A Letter Home

"These two spirit fields are the cheapest ones currently available, with the lowest leasing fees."

Steward Wang, wearing a beaming smile, stood on the ridge of the field with Li Muyang and gestured toward the two plots of land before them.

"Although they are a bit far from the lower areas and access is slightly inconvenient, there is a vacant tile-roofed house here, built by the previous spirit planter. The only drawback is that it has been sitting empty for quite a while, so you'll have to spend some time cleaning it up."

"You could easily move your home here and just live on-site from now on. It's quiet and no one will disturb you, which is perfect for us cultivators."

The jovial Fatty Wang appeared friendly and kind, completely lacking the bossy, arrogant demeanor of other stewards.

He chuckled and pointed toward the tile-roofed house not far away to indicate it: "That's the house right there."

Li Muyang followed the direction of his finger, looking at the dilapidated house with weeds growing all over its roof, then back at the cheerful Fatty Wang beside him. His feelings were complicated and difficult to put into words.

"Um... Steward Wang, are there really no other spirit fields?"

While I did want something cheaper and more remote, this is just too isolated!

These two spirit fields were located halfway up the mountain. Standing here, one could overlook the town-like complex of the Demon Refining Sect's outer sect below, while behind them lay a lush, dense primeval forest where, it was said, demonic beasts roamed.

Li Muyang had wanted a remote, inexpensive spirit field, but this place could hardly be called just "remote."

This was, for heaven's sake, the middle of nowhere.

Aside from these two lonely plots, there were no other spirit fields in the vicinity.

According to Guan Xiaoshun, an old spirit planter, when spirit fields were laid out in a crisscrossing network with connected ridges, the spiritual energy within them could complement each other, allowing the spirit grain to grow better.

Therefore, Guan Xiaoshun had advised Li Muyang to choose a vacant plot surrounded by other spirit fields.

With these two isolated plots, the energy and spiritual power required for Li Muyang to manage them alone would definitely be far greater than what others had to expend.

Li Muyang felt a bit helpless.

The beaming Fatty Wang sighed as well and said, "There's nothing to be done about it. I've already shown you all the remaining spirit fields. But since you can't afford the security deposit for those, this is the only one within your price range."

"Why don't you write a letter home and ask for some money?"

Steward Wang offered a thoughtful suggestion: "I'll hold two of the remaining vacant fields for you. Once the money from your family arrives, I can lease them to you then."

"The sect has rules; if the security deposit isn't sufficient, I cannot lease the spirit fields to you. My hands are tied."

The smiling Fatty Wang's attitude was excellent, and he was even willing to look after Li Muyang within the limits of his authority.

Although in terms of status and position, he was far above a menial disciple like Li Muyang.

Yet, facing Li Muyang, Fatty Wang remained patiently explanatory.

After all, the person before him had, in just two months since entering the sect, quietly cultivated to the third level of the Qi Refining stage.

Such talent was already considered excellent in the outer sect; perhaps in a few years, he could become a steward just like him, or even enter the inner sect.

Therefore, Fatty Wang was extremely patient.

Hearing the fatty's suggestion, Li Muyang fell silent for a moment.

Home...

In this world, he did indeed have family.

However, the original owner had a very strained relationship with them, and Li Muyang felt no sense of belonging to these strangers; he had no desire to be associated with them at all.

So, after a moment of hesitation, Li Muyang sighed and said, "Forget it, I'll just lease these two fields for now. Once I earn some money next year, I'll go lease a higher-quality spirit field."

After obtaining the Endless Spirit Rice Jar, he had broken through to the third level of the Qi Refining stage in less than a week.

Later, he had easily mastered the Cloud and Rain Art, which allowed him to apply to the sect to become a spirit planter.

But in Li Muyang's view, being a spirit planter was merely a transitional measure to avoid the drudgery of herding sheep.

With the Endless Spirit Rice Jar, he expected to reach the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage within a few months; he had no intention of actually working as a laborer farming for the Demon Refining Sect.

