The Ten-Year Term Has Arrived, the Beginning of a Sequence Lineage

Qingshan Lake is located in Jiangbei, more than three thousand li away from Xiaopei County, with the Spirit River running between them.

A basin-like great marsh is surrounded by groups of mountains, with a wide expanse of water, dense reeds, and a bottomless depth. This place is located in the hinterland of Jiang Prefecture and serves as the intersection of Jiangbei's three major cities. Logically, with various factions guarding it, it should have been a place of bustling human traffic, yet it has consistently been ignored by everyone and regarded as a forbidden ground.

Rumors in the streets and alleys claim that this territory once had a thousand ghosts above ground and ten thousand ghosts beneath the water. Living people who entered either died or went mad. The town was abandoned and the villagers relocated, leaving only a stretch of ruined houses slowly rotting away under the ravages of time.

The Daoist Sect also refuted these rumors many times, but the gossip has been passed down by word of mouth through generations, lasting for hundreds of years. It has long since taken deep root, and no one dares to risk their lives to verify it.

Over time, even the Daoist Sect forgot the existence of this jurisdiction. After all, Jiang Prefecture spans nearly ten thousand li of continuous land, and the Daoist Sect cannot manage every single inch of soil.

Through a fortuitous convergence of various past circumstances, Qingshan Lake actually became the most suitable place for practitioners of the Agricultural Path to live in seclusion and develop.

Previously, when Wang Congyun brought Qin Niangzi and the four children here, he also scouted out the area carefully for a long time, confirming that it was completely free of ghost qi before daring to let them settle down.

Before leaving, he repeatedly exhorted: "You must never go out or have contact with outsiders... The more desolate this place is, the better, and the more ignored it is, the better."

Qin Niangzi solemnly agreed, and afterward she brought the children to make their home here, clearing out the ruined houses, diverting the Spirit River water to irrigate the fields, and reclaiming barren earth. At first, the children were still timid, huddling together when sleeping at night, but as the days grew longer and the land became familiar, people gradually settled down in their hearts.

They farmed at sunrise and rested at sunset, passing through hurried years in a flash.

Qin Niangzi was a dab hand at farming, and under her personal guidance and practice, all four children also became experts in farm work. The eldest, named Qin Yi, was already nearly fourteen, with a small face tanned dark by the sun and nimble labor, while the youngest was ten years old, named Qin An, who was a shy lass.

Three of the four children successively awakened their Awakened Wisdom, achieving the Ninth Grade "Farmer".

As for the youngest, the fifth child, she was already an Eighth Grade Xiao Tuyun while still in her mother's womb. She was even more extraordinary, having learned to speak early on. When she was jumping and rolling everywhere on the ground, she could already discuss Agricultural Path knowledge with great fluency, and turning around, she could even teach it to her older brothers and elder sister.

Last winter, Xiao Tuyun somehow burrowed into the ground and vanished without a trace.

Qin Niangzi was scared to death and took the other children to search for more than half a day, finally discovering her in a patch of crops at the other end of the fields. Xiao Tuyun was squatting behind the rice plants with only a pair of eyes exposed, looking out and giggling—she was practically a little demon pill.

Qin Niangzi was so angry she spanked her right on the spot.

Ever since then, everyone knew that Xiao Tuyun wasn't just a "Farmer", but also some kind of "Field Steward". So there was an Eighth Grade above the Ninth Grade, but what was above that Eighth Grade?

No one knew, but everyone held expectations in their hearts.

From then on, Xiao Tuyun became the family's precious darling. Her three older brothers and elder sister doted on and spoiled her, revolving around her every day, holding her in their palms for fear she would fall, keeping her in their mouths for fear she would melt.

Xiao Tuyun would get endlessly annoyed by the fuss and would always use the Earth Escape Technique to sneak out and play.

Later, Qin Niangzi and Qin Yi successively broke through to the Eighth Grade "Field Steward" and could also use the Earth Escape Technique to chase after her, which made them feel much more at ease.

A group of unrelated people with no blood ties gathered together because they were the surviving disaster victims of the Dajiang County disaster. They depended on each other for survival, grew as close as family, and made their home here by the Qingshan Lakeside, calling themselves the Qingshan Lake Qin Household.

The stars shifted and the moon rotated; suns and moons alternated. A Sequence Lineage was quietly growing.

The thirty-third year of the Jingtai Era, late summer.

The afternoon sun was scorching, the lake surface shimmered with silver light, the reeds rustled, and the chirping of insects gradually threshed.

Suddenly!

Rumble—

The soil layer on the bank bulged and poked out.

Immediately following, a small figure drilled out from the earth, barefoot, with two blades of grass still stuck to her head.

Swish!

Four-year-old Xiao Tuyun only reached the height of an adult's knees this year. Her face was round, her eyes big and bright, and she tied two little buns on top of her head. She glanced back and chuckled.

This time she had run a full ten li away, and she even shouted back, "Big Bro—you can't catch me!"

From the distance came Qin Yi's exasperated voice: "Xiao Tuyun! You stop right there!"

Qin Yi was also an Eighth Grade, but his Earth Escape Technique could only be used once a day. Having already used it this moment, he could only open his legs and sprint wildly in pursuit, running with his head full of sweat.

Xiao Tuyun covered her mouth and giggled, deliberately waiting for him in place. Just as Qin Yi was about to catch up and grab her, her little foot stomped the ground—

Slap! Rumble, rumble, rumble!

The soil layer surged instantly, resembling a wall of earth that flipped up fiercely, wrapping Qin Yi tightly from feet to head and leaving only his eyes exposed.

"Qin Yi-brand big steamed bun!"

Xiao Tuyun clapped her hands and laughed back and forth.

