Visitors from the Lineage

"I never thought casting a wide net would actually land me a fish!"

Back at his residence, Li Ye sat cross-legged on his bed.

His cheeks had flushed red from drinking at the table just moments ago, but now his complexion was normal and his eyes were clear.

Only his delighted smile, tinged with surprise, showed that the trip had not been in vain.

The series of events before this had indeed brought him a fair share of trouble.

But as each matter was resolved in one way or another, there were also considerable benefits to be reaped once the dust had settled.

Old Man Luo's initiative in befriending him was the biggest one yet!

He recalled everything Old Man Luo had told him at the table.

"The spirit fields at a Foundation Establishment elder's cave abode... whether in acreage or the quality of their environment, they're indeed superior to those at the spirit medicine garden..."

"If I could take charge of a plot, the rate at which I accumulate both experience points and Plant Spiritual Essence would probably far exceed my earlier estimates!"

"However, although Elder Ji Qing doesn't like dealing in personal favors, he's quite particular about his choice of caretakers for his spirit fields."

"Old Man Luo only has the right to recommend someone. I'll still have to compete with others when the time comes!"

"In that case, my first-tier mid-grade Spirit Plant skills probably won't be quite enough..."

Li Ye murmured to himself and opened his panel.

[Name: Li Ye]

[Spirit Root: low-grade earth and wood Spirit Root]

[Lifespan: 73 years (3 years lost due to overdrawing vital Qi)]

[Skills: planting, first-tier mid-grade (252/2000); pills, not initiated (2/2000)]

[Plant Spiritual Essence: Jade Sprout Spiritual Essence (2, 58%)]

[Experience: 766.4]

After diligently farming these past days, Li Ye had accumulated a considerable amount of experience points and Jade Sprout Spiritual Essence.

For now, however, Li Ye had no other way to use them.

He usually refined the Jade Sprout Spiritual Essence in his daily cultivation as soon as he obtained it, using it to nourish himself and advance his cultivation.

He had kept only two strands now, in case he needed them.

Otherwise, he would not have recovered his lost cultivation in such a short time.

And during this process, perhaps because he had continuously received nourishment from essence Qi, the vital Qi he had overdrawn and depleted had also recovered somewhat.

Even the years of lifespan consumed, as shown on his panel, had recovered by two!

Although the panel never changed again despite Li Ye continuing to refine Jade Sprout Spiritual Essence afterward, this still counted as quite a delightful surprise!

And while that was difficult to obtain, with each rice seedling having yielded it only once so far,

Experience points were much easier to obtain.

Some rice seedlings had already yielded experience points several times, so he was accumulating them at a decent pace.

Li Ye had originally been content to continue accumulating them slowly until harvest, when he would have enough experience points.

He could either raise his Spirit Plant Technique to the first-tier upper grade,

Or fully grasp the basics of the Dao of Alchemy and become a prestigious Alchemist from then on!

He himself had naturally been more inclined to learn a thing or two about the Dao of Alchemy first.

But now it seemed that, to seize this rare opportunity, he might have to prioritize the farming skills he relied on to make a living!

"Even that is only possible because the elder isn't currently in the sect, and won't return to handle these minor affairs until after the spirit rice harvest at the earliest..."

"Otherwise, if the assessment were right around the corner, I really might not be able to beat those guys working in the Spirit Plant garden!"

Old Man Luo's sudden gesture of goodwill had undoubtedly given Li Ye a better choice.

For him,

His best option now was to compete for Elder Ji Qing's cave abode spirit fields.

Failing that, he could still look forward to the Spirit Plant garden.

At worst, he could keep his head down and survive another year in these spirit fields!

That made his need to improve even more urgent.

As it happened, he had been forced into the spotlight twice among the sect's low-level disciples, and he was now someone who could speak with Cai Shiwei.

Whenever he went about his business, quite a few people took the initiative to strike up conversations with him.

