Salt Marsh

Many tasks in the Spirit Fields, such as tilling the soil, sowing seeds, watering, and harvesting, could all be done by ordinary people.

The only tasks that required cultivators were maintaining the Spirit Field Soil, treating spiritual plant diseases, and killing pests that had reached a rank.

If his eldest brother were transferred near the Ancestral Grounds, then as long as the family did not collapse, his safety would be guaranteed.

Moreover, once his eldest brother was transferred to the Ancestral Grounds, his mother and sister-in-law could move there with him.

His father had been injured before because he had needed to save his eldest brother.

Without the burden of family, given his father's strength, protecting himself against Red Sand Wolves would not be a problem.

Though he had not fully achieved his goal, this was still acceptable.

Liu Yuanchen cupped his hands. "Many thanks, First Elder."

Seeing that he agreed, Liu Qingming nodded slightly. "You made a great contribution this time, yet I was unable to fully satisfy your request.

"How about this? I'll reward you with another twenty Spirit Stones. Go to the Finance Hall to collect them."

After collecting his reward, Liu Yuanchen left Eastsun Peak directly.

This time, he did not dare hitch a ride on one of the family's ships again, lest he be set up once more.

Dongyang Lake was not the end of the Qingshui River. On the lake's eastern shore was a waterway about ten-odd zhang wide, which was also called the Qingshui River.

The lake water poured down through the channel, flowed east for a hundred li, and eventually entered the Salt Marsh.

Liu Yuanchen followed the riverbank downstream, where both banks remained lush and green.

As he passed through, he startled birds and wild rabbits hiding among the grass and trees.

Because of his abdominal injury, he did not dare travel at full speed.

Half a day later, a small lake less than ten li in diameter appeared before him. This was the Salt Marsh.

After being depleted along the way, the Qingshui River, which carried very little water by then, flowed into the Salt Marsh from its western shore.

Near the river mouth stood rows of neat houses, the dwellings of the clan members.

There was fresh water in that area, making drinking convenient, and some farmland could also be opened up there.

From afar, there were blocks of glaring white along the Salt Marsh's northern and southern shores.

These blocks were salt pans, where sturdy young men busied themselves.

The salt in the pans was dazzlingly white, with almost no impurities.

It was not because the Liu Family's salt-making methods were particularly brilliant, but because this wretched Salt Marsh truly had almost no mud or sand.

The surroundings were all barren gravel plains, where even grains of sand were difficult to find.

The only river flowing into the Salt Marsh was called the Qingshui River, and it had never carried much silt to begin with.

Furthermore, the Liu Family deliberately trapped silt upstream, leaving even less to flow into the Salt Marsh.

The Liu Family's salt-drying process was also simple. They chiseled large pits with flat bottoms into the rocky ground along the lakeshore.

Then they dug channels to divert lake water in. Once a pit was filled, they blocked the channel.

After several days beneath the blazing sun, the water in the pit dried away, leaving behind a layer of white salt. They only needed to shovel it up and load it onto ships for transport.

Cultivators who could not completely abstain from food still needed to eat salt.

The ordinary people under the various factions were even more inseparable from it.

There were quite a few salt-producing areas in the Red Wasteland, but most produced coarse salt containing large amounts of mud and sand. Its appearance was far inferior to the snow-white salt produced by the Salt Marsh.

Every year, the Salt Marsh brought nearly three to four hundred Spirit Stones in pure profit to the Liu Family.

Though it did not seem like much, it was already the Liu Family's second-largest industry, surpassed only by the spiritual plant industry.

From birth until he was ten, Liu Yuanchen had lived beside the Salt Marsh. Returning to this old place filled him with a special sense of warmth.

After admiring the scenery for a while, he walked toward the mouth of the Qingshui River.

Before long, he arrived outside a small courtyard.

Pushing open the gate, he saw a simple four-sided courtyard with a main house, eastern and western wing rooms, and a kitchen in the southeast corner.

At that moment, a tall middle-aged man was practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard. He was Liu Yuanchen's father, Liu Qingyun.

