The Only Way to Cultivate Seventh Grade, a Daoist Priest's Thousand-Mile Warning Letter

The twelfth lunar month had not yet ended.

A heavy snowfall drifted down in flurries, goose feathers swirling through the air.

Fields and houses along both banks of the Spirit River lay everywhere beneath silver blankets, frozen for ten thousand miles.

In the rear hall of the Jiang Residence, by the window, the charcoal fire burned brightly.

Jiang Tu sat beside the brazier, looking outside through the window paper.

Several wintersweet trees in the courtyard were blooming brilliantly. That girl Xianggua was secretly pinching off the prettiest plum blossoms from the branches again to keep as a collection, while not far away, Xueli was still keeping watch for her.

He chuckled and shook his head. Sneaking around to pick things from their own home? At her age, she still acted like a little girl. She really loved making trouble.

The two of them were only two years younger than Zhou Ning'e. By all rights, they should have been married off long ago.

Over the years, servants had come and gone from the Jiang Residence in wave after wave, changing through several batches. Only those two had remained. They had gone from being Madam's personal maids to the Jiang Residence's two female stewards, working together to manage the household and the fields outside, diligently assisting Madam.

The Jiang Residence was orderly both inside and out, and the two of them deserved half the credit...

Over the years, the couple had asked for their opinions many times, but the two girls simply did not wish to leave the Jiang Residence, nor did they intend to marry.

They wanted to remain in the courtyard for the rest of their lives, serving Master and Madam. They even wanted to help Madam raise the young master, then help the young master raise his own little young master.

Those were all sincere words, without the slightest falsehood.

Later... no one asked again. They let the two have their way. They had the right to decide whether to stay or leave.

Once, during one of their nighttime talks as husband and wife, Zhou Ning'e had asked Jiang Tu whether he had considered taking the two girls in as additional wives. Such things were extremely common in the current times, and she hoped her two little sisters could have good homes.

She had even made excuses for Jiang Tu herself, saying this did not count as taking concubines and did not violate their promise to have only one another for life. But Jiang Tu had never been a lustful man. After having Ning E, he had no other worldly thoughts. He believed that among all women in the world, none could compare to Ning E in gentleness, grace, intelligence, understanding, sensibility, and spiritual connection. No matter how he looked at it, every other woman fell short by several measures...

Besides, he had practically watched Xueli and Xianggua grow up. Even rabbits did not eat the grass beside their nests. Thus, he refused on the grounds that, as a Daoist Sect cultivator, he valued purity of heart and few desires, and could not afford more entanglements with the mortal world.

Setting those thoughts aside, he looked at the Sequence Golden Codex.

"Name: Jiang Tu"

"Remaining lifespan: 49/131"

"Cultivation: Newly Entering the Dao Path (Agricultural Dao Sequence · Seventh Grade · Herbal Scholar) (1149/15000)"

It had been more than four full years since his breakthrough.

His cultivation had risen to 1,149. The rate of improvement was much faster than during the Eighth Grade. Back then, even with the annual harvest bonuses from Agricultural Bone Dao Foundation, he only gained a little over a hundred points a year. Now, he had gained over a thousand in four years, nearly double the rate.

This was not only because the superior seed fields had enjoyed bountiful harvests year after year and steadily improved, nor merely because a thousand precious pills had continuously nourished him. He himself had also worked diligently in the fields... yet most of the credit still belonged to Green Mountain Lake's Opening-Door Ritual. Every time a new Seventh Grade was born, he received a considerable wave of cultivation feedback and karmic value.

The returns were far greater than when Eighth Grades were born. It could be called the first wave of Seventh Grade dividends!

However, once this wave of dividends passed, his future improvement rate would still decline. At his current pace, it would take decades of accumulation to even touch the boundary of Sixth Grade. He had to think of a new method in advance.

Spread enlightenment! Pass down the Agricultural Path!

This was the only way!

Of course, he had to do so under another identity, on the condition that his own safety was ensured and his identity remained hidden.

When news of the Daoist Sect's division reached him, he had already formed an idea. The Eighth Grade Field Stewards being dispatched to the cities and counties throughout Jiang Prefecture was precisely his opportunity!

