Lu Tianzheng

Just like that, five days passed.

Aside from watering the Spirit Field, Shi Yue spent all his remaining time refining Bigu Pills in the Alchemy Room.

Under Xiaoyaozi's guidance, Shi Yue improved greatly. Now, out of three batches, he could successfully refine two, and out of ten batches, one was sure to be a full batch.

A full batch referred to the maximum number of pills that could be produced from a single furnace. Different pills had different full-batch quantities. For low-grade pills like Bigu Pills, a full batch meant twenty-four pills. The higher the grade of the pill, the fewer pills a full batch contained. Achieving a full batch placed strict demands on one's alchemy techniques. The more exquisite one's technique and the better one's control over the heat, the more pills one could produce. Xiaoyaozi possessed abundant experience in this regard, and with his guidance, Shi Yue soon managed to refine a full batch.

However, Shi Yue also understood that Bigu Pills were the simplest kind of pill. If it were another type of pill, achieving a full batch would not be easy. Still, he firmly believed that as long as he worked hard, full batches would not be beyond his reach.

Over the course of their time together, Xiaoyaozi constantly tempted Shi Yue to enter the Mysterious Space, dangling things such as top-grade cultivation methods, powerful body-tempering arts, alchemy insights, and more.

The more Xiaoyaozi acted this way, the more Shi Yue suspected that he had ulterior motives. No matter how Xiaoyaozi tried to persuade him, Shi Yue refused to enter the Mysterious Space.

Over those five days, Shi Yue had also used up all the materials in his Storage Bag for refining Bigu Pills. Now, he could only go to the Deacon Hall to accept a task.

That day, Shi Yue returned to Azure Origin Peak on his magic tool as usual and watered the Spirit Rice in his courtyard.

As usual, he gave everything one final inspection before leaving. Only after confirming that nothing was wrong did he walk out of the courtyard and release his Leaf Magic Tool. However, before he could jump onto it, a burst of commotion came from the neighboring courtyard.

"Han Li really has it rough. His Spirit Grain actually caught such a strange disease. This year, he'll probably harvest nothing at all. He may not even be able to plant Spirit Grain next year."

"Sigh, he can only blame his bad luck! I just hope this strange disease doesn't spread. If our Spirit Grain catches it too, we'll be in trouble!"

"Exactly! This strange disease spreads incredibly fast. As long as a single stalk of Spirit Grain catches it, even if you remove the infected plant, the rest will still fall ill one after another, and it won't stop until all the Spirit Grain has withered away."

"A strange disease?" Shi Yue's expression shifted at those words. After pondering briefly, he put away his Leaf Magic Tool.

When planting Spirit Grain, what one feared most was this sort of strange disease. Once Spirit Grain fell ill, it was basically beyond saving. The usual method was to remove the diseased plants, which might save the rest. But against diseases that spread quickly, even that was useless. The grower could only watch helplessly as their Spirit Grain fell one stalk after another. Shi Yue understood that anguish all too well.

He had once seen several senior brothers whose Spirit Grain caught strange diseases, leaving them with no harvest at all. They could not even pay the rent for their Spirit Fields, nor could they complete their monthly routine tasks. In the end, they were expelled from the sect.

He remembered clearly that the senior brother living next door to him was surnamed Han. This man was extremely diligent in growing Spirit Grain, spending nearly all his time on it. The Spirit Grain he grew was of somewhat better quality than others'. How had it suddenly caught a strange disease?

After giving it some thought, Shi Yue decided to take a look. He did not dare enter the Mysterious Space now, and the Spirit Grain in his courtyard was all the hope he had. If this strange disease spread to the Spirit Grain he planted, he would have nowhere to cry.

This Senior Brother Han's courtyard was much larger than his own. The Spirit Field alone covered three mu, and there was also a bamboo house and a pond.

A Green-robed Man with ordinary features and slightly dark skin sat collapsed in the Spirit Field. His dark face was deathly pale, without the slightest trace of color, and his eyes were filled with despair.

