Chapter 39: Little Cui Plain 2

Little Jadeite Flat 2 (Second Update, Please Bookmark)

Niu Ergen was clever, but also very honest. Usually, he only did what Hu Donghan instructed him to do, and he always did it flawlessly. So long as Hu Donghan gave no orders, Niu Ergen would never rashly disturb him! This was what Hu Donghan valued most about Niu Ergen.

What Hu Donghan needed now was for Niu Ergen to manage these menial disciples, ensuring that each attended to his own duties instead of running about everywhere and disturbing Hu Donghan.

Thus, Hu Donghan pointed at Niu Ergen and said coldly, "From today onward, Niu Ergen is your leader. You must obey his orders in ordinary times. Whoever dares disobey will immediately get out of Little Jadeite Flat! If any loss is caused to the medicinal fields because of you, then pay for it with your lives!"

"Yes." The ten menial disciples looked at one another, panic written across their faces, before finally nodding together—Hu Donghan's law enforcement disciple robes gave them an especially suffocating sense of pressure. Just moments ago, their usual leader had been driven out of Little Jadeite Flat with a single sentence from Hu Donghan. Their minds had tied themselves into knots; they could not even think properly, and all simply agreed.

As for Hu Donghan, after giving his orders, he waved his hand and had the menial disciples return to their previous duties. He himself wandered around Little Jadeite Flat, surveying the terrain.

Since Little Jadeite Flat bore the word "little" in its name, its area naturally could not be very large.

Because it was a medicinal field located in a special position halfway up the mountain, spiritual energy was abundant only within this region. With several ravines winding through the mountains, it was broadly divided into three sections—two large and one small. Its total area was only around sixteen mu. The spiritual energy and yin energy within were both dense, making it an excellent place for spiritual herbs to grow.

The two larger medicinal fields each covered six and a half mu, while the smaller one covered less than three mu. The two large fields were relatively close together, whereas the small field stood alone, roughly five hundred meters away from the others.

These three medicinal fields were densely planted with the most common spiritual herbs. Most matured in half a year or a year, while only a few required more than ten years to mature. Of course, these spiritual herbs with relatively short growth cycles were the primary ingredients for refining pills used by Qi Refining Stage cultivators. At a rough glance, each mu of medicinal field held around fifteen to sixteen hundred spiritual herbs. Across sixteen mu, there were more than thirty thousand spiritual herbs in total.

Naturally, these spiritual herbs did not ripen at the same time. For all sorts of reasons, some matured early while others matured late; some had even been replanted after the earlier herbs died, so their growth periods were not fixed. Furthermore, the growth of spiritual herbs faced all manner of calamities—such as weeds that specifically stole nutrients from spiritual herbs, or insects that devoured them. In short, for all sorts of reasons, perhaps not even one in twenty of these spiritual herbs would truly reach maturity in the end.

However, under normal circumstances, so long as they were carefully tended and properly looked after, completing the monthly quota of one hundred plants would not be much of a problem.

After gaining a general understanding of the medicinal fields, Hu Donghan returned to the living quarters of Little Jadeite Flat.

The living quarters of Little Jadeite Flat were situated in the ravine between the two Large Medicine Fields.

Who knew which cultivator had devised it in the beginning? They had directly driven hundred-meter-long hardwood piles into the ravine as a foundation, then built wooden houses atop them. Once inside, one could observe the conditions of the two Large Medicine Fields at any time through the windows on either side.

While resting inside the house, Hu Donghan thought to himself, Next, I need to find time to see the largest area of spiritual herbs the Medicine Spirit Ghost can tend to now! Also, having the Medicine Spirit Ghost tend the medicinal fields will consume a great deal of yin energy. I need to contact Lang Tianya and see if he can send some wandering souls to Little Jadeite Flat... But it is still daytime. It would be better to wait until night to test the Medicine Spirit Ghost's effects... And if I am conducting an experiment, it is naturally best to stay farther away from other people. Testing it in the Small Medicine Field should be best.

In the blink of an eye, the sun had set.

Menial disciples from outside Little Jadeite Flat delivered food. After eating, Hu Donghan summoned Niu Ergen and asked about the situation with the ten menial disciples.

Niu Ergen was clever, and honestly recounted how he had relied on Hu Donghan's status to manage those menial disciples until they were completely obedient.

Hu Donghan did not think much of it after hearing this. Finally, he said, "Niu Ergen, since I brought you here, I naturally hope you can be of use to me. To tell you the truth, the reason I was able to take charge of Little Jadeite Flat is because I possess a Medicine Spirit Ghost! Tonight, I will release the Medicine Spirit Ghost in the Small Medicine Field to observe its effects. Therefore, I do not want a single menial disciple to appear anywhere near the Small Medicine Field tonight!"

"If you handle tonight's matter well, your position will be secure. From now on, you will receive another monthly stipend from me, and depending on my mood, I may even reward you with something. Of course, if you cannot handle it properly, then get out of Little Jadeite Flat first thing tomorrow morning!"

Niu Ergen's eyes lit up, and he immediately nodded. "Yes, Martial Uncle Hu. This disciple understands!"

"Do you really understand? I said anyone!" Hu Donghan reminded him again.

Niu Ergen was extremely quick-witted and immediately understood the meaning behind Hu Donghan's words. He promptly said, "Martial Uncle, rest assured. Tonight, none of the menial disciples will approach the Small Medicine Field, including this disciple."

"Good! Very good!" Hu Donghan nodded again before dismissing Niu Ergen to make preparations.

Very quickly, Niu Ergen gathered all the menial disciples together. Then, claiming it was Hu Donghan's order, he led them on patrols around the two Large Medicine Fields. Though these menial disciples harbored doubts, they did not dare voice any objections.

Hu Donghan watched the movements of those menial disciples from afar, smiling as he narrowed his eyes. Then he left the house alone and hurried into the area of the Small Medicine Field.

The Small Medicine Field covered less than three mu in total and contained only a little over four thousand two hundred spiritual herbs. Most of these were medicinal ingredients needed to refine pills for Qi Refining Stage cultivators' cultivation. Aside from those, there were also over a hundred spiritual herbs used to assist Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators in refining cultivation pills.

Within the medicinal field, Qi-Nourishing Grass, Three-Death Leaves, Ghost Valley Flowers, Spirit-Gathering Fruits, and the like occupied the vast majority. These medicinal ingredients were the primary materials used to refine Qi-Nourishing Pills, Qi-Refining Pills, and Spirit-Gathering Pills. It could be said that once all the herbs here matured, they could be directly used to refine pills.

"The Medicine Spirit Ghost is not very strong yet, and the exact number of medicinal herbs it can cover is still uncertain. For now, I must first confirm the Medicine Spirit Ghost's maximum range of coverage!"

As Hu Donghan pondered this, the Soul List within his divine soul stirred, releasing the Medicine Spirit Ghost. Then, through the Soul List, Hu Donghan directly issued an order for the Medicine Spirit Ghost to cultivate the spiritual herbs over the greatest possible range.

(End of Chapter)