Eighth Grade Peak, Breaking Through!

Inside the small courtyard.

Smack.

Without hesitation, Wang Congyun shook off Li Xiaobing's grip and stepped back half a pace, his face full of confusion and incomprehension.

"Brother Li, what exactly are you talking about? Why can't I make sense of it?"

Li Xiaobing staggered and fell when he was suddenly flung aside, yet he neither grew angry nor resentful. Instead, she shuffled forward on her knees and leaned close again, raising her head as she spoke urgently.

"Brother! After the last Strange Calamity, when you returned to the sect to recuperate, we met a few times. Back then, I was shocked to hear that you had declined a second bestowal of the Dao. When I asked why, you said your talent was dull and that you needed to practice diligently to temper your Dao heart, which was why you descended the mountain a second time to gain experience."

"At the time, I didn't understand the true meaning behind your words. I even thought you were being far too ungrateful!"

"True Person Dong Daozi had painstakingly nurtured you, yet you refused... At the time, I only wanted to climb higher. I had just broken through to Field Steward, and my ambitions were burning. I wanted to raise my cultivation quickly and integrate into the Daoist Sect, but I never imagined the consequences would be so unbearable!"

"Looking back now, weren't your words that day a kind of guidance for me?"

Wang Congyun's expression remained unchanged, but he recalled the past.

He admitted that when he had casually said those words, he had indeed meant, to some extent, to remind this person that his edge was too exposed and ought to be restrained. But that was only a tiny part of it. More than anything, it had been an excuse he had made up to protect himself.

He had never expected this person to truly remember it, and for so many years at that. Now he was digging it up as a lifeline?

But a few words of familiarity were nowhere near enough.

He had traveled outside for more than ten years. He did not wholly trust even Yan Xin, who had followed him for years, much less a fellow disciple he had met only a few times.

If he trusted others that easily, he would have died ten thousand times over.

"I don't understand what Brother Li means. My dull talent is a fact, and my second descent from the mountain to temper my Dao heart is also a fact. How did that become some sort of guidance? Brother, don't overinterpret things or take words out of context."

It wasn't me. I wouldn't. I didn't. Don't make things up!

He was determined not to get entangled in karma. He would play dumb to the bitter end.

Li Xiaobing was truly panicking. "Brother Wang! Today, I am willing to place my very life and safety in your hands and speak to you with complete honesty. Why are you still playing dumb with me?!"

"To be frank, the mission I received for this descent from the mountain was to stay by your side, advance and retreat with you, and report your situation to the sect in real time. On the surface, I was sent to help you experience the mortal world, but in truth, I was here to monitor you!"

"I have already confessed even such a secret to you. Why are you still hiding things from me?"

Wang Congyun's heart stirred.

He could tell that these words came from the heart. That urgency, fear, and helpless panic were most likely not an act.

He had long suspected that Dong Daozi had grown wary of him. Sending someone to monitor him had only been a matter of time. But even so, this little sincerity was not enough to make him lower his guard.

"Brother Li, aren't you overthinking things? My master sent you to assist me, and I am deeply grateful. This is a master's concern for his disciple. How did it become surveillance and scheming in your mouth?"

In any case, he refused to get involved in any of it.

Li Xiaobing was sweating profusely in her anxiety, to the point that she was beginning to speak without thinking.

"Brother! Do you truly refuse to trust me?! That old bastard Dong Daozi suspects you most likely because you have done certain things behind the Daoist Sect's back over the years, haven't you? I swear to you, from now on, whatever news I report to the sect will be exactly what you tell me to report!"

As she spoke, she pulled a whistle-shaped artifact from her robes and held it out.

"This is the only secret whistle I have for contacting the Daoist Sect. Today, I am handing it over to you!"

Once the whistle was blown, Daoist Sect disciples responsible for transmitting messages within a hundred li would follow the sound and come to exchange intelligence.

This was also the process Wang Congyun had followed over the years.

Without the whistle, Li Xiaobing's direct connection with the Daoist Sect would be severed.

This action did show sincerity to a certain degree, but who knew whether it was another layer of deception? Perhaps she was playing spy against spy with him, putting on a wounded act?

For all he knew, she might have another secret whistle hidden on her. It meant nothing.

He casually pushed the whistle back and said with a genial smile, "Brother Li, the ground is cold. Get up first. You and I are fellow disciples. If you kneel before me, aren't you putting me in an impossible position? Just report the news from my side however you should. My conscience is clear, so why would I need to hide anything?"

Li Xiaobing: "..."

She knelt on the ground, staring at Wang Congyun's smiling face as her mentality nearly collapsed.

Was Wang Congyun truly stupid, or only pretending to be?

Was he determined to be cautious to the bone, or was he simply an idiot?

Had she overestimated him?!

She rose to her feet, gritted her teeth for a long while, and finally made up her mind.

"Brother Wang, since it has come to this, I'll risk it all! I'll tell you every secret of the Daoist Sect that I have learned over the years!"

"Back when I joined the Daoist Sect, the sect did nurture me carefully. They gave me some... Blood-Colored Dao Pills. Naturally, I trusted the sect at the time and swallowed them all. Every time I took one, I could feel my cultivation advancing tremendously! It was utterly astounding!"

"But as time passed, I grew curious about where these Dao Pills came from, so I could not help asking my master, Qing Shuzi, where exactly they originated. The sect kept giving this disciple so many Dao Pills to nurture me. I truly felt unworthy of receiving them."

"Unexpectedly, my master brought me to a secret chamber in a temple, where I saw Agricultural Path cultivators whose flesh and blood had been drained away, hanging there—"

"Enough!"

