Straw Figure Technique and Three Kinds of Land Spirits

Jiang Tu looked down upon five years of peace and quiet, not focusing solely on Shennong Valley, for he had also kept a constant eye on the movements in New Apple City.

The Buddhist and Daoist paths had swept through with their fiercest efforts in the first two years to clear out the remnants of Old Farmer Hall, digging almost three feet deep into the earth to completely eradicate all traces related to the Agricultural Path within the city, until the momentum finally began to wane by the third year.

He quickly observed a phenomenon.

In those places where Agricultural Path cultivators had been buried en masse, the soil unexpectedly became exceptionally fertile, instantly bursting with lush grass and blooming flowers, crops growing in droves. The crops in the suburbs of New Apple City also grew sturdier year by year, yielding higher harvests with each passing season.

Some barren land, which was originally too sterile even to grow weeds, could suddenly grow anything planted on it ever since the Serf Rebellion, and even medicinal herbs grew better there than anywhere else!

Under such circumstances, Jiang Tu made a further discovery—even as the purging by the Buddhist and Daoist paths continued, sporadic new "farmers" were actually awakening and emerging in New Apple City!

These people lacked the teachings and heritage of Old Farmer Hall, nor did they have Luo Jin's guidance, yet they suddenly experienced a flash of insight one day and awakened their Awakened Wisdom. Quietly concealing themselves without showing their faces again, they faintly formed a formidable new reserve force scattered among the lower strata of New Apple City.

Synthesizing all these conditions, Jiang Tu felt a shock in his heart.

He associated this with the birth of the forbidden zone in Dajiang County in reality; previously he had not known what this birth meant, but comparing the two matters side by side at this moment, everything fit together seamlessly!

So that was how it was!!

The birth of the Dajiang forbidden zone, where the ghostly Qi dissipated and a new county was built, was achieved by stepping upon the corpses of numerous Agricultural Path cultivators!!

There was no "Endless Renewal" blessing in the evolution, so this kind of "rebirth" was not the effect of a blessing, but rather an inherent characteristic of the Agricultural Path sequence itself!

When Luo Jin broke through to the seventh grade, he also received the feedback of cultivation from the dead farmers out of the earth... So, was this a unique characteristic exclusive to the Agricultural Path sequence?!

He quickly summarized the pattern: the cultivation of Agricultural Path cultivators did not simply dissipate directly after death!! Instead, it would merge into the earth, and a portion of it would even return to the origin of their cultivation?!

This... was major intelligence! It filled in the biggest question in his heart!

The Daoists of Lingjiang Temple publicly claimed that they used profound Daoist arts to purify ghostly Qi and reclaim lost territory, but the truth was forged from the flesh and blood of the farmers of Dajiang County... This bunch of bastards truly knew how to gild their own lilies, and they did it with such a clear conscience!

Jiang Tu could not help but sneer in his heart.

[Year 39]

Shennong Valley.

Under Luo Jin's meticulous education over five years, the total number of ninth-grade "farmers" in the valley broke through three hundred once again, reaching over three hundred and ninety individuals. There were also seventeen eighth-grade "field stewards," all of whom were the backbone of Old Farmer Hall who had managed to survive the Serf Rebellion of that year. Through five years of sedimentation and Luo Jin's guidance, they had successively completed their leap in social status, and this was practically the developmental limit of Shennong Valley.

The valley was isolated from the world, having no mortal contact with the outside, and with only that many people, there would be no massive growth in the short term.

Luo Jin lived in seclusion, gradually shifting his focus toward cultivation, and his cultivation rose accordingly, beginning to touch the second core ability of the seventh-grade "Herbal Scholar"... the Straw Figure Technique.

This technique was simple to describe: one wove grass leaves into a humanoid shape, and then injected a sliver of heaven-and-earth spiritual light using one's own cultivation, thereby endowing the straw figure with life and causing it to come alive!

Yet this required consuming a massive amount of mental effort. Depending on the amount of effort spent by each person, their personality, the materials used, and the timing and location, the living straw figure ultimately created would possess different characteristics and abilities.

Even living straw figures dotted by the very same person might possess completely distinct traits.

The most important thing was that the quota was limited; he could currently only transform a single one, and even if he was ultimately dissatisfied with the result, he could not change it, nor could he re-animate a second one even if he destroyed the first.

Doing this was as difficult as ascending to the heavens!

Every single grass leaf had to be meticulously selected, brimming with vitality, otherwise it could shatter at any moment during the transformation. Animation was also the most difficult step, and even if all the preparatory work was done thoroughly, it would still fall short at the last hurdle.

Luo Jin tried again and again—one hundred times, three hundred times, five hundred times... Every time the transformation failed, the straw figure would burst apart on the spot.

He did not lose heart either, changing materials, changing weaving methods, changing the hour, and repeatedly adjusting every single detail. He believed that constant practice makes perfect, and heaven rewards diligence.

[Year 40]

The total number of eighth-graders in the valley broke through forty people, among whom a few good saplings faintly touched the eighth-grade limit.

Luo Jin began to teach earnestly, hoping to cultivate a second "Herbal Scholar." However, the path of the seventh grade required one to have a sufficiently deep understanding and accumulation of the earth, often demanding years of accumulated strength and a single critical opportunity; it could not be rushed and achieved solely through imparting knowledge.

At the same time, his understanding of medicinal herbs grew increasingly profound.

Combining years of accumulated knowledge of medicinal herbs with the Pill Pinching Technique, he compiled a volume of the Herbal Compendium, recording the habits and mutual restraining principles of various types of medicinal herbs, as well as pill-refining formulas one by one, providing them for everyone in the valley to study.

From then on, the farmers of Shennong Valley no longer needed to consult Luo Jin about everything, and they could find answers simply by flipping through the book.

