Selling the Ancestral Fields

After leaving the restaurant, Li Ye was in no hurry to return to the sect.

Zhang Liangfu was keeping an eye on the spirit fields for him. As long as he watched out for insect infestations and Demon Beasts lurking underground and stealing crops, there would be no major trouble.

Besides, after he and Third Uncle had sat down in the private room, they had exchanged only a few words before parting ways, so he still had plenty of time.

This was his first trip out since transmigrating. Wouldn't it be a wasted journey if he didn't look around?

With little money in his pocket, Li Ye skipped the shops run by the various factions and wandered among the many stalls instead.

Before long, though, he slapped his forehead in annoyance.

"Tsk! I missed a trick!"

"I should've taken the chance to squeeze a few Spirit Stones out of Third Uncle to spend!"

He had dared to open his lion's maw and demand the highly valuable inheritances of the hundred arts of cultivation, so what were a few Spirit Stones?

With the money in his pocket, aside from some low-grade trinkets at the stalls that weren't worth much,

he could only afford a talisman or two for self-defense.

"Next time... I'll remember next time!"

Li Ye reminded himself.

Just then, a flash of inspiration struck him, and another idea came to mind.

"Come to think of it, I still have no way to get back that patch of spirit field in the Lineage that supposedly belongs to me..."

"It's only a few fractions of a mu of field barely carved out on an unranked Spirit Vein. Even if I were willing to farm it, I'd probably gain less experience and Plant Spiritual Essence than I do in the sect..."

"In that case, why not just sell those few fractions of a mu to those branches for some Spirit Stones?"

Li Ye's gaze flickered as he began to seriously consider whether his idea would work.

After all, forcibly occupying it didn't sound good, and even the claim that they were managing it on his behalf wouldn't fool the rest of the Lineage.

If conflicts broke out between the branches, others would probably drag the matter out and curse them, pointing fingers at their backs.

But if they could rightfully acquire the spirit field and put it under their own branch's name, things would be much easier to handle...

At the very least, if something like that happened again, they could refute the accusation outright, and people would no longer be able to hold it over them.

Living within the Lineage,

they would most likely find such a temptation hard to resist!

As for whether he was being an unfilial descendant who sold his grandfather's fields without a pang of regret...

Li Ye understood the matter perfectly well.

"If I can reach Foundation Establishment, those people in the Lineage will obediently return everything that should belong to me, and even beg me to accept it!"

"If I can't, I might already be dead somewhere for all I know, so there'd be no need to worry about any of this..."

"Either way, it's much better than letting them occupy the spirit field while I get nothing out of it!"

"This... can be done!"

Once he made up his mind, Li Ye felt as though heaven and earth had suddenly opened up.

If he could get his hands on this first pot of gold, he could start his plans to practice the hundred arts of cultivation ahead of time.

He wouldn't have to slowly scrape together capital before cautiously trying his hand at them and improving bit by bit.

As long as his subsequent gains of experience and Plant Spiritual Essence kept pace, he would accomplish quite a lot within a few years!

By then, Foundation Establishment would be anything but difficult for him!

A trip out to meet an unlucky relative had inspired such an idea, and Li Ye found himself in an excellent mood.

He looked at the vendors hawking their wares at the little stalls along the street, a lively sight much like the mortal world, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he eagerly continued browsing.

"Sure enough, finding hidden treasures at bargain prices is just something novels make up to fool people..."

Stepping out from one end of a street, Li Ye withdrew his gaze from the stalls and grumbled expressionlessly.

He had originally thought that, with his Planting Technique at the middle level of the first tier and close to the high level, his ability to identify plants and Spirit Plants was second only to an Alchemist's.

Perhaps he could find something of unusual value, like spirit medicine seeds, among the odds and ends at these stalls and add a few types of spirit medicine to his future spirit fields.

But the facts proved that the stall owners who made their living here were no pushovers.

Their stalls were full of things with grossly inflated prices...

But finding a bargain?

