Senior sister, stop working and go home for dinner.

Chapter 1 The Declining Sects of the Dharma-Ending Age

"Junior Uncle, why are you farming at the foot of the mountain again?"

A little girl with two braids squatted on the edge of the field, resting her chin on her hand, looking at the figures busy in the field with a puzzled expression.

The man rolled up his trousers, stood barefoot in the mud, and skillfully turned the soil with a hoe in his hand.

Hearing this, he didn't even look up, his voice carrying a hint of leisure: "What's wrong with farming? It's down-to-earth and good for your mind and spirit."

The little girl frowned and said, "But Master said that we cultivators should devote ourselves to cultivation and defy the heavens in this Dharma-ending Age."

"Defying the heavens?" The figure in the field finally stopped working, straightened up with his hoe, and looked at the little girl on the ridge with a smile. "Little Ling'er, then tell your master, what is the heavens?"

Little Bell was taken aback by the question, blinking her big eyes as she tried hard to recall her master's words: "Heaven... Heaven is the Heavenly Dao! It's the law! It's the shackles that we cultivators must break through!"

Junior Uncle nodded, his lazy smile unchanged. "Then look at these rice seedlings in the field. They break through the soil, grow upwards, and absorb sunlight and rain. Isn't that defying nature? They follow the seasons, sowing in spring and harvesting in autumn. Isn't that following the natural order?"

Little Bell frowned even more; her junior uncle always said things that she couldn't understand.

Without waiting for her reply, the junior master bent down and carefully pulled a wild grass from the freshly turned mud, shaking off the dirt from its roots: "Cultivation doesn't necessarily have to be in the clouds or in a cave. Look at this grass, it looks inconspicuous, but it takes root wherever it grows, even surviving in the cracks of rocks. It doesn't force things, nor does it retreat; it simply follows its own 'path.' When we cultivate, we seek longevity and freedom, but ultimately, what we seek is to understand our own 'path,' not to compete with anyone else."

He walked to the edge of the field, washed his hands and feet in the stream, and put on the cloth shoes that were placed to the side. The sunlight shone on him, but he didn't have the ethereal and otherworldly air of a profound cultivator. Instead, he looked like a young man from next door who had just finished farm work, except that his eyes were exceptionally clear and bright, with a peacefulness that came from seeing through the ways of the world.

"Let's go back for dinner." He reached out his hand to Xiaoling'er.

Little Bell jumped up, grabbed her junior uncle's hand, and couldn't help but ask, "Junior Uncle, is your path to farming?"

Junior Uncle laughed and patted her head: "My path is to take good care of museums."

Little Ling tilted her head, looking completely confused. "A museum?"

Without explaining, the junior uncle took Xiao Ling'er's hand and walked up the mountain.

Chen Anran has been in this modern, Dharma-ending world for twenty years and is exactly twenty years old this year. He grew up in the Yunyin Sect.

Although it's called a sect, there are only five people in total, including him and Xiao Ling'er. He has three senior sisters above him, but whether it's the sect leader, the eldest senior sister, or the other two senior sisters, their strength is only at the early stage of Qi Refining.

At the Qi Refining stage, one can barely be considered a very strong mortal, not even having embarked on the formal path of cultivation.

According to the sect leader who adopted Chen Anran, this is the end of the Dharma era, when spiritual energy is depleted, so we must live in seclusion and wait for the spiritual energy to recover.

The Cloud Hidden Sect is located halfway up the mountain. Several old houses with green tiles and white walls are scattered in an orderly manner, and strings of dried herbs hang from the eaves, swaying gently in the wind.

Under an old locust tree in the courtyard, there was a stone table and benches, with a pot of tea on the table, still steaming.

A woman dressed in a plain white dress was sitting on a stone bench, flipping through a book. Hearing footsteps, she looked up, her eyes gentle, but her tone tinged with helplessness: "Taking Xiaoling'er to the fields again?"

Chen Anran released Xiaoling'er's hand, grinned, and poured herself a cup of tea: "Senior Sister, I'm just showing her around to experience life and understand the great principles of nature."

This was none other than Su Wan, the current sect leader of the Cloud Hidden Sect. She looked at Chen Anran's rolled-up trouser legs and mud-splattered clothes, and shook her head: "You're twenty years old, and you still have no manners. You haven't even entered the Qi Refining stage yet. The rice seedlings in the field are growing more vigorously than your senior sisters' cultivation levels."

