Seizing the Opening, a Black-Hearted Scheme

"He claimed he wanted to contend for the position of sect leader, saying Zhang Kuang and Li Jing were no match for him... He also said..." At this point, Zhang Yang deliberately paused. He looked at Gu Xiaoyun with an awkward expression, putting on the appearance of wanting to speak but hesitating.

Gu Xiaoyun could only sneer inwardly upon hearing this. Zhang Yang truly was a master at spouting nonsense. He had long wanted to get his hands on Qin Haoxuan's Spirit Spring plot and had already sent spies to watch it at all times. If Qin Haoxuan had truly said such things, word would have reached him long ago.

"He also said that Gu Xiaoyun, the nephew of Gu Yun Hall's master, did not even dare act arrogantly before him. You tried time and again to trade land with him, only to be sternly refused. Now, that Gu Xiaoyun is as wilted as the corn sprouts in your fields!" Zhang Yang spoke slowly and softly as he watched Gu Xiaoyun's expression. He saw that plump face turn from white to red, then finally green!

Gu Xiaoyun was angry. At least, in Zhang Yang's eyes, this plump-faced senior brother had been provoked by him!

Gu Xiaoyun did indeed look furious, but inwardly, he was delighted beyond measure. He had truly wanted to trouble Qin Haoxuan and take that Spirit Spring plot, but he had lacked an excuse!

Now, just as he had dozed off, someone brought him a pillow. Since Zhang Yang had come to wag his tongue, he only needed to follow along and fly into a rage. Later, after beating Qin Haoxuan and taking full advantage, even if the Disciplinary Hall came knocking, he could push it all onto Zhang Yang and say Zhang Yang was the one who had told him.

Gu Xiaoyun glared fiercely at Zhang Yang and demanded, "You didn't lie to me? He really said that?"

"Even if you lent me a few more guts, I still wouldn't dare deceive you, Senior Brother Gu! You're my master's own nephew. There will be plenty of times when I'll need to rely on you in the future, so how could I dare lie to you?" Zhang Yang loudly declared his innocence. Seeing that Gu Xiaoyun had indeed believed him seven or eight parts out of ten, he secretly cackled. Qin Haoxuan, Qin Haoxuan, just wait and see!

"That bastard actually dared say I'm like wilted corn sprouts in the field? I'll make him wilt! I'll make him wilt..." In his fury, Gu Xiaoyun snapped more than a dozen spiritual herbs in his own field, wearing an expression as though they were Qin Haoxuan. Once his anger had eased slightly, he pretended to realize that so many of the spiritual herbs he had painstakingly planted had been broken by his own rage. His fury immediately surged to the heavens again, and he put the entire debt on Qin Haoxuan's head. With a pained expression, he roared, "Damn Qin Haoxuan! He made me kill so many spiritual herbs! I'm going to trade fields with him right now. If he refuses again, I'll destroy every corn sprout in his field tonight!"

Zhang Yang was delighted that his provocation had succeeded, but he put on an aggrieved expression. "That Qin Haoxuan is too detestable. Destroying his cornfield would be letting him off easy. Just for those slanderous words he spoke behind your back, you ought to take his plot to compensate for the damage to your reputation!"

"Hmph, need you even say it?" Gu Xiaoyun sneered, cold light flashing in his eyes. He looked utterly determined to have it.

"Then this little brother will wait for Senior Brother Gu to stand up for us and uphold justice."

Following behind Gu Xiaoyun as he left, Zhang Yang sneered to himself. Although Gu Xiaoyun's aptitude was average and he was overly impulsive, his Immortal Seedling Realm Seventh Leaf strength, coupled with the enormous backing of his uncle, was more than enough to make Qin Haoxuan suffer.

Just as Gu Xiaoyun and his group were about to seek out Qin Haoxuan, Qin Haoxuan and the other two were also walking toward the farmland. He was calculating that after watering in the afternoon, he would carry a few more loads of water. Tomorrow, only Xu Yu's large vat would remain unfilled. Once it was filled, he could go into confinement without worry.

Seeing Qin Haoxuan approaching head-on, the furious Gu Xiaoyun rushed forward in quick strides and grabbed Qin Haoxuan by the collar, looking as though he wanted to swallow him alive, then grind his bones to ash.