Once he successfully reached the Foundation Establishment stage and became a Foundation Establishment cultivator, this tiny outer sect would no longer be able to contain him.

Once he entered the Foundation Establishment stage, whether he chose to leave the Demon Refining Sect to regain his freedom or join the inner sect to obtain a more prestigious status, neither would be a problem for Li Muyang.

Even if he failed his Foundation Establishment attempt, he could simply accumulate more strength and try again.

Therefore, he would just make do with these two spirit fields, and if the harvest was poor, it wouldn't matter.

Once his cultivation was higher and he had the power to protect himself, he could simply sell a bit of high-grade spirit rice on the side; he would never be short of money.

Having thought this through, Li Muyang finally took out his meager savings, signed the deed with the beaming Steward Wang, and obtained the planting rights for these two vacant fields.

However, after seeing Steward Wang off, standing on the weed-choked ridge and looking at the waist-high grass in the fields, Li Muyang couldn't help but sigh.

"Forget about farming; it'll take days just to clear these weeds..."

But never mind, who else had as much time as he did?

Li Muyang didn't delay. He went straight down the mountain to borrow a wheelbarrow and transported all the jars and pots from his thatched hut, his two quilts, and his few sets of spare clothes up to the mountainside, truly intending to live here for the long term.

As for the game, he hadn't logged in for nearly 24 hours.

He had been stuck on the same level for too long and had temporarily lost interest.

Over the past few days, Li Muyang had died hundreds of times in the game, explored the entire village, and even spoken to every villager, gathering every bit of information he could find regarding the quest.

Yet, he still hadn't triggered the storyline related to the assassin, and he continued to die in inexplicable ways.

Stuck on the same level for seven consecutive days, Li Muyang had successfully broken through to the third level of the Qi Refining stage and even mastered the Cloud and Rain Art, yet he still hadn't found a way to break the deadlock.

At this moment, he finally grasped the true weight of the "no time limit" in that [Unlimited Growth Game].

If this game dungeon really had a time limit, I might as well just forfeit.

Standing on the ridge of the field and looking at the waist-high weeds, Li Muyang rolled up his sleeves and dove straight in.

Since the game was stuck, he decided to focus his energy on real life first; he would clean up the spirit field and the new house before slowly returning to the game.

Sometimes, when you're stuck in a game, you keep playing and keep failing, never making any progress. But if you stop to take a break for a couple of days before logging back in, a sudden flash of inspiration might reveal the solution.

Just like that, Li Muyang began the life of a spirit planter, cleaning the new house and clearing the weeds from the abandoned spirit field.

Life settled into a new rhythm.

It wasn't until the third day after he moved into the new house that a letter from outside the sect disrupted Li Muyang's routine.

The family members who had such a strained relationship with the original owner actually took the initiative to write.

The person who wrote the letter was the foster sister the original owner didn't particularly care for.

Seeing the first sentence of the letter, the girl's grinning, pretty face suddenly surfaced in Li Muyang's mind.

"Brother, that Miss Ning you were always clamoring to marry—the one you even fell out with Mom and Dad over—has joined the Demon Refining Sect too!"

"Oh, right, I've joined the Demon Refining Sect as well. I'll be there to report in a few days."

"This time I'll help you. We'll take down Miss Ning together and make her agree to marry you!"

After reading the contents of the letter, the corners of Li Muyang's mouth twitched, and he suddenly felt quite troubled.

Miss Ning...

In the original owner's memories, she was a beauty from Jiuyuan City. The original owner had been so infatuated with her that he swore he would marry her, even going so far as to break ties with his parents.

But from Li Muyang's perspective, the relationship between this Miss Ning and the original owner was nothing more than a story about a manipulative "green tea" girl keeping a fish on a hook, and a brainless simp.

Some Miss Ning...

Li Muyang rubbed his temples, speechless, and muttered, "I'm not interested in the slightest!"

Who would want to marry a manipulative woman who loves keeping men on a string?

Anyway, I sure as hell don't!