Choosing Cooperation, the First Spring Rain

After discussing it, Xu Changqing agreed to cooperate.

The price was that he had to provide at least eight hundred jin of Second-Grade Spirit Rice every quarter.

In other words, if his output was only two thousand jin per quarter,

then after handing over the thousand jin required for his task, he would still have to provide another eight hundred jin.

That would leave him with only around two hundred jin of Second-Grade Spirit Rice.

At first glance, it seemed like a heavy loss.

But in truth, he would not be providing it for free.

Li Lingbi would pay for it with Spirit Stones.

The only difference was that the price would not be high.

It would even be lower than the market price.

Therefore, over these ten years, he would likely neither profit nor lose.

But whether Li Lingbi succeeded in forming an Earth-Grade Golden Core or not, the outcome would be worthwhile.

After all, the other party was a genius with Threefold Mutual-Generating Spiritual Roots.

And a core disciple at that.

With a Nascent Soul True Lord behind him as a backer.

"Junior Brother, I know this is somewhat difficult for you, and these next ten years may be rather tight. But this is an opportunity to change your fate, isn't it?" Li Sancai stared at the person before him, an inscrutable gleam flashing in his eyes.

"Yes." Xu Changqing admitted it.

Li Sancai took a Spirit Stone from his storage pouch. "This is a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone, equivalent to a hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Consider it a deposit for our cooperation.

"Of course, whether you ultimately succeed or fail, we will not take this Spirit Stone back."

Xu Changqing accepted it, then cupped his hands in salute. "Many thanks, Senior Brother!"

Li Sancai was quite satisfied with the results of this trip and immediately waved a hand. "I'm leaving."

Then he turned and headed toward the Core Administration Office.

Yet strangely, though the pace of each step was not particularly fast,

Xu Changqing discovered that within a few breaths, the man had become nothing more than a blurry silhouette in the distance. His brows rose. "A movement technique?"

He then lowered his head and looked at the Mid-Grade Spirit Stone in his palm.

Compared with a Low-Grade Spirit Stone,

this thing was larger.

If a Low-Grade Spirit Stone was a quail egg,

then a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone was a chicken egg.

The spiritual energy contained within it was several times denser.

This was good stuff.

Not only could it be used for cultivation, it could also be used to set up formations.

Of course, for the current Xu Changqing, its value as a collectible outweighed its practical value.

Day after day passed.

Rumble!

A spring thunderclap exploded.

Before long, roiling dark clouds gathered above the spirit fields.

Rumble, rumble!

Muffled peals of thunder sounded one after another, and the atmosphere grew increasingly oppressive.

Though it was clearly daytime, the sky became darker and darker.

"This is the first rain of spring. I heard it benefits spirit plants." Xu Changqing stood at the doorway, looking up at the heavens.

The little yellow dog sat beside him as well.

It raised its head, staring with black eyes that seemed to understand yet not understand.

Though it did not know why its master was doing this,

it instinctively feared the intermittent thunder.

Pitter-patter!

Before long, rain came pouring down.

Dense raindrops seemed strung together by invisible threads.

One after another, too many to count.

The moment they fell, they burst into countless smaller droplets.

In no time, the ground was pocked with pits everywhere.

Seeing this, Xu Changqing simply brought over a chair and sat at the doorway.

Then he gathered the little yellow dog into his arms.

Feeling its faintly trembling body, he gently soothed it from time to time.

Perhaps the sound was too soothing, because he actually fell asleep.

He had no idea how much time passed.

When he opened his eyes again, the rain had stopped.

Though the dark clouds had yet to drift away, there was no sign that it would continue raining.

"That was a really comfortable nap." Xu Changqing stood up, placed the little yellow dog, which was also asleep, onto the chair, and then stepped outside.

The air after the rain was quite complex.

There was the earthy smell of soaked soil.

There was also the sour stench of rotting matter washed to the surface.

And because it had rained, the concentration of water spiritual energy had soared.