"Kid Qin, I'll ask you one last time today. Are you trading this plot or not?" Gu Xiaoyun looked ferocious as a demon. Whenever he spoke harshly, the fat on his face quivered.

"Not trading! I've said it plenty of times too—I'm not trading!" Gu Xiaoyun had grabbed him by the collar the moment they met. Even a clay Buddha had three parts of fire, and Qin Haoxuan was enraged. He flung Gu Xiaoyun's hand away and replied angrily, "Give up already. Even if your uncle Gu Yunzi came in person, don't dream of trading with me!"

"You ungrateful little bastard! You actually dared mention my uncle's name directly! Do you have any respect for your master and elders at all? Watch me beat you to death today!" Gu Xiaoyun raised his fist to strike. Qin Haoxuan did not yield in the slightest, and a brawl was about to become unavoidable.

Suddenly, Xu Yu stepped in front of Qin Haoxuan in a single stride. Without saying a word, she fixed Gu Xiaoyun with eyes burning with fury.

Gu Xiaoyun's fist was about to hit Xu Yu's face. With his strength, even without spiritual power, he could easily send the slender Xu Yu flying. But seeing Xu Yu stand before Qin Haoxuan once more, Gu Xiaoyun hurriedly stopped his fist when it was less than an inch from her.

Beating Qin Haoxuan was nothing. Even if he was the strongest weak seed, Gu Xiaoyun had no fear. But if he struck Xu Yu, then confinement would likely be the least of his punishment. Even having his cultivation abolished and being expelled from the sect would not be considered excessive. The four words "Supreme Purple Seed" carried a thunderous reputation throughout the entire cultivation world.

"No guts. Whenever there's a fight, you hide behind a woman. I think you should hurry home, cling to your mother, and drink milk. With so little courage, what are you cultivating immortality for?" Though Gu Xiaoyun did not dare strike Xu Yu, his foul mouth began hurling insults at Qin Haoxuan. More and more people came to the farmland to work, and Gu Xiaoyun cursed with even greater vigor. The lackeys behind him also began to chime in. Zhang Yang alone kept his mouth shut, though his smug expression showed that he was gleefully watching the spectacle.

After watching for a while and seeing Zhang Kuang and Li Jing gather around as well, Zhang Yang finally said to Gu Xiaoyun, "Enough, enough, Senior Brother Gu. What's the point of cursing someone who lives off a woman? Why not let me say a few words to him?"

Qin Haoxuan had understood what was going on the moment he saw Zhang Yang standing behind Gu Xiaoyun. Zhang Yang must have sown dissension, which was why Gu Xiaoyun had come charging over in a blaze of anger to demand his Spirit Spring plot.

Zhang Yang took a few steps forward but did not dare get too close to Qin Haoxuan. After all, Qin Haoxuan had even defeated an Immortal Seedling Realm Fifth Leaf expert. From a distance, Zhang Yang advised, "Qin Haoxuan, Hall Master Gu, my master, painstakingly guided your cultivation and let a mere weak seed like you complete Rooting in twenty days. By all rights, you should be deeply grateful to my master! But my master is broad-minded and does not covet petty gains. He enjoys guiding weaklings like you, allowing you to gain a foothold in the sect as well. Now, Senior Brother Gu Xiaoyun is my master's own nephew. Senior Brother Gu needs to plant a batch of spiritual herbs, but the spiritual energy of a first-grade Spirit Land is insufficient. He wishes to trade for your Spirit Spring plot for a year. You refused time and again, and today you even clashed with Senior Brother Gu. That is where you are in the wrong!"

After Zhang Yang's lengthy speech, his skill at turning black into white had clearly reached the point of perfection. In just a few sentences, he painted Qin Haoxuan as an ungrateful man while concealing Gu Xiaoyun's forceful, overbearing conduct. Gu Xiaoyun immediately took a great liking to him and loudly echoed, "Right, exactly as Junior Brother Zhang Yang said!"

Qin Haoxuan's face gradually darkened. If Murong Chao had not been holding him back tightly, he would have already rushed forward and beaten Zhang Yang senseless.