If he could put on another layer of disguise and pretend to be a Ninth Grade Farmer awakened through a Field Steward's enlightenment, then quietly spread the Dao elsewhere, he would gain another source of cultivation feedback. It would be far greater than these current scraps of feedback, like striking a mountain from afar or feeling an elephant in the dark!

But the foremost problem was that he only had one straw figure capable of taking human form: little Jiang Liu.

And he was a slow-witted, clumsy cross-dresser!

Over the years, little Jiang Liu had also been growing at a snail's pace. His father-in-law often revolved around his grandson, teaching him to read and speak, traveling everywhere to seek famous teachers and invite great scholars to enlighten him. Yet the child was naturally slow to react. Even now, he could barely recognize characters, scribble and draw, and say a few simple sentences.

Big Household Zhou was worried to death and kept working tirelessly. Seeing his father-in-law's refusal to admit defeat, Jiang Tu felt it was not a bad thing.

An old man over eighty having something to look forward to and something to keep busy with every day gave him far more vigor than his peers. Together with the life-extending precious pills Jiang Tu occasionally fed him, he could at least live another decade or so!

Therefore, his most pressing task was still to quickly enlighten a usable straw figure for his disguise.

But he had only one straw figure slot.

As a Seventh Grade, he could sense that throughout his entire Seventh Grade period, he could only enlighten one living straw figure. This would remain true even if he reached the Seventh Grade limit. Moreover, once it was enlightened, it could not be abandoned. Even if it were destroyed, the slot would not return.

The value of that sole slot was plain to see.

Since the end of last year, he had sensed the Straw Figure Technique gradually taking shape. He could attempt enlightenment.

In the simulations, Luo Jin had only succeeded after nine thousand trials. Yet as the master of the Great Dao, he seemed to possess greater talent in this craft. From the very first woven straw figure, he had been able to complete its enlightenment directly! But... he had never done so.

Whenever the straw figure stood on the verge of coming alive, he always felt it was still lacking something, still not perfect enough. The resulting straw figure might not be particularly effective, so he could only forcibly stop and interrupt the enlightenment.

After going back and forth like that, he had failed more than two hundred times.

He had gradually figured out certain principles. He believed that to make a straw figure more perfect, he had to restore the structure of the human body as completely as possible, using the finest superior-seed materials to create flesh, blood, skin, and bones separately. Nothing could be omitted from the inside out. Even the internal organs had to be woven.

A straw figure formed this way would be more practical, more complete, and more presentable. At the very least, it would possess the ability to mimic a human form in the future.

Thus, he began reading medical texts extensively and studying human bones and muscles. He wove ribs, joints, and meridians, then layered and interlaced leaves to recreate the texture of skin.

He even learned needlework from Zhou Ning'e. The stitching and finishing techniques were sturdier and tighter when used to sew a straw figure's skin than simple weaving and knotting. Without considerable force, no one could even think of tearing it apart.

Zhou Ning'e was no longer quite the same as when she had first begun learning. Her needlework was now famously excellent throughout Xiaopei County.

She had always been clever. Whatever she learned, she mastered. As long as she wished to learn something, she could achieve success in it. Her comprehension was extraordinary... yet the winter clothes Jiang Tu wore were still that old outfit from the New Year when he had first returned home years ago. Zhou Ning'e made new ones every year, but he never changed into them.

He preferred the first one.

And so, Jiang Tu took out his materials and tools and began another round of straw figure weaving beneath the night sky.

The three hundredth time.

The five hundredth time.

The eight hundredth time.

The thousandth time.

Day after day, he repeated the process without end... To his surprise, he discovered that amid those repeated failures, the speed of his cultivation progress had also subtly increased. This made him enjoy it all the more, and he never slackened.

Just a little more, just a little more, still just a little more. Yet he could still feel himself drawing ever closer to the perfection in his heart.

Soon. Very soon!

Winter passed, spring arrived, and grass grew as orioles flew.

In the blink of an eye, it was the beginning of spring in the forty-fifth year of the Jingtai Era.

The snow had melted.

Greenery stirred, river tides surged, and waters flowed without cease.

Various places throughout Jiang Prefecture gradually welcomed a new batch of "Field Steward Daoist Priests."

