The Sword Holder and the Watcher

Lin Yunzi cupped his hands in a bow and silently took his leave.

The hands counting wheat before the high desk suddenly stopped, froze for a moment, and reluctantly lifted the bamboo hat.

It was an old face with drooping eyelids.

Confirming Xiao Ran's identity, the old man stood up and bowed slightly.

"Baili Qingfeng greets Senior Brother Xiao."

Having said that, he sat down, his voice lazy and dry, slightly disrespectful.

"No need to be so polite."

Xiao Ran had previously heard Lin Yunzi's introduction of this person.

Baili Qingfeng is the Great Valley Peak's Peak Master, a Spirit Grain instructor, with a Golden Core Cultivation, skilled in large-scale Spirit Grain planting, especially in wind guidance and canal construction.

From Xiao Ran's max-level farming perspective, Baili Qingfeng's Spirit Fields at Great Valley Peak were at least at a 60-point level.

Unfortunately, after the Dharma Ending Era, the Great Valley Peak's Spirit Field production decreased significantly. Despite Baili Qingfeng's efforts, he couldn't find a good solution. Now that he's old, he simply gave up, inevitably neglecting his duties.

Although Inner Sect instructors and Direct Disciples are of the same generation, they usually respectfully address each other as Senior Brother or Senior Sister.

Moreover, Spirit Grain agriculture is not a pillar industry of Zongzhi Mountain, and coupled with poor production, its status within the sect has declined year by year, often on the verge of being forgotten.

Only a stubborn instructor in the sect comes to Great Valley Peak to farm for two hours every day.

It's rare for a Direct Disciple to visit even once a year.

"Senior Brother Xiao is truly young and promising."

Baili Qingfeng complimented with a fake smile.

Unlike Lin Yunzi's sincere flattery, Baili Qingfeng's "young and promising" was slightly sarcastic.

After all, with his Golden Core Cultivation, he could destroy Xiao Ran a thousand times over with a single finger, inevitably looking down on this Mortal who inexplicably entered the Immortal Sect.

Xiao Ran didn't exchange pleasantries and went straight to the point:

"I need top-quality seeds, fresh Spirit Grain, and natural yeast."

Yeast?

Baili Qingfeng curled his lips and said:

"At this juncture, does Senior Brother Xiao still have the mind to brew wine?"

Xiao Ran naturally knew what "this juncture" referred to, but he was too lazy to argue and wanted a quick resolution.

"This is Master's order."

Baili Qingfeng's old face stiffened, and he immediately became much more respectful.

"Please follow me to the granary for a look."

In the underground granary, it was well-ventilated, cool, and dry.

Checking the grain piles, there were rice and wheat grains from the Qi Refining Realm to the Golden Core Realm, but they were all at least half a year old.

They could be used as seeds, but they were slightly insufficient as materials for brewing clear rice wine.

Baili Qingfeng filled two sacks with top-quality grain and wheat seeds and gave them to Xiao Ran for free.

However, Xiao Ran still paid two Spirit Stones.

He didn't want to owe this old man a favor.

These aged grains were of decent grade, but the quality was mediocre and didn't meet the standards of a max-level brewing master.

"I need fresh, top-quality grain. I need to brew clear rice wine tonight."

The legendary overnight clear rice wine brewing?

Could it be that the Sword-Wielding Elder deliberately chose a master of wine-making?

Baili Qingfeng dared not be negligent any longer.

"For fresh, top-quality grain suitable for brewing clear rice wine, Senior Brother Xiao needs to personally enter the valley and select and pick each stalk; as for yeast, there are many black mushrooms that can cultivate natural yeast in the wild forest at the foot of Little Qiong Peak in the southwest."

Having said that, he handed Xiao Ran the jade token for passage into the valley.

"Thank you."

Arriving at the valley.

The wind sings softly, and the river gurgles.

Xiao Ran walked briskly on the spirit embankment of the rice paddies, weaving through the golden wheat fields.

A gentle breeze came, and the faint fragrance of the valley permeated the air.

The autumn light sprinkled down, filled with the fragrance of wheat ears.

Xiao Ran remembered the scene when he picked tea in the tea mountains as a child.

The scenery was beautiful, but the tea was not worth much.

The scenery here is even more beautiful, magnificent, but the grade and quality of the spirit plants are mediocre, and compared with the herbs on Hundred Herbs Peak, the gap is too great.

Xiao Ran couldn't find any satisfactory fresh grain even after walking a long way.

Occasionally, he encountered a few spirit farmer disciples working in the valley, who looked relatively old, lifeless, and without much vigor.

When these older disciples saw Xiao Ran, they only symbolically cupped their hands in greeting, and then went back to their own business, with no one offering to be his guide.

Xiao Ran walked along the river.

Suddenly, he smelled a faint, almost imperceptible fragrance.

He followed the scent and looked carefully.

It turned out to be a few pieces of wheat husk floating from the river! This fragrance is unusual...

Xiao Ran hurriedly jumped into the water, picked up a piece of husk, and chewed it in his mouth.

