A Dog Relies on Its Master's Power, Ruthless and Scheming

Gu Xiaoyun didn't bother whether Zhang Kuang's reaction was genuine or not. If it was fake, as long as the news got out, Zhang Kuang would have to acknowledge their brotherhood later to save face. Then, Gu Xiaoyun would have a very comfortable life in the Taichu Sect.

"Brother Gu, do you know Zhang Yang? He was originally my cousin. He always listened to me since we were kids, but after he rooted, he turned against me. Now he's set up his own sect and is causing trouble for me..."

Before Zhang Kuang could finish speaking, Gu Xiaoyun interrupted him, "Junior Brother, don't worry. I hate fickle people like him the most. I'll ask my uncle to take you in. With your Purple Seed talent, my uncle will definitely like you more. Then, we brothers can find a way to distance him from Zhang Yang and let him fend for himself!"

Zhang Kuang put on a look of great joy. His goal achieved, he was too lazy to continue the pretense with the arrogant Gu Xiaoyun. After respectfully bidding farewell, he left.

Gu Xiaoyun felt his confidence soar after establishing a connection with Zhang Kuang, a Purple Seed. He found a few lackeys and said, "Tonight, we'll go and pull up all of Qin Haoxuan's crops!"

After thinking for a moment, Gu Xiaoyun muttered to himself, "Qin kid just rooted these past few days. As a Weak Seed, his rooting must be drawing a lot of attention from the sect's higher-ups. It's better to wait a few days until he's not the center of attention before we pull up his crops!"

"Brother Gu is wise and brilliant! We must teach that kid a lesson!"

"Exactly! Brother Gu just connected with Zhang Kuang, a Purple Seed. From now on, Brother Gu will have the final say in the Taichu Sect!"

"Yes, yes, Brother Gu thinks of everything. Brilliant and mighty, long live Brother Gu..."

Besides Li Jing, Zhang Kuang, and Zhang Yang, who were all plotting their own schemes on how to deal with Qin Haoxuan, the Undying Witch Demon in the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley was also constantly hatching his own plans. Fleeting glints of light would flash in his turbid eyes. He hadn't been this excited in thousands of years!

The Undying Witch Demon had sensed it when Qin Haoxuan began rooting. He had been silently praying that Qin Haoxuan would sprout several perfectly aligned Immortal Roots. But when he discovered Qin Haoxuan's bizarre rooting sequence and the simultaneous appearance of a hundred Immortal Roots, the Undying Witch Demon was utterly dejected. He sighed that the Immortal-Demon Seed he had painstakingly cultivated might be ruined by the rooting process.

However, when Qin Haoxuan used his Spiritual Sense to align the optimal rooting positions for each Immortal Root and perfectly rooted all one hundred side roots, the Undying Witch Demon was stunned. As the subsequent five hundred side roots were also perfectly rooted into his dantian under Qin Haoxuan's guidance, achieving a perfect compatibility of ten percent for all six hundred side roots, the Undying Witch Demon could no longer contain himself. For the first time in thousands of years, he let out a desolate, piercing cackle that echoed through the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley until he was too weak to laugh any longer.

Whether cultivating immortality or demonhood, he had never heard of anyone being able to perfectly align all their side roots with their dantian. Qin Haoxuan had not only achieved this but with six hundred side roots. One hundred side roots from the Immortal Seed and five hundred from the Demon Seed, with one Immortal Root main root and the yet-to-appear Demon Seed main root, one yin and one yang. Such a perfect combination and a number of alignments far exceeding ordinary people guaranteed that he would shine brightly after the body seizure, and might even allow him to ascend and achieve the Dao!

He was just waiting for him to sprout!

The Undying Witch Demon, tired from laughing, slowly closed his eyes, the excitement deep within his heart lingering for a long time.

Qin Haoxuan, who had made a stunning debut by rooting in twenty days, was unaware that the Undying Witch Demon was harboring sinister intentions towards him. Tormented daily by the medicinal effects of the One-Leaf Golden Lotus, he had a sudden idea: he wanted to go to Solitary Confinement Mountain for a few days of confinement.

Firstly, his recent high profile had affected his state of mind and cultivation, and he had undoubtedly incurred the jealousy of many. Secondly, it would allow him to digest more of the residual medicinal power of the One-Leaf Golden Lotus. As time passed, the medicinal power within him would gradually dissipate. This was a Spirit Medicine that even the sect's ancestors would consider a rare encounter, so it was best not to waste too much of it.

He decided to act, but for the sake of his cornfield, Qin Haoxuan decided to store several large vats of water in the coming days.

Each mu of land was equipped with three large iron vats, each capable of storing two hundred dan of water. The existence of these iron vats was due to the Spirit Spring having a one-month dry period each year. To ensure that the crops in the fields could grow normally during this dry period, the sect had specially equipped each plot of land with these three large water tanks.

In the following days, while others carried water for their fields, Qin Haoxuan, in addition to watering his own fields, also carried over a hundred dan of water daily to store in their three large iron vats. His actions confused everyone. Some even mocked him behind his back, wondering if he had gone stupid from rooting. It wasn't the dry season, so why was he storing Spirit Spring water? Didn't he know that the iron vats didn't lock in spiritual energy, and the stored Spirit Spring water would lose its energy, making it less effective than freshly drawn water?

"Look at that idiot, he must have gone stupid from rooting. Doesn't he know that these iron vats don't preserve spiritual energy when storing water?"

"That's weird. I see even senior disciples who have been here for several years aren't storing water. Why is he storing water? It's not the dry season."

"Maybe he's just practicing his strength? Don't you think he's silly? It would be better to get some jade vats. I heard jade vats can lock in the spiritual energy of Spirit Spring water and prevent it from dissipating."