Qin Yi struggled in the mud for a long time, cursing with his mouth: "Xiao Tuyun! Don't let me out! Otherwise you won't escape this spanking!"

Xiao Tuyun turned around, stuck out her little butt and patted it, sticking out her little tongue to provoke him, saying, "Big Bro, come on, come and hit me!"

Suddenly, a wisp of a cool breeze swept over.

The noisy brother and sister both paused at the same time—

The smile vanished from Xiao Tuyun's face, and Qin Yi also stopped struggling, cocking his ear to listen to the distance.

The earth was trembling.

Very faint, very distant, but it truly existed... At least a dozen people were approaching this direction!

Ordinary people certainly wouldn't be able to perceive it, but they were Eighth Grade Field Stewards; their perception of the earth was far too sharp.

Five years!

No outsiders had ever come to Qingshan Lake!

Without a word, Xiao Tuyun lifted her little hand, and the soil layer shattered with a crash, releasing Qin Yi.

Qin Yi protected Xiao Tuyun behind him, and the two hid behind a large tree to observe the distance.

Before Qin Yi could say anything, Xiao Tuyun had already leaned close to his ear and whispered in her baby voice: "Big Bro... You watch here to see what's going on with this bunch of people. I'll go back and tell Mother and the others to hide first! Daoist Priest Wang said not to have contact with outsiders!"

Qin Yi nodded repeatedly.

At the critical moment, his little sister was even more sober than he was.

"Hurry back! I'll keep watch here. If there's danger, I'll find a way to send word to you."

"Mm-mm! Big Bro, absolutely don't proactively go out and make contact with them! Take care of everything!"

Qin Yi was amused and exasperated: "Hey, are you the big brother or am I the big brother? You're even reminding me? Got it! Go, go, go, hurry up and leave!"

Xiao Tuyun's figure sank downward, escaping deep into the soil layer.

Her rate of advancement was the fastest in the Qin Household, and she had long since mastered the Earth Escape Technique three times a day. Even that Earthmoving Technique was quite proficient, making her practically at the peak of the Eighth Grade. However, the path above the Eighth Grade still remained entirely unknown to her, difficult to peer into.

Qin Yi shrank behind the old tree and held his breath, looking into the distance.

Sure enough, a line of seventeen people were hacking through the briars and pioneering a path as they walked. Their steps were cautious, looking around anxiously, carrying luggage packages of various sizes. Some were even carrying hoes and plows, while others drove yellow oxen and rode donkeys, practically moving their entire family fortunes here.

Qin Yi's gaze swept across them one by one, his pupils shrinking.

All of them were "Farmers"!

These seventeen people were unexpectedly all Ninth Grade of the Agricultural Path!

He remembered very clearly that when Daoist Priest Wang sent them here five years ago, he said that after the destruction of Dajiang County, the only remaining Agricultural Path in the world were the Spirit River Temple "Farmer" branch and their Qingshan Lake Qin Household branch.

Right now, these people... could they be people from Spirit River Temple?!

They wore coarse cloth garments, their wind- and sun-chiseled faces filled with weather-beaten hardship. They looked like farming households digging a living out of the dirt, but the auras on their bodies couldn't deceive anyone... Spirit River Temple had discovered Qingshan Lake?!

Qin Yi felt a chill run down his back. Not daring to act rashly, he trailed far behind this group of people, using the vegetation to conceal his figure.

That group of people walked very slowly, stopping from time to time to look around. Not even talking amongst themselves, the silence was eerie... as if they were avoiding something, treading on thin ice.

The more Qin Yi watched, the more confused he became.

If they were people from Spirit River Temple, how could they be so trembling with fear?

After a long while.

The line of farmers arrived at the edge of the great lake.

It was precisely an open space where reeds swayed. Here, there had once been several earth houses belonging to the Qin family, but at this moment they had long since been hidden underground by Xiao Tuyun using the Earthmoving Technique, and the crops and fertile fields on the surface were also covered by the soil layer, looking from the outside like nothing more than a stretch of wasteland.

That group of farmers looked around left and right, and seeing that there was no one about, their expressions all collapsed.

"How strange... Daoist Priest Wang said there are other surviving farming households here. Why is there no one?"

"The Daoist priest couldn't be lying to us, right?"

"After traveling thousands of li, leaving our native homes, shivering and trembling with fear, and finally entering the Qingshan Forbidden Ground, there isn't even a single human shadow..."

"Where is the way out? Where is the way out in this world...?!'

Someone collapsed onto the ground on the spot, covering their face and gently sobbing.

The leading man was under forty, with rough skin, broad shoulders, and a sturdy build. He glanced around to signal everyone not to panic, then took a deep breath and suddenly blew a loud whistle.

The whistle echoed across the lake surface.

He cleared his throat and shouted toward the empty lake shore: "Ten thousand li of fertile fields—!"

After shouting, he held his breath, waiting nervously.

The lake surface was silent, the wind blowing the reeds to rustle.

No one responded.

Qin Yi hid behind the tree, his heart tightening. This was the secret signal agreed upon with Daoist Priest Wang! According to reason, only the Qin family members and Daoist Priest Wang knew it.

Why did this person know it as well? Were they related to Daoist Priest Wang?!

Were they worth trusting? Should he show himself and meet them?

In less than a moment.

Swish!

The soil layer by the lake bulged, and the mud slipped away, revealing a woman's gaunt face.

Qin Xian drilled out from underground, looking somewhat timidly at the strangers before her. The other party also looked at her with some unease, and after hesitating for quite a while, Qin Xian carefully replied: "The Agricultural Path flourishes...!"

"What relationship do you... have with Daoist Priest Wang?"