Working the Fields

In the Huan Kingdom, within the Purple Profound Sect's Hall of Internal Affairs.

People of all kinds came and went, hurrying past one another.

A large number of cultivator disciples had gathered before a jade wall, watching the lines of text that flashed across it. Some looked grave, while others cried out in surprise from time to time.

Li Ye, ordinary-looking and pale-faced, blended into the crowd without drawing the slightest attention.

As his gaze swept over the lines of text, it suddenly fixed on one. He seemed to have made a decision.

He immediately turned and hurried through the flow of people to a general affairs deacon. Bowing slightly, he handed over his identity token along with five Spirit Crystals.

"Senior Brother Luo, I'd like to take the contribution task, C Number Five."

The elderly deacon, whose eyes shone brightly and whose cultivation had reached Qi Refinement Fifth Layer, slipped the Spirit Crystals into his sleeve without a change of expression. At those words, however, he paused, looking a little surprised.

"Junior Brother Li, are you sure you didn't read it wrong? That task is Spirit Plant farmer work, sowing and tending Spirit Rice. Are you sure you want it?"

As he looked Li Ye over, he felt rather as though he were meeting this junior brother for the first time.

Unfamiliar. Far too unfamiliar!

The Li Ye of the past had looked down on Spirit Plant farmer tasks most of all.

With poor aptitude, he had only managed to enter the Purple Profound Sect through his Lineage's connections. He had always pressed forward fiercely, undaunted by danger, hoping to win himself some fortuitous opportunity on his Dao Path and reach Foundation Establishment.

As for tasks like growing Spirit Rice, which involved almost no risk but were both arduous and time-consuming, with the sect taking a sizable cut, he naturally cast them aside like worn-out shoes.

But the Li Ye of today was no longer the same man.

He had expected the question and immediately replied with a bitter smile.

"I was badly injured on my last task, Senior Brother, and still need time to recuperate. This task of tending the Spirit Fields suits me just now... I hope you can help me out."

He cupped his hands again as he spoke, his movements and expression revealing some of the bitterness of a man beaten down by reality.

"I see."

The elderly deacon nodded, recalling what he had seen and heard recently.

He understood at once.

With his discerning eye, he could tell that Li Ye's Qi was unstable, and there were even faint signs that his cultivation realm was falling.

Clearly, he was in no condition to venture out again anytime soon.

The two things corroborated each other, making it all quite reasonable.

But the contrast between the young man's past behavior and his present caution made the old man somewhat gleeful at his misfortune.

This brat didn't understand why we cultivators should be mature and prudent. After breaking through to Qi Refining Fourth Layer, he often spoke wildly. Now you've finally learned your lesson and gained a little worldly wisdom!

Knowing that Li Ye was telling the truth, the elderly deacon felt the Spirit Crystals in his sleeve and asked no more questions. He immediately assigned the task to Li Ye.

Li Ye might have looked down on Spirit Plant farmer tasks in the past, but they were quite popular among the sect's low-ranking disciples and were not so easy to get.

But if one knew how to pay one's respects, that was naturally another matter...

As though he had not noticed the amusement in the old man's eyes, Li Ye thanked him again and took his leave.

After leaving the Hall of Internal Affairs, he summoned a small boat shaped like a green leaf, climbed aboard, and drifted through the air toward a broad plain in the distance.

High in the air, with wisps of cloud and a gentle breeze brushing past him, and one beautiful mountain after another passing below, dotted with pavilions, towers, and magnificent palaces, he felt as though he were in an immortal realm.

Li Ye's body, which had been tense all this time, slowly relaxed, and he let out a long breath.

"Phew... I didn't arouse any suspicion. Now I can recuperate in peace for a while."

He murmured to himself.

Having just transmigrated to this world of cultivation, Li Ye had been on tenterhooks.

