Chapter 50: Golden Thread Toad, Tiger-striped Leech

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Golden Thread Toad, Tiger-striped Leech

Steward Ma and the three others with him landed by a Spirit Field on the very edge of D Zone, one that was severely afflicted by pests.

The Spirit Field was small, only 1.2 mu, and was planted with the Tier One Low-Grade Spirit Plant, Spirit Gathering Grass.

At this moment, the Spirit Field that should have been growing lushly instead looked like it had patchy baldness, with bare spots here and there.

Upon closer inspection, more than half of the Spirit Field was empty.

Squatting at the edge of the Spirit Field was a rugged man in coarse linen clothes. Seeing several people land, he quickly stood up and walked over to them.

The man said respectfully, "This disciple, Niu San, greets the Lord Steward."

Steward Ma nodded and looked at the three people beside him. "Check if there’s an Insect Mother."

The three exchanged glances.

One of them, a young man in a green robe with reasonably handsome features, was the first to step forward. He cupped his fist to Steward Ma.

Seeing this, the other two watched him curiously, wanting to see what kind of spirit insect he commanded.

Although the three of them had all been recruited by Wu Sheng, they were not familiar with each other.

The young man strode to the edge of the field. Without any visible action from him, a toad the size of an adult’s fist with three golden threads embedded in its back appeared at his feet.

The toad’s pupils were a pale gold, and spiritual light surged from the three golden threads on its back. It was a Tier One Mid-Grade variant Golden Toad.

The toad leaped into the air with a powerful push of its hind legs. The golden threads on its back flickered with spiritual light, and its throat pouch puffed out.

CROAK...

The next moment, a tremendous croak boomed out like a bronze bell.

A wave of air erupted from the toad’s mouth, instantly spreading across the entire Spirit Field.

CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP...

Instantly, a chorus of barely audible chirps rose from within the Spirit Field.

The toad shot into the Spirit Field. A few breaths later, it leaped back out, carrying a thumb-sized spirit insect in its mouth. The insect was pale green all over, with a head that looked like it was wearing a conical bamboo hat.

The young man took the toad, shook his head slightly, and let it swallow the spirit insect. He walked back to the group and said, "Besides the common Black Blood Moths, there was only one Green Hat insect that had just started absorbing spiritual energy."

Steward Ma nodded calmly. "Next plot."

The three respectfully agreed.

Niu San watched their departing figures, hesitated for a moment, then strode after them.

The group soon arrived at the next Spirit Field. Before they even got close, they were hit by a thick, foul, fishy stench.

This Spirit Field was planted with Blood Seed Spirit Rice, a variety as famous as Yellow Seed Spirit Rice.

Blood Seed Spirit Rice was also a Tier One Low-Grade Spirit Plant. Unlike Yellow Seed Spirit Rice, it contained abundant Qi Blood and was mainly consumed by Body Refining Cultivators.

The tenant of this Spirit Field was a young woman of about sixteen. She had just finished using the Sharp Metal technique to kill a Black Blood Moth inside a stalk of Blood Seed Spirit Rice.

Just as she was about to cast another spell, she caught sight of several people approaching from the side of the road out of the corner of her eye.

When she saw Steward Ma at the head of the group, a look of pleasant surprise washed over the girl’s worried face. She quickly walked out of the Spirit Field and went forward to greet him. "This disciple, Sun Wen Yu, greets the Lord Steward."

"Mm." Steward Ma nodded, his gaze turning to the three of them.

Among the three, the young man who controlled the toad and the cultivator with their face hidden by a gray cloth both showed reluctance. They clearly didn’t want their spirit insects to enter this bloody, filthy place.

Seeing this, the old man, his face ancient and a large pack on his back, shook his head and chuckled. "Fine, let this old man handle it this time."

Hearing this, the young man cupped his hands. "Senior, please proceed."

The old man cupped his fist to Steward Ma, then strode to the edge of the Spirit Field.

Sun Wen Yu hurried to follow, watching the old man with an expectant gaze.

The old man smiled at her, but then the clothes on his back suddenly ripped open.

A giant, black-and-red leech covered in tiger-like stripes squeezed out from his torn clothes. It dropped to the ground and slowly squirming toward the young woman’s feet.

Sun Wen Yu’s expression froze, and her face turned deathly pale.

