Mr. Gong witnessed the whole process and commented bluntly.
"You didn't control the force correctly. It might be because you used a chisel. You used too much force. Cutting down a tree requires skill, not brute force. You need to practice this.
But you have a stable center of gravity and good balance, so you shouldn't fall down."
Xu Chunniang glanced at the cedar branch in her hand and smiled, "Thank you, Mr. Gong, for your advice."
"Hey, the sooner you master the technique of felling cedars, the sooner you can pay me back the immortal crystals I owe you. When I help you, I am actually helping myself."
Old Gong shook his head and ignored Xu Chunniang. He found a sturdy Centella cedar tree and started to cut it down.
Xu Chunniang withdrew her gaze, put away the cedar branch in her hand, recalled the force she had used when using the chisel before, pulled over another branch, restrained her force and continued trying.
Both of them were busy with their work. For a moment, the only sound on the entire cliff was the collision sound of snow-covered pines being cut down.
"Crack", another crisp sound, and Mr. Gong successfully cut down the second snow pine.
After swinging the axe for a long time, he was covered in sweat and his face was red.
A mountain breeze blew, ruffling Mr. Gong's silver hair. Set against the ice and snow on the solitary cliff, he really looked like an immortal.
He looked back at Xu Chunniang and saw that one-third of the branches of the cedar tree she had cut down had been cut off. He ignored it and continued to look for his next target.
As a novice with no skills, Xu Chunniang was very slow in cutting down the cedar trees.
She always kept in mind what Mr. Gong said, that maintaining body balance is the most important thing.
Although her speed was a bit slow, every stroke of her chiseling was steady.
If this continues, it will only be a matter of time before this cedar tree is completely cut down.
Xu Chunniang and Gong Lao stayed on the cliff for a whole day. By the second day, all the snow-covered pines that were over a hundred years old growing on the cliff had been cut down.
There are only a few left, some of which are less than a hundred years old, growing on the isolated cliffs.
Old Gong looked at Xu Chunniang in surprise and said, "Not bad, you were able to cut down three intact cedars on your first try.
At this rate, you will be able to pay back all the immortal crystals you owe me in less than a year."
"Thanks to Mr. Gong for teaching me well."
Xu Chunniang smiled modestly and took out all the Centella dundas she had harvested. "Please give me an estimate, Mr. Gong, of the value of these three Centella dundas."
Old Gong took a quick look and said without thinking, "These three snow pines are all over a hundred years old. I'll take them all. I'll give you thirty immortal crystals.
Do you want the Immortal Crystals, or are you ready to pay off your debts?"
Xu Chunniang thought for a moment and said, "I'd better take the immortal crystal first."
She has been in the fairyland for some time, but until now, she has never seen what the fairy crystal looks like.
Old Gong was straightforward. After hearing what she said, he immediately took out thirty pieces of low-grade fairy crystals, put them in a small cloth bag, and handed it to Xu Chunniang.
“Immortal crystals are divided into four grades: low-grade, medium-grade, high-grade, and top-grade. This is the low-grade among the immortal crystals.
But don’t think that low-grade immortal crystals are not good things. In Zongdongtian and Changjingtian, they are hard currency. Only the wealthy immortals in the third heaven don’t take low-grade immortal crystals seriously. "
Xu Chunniang smiled, took the small cloth bag, felt the rich fairy energy coming from the bag, and gained a deeper understanding of the importance of fairy crystals.
It is estimated that this fairy crystal is as important to the immortals as the spirit stones in the spiritual world. It can be used as currency and can also be used for cultivation.
"Mr. Gong, you are joking. I worked hard all day yesterday and finally got this little bit of immortal crystal. How could I look down on its quality?"
"Hehe, it's good that you know it in your heart. Don't underestimate these thirty immortal crystals. Those who don't have the ability to climb so high have no way to earn some immortal crystals."
Mr. Gong walked back along the same path, saying something meaningful.
"Now that you have built your stone house, you must have been to the stone mine and seen those immortals who can only make a living by mining Qinggang stone, right?"
Thinking of those immortals carrying heavy baskets and wearing tattered fur coats, Xu Chunniang nodded with mixed feelings.
"Qinggang stone is not easy to sell, but there are many immortals who mine Qinggang stone. They look... very poor."
"In this Zhangwei Mountain, or even in the entire Zongdongtian, they are not the only ones who are down and out."
Mr. Gong's tone was disapproving, as if he was used to it.
“I originally thought that if I became an immortal, I would be able to live as long as the heaven and earth, and no longer have to worry about the various disputes between heaven and earth. However, the Nine Heavens are essentially no different from the lower world.
In the Immortal Realm, people still have to rank according to seniority, and their status is determined by their level of cultivation. How difficult is it for the immortals in the Lower Heaven to enter the Upper Heaven?"
Xu Chunniang was silent for a moment. "Is it difficult? Maybe. I just focus on the road ahead and keep going with an unyielding faith.
I don’t care how long the future is, or how far I have come. The road under my feet is the path I pursue.”
Mr. Gong looked at her in surprise, and after chewing over these words carefully, there was a hint of seriousness in his eyes.
"You are somewhat different from other ascenders I have met."
Many ascenders, after seeing the vastness of the fairyland, found that they could only stay in Zongdongtian after arriving in the human fairyland, leading a poor and ordinary life, and accumulating fairy crystals bit by bit.
When they were in the lower world, they were all respected masters. The gap after ascending was too big, so it was inevitable that they would feel unwilling and angry.
There are also many ascenders who have stayed in the fairyland for some years, but not only have they made no progress in their cultivation, they have also failed to save up some fairy crystals, and have lived a very unhappy life.
At some point, they may even doubt their previous choices, thinking that not ascending to the fairyland and staying in the spirit world to become a respected master would have been a better outcome.
"I once heard a saying that eight out of ten things in the world are not as we wish. This shows that many things often go against our wishes."
Xu Chunniang smiled, her tone indifferent.
“The monks who ascended to the immortal world have a long lifespan.
Because immortals have long lifespans, there are more and more immortals in Zongdong Heaven, and resources are becoming increasingly scarce. This is the law of cause and effect, so what is there to complain about?"
"good."
Mr. Gong nodded happily, with a look of approval in his eyes.
“It’s because those people haven’t figured this out that they fall into self-doubt and fail to make any progress in their cultivation.
But they didn’t think about the fact that those Immortal Kings and Golden Immortals of the fourth and fifth heavens were not born high and mighty. They were just ordinary human immortals at the beginning.”
Xu Chunniang deeply agreed with this, believing that everything in the world has cause and effect.
Now that she has come to the fairyland, she will accept everything here and work hard to make herself stronger.