Valley Guest

Innate experts—the pinnacle of martial prowess in the Mortal World.

There was no spiritual energy within the Mortal Realm, so people could not cultivate immortal arts.

Yet the martial path flourished to an exceptional degree.

Martial artists capable of reaching the Innate realm, while not as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns, were by no means just random passersby.

At the very least, they were formidable figures capable of holding down an entire region!

Yet in the Cultivation World, an Innate expert's status was only slightly higher than that of a Mortal Transformation Quasi-cultivator.

Though their combat power did not lose out to low-level Qi Condensation cultivators, they still had to be utterly respectful upon meeting Wang Chen, an Outer Sect disciple from the Bottom Layer.

Wang Chen glanced at the wooden plaque hanging at the man's waist. "Can I take a look?"

"Of course."

The bearded man looked rough and bold, but his mind was meticulous. He immediately removed the waist plaque and held it in his hand.

He infused it with Innate true qi.

At once, the dark brown wooden plaque emitted a faint glow.

The waist plaque the bearded man displayed was called a Passage Token. Similar to Wang Chen's disciple identification plate, it was used to verify one's identity.

It was mainly issued to Rogue Cultivators.

That included Innate Martial Artists or Mortal Transformation Quasi-cultivators like the bearded man.

Only those holding a Passage Token could legally enter and leave territory governed by the Yunyang Sect and the three cities of the Outer Sect.

Without one, they were drifters; if caught by a Guard Hall patrol, they would be sent off to mine.

A Passage Token also sealed its holder's Divine Soul aura, which could be activated with mana or true qi to verify its authenticity.

Only after confirming that the man's identity was genuine did Wang Chen move his hand away from his Storage Bag.

Even so, he remained ready to cast Spirit Light Shield Armor.

In a close-range sneak attack, an Innate expert could easily kill a middle Qi Condensation stage cultivator without a Magic Tool for protection.

Wang Chen was not afraid, however.

His Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma was nearing Great Accomplishment in Bronze Skin, fully capable of withstanding a strike from an Innate Martial Artist head-on.

Still, there was no harm in being careful.

Wang Chen asked, "What's the current rate for harvesting rice?"

The bearded man's eyes immediately lit up, and he answered cautiously, "How about five catties of Spirit Grain per mu?"

Wang Chen pondered for a moment.

At five catties of Spirit Grain per mu, his ten mu of Spirit Fields would cost fifty catties of Spirit Grain.

That was equivalent to one Lower Spirit.

But that had been the old rate. Rice prices in Yunyang City had now doubled outright!

Seeing Wang Chen hesitate, the bearded man grew a little anxious. "Four catties would work too!"

"Forget it."

Wang Chen said, "Five catties it is. Just make sure the work is done nicely."

If it had been the original owner of this body, forget five catties of Spirit Grain—even a single tael would have been too much to part with.

He would rather do it himself.

But for Wang Chen, spending fifty catties of Spirit Grain to solve the rice-harvesting problem

was truly an excellent bargain.

After all, cutting rice and gathering grain was exhausting work!

Wouldn't it be better to save that time and effort for grinding skill experience?

As for the difference between four and five catties, it was only a little hard-earned money.

Wang Chen had no intention of haggling with the man.

A dignified Innate expert, enough to establish a sect and dominate a region in the Mortal Realm, could only work as a "Valley Guest" here.

It was enough to make one sigh.

Speaking of which, the original owner's father, Wang Shaoyuan, had once been an Innate Martial Artist as well.

Only by Entering Dao through Martial Arts had he been able to join the Yunyang Sect.

Some martial artists, however, were not so fortunate, nor were they willing to bow their heads and serve as slaves.

So they chose "flexible employment."

The one before him was presumably the same.

"Many thanks, Immortal Master!"

The bearded giant was overjoyed. "I guarantee not a single grain of rice will be missed. You can rest assured!"

He turned back and said, "Little sister, let's get to work."

"Mm."

Only then did Wang Chen notice that a girl of fourteen or fifteen was actually following behind the bearded giant!

She was small in stature, so he had completely blocked her from view earlier.