Yet the attempts at the Straw Figure Technique still failed to succeed. The number of failures had already exceeded three thousand times, but he was still persisting.

Summer, Grain in Ear.

A strange event suddenly occurred in the fields.

A certain farmer saw something flash across the grass while weeding.

Thinking it was a grasshopper, he reached out to grab it on impulse, but that thing was shockingly fast, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Over the next few days, more and more people saw that shadow in the fields and headlands. It was clearly right before their eyes yet impossible to catch, and they could not catch up even when using the Earth Escape Technique to pursue it. It was as elusive as a divine dragon and inexplicably bizarre!

When the news reached Luo Jin's ears, he went down to the fields himself, squatting on the ridge, closing his eyes to sense it for a moment, and then suddenly reaching his hand deep into the soil.

Rumble, rumble, rumble—

The soil layers surged, the earth rippled, and the Earth-Shifting Art was displayed to its absolute limit!

Screech, screech, screech!

That thing was finally hauled out of the soil layer by him; it was a grasshopper!

Yet it was no ordinary grasshopper. Its entire body was emerald green, almost merging as one with the grass leaves, and faint yellowish-brown patterns marked its six legs. After landing on Luo Jin's palm, it did not struggle at all, instead touching his fingers with its antennae, showing a deep affinity for him.

Luo Jin was stunned. He could sense that this little insect shared a wondrous connection with the earth, as though it had been born from the soil and obtained the fortune of heaven and earth.

He tried to communicate with it, and the moment his thought arose, the small grasshopper jumped onto his shoulder and quietly settled down.

He gained a sudden comprehension!

It turned out that this was no ordinary flying insect or running beast, but rather a guardian spirit born naturally from the soil of Shennong Valley.

Later on, the farmers in the valley successively discovered more similar small insects. They were called [Insect Spirit]s, swift as lightning and extremely adept at concealment, able to shuttle freely through the fields. The method of acknowledging a master was very simple: the first person to catch it became its master.

From then on, it could deliver messages and communications for its master, traversing the earth as leisurely as a stroll in a courtyard.

In the span of just a few months, dozens of insect spirits were caught and had acknowledged masters. Communication within the valley became exceptionally convenient; whereas previously sending a message required running all over the valley using the Earth Escape Technique, now writing a letter could deliver it in the blink of an eye!

It was simply wondrous beyond words!

On the winter solstice, there was a new discovery in the fields.

While washing vegetables by the stream in the valley, a farmwoman saw something swimming beneath the ice. She smashed open the surface of the ice to reveal a carp, its entire body silvery-white, its scales shimmering with a faint seven-colored halo resembling a rainbow.

When the fish landed in her hands, it did not make a fuss, merely opening its mouth to spit out a seven-colored scale that landed on her palm.

Only later did the people in the valley learn that this was called a [Carp Spirit].

Even when fished out, they would not easily acknowledge a master, choosing people entirely based on their own preferences. If they encountered a passerby who struck their fancy, they would surface holding a seven-colored scale in their mouths, and the person who took the scale would forge a karmic bond with it from then on, raising it at home to bring good fortune.

It was said that if anyone grew greedy, killed it, and ate it, they would be plagued by bad luck ever after. No one dared to test this, and everyone regarded them like rare treasures upon sight.

[Year 41]

Summer, the warm sun was just right.

An eight-year-old girl was playing while chasing butterflies among the flowers. As she chased, a butterfly suddenly stopped on a medicinal herb and stayed motionless.

The little girl leaned closer to take a look; the butterfly's wings were inlaid with fine golden patterns, unlike ordinary butterflies and possessing a special distinction.

She called an adult over.

The crowd gathered around to look at it for half a day, and confirmed it!

This was the third kind of land spirit, called a [Butterfly Spirit]. It was shaped like a butterfly with wings shining brilliantly with golden patterns, and a closer look revealed it was no mortal item.

The Butterfly Spirit was the most special and possessed the most miraculous efficacy.

The very first crop or medicinal herb upon which it landed after birth would become its favorite, and from then on, wherever it flew, the exact same crop or medicinal herb would grow.

As long as a Butterfly Spirit flew past a single rare, premium-quality medicinal herb, before long, more would grow upon the stones, flowers, trees, and even cliffsides or within the water...

The only pity was that the Butterfly Spirit seemed incapable of acknowledging a master, and would dissipate not long after surviving.

They flew about in disorder through the valley, landing in this field today and upon that plot tomorrow, entirely following their own pleasure. The farmers of Shennong Valley could only yield to their moods, hurriedly harvesting and transplanting wherever they stayed, though this was already more than enough.

With the Butterfly Spirits, the propagation speed of many superior seeds was several times faster than before.

Watching these scene-by-scene changes, Jiang Tu slowly opened his mouth wide in considerable amazement.

Three land spirits with vastly different forms were shuttling back and forth across Shennong Valley...

The emerald green insect spirits leaped among the grass leaves, the silvery-white carp spirits swam within the stream, and the golden butterfly spirits fluttered gracefully among the flowers. Each was busy with its own tasks without interfering with the others, yet together they brought unprecedented prosperity to a single region.

So the so-called earthborn guardian spirit that blessed a region was never a single entity, but was instead composed of numerous spiritual entities of different kinds, encompassing the entire Shennong Valley within it.

How interesting!

These little things—grasshoppers delivering messages, koi bringing fortune, butterflies propagating seeds—would give birth to even more wondrous types in the future. Each performed its own duties and displayed its own divine powers, making them far more capable than some minor earth deity.

Through this manifestation of the "Blessing a Region" trait, Shennong Valley as an Agricultural Path base had truly planted its feet firmly!

People, land, grain, medicine, and spirits—