The Fifth Kind of Farming Method

Half an hour later.

In the forest's medicinal field.

The spring sun was warm, insects and butterflies fluttered, and a gentle breeze stirred ripples across the sea of flowers, bringing out the fragrance of freshly turned earth.

Chunwa and Qiuchan's small mouths hung slightly open, their bodies frozen, like two scarecrows.

Their small faces were as still as tender white porcelain, their four eyes wide with shock like glass marbles.

One stared directly at Xiao Ran, the other gazed blankly at the medicinal field, feeling as if the world had changed and people were no longer the same...

Xiao Ran was still the same Xiao Ran, handsome, but otherwise seemingly useless.

But the medicinal field was no longer the medicinal field of the Chen Hour.

The ten acres of medicinal rows were cleared of weeds, so clean that not a single insect remained.

All the pests had been manually removed by Xiao Ran.

He had even picked out the beneficial insects that Chunwa and Qiuchan had brought in and piled with the pests—insects like aphid flies, leafhoppers, and nine-spotted ladybugs—and released them one by one.

If pests were easy to identify, then miscellaneous spirit grasses were not so simple.

Hundred Herbs Peak was abundant in Spiritual Energy, and its weeds grew as lush as spirit grasses. Coupled with long-term artificial selection, the weeds that survived were now miscellaneous spirit grasses that looked extremely similar to actual spirit grasses.

Even so, Xiao Ran had caught them all.

Including the deeply hidden cold barnyard grass, which looked very similar to cold spirit grass, he had dug them all up.

Is this what Master meant by not completely eradicating the weeds? The acre of wasteland on the west side of the medicinal field was even more exaggerated! Xiao Ran used a fifth advanced farming method that the two girls didn't know about—the Mountain Moving Cart Method—to turn up the deep soil compost and red stone earthworms in the wasteland.

He had even cleared the underground irrigation channels and introduced the mountain's only cold water stream into the wasteland, saving the two girls the daily chore of carrying water...

In just half an hour, Xiao Ran not only completed a day's worth of work for Chunwa and Qiuchan but also did it to such a high quality that the two girls were left speechless, unable to comment!

The two girls' minds were blank.

Qiuchan suddenly remembered something and blurted out, turning her head, "Froggy, didn't you just say that if Junior Brother helped with the weeding, you'd consider growing up and marrying him?"

Chunwa was instantly shocked and flustered.

"Even if he can weed, I can't marry him when I grow up... B-because... I'm a frog!"

East of Hundred Herbs Peak, Purple Maple Cliff.

Lingzhou Yue saw that it was getting late and turned into the Maple Forest. She found that the medicinal field in the forest had already been meticulously managed by Xiao Ran.

Although she had studied grass cultivation and alchemy on Hundred Herbs Peak for decades, her skills in managing medicinal fields were as superficial as a steamed bun shop owner who didn't understand famous paintings. She simply felt that Xiao Ran had managed the fields exceptionally well.

Alas, she lacked the vocabulary! "Great!" was all she could say.

"My disciple is amazing, isn't he?"

She took a swig of her wine and boasted to True Person Yinyue.

This sentence earned Xiao Ran, who was far away in the medicinal field, two Filial Piety Points.

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining 2 Filial Piety Points! Total: 30 Filial Piety Points.]

As expected, helping Master respect Senior Aunt is indirectly respecting Master. Xiao Ran was very pleased, feeling it was worth his effort to toil like an old ox.

This fertile medicinal field!

It seems I should help Senior Aunt cultivate the fields more often...

"Master?"

Lingzhou Yue, who had been striding through the Maple Forest, suddenly paused. She realized True Person Yinyue wasn't following behind her but was standing still by the cliff edge.

Her charming gaze pierced through the Maple Forest, staring intently at Xiao Ran in the medicinal field.

Lingzhou Yue felt something was off.

Master was not a lustful person, and while Xiao Ran was handsome, it wasn't enough to warrant such an intense gaze. "Master, what's wrong?"

True Person Yinyue stared even deeper.

It wasn't until Lingzhou Yue returned and secretly pinched True Person Yinyue's non-existent fat belly that...

"Master!"

True Person Yinyue suddenly snapped back to reality and sternly said, "Regarding the Wraith incident and the matter of taking in disciples, the Disciplinary Elder will surely use it as an excuse to cause trouble for Sword-Wielding Mountain. You might have to change your disciple."