Liu Yuanchen entered the courtyard. "Father, how are your injuries?

"I heard from Sixth Uncle that you were injured, so I hurried back to see you."

Liu Qingyun sheathed his sword. "Qingfeng really is something else. He told you about such a trivial matter and made you travel hundreds of li.

"I was merely scratched by a Red Sand Wolf. You know how it is: Red Sand Wolves are tough and can endure hunger, but their claws are not very sharp.

"The Red Sand Wolf that injured me was not the Wolf King, and its cultivation was only comparable to mine.

"After I was injured, I took two healing pills and rested for several days. I'm already fine."

He carefully examined Liu Yuanchen. "When your eldest brother married last year, you only reached my nose. Now you've nearly caught up to me.

"You've also broken through to the Fifth Qi-Nourishing Layer. In a few years, you'll probably surpass me."

Liu Qingyun's talent was not good either. He possessed only a lower-grade C-rank Immortal Seed.

After reaching adulthood, he had remained stationed at the Spirit Energy-poor Salt Marsh.

After years of hard cultivation, he had only reached the Sixth Qi-Nourishing Layer.

Liu Yuanchen studied his father's complexion. His face was rosy and his aura vigorous; he truly did not look injured.

"Is Yuanchen back?"

A woman wearing an apron and holding a feather duster emerged from the main house.

Liu Yuanchen stepped forward. "Mother, I'm back."

She was Liu Yuanchen's mother, Zhang Ling, an ordinary member of the Zhang Clan, a cultivation family.

By seniority, Liu Yuanchen and Zhang Jingcheng, who was also in the Azure Elixir Sect, could be considered cousins, though their blood relation was rather distant.

The Liu and Zhang families had many intermarriages, and both had conflicts with the Chen Household, so their relationship was quite close.

More than two hundred years ago, when the Chen Household and the Liu Family fought over the Salt Marsh, the Zhang Clan had contributed to the Liu Family's victory.

When the Chen Household suppressed the Zhang Clan, the Liu Family would also offer assistance.

The two families worked hand in hand against the Chen Household, much like lips and teeth relying on one another.

The Chen Household was the strongest family in this region, and it had held that advantage since its founding.

The Chen ancestor had originally been a Sea of Qi Realm disciple of the Azure Elixir Sect. Only after seeing no hope in his path did he leave the sect and establish a family.

Thanks to its connections within the Azure Elixir Sect, the Chen Household's disciples held higher positions there, with people consistently occupying the middle ranks.

Although the Liu Family and Zhang Clan also had disciples who joined the Azure Elixir Sect, they had never been able to match the Chen Household.

Zhang Ling immediately spotted the tear and bloodstains on Liu Yuanchen's robe. "Yuanchen, you're injured?"

Liu Yuanchen smiled. "It's nothing. On my way back, I took one of the family's cargo ships.

"Chen Changming of the Chen Household recruited rogue cultivators to rob the ship, so Second Uncle and I fought them.

"I knocked out one of Chen Changming's back teeth, while he only cut me a little.

"I applied Blood-Staunching Powder, and I'm already fine."

Zhang Ling was still worried. Only after Liu Yuanchen lifted his robe and she saw that the wound had nearly healed did she finally relax.

Even so, she continued telling Liu Yuanchen that whenever he encountered danger, he should run if he could.

That evening, his eldest brother Liu Yuanfu returned from the saltworks, and the family of four ate together.

As for his sister-in-law, she had returned to her maternal home.

His sister-in-law was also an ordinary member of the Liu Family, though she belonged to a different branch than Liu Yuanchen's family.

Among ordinary clan members, marriages between distant branches were common.

After all, they had few chances to come into contact with ordinary people of other surnames.

At the dinner table, Liu Yuanchen said, "Father, this time I helped the family preserve the goods, so I asked the First Elder to transfer both you and Eldest Brother somewhere safe."

"The First Elder only agreed to transfer Eldest Brother back to the Ancestral Grounds to reclaim land and farm. You still have to remain here and hold the fort."