This made Xu Changqing feel a faint sense of sluggish resistance as he walked.

As though something invisible were lightly tugging at him.

Likewise, the concentration of wood spiritual energy had also risen.

But now was not the time to cultivate.

Though he only had one mu of spirit fields, Xu Changqing still inspected them carefully.

He did his best to sense the condition of every spirit plant, not daring to be careless.

It had to be said that the nourishment brought by the rain was indeed good.

Every spirit plant that had absorbed it, whether Spirit Rice or Four-Leaf Clover,

was lush and glossy, growing more vigorous.

The Four-Leaf Clover in particular.

Most of them had originally possessed only one green leaf.

But after being nourished by the spring rain, many had grown two leaves.

Those that originally had two green leaves had grown three.

All of them had improved.

"Looks like everything's fine!"

"No, why are so many bugs crawling out of these puddles?"

"I knew it wouldn't be that simple!"

After making a full inspection, Xu Changqing found no issues with the spirit plants.

But he discovered that bugs were crawling out of quite a few pools and puddles.

They were extremely small.

Like tiny cicadas.

And there were two kinds.

One had long, narrow wings.

The other had short, round wings.

Seeing this, Xu Changqing took a Communication Talisman from his small storage pouch. After pouring spiritual power into it and waiting for it to light up, he called out, "Fellow Daoist Luo, come help remove some pests!"

Although these insects had not yet crawled onto the Spirit Rice,

and perhaps would not cause any harm,

Xu Changqing still did not dare let down his guard.

Even if it meant wasting a few Spirit Stones, it was worth it.

Before long, a voice came from the Communication Talisman.

It was somewhat blurry, but still barely understandable.

"I'm busy. I absolutely can't get away!"

"Then when will you be free?"

"Not for now. How about I find someone to help you?"

"Anyone is fine, as long as they can come deal with the pests!"

"Alright."

Their conversation ended.

Xu Changqing looked at the dimming Communication Talisman in his hand and could not help complaining, "It's like a phone."

Not only could it be used to communicate over long distances,

rainy weather could even affect the signal.

Fortunately, although Luo Zhao could not come help,

he had found someone.

Xu Changqing just did not know how long he would have to wait.

An hour later, a figure holding an umbrella approached.

"Woof! Woof!" The little yellow dog barked.

The person on the other side was clearly startled and immediately stopped in place.

Seeing this, Xu Changqing walked out of the wooden house and called over, "Are you the fellow Daoist Luo sent to help me remove pests?"

"Yes!" A timid voice soon replied.

"Then come on over." Xu Changqing beckoned.

"I... I'm afraid of dogs..." The other person sounded very resistant.

Xu Changqing was stunned. "My dog is only a few months old. It doesn't bite!"

"Are... are you sure?" The other person still hesitated.

Xu Changqing nodded helplessly. "I guarantee it won't bite. You can put ten thousand hearts at ease."

"Alright, then." Only after receiving that assurance did the other person approach step by step.

When she came closer, Xu Changqing finally saw clearly.

Beneath the umbrella was a female disciple with rather androgynous features, with the same inverted golden sword pinned to her chest.

Clearly, she and Luo Zhao both possessed Metal Spiritual Roots.

Why was he certain she was a female disciple?

Because although her face was androgynous, her figure was not.

It had even reached a certain scale—far from negligible.

At that moment, the Metal Spiritual Root female disciple introduced herself. "Greetings, fellow Daoist. My name is Luo Mumu."

Xu Changqing replied, "Xu Changqing."

Luo Mumu patted her chest in relief. "Looks like I didn't get lost."

Xu Changqing asked curiously, "What is your relationship with Fellow Daoist Luo?"

Luo Mumu smiled. "He's my older brother."

"Your biological brother?" Xu Changqing asked in surprise.

Luo Mumu put away her umbrella and nodded. "Yes."

Xu Changqing sighed inwardly. No wonder they look exactly alike.

It was hard to believe that such a stunning figure was topped with a face that looked so much like a man's!