Lingzhou Yue was confused. "Master, why are you suddenly saying this?"

True Person Yinyue's expression softened, and she forced herself to put on her master's authoritative air again.

"I mean, your disciple... can you give him to me?"

"Pfft—"

Lingzhou Yue spat out a mouthful of fake wine onto True Person Yinyue's chest.

She never imagined that her Master, whom she had followed and cultivated for decades without success, would be "conquered" by a newly accepted disciple?

Was her appearance not pretty enough? Or was her chest too large, making Master jealous? No, no...

Master isn't that kind of person! Lingzhou Yue suddenly turned her head.

Could it be that Xiao Ran conquered her Pill God Master in farming?

This guy not only knows how to build houses but also farm?

Did I pick up a god by chance? Even if she deeply loved Master, she couldn't just give away such a good disciple, essential for any home or travel!

Moreover, if she gave him to Master, would Master still have her in her heart...

"I'm sorry, Master, but this disciple of mine is too useless—even by the end of his life he'll still be nothing more than a mortal, and I can't bring myself to ruin you."

True Person Yinyue didn't care at all.

"Did he just say he wanted a hundred Ten Year Life Extension Pills?"

Lingzhou Yue grabbed her slender shoulders, her voice heavy with alcohol, and said solemnly:

"No--way!"

Among Zongzhi Mountain's peaks, the thickest and tallest is the Main Peak.

The Main Peak is the Sect Leader's residence and where sect affairs are handled.

At the summit stands a Sword Pavilion, built of bluestone, piercing the clouds.

The pavilion's shape is like a sword's hilt, like a sword's blade, like a sword's sharpness.

When the wind blows, it emits a whistling sword cry, cleansing the entire sect and instilling solemnity and vigilance in all disciples.

The Sword Pavilion is the center of power for Zongzhi Mountain, the Hall of Affairs.

The top floor of the Hall of Affairs is where the Elder Council convenes.

The Elder Council is the highest-level administrative meeting within the sect and the decision-making center of Zongzhi Mountain.

Only the Sect Leader, Elders, and Direct Disciples can attend the Elder Council.

Hundreds of Instructors, over a dozen Chief Instructors, and over a dozen sub-sect leaders are not qualified to attend.

As the meeting time approached.

Not everyone had arrived yet.

Lingzhou Yue and True Person Yinyue, a beautiful master-disciple pair known as the "Peerless Twin Moons," were chatting in the front hall.

Unlike their usual conversations, today, every topic Lingzhou Yue brought up was forcefully steered by True Person Yinyue towards Xiao Ran, mentioning the need to perform a dissection on him as soon as possible...

Chunwa and Qiuchan were instructed by True Person Yinyue to follow Xiao Ran throughout, acting as his guides.

Like fulfilling a task, the two girls introduced Xiao Ran to the Sect Leader, Sword-Tempering Elder, Sword-Wielding Elder, Alchemy Elder, and Disciplinary Elder, along with their respective Direct Disciples.

Among them, the Disciplinary Elder was the most detestable!

Before the Disciplinary Elder arrived, the two girls bared their teeth and spent a lot of time describing the Disciplinary Elder's unforgivable evil deeds.

Xiao Ran wasn't really listening.

Standing in the grand and spacious Hall of Affairs, Xiao Ran felt like he was floating, yet he was also a bit nervous.

Looking around, he discovered—

The Hall of Affairs was supported by five giant pillars holding up the dome. The walls had no windows, only four rows of stone swords acting as fences, enclosing the hall.

Intricate spirit inscriptions in red and green were carved onto the stone sword fence walls. Where they were arranged and drawn, a sense of profound simplicity seemed to emanate.

He stopped and stared for a long time.

Even with his max-level architectural eye, it was difficult to find any obvious flaws in these four rows of sword fences.

There were only minor areas for improvement in some trivial details that didn't affect the overall structure.

Suddenly!

A hunched old man with dim eyes, carrying a sword box on his back, suddenly appeared about a foot in front of him.

He was in his eighties, on the verge of death, as if only a faint flame deep in his eyes sustained his life.

Xiao Ran was startled.

The old man spoke first.

"Who are you."