Chapter 75: A Farmer is Still a Farmer

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: A Farmer is Still a Farmer

Dong Xing frowned. "They say the new Spiritual Land is teeming with so many demonic creatures that the Demon Hunting Corps is clearing it out very slowly." He then pointed upward. "Because of that, some nasty rumors are spreading on the Miscellaneous Peak."

"I heard Left Steward Tong Zuo, who’s in charge of the Demon Hunting Corps, was furious. He gave up on clearing the Spiritual Land and went straight back to the Miscellaneous Peak."

Li Changsheng was taken aback for a moment. "What kind of rumors?" he asked.

Dong Xing lowered his voice. "I hear it has to do with the jurisdiction over the disciple who discovered the Spiritual Land."

’Jurisdiction?’

Li Changsheng looked puzzled.

Dong Xing shook his head and sighed. "The exploration disciples often enter the Wanzhong Mountains Range alone or in small groups of two or three, so there’s no one specifically in charge of them."

"In the past, their discoveries only ever amounted to small gains and minor benefits, but this new Spiritual Land is different..."

Li Changsheng frowned. "Are they trying to go back on their word? Cancel his ten percent share?"

Dong Xing shook his head. "They wouldn’t dare go back on their word. If they did that, who would ever risk their lives in the Wanzhong Mountains Range again?"

"Senior Brother, don’t keep me in suspense. Just tell me."

Li Changsheng was a bit exasperated. ’Leaving things half-said and making people guess is the most annoying thing!’

"Haha..."

Dong Xing chuckled and explained, "According to Yaoyao, the exploration disciples were, by default, under the jurisdiction of the Demon Hunting Corps. Any valuable Spirit Plants, mineral veins, and so on that they found were also cleared by the Corps..."

"Naturally, any spoils from the clearing process belonged to the Demon Hunting Corps."

"But this time is different. A high-quality Spiritual Land is bound to have many precious Spirit Plants."

Dong Xing spread his hands. "Someone wants to use the slow progress of the clearing, along with the issue of the disciple’s jurisdiction, as an excuse to get involved in clearing the Spiritual Land."

After speaking, he shook his head and added with a smile, "Anyway, it has nothing to do with us. We can just treat it as a bit of gossip."

Li Changsheng nodded in deep agreement.

’The only ones with the power and audacity to interfere with clearing the Spiritual Land, unafraid of Left Steward Tong Zuo, would be the other two Stewards, besides the three Elders.’

’Steward Luo Fang, who manages the Marketplace and controls the Patrol Guards, and Steward Shen Tu, who is in charge of resource operations for the Miscellaneous Peak.’

’The status, position, and Cultivation Realm of those two were in no way inferior to Tong Zuo’s, and they also had many Cultivators under their command.’

’Naturally, they would also want a piece of the pie from the rare Spirit Plants growing in the Spiritual Land.’

Li Changsheng and Dong Xing chatted for a while longer before Li Changsheng set off for the Spirit Field.

Before he knew it, a red glow had spread across the horizon, and the last mu of Spirit Rice was completely harvested.

Just as the two of them were packing up, a pretty girl who looked no older than eighteen or nineteen slowly walked to the edge of the Spirit Field and called out to the busy old man, "Grandpa."

Dong Xing froze for a second, then turned his head. When he saw the girl, his old face broke into a wide, crinkled grin.

He hurried over, looked her up and down, and asked with concern, "Are you hurt?"

Dong Yao shook her head with a cheerful smile. "Don’t worry, Grandpa, I’m fine."

"That’s good. Was the mission successful? How many days will you be home this time?"

Dong Xing breathed a sigh of relief and fired off several questions in a row.

Without a hint of impatience, Dong Yao answered each question in a soft voice.

Seeing how happily they were chatting, Li Changsheng felt it would be rude to interrupt and quietly focused on quickly packing the Spirit Rice.

By the time Dong Xing turned back around, the Spirit Rice in the field was almost completely packed.

Seeing that Dong Xing looked like he was about to come down and help, Li Changsheng quickly waved his hand and shouted, "You go on, Senior Brother! There’s only a little bit left."

"Alright then, we’ll be heading off."

Dong Xing saw that it was indeed as he said, so he agreed with a chuckle. Holding his sickle behind his back, he started walking home with Dong Yao.

Li Changsheng smiled and quickly finished packing the Spirit Rice.

