Chapter 41: Cultivating the Spirit Field, a Neighbor

Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Cultivating the Spirit Field, a Neighbor

RIIIP...

The Rune Hoe was indeed incredibly sharp. With a powerful tug from Xiaohua, it instantly sliced open a furrow more than ten centimeters deep in the dark soil.

Severed weed roots were exposed to the air.

"Oink! Oink! Oink...!"

"Xiaohua, forward."

Li Changsheng was overjoyed, his voice a constant stream of encouragement.

Meanwhile, the swarm of Red-winged Blood Bamboo wasn’t idle either. Some burrowed into the weeds to drive out poisonous insects, while others dragged the uprooted weeds out of the Spirit Field.

Soon, Xiaohua had pulled the simple plow to the edge of the Spirit Field.

Li Changsheng lifted the wooden plow at the right moment, guiding Xiaohua to turn around and enter the Spirit Field again.

Halfway through a row, the wooden plow suddenly stopped. Just as Li Changsheng was wondering why...

OINK OINK...

Xiaohua grunted twice, its muscles tensed, and it stomped forward.

SNAP...

A loud crack echoed.

One of the tree vines tied around Xiaohua’s neck suddenly snapped, whipping high into the air and lashing against the nearby weeds, sending bits of grass flying.

Li Changsheng’s eyelid twitched, and he quickly stopped Xiaohua from trying again.

’If that had hit me in the face, it would have left a nasty, bloody welt at the very least.’

Li Changsheng inspected it carefully and finally discovered that the Spiritual Power within the hoe had been depleted.

"Whew... Thank goodness."

Li Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his brow, and injected more Spiritual Power into the hoe.

He retied the vine and urged Xiaohua to start walking again.

The wooden plow dug into the earth, once again carving out a deep furrow.

This time, Li Changsheng was more careful. Whenever he reached the end of a row, he would transfer Spiritual Power into the Rune Hoe.

"Faster, Xiaohua."

"Put your back into it! Oink! Oink! Oink!"

"..."

With his constant encouragement, Xiaohua gradually got the hang of plowing. After reaching the edge of the field and resting for a moment, it would turn around and enter the Spirit Field again.

The Spirit Field, once covered in weeds, slowly became a patchwork of furrows of varying depths.

The Red-winged Blood Bamboo insects busily dragged the weeds and tossed them to the side of the field.

With both hands on the wooden plow, the tension had vanished from Li Changsheng’s face. He was starting to feel like he’d been doing this for years.

.

A kilometer away from him was a lush green Spirit Field. Compared to Li Changsheng’s, this one was larger, over five mu in size.

A simple, self-contained courtyard house sat at the edge of the Spirit Field.

At that moment, the weather was perfect—not too cold, not too hot.

An old man who looked to be in his fifties, with a dark, sallow complexion, walked out of the house with his hands behind his back.

He first stretched his body, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.

When his eyes fell on Li Changsheng’s location, they suddenly widened.

’Who is that? What is he doing?’

Dong Xing was at the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer and believed his old eyes weren’t failing him just yet.

If he wasn’t mistaken, that person in the distance was...

leading a giant wild boar to eat... eat weeds?

’Is he new here?’

"Hah, what am I thinking so hard for? I’ll just go over and see for myself."

Dong Xing slapped his thigh, mumbled to himself, and strode toward that Spirit Field.

As he got closer, Dong Xing suddenly exclaimed in shock, "Whoa, what a huge wild boar! Is that a mid-grade or a high-grade Spirit Beast?"

Then he saw the infant-fist-sized insects hauling weeds, and his expression became even more colorful.

"Spirit insects..."

Without a moment’s hesitation, Dong Xing turned and walked away.

He’d originally thought it was just a new neighbor and had come over to get acquainted. He never imagined this neighbor was not only raising a giant wild boar—a first-tier, mid-grade Spirit Beast at the very least—but was also a Cultivator who practiced the Insect Control Technique.

’Can’t afford to provoke him, can’t afford to provoke him...’

He was too old for this; he didn’t want to get involved with any crazy or half-crazy Cultivators.

In fact, Li Changsheng had noticed the old man long ago. He just hadn’t said anything because he wasn’t sure of the man’s intentions.

"Senior Brother, please wait..."

Seeing him turn to leave, Li Changsheng could no longer hold back and called out.

But when his words rang out, not only did the old man not stop, he actually walked away faster.

"I..."

