Too Comfortable to Stop

"Have you finally adapted to the Spiritual Qi here?"

Elder Ji asked mildly as he saw Li Ye approach of his own accord.

Although he had been quite satisfied with Xiong Yinxiu's performance, he had noticed her somewhat unstable condition as she forcibly suppressed her Law Power.

But he had no reason to dislike a disciple who sought to please him even at the cost of injuring herself, so he naturally said nothing.

To some extent, it even counted in her favor!

As for Li Ye... His understanding of the craft, as demonstrated in what he had presented yesterday, was clearly no worse than Xiong Yinxiu's. Yet he had not rushed to compete for the chance, instead watching from the sidelines and adapting to the surroundings first. He seemed exceedingly cautious.

Clearly, he considered his own condition more important than serving the elder!

Elder Ji's attitude immediately grew a few degrees colder than before.

Li Ye, however, seemed not to notice the change in his tone and merely replied respectfully,

"Elder, the Spiritual Qi here is so abundant that it stirs up my Law Power. I was afraid I might make a mistake and damage the precious seedlings, so I only dared to adapt first..."

That was an explanation, at least. Elder Ji's expression softened slightly.

"Never mind. Get to work!"

As Elder Ji took out a flower seedling, Li Ye smoothly half-crouched beside the spirit field and began preparing it.

I'd like to see what you can do!

Xiong Yinxiu watched Li Ye's movements coldly, thinking to herself.

If Junior Brother Li can't do it, I'm afraid we'll have a hard time competing with that shrew surnamed Xiong...

Yao and Gu exchanged a glance, somewhat worried.

At this point, even if Li Ye took the opportunity, they still would not let Xiong Yinxiu, who had nearly harmed them all, benefit from it.

Although the elder had made it clear that everyone would have a chance before he departed on his long journey, who knew when he would leave again?

Under these circumstances, every chance to show their abilities was naturally crucial!

Li Ye paid no attention whatsoever to the others' gazes.

At that moment, he had eyes only for the Blazing Sun Flower seedling.

His improved Planting Technique and the many details he had observed earlier flashed through his mind. Though his movements were a little unpracticed, he made no mistakes.

Loosening the spirit soil, activating the earth's fertility, arranging the roots, dripping spirit water onto them, stimulating Vitality...

He carried out each step quite smoothly.

His movements even grew more practiced throughout the process.

"Hmm?"

Elder Ji glanced at Li Ye, surprise on his face.

From Li Ye's movements, he could tell perfectly well that Li Ye had never actually handled a Blazing Sun Flower before, yet he was meticulously carrying out the tasks of assisting with its planting.

The process was so smooth that Elder Ji felt as comfortable as if someone had handed him a pillow just when he wanted to sleep.

Soon, a seedling was perfectly planted.

[You used ordinary methods to successfully plant a second-tier Spirit Plant, the [Blazing Sun Flower], and successfully stimulated its Vitality. Experience +0.5...]

A notification appeared before Li Ye's eyes, its lettering a few shades brighter. His heart immediately settled, and a surge of joy welled up within him.

He had not taken the lead in planting it, and his technique was not yet proficient, yet he had still gained twice the experience of a first-tier Spirit Plant.

That was already a pleasant enough surprise!

"Junior Brother Li truly lives up to his origins in a Foundation Establishment Lineage. Though he's only been working the fields in the sect for a little over half a year, he's not lacking in inherited knowledge or experience. His movements are a little unpracticed, but his performance is no worse than Xiong Yinxiu's..."

Gu Daojin had watched it all, and his worries immediately vanished as his smile widened.

Yao Shaohui's reaction was even more pronounced. His eyes widened.

"It seems the seedling Junior Brother helped the elder plant is in much better condition in terms of Vitality than the ones before!"

As he spoke, he copied Xiong Yinxiu's earlier manner and shot her a sidelong glance.

It was just a coincidence. What's there to be proud of... It's his first time doing this, and he doesn't have any experience. Can he really go without making a single mistake every time?

Xiong Yinxiu saw their smiles, and her face immediately darkened somewhat as she cursed inwardly.

"Come, the next one!"