The Daoist Sect's policy of dividing the Agricultural Path had now officially taken effect. All Field Stewards from New Dajiang County had been assigned to cities and counties throughout the prefecture. Great cities such as Welcoming Wind City and Lone Goose City had at least three Field Stewards, while even a sizeable major county like Xiaopei County had one stationed there.

Carrying Daoist plaques and sacred decrees issued by the Daoist Sect, they assumed their posts as resident Daoist Priests. They would spread the Dao, teach, enlighten farmers, and preside over agricultural work in their respective regions.

Their status stood one level above the local county magistrates and city lords of the mortal world. The latter had to be thoroughly respectful upon meeting the former. Their standing nearly matched that of the Daoist Priests who had once suppressed evil in all four directions.

At the same time, most of the resident Daoist Priests originally stationed in the various cities and towns were recalled one after another. It was said that they were being dispatched back to the mountains for more important duties.

The blazing flame of the Agricultural Path in New Dajiang County was like being struck on the head, then having a basin of cold water viciously dumped over it. It suffered a fatal blow.

Once the strongest Eighth Grades scattered and vanished, the spiritual opportunities of the region faded. The numerous Land Spirits that had previously emerged gradually disappeared without a trace. Even more than half of the Insect Spirits, the most numerous of all, dispersed.

New Dajiang County still had many Ninth Grade Farmers, and the scale of its Premium Quality fields remained astonishing. On the surface, its development still far surpassed other places, but less than one-tenth of its former aura as a sacred land remained!

The enthusiasm of farmers who had once fought tooth and nail to rush to Dajiang County and settle there rapidly ebbed away. For a time, some rejoiced while others worried. There were always those resentful at having missed the Agricultural Path's peak, while others felt that having a Field Steward Daoist Priest come to teach at their own fields was a blessing from heaven.

Big Household Zhou belonged to the sort who was not particularly worried and was instead quite pleased. After experiencing Dajiang County's Strange Calamity and witnessing New Dajiang County's rises and falls, he had long since lost the urge to chase the latest tide.

For decades, he had guarded the Zhou Household's old residence and shops, living his days with his daughter, son-in-law, and well-behaved grandson. It felt steadier that way.

That morning.

Big Household Zhou slowly woke. His hair was now entirely white and wrinkles covered his face, but his body remained fairly robust, and he still walked with the vigor of a tiger.

He casually wrapped himself in a thick cotton robe and was about to head out to inspect the progress of spring planting in the fields. When he reached the main hall, his gaze swept over the table by chance, only for him to discover a letter that had appeared there at some unknown time!

Big Household Zhou suspiciously picked up the letter. Just as he was about to ask the steward about it, he opened it. His brows instantly furrowed, then his pupils shrank!

There were only a few lines on the letter.

"The Agricultural Path has been divided among the four directions. The leader of the Field Stewards in Welcoming Wind City is Rong Yidao. His temperament is perverse, and he is unlearned and incompetent. Relying on having entered the sect early, he suppresses others. A petty man suddenly grown rich is no more than this. Lord Zhou must treat him with caution. —Wang."

There was only one character in the signature, but Big Household Zhou did not need to guess. He made his judgment at once.

"Dog Egg!"

This had to be a letter from Wang Congyun!

Several decades had passed in a flash. That boy had been enlightened by the Daoist Sect and traveled the four directions in training, never once returning home. Occasionally, some news of him had come back, but it was half true and half false, impossible to verify. Not long ago, Dog Egg's grandfather had passed away, and he had been unable to return home. Yet he still remembered to send him a message...?

The newly arrived Field Steward Daoist Priest in Welcoming Wind City, Rong Yidao!

He vaguely remembered hearing that name!

His cultivation might not have been exceptional, but he had entered early and possessed seniority. Having been fostered by the Daoist Sect, he pressed down upon those who came after him.

Big Household Zhou did not delay. He immediately tucked the letter into his chest.

"Prepare the carriage! We're going to the Jiang Residence!"

The message Dog Egg had sent... had to be extremely important. But before discussing it with his good son-in-law and reaching a conclusion, he would absolutely not take a position!

Without his good son-in-law keeping watch over major family matters, he truly could not rest easy!