An Xianjing

An Xianjing said, "You've made rapid progress in the past year or so, and your cultivation level is quite high now."

Li Weiyi tried desperately to see through her cultivation level, but to no avail. His mind was in turmoil. "With the cultivation level of a lay Buddhist, she actually planned to kill a martial artist like me, a Spring Realm cultivator, to make money?"

An Xianjing didn't exude the aura of a powerful figure, nor was she cold and stern. Her smile was gentle and approachable, "Your appearance entered the <Worldly Beings Chart>, but there was no cause and effect, no past or future. I was very curious at the time, so I came specifically to see you. If you posed a threat to the Rice Man, I would have killed you then."

Li Weiyi gasped, terrified.

Fortunately, I felt sorry for those children and treated them to noodles; otherwise, how could I have survived until now?

At that time, the power that the Guardian Wife could exert was still very weak.

The White-robed Layperson smiled and said, "You don't need to be so nervous! I am a Buddhist practitioner, a compassionate person, and I repay the compassionate with compassion. As for the wicked, I grant them rebirth in the Pure Land."

"Whether or not one is compassionate is ultimately decided by the strong."

Li Weiyi forced a stiff smile and asked, "Your cultivation level must be quite impressive, right? What is the <Worldly Beings Chart>?"

An Xianjing had no intention of revealing the secret to Li Weiyi, and simply said, "Just think of it as a magical artifact capable of capturing the secrets of heaven!"

"Are you here to see Venerable Nan?" Li Weiyi asked.

"I've already seen her! She shouldn't be at the Southern Clear Palace lately; she has important matters to attend to."

An Xianjing asked, "Li Weiyi, what do you think of the rice man?"

Li Weiyi knew she was not someone to be trifled with. One moment they could be sitting at a table smiling and eating noodles, the next she might be killing someone.

What's most frightening is that they're unpredictable.

Li Weiyi answered truthfully, "I know very little about rice plants, so I'm afraid I can't answer such a broad question with my narrow perspective."

An Xianjing asked, "Then what kind of rice man do you know?"

"Do I absolutely have to answer?" Li Weiyi asked.

An Xianjing said, "Not answering might lead to death. Amitabha Buddha!"

"Don't threaten me!"

Li Weiyi wanted to test her abilities, so he pretended to be profound and unfathomable, not necessarily implying she had real talent or knowledge.

"If you want to fight, then fight! You can answer after you've fought. Amitabha Buddha!" An Xianjing blinked, extending an encouraging invitation to him.

Li Weiyi said, "You're really confident! Do you want to hear the truth, or a lie?"

"Is there a difference?"

Li Weiyi said, "The truth is hard to hear and might upset you. I'll say flattering things too, after all, I'm at the headquarters of the Rice Cult."

"Then tell the truth!" An Xianjing said.

Li Weiyi didn't particularly dislike the White-robed Layperson before her; at least she didn't kill innocent people indiscriminately. So she said, "Most of the information I have about the rice people comes from other people's accounts. There are two kinds of information about them."

"One type of rice people are a vulnerable group in this world. They are raised by cultivation, have no parents or relatives, are not accepted by the mainstream, are sold, and are trained to be assassins, servants, or even raised as livestock."

"Another... refers to the Twin Rice Cult as a cult, which acts in extreme ways, hates humanity, and is the instigator of many conflicts, seeking to turn the entire Lingxiao Shengjing into rice paddies."

An Xianjing asked, "Are there any differences between rice people and humans?"

"It seems there's no difference... but I don't really know much about it, I haven't had much in-depth experience with it. Why are you asking me this?" Li Weiyi said.

An Xianjing said, "Since there is no difference between us, why do humans enslave the rice people? They cultivate the rice people and raise them like their parents, yet they show no love. We don't ask for love, we only ask for dignity and fairness. Is that wrong? As for what you said about turning the entire Lingxiao Shengjing into rice paddies, that's utter nonsense. How could we have such ambitions?"

Li Weiyi said, "Look, you're already unhappy. I knew I shouldn't have told the truth!"

