Morning light spread across the stone house's window lattice, bathing the straw mat in a layer of warm gold.
Little Black—the Demon Commander Ji Meng—slowly opened his eyes, his brown-black pupils clear as washed glass.
The gaping wound through his neck had formed a dark-brown hard scab. The newly grown membrane was as tough as freshly tanned deerskin, rising and falling steadily with his breathing.
He tried circulating his demon power. Warm, pure spiritual energy instantly surged into his meridians, while the Chaos Qi deep within his demon core slowly revolved like a nebula.
After seven days of healing and breaking before rebuilding, the demon power throughout his body had become condensed. His hidden injuries had completely healed, and his cultivation had even faintly touched the threshold of a Quasi-Saint.
When Chen An pushed open the door and entered, Ji Meng immediately lowered his body. His tail lightly brushed the straw mat, and a docile purr spilled from his throat—this was the most devout posture a Demon Commander could assume before a "Sage."
"Little Black, how are you feeling today?" Chen An crouched down and rubbed the fur behind his ears, his fingertips meeting a warm, solid touch.
Ji Meng raised his head and gently brushed his nose against Chen An's wrist. A soft, brief whimper came from his throat, and his eyes were filled with childish adoration.
"Looks like you're much better." Chen An smiled and rose, walking toward the tool rack in the corner of the yard. "I'm going to tidy up the vegetable plot. The weeds are practically drowning the seedlings."
Mortal Farming: The "Great Dao Martial Performance" in the Eyes of the Demon Commander
Ji Meng followed closely behind Chen An.
Under the morning light, the bok choy and radish seedlings in the Vegetable Plot were lush and glistening. Spiritual dew rolled across their leaves, but clusters of gray-green weeds had already sprouted around the edges. Their roots and stems were gnarled, their leaves bristling with thorns, and they gave off a faint turbid aura.
Chen An put on coarse hemp gloves and picked up the stone hoe.
First, he precisely chopped through the weed stems between the seedlings with the hoe blade. Then he bent down and pulled out the stubborn weeds whose roots had burrowed deep into the soil with his bare hands.
His movements were crisp and efficient, carrying the practiced ease of someone who had worked the land for years.
Dirt stained his fingernails, and beads of sweat slid down his temples, but he remained completely unaware of it, focusing only on every inch of earth.
Ji Meng crouched beside the ridge, but his pupils suddenly contracted!
The instant Chen An's fingertips touched the weeds' roots, the warm spiritual energy circulating within the Safe Zone was actually drawn along by an invisible hand!
Severing the Stems, Severing Karma: When the stone hoe came down, the path of its edge through the weed stem seemed, in Ji Meng's eyes, to perfectly accord with the sword intent of the "Severing Heaven Line"! The instant the stem snapped beneath the hoe, the faint turbid aura wrapped around it was struck by lightning and instantly vanished without a trace.
Pulling Out the Roots, Exorcising the Inner Demon: When Chen An clenched his five fingers around the weed's roots and exerted force, the curve of his tensed knuckles transformed in Ji Meng's divine sense into the phantom image of the "Dragon Capturing Hand"!
The weeds' tangled roots beneath the earth were pulled out by the roots. Clods of soil scattered through the air, and the path of every falling grain of dirt seemed to accord with the array formation's rhythm of "Earth Vein Return to Origin."
Discarding the Weeds, Purifying the Universe: When Chen An tossed the weeds into the wicker basket, the arc drawn by his arm was, in Ji Meng's eyes, unmistakably the opening stance of "Universe in a Sleeve"!
The instant the weeds landed in the basket, an extremely faint Golden Pattern appeared along its rim, completely sealing away the turbid aura.
"A Sage pulling weeds is actually like a great expert exorcising demons!" A storm raged through Ji Meng's heart. How could this be mere mortal labor?
It was clearly using farming as the surface while carrying out the reality of purifying heaven and earth and severing karmic obstacles!
"Cut Grass and Remove Roots": The Thunderclap of a Great Dao Maxim
As the sun rose higher, Chen An pounded his sore lower back and gazed at the final patch of stubborn thorn grass. He muttered, "These things have roots deeper than trees... They really are like wildfires that can't burn them all away—when the spring breeze blows, they grow again. I'll have to cut the grass and remove the roots!"
The instant the four words "Cut Grass and Remove Roots" slipped out—
"Boom!"
Ji Meng's demon soul shook violently!
Those four words struck his sea of consciousness like tribulation lightning from the ninth heaven!
Cutting the grass: Grass was a lowly thing, a metaphor for petty villains and those entangled in karmic obstacles. Cutting was the method of thunder, the severing of karma!
Removing the roots: Roots were the source of calamity and chaos, a metaphor for seeds of inner demons and karmic debts. Removing was pulling the firewood from beneath the cauldron, purging the source itself!
Old scenes from the Demon Court surfaced before Ji Meng's eyes: Kunpeng's sinister, cold sneer; Nine Infant's greedy spying; the faces of countless great demons as they schemed against one another over resources... Weren't these the "grass" that should be "cut"?
And the deeply tangled ambitions and selfish desires behind them—weren't those the "roots" that should be "removed"?
"The Sage is enlightening me!" Ji Meng suddenly understood. The Demon Court's accumulated ills over ten thousand years had all stemmed from failing to "cut the grass and remove the roots"—showing mercy to traitors and indulging the sources of disaster! If he ever took power again, he would certainly purge treacherous sycophants with thunderous methods and eliminate future troubles at the source!
He looked toward Chen An and saw the "Sage" fiercely driving the stone hoe into the thorn grass's roots. Soil flew, the roots were dug up completely, and the turbid aura they carried scattered like black smoke beneath the sunlight.
In Ji Meng's eyes, this scene transformed into an unsurpassed Dharma form—the Sage wielded the hoe as though wielding Heaven's punishment. With every strike, karmic obstacles shattered, leaving the universe bright and clear!
Epiphany and "Paying Respects to His Teacher"
After finishing the weeding, Chen An wiped away his sweat and dumped the weeds from the wicker basket into the compost pit.
When he turned around, he saw Little Black (Ji Meng) crouching beside the field ridge, head lowered and forepaws crossed, his posture solemn as though he were worshiping at a sacred site.
"What's wrong?" Chen An asked in confusion.
Ji Meng raised his head, awe beyond words surging through his brown-black pupils. He slowly approached and lightly touched the dirt-covered hem of Chen An's trousers with his nose. A long, low whimper spilled from his throat, its ending trembling, as if filled with gratitude, enlightenment, and even an oath.
Chen An merely thought he was acting spoiled and smiled as he rubbed his head. "You think it feels much better now that the weeds are gone too, huh?"
But Ji Meng lowered his head even further.
The Sage had performed the Great Dao with a mortal body; pulling weeds was the same as exorcising demons. The words "Cut Grass and Remove Roots" were an admonition that had awakened him to reorganize the Demon Court!
As the setting sun sank westward, Ji Meng curled up beside the fire pit and watched the leaping flames.
The hard scab on his neck quietly fell away, revealing new skin. The demon power within him surged like rivers and seas, while the Chaos Qi condensed until it seemed almost tangible.
"It's time to leave." He looked toward Chen An, who was resting with his eyes closed, and silently thought, Once I purge the Demon Court and cut down every treacherous villain—the 'grass'—and remove every root of calamity... I'll return to thank the Sage for enlightening me.
The night wind brushed past, and the Safe Zone's barrier flowed with a faint silver glow.
A bout of farmwork clearing weeds had planted a thunderous spark for reorganizing the Primordial Wilderness in the Demon Commander's heart.
(End of Chapter)
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