, adding firewood, and chopping vegetables, A Jiu was meticulous in every detail, almost forgetting Xue Zhen, who had followed her in.
"Your grandmother's primordial spirit might still be here," Xue Zhen stated.
A Jiu's chopping motion suddenly paused, and she slowly turned her head to look: "Really?"
"Yes." Xue Zhen felt that accepting a favor meant returning a gift, and this gift was rightfully hers.
"I am different from your grandmother. I first cultivated the art of longevity, thus developing a body capable of sustaining life. The worst outcome of my cultivation is eternal life. As for the cultivation of nature, that was your grandmother's specialty. She directly cultivated the primordial spirit, and your grandmother was actually a man. Therefore, he merely utilized another's physical body for cultivation. The destruction of the physical body does not mean his primordial spirit is gone."
Despite the lengthy explanation, A Jiu continued to gaze at Xue Zhen dreamily.
Her eyes were filled with bewilderment.
This surprised Xue Zhen. She clearly did not understand cultivation. Xue Zhen had assumed that with such a skilled grandmother, she would have been greatly aided.
It seemed his previous observation that she showed no magical power or spiritual energy was accurate. This young woman had not cultivated.
Given this, Xue Zhen decided to simplify his explanation further: "To distinguish, I first cultivated the physical body, making it capable of immortal life. Your grandmother cultivated the soul. You should understand what the soul is, right?"
Only then did A Jiu nod.
"That is the primordial spirit, the spirit of one's origin. It is that which remains unchanged through countless reincarnations. That is what your grandmother cultivated. Therefore, in worldly terms, your grandmother has died, but in the terms of cultivators, only her physical body has perished."
With Xue Zhen's repeated explanation, A Jiu finally understood. She immediately smiled, dimples appearing on her cheeks.
"That's good. Thank you. No wonder my grandma always referred to herself as 'this old man' and so on. So that's how it is." A Jiu was now happy and quickly unlatched the pot lid, preparing to cook.
"I did what I could." As for him, he now needed spiritual energy as he had transitioned from cultivating his physical body to cultivating spiritual energy and the primordial spirit.
Suddenly remembering that cultivators did not consume mortal food, A Jiu quickly wiped her hands and offered him a ginseng root.
Xue Zhen's gaze fell upon the ginseng in his hand, which emitted streaks of purple qi visible only to the primordial spirit. He then looked at Meng Jiu'er, who was busily working.
She was giving him such a valuable item so easily? Had she never considered regretting it, taking the item, and leaving?
This feeling was profoundly impactful.
A Jiu suddenly turned back: "You people don't eat, right?"
"Uh." Xue Zhen was taken aback. "I primarily cultivate my body, so I eat."
"Oh? That's good." A Jiu truly didn't know there were so many paths to cultivation. She quickly prepared an extra portion of food for him.
Just then, Tuoba Yan's voice echoed from the backyard: "Jiu'er sister, Jiu'er sister..."
His voice traveled from their dwelling all the way to the kitchen.
Upon opening the door, Tuoba Yan paused, "What are you doing here, kid?"