Tilling and Reading

"Oh? You think it's an insult to ask you to build a house?"

After hearing Wang Yifu's words, Qiu Yan snapped his fingers, "What kind of logic is that? There are millions of houses in the world. According to you, every additional house means a new group of people will be insulted?"

"How could I, Wang Yifu, do the work of a craftsman?" Wang Yifu looked at Qiu Yan with a resolute expression, showing no fear and exuding an air of unyielding strength.

Qiu Yan was not surprised. He simply said, "Judging from your words, you have lofty ambitions and are unwilling to do the work of a craftsman. But now that you are my prisoner, what right do you have to be picky?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Yifu revealed a mocking smile, "An army can be deprived of its commander, but a common man cannot be deprived of his will. How can my will be extinguished by adversity? I know your words are nothing more than using the story of the Holy Emperor fishing with nets and spreading the Way to illustrate the principle that all professions have their own duties, spouting empty words about labor having no distinction of high or low status. But where in the world is there true equality?"

Qiu Yan narrowed his eyes and looked at Wang Yifu: "You do have some knowledge, and you seem to be learned as well. Since you know these things, yet you are unwilling to work, you must think you are superior to others. Although you are capable of doing it, you disdain to do it."

"Isn't that so? Even the Sage said that a gentleman does not till the land but eats, not because he is a freeloader, but because of the division of labor, which can bring peace and prosperity to the country. You are working hard now, but when my Void-Driving Dao comes to kill you, you will still be unable to stop me! That is the difference!" Wang Yifu seemed to want to argue with Qiu Yan.

Qiu Yan simply shook his head and ignored him, turning to look at Tong Shou and the others, his gaze sweeping across their faces. Those whose faces he looked at felt a stinging pain, as if pricked by needles.

After a brief silence, Tong Shou made his decision. "I am willing to follow Your Excellency's arrangements." Liu Tian and the others were no exception. They all expressed their opinions. Although Qiu Yan could still see the resentment in their eyes, after all, this grudge of ruined skills could not be easily let go. Years of hard work had been destroyed in an instant. No one could forgive such a thing.

However, Tong Shou and the others' words caused Wang Yifu's expression to change. He then revealed a look of disdain but said nothing more, clearly looking down on the integrity of Tong Shou and the others.

Qiu Yan took all this in and nodded. "That's excellent, they can work alongside me."

"Hmm?" The information revealed in Qiu Yan's words surprised the others, but soon, events confirmed their guesses. Qiu Yan changed into coarse clothes and worked with everyone else.

Among this group, Qiu Yan, Hu Qi, and Dai Guo were the strongest and most efficient. Tong Shou, Liu Tian, and others, on the other hand, either had their acupoints blocked or their skills crippled. Although they still had their basic abilities, they were depleted of vital energy and could not work as well as Qiu Yan and the other two, but they were still much better than ordinary craftsmen.

Seeing this, even the physically weak Chen Yun joined in, doing some simple work.

Soon, the basic shape of the house began to appear.

The plot of land that Qiu Yan chose was neither too close nor too far from the dilapidated temple. The terrain was flat, but because of the dense surrounding woods, some thought had to be put into its layout; otherwise, the sunlight wouldn't be able to penetrate, making it appear dark and oppressive, and over time it would become damp.

But after the basic structure was completed, Chen Yun walked around inside and outside the house, observing it from various angles, and then exclaimed in admiration, "Brother Qiu, the house you designed is truly beyond my expectations. Several windows are perfectly positioned to receive sunlight, which shows that you have studied the craftsmanship. You are truly learned."

"Not at all, I just paid more attention to the surrounding environment when I came here." Qiu Yan was neither humble nor arrogant. He didn't know much about architecture. He admired the pavilion of Bei Xuan Temple when he saw it in Scholar Forest. However, in the Book Mountain Mine, he obtained a Phantom Books related to Mechanism Arts. It involved structural changes. After comparing it with his memories from his previous life, he had a certain grasp of the layout of the house.

On the other side, Tong Shou and the others worked silently, their bodies drenched in sweat, their hearts filled with vigilance. However, they secretly agreed with Chen Yun's words. Although their time together was short, it had given them a certain understanding of Qiu Yan's erudition.

At noon, Hu Qi took out some food, including plenty of meat and other highly nutritious dishes.

At their invitation, Tong Shou and the others didn't stand on ceremony and sat down to eat. They had suffered a great upheaval and needed to replenish their nutrition. Moreover, they had worked for a long time and were exhausted, so it was time for them to rest.

In no time, the group enjoyed their meal immensely.

But Wang Yifu had nothing to eat. He kept sneering and made sarcastic remarks while Tong Shou and the others were working. Now that everyone was sitting down, he perked up and began to berate them in Yin-Yang tone, giving the impression that he was sticking to his principles and not afraid of power.

Qiu Yan suddenly put down his chopsticks, walked up to Wang Yifu, and said calmly, "Everyone is tired and restless. Your words will inevitably disturb their State of Mind."

"What? They dare to do it, but I'm not allowed to say anything?" Wang Yifu looked up and sneered, his words utterly unrestrained.