It wasn’t because of the giant leech’s horrifying appearance, but because of the aura it emanated.

In her senses, the leech felt like a true and ferocious Mountain Monarch, while she was just a girl with no strength to even truss a chicken.

If it wanted, it could eat her!

The young woman had only ever felt such an aura from Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators.

Clearly, this was a Tier One High-Grade Spirit Insect.

The old man chuckled. "Don’t be afraid. Tiger has a very gentle temperament."

As if understanding the old man’s words, the Tiger-striped Leech lifted its head, turned, and crawled to the edge of the Spirit Field, its body suffused with spiritual light.

SCREECH...

With a piercing shriek, the Tiger-striped Leech’s body suddenly exploded apart, transforming into countless tiny leeches that flowed into the Spirit Field like a stream of water.

The Tiger-striped Leech’s transformation made the young man’s eyes light up, and he blurted out, "What a fine variant leech! Impressive!"

After hearing this, the old man turned his head and smiled at the youth, then cast an inscrutable glance at the cultivator with the gray cloth covering their face.

Less than ten minutes later.

The now-bloated Tiger-striped Leech crawled out of the Spirit Field, carrying a ruby-like beetle in its mouth.

"Oh? A low-grade spirit insect, the Blood Jade Armor. Not bad, not bad at all!"

A pleased expression appeared on the old man’s face. He flipped his hand over to produce a jade box, placed the beetle inside, and tucked it into his robes.

The Tiger-striped Leech, meanwhile, slowly crawled up the old man’s back and reattached itself.

Visible through his torn shirt, the pulsating Tiger-striped Leech was a horrifying sight.

The old man took out a new shirt and draped it over himself, then smiled at Sun Wen Yu. "Tiger has eaten most of the pests in your Spirit Field. With the traces it left behind, you shouldn’t have another infestation for a good while."

Sun Wen Yu froze for a moment, then came to her senses and said happily, "Thank you, Senior Brother." As she spoke, she flipped her hand over and produced several Spirit Stones, offering them to the old man. "For your trouble, Senior Brother..."

Now it was the old man’s turn to be stunned. Not expecting this windfall, he accepted the stones with a smile.

He walked up to Steward Ma and reported respectfully, "Lord Steward, there was no Black Blood Insect Mother inside."

Steward Ma nodded, his eyes lingering for a moment on the old man’s back.

The Tiger-striped Leech’s body-division Magic was truly extraordinary.

"Good work. On to the next Spirit Field."

"Yes."

The group then departed.

Niu San shot Sun Wen Yu an envious glance and followed after them again.

Sun Wen Yu hesitated for a moment, then also followed along. She wanted to know if the pest problem could truly be solved.

’If not, I’ll need to make other plans soon.’

The group went through the Spirit Fields one by one. The cultivator in the gray mask kept making excuses, leaving the work to the young man and the old man.

Soon, only three Spirit Fields remained to be checked in the lowest section of D Zone.

The group arrived at the Spirit Field cultivated by Yun Wan.

Seeing the mu of Jade Long Grass, the gray-masked cultivator’s eyes showed a hint of delight. Without waiting for Steward Ma’s order, they volunteered and stepped forward.

"My lord, leave this Spirit Field to me."

Steward Ma nodded calmly.

The young man and the old man focused their gazes on him, their eyes filled with curiosity and doubt.

At that moment, Yun Wan, who had been inside the wooden cabin explaining a Cultivation Technique to her daughter, heard the commotion outside. She put down the Cultivation Manual, pushed the door open, and walked out. Two mischievous little tykes hurried out after her.

Yun Wan walked out and saw the large group of people. She froze for a second, but upon spotting Steward Ma, she quickly and respectfully said, "Greetings, Lord Steward."

Steward Ma glanced at her and gave a soft grunt of acknowledgment.

When the others saw Yun Wan’s face, they couldn’t help but steal a few more glances, but their attention soon turned back to the cultivator with the gray cloth over his face.

Yun Wan followed their gazes and saw a cultivator with a gray cloth over his face standing in the center of her Spirit Field.

Unlike the relaxed and effortless displays of the young man and the old man, the gray-masked cultivator formed a hand seal for a Technique and shouted, "Begin!"

As soon as the word left his mouth, blood-red threads rapidly spread through his eyes.