Chapter 208 - 178: Descending the Mountain, An Incident

Chapter 208: Chapter 178: Descending the Mountain, An Incident

Li Changsheng was puzzled. Many days had passed, but the Jade Bamboo that Ma Rong had promised would arrive soon still hadn’t shown up. If it didn’t come soon, the Concentration Flowers in his three-acre Spirit Field would be fully mature.

After a moment of thought, Li Changsheng decided not to dwell on it.

’It’s no big deal if it’s late. If I can’t use it for these three acres of Concentration Flowers, I can just use it for the next batch.’

He urged Xiaohua toward the mountain path.

When he reached the edge of the peak, he didn’t see Xu Li or his two companions.

Li Changsheng wasn’t surprised. ’Who would be busy in their Spirit Fields every single day, anyway?’

A few days ago, Dong Yao and the others had visited. He’d heard them say that Xu Li seemed to be getting rather close with a Loose Cultivator.

Thinking of Xu Li’s fierce, indigo-hued face, Li Changsheng smiled and shook his head. ’Only in the Cultivation Realm, where personal power is everything, could someone like that... In my past life, with a face like his...’

’Er... actually, he’d probably be quite popular there too.’

Li Changsheng chuckled and shook the distracting thoughts from his mind.

Arriving at the edge of Ten Thousand Serpent Lake, he waved his hand to put Xiaohua away. He channeled Spiritual Power to his feet, each step covering several yards, and reached the opposite shore in moments.

Li Changsheng’s gaze swept over the landscape.

Though the surrounding landscape was a sea of withered, brilliant gold, the distant Spirit Fields were teeming with vibrant life.

Li Changsheng summoned Xiaohua and headed unhurriedly toward the Spirit Field Hall.

Having not come down the mountain in several months, he once again found himself the center of attention.

A man and a pig were simply too conspicuous a sight.

Those who recognized him knew he was an important figure from Ten Thousand Snake Lake Island, while those who didn’t were drawn in by Xiaohua’s enormous size.

Some looks were curious and envious, others jealous and resentful. The former mostly came from old-timers who knew the situation on Ten Thousand Snake Lake Island, while the latter were mostly new Spirit Farmers.

As the man and the pig receded into the distance, the onlookers retracted their gazes and returned to their work in the Spirit Fields.

Li Changsheng encountered no troublemakers along the way.

At the end of the day, they were just Spirit Farmers. Even if they couldn’t stand him and were filled with jealousy, they only dared to entertain such thoughts in their hearts.

As for putting those thoughts into action?

’Heh. Only a complete moron of a cultivator would try something like that.’

As he reached a Spirit Field planted with Yellow Seed Spirit Rice, Li Changsheng stopped Xiaohua, swung himself to the ground, and looked toward a Spirit Farmer busy in an adjacent field.

"Brother."

The Spirit Farmer, who had been busy in the field, turned his head. His gaze swept over Li Changsheng’s face, taking in the fine clothes he wore and the enormous Spirit Beast standing quietly by his side. After a moment’s hesitation, he stepped out of the Spirit Field.

He cupped his hands and asked hesitantly, "Is... is there something you need, sir?"

Li Changsheng returned the gesture and pointed to the adjacent Spirit Field. "Brother, do you happen to know where the owner of this field lives?" Fearing a misunderstanding, he added with a smile, "I’m an old friend of Dong Yao and Wu Yong. I’ve been occupied with other matters and haven’t had a chance to visit, so I don’t know where their house is."

Hearing this, the Spirit Farmer’s expression flickered for a moment. After giving Li Changsheng the address, he didn’t return to the Spirit Field but instead hurried away.

Li Changsheng watched the Spirit Farmer’s hastily retreating back and frowned slightly. He swung himself back onto Xiaohua and urged the beast straight toward Dong Yao’s house.

Dong Yao’s house wasn’t far, only about five hundred meters from the Spirit Field.

When he arrived outside the small courtyard, he was surprised to find no one inside.

The house and courtyard doors were both open, suggesting they had left in a hurry.

’What happened here?’

Li Changsheng was puzzled. When Dong Yao and the others had visited his home half a month ago, they hadn’t mentioned anything being wrong. Judging by their expressions then, it didn’t seem like they had anything weighing on their minds.

Just as he was lost in thought, a faint creaking sound reached his ears.

Li Changsheng looked toward the sound.

A hundred meters away, the gate of a small courtyard slowly opened. A moment later, a thin young man with close-set features emerged, carrying a hoe on his shoulder as he walked out at a leisurely pace.

He glanced around, but when his eyes landed on Li Changsheng at the gate, his expression changed slightly, and he immediately made to turn and leave.

He so obviously looked like he knew what had happened to Dong Yao’s family; there was no way Li Changsheng was going to let him leave.

"Hold on!"

A Cup of Tea’s Time later.

Watching the man and pig recede into the distance, Wei Dahai hefted the crystalline Spirit Stone in his hand and muttered, "Well, so much for going to the fields today." He then shouldered his hoe and returned to his courtyard.

