Red-Haired Monster

Manager Xu fell silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "My Lady, this person is merely a youth at the first level of Qi Refining. Can he truly shoulder such a heavy responsibility?"

Although the man in black who sold the spirit rice had disguised himself, even if he could deceive a Foundation Establishment cultivator like Manager Xu, a single sweep of divine sense was enough to reveal his true appearance.

However.

The Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion was a massive enterprise with its own rules, and it would never harbor any malicious intentions toward a mere youth at the Qi Refining stage.

"Xiao Liuzi said that this person once visited the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, at which time his identity was that of a miscellaneous disciple of the Lingxiao Sect."

The lady in white spoke with profound meaning.

"A miscellaneous disciple of the Lingxiao Sect?"

Manager Xu immediately frowned. Having spent many years in Lingyun City, he was quite familiar with the neighboring Lingxiao Sect. For decades, the spirit rice produced within the entire sect had never included medium-grade spirit rice.

After all, the sect's demand for spirit rice was not high—low-grade was sufficient—so the Lingxiao Sect always left the cultivation to miscellaneous disciples who were considered incapable of greater tasks.

"My Lady, I shall send someone to investigate quietly at once."

Manager Xu said with a solemn expression.

The lady in white waved her hand and smiled lightly. "No need. This youth does not currently possess such capability. If he manages to bring medium-grade spirit rice next time, we can then invite him for a detailed discussion."

"Understood."

Manager Xu bowed in agreement and retreated.

The room returned to tranquility. The beautiful lady in white gazed out the window, her thoughts drifting as her eyes gradually grew distant.

Lingxiao Sect.

Spirit field cultivation area.

"Cloud Rain Art!"

Chen Changming stood in the woods, looking at the ten acres of land he had reclaimed. He cast several incantations in succession, and a fierce wind suddenly arose. A vast expanse of clouds appeared out of thin air, covering the entire field as wisps of rain began to fall.

After a while, the rain stopped and the clouds dispersed.

"Nine hundred more times before the Cloud Rain Art undergoes an enhancement..."

Chen Changming turned and walked deep into the woods to continue his rain-making.

He had been focusing on the Cloud Rain Art recently. Due to his recent breakthrough in cultivation, he could now perform it ten times a day.

At a normal pace, it would take him over three months.

While his spiritual power recovered, Chen Changming consumed the nineteen Spirit Gathering Pills he had purchased in Lingyun City, which greatly accelerated his progress.

Nearly two months later, the strange phenomenon appeared on his body once more; his Cloud Rain Art had successfully reached one thousand uses, achieving its second breakthrough!

Immediately after the breakthrough, he cast the spell to water his ten acres of spirit fields.

As for the other five acres, he watered three of them, while for the remaining two, he weakened the effect of the Cloud Rain Art.

He did this because he did not want the sect to know just yet that he was capable of growing medium-grade spirit rice.

Initially, after joining the Lingxiao Sect, Chen Changming had thought about using the Cloud Rain Art to earn contribution points from others, but after his experience exchanging spirit rice at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, he had changed his mind.

The effect of his Cloud Rain Art was too potent; it was not wise to draw attention to himself for the time being.

It was better to tend to these spirit fields in peace. If he could cultivate medium-grade spirit rice, he would receive a massive return in spirit stones.

However, planting spirit rice was not a long-term path. Through his two trips to Lingyun City, Chen Changming had set his sights on talismans.

Making talismans took less time and fetched a high price. If he could find an opportunity to enter the craft and learn to make a single type of talisman, then use his own strange phenomenon to enhance it, he would have a new channel for income!

For a youth, the return on spirit rice was too slow—harvesting only once every six months was simply too inefficient.

Relying on spirit rice to supplement his cultivation was far too sluggish.

Chen Changming also knew that talisman-making required talent. With his aptitude of mixed five-element spiritual roots, he might not be able to learn it at all, but he had to try regardless; it wouldn't matter if he failed.

