A New Courtyard, Arrangements for Ink and Ants

Warm spring sunlight poured down, and a gentle breeze carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees swept over him.

On the second day after Li Ye returned home, someone claiming to be from the Hall of Affairs of Returning Shore Market came to see him, saying he was there to help expand his courtyard.

He asked whether Li Ye had time at the moment.

"You've come at just the right time, Fellow Daoist. I do have time now."

Naturally, Li Ye did not refuse. There was, in fact, a large stretch of empty land left around his courtyard.

There were two or three mu of land between his courtyard and those of his neighbors. That was also why he had never met any of them.

"Very well. What kind of courtyard would Fellow Daoist like?"

"Please take a look. This is the catalog."

He took out a hand-drawn booklet containing all manner of courtyards.

There were classic pavilions and towers, humble thatched cottages with woven fences, and even styles modeled after chaotic pebble beaches.

It truly had everything one could want.

"Oh, let me have a look."

After carefully leafing through it, Li Ye still chose a somewhat simpler design. As long as it had a pavilion and running water, and looked pleasant enough, that would do. He could slowly fill in the rest himself.

"...This will be enough?"

After carefully asking about Li Ye's requirements, Deacon Yang patted his chest and said, "Just rest easy, Fellow Daoist. This is simple—two days will be enough to finish it!"

With that, he turned and left.

Before long, Li Ye saw him return with several cultivators. They began releasing one adorable, long-bodied dog-like spirit beast after another, each one shaped like a ruler.

Those spirit beasts measured the land with their bodies, and their paws dug pits with astonishing speed. In a short while, they had excavated the pond and waterways Li Ye required.

Most importantly, their ability to cooperate was absurd. They looked like a noisy, chaotic mess, yet every waterway dug by each spirit hound ultimately connected perfectly, tight as interlocking seams.

They divided the work and cooperated, their efficiency incredibly high.

Afterward, Deacon Yang had another cultivator release several spirit beasts that looked like mud oxen.

They merely wandered over the ground, and the soil moved under their control, gradually taking the rough forms of courtyard walls, pavilions, and other structures.

Yet they seemed to be guided. A cultivator nearby was clearly seated cross-legged, forming hand seals.

Presumably, only by guiding them with Divine Sense could those mud oxen truly construct buildings refined enough in detail.

Li Ye watched from the side for a while before returning to his courtyard.

He muttered to himself:

"Luban Spirit Hounds, Yellow Mud Oxen."

"Using third-rank spirit beasts to build houses?"

"That really is extravagant."

After learning the divine ability of the Life-Breath Spirit Transformation Scroll, his perception of Spiritual Energy and spirituality had become increasingly keen.

He could practically determine the rank of spirit beasts or spirit plants—those spirit beasts were undoubtedly third-rank, in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Using Foundation Establishment spirit beasts to construct a courtyard.

He lay down on the reclining chair in his yard. On the stone table beside him sat a Glass Snow Lotus painted by his divine ability, exuding a crisp chill and fragrance amid the spring sunlight and warm breeze.

This divine ability truly was wondrous enough.

The only troublesome part was that ink was difficult to find.

Its ink required a special method passed down within the divine ability to gather "death qi," turning that death qi into ink capable of painting spirituality that would endure.

"Forget it."

"Fellow Daoist Su Ya invited me to distribute wheat."

"I'll see if I can find an opportunity to obtain some."

There was certainly no way to obtain enough death qi simply by staying in his own courtyard, yet it was immensely important to this divine ability. He relaxed on the rocking chair, staring blankly at the Golden Horn Ants in the distance.

Those Golden Horn Ants... seemed rather strange.

—The branches of the Spirit Vein Willow existed somewhere between tangible and intangible, allowing them to pass effortlessly through thick layers of earth.

The Golden Horn Ants were actually breaking the willow branches apart piece by piece, carrying them into the burrows they had dug and using the branches to continuously dig downward.

Like tunnels, one after another.

With the help of these "tunnels," they could easily excavate minerals hidden within the soil.

Even when the beavers used things like urine to interfere with them, they could quickly detect it.

"It really would be a waste if you didn't use this talent to mine."

"Wait, mining..."

Li Ye suddenly recalled that when he had attended the pill auction some days ago, he had heard that the Mo Family would reopen a gold mine at Returning Shore Market this summer.

The most precious mineral within was "Buddha's Crown Gold," which could be used to create items possessing qualities such as warding off evil and ensuring peace.

There were also some accompanying minerals—sharp gold, silver, brass, and the like—all relatively low-grade and common.

Because of the special nature of that vein, they would cooperate with the Four Seasons Sect, using an earth-vein formation to directly relocate the entrances to thirty different mineral veins into the Four Seasons Sect's shops for cultivators to enter and mine.

Fifty Spirit Stones were required each day to rent a mineral vein entrance. Any Buddha's Crown Gold dug up naturally belonged entirely to the Mo Family, but any accompanying minerals that might appear belonged entirely to the cultivators themselves.

Fifty Spirit Stones for a whole day of exclusive use was essentially a disguised handout of benefits. One needed some connections to secure a spot.

He had remembered the news back then. It seemed he really needed to ask Su Ya whether he could secure one and see if his Golden Horn Ants could bring him a surprise.

Two days later.

With a smile on his face, Deacon Yang pointed at a courtyard identical to Li Ye's original one and said:

"Fellow Daoist, your request has been completed. Please have a look. If it is satisfactory, simply pay me one hundred Spirit Stones as the fee."

Li Ye had actually gone in to inspect it over the past two days, and he was exceedingly satisfied with the courtyard they had made.

A little river flowed through the courtyard, with flowers and plants blooming brilliantly. There was even a small pond and several pavilions by its banks.

It was simply perfect for chatting with others, tasting tea, discussing the Dao, and admiring flowers.

Thus, he readily handed over one hundred Spirit Stones. "I have already seen the courtyard, and I am very satisfied. Fellow Daoist's skill truly lives up to its reputation."

"Haha." Deacon Yang smiled in return. "Fellow Daoist flatters me. Then I shall take my leave first. If anything comes up, just come find me at the Hall of Affairs."

"Take care, Fellow Daoist."

After watching Deacon Yang depart, Li Ye pushed open the gate and entered this brand-new courtyard of roughly two mu.

The courtyard retained its natural beauty, with only a few pavilions, yet they blended seamlessly into the surrounding scenery.

He gave it a cursory look and discovered that, at some point, the beavers had poked their heads out and scurried through the passage leading to the inner courtyard.

They looked left and right, as though inspecting their new territory.

Li Ye let them be.

Whenever someone came, they would certainly retreat straight back into the rear courtyard. Having a larger territory to play in was a good thing as well.

He gazed at this newly built courtyard and wondered whether he should plant something here too.

Though there was no spirit vein or spirit spring, the spiritual energy here was not scarce either. It would truly be a pity not to plant anything.