An Xianjing quietly uttered a Buddhist chant. "Amitabha Buddha!"

"Having emotions is normal. I've always believed that opposing viewpoints exist at any time and in any place. But once you fall into prejudice and extremism, that's definitely the wrong path."

Li Weiyi thought of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and said, "All men are born free and equal in dignity and rights. If the rice people are really exactly like humans... well, I feel like it's pointless to say anything..."

An Xianjing said, "Then you'd better not say anything! I feel that you're just a child who hasn't grown up yet, a complete idealist. What freedom and equality are there in this world? Even if they exist, you have to rely on strong cultivation to achieve them."

Li Weiyi was more than happy to do so, but didn't want to discuss such a profound question with her, "Your appearance seems to have changed?"

An Xianjing's emotions completely calmed down. "I cultivate the <Formless Buddha Scripture>, which changes my appearance every day, according to my mood and intentions. Only when I reach a transcendent state will my mind stabilize, becoming as calm as a still lake, returning to its original state."

"Are you kidding me? You're making the Disguise Art sound so mysterious?"

Li Weiyi couldn't suppress her curiosity and didn't want to be intimidated by the other party's feigned profundity.

"Whoosh!"

He dashed out like lightning and struck out with a palm.

The wind from the palm strike caused the surrounding vegetation to sway and the lake surface to ripple.

An Xianjing shifted two feet to the side, dodging the attack. "You can go all out; there's no need to hold back."

The White-robed Layperson before me is very immature; he changes his mind as quickly as turning the pages of a book. Under the Disguise Art, he may have a very young face.

Since she's a member of the younger generation, why should we be afraid of her?

Li Weiyi's competitive spirit was ignited. He changed his palm into fingers, and with all his internal energy circulating, he produced dozens of finger shadows in a single breath.

But all of them were blocked by the palm prints she formed. She stood still like the Thousand-Hand Guanyin, her eyes fixed on Li Weiyi.

Li Weiyi withdrew his fingers and stepped back, his expression solemn. "Impressive! What is your cultivation level?"

An Xianjing smiled and said, "I've always been interested in your Compassionate Sail Opening Finger Technique; I think it has a lot of Buddhist meaning. Why don't you try it on me?"

"Forget it! Your cultivation is far too high; I can't afford to offend you."

Li Weiyi waved his sleeve, turned and left. "But I can hide."

You can't escape!

An Xianjing grabbed his arm, her figure flashed, and in the next instant, she crashed into the interior of a formation in the Southern Clear Palace.

Li Weiyi landed on both feet, trying to suppress the surprise and doubt in his heart. He looked back and saw the array light screen behind him still vibrating.

This formation is the most powerful in the Southern Clear Palace; Li Weiyi, using his Heavenly Eye, could not see through it.

But she barged right in.

Li Weiyi asked, "May I ask your esteemed name, sir?"

"An Xianjing!" she said.

"Boom!"

Li Weiyi's head was about to explode, but then he remembered that the Lord of the Spirit Grain Hall also seemed to have the surname An, so he tentatively asked, "That Bodhisattva An from Coffin Mountain? The Lord of the Spirit Grain Hall?"

Inside the formation was an acre of paddy field.

Tanaka is a land of three colors.

The water was an inch deep of blood.

In the field, there was only one rice planted, which was three feet tall.

It appears to be cast in gold, with leaves as sharp as swords, radiating a dazzling golden glow, and possessing a powerful life energy that makes it seem extraordinary.

An Xianjing walked along the ridge of the field with one hand behind her back, her gaze fixed on the golden rice stalk. "In your heart, neither Bodhisattva An nor the Lord of the Spirit Grain Hall are good people, are they?"

Remembering Yao Qingxuan's earlier warning, Li Weiyi changed his tune. "How could that be? Since we parted ways in Jiu Li City, I still remember Miss An's captivating smile. She was so gentle, truly a bodhisattva descended to earth."

An Xianjing frowned, gave him a cold look, and then said, "When I saw you in Jiu Li City, I didn't take you seriously. But at the Qianlong Lantern Festival, you came back into my sight. Your cultivation speed is too fast; you've covered in a year what others can't cover in ten years."