By the time the sky grew dark, all the Yellow Seed Spirit Rice had been transported to his small courtyard.

Li Changsheng immediately started boiling feed for his Spirit Beasts.

By the time he was finished with his chores, more than an hour had passed.

After finishing his meal, Li Changsheng picked up a bucket and walked into the courtyard.

He picked up a bundle of Yellow Seed Spirit Rice, held it over the mouth of the bucket, and channeled Spiritual Power into his palm before slapping the stalks.

THWAP...

The vibration from the Spiritual Power sent the plump, golden grains of Yellow Seed Spirit Rice tumbling into the bucket with a continuous RATTLE.

Listening to the crisp sound, Li Changsheng felt an indescribable joy in his heart.

When only the stalks of the first bundle were left, he tossed it aside, picked up another, and used his Spiritual Power to shake the Spirit Rice into the wooden bucket.

He repeated this process over and over until the sky was dotted with stars, and the several grain jars inside his wooden cabin were filled to the brim.

Li Changsheng made a rough estimate: the two mu of Spirit Fields had yielded around three thousand jin of Yellow Seed Spirit Rice.

After deducting all the expenses, he had earned a profit of around one hundred and eighty-five Spirit Stones.

But he could plant two seasons of Spirit Rice in the Spirit Field each year.

This meant that if the next harvest from the Spirit Field was the same as this one, he could get another three thousand jin of Spirit Rice.

That meant a yearly income of around three hundred seventy Spirit Stones.

After setting aside five hundred jin a year as rations for himself and his Spirit Beasts, he would earn a profit of about three hundred twenty Spirit Stones per year.

After doing the math, Li Changsheng’s brows furrowed slightly. ’A little over three hundred Spirit Stones...’

It sounded like a lot, but for him, it was far from enough.

The Spirit Gathering Pills no longer had any effect on him. If he wanted his cultivation to advance quickly, he had no choice but to use the higher-grade Refining Jade Pills.

A single bottle of three Refining Jade Pills cost one hundred Spirit Stones. His entire yearly profit was only enough to buy three bottles.

At this thought, Li Changsheng’s expression darkened.

At his current level of Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer, without taking any pills, it would take him nearly a year to break through to the Fifth Layer. Reaching the Sixth Layer would take another three to five years. For the realms after that, each breakthrough would take a decade at minimum...

If he continued at this pace, by the time he had a chance to attempt a breakthrough to the Vein Condensation Realm, his Qi Blood and Spirit Veins would have long since decayed. The attempt would be suicide.

’Sigh... Whether you’re a cultivator or a mortal, a farmer is still just a farmer.’

Li Changsheng lamented inwardly. As he cleaned up the stalks, he pondered how to fill his pockets.

After thinking it over and over, he concluded that the answer still lay in raising Spirit Beasts.

Right now, Xiaohua was practically his spirit pet. Big Flower and Little Xiaohua couldn’t be treated like ordinary Spirit Beasts either.

This meant he needed to buy some new Spirit Beasts or cubs to raise.

After mulling it over, Li Changsheng decided that after he finished taking the Refining Jade Pills, he would make another trip to the Marketplace on the mountaintop.

While buying the pills, he would also check out the Spirit Beast pens on the other side of the peak. He was sure he could find a Spirit Beast there that met his requirements.

Li Changsheng piled the stalks next to the beast pen, then returned to his cabin.

A moment later, he came out of the cabin carrying a half-full bag of Spirit Rice weighing fifty or sixty jin, then turned and went to the vegetable garden to pick a basket of fresh fruits and melons.

Li Changsheng carried the basket in his left hand and tucked the bag of Spirit Rice under his right arm. He walked over to Xiaohua and swung himself onto its back.

"Let’s go, Xiaohua."

OINK OINK...

Xiaohua grunted twice and got to its feet. It ambled out of the small courtyard, heading toward another nearby courtyard that was brightly lit with candlelight.

In the darkness, the buzzing of beating wings filled the air.

Red-winged Blood Bamboos darted through the surrounding grass, preying on nocturnal insects.

Soon, the man and his pig arrived at Dong Xing’s small courtyard.

Looking down from his vantage point, he saw Dong Xing and Dong Yao sitting opposite each other, their expressions somewhat serious.

Hearing the noise from outside, they both looked toward the gate at the same time.

They looked astonished to see Li Changsheng standing there, holding a basket and a bag.

"Junior Brother, what is all this?"