Sharpening the Pickaxe
Lin Xiao was filled with curiosity and immediately called to Fuzi and Tuzi to hurry towards the village.
When the villagers at the village entrance saw the three of them return, their chatter subsided considerably. But once they were gone, they resumed their discussion, even raising their voices a few decibels higher than before.
It was already afternoon, and the sun had become increasingly intense after the start of summer.
After a morning of cultivation, Lin Dayou ate lunch and then went to the fields.
These past few days, aside from sleeping, his two newly accepted apprentices have been following him around day and night.
To be precise, it was actually Mo Yuanjiao who was clinging to him, while the other person was mainly there to follow Mo Yuanjiao.
It's one thing for them to just follow him, but when they see him working, they insist on coming over and working alongside him.
The first day was nothing short of a mess for him; those two people who couldn't tell the difference between seedlings and weeds almost ruined a swathe of his land.
Fortunately, he discovered it in time.
Despite his best efforts to dissuade them, the two insisted on working with him. Lin Dayou had no choice but to teach them how to farm, step by step.
However, it must be said that this little kid has a real talent for farming. After being taught for just one day, he started working quite well.
His guard was no match for him; he wasn't as efficient at farm work as his young master.
As Lin Xiao passed by his own field, he saw three people working in the field.
He was somewhat surprised. So these two wanted to become apprentices to farmers? He had thought they wanted to cultivate.
Jiang Youfu and Liu Yunan, who were beside Lin Xiao, did not notice the situation in Lin Household, nor did they recognize Mo Yuanjiao and Guard Mo.
Eager to return home after being away for many days, the two parted ways with Lin Xiao at the fork in the road and went their separate ways.
Lin Xiao did not go up to disturb the three people who were working hard in the field. After parting ways with Fuzi and Tuzi, he silently went up the mountain alone.
It seems that, without anyone noticing, the members of the Lingxian Sect have developed a routine of cultivating in the morning and having free time in the afternoon.
The training room was completely empty at this moment.
In the spirit field not far away, Xiaoluan was leading its three little apprentices on a patrol, swallowing any insects it saw in one gulp.
Lin Xiao didn't see Senior Liao; he was probably sitting inside drinking tea.
In an open space behind the sect's main hall, a mound of earth had been piled up into a small hill, with a neat stack of wood next to it.
These must all be Tietou's handiwork.
Looking around the entire sect, it seemed as if countless wildflowers had been planted all around.
Morning glories even climbed onto the roof of the thatched shed.
This was all done by Tietou with the two girls, Liu Shengsheng and Lin Ying, in the past few days.
At the very bottom of Returning to the Garden Mountain Dwelling, there was a small hut without a door, inside which was a low stove with black marks from smoke and fire, indicating that it had been used for several days.
Beside the small mountain spring next to the mountain dwelling, there were two brand-new wooden buckets. Lin Xiao could tell at a glance that the craftsmanship of the buckets belonged to his grandfather.
As Lin Xiao watched the sect gradually become more welcoming, a warm feeling rose in his heart.
After returning from a ten-day trip, he felt as if he had come home to his sect.
Without disturbing Xiaoluan, who was busy training her apprentice, and Senior Liao, who was enjoying tea, he went alone to the very back of the mountainside.
The terraced fields he had created earlier are not far away.
The Lingxian Sect is located on a flat area halfway up the mountain, and the terraced fields are situated at the end of this flat area, with the mountaintop just above.
Beyond this hill lies the continuous North Mountain Range.
Following the location given by the system, Lin Xiao circled around to the back of the mountain and jumped down to the bottom.
This is a small valley surrounded by mountains. Although it is called a valley, it is almost entirely covered by dense forest vegetation.
As soon as Lin Xiao landed, he startled a roe deer that was foraging for food.
Lin Xiao had never come down here before.
Because the mountain path down into the valley was too steep, it was highly likely that they would not be able to climb back up once they came down.
He had only heard from the villagers that there were many wild animals in the North Mountain, but now that he had just come down and encountered a roe deer, it seemed that what they said was true.
It seems that even if we stop raising livestock for the time being, we won't have to worry about the source of meat.
However, he's not here to hunt right now.
Lin Xiao took a few steps forward and came to a mountain wall.
He reached out and touched the mountain wall, but his hand seemed to have touched nothing at all; it had actually reached directly into the mountain wall!
He simply walked straight inside.
Upon entering, Lin Xiao found himself in the very familiar Spirit Stone mine he had encountered in Liaoju Prefecture.
It has to be said that the system is really thoughtful; it even copied the Spirit-Locking Formation and Concealment Formation that were originally at the entrance of the Spirit Stone mine and placed them at the new entrance.
Seeing the glowing Spirit Stone mine, Lin Xiao was completely satisfied.
He immediately sat down, took out a small hoe and a Spirit Stone he had bought in the county town from his private treasury, and turned on the Item Synthesizer.
Lin Xiao tossed the two Item Synthesizer and waited patiently for good news.
In just a short while, the synthesis was complete, and the synthesizer produced a brand-new little hoe for him.
The wooden handle and iron hoe on the small hoe were now covered with a layer of glaze, making them appear as if they had turned into jade.
Lin Xiao opened the appraisal function and took a look.
[Small Spirit Hoe, can be infused with Spiritual Power. Using it to hoe the ground can better protect the roots and stems of Spirit Plant.]
Seeing that he had indeed synthesized a spirit hoe, Lin Xiao was relieved and immediately took out an iron pickaxe from his private treasury.
He had taken this when the blacksmith wasn't looking; of course, he left the money behind.
He followed the same method and threw in the pickaxe and Spirit Stone. Since the pickaxe was much larger than the small hoe, he also added an extra Spirit Stone.
After a while, Lin Xiao obtained a spirit pickaxe as he wished.
The authentication function is enabled.
[The Spirit Pickaxe is extremely hard and is a good tool for mining low-level spirit ore.]
Lin Xiao decisively wielded his spirit pickaxe and excitedly headed towards the abundant Spirit Stone mine.
However, with Lin Xiao's current cultivation level at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, even after he infused Spiritual Power into his spirit pickaxe and began to chisel the Spirit Stone mine, his speed was not very fast, just like an ordinary person chiseling stone.
The Spirit Stone's hardness exceeded his expectations.
Therefore, after working for half an hour, he only managed to carve out a little over five hundred Spirit Stone.
But a few hundred yuan is enough for my recent expenses.
We can't just empty the entire mine all at once, can we?
Moreover, this Spirit Stone mine is now connected to the initial-level Spirit Vein within their sect, so as long as the Spirit Vein continues, it can continuously generate Spirit Stone.
Thinking of this, Lin Xiao stopped. He'd earned several hundred Spirit Stone in half an hour; wasn't that more than the fifty to one hundred Spirit Stone he used to earn by completing a task over several days?
He was content.