Xiushui Village's Troubles

I wonder if, during his absence, the Third Elder of Three Aspects Peak has done anything naughty in front of the Peak Master?

The First Elder had been trying to break through to the Spirit Transformation for many years, and with no hope of success and his life nearing its end, his identity was being eyed by the ambitious Third Elder.

The Third Elder doesn't even consider why he's number three!

"Alright, let's hurry up and go. According to Myriad Connections's intelligence, we should be out of there soon."

While muttering his own thoughts, Yao Yuchang tried to reassure everyone.

Besides the Spirit-Devouring Beast, only one kind of black grass grows in the Spiritless Land.

The ground was covered with grayish-white stones and dust.

As they walked through the dust, shallow footprints were left on the gray-white ground.

He Yi was glared at by several people who were dissatisfied with him, but he didn't care at all. Just like he had been walking all along, he followed at the back of the group, leisurely looking around at the scenery.

It was as if there really was some scenery worth admiring.

However, in reality, all that could be seen was desolation, with not a trace of life in sight.

Even the air seemed to be veiled in a thin, hazy gray.

Even the sky, despite the blazing sun overhead, appeared eerily pale here, lacking any blue hue what should have been a clear, bright blue sky.

The sky was also a mixture of gray and white.

Looking at it makes one feel uneasy.

The place Spiritless Land.

He Yi's gaze swept over the nine people in front of him seemingly casually, his eyes Qingqing and shallow.

He then quickly turned his gaze to the endless distance ahead.

Originally, this trip was to be conducted by one person from each of the nine major sects of the Nine Domains, who were to go to the Mortal Realm to investigate. The Talisman Sect of the North Spirit Domain would have its own dispatch, and it was impossible for them to send him.

However, he still managed to follow.

Thinking of the Talisman Array he had been researching over the years, He Yi thoughtfully wrapped the jade pendant belt around his fingertips twice.

--

Time flies.

Ten days have passed since the new disciples entered the Lingxian Sect.

Their lives were packed with activities during those ten days.

Even when the sect asked them to write letters home to let their families know they were safe, and the sect would deliver the letters to their addresses, they still had to write those letters during their spare time while eating dinner.

There's no way around it; my days are already packed with classes and construction tasks.

Evenings are a rare time when one can calmly and carefully study the mental techniques.

Furthermore, the General Affairs Hall will also arrange for senior staff members other than lecturers to come and answer their questions.

This time is precious and shouldn't be wasted.

Within ten days, the vast majority of new disciples had successfully Drawing Qi into the Body. Those who had not yet succeeded were not in a hurry under the guidance of their seniors; they simply studied and explored more diligently each day.

Bai Zhu was one of the first disciples to successfully Drawing Qi into the Body.

Because he holds multiple positions, he is busier than others.

He was always the first person to arrive at the Cultivation Hall every day.

Once he arrived at the Cultivation Hall, he would spread out the attendance book that Liu Yunan had prepared for him and begin his cultivation and study by the morning light.

While others were writing letters to their families in the evening, he would quickly finish his dinner and then, when others had a break, go up to collect the names that everyone had gathered. This was the naming task that Liu Yunan had given him for their mountain.

He collected several or even a dozen a day, and then he found four other people who were the most prestigious in everyone's eyes—namely, Teacher Pei, Liang Zhonghuai, Yuan Jinsheng, and Xuanyuan Haoyue.

The five of them discussed selecting some good names from the names collected each day and planned to do a final selection at a later time.

After doing all this, while everyone else was relaxing and chatting or playing, he would sit alone by the bright lights of the sect, holding his cultivation manual, and begin to study diligently.

These busy days bring him great satisfaction.

He had no family members who could write to him.

The only person he cared about was the old beggar who used to beg with him.

In the past two years, the old beggar has become too old to walk far while begging, and he receives very little food each day.

The couple mostly relied on the meager wages Bai Zhu earned from doing odd jobs to make ends meet.

But the old beggar was illiterate.

Bai Zhu then used the meager amount of silver from his disciple allowance to buy two clean sets of coarse cloth clothes and some coarse grain buns from Elder Liu, asking the sect to help deliver them to the old beggar.

Bai Zhu considered that these items were not valuable, and with his status as a disciple of the Lingxian Sect, they were unlikely to arouse the envy of other beggars.

I hope I can reach the standard for descending the mountain as soon as possible, so I can go down and see the old beggar sooner.

Because the sect stipulates that new disciples must reach the Qi Refining Fifth Layer and be able to skillfully use talismans, able to use them in the blink of an eye, before they are allowed to leave the mountain.

Moreover, descending the mountain depends on the circumstances.

If it's a private matter, generally there's only one chance to go down the mountain per month, and at most one night to return; otherwise, one will be punished by the Law Enforcement Hall.

Of course, this doesn't apply if there's an emergency at home.

If it's for official sect business, then it doesn't matter, because usually a senior member of the sect will accompany them.

However, he did not expect that before he met the sect's standards for disciples to leave the mountain, he would be given an opportunity to do so.

This is how it all started.

In recent years, the plants in Xiushui Village have been growing better and better.

Not only the crops people plant in the fields, but also the weeds, wild grasses, and wildflowers are all the same.

Although the villagers found weeding in the fields more tiring because the weeds grew much faster than the crops, they didn't complain. After all, as long as they worked harder, they could harvest much more grain, so it was all worth it.

In places with Spiritual Qi, not only do plants grow well and in abundance, but animals also multiply.

In recent years, the hunters in Xiushui Village no longer need to envy those who work in the fields; they have become prosperous by hunting themselves.

There's just one downside.

In summer, there are more mosquitoes.

The first two years were alright. Although there were more mosquitoes, most households had planted mugwort along the edges of their fields or vegetable gardens, and fumigating with it at night drove them away to about 70-80%.

But for some reason, there are many more mosquitoes this year than in the previous two years.

Moreover, these mosquitoes are quite tenacious; even strong fumigation with mugwort could only repel one or two of them.

Summer is already hot and dry, and the incessant buzzing of mosquitoes and gnats leaves villagers covered in welts, making it unbearable.

Now, every day just as dusk falls, a dense swarm of mosquitoes swarms above the heads of almost everyone in Xiushui Village.

For a time, Xiushui Village was plagued by mosquitoes.