"I think you're the silly one! Can ordinary people afford jade vats? I calculated that with the crops we painstakingly grow, under favorable weather conditions, the sect contribution points we earn in a year can at most buy one jade vat. He's been here for less than a month and hasn't earned any sect contribution points yet. How can he afford a jade vat!"

Although the taunts behind him were whispered, Qin Haoxuan, as a Witch Cultivator, had extremely sharp hearing. He heard many of the discussions clearly, but he merely smiled.

It wasn't just others who didn't understand Qin Haoxuan's intentions; even Xu Yu and Murong Chao looked puzzled. Xu Yu, having heard the rumors, even worried that Qin Haoxuan might have had problems with his rooting, leading to him acting erratically, just as the rumors suggested.

"Brother Haoxuan, why are you storing so much Spirit Spring water?" As the sun began to set one day, watching Qin Haoxuan diligently carrying water for the three of them, Xu Yu, deeply moved, could no longer hold back. Together with Murong Chao, she called Qin Haoxuan, who was exhausted from carrying water, to her room and began to ask, "Are you alright? It's normal to not have a perfect rooting. Your twenty-day rooting has already exceeded everyone's expectations!"

"Yes, Senior Brother Qin. The path of cultivation is long. Although imperfect rooting will have an impact on the future, and correction is difficult, it doesn't mean it's impossible to correct later."

Facing the kind inquiries and reassurances from Xu Yu and Murong Chao, Qin Haoxuan gave a wry smile. It seemed they, like everyone else, thought he had failed to root properly and had become mentally unstable! While he disdained explaining himself to others, Qin Haoxuan was willing to tell them the reason. He took a deep breath and organized his words, lest his reasoning shock them.

"For a while now, especially after rooting, I've been the subject of everyone's gossip. This is very bad for the cultivation of my state of mind, so I want to fill our water vats and entrust my fields to you two to look after for a while. Later, I intend to deliberately cause trouble and seek peace in Solitary Confinement Mountain to sort out my cultivation path and resolve some of the problems I've encountered."

Even with Qin Haoxuan's sincere words, Xu Yu and Murong Chao were still startled. Who in the entire Taichu Sect didn't turn pale at the mention of solitary confinement? Yet Qin Haoxuan wanted to deliberately cause trouble and seek torment in Solitary Confinement Mountain for peace. Xu Yu and Murong Chao, who endured the torment of the residual medicinal power of the One-Leaf Golden Lotus daily, could never understand what Qin Haoxuan was thinking.

Looking at Qin Haoxuan's earnest expression, Xu Yu hesitated before finally sighing softly, "Senior Brother Murong and I will take good care of your cornfield. Don't worry."

Expecting Xu Yu to try and persuade Qin Haoxuan, and now that even she wasn't, Murong Chao said no more. After interacting with them for these past few days, he knew that Qin Haoxuan was not a reckless person. His decision must have its reasons. Perhaps in the scheming and treacherous Spirit Field Valley, the harsh environment of Solitary Confinement Mountain would be more freeing.

Xu Yu and Murong Chao looked at Qin Haoxuan's resolute face, a sense of indescribable warmth filling their hearts.

Qin Haoxuan had filled the water vats in advance so that Xu Yu and Murong Chao wouldn't be burdened with watering his fields after he went into confinement. He even worried that the two of them wouldn't be able to carry enough water, delaying the growth of the crops, and was even carrying water for them.

After several days of such intense water carrying, the exhausted Qin Haoxuan fell asleep on Xu Yu's bed. It wasn't until Li Jing knocked on Xu Yu's door that he woke up.

Seeing Li Jing, Murong Chao's expression tightened, and he quickly made an excuse to return to his own room. Xu Yu looked at Li Jing, then at Qin Haoxuan sleeping on the bed, and said, "Senior Brother Li, you're looking for Brother Haoxuan, right?"

"Yes!" Li Jing said with a smile. He even nodded at Murong Chao as he got up to leave, appearing very well-mannered, as if he didn't care about Murong Chao's betrayal and was even pleased with it. He said to Xu Yu, "Actually, there's nothing else. I haven't chatted with Junior Brother Qin in a while, so I came specifically to talk with him today."

"Brother Haoxuan is too tired and has fallen asleep." During this time, Xu Yu didn't dislike Li Jing; he had even helped her and Qin Haoxuan before. However, she didn't want to engage in meaningless pleasantries with him. So, she politely said, "If Senior Brother Li has nothing else, please leave for now! When Brother Haoxuan wakes up, we will come to pay you a visit."

Being asked to leave by the host immediately upon entering, Li Jing not only didn't get angry but smiled even more brightly. He nodded slightly and bowed, "Thank you, Junior Sister, for your concern. Please let me know when Junior Brother Qin wakes up. Thank you! I'll take my leave now."

Li Jing's confident smile perfectly concealed the arrogance in his eyes. He was a completely different person from the arrogant newcomer he had been. Despite being asked to leave by Xu Yu, he still bowed respectfully and took his leave, his manners impeccable. Just as he turned to leave, Qin Haoxuan, who had been snoring softly moments before, woke up and called out to Li Jing, "Senior Brother Li is looking for me? What is it?"

"My apologies for disturbing Junior Brother Qin's sweet dreams." Li Jing clasped his hands together, a friendly smile on his face. "Actually, there's nothing else. A few days ago, Junior Brother successfully rooted, and I was at a critical juncture in my cultivation, so I only managed a hasty congratulation before leaving. Today, I've come specifically to apologize to you, Junior Brother. Please accept this small token of my appreciation."

Qin Haoxuan leaped off the bed with a flip. As the saying goes, a person doesn't visit without a reason. Seeing Li Jing speaking so indirectly, smiling so humbly, and bringing him a gift, he knew it couldn't be good news.