Five Years Later, Reaping the Fruits of Karma

In the twenty-third year of the Jingtai Era, late summer.

Rice blossoms scented the air along both banks of the Spirit River, while cicadas shrilled like boiling water.

"Name: Jiang Tu"

"Lifespan: 27/76"

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"Cultivation: Newly Entering the Dao Path (Agricultural Dao Sequence · Ninth Grade · Farmer) (177/200)"

"Remaining evolution duration: 5 years, 11 months"

Inside the room.

Jiang Tu studied himself in the mirror. His muscle lines were not especially pronounced, yet they flowed smoothly; his frame was sturdy, his skin a healthy bronze. Compared to five years ago, his physique had improved considerably.

But when he looked again at his cultivation progress, he could not help shaking his head.

Over these five years, he had worked diligently in the fields and developed steadily, yet every occupation-related action connected to being a farmer contributed pitifully little to his cultivation. It was better than nothing, but often three to five months of farming only gained him three to five points.

Even now, he was still searching for a way to improve.

The only pattern he had discovered so far was this: whenever a new "Farmer" was born into the world, he gained five to ten points of cultivation.

Thinking back to the first evolution, Luo Jin's rapid advancement and breakthrough seemed to have been connected to the enlightenment he had spread among the slaves.

"Could it be that only by teaching more cultivators of the same sequence, helping them break through and advance, and earning their respect and reverence can one truly raise sequence cultivation?"

"The sequence loading brought by the Sequence Golden Codex is also somewhat like spreading enlightenment, so it can raise my cultivation at the proper time... but its effect is nowhere near as fast as directly enlightening other cultivators!"

But spreading enlightenment far and wide in the real world, passing down the Agricultural Path? That would be practically exposing most of his secrets!

He would never do that! At the very least, he could not do it while the Agricultural Dao Sequence had only just been born!

He could ride the crest of the times, but he absolutely could not become the leader charging at the very front. That was no different from painting a target on his back.

Fortunately, compared with ordinary sequence cultivators, he possessed a unique advantage when it came to improving his cultivation.

As long as he accumulated enough evolution duration, he could evolve, observe ancient people cultivating within it, summarize their experience, claim settlement rewards, and even add points directly. These were all shortcuts leading straight to the heavens!

Evolution was the foremost principle of development!

"Five years may not be quite enough... but it is enough for a taste of sweetness. Tonight, it will be tonight—the second evolution! Perhaps after the settlement, I can break through in one stroke and advance to Eighth Grade!"

Creak—

He pushed open the door and stepped outside. Looking back at the ramshackle house where he had lived for eight years, then at the bright, clear day overhead, he smiled.

"Time to take a look at my new home...!"

"That kid Jiang really has incredible luck! He bought himself a whole farmstead in just five short years! Didn't I say his family had good feng shui?"

"What feng shui? I say it is fate. Everyone has their own destiny! Old Wang's boy used to be dumb as a wooden block—who could have guessed his innate talent was exceptional and that he would be chosen by the Daoist Sect masters? Little Jiang is the same. It is all luck!"

"Whose daughter is pretty and lively? Hurry and introduce one to the lad! He is nearly thirty and still has no wife—does that make any sense?"

A crowd had gathered outside a farmstead.

The farmstead was enclosed by rammed-earth walls, its courtyard gate facing south. A newly hung wooden plaque above the gate was covered with red cloth.

Inside stood a cowshed where two yellow oxen chewed fodder. The grain storehouse was built high from green bricks, while a two-story building stood to the north, with loofah vines growing beneath it.

Outside lay ten mu of fertile fields, their ridges neat and orderly, planted with crops of every kind. The hired farmers were busy at work among them.

Everything was in perfect order, warm and peaceful.

Inside the small building, Jiang Tu sat across from Manager Qian.

Manager Qian smiled broadly as he pulled out the land deed. "Little Jiang, from this day onward, you are a man with land of your own!"

The deed bore the owner's vermilion seal and read: "One farmstead south of Locust Tree Village, Xiaopei County, along with ten mu of fertile land, shall henceforth belong in full to Jiang Tu."

Thump, thump, thump!

Jiang Tu's heart began to race.

More than eight years! From hired laborer, to two mu of poor land, to this family estate today—it had all been worth it!