Hmm, the appearance is average, the grade is not high, but the quality... amazing! Following the river upstream, after walking seven or eight miles, Xiao Ran came to a wheat field of several acres on a hillside.

The wheat stalks were mixed, some green, some yellow, some tall, some short, some straight, some bent, growing disorderly in the same wheat field.

The wheat grains looked unremarkable, each with its own grade and defects.

The only thing they had in common was that each wheat plant had a distinct, yet very prominent fragrance.

It was a kind of transparency at an extremely high level, a kind of free, restrained wheat fragrance that was not emitted for humans.

Beside the wheat field, weeds grew luxuriantly.

A middle-aged man wearing a bamboo hat and with a stubbly beard, using the handle of his hoe as a pillow and holding a long sword in his arms, was lying in the weeds.

He was wearing a farming uniform robe, with a short wheat ear in his mouth, humming a melodious tune.

The tune he hummed was gentle and piaoyang [float and fly], as if carrying some kind of magical power that allowed the wheat plants to grow freely.

For a moment, Xiao Ran seemed to see... the guardian in the wheat field.

To manage such a wheat field, he must be no ordinary person.

Xiao Ran felt admiration and cupped his hands from afar:

"This junior needs some fresh wheat to brew wine, senior, would you be willing to part with some?"

The middle-aged man lifted a corner of his bamboo hat, opened his eyes slightly, and glanced at Xiao Ran's high-level blue disciple robe.

He probably knew Xiao Ran's identity.

But he did not look highly upon him because Xiao Ran was a Direct Disciple.

Nor did he look down on him because he was a Mortal.

Without joy or sorrow.

"I am not your senior, help yourself to the fresh wheat."

"Thank you."

Xiao Ran went deep into the wheat field and began to carefully select.

He was meticulous about every single Spirit Grain, not pursuing perfect appearance, high grade, or uniformity, but selecting grains whose quality was infinitely close to perfection.

He picked slowly and patiently.

The middle-aged man appeared to be sound asleep, but he couldn't sleep anymore.

Because this new Direct Disciple's behavior...

Was a realm that a Mortal could not possibly reach!

He could accurately find wheat grains with perfect quality—even though these grains varied in size and color, and some were misshapen.

He's an expert! Did the Sword-Wielding Elder specifically find a master brewer? He remained impassive.

Half an hour later, Xiao Ran finally collected two jin of wheat grains.

Considering they were high-grade Spirit Grain, with thick and rich juice, this amount should be enough to brew ten jin of clear rice wine.

"These are Spirit Stones."

Xiao Ran respectfully presented five Spirit Stones as a sign of respect.

The middle-aged man shook his head.

"I don't need Spirit Stones. If you sincerely want to thank me, help me remove the weeds and pests from the field."

Xiao Ran's eyes narrowed slightly, but he said calmly, "Senior is joking."

"Hmm?"

"There isn't a single superfluous pest or weed in this field. They are all companion Spirit Plants and Spirit Insects carefully selected by Senior."

The middle-aged man was slightly startled.

He slowly rose, leaning on his sword.

He was very tall, exuding an indescribable sense of vicissitudes.

"It seems that you have a deep understanding of fields."

Xiao Ran respectfully clasped his fist.

"Senior is too kind."

The middle-aged man came to the riverbank, looked at the river, and lowered the brim of his bamboo hat.

"May I venture to ask you a question?"

"Please do, Senior."

"If one day, the Wraith besieged Zongzhi Mountain, and you faced two choices..."

The middle-aged man's voice was calm, with a hint of vicissitudes and compassion.

"The first is to draw your sword, but ultimately die at the hands of the Wraith due to the overwhelming disparity in strength."

"The second is to assess the situation, retreat cautiously, escape into a safe underground cave, start secretly farming, continue the flame of Daoism, and wait for the day of reversal."

"What would you choose?"

Xiao Ran thought to himself.

The second option, to survive and continue the lineage, waiting for the day of reversal, was theoretically the absolutely correct choice.

But upon closer inspection, such opportunities for survival were only available to a few, and most people, regardless of whether they resisted or not, would die at the hands of the Wraith.

And as a Sword Holding Disciple, he could not disregard the lives of the weak in this situation and choose to retreat and farm.

Even though he was good at farming.

But farming could be done by women and the weak, while the duty of the Sword Holder was to protect their farming safety.

"I would draw my sword."

Xiao Ran answered without hesitation, and then added, "But I will not die at the hands of the Wraith."

In an instant! The river surged with waves.

The wheat field rippled with waves.

The middle-aged man nodded slightly.

"No wonder you were personally selected by the Sword-Wielding Elder, I was being presumptuous."

He saw firmness and confidence in Xiao Ran.

And these two points are precisely the most valuable qualities of a sword holder.

Xiao Ran's farming skills are very high, but his cultivation is only that of a Mortal. He seems to be an excellent farmer.

But in his opinion, this is an even more outstanding sword holder with unlimited potential.

Xiao Ran was a little curious and cupped his fist in salute, asking, "How should I address you, Senior?"

The middle-aged man turned around, took off his bamboo hat, revealing a face with dry, cracked skin and sparse, curly beard, but with boundless freedom.

"Chen Gongxing."