One month later.

Even while situated in the spirit rice cultivation area at the back of the mountain, Chen Changming received shocking news from others.

War had broken out between the Yue Kingdom and the Chu Kingdom!

The cultivation sects of both nations had joined the fray. As a prominent major sect of the Yue Kingdom, the Lingxiao Sect had dispatched a portion of its outer and inner sect disciples, led by deacon elders, to provide support.

Fortunately, my cultivation is too weak...

Hearing the news, Chen Changming felt a secret sense of relief. Most of the miscellaneous disciples in the valley had low cultivation and mediocre combat strength, so the Lingxiao Sect would certainly not send cannon fodder like them to war; doing so would only invite ridicule from other sects.

The youth focused on his cultivation.

Over the next two months, the atmosphere within the sect became subtle. Many inner and outer sect disciples began training desperately or venturing out on missions to earn contribution points in exchange for cultivation resources.

This was because it was rumored that most of the disciples who had gone to war had sacrificed their lives.

Those who had not perished were severely wounded and sent back to the Lingxiao Sect.

The war between the two nations had not yet ended, and as the situation grew increasingly dire, more people from the Lingxiao Sect were continuously sent to the front lines, leaving everyone in the sect feeling anxious and insecure.

This uneasy atmosphere gradually spread to the spirit rice cultivation area. The menial disciples living on the mountaintop became restless, while, conversely, those at the foot of the mountain were not the least bit panicked.

Within these two months, Chen Changming first mastered the Detoxification Art and successfully elevated it to the second level of enhancement.

He did not continue to practice the Cloud Rain Art, only casting it as a matter of routine when watering his fifteen mu of spirit fields. During these days, the youth would frequently observe the growth of the spirit rice, and gradually, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the rice was growing even better than he had anticipated.

The contrast was particularly evident in the five mu of fields outside his courtyard.

The spirit rice in three of those mu grew taller, the grain heads were larger, and the yield was terrifyingly higher than he had expected.

Chen Changming believed that if a once-enhanced Cloud Rain Art could bring spirit rice close to mid-grade, then a twice-enhanced version would surely allow him to cultivate actual mid-grade spirit rice.

After all, he had gained a deep understanding of this principle through his Spirit Finger Flick.

I wonder if the black mole on the sole of my foot has changed at all...

A startling thought suddenly surfaced in the youth's mind. He carefully took off his shoe and looked at the sole of his foot.

He looked at his right foot first.

The blurry female figure that had originally been on the black mole had vanished, and the mole had turned into a red one—bright red like fresh blood, shocking to the eye. It made the youth feel dizzy for a moment, and his spirit instantly became dazed.

At the same time.

A layer of fine red hair sprouted from the top of his foot, racing up along his lower leg. In the blink of an eye, the youth's entire body was covered in a layer of half-inch-long red hair, giving him the appearance of a red-haired monster.

"Enough!"

A cold, eerie voice rang out from an unknown place. Black light surged from the sole of his left foot, spreading across his entire body and instantly repelling the red hair, causing Chen Changming's body to return to normal. However, he remained dazed at that moment.

He did not even hear this cold, eerie voice.

"Don't you think his cultivation is exhausting? Why not give him a hand?"

A woman's voice spoke up.

This voice was even more sinister and eerie; if anyone were to hear it, it would be enough to scare their heart right out of their chest.

The man snorted coldly, "He has his own mission. If you interfere by force, I fear you will never escape from beneath his feet in this lifetime."

"Fine, I'll just watch the show quietly."

The woman seemed to yield, and she fell silent.

The man also stopped speaking.

At this moment, Chen Changming regained his senses. He looked at the soles of his feet again and discovered that the red mole was gone as well.

Both feet once again bore only two black moles.

The previous patterns had vanished completely, as if they had never appeared at all. Chen Changming rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing.

What on earth was going on?