"What you're saying, Senior Sister," Chen Anran said slowly, taking a sip of tea, "isn't about outward appearances; farming is also a form of cultivation. Right, Little Ling'er?"

Little Bell was peering longingly at the teapot from the stone table when she heard this, and nodded vigorously: "Junior Uncle said that grass takes root wherever it grows, and that's also a form of cultivation!"

Su Wan was amused by the two of them, so she changed the subject: "Your third senior sister just called and said that everything is going well for her in Lincheng, so we can rest assured."

Upon hearing this, Chen Anran put down his teacup.

Speaking of his second and third senior sisters, both of them have entered the world and modern society.

The third senior sister wandered from city to city as a Taoist priest, usually telling fortunes and occasionally checking the feng shui of people's houses. In short, she was a wandering Taoist priest, or perhaps a "fraudulent Taoist priest," since in this degenerate age, there are no more ghosts or demons.

As for the second senior sister, she abandoned her status as a cultivator and seemed to have gone to work as an extra in a film and television company...

No matter what they did, they would send money back to their clan every month.

Even living in seclusion requires money; one must also consider the necessities of daily life.

When Chen Anran was sixteen, he also proposed to enter the world to earn money to support the sect, but his three senior sisters always rejected the idea. They said that he was their junior brother and that when their master passed away, he entrusted him to the three of them to take care of, so that he wouldn't have to suffer.

Chen Anran couldn't refuse, so he had to give up, but he still felt bad about it. His senior sisters were working hard for the sect's livelihood, while he, as the only male disciple, was enjoying a peaceful life in the mountains. It was really hard for him to accept.

"Senior Sister," Chen Anran put down her teacup, her expression becoming more serious, "Is the sect's expenses sufficient lately? The vegetables I've grown are doing very well. Besides being enough for our own needs, perhaps we can ask Aunt Zhang down the mountain to help us take them to the market to exchange for some money and food."

Su Wan gently closed the book and smiled tenderly: "You don't need to worry about these things. Your second senior sister just wired some money; it's not much, but it's enough for us for half a year. Your third senior sister also said that she recently met a few 'favorable people' and received quite a bit of 'incense money'."

When she mentioned "the destined person" and "incense money," a helpless smile flashed in her eyes, clearly indicating that she was well aware of her quirky third junior sister's "way to make money."

"But..." Chen Anran wanted to say something more.

"No buts," Su Wan said gently. "We are cultivators, and cultivating the Great Dao is what we should be doing."

"But what about my two senior sisters..."

"Special times call for special measures," Su Wan sighed. "If I weren't the sect leader..."

Before Su Wan could finish speaking, Chen Anran understood her meaning: a sect leader's cultivation level must not lag behind, even in this era of declining Dharma.

At this moment, Su Wan laughed again, "But it will be soon. I have clearly felt that the spiritual energy has increased during my cultivation these past few days, as if there are signs of recovery. When that time comes, your two senior sisters will be able to return to the sect."

"Yeah?"

Chen Anran, being a mortal, never sensed any spiritual energy.

However, the air has indeed become much fresher.

Little Bell was listening nearby, seemingly understanding but not quite, when she suddenly tugged at Chen Anran's sleeve: "Junior Uncle, I'm hungry. What are we eating today?"

Chen Anran was amused by the childish words, temporarily putting aside her thoughts, and bent down to pinch her little nose: "You're such a glutton."

Afterwards, Chen Anran cooked a simple meal.

Ingredients in the mountains are limited, consisting mainly of homegrown vegetables, radishes, and some dried mushrooms, but his skillful cooking makes even ordinary ingredients taste delicious. Little Bell picked at the rice in her bowl, eating with exceptional relish.

"Junior Uncle's cooking is the best!" Little Bell puffed out her cheeks and praised him indistinctly.

Su Wan ate in small bites, her eyes filled with laughter: "With your skills, if you were to enter the world, you could definitely open a successful small restaurant."

Chen Anran smiled and placed a piece of food on the plates of her senior sister and junior nephew, saying, "That won't do. My cooking skills are only for serving our own family. Running a restaurant is too tiring."

The atmosphere at the dinner table was warm and harmonious.

After dinner, Su Wan gave Chen Anran a few instructions to cultivate diligently, and then took her disciple Xiao Ling'er to cultivate.

Chen Anran, however, did not go to cultivate. He returned to his room, lay on the bed, and closed his eyes.

When Chen Anran opened her eyes again, she found herself in front of a closed gate.

This is his greatest secret in life, a small world hidden in his mind's eye—a museum.