Li Changsheng was completely baffled. Unsure why the man was leaving so quickly, he awkwardly lowered his hand.

He watched the old man enter the nearby courtyard before turning back to his Spirit Field.

’We’re neighbors. There will be plenty of opportunities to interact in the future...’

"Oink! Oink! Oink..."

Li Changsheng urged Xiaohua to start plowing again.

Meanwhile, Dong Xing, who had returned home, didn’t stay for long. He turned around and headed out again, walking toward another Spirit Field two hundred meters away.

As he drew near, a young matron who looked to be about thirty, still possessing a graceful charm, walked out of her home.

The young matron watched Dong Xing hurry over, her brow furrowing slightly.

Dong Xing’s eyes lit up. He quickened his pace to her side, his old face wrinkling into a smile. "Junior Sister Yun, heading out to the fields?"

Yun Wan took a step back and shot him a glare, saying irritably, "If you have something to say, spit it out. I have to go de-bug my Jade Long Grass and don’t have time to waste on you."

Dong Xing didn’t get angry. He followed her a step and said with a shameless grin, "Junior Sister Yun, are you sure you won’t consider this old man?"

"You take care of the Jade Long Grass every day, and you still have to support two daughters..."

"Sigh, it’s really not easy."

"Look at me, a widower for thirty years with a little bit of savings. I could support you and your girls..."

SHING...

A large saber, nearly a meter long, suddenly appeared in Yun Wan’s hand. Spiritual Power flooded into it, and a one-inch blade of energy erupted from its edge.

"You old bastard, say one more word."

Yun Wan’s expression was icy as she raised the saber and pointed it at Dong Xing, looking as if she would strike him down at any moment.

Dong Xing’s face paled slightly. He scrambled back several steps and chuckled sheepishly, "Junior Sister Yun, don’t be angry, don’t be angry. You won’t get anything good out of killing me..."

As he spoke, he hurried away along the main path.

Once he was far away, Yun Wan put away her saber and, with a blank expression, walked into her Spirit Field to de-bug the Jade Long Grass.

The Spirit Field wasn’t large, just over a mu. The Jade Long Grass was a jade-like green all over, its leaves dotted with specks of silver.

The departing Dong Xing didn’t look upset in the slightest; he was clearly used to this.

When he reached another Spirit Field, a man with a dark complexion wearing a conical bamboo hat was inspecting Spirit Rice.

Dong Xing called out, "Junior Brother Huang, busy I see."

Huang Ping straightened up. Seeing who it was, his eyes flickered, and he said with a chuckle, "Ah, Senior Brother Dong. What brings you to my neck of the woods?"

Dong Xing, making himself right at home, stepped into the Spirit Field and said mysteriously, "Did you know? The Spirit Field at the very edge has a newcomer."

Huang Ping’s reaction was quite bland. He said, "Oh? Is this someone you know, Senior Brother?"

Dong Xing shook his head repeatedly. "No, no, no. I don’t know any madman like that."

"A madman?" Huang Ping looked puzzled.

Seeing his reaction, Dong Xing began to give him a vivid, animated account.

He talked for a full quarter of an hour.

If Huang Ping hadn’t grown impatient, it looked like he would have kept on talking.

After leaving, Dong Xing didn’t go back to his own house but instead headed toward the next Spirit Field.

"Spirit insects..."

Huang Ping leaned on his hoe, thought for a moment, then shook his head and began to patrol his field.

Li Changsheng, who was still plowing his land, had no idea that his reputation had already spread before he’d even left his property.

When the moon hung high in the sky, Li Changsheng, having finished another furrow, finally stopped. He stood with his hands on his hips, looking at the Spirit Field.

Plowing the Spirit Field was much slower than he had anticipated. The problem wasn’t anything else but his lack of Spiritual Power.

After Xiaohua had plowed ten rows, the Spiritual Power in his body was completely depleted, and he had to circulate his Cultivation Technique to recover it.

By midnight, he had only managed to plow less than half a mu of land.

"Time to head back."

Li Changsheng rested for a bit, placed the plow on Xiaohua’s back, and then, with his hands clasped behind him, leisurely led Xiaohua toward the wooden cabin.

The moment he stepped into the yard, the oinking of Big Flower and Xiaohua rang out.

"Stop your squealing, I’m about to make you dinner..."

’I don’t even know who’s the master around here anymore...’

’Serving you lot day in and day out.’