Chapter 105: The Tenant Farmer (Please Subscribe)
Chapter 105: The Tenant Farmer (Please Subscribe)
"Joy and. . . surprise?"
Fang Xi pondered: "The so-called joyous occasion, could it be that a good seedling was discovered?"
"Precisely!"
Feng Man Lou slapped his thigh: "At this year's Spirit Root Testing Convention, the Island Master discovered a young girl who actually possessed a superior-grade fire spiritual root! She was overjoyed on the spot, taking her as a disciple, granting her the surname 'Ruan' and the name 'Ruan Dan'!"
Cultivators' spiritual roots all possess the five elements, with their grade determined by the strongest one.
The aptitude of a superior-grade fire spiritual root, even if one were to join the Black Heaven Sect, would be enough to qualify!
Especially since Ruan Xing Ling is also an artifact refiner, and her own spiritual root leans towards fire!
"Having found a successor, the Island Master must be overjoyed."
"Ah, the surprise. . . is that among this batch of immortal seedlings, there's another person, named 'Lu Guo', who possesses a mid-grade wood spiritual root. . ."
Feng Man Lou seemed to have a toothache.
"Lu Guo?"
Fang Xi suddenly recalled the night of the island's reclamation, before the Jingguan. The tender, fair-skinned infant in the swaddling clothes, judging by his age, six or seven years old was just right for spirit root testing: "I never expected it to be this child? However, his father was a cultivator, and the probability of spiritual roots appearing in the descendants of cultivators is always higher than among mortals."
"Alas, the problem lies with his father. Others might not know, but how could you not know his father was a Lu family cultivator!"
Feng Man Lou sighed repeatedly: "Back then, all the Lu family cultivators were killed, and the mortals were imprisoned until their deaths. Only this tiny infant was spared. How coincidental that he just happened to have spiritual roots?"
If Lu Guo were merely a mortal, he would have lived a peaceful life in Peach Blossom Town, and his life would have passed by.
But having spiritual roots makes all the difference!
This is the beginning of cultivation. In the future, not to mention Foundation Establishment, becoming a Qi Refinement cultivator would at least be no problem, and with that, the power for revenge would exist!
"Alas. . . what can be done? What did the Island Master say?"
Fang Xi asked the most crucial question.
"The Island Master? " Feng Man Lou suddenly wore an embarrassed expression: "The Island Master said to hand him over to you. . . Who made you the one who named him back then?"
"Hm?"
Fang Xi widened his eyes, then followed Feng Man Lou outside the formation.
Only then did he see, kneeling outside Emerald Cliff, a boy who looked to be about six or seven years old. He had red lips and white teeth, with a handsome appearance, but at this moment, he was gritting his teeth, his knees aching, yet he uttered not a word, exuding a stubborn tenacity.
"Hand him over to me, what does that mean? To be a spirit farmer under me?"
Fang Xi looked at Feng Man Lou.
Feng Man Lou spread his hands: "I don't know either, but probably. . . that's what it means?"
In his view, becoming a spirit farmer under Fang Xi was quite good too.
At least there'd be no worries about spirit rice, and he'd be free from worldly disputes.
And Fang Xi certainly wouldn't teach this child any powerful spells; it would only be spirit farmer-related techniques.
After all, Lu Guo's father might very well have been the one Fang Xi chopped down with the Green Reaping Sword back then!
The more Feng Man Lou thought about it, the more he admired the Island Master.
Among the entire island, Fang Xi's place was the most suitable. After all, he was famously a homebody, rarely went out, avoided social engagements, and didn't interact much with people.
It was even less likely that he would side with the Lu family.
In comparison, the Mu family was too numerous and gossipy, and that mother and daughter on Twin Peaks West. . .
Feng Man Lou quickly shook his head, feeling that Hua Chan Juan had become increasingly neurotic since her husband's death, holing up with her daughter on West Peak to plant flowers and raise bees, refusing to come down the mountain no matter what!
She kept trying to save money to buy some mountain-protecting formation, as if she was terrified of others harming her!
'Now that he's sent to Emerald Cliff, is she hoping for him to live? '
A flash of insight struck Feng Man Lou's mind, and he gained a profound understanding of Ruan Xing Ling's arrangements.
"Sigh. . . so be it."
Fang Xi shook his head and walked up to Lu Guo.
Lu Guo raised his head, revealing his chapped lips: "Please. . . please. . . Immortal, take me as your disciple. . ."
Like the other immortal seedlings, he was chosen for Mirror Moon Lake, originally believing he could become a high and mighty immortal from then on, but he never expected to be almost cast into an abyss.
And according to everything he had seen and heard along the way, this was his last chance.
However, Fang Xi's next sentence almost pushed him completely off the cliff: "I don't take disciples. . ."
Lu Guo's expression was blank, faintly tinged with despair.
"However. . . tenant farmers are still accepted. Kid, can you do farm work? " Fang Xi asked.
"Yes! I've been working the fields since I was little! " Lu Guo quickly replied.
"Mm, then so be it."
Fang Xi nodded, signaling Feng Man Lou to leave.
He then led the little fellow into the Small Cloud Rain Formation.
Upon entering, the sensation, completely unlike the outside world, made Lu Guo take a deep breath of fresh air.
The cliff was like jasper and emerald, the surroundings were warm in winter and cool in summer. Acre after acre of spirit fields sprouted verdant seedlings, with a thin white mist hovering above them.
Not far away, there was also a huge mansion.
Everything, everything was like an immortal realm from a painting!
"From today onward, you will live here. I will give you some wood later, and you can build your own shelter. . ."
Fang Xi led Lu Guo to the edge of the spirit fields, casually pointing to a spot.
That was a slightly flat open space.