Shi Yue noticed that the Spirit Grain, which should have been lush and emerald-green, had now almost entirely withered. Both the leaves and stalks had turned black. Anyone who saw this sight would think the Spirit Grain was doomed.

More than a dozen fellow disciples had gathered around the edge of the Spirit Field. They clustered in groups of three or five, whispering among themselves or discussing the matter aloud, their words full of worry.

"Senior Brother Lu is here! Senior Brother Lu is here!"

Someone shouted, their voice brimming with delight.

Shi Yue turned around and saw a Blue-robed Youth with well-defined features and a righteous air across his face striding in. A careful look revealed gold thread embroidered on his sleeves, giving his robes an elegant and imposing appearance.

The Great Void Sect had strict ranks. Outer sect disciples could wear robes of any color, but their sleeves could not be embroidered with gold thread. Those with gold-thread embroidery on their sleeves were inner sect disciples.

Lu Tianzheng, the inner sect disciple most popular among the outer sect disciples.

Generally speaking, only Foundation Establishment Cultivators counted as inner sect disciples, while Qi Refining Stage disciples were all outer sect disciples. But there were exceptions to everything, and Lu Tianzheng was one such exception.

Lu Tianzheng possessed exceptionally high talent. He began cultivating at the age of seven and reached Qi Refining Level 13 by fifteen, making him the foremost among Qi Refining Stage disciples. However, Lu Tianzheng was already nineteen and had yet to establish his foundation. Rumor had it that he had deliberately remained at Qi Refining Level 13 to cultivate a certain secret art, though no one knew whether that was true.

Still, Lu Tianzheng was friendly by nature and quite knowledgeable about cultivation. Whenever Spirit Grain developed some difficult ailment, everyone would seek him out. He never refused, doing his utmost to help his fellow disciples cure their Spirit Grain. As a result, he was deeply respected by the others.

When Lu Tianzheng saw the blackened Spirit Grain in the field, his brows twitched, but he quickly returned to normal.

Shi Yue, who was attentive, caught the slight change in Senior Brother Lu's expression. That faint reaction showed that this strange disease was no simple matter.

At the sight of Lu Tianzheng, a trace of color returned to Han Li's pale face. He practically rushed in front of Lu Tianzheng and cried out in a heart-rending voice, "Senior Brother Lu, save me!"

"I'll do everything I can. Don't worry, Junior Brother Han. Tell me exactly what happened." Lu Tianzheng nodded, his expression grave.

"It happened like this. Two days ago, while watering, I noticed that the leaves of one stalk of Spirit Grain had turned a little black. I didn't pay much attention at the time and moved that stalk away. Who would have thought that two days later, the Spirit Grain in my field would start falling in patches? The leaves and stalks were all black. I have no idea what kind of strange disease it is." Han Li nodded and recounted the matter in detail.

Upon hearing this, Lu Tianzheng frowned. He quickly walked over to a withered stalk of Spirit Grain and crouched down.

For a time, everyone's eyes converged on him. No one dared utter a word, afraid of disrupting Senior Brother Lu's train of thought.

Under everyone's watchful gaze, Lu Tianzheng picked up a withered stalk of Spirit Grain and brought it to his nose for a light sniff.

Lu Tianzheng's examination was extremely thorough. He spent nearly half an hour walking through the entire Spirit Field. From time to time, he crouched down, grabbed a handful of soil, and sniffed it several times. He even dug up a stalk of Spirit Grain that had not yet died and carefully inspected its roots.

"I've never seen this strange disease either. It should be a new illness." Lu Tianzheng spoke with a serious expression.

"Senior Brother Lu, is there a way to cure it?" Han Li's heart tightened at those words, and he hurriedly asked.

"I'm sorry. This time, there's nothing I can do." Lu Tianzheng shook his head apologetically. He patted Han Li on the shoulder, then turned and left.

Upon hearing this, Han Li stood there blankly before suddenly bursting into loud sobs.

This was a whole year of his painstaking labor!