Cold sweat instantly broke out across Wang Congyun's forehead. He strode forward, clamped a hand tightly over Li Xiaobing's mouth, and practically cursed through gritted teeth, "Are you insane?! You dare talk about this out in the open? Do you not want to live?! If there are ears beyond the wall, neither of us will survive!"

Without another word, he shoved Li Xiaobing through the door. Only after the door shut did he release her and let out a long breath.

For this person to reveal a secret tied to life and death was practically the same as handing him leverage. At this point, he could not refuse to believe her any longer. Still, he would need to observe her character and abilities for some time. He could not let her interfere in other matters yet.

Seeing Wang Congyun finally reveal a crack in his façade, Li Xiaobing's eyes reddened, and she nearly burst into tears!

She had suspected earlier that he knew the truth and had been probing her all along. Now, she had finally received some response.

"If you have anything to say, come inside first. The Dharma is not passed to six ears! Be careful of people listening beyond the walls!"

Li Xiaobing nodded vigorously. "Yes, Brother! From now on, whatever I hear, I will tell you everything! Should you have any orders, I will obey without hesitation... I only ask that you point out a path for me!"

Looking at her sincere expression as she sought guidance, Wang Congyun suddenly seemed to see his younger self. Back then, he had also begged Brother Jiang for a clear path forward.

Brother Jiang... Ten years had passed in a rush, and the world had changed beyond recognition. Was his old friend still well?

"Sit down and talk," he said lightly.

The night deepened. Faint voices could be heard from within the room, continuing without pause through the night.

Xiaopei County, Locust Tree Village, Jiang Residence.

Whoosh!

A flash of green light passed.

Another letter appeared atop the desk in the Jiang Family Courtyard. Jiang Tu opened it, glanced through it a few times, then folded it with a smile and set it aside.

This letter was Wang Congyun's reply. Though it had not been written to him, he still read it with great interest. Many scattered secrets of the Daoist Sect recorded within overlapped and connected with the events fed back by the Sequence, forming a more complete picture of the Daoist Sect's secrets and giving him a better understanding of the outside world.

Little Daoist Wang's recent years—enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens, lurking as an undercover agent, protecting the sparks of the Agricultural Path—left Jiang Tu deeply moved.

From then on, he began a new chapter in life: secretly intercepting and reading other people's correspondence before it reached them.

The sun and moon turned, time flowed onward, and the seasons changed.

Every few days, Insect Spirits arrived and departed from the Jiang Residence, bringing letters meant for others to his eyes first.

Wang Congyun corresponded most frequently with Madam Qin, nearly every month.

From these letters, Jiang Tu pieced together the distribution of Daoist Sect forces around Lone Goose City, the secret purification operations within the Horn-Sand Ancient Forbidden Land, the Daoist Sect's routes for transporting expendable materials, and much more. Qin Xian's letters also told him more about the development of Green Mountain Lake.

The total number of cultivators in the Qin Household had reached nearly two hundred, while the number of Land Spirits was steadily increasing as well.

At first, the letters only traveled between Green Mountain Lake and the outside world. Gradually, a very small number of Insect Spirits carrying messages from within the Daoist Sect also began to appear. They contained no confidential information, only exchanges between Daoist Sect disciples on training journeys, but this clearly showed that Land Spirits had begun appearing within the Daoist Sect as well. Their numbers, however, remained far below those at Green Mountain Lake.

In the blink of an eye, it was late autumn of the fortieth year of the Jingtai Era.

Each autumn rain brought another chill.

Jiang Tu stood in the courtyard. Rainwater dripped from the eaves, splashing into tiny bursts of water. Before his eyes, information from the Golden Tome appeared—

"Name: Jiang Tu"

"Lifespan: 44/105"

"Cultivation: Newly Entering the Dao Path (Agricultural Dao Sequence · Eighth Grade · Field Steward) (2000/2000)"

"Remaining Evolution Time: 13 years, 3 months"

He had reached the Eighth Grade peak!

Twenty-two years had passed since the Sequence Golden Codex had been unlocked. He had proceeded steadily to this day. The Sequence Points he had accumulated over the years, the bonuses from his Agricultural Bone and Dao Foundation, and the portion of cultivation fed back to him after Zhou Ning'e managed the superior crop varieties—all those accumulations had converged into one.

It was time to break through.

Jiang Tu opened his eyes and turned to look at Zhou Ning'e beneath the corridor. As she had grown older, his wife had lost some of her youthful innocence and pure beauty, gaining instead a quiet composure and steadiness. Her hairpins and dangling ornaments swayed gently in her coiled hair, giving her the charm of a mature married woman. She sat by the window mending old clothes, and upon sensing her husband's gaze, she looked up.

"Ning E, I need to travel far for a time. It may be as short as three to five days, or as long as several months or a year. You will arrange everything at home."

Zhou Ning'e put down her needlework and looked at him for a while.

She did not ask where Jiang Tu was going, nor did she ask what he intended to do. She simply stood, walked to him, and reached out to smooth the wrinkles from his shoulder. Her crimson lips parted slightly. "Rest assured, husband."

Jiang Tu gently kissed his wife's forehead, then stepped out into the rain.

The rain poured down.

The rain landed on his shoulders, yet seemed unable to touch him, not wetting him in the slightest. The earth beneath his feet stirred with unusual excitement, as though longing to merge with him. In a daze, he felt a strange sense that his very being had become part of the rainy curtain between heaven and earth.

Before his eyes stood a gate to the Seventh Grade realm!

Seven years had passed since Luo Jin broke through during the evolution, and it had been a year and a half since little Tu Yun entered seclusion to attempt her breakthrough. Now, it was his turn.