"I know you feel hopeless because your Soul Dao is shattered, and you're somewhat despondent, but there's no need to act like this." Qiu Yan flicked his fingers, pointing at Tong Shou and the others. "Why do you think they're cooperating so much? Why haven't they even put up any resistance?"

"Because they fear your fists!" Wang Yifu replied matter-of-factly.

Qiu Yan shook his head, then said, "If you hadn't refused so decisively, they might have shown some integrity."

"Hmm?" Wang Yifu raised an eyebrow.

"You are the only son of the Void-Driving Dao Lord, so they naturally want to protect you," Qiu Yan said slowly. "It is precisely because of their willingness to compromise that you have such lofty ambitions! Otherwise, how could I, Qiu Yan, allow you to cause trouble again?"

"What did you say!" Wang Yifu gritted his teeth and sneered, "Your skills have been destroyed, there's no hope left, what's the point of having so many things?"

A cold glint flashed in Qiu Yan's eyes. "From your words, I can roughly guess that you still have some desire for the position of Void-Driving Palm. Now you feel that your Soul Dao cultivation is broken and you have no hope, so you are so self-destructive and willing to offend me."

Wang Yifu continued to sneer and did not respond, but his expression was somewhat unnatural. He felt a tremor in his heart from Qiu Yan's gaze.

Qiu Yan shook his head. "I don't know much about the Daoist Sect, but I think that the person who becomes the sect leader doesn't necessarily have to have exceptional skills."

"What a joke! How can you intimidate disciples if your skill is not high?" Wang Yifu immediately retorted.

Qiu Yan glanced at him. "According to you, the emperor of the Great Rui must be the person with the highest cultivation in the world, and the prime ministers who manage Yin-Yang and wield the divine artifacts must all be Grandmaster."

Wang Yifu was taken aback by these words and was speechless.

Qiu Yan continued, "If a sect leader only possesses profound cultivation, then worldly affairs would be much simpler. Anyone with a grievance would simply resort to force. But how many can truly sweep across the universe? You feel hopeless about becoming sect leader because your cultivation is shattered, but in my opinion, as long as the Void-Driving Dao Lord still has a shred of reason and wants the sect to continue, he wouldn't have passed the position to you while you still possessed cultivation! Managing a sect isn't about being brave and ruthless."

After saying this, Qiu Yan turned and left. He ate a little something and then called the others to get back to work. But this time, the expressions of Tong Shou and the others changed slightly.

As for Wang Yifu, he suppressed his sneer, remained silent, and looked thoughtful.

As the sun began to set, the houses were basically completed, but they were not yet habitable, so the group spent the night in the dilapidated temple. Fortunately, Qiu Yan had Hu Qi and the others prepare bedding.

Wang Yifu, who was passionate during the day, was now somewhat silent, and his eyes occasionally revealed a thoughtful look, the resoluteness that had filled them before fading considerably.

When a person is determined to burn their bridges, their courage soars; but if they rediscover hope, reason will prevail.

The next day, the house was completed. Qiu Yan bought some furniture and decorations, spending almost all the silver coins he had earned from selling his calligraphy, but he still showed no signs of stopping.

"Buy all the books listed on the list."

He handed Hu Qi a piece of paper covered with writing, the titles of books written on it, densely packed. Hu Qi astonished, knowing that books weren't cheap these days.

But since Qiu Yan had given the instructions, Hu Qi didn't waste any time. With his cultivation level, the round trip didn't take much time. He gathered the necessary books in several villages and towns on the outskirts of the city and returned in time.

In the newly built house, Qiu Yan looked at the stacks of books on the table, picking and choosing, sorting and classifying them. He first took out Sage Sun's articles, then pointed to another pile and said to Hu Qi, "Send these to Tong Shou and the others, and have them study them every day. There will be a test every three days from now on."

"Make them study? And even take exams?" Upon hearing this, Hu Qi's expression was extremely strange, but he didn't dare to ask any more questions, nodded, and left.

In the following days, a wooden fence was erected around the house. Qiu Yan personally cut down and cleared several acres of land, leading Tong Shou and others to work. Wang Yifu's attitude also changed; he was no longer as stubborn as before, and sometimes he would look through books.

Seeing this, Qiu Yan found a few pigs outside, penned them up, and asked Wang Yifu to feed them. However, this angered Wang Yifu again, and the two sides were once again in a standoff.

Qiu Yan didn't take this to heart at all; he only said one thing—

"If you don't work, you won't eat." He then ignored Wang Yifu.

Even though Wang Yifu Life Cultivation still physically strong and could hold out for a while, he hadn't eaten a single grain of rice in several days and was showing signs of weakness, which made Tong Shou, Liu Tian, and the others restless.

However, no matter how much Tong Shou and others pleaded for him, Qiu Yan remained unmoved. He continued to farm every day, but spent most of his time studying the newly bought books.

"I'll take this opportunity to study Sage Sun's works. Once I've digested the Sage Spirit, I should be able to further improve my Divine Spirit Talisman. I can also use this opportunity to reconstruct the structure of those talismans!"

He studied diligently in his Fleshly Body, while his Divine Spirit Body subdued the two dragons and turned his attention to the Netherworld and the believers in the Mortal Realm.

For a moment, it felt like everything was ready except for the final push.

A storm is brewing.