Not long ago, he had been an ordinary office worker on his homeworld, Blue Star. On his way home from work, he had just reached the entrance to his residential complex when an out-of-control truck appeared from who knew where and sent him flying, killing him on the spot.

When he regained consciousness, he discovered that he had transmigrated into a cultivator with the same name as his own and had merged with most of the man's memories.

His predecessor came from a Foundation Establishment Lineage, but his branch had dwindled until only he and his father remained.

A few years after his father had spared no expense in using the Lineage's connections to get him into the Purple Profound Sect, his father too was killed by Bandit Cultivators while exploring a secret place.

From then on, his predecessor had grown increasingly reckless, bent on obtaining more cultivation resources, breaking through as quickly as possible, and avenging his father.

But how could one walk by the river all the time without getting one's shoes wet?

At last, on a sect task, his predecessor had been ambushed by Bandit Cultivators and grievously injured on the spot.

Though he had barely escaped back to the sect, he had suffered internal injuries. After taking a secret healing medicine left to him by his father, he had been unable to withstand the impact of its medicinal power and had fallen unconscious.

That was how Li Ye came to transmigrate.

Fortunately, the secret healing medicine was remarkably effective. Although Li Ye was now a different person, his injuries had indeed improved considerably.

He could move about without hindrance now, though he still had internal injuries that required gradual, quiet recuperation. At least his foundation had not been damaged.

After that ordeal, however, his predecessor's cultivation, which had reached Qi Refining Fourth Layer, had fallen to the very bottom of Qi Refining Third Layer and was nearly about to drop to the second layer!

Li Ye had yet to fully master his Law Power, let alone deal with the effects of his injuries, which made its circulation sluggish. He had no way to stop his realm from falling.

His predecessor had usually traded most of what he earned for pills to aid his cultivation and taken them immediately, leaving him with few sect contributions or Spirit Stones saved up.

He had even less money to buy healing spirit medicine.

On top of that, disciples admitted to the Purple Profound Sect had to complete a set quota of tasks each year. If they failed to meet it, tasks would be forcibly assigned to them.

The tasks that fell on them then were often among the riskier ones left until last.

Li Ye had failed his last task and had yet to meet his quota. In his current condition, if he were sent out again, death would probably be his only path.

And if he refused to accept a task, he would face punishment from the sect depending on the circumstances, or even be expelled!

All these damned circumstances had all but put an end to Li Ye's idea of staying shut in his residence to heal.

After repeatedly searching his predecessor's memories and racking his brains, he suddenly realized that the task of tending Spirit Rice, which his predecessor had looked down on, had instead become his first choice.

He could avoid the risks of magical combat, and the work was not too strenuous for his injuries. The Spirit Rice and contributions he earned could also be exchanged for some healing medicine to aid his recovery and stop his cultivation from falling.

Apart from being at odds with his previous way of doing things, nothing could have suited him better.

It was worth taking a little risk and using some of his few remaining savings as a bribe.

At first, he had worried that, having transmigrated into this body, he might betray some inconsistency. Doing something so abruptly and completely at odds with his previous conduct might also arouse the sect cultivators' suspicions and lead them to notice something wrong.

Then he might be dealt with as some kind of evil fiend or spy.

But along the way, Li Ye had spoken with quite a few fellow disciples who knew his predecessor, and none of them had shown any unusual reaction.

Everything had gone fairly smoothly, and the taut strings of his heart finally relaxed a little.

Before long, Li Ye arrived at a vast expanse of Spirit Fields that had been completely harvested, leaving only black soil with a greenish tinge.

In the tower-like cave abode beside the fields, he respectfully and carefully paid his respects to Xiao Qiang, the disciple on duty there.

The man was tall and thin as a bamboo pole, but his cultivation had reached the late stage of Qi Refinement Eighth Layer. He was not to be underestimated.

With cultivation like his, he was only on duty here to help his master with the work.

It was the busy sowing season, and Spirit Farmer disciples who had taken tasks came by almost every day.