He gave an honest, simple smile and took out a string of coins. "It is all thanks to Uncle Qian's help and arrangements. This is a small token of my respect. Please, you must accept it."

"Oh, no need, no need. We are both serving the master, so why should the two of us fuss over such things...?"

Manager Qian took the money and weighed it in his hand. Around two hundred copper coins—not bad.

"No wonder you have such good fortune, kid! You know how to read the room! That is why you managed to form such a good connection with the master! Otherwise, he would never have sold you land, much less at such a low price!"

Jiang Tu smiled.

Five years ago, he had already rented two mu of poor farmland. His only advantage was that he truly knew how to farm and was willing to work himself to the bone.

A good hoe coupled with the foundation of a Ninth Grade Farmer made him fast and skilled at labor. Ordinary land, once worked over by his hands, produced noticeably better harvests.

Nor had he only looked after himself. Whenever someone's crops had fallen over or disaster struck their fields, he helped whenever he could. Over time, the farmers around him all remembered his kindness.

Three years ago, he rented another five mu of land. His family had surplus grain, and he bought an ox.

Two years ago, the master heard of him and came personally.

The master was known as Big Household Zhou. His ancestors had made their fortune, and he held thirty percent of Xiaopei County's fertile land in his grasp.

He circled Jiang Tu's fields twice. He could not see anything else unusual, but he felt the land had excellent feng shui and flourishing luck, as though it had been touched by the immortal aura of Daoist Sect masters! So he wanted to take the land back and have Jiang Tu find somewhere else to reclaim wasteland.

Anyone else would likely have exploded on the spot!

After painstakingly tending land for years, it could be taken away with a word? And he was supposed to reclaim wasteland instead? Was that work meant for human hands?

Yet Jiang Tu did not say a word. He simply went and diligently began reclaiming wasteland.

And so, a good bond was forged!

From then on, Big Household Zhou gave Jiang Tu the highest wages. During every holiday and festival, he sent grain, meat, and wine. Seeing that Jiang Tu had a knack for reclaiming land, he even assigned people specifically for him to command.

In two years, Jiang Tu led his men in opening up more than forty mu on the barren slopes. The farmers working under him saw their lives grow more prosperous by the day.

Big Household Zhou liked him more and more.

Then Jiang Tu said he wanted to establish a family estate and buy some land for his future marriage. Big Household Zhou directly sold him this farmstead at a bargain price, almost as if he were giving it away. He even threw in two yellow oxen, a grain storehouse, and three farmers!

Manager Qian waved a hand. "The business is done. I should be going."

Jiang Tu rose to see him out.

At the doorway, Manager Qian suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right, Little Jiang! I heard that in nearby Dajiang County, farmers have been living like fish in water, and several people with Awakened Wisdom have appeared. They were born understanding all kinds of agricultural knowledge—truly extraordinary!"

Jiang Tu's heart stirred, but his expression remained unchanged.

"Even the Daoist Sect sent Daoist masters to investigate and accepted quite a few farmers as disciples! When did barefoot field hands ever have such opportunities in the past? The master intends to buy a few plots of geomantically blessed land there and keep them for our own farming. Maybe someone in Xiaopei County might awaken Awakened Wisdom too!"

He was urging Jiang Tu to go make a fortune in Dajiang County alongside the master.

Jiang Tu lowered his gaze, thoughts racing through his mind.

As the Agricultural Dao Sequence spread and time passed, new Ninth Grade Farmers were taking root and sprouting across Jiang Prefecture. Even the Daoist Sect had noticed them and accepted them as disciples... by all reason, he should go take a look.

But on second thought, the Daoist Sect above was impossible to judge as righteous or wicked, while strange monsters lurked outside. Danger lay everywhere.

Over the last five years, his development had far surpassed that of other farmers. If he continued being so conspicuous, he would invite envy and jealousy.

Was it not better to lie low and develop quietly?

With the Golden Tome in hand, watching the years change and growing in secret was the true kingly path.

So Jiang Tu gave an honest smile. "I understand Uncle Qian's good intentions. You are giving me guidance! But I have only just acquired this farmstead, and I am preparing to marry a wife. No matter how good Dajiang County is, it has nothing to do with me. I only want to live my own little life well."

"Besides! I have farmed for so many years. If I could awaken Awakened Wisdom, would I not have done so long ago? Why would I wait until today?"

Manager Qian thought it over after hearing that.