Xu Yu shot Zhang Yang a cold glare, then fixed her gaze on Gu Xiaoyun's fat face. In an indifferent tone, she said, "Are you done making a scene? If you are, we need to work. Please do as you please, and stop blocking our path!"

Even though Xu Yu was a Supreme Purple Seed, she was only in the Rooting stage of the Immortal Root Planting Realm. Gu Xiaoyun, meanwhile, was an Immortal Seedling Realm Seventh Leaf expert with an extremely powerful background. In front of so many people, being spoken to like this by a little girl who had only just completed Rooting made his old face unable to bear it. He stared viciously at Qin Haoxuan and said, "I'll ask you one more time. Are you trading this plot or not?"

Qin Haoxuan stared fixedly at Zhang Yang, making Zhang Yang feel guilty. He could not help backing away a few steps and hiding behind Gu Xiaoyun. Then Qin Haoxuan laughed. "Heh heh..."

Those two simple repeated syllables carried endless mockery, making Gu Xiaoyun feel as though Qin Haoxuan had publicly slapped him twice across the face. He gritted his teeth and threatened, "Fine! Fine! You're something! With that attitude of yours, if anything grows from this plot, I'll eat the dirt itself!"

Qin Haoxuan gave a snort of disdain through his nose. His expression was more serious than ever as he looked at Gu Xiaoyun. "If anything goes wrong with my plot, Gu Xiaoyun... I'll teach you a lesson a hundred times harsher than what I gave those senior brothers with Immortal Leaves that day."

On the night after Gu Xiaoyun quarreled with Qin Haoxuan, the night was dark and the wind was high, with thick mist hanging in the air.

Several shadows carrying torches walked along the field ridges toward Qin Haoxuan's Spirit Spring plot. In this night where one could not see one's own hand before one's face, the figures found the ridges difficult to walk on and simply barged into the new disciples' cornfields, trampling across the soft earth without hindrance. In the vast farmland, now lush and verdant, they crushed who knew how many corn sprouts.

Yet they had no scruples at all, chatting and laughing as they walked. One voice said, "Boss, should we destroy Xu Yu's and Murong Chao's fields too? Especially that bitch Xu Yu—she goes against you every time!"

The speaker was viciously smacked on the head by a plump shadow, who snarled, "If you want to die, don't drag me down with you! Don't touch even one corn sprout in Xu Yu's or Murong Chao's fields. Otherwise, I'll skin you bastards alive, got it?"

"Yes, yes, Boss!"

These shadows were none other than Gu Xiaoyun and his lackeys.

After Gu Xiaoyun had once again proposed trading land during the day and been rejected by Qin Haoxuan, the two sides had argued. While Gu Xiaoyun had warned Qin Haoxuan, Qin Haoxuan had also fiercely warned him in return, making Gu Xiaoyun feel humiliated. That night, he lay in bed tossing and turning, thinking about it for a long time.

Qin Haoxuan was known as the strongest weak seed, but this generation had three Supreme Purple Seeds and two Gray Seeds. This strongest weak seed was not especially noticed or valued by the sect's upper ranks. If Gu Xiaoyun destroyed his field, at worst his uncle would give him a harsh scolding. It would still be worth it to vent his anger. He was a dignified Immortal Seedling Realm Seventh Leaf cultivator and the nephew of Gu Yun Hall's master. If he could not even handle a commoner who had entered the sect less than a month ago, with neither strength nor backing, how could he continue to establish himself in the Taichu Sect if word got out? Besides, he had coveted that Spirit Spring plot terribly and had to get his hands on it no matter what.

Gu Xiaoyun immediately made up his mind to destroy the corn sprouts in Qin Haoxuan's field that very night!

The moment they arrived at Qin Haoxuan's field, they uprooted the corn sprouts, which had already grown to half a person's height and would soon be ready for harvest, then snapped them in half. The crops Qin Haoxuan had painstakingly tended for many days were quickly destroyed completely.

By the torchlight, Gu Xiaoyun looked at the corn stalks strewn messily across the ground. Imagining Qin Haoxuan seeing this tomorrow, with a face on the verge of tears, crying to heaven with no answer and calling to earth with no response, Gu Xiaoyun smiled in satisfaction. What he wanted most now was to return and sleep sweetly through the night, then wait for Qin Haoxuan to come crying and begging to trade land with him tomorrow.