A few days later, Ox Ridge Settlement gradually returned to calm—or at least, that was how it seemed on the surface.
The crops in the Spirit Fields had all been harvested and sold to the Blessed Land.
Perhaps the bigwigs in the Blessed Land knew that this year's steep increase in the price of a Blessed Land quota had already gone too far. Squeezing these ordinary people any further would do more harm than good, so they hadn't been harsh when buying the crops. In fact, they'd been more generous than in previous years.
At least the ten mu of Spirit Fields belonging to the Yu Family sold for two more Spirit Stones than expected.
Compared with the soaring price of a quota, that was a drop in the bucket. But after the big stick came the carrot, and it tasted all the sweeter.
"Old Yu, this is your last chance. Are you really not leaving?"
Zhao Kun looked at Old Man Yu with a complicated expression. He already knew his old friend had made up his mind, but he still couldn't help trying to talk him around.
After all, this year was different from previous years.
Why had the Blessed Land suddenly raised the price of its quotas?
Even ordinary people like them understood the wisdom of drawing water with a long-handled dipper. How could the bigwigs in the Blessed Land not understand it?
When all was said and done, it was because this year had brought a bumper harvest.
And then there was that rumor.
The answer was obvious.
The Blessed Land didn't want those few Spirit Stones at all. It was deliberately keeping ordinary people without potential in the settlement.
According to the rumor, whenever there was a bumper harvest, the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster grew more powerful, and the Insect Race came in greater numbers.
New Moon Blessed Land was only a small Blessed Land. That meant the family that had first opened it was still merely a Foundation Building Family.
Cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Realm lived for five hundred years.
And nearly four hundred and fifty years had passed since New Moon Blessed Land was opened.
In other words, even with a Life-Extending Elixir, the Foundation Establishment "ancestor" who had first opened the Blessed Land was nearing the end of his life.
Compared with the "brief" lives of cultivators, those Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots could be called long-lived species.
Moreover, a Blessed Land could be passed down.
Throughout countless years of history, it was hardly rare for a Blessed Land to suddenly come under the control of a different family.
It was easy to imagine that a bloody storm would once again erupt over who would become Lord of the Blessed Land.
In such circumstances, keeping some ordinary people in the settlement both eased the burden of resisting the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster and attracted some of the Insect Race. It was a two-for-one deal.
As for the ordinary people who would be sacrificed, why would the bigwigs in the Blessed Land care about them?
And if preserving the Blessed Land meant abandoning every settlement, so what?
"I'm staying. I'll save the Spirit Stones and buy more resources for Dashan, so he can try to complete Blood Change one more time."
Old Man Yu shook his head.
He and Zhao Kun were friends. How could he not have thought of the things Zhao Kun had figured out?
But for his family, this might not be a bad opportunity.
"All right. Since you've made up your mind, I won't try to talk you out of it. I asked someone to get me a bottle of Corpse Stench Devil Plant sap. Smear it on yourself when the time comes, and it'll help mask your scent from those bugs."
Zhao Kun pulled out a small bottle and handed it to Old Man Yu.
"You..."
Old Man Yu was deeply moved. How could he not know about Corpse Stench Devil Plant sap?
In fact, Yu Ershan had been quietly asking around for it over the past couple of days. But the merchant caravan had already left, and even if someone in the settlement still had some stashed away, they wouldn't sell it.
Besides, the stuff was of limited use to ordinary people.
The caravan sold a bottle of Corpse Stench Devil Plant sap for five Spirit Stones.
An ordinary family that could afford it could probably find a way to buy a quota to enter the Blessed Land, too.
Those who couldn't enter the Blessed Land couldn't afford it.
Now Zhao Kun had given him a bottle of Corpse Stench Devil Plant sap. It was even more precious than giving him five Spirit Stones.
"I know that once you've made up your mind, no one can change it. And I know that if I gave you Spirit Stones, you definitely wouldn't take them, so I went and got you this instead.
"You don't need to feel bad about it. If you hadn't risked your life to save me back then, I'd have been dead a long time ago. If you don't accept this, if you don't let me do something for you, how am I supposed to feel at ease?
"Or do you insist that I stay here and keep you company?"
Zhao Kun said sternly.
"All right, I'll take it."
Old Man Yu didn't refuse again.
He knew that with this bottle of Corpse Stench Devil Plant sap, even if he really ran into the Insect Race, he'd have a better chance of surviving. Refusing it now would just be putting on airs.
Seeing Old Man Yu accept it, Zhao Kun smiled. They chatted a little longer, then he hurried off.
Old Man Yu stood there for a long while before returning to the courtyard. Looking at the little tree, which had changed again since a few days ago, he felt his resolve return.
The little tree had absorbed three Spirit Stones so far, roughly one every other day. Along with the soil from the Spirit Field, this had made it shoot up by more than half a meter.
Even its trunk had thickened to the width of his wrist. Its surface was rough, as if covered in irregular gray-brown scales, and looked incredibly tough.
Old Man Yu had once tested a fallen piece of bark. Even with an axe, he'd needed to use five or six tenths of his strength to chop through it.
If he fed all fifty Spirit Stones to the little tree and let it grow for a few more years, he couldn't even imagine how tough his Rare Species would become.
By then, he might not be able to chop it down even if he stood there and hacked away at it as much as he wanted.
That had undoubtedly strengthened his confidence in his Rare Species.
Yu An looked at Old Man Yu, who stood within arm's reach, and didn't even lift an "eyelid."
Recently, he still hadn't given up trying to master Flying Flower Plucking Leaf. Nearly ten leaves fell every day. They still couldn't kill an ant, but he'd discovered that the more he practiced, the better he became at controlling his tree body.
It reminded Yu An of that saying: I've gone bald, but I've gotten stronger.
When I'm completely bald, my divine skill will be perfected.
The most important thing, though, was that Yu An wasn't short on life force anymore. The Spirit Stones and the soil from the Spirit Field had let him experience what it meant to grow at lightning speed.
If every day could be like this, he was confident he'd reach the next stage in a year or two at most.
A few days ago, he'd happened to learn from Yu Ershan that cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Realm were qualified to open a small Blessed Land. Putting that together with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Root had led him to a few deductions.
The first stage of evolution into a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Root should be equivalent to the human Foundation Establishment Realm.
After all, cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Realm could fully withstand the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster.
And since a small Blessed Land opened with the help of a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Root could withstand the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster, the two had to be equivalent in level.
In other words, he would have to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm before he could evolve into a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Root.
He still had a long way to go before evolving into a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Root, but at least Yu An could now see the road ahead and knew which way to go.
That put his mind considerably more at ease.
But as time passed, he faintly sensed that the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster was drawing closer at an accelerating pace.
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