Lu Guo froze for a moment, then immediately nodded.
"Remember, your range of activity is limited to this spirit field area. You are not allowed to harm the seedlings in the ground, and you are not allowed to enter the mansion. . . otherwise, I will kill you!"
Fang Xi finished his instructions with a smile, then patted Lu Guo's small head.
Under the dual monitoring of the Demonic Tree's roots and the formation, a small boy would absolutely not be able to cross his red line.
Unless. . . Lu Guo had been body-snatched!
"Yes. . ."
Lu Guo shrank his neck, no longer daring to ask about when he could learn immortal arts.
...
One month later.
Emerald Cliff.
By the spirit fields, a crude triangular lean-to had been erected, primarily built from wood and covered with thatch.
Although simple, the inside of the formation was naturally warm in winter and cool in summer, making it habitable.
A small figure crawled out from the lean-to; it was precisely Lu Guo!
He surveyed the spirit fields, and if he discovered pests, he had to carefully hide—after all, he hadn't yet reached Qi Refinement, and any ordinary spirit insect could easily take his life.
And when he found weeds, he had to use various saws just to barely remove them.
At such a young age, Lu Guo was already proficient at these tasks, so skilled that it was heartbreaking.
At this moment, he was struggling with an 'Iron Saw Grass'. His hands accidentally gripped a blade of grass, and immediately a cut opened up.
"Oh dear, why are you doing it yourself again? Didn't I tell you? Let Auntie come!"
Beside him, a voluptuous female cultivator in her thirties quickly came over, looked at Lu Guo's palm, and cast a 'Minor Regeneration Art'.
A green light flashed, and the wound on Lu Guo's hand began to heal.
She then looked at the Iron Saw Grass in the spirit field, flicked her finger, and a streak of Geng Metal Sword Qi severed the weed at its root.
"Thank you, Auntie Wang!"
Lu Guo bowed solemnly.
This woman's surname was Wang, she had a Qi Refinement third-level cultivation. She was a widow and also had a child.
Fang Xi had Lu Guo forcibly entrusted to him by Ruan Xing Ling. Thinking, "Whether it's one sheep to herd or two, they both need herding," he had Feng Man Lou introduce another tenant farmer.
As a result, Feng Man Lou introduced Widow Wang.
This female cultivator hailed from White Feather Island. Three generations of her family had been tenant farmers for the Feng family, so her background was utterly clean.
It was just that there were only so many spirit fields on White Feather Island, and eventually, there weren't quite enough to rent out to tenant farmers.
Widow Wang's husband had unfortunately perished during a private contention over tenancy rights.
Although the Feng family heavily punished the opponent afterward, Widow Wang, with a child, no longer wished to live on White Feather Island.
At this time, Feng Man Lou happened to be looking for a suitable candidate for Fang Xi, so both sides hit it off instantly.
After bringing her, Fang Xi conducted an assessment and found her quite skilled in cultivating spirit rice. Thus, he accepted her, allowing Widow Wang to build a wooden house by the spirit fields and live there with her son, 'Xiao Hu'.
Furthermore, he rented five mu of spirit fields to her, agreeing to cultivate 'Scarlet Blood Spirit Rice' with a four-six split in harvest.
Of course, it was Fang Xi six, Widow Wang four.
Despite this, the other party happily agreed, quickly signed the contract, and even wanted to find the Island Master to notarize it and secure a ten-year long-term agreement.
After all, Fang Xi provided seeds, and there was a spiritual land where one could cultivate; these conditions were enough to entice even Qi Refinement early-stage spirit farmers.
Widow Wang was diligent. Seeing Lu Guo often getting injured while tending to the spirit fields, she frequently came over to lend a hand.
It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that Fang Xi, teacup in hand, leisurely came to inspect the spirit fields.
"Master!"
Widow Wang respectfully called out.
"Hello, Master! " Lu Guo had not been accepted as Fang Xi's disciple, and was now also a tenant farmer, so he followed Widow Wang's lead.
"Mm. . . this land is being tended to quite well."
Fang Xi took a sip from the teacup's spout, then smiled at Lu Guo: "From today onward, I will impart to you the first layer of the 'Evergreen Chant'. You must remember it well and strive to introduce qi into your body early, to become a cultivator!"
"Yes, Master!"
Lu Guo secretly clenched his fists, his eyes filled with excitement.
Was he finally going to become a cultivator?
Seeing him so excited, Widow Wang felt too awkward to tell him that the 'Evergreen Chant' was the most common and widely available cultivation method. Even the 'Black Water Art' she practiced was a cut above it in terms of intricacy!
And what's more, it was only the first layer. . .
However, with the Master right there, she couldn't bear to interrupt the child's happiness.
'Forget it, let him be happy for a while longer! '
Recalling Feng Man Lou's instructions before she came, Widow Wang didn't dare to enlighten Lu Guo too much.
Fang Xi then went over to Widow Wang, chatting idly: "How's Xiao Hu? Is he still adapting well?"
"By Master's blessing, everything is well."
Widow Wang chuckled.
"How come I've heard that Myriad Islands Lake hasn't been very peaceful lately?"
Fang Xi had asked Feng Man Lou to introduce someone, also because he felt he genuinely needed an errand runner, and his own information was limited, so he needed a channel.
This Widow Wang liked to go to Mirror Moon Lake whenever she had nothing to do, where a group of aunties would chat about daily affairs and gossip, making her a rather good choice.
"Indeed, isn't it?"
Widow Wang had no suspicions, as this kind of news was known to any cultivator: "Heh. . . isn't it because our Thirty-Six Islands Alliance is going to open a large cultivation city? It's said that 'Spirit Sky Island', the chosen location, has a second-order spirit vein. It's sure to be incredibly lively when it opens. . ."
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