Liu Qingyun's eyes lit up. "The Salt Marsh is often watched by demonic beasts, and now the Red Sand Wolves have their eyes on it.

"Yuanfu cannot cultivate. It is truly dangerous for him to remain here.

"If he is transferred to the Ancestral Grounds, it will be much safer.

"Your sister-in-law is pregnant. It is no solution for her to live in constant fear here.

"You can all move to the Ancestral Grounds while I stay here alone.

"Even if the Red Sand Wolves return, I am confident I can protect myself."

Liu Yuanfu gnawed on a steamed bun and said indistinctly, "I grew up in the Salt Marsh. All I know is drying salt and collecting salt.

"If you send me to farm near Dongyang Lake, I won't know anything. Wouldn't that just delay the family's work?"

Liu Yuanchen understood his elder brother rather well. Since childhood, Liu Yuanfu had been honest and kind. Though he was large in stature, he had never bullied the weak.

He had also taken great care of Liu Yuanchen, his only younger brother. He was just somewhat stubborn.

Liu Qingyun looked as though he hated iron for not becoming steel. "If you don't know how to farm, can't you learn?

"This is an opportunity Yuanchen earned from the First Elder through his contribution.

"The area around the Salt Marsh is extremely dangerous. Since you were old enough to remember, there have been more than ten demonic beast attacks.

"Every attack claimed at least ten or twenty clan members to the jaws of demonic beasts.

"If I hadn't saved you this time, you would have been swallowed by a Red Sand Wolf too."

"I'm still alive, so I can look after you.

"But what happens after I die? What will you and your children and grandchildren do?

"Even if Yuanchen breaks through to the Sea of Qi Realm in the future and can live for more than two hundred years, he is in the Azure Elixir Sect, hundreds of li from the Salt Marsh. If something happens here, he will not be able to come to your rescue in time."

"Besides, Dongyang Lake has abundant Spirit Energy. If you live there, your descendants will have a better chance of possessing Immortal Seeds.

"If you won't think for yourself, at least think for your children.

"You're taller than I am, but you still don't have any sense."

Once he heard it concerned his descendants, Liu Yuanfu no longer refused. "Fine. I'll learn to farm."

Zhang Ling smoothed things over from the side. "Before I married into the family, I also worked in Spirit Fields.

"Once we get to Dongyang Lake, I can help.

"I'll teach Yuanfu whatever he doesn't understand."

After dinner, Liu Qingyun left the house.

Even during ordinary times, the cultivator clan members stationed at the Salt Marsh needed to patrol at night.

All the more so now that the Red Sand Wolf pack was eyeing the Salt Marsh. There could be no carelessness in the patrols.

Liu Yuanchen was not one of the stationed cultivators, and his injuries had not yet healed, so he remained at home.

After night fell, Liu Yuanchen moved into the eastern wing room where he had lived as a child.

He sat cross-legged on the bed and circulated the Heaven-Reaching Divine Wood Technique.

The Spirit Energy here was truly thin. Compared to this place, even Yujin Mountain could be considered rich in Spirit Energy.

In particular, this place was too far from the Qingstone Mountain Blessed Land, so the spiritual power it returned was only one-thousandth of a Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

It returned spiritual power once every hundred breaths. Added together, the power returned in one day was not even equal to a single Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

Moreover, he had to consume spiritual power to maintain the Vine Armor on his body.

Of all the vines in the Vine Armor, only the first few had been carefully cultivated and could survive normally when planted in Spirit Fields.

The other vines had all been forced to grow with spiritual power. Once they lacked spiritual power to sustain them, they would wither in a very short time.

With the threat of the Red Sand Wolves hanging over them, he did not dare abandon the Vine Armor. After all, it was comparable to a mid-grade first-rank defensive artifact.

There was no battle now, so he only needed to keep the vines alive. The spiritual power consumption was not great.

The tiny amount of spiritual power returned by the Blessed Land was barely enough to sustain the Vine Armor.

