By the time the patrol ended, the sun had already slanted westward.
Golden afterglow spilled across the Spirit Fields, plating the lush green Spirit Rice with a thin golden sheen.
Li Sancai gazed over the endless Spirit Fields, a trace of worry appearing on his face. After a long silence, he finally spoke slowly, his tone carrying a measure of unease. "Junior Brother, there's something I've held in my heart for a long time.
Today, taking advantage of our inspection of the Spirit Fields, I wanted to ask you about it."
Xu Changqing sensed that something was off with him. "Senior Brother, please speak freely."
Li Sancai's voice was slightly hoarse. "You know that ever since both my parents died, I've had no one to rely on.
It was the Immortal Sect and these Spirit Fields that gave me a place to settle down and make a living.
All these years, I've treated this place as my home.
I've treated these Spirit Fields as my roots.
But now, unsettling factors beneath the ground keep surfacing, fewer and fewer disciples are entering the sect, and the Spirit Fields are no longer as prosperous as before.
I... I'm afraid that one day, these Spirit Fields won't be able to be preserved.
If something happens to the Immortal Sect, there'll be nowhere left for me to go."
By the end, he raised his head and looked earnestly at Xu Changqing, a trace of expectation in his voice. "Junior Brother, you are now the steward of the Spirit Fields and the acting peak master of Azurewood Peak.
What exactly is the current upper echelon of the Immortal Sect's attitude toward the Spirit Fields?
Do they intend to properly set things in order, or... have they never cared about our safety at all?"
Seeing his