After those fellows saw Li Ye's searching gaze, they even took the initiative to recommend things of obscure origin to him.

Statues, stones, strange roots and stems, broken fragments... the sight left Li Ye dazzled.

And yet their asking prices were all quite ordinary.

Even if someone bought a piece of junk and took it home, they would only feel a little regret at most, not be so furious that they came back looking for trouble.

Every last one of them had mastered the bargain hunter's mindset to a frightening degree!

And so, after carefully looking all the way down the street, Li Ye had gained nothing except a broader knowledge of all sorts of counterfeits!

"Two Golden Bell Talismans and one Cold Breath Talisman. That'll be eight spirit crystals, fellow Daoist."

Li Ye took out eight spirit crystals and handed them to the stall owner, then accepted the talismans and examined them carefully. Only after confirming everything was in order did he turn and leave.

The stock of talismans his predecessor had bought had long since been used up.

Now that Huan Kingdom's cultivation world had grown somewhat more peaceful, and he had some miscellaneous matters to take care of with the Lineage, he would need to leave the mountain gate from time to time.

So he needed to buy some means of protection.

For offense, he had the Blackwood Sword, and he had also mastered the Entanglement Technique for restraining opponents.

Now he added Golden Bell Talismans as protection in place of the shield Law Artifact he had lost, while the Cold Breath Talisman could serve as a backup if the Entanglement Technique failed.

With that, as long as he didn't run into a cultivator with abundant resources and formidable combat strength, it shouldn't be difficult to protect himself and escape with his life.

But he had reached the bottom of his pocket of Spirit Stones!

When Third Uncle comes back with a reply, I'll bring up the spirit field...

No! I should have someone send word right now!

After putting the talismans somewhere he could easily reach them, Li Ye squeezed his empty Storage Bag and thought in silence.

The Li Household, the third branch's residence.

"What?!"

"Did that brat really say that?"

After hearing Third Uncle out, a man in the hall sprang to his feet. He looked similar to Third Uncle, but was somewhat younger and wore rather flashy robes.

His face showed some disbelief, but even more than that was anger he could barely contain.

Third Uncle hesitated, then nodded.

The man immediately burst into curses.

"He's a fool who can't even figure out how to farm! How dare he demand the full contents of the Lineage's inheritances?!"

"He just happened to have a bit of a friendship with Cai Shiwei, that's all. We only asked him to make an introduction, and he dared to open his lion's maw like that..."

As he spoke, the man suddenly frowned.

"Could he be planning to sell those inheritances for profit and exchange them for Cultivation Resources?"

Having voiced this conjecture, he grew even angrier.

"A junior wants to swallow up what generations of the Lineage's ancestors accumulated and sell it for profit. Isn't he afraid he'll burst his belly?"

The people seated there listened to his curses with differing expressions, but most of them grew somewhat angry.

They also agreed with what he had said.

"Fourth... sit down!"

The old man in the seat of honor suddenly spoke.

"Yes, Father."

The man still wasn't finished, but he lowered his head slightly and sat back down.

The old man looked around at the people in the hall, finally resting his gaze on the middle-aged man to his left, who had gray-black hair and a square face bearing a hint of authority.

"Eldest, Zongyin is your child... tell us what you think!"

The middle-aged man stood and first bowed to the old man.

Although his cultivation had already surpassed his father's and he had become the head of their branch, he had never failed to show his father respect.

Only after bowing did he speak slowly.

"Father, I think we can agree to part of it, but we should also set conditions..."

Just then, a burst of hurried footsteps came from outside. A steward appeared in the doorway to the hall and handed the middle-aged man a letter as he called out in a low voice.

"Li Ye had someone send word back to the Lineage, saying he intends to sell the spirit field under his name... every branch has received the same letter!"

At this, even the middle-aged man's expression changed slightly. He quickly opened the letter and read it, then looked toward the old man in the seat of honor.

The old man was momentarily taken aback, but then shook his head and sighed.

"That brat Shusen actually guessed right. He really has been racking his brains for the sake of that boy of his..."