That was indeed true!

The lad was a skilled farmer, steady and hardworking, but as for awakening Awakened Wisdom... he was probably not qualified.

Losing interest, Manager Qian patted Jiang Tu on the shoulder, climbed onto his ox cart, and rode away.

Jiang Tu watched him go for a while, then turned around—and jumped in fright.

At some point, the entrance to the courtyard had become packed with people.

Old Sun, Aunt Fang, Widow Wang from next door, and several young wives carrying children all craned their necks to peer inside. Uncle Tao stood at the very front, holding a carp freshly caught from the pond.

"Brother Tu, congratulations!"

"Let us come in and have a look!"

"This farmstead is really impressive!"

Jiang Tu did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Come in, all of you, come in."

The villagers surged inside in a great rush, peeking into the cowshed, touching the grain storehouse, and craning their necks to stare up at the small building.

"Brother Tu, today is a day of great joy. Aren't you going to put on a feast?"

"A feast it is! No one leaves tonight—we are eating here!"

He brought out his surplus grain, then went into town to buy meat and wine. Aunt Fang and several of the wives voluntarily helped tend the fire and cook.

Before long, the fragrance of food drifted through the courtyard.

When night fell, lanterns were lit in the courtyard. Two large tables were pushed together, laden to the brim.

Braised carp, steamed pork slices, fried eggs, tossed cucumber, a basin of old hen soup, and freshly steamed buns. The villagers sat together, raising cups and draining them in turn, eating until their mouths shone with grease.

By the time the feast ended, the sky was filled with stars.

The villagers burped contentedly and drifted away in groups of two and three.

Slightly drunk, Jiang Tu stood in the courtyard and looked up. The summer night sky was clear and luminous, the Milky Way stretched across the heavens, and the evening breeze felt wonderfully comfortable.

The plaque reading [Jiang Family Farmstead] hung high above him.

—He had a home.

But he knew that in this world where strange monsters ran rampant, having a home was not enough. He also needed the ability to protect it.

Late at night.

Jiang Tu sat on the bed.

Five years had passed. It was time to see the harvest!

"Agricultural Dao Sequence"

"Sequence Number: 01"

"Current evolution progress: Eighth Grade · 'Field Steward'"

"Total number of cultivators in this sequence: 14"

"Influence level of this sequence: lv0.5 (Its reputation has begun to emerge in Dajiang County)"

"Harvestable karma value: 190"

Fourteen sequence cultivators!

Its influence had already begun spreading through neighboring Dajiang County!

This was the result of five years!

"(Note: Every advancement by a sequence cultivator in the native world, and every major event related to the sequence, will generate additional karma value.)"

"Triggered events"

"(New) Dajiang County farmer Chen Cun awakened Awakened Wisdom and became a Ninth Grade Farmer for the first time (Karma Value +80)"

"(New) Thirteen Farmers were born in Dajiang County (Karma Value +65)"

"(New) The Dajiang County magistrate reported to the Daoist Sect, which dispatched people for an on-site investigation (Karma Value +15)"

"(New) The Daoist Sect accepted Chen Cun and five others as outer sect disciples (Karma Value +30)"

"Enjoying the sequence's karma... interesting. Over five years, so many sequence cultivators have gradually appeared. Even the Daoist Sect has noticed them... but why do I keep feeling this is not a good thing? What will become of these Farmers...?"

At the current rate of development, it would not be long before both banks of the Spirit River knew that there was such a group of people who needed no Buddhist-Taoist Path aptitude. So long as they farmed diligently, they could possibly step onto the road of cultivation.

Whether it was fortune or disaster, no one could say yet...

Jiang Tu suppressed his emotions and fixed his consciousness on the karma value. Just as he was about to complete the harvest, the words before his eyes suddenly changed, catching him completely off guard!

Whoosh!

"(New) The first Farmer, Chen Cun, accumulated strength and advanced to Eighth Grade Field Steward (Karma Value +50)"

"(New) He encountered a plot against him and failed to advance. Chen Cun died violently (Karma Value +10)"

The hairs on Jiang Tu's back stood on end. Cold sweat instantly broke out across his body. "?!"

He died?!

The Immortal-Phantom World's first Agricultural Path Cultivator should have possessed a bright future and a broad, smooth road to the Great Dao—yet he had died just like that?!

What the hell was going on here...!