After recovering the spiritual power he had consumed during the day, he did not continue cultivating. Instead, he recalled the scene of Grand Immortal Zhenyuan's lecture.

After all, the power of the Heaven-Reaching Divine Wood Technique was tied to the divine essence of divine wood. Gaining a deeper understanding of the Ginseng Fruit Tree's divine essence would always bring some benefit.

By deep night, he had completely entered meditation.

Suddenly, a shrill wolf howl rang out.

Liu Yuanchen was instantly startled awake. The howl was not far away. It was likely that pack of Red Sand Wolves coming to cause trouble again.

He hurriedly rose and entered the courtyard, carefully identifying the direction of the howl.

Zhang Ling also came into the courtyard. "Yuanchen, are the Red Sand Wolves here again?"

Liu Yuanchen nodded slightly. "Most likely. Mother, stay inside. With me guarding the courtyard, nothing will happen."

Knowing she could not help, Zhang Ling returned to the main house.

Liu Yuanfu, exhausted from the day's work, was not awakened. Soft snores continued to drift from the eastern wing room.

Liu Yuanchen released his Divine Sense and observed the surroundings.

The small courtyard was not far from the Qingshui River, and there was some vegetation around it.

Using his ability to sense the vitality of plants, he could monitor everything within thirty zhang.

This method consumed very little Divine Sense, only around one percent of the consumption of ordinary Divine Sense scouting.

Before long, noisy shouts came from the north, mixed with the pained cries of wolves.

Liu Yuanchen was not worried about the battle.

Previously, only three cultivator clan members had been stationed here, yet they had still been able to drive back the wolf pack.

A few days ago, two Late Qi-Nourishing Stage clan members and two Mid Qi-Nourishing Stage clan members had been transferred from the Ancestral Grounds. Dealing with the wolf pack would be even easier.

After the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, the sounds of battle grew quieter while the wolves' cries grew more frequent.

As Liu Yuanchen heard the wolf cries drawing closer and closer to his courtyard, he focused his mind and prepared to act at any moment.

Before long, a wolf entered his sensing range.

It fled forward in a panic, completely heedless of danger.

Soon, it arrived near the small courtyard.

Liu Yuanchen used Wood-Shadow Evasion and leaped over the wall. Several vines shot from his sleeves and wrapped around the wolf.

The wolf was more than a zhang long, nearly five chi tall at the shoulder, and its aura was powerful, no weaker than Chen Changming's had been.

Ordinary Red Sand Wolves were generally only seven or eight chi long. This wolf was likely the Wolf King.

The attack came too suddenly. Before the Wolf King could react, its four legs were bound by the vines.

It struggled violently, attempting to break free.

Liu Yuanchen cast the Azure Thorn Art on the vines, and hair-thin spikes immediately grew from their smooth surfaces.

Spike after spike pierced the wolf's hide, and the Wolf King let out a shrill, agonized howl.

Liu Qingyun's voice carried over from afar. "Yuan Chen, be careful. That's the Wolf King—don't fight it head-on."

Pain drove the Wolf King into a savage frenzy.

A powerful aura erupted, instantly shattering several vines.

Knowing he was no match for it, Liu Yuanchen quickly came up with an idea and infused a trace of spiritual power into one of the broken vines.

A tender sprout grew from the vine. It detached itself, grew roots, and tightly wound itself around a tuft of long hair on the wolf's tail.

After breaking free of the vines, the Wolf King did not dare continue tangling with Liu Yuanchen and fled southwest.

From due north, three figures came sprinting over. Liu Qingyun was in the lead.

"Yuan Chen, you weren't hurt, were you?"

Liu Yuanchen shook his head. "I'm fine. The Wolf King didn't dare keep fighting me. After breaking free of my vines, it ran southwest.

"I left a mark on it. I can sense its location."

An elderly man with white hair and a white beard brightened. "I injured the Wolf King's leg. It will surely return to its den to recover.

"As long as we can find the wolf den, we can wipe out the whole pack in one go."