A moment later, he emerged from his house, having changed into a set of sapphire-blue scholar’s robes. He glanced left and right, and seeing no one around...

"Ptooey..." He smoothed down his messy hair with both hands, took out a round mirror to check his reflection, and nodded in satisfaction. He chuckled. "I’ve always heard them going on and on about this Nongyue Fairy. Now that I’ve got a free Spirit Stone, I think I’ll go see for myself if that ’moon’ of hers is really as big and round as they say."

With that, he swaggered off, shaking his head smugly as he headed down another path.

.

「Spirit Field Hall」

Two Cultivators in outer sect disciple robes stood on either side of the hall’s entrance. They watched the Spirit Farmers coming and going on the main road with slightly arrogant expressions.

Just then, the figures of a man and a pig entered their line of sight.

To their astonishment, the man put away his Spirit Beast and headed straight for the entrance.

The two exchanged a look, all traces of their arrogance gone. They stepped forward and asked, "Who are you, and what is your business at the Spirit Field Hall?"

Li Changsheng had urgent matters on his mind and had no desire to waste time with them. He directly unleashed the aura of a Vein Condensation Realm cultivator.

"Ugh..."

A heavy pressure washed over them. Both of their faces paled, and their bodies bent involuntarily.

Before the two of them could speak, a somewhat surprised voice called out, "Junior Brother Li, what brings you here?"

"Senior Brother Jin."

Li Changsheng retracted his aura. "I have some questions for Senior Brother Lan. Is he in the hall?"

Jin Fang descended the steps in a few strides and made a welcoming gesture. "Steward Lan won’t be back for a little while," he said with a smile. "Junior Brother, please come inside the hall and wait."

Li Changsheng gave a slight nod and followed Jin Fang into the hall.

"Whew..."

The two outer sect disciples at the entrance straightened up, exchanged a glance, composed their expressions, and returned to their posts on either side of the gate.

Their gazes swept over the gawking Spirit Farmers, and they shot them a fierce glare.

The Spirit Farmers’ expressions changed, and they quickly turned and left.

Although they too were outer sect disciples of the Cyan Yang Sect, there could be a world of difference between one outer disciple and another.

「Inside the hall.」

Li Changsheng looked around the empty hall, which was attended by only a few servants, and asked, "Where have Senior Brother Lan and the others gone?"

Jin Fang took the teapot from a servant, poured Li Changsheng a cup, and explained with a smile, "Seven days ago, Steward Lan, Steward Ma, and the others went with the Patrol Guard to clear out the demonic beasts around the Spiritual Land. Today is their scheduled return date, so you should only have to wait a short while, Junior Brother."

Jin Fang set down the teapot and smiled. "Is something the matter, Junior Brother? Would you mind telling me about it?" He then quickly added, "If it’s a private matter, of course, then just pretend I never asked."

With a grim expression, Li Changsheng said, "It’s no secret. It’s just that..."

He didn’t hold anything back.

He told Jin Fang what he had learned from the young man with the close-set features.

The story was simple. Several days ago, Dong Yao and Wu Yong had been recognized by a member of the Patrol Guard.

Back when the Demon Hunting Corps clashed with the Patrol Guard, the two of them had made a bit of a name for themselves by killing several Patrol Guard cultivators.

And now, it seemed, retribution had come.

The couple, along with two young girls, had all been taken away by the Patrol Guard.

Li Changsheng didn’t believe they were taken away simply to be made an example of, or killed out of sheer hatred.

This wasn’t happening outside the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land, after all.

’To so openly abduct Spirit Farmers for the sake of comrades who’ve been dead for who knows how long... Are they completely disregarding the Spirit Field Hall? And the sect’s rules?’

He suspected they were most likely coveting the couple’s three-acre Spirit Field and were just using this as a pretext to seize it.

After he finished his account, Jin Fang slammed his hand on the table and roared, "How outrageous! The Patrol Guard dares to abduct a Spirit Farmer from our Spirit Field Hall!"

He stood up and said to Li Changsheng, "Junior Brother, wait here for a moment. I’ll be right back."

Li Changsheng slowly rose to his feet. "I’ll go with you, Senior Brother."

"Alright."

After a moment’s thought, Jin Fang gave a slight nod.

The two of them exited the hall.

Jin Fang looked at Li Changsheng and asked, "Junior Brother, do you have a Magical Artifact that allows you to fly?"

Li Changsheng hesitated for a moment before nodding. "After you, Senior Brother."

Jin Fang gave him a deep look. Spiritual light flared from his body, enveloping him as he transformed into an Escape Light and shot into the sky.

Li Changsheng calmed his mind and poured Spiritual Power into the Golden Needle Magical Artifact in his sleeve, activating the flight-enabling formation within it.

The next instant, a dazzling golden light erupted, enveloping Li Changsheng’s body and launching him into the sky in hot pursuit of Jin Fang.