Few of them had any useful information to offer; nearly all were the sort who hoped he would introduce them.

Instead, Li Ye found himself gathering information less efficiently than before.

So he simply cut back on those largely fruitless activities, maintaining contact only with the other disciples with whom he had already established some rapport, and devoted more of his efforts to improving his planting skills.

Even after finishing work on his own spirit fields each day, he did not rush off.

Instead, he stayed behind to help Zhang Liangfu, Hu Zhiquan, and disciples he was on good terms with tend to their work. He also took the initiative to share some of his own insights into his craft for everyone to discuss, pooling their ideas.

As a result, even though each still kept some things to themselves, the skills of the spirit farmers led by Li Ye improved across the board.

The condition of their respective spirit fields visibly improved.

If this continued, by the time the spirit rice ripened, the yield of the spirit fields in their area would likely see a considerable increase.

As for whether any disciples among them might become his competitors?

To be honest, Li Ye did not care.

He was doing this only to gain some experience in planting through his own efforts, so he could save some experience points when upgrading after the harvest.

If these people received his favors but still did not know to step aside, the gap in their abilities would make them understand how cruel reality could be.

And while Li Ye was striving toward his new goal,

The Purple Profound Sect assembled numerous disciples into groups, each led by a Foundation Establishment elder.

Under the pretext of rooting out demonic forces lurking in the shadows, it carried out a large-scale sweep throughout the territory under its influence.

Throughout the operation, the Purple Profound Sect expressly ordered every Lineage and minor sect to cooperate to the best of their ability, allowing no refusal whatsoever!

This aroused great discontent among the many forces of all sizes in Huan Kingdom.

However, intimidated by the Purple Profound Sect's position as hegemon, most endured it, and no major conflicts occurred.

That lasted until one Foundation Establishment Lineage could no longer tolerate the Purple Profound Sect. It outwardly complied but secretly defied the sect, failing to cooperate fully with its operation.

As a result, it was immediately judged to be suspected of harboring demonic villains. In less than a day, the sect's army came knocking and wiped it out that very day.

From the Foundation Establishment Ancestor at the top to the low-level members who had only just sensed Qi and begun Qi Refining, not a single member of the Lineage was spared!

After the sect's army confiscated what the Lineage had accumulated over many years, everything that remained was put to the torch.

In the end, even though nothing was found, the Foundation Establishment elder who had taken action merely declared that they deserved to die!

From then on, the entire Huan Kingdom cultivation world fell as silent as cicadas in winter.

The Purple Profound Sect's imposing reputation, which had weakened somewhat because its grand elder had remained in seclusion for many years, was restored.

For a time, all parties cooperated enthusiastically.

The loose atmosphere in Huan Kingdom changed completely. It became like catching turtles in a jar, leaving the Devil Cultivator forces scattered throughout the kingdom with nowhere to flee. Before long, they were all hunted down and wiped out.

And during this operation, Cai Shiwei, a low-level disciple, once again shone brilliantly.

His Blood Soul Spirit Body was incomparably fierce and valiant. He alone wiped out several Late-Stage Qi Refinement Devil Cultivators, earning praise from several Foundation Establishment elders.

His master was especially fond of him, saying he had extraordinary talent and unmatched combat prowess, and that he also knew how to be friendly with his fellow disciples.

He could be considered the foremost among the sect's Qi Refining disciples!

And in this operation, the Purple Profound Sect had held complete control and suffered no losses whatsoever.

Thus, although the situation was somewhat turbulent, it had a negligible effect on Li Ye within the sect.

His fulfilling daily routine kept him happy and unaware of the passage of time.

That lasted until an uninvited guest suddenly arrived.

Only then was that life interrupted.

"Third Uncle, this... is the 'important matter' you mentioned?"

Looking at the weathered middle-aged man before him, who resembled an old farmer but had a shrewd, mercenary glint in his eyes, Li Ye asked without expression.