Li Weiyi quickly said, "Senior An, I really don't have any particular issues with the Rice People. I haven't had much contact with you all, and I'm not a threat. Besides, my ancestral land... well, it's a long story. Why is everyone targeting me?"

"You killed quite a few people from the Divine Cult, didn't you? At the Qianlong Lantern Festival, you killed a group of experts from the Five Seas Realm," An Xianjing said.

Li Weiyi said, "I didn't know they were members of the Divine Cult."

"Did you kill Wang Zhi and Wang Shouxin?"

Li Weiyi said, "..."

"Did you kill Zuo Shi?"

Li Weiyi said, "I was protecting myself."

An Xianjing said, "I won't kill you. You treated me to noodles, and we have no grudges. But if I throw you out of the Southern Clear Palace, do you think many people will seek revenge?"

Li Weiyi was not intimidated by her. His mind raced. "Does Hall Master An mean that you intend to protect me?"

"I didn't say that, but if you're useful to me, I might as well use you," An Xianjing said.

Li Weiyi asked, "May I ask how Hall Master An plans to use it?"

An Xianjing's gaze returned to the Golden Rice in the center of the blood field. "About two years ago, the Rice Ancestor found four golden Dao Seeds from the ancient Bhakara Sect period in the Sacred Heart Layer of the Underground Immortal Mansion, and gave them to the Third Hall Master and a Deputy Hall Master to plant respectively."

"The Rice Ancestor believed that these four rice seeds could produce offspring with exceptionally high talent."

"Whoever succeeds in cultivating it will be able to comprehend the supreme scripture of the Divine Cult, the <Jidi Hunyuan Scripture>, and gain the opportunity to transcend."

"For the past two years, Venerable Nan and I have taken turns using our own longevity blood to nourish and cultivate it with the energy of longevity magic, but all we've managed to do is allow the rice to take root, sprout, and grow into a seedling. After reaching three feet in height, it stops growing!"

Li Weiyi said, "Why not search for the blood of the Transcendent? The battle ten months ago was earth-shattering, and several Transcendents perished. There were even more Transcendents whose blood was spilled on the Lingxiao land. We should be able to find some."

It was unclear what had offended her, but An Xianjing's tone was slightly cold. "In your eyes, Benevolent Rice is a blood-sucking monster, right?"

I didn't say that.

Li Weiyi felt helpless, thinking that she was being too sensitive.

An Xianjing said, "The vast majority of Benevolent Rice can grow simply by using the water from the Sea of Blood or the Underground Blood River."

"Using the corpses of human martial artists as fertilizer is merely a means of revenge and intimidating the enemy. Although, I don't like this method."

"Once human blood is used to intervene in the growth of Benevolent Rice, the children who grow up will inevitably carry the characteristics of the blood donor in appearance and personality, representing a kind of inheritance."

Li Weiyi asked, "Like parents and children?"

"More or less," An Xianjing said.

Li Weiyi nodded and said, "This is indeed a headache, with complicated causes and effects."

An Xianjing said, "If it can be cultivated using transcendent blood, why doesn't the Rice Ancestor cultivate it directly? Why does he entrust it to us?"

"Golden grain seeds must be extremely powerful seeds, capable of nurturing exceptionally gifted infants. Therefore, nourishing them with the blood and magical energy of someone with sufficiently high talent might allow them to continue growing. Your Trace Meridians are entirely golden; your physique and bloodline are definitely extraordinary."

Li Weiyi was taken aback. "Hall Master An wants me to help you grow Golden Rice?"

An Xianjing cut her wrist, spilling blood, and entered the paddy field. Instantly, the blood spread, filling the entire paddy field with a layer of blood mist.

"You've offended the cult and are being targeted by many. Even if I don't come after you, others will. Zuoqiu Cangwu is eyeing you, let alone others?"

"You help me raise rice, and I'll save your life."

"Of course, the premise is that your blood has to actually work for it. I'm just trying it out!"