Yet the profile of her face as she turned made Wang Chen's eyes widen involuntarily.

My cousin?

Did she transmigrate too?

Of course, that was impossible.

It was only that she bore at least a sixty- to seventy-percent resemblance to one of Wang Chen's younger female relatives from his Previous Life.

She was the daughter of a distant relative, who had been fostered at his home for several years when they were young. She had been sweet and adorable.

And very attached to Wang Chen.

The two of them could be considered childhood sweethearts, innocent and carefree.

Others used to tease her as Wang Chen's little wife, but after they grew older and parted ways, they gradually lost contact.

Old memories surged into his mind, leaving Wang Chen somewhat dazed.

The bearded giant keenly noticed his gaze.

Without showing it, he stepped sideways to block Wang Chen's line of sight, then called his little sister over to unload the tools for harvesting rice from the cart by the roadside.

They were mainly sickles and burlap sacks.

Wang Chen, meanwhile, brought out a pile of dirt. Sitting beneath the eaves, he practiced the Earth Stone Technique while watching the brother and sister work.

Mm, he was mainly supervising them—not watching the man's little sister!

The bearded giant's sickle was broad and fitted with a long wooden handle. With one sweep, he cut down a swath of mature Spirit Rice.

The stalks of Spirit Rice were extremely tough. Ordinary people would have to exhaust the strength of nine bulls and two tigers just to cut them apart; they simply could not do this kind of work.

But the bearded giant made it look effortless.

Each time he cut down a swath, he handed it to his little sister, who skillfully tied it into bundles with straw rope.

The two worked together with exceptional coordination.

Before long, they had harvested half a mu of land!

The brother and sister worked from morning until noon, and had somehow finished all ten mu of Spirit Fields.

Even Wang Chen was amazed by their efficiency.

Professionals!

After the rice was harvested, their work was not yet done.

The bearded giant lifted a large sack and had his little sister stuff the bundled sheaves into its opening.

Then he raised his dark, broad palm.

And slammed it fiercely against the burlap sack.

This Innate expert had probably used the true force of striking a bull through a mountain.

When his little sister pulled the rice bundle back out—

Not a single grain remained on it!

He was practically a human-shaped threshing machine.

Then came the second bundle, the third bundle...

Once it felt like enough, he poured the rice from the burlap sack into another sack.

Each grain sack weighed roughly a hundred jin.

And so the cycle repeated.

Once all the rice had been threshed—

The bearded giant grabbed a grain sack, raised it high overhead, then tipped it downward.

An empty sack had been placed beneath it to catch the falling grain.

His little sister stood nearby, waving a large fan to blow away all the bits of broken leaves and debris that fell down.

This method of threshing was quite primitive.

But its efficiency was not lacking in the slightest.

During the process, whenever a few grains accidentally fell to the ground, the girl carefully picked every one of them back up.

The remaining thirty-odd grain sacks, filled with rice, were placed before Wang Chen!

The bearded man with curly whiskers clasped his fists. "Immortal Master, please inspect them!"

"No need."

Wang Chen waved a hand.

He had watched the entire process. The other party was not a cultivator and could not use a Storage Bag, so there was no possibility of secretly pocketing any Spirit Rice.

Wang Chen stored the rice from the sacks in his own Storage Bag.

Unlike ordinary rice, Spirit Rice did not need to be dried after harvesting and could be turned in directly as grain tax.

More than half a sack remained.

He estimated it weighed sixty to seventy jin.

He said, "You've worked hard. This is for you."

Consider the extra a good bond of fate.

The bearded man with curly whiskers froze for a moment, then could not help turning to look at his younger sister.

She shrank back, hiding behind him.

Wang Chen: "..."

As night was fast approaching, the bearded man with curly whiskers did not say much more. He bowed to Wang Chen again. "Many thanks, Immortal Master. Until we meet again!"

Then he drove off in the horse cart with his younger sister, hurrying away.

Wang Chen watched their figures vanish around the bend, then turned the stone ball in his hand into mud and dust.

Earth Stone Technique · Experience +1

Earth Stone Technique (Proficient): 0/200

PS: This chapter was revised.