A disciple like Li Ye, with weak and unstable Qi and cultivation that had yet to reach the middle stage, did not stand out among them at all.

Xiao Qiang paid him no mind whatsoever.

Sitting upright in the seat of honor, he glanced at Li Ye and checked his token. Then, as a matter of routine, he assigned Li Ye five fen of Spirit Fields and the corresponding rice seedlings.

Finally, Xiao Qiang said mildly,

"These five fen will be yours to tend for the next year. You must turn over a hundred jin of the Spirit Rice produced to the sect for the corresponding contributions. If there is any left over, you may keep it or turn it all in for contributions."

"If your skill at tending Spirit Rice is lacking and the final yield falls short of a hundred jin, you must turn it all in, and the corresponding amount will be deducted from your task contributions according to the shortfall..."

"Do you have any questions?"

Though that was what he said, his tone carried a hint that brooked no question.

"Thank you for the guidance, Senior Brother. I have no questions."

Li Ye bowed as he answered.

"Then go on your way."

Xiao Qiang waved a hand and paid Li Ye no further attention, returning his focus to the book in his hand as though the person standing before him were nothing but air.

Seeing his attitude, Li Ye kept his expression unchanged, suppressed the feelings stirring in his heart, and respectfully withdrew.

Standing in the field, Li Ye raised his head to look at the sky, shook his head, and sighed.

"Farming it is, then. Compared with all those risks, staying alive is what matters most for now..."

"Tsk... With a damned predecessor like this, I have no choice but to keep my head down!"

As for everything else, he could naturally only wait until his injuries had healed and his cultivation had recovered before giving it any thought.

Without further hesitation, he took off his outer robe, rolled up his trouser legs and sleeves, took out his farming tools, and set to work with somewhat rusty hands.

At lower ranks, a Spirit Farmer's work was not much different from a mortal's: face to the yellow earth, back to the sky.

Hardship and a bedraggled state were unavoidable.

Thanks to the Spirit Farmer skills his predecessor's father had taught him before he entered the Purple Profound Sect, Li Ye had a fair grasp of sowing and tending Spirit Rice, rusty though he had become.

He had also learned the relevant Law Techniques.

At least he was not completely at a loss.

Turning the soil, germinating the seeds, sowing, covering them with soil, watering...

Time passed bit by bit.

Li Ye's breathing gradually grew heavier, and beads of sweat the size of beans dripped down. His internal injuries began to flare faintly, but he forced himself onward and barely managed to finish sowing two fen.

He wiped away his sweat and looked at the seedlings, which were spaced unevenly and somewhat messily. The corner of his mouth twitched.

"I really am rusty..."

Still, it was his first time farming with his own hands, and there was no way to adjust this in a short while. He decided to go through the whole process first and see how it turned out.

"Spring wind transforms into rain, swift!"

He formed Hand Seals with both hands, and pale green Law Power rippled from his fingertips, turning into drops of Spirit Rain that covered a small area before him.

The raindrops, imbued with wood Spiritual Qi, fell in fine strands, nourishing the tender shoots.

As this was a communal Spirit Field of the sect, the Spirit Vein branch here ranked toward the upper end of first-grade Spirit Veins. Its Spiritual Qi was even somewhat stronger than that at Li Ye's residence.

As a result, the soil was rich, greatly benefiting the growth of first-grade Spirit Plants and those below it.

Now, stimulated by Li Ye's Spring Wind Transforming into Rain Technique, the few seedlings in better condition immediately came to life. Their stems and leaves unfurled a little, and their roots beneath the soil also grew more active, allowing them to take hold.

Just then, a line of text appeared before Li Ye's eyes without warning.

[Using a crude method, you barely managed to plant and keep alive the first-grade Spirit Plant [Jade Sprout Rice]. Experience +0.1...]

Huh?!

This is a new book. Please add it to your favorites and keep reading~

It has passed the internal submission. You can invest in it before the contract is signed~