Elder Ji felt the effects of Li Ye's assistance even more keenly and could not help growing somewhat excited.

Without pausing, he took out another seedling and set to work.

Li Ye naturally had no objections and immediately followed along, making the necessary preparations.

And so it went, one seedling, two, three...

From the second seedling onward, Li Ye's movements were no longer unpracticed. Though they still had a by-the-book quality, the assistance he provided improved yet again!

Not only did their planting efficiency increase somewhat, but the Blazing Sun Flower seedlings he handled also ended up in slightly better condition.

Planting proceeded so smoothly that Elder Ji almost did not want to stop, and he looked at Li Ye with growing satisfaction.

Correspondingly, Xiong Yinxiu's expression grew uglier and uglier, even showing a trace of disbelief.

Since joining the Purple Profound Sect, this man had only been working the fields for half a year. Even if he had some prior experience and had been exposed to a complete inheritance of Spirit Plant techniques, he should not have attained such proficiency!

Judging by Li Ye's current skills, Xiong Yinxiu suspected that even if he tried to plant a Blazing Sun Flower himself, there was a good chance he would succeed!

As for Yao and Gu,

they no longer had much inclination to pay Xiong Yinxiu any attention.

Both of them wore focused expressions, their eyes fixed unblinkingly on the movements of Elder Ji's and Li Ye's hands. They muttered under their breath, utterly absorbed.

Compared with Xiong Yinxiu's, Li Ye's series of movements were by the book, but he concealed nothing, and every step was clear and orderly.

For observers learning from the sidelines like them, that was just right.

Even without an explanation, they gained quite a lot from watching!

They continued like this, and Elder Ji seemed to forget that others were waiting nearby. As soon as he finished planting one seedling, he immediately moved on to the next.

Though Li Ye was also somewhat reluctant to stop, he spoke up after they had planted more than half of the quarter-mu plot.

"Elder, Senior Brothers Yao and Gu are still waiting nearby. Why not let them try assisting you too?"

He had already made up his mind to join forces with Senior Brothers Yao and Gu to press Xiong Yinxiu down until she could not raise her head, leaving her with no opportunity at all. Naturally, he was in no hurry over the experience he might gain or lose in the short term.

In any case, Elder Ji had already seen his performance, so there was no harm in letting Yao and Gu take part as well.

With their own Spirit Plant skills, and having watched for so long, presumably their performance would not be too poor.

Otherwise, if things continued like this and they spent too long in the spirit field, even when their turn came, they might be unable to perform well because of their poor condition, which would not be good!

At Li Ye's words, Elder Ji's movements paused.

He frowned, seemingly somewhat displeased, yet also seeming to have only just remembered that two others were waiting nearby.

He looked at Yao and Gu expressionlessly. "Are you two confident enough to give it a try?"

The two had been so absorbed in watching that they had almost taken it for granted that Li Ye would finish planting the field with the elder. They had never expected him to suggest letting them participate, and they were momentarily stunned.

They gave Li Ye a grateful look and hurriedly nodded. "Junior Brother Li and the elder worked together seamlessly. We benefited greatly from watching and can give it a try!"

"Then come along!"

Elder Ji waved them over with some reluctance and moved to another area.

To his surprise, although the two could not match the comfortable, smooth process of working with Li Ye, they were not much worse than Xiong Yinxiu.

In both of their attempts, they made no mistakes, and the seedlings they planted were all in fairly good condition.

He was greatly satisfied and praised everyone once more.

Elder Ji then announced that they would stop there for the day and strolled away.

Only when his retreating figure had disappeared into the distance did Xiong Yinxiu immediately drop the strained smile on her face. She quickly walked out of the spirit field, away from the place rich in Spiritual Qi and away from the three of them.

After she had gone some distance, her face suddenly flushed, and she vomited a mouthful of fresh blood.

The wayward Law Power she had forcibly suppressed within her body battered her meridians like twisting knives. Listening to the faint laughter behind her, Xiong Yinxiu's eyes filled with bloodshot veins.

"After all my hard work, those two sycophants actually caught up to me and stood on equal footing with me. You... you're going too far!"