by Fang Xiang
After patrolling the ling fields under his name, he then made rain for the medicine fields in Cold Mist Valley. He didn’t have any news of Hao Min Shijie, and didn’t know where the two people had gone to be free. But he didn’t have any grudges towards this unpaid job now. The only thing he hated was that there was a distance between Cold Mist Valley and his residence and he had to spend a significant amount of time on the road every day.
When he came back from Cold Mist Valley, he was shocked to find two people waiting outside the doorway to his little yard.
Chapter 12: Art of Flora
Li Ying Feng took Xiao Guo along with her as she guarded Zuo Mo’s door.
Seeing Zuo Mo, Li Ying Feng visibly released a breath. Xiao Guo’s apple face revealed a bashful expression.
Zuo Mo was slightly surprised. Why did these two come? His mouth smiled and said, “Shijie has the time to come to my humble abode today. Such a surprise! Please come in!”
Finishing, he swung out his sleeve. Underneath, he sent out a spell and the door to the yard soundlessly opened.
Li Ying Feng didn’t decline, frankly responding, “Coming without an invitation, we’ve disturbed you!”
Xiao Guo tightly followed behind Li Ying Feng but her little face was still timid.
Zuo Mo muttered inside, ge doesn’t have much interest in silly little girls.
Entering the yard, Li Ying Feng saw the lush ling grains in the yard and her eyes lit up. She couldn’t help complimenting, “Shixiong is really skilled at farming. This ling grains’ growth is the envy of others and a bountiful harvest is just around the corner!”
“Shijie is too complimentary,” Zuo Mo casually responded. Inside, he started to ponder the reason that Li Ying Feng had come today. Towards this shijie that he hadn’t had many interactions in the past, he felt admiration. Regardless of anything else, just her cultivation of lianqi ninth level, it was enough to be top dog in the outer sect disciples. Her frank and honest conduct was very refreshing to Zuo Mo’s temper.
The three people sat down under a tree next to the pond. The water in the pond ripples. Occasionally, one could see a few fish darting by. When Zuo Mo first moved into the yard, the pond was dry. All the water presently in the pond had been slowly accumulated from him practicing the [Little Art of Cloud and Rain]. He remembered it very clearly because when the pond became full, his [Little Art of Cloud and Rain coincidentally had reached the third level.
As to those fish, they were captured randomly when he passed by some mountain streams.
Li Ying Feng took the initiative to speak of her purpose in coming, “Coming today, one is to thank Shidi. The method that Shidi suggested, we have used and to great effect. One really needs mastery in a field. Such a troublesome problem, it really needed someone like Shidi who specialized in farming to solve.”
“Yes, yes! It was really effective! Everyone is so happy!” Xiao Guo hurried to agree. But when she saw Zuo Mo’s face turn towards her, she instantly fell silent, her body retreating towards Li Ying Feng.
Zuo Mo took back his gaze and shook his head. “Shijie is too polite. We are from the same sect. There’s no need to keep such a minor matter in mind.”
Li Ying Feng smiled and responded, “Shidi’s words are appreciated. In the future, if Shidi meets a hard problem, feel free to come find me. Wherever this shijie can help, I wouldn’t decline.”
“Many thanks, Shijie,” Zuo Mo unconcernedly brushed it off. Past experiences had told him that normally, these kinds of words can’t be taken seriously.
Li Ying Feng gazed with burning eyes at Zuo Mo, continuing seriously, “Coming today, it’s to ask for Shidi’s help on another matter.”
The meat has finally come!
Zuo Mo said expressionlessly, “What matter?”
In reality, he couldn’t make expressions……
“Shidi’s methods were extremely effective.” Li Ying Feng gave a grimace, “But in our crowd of sisters, only one knows the [Art of Earth Energy]. Shidi, you might not know, because of the weeds previously, there was only a pitiful amount of ling grass that was produced. The amount of ling grass that the animals need is only increasing. Originally, I had planned to go to Dong Fu to buy some to fill the gap, but who knew that the price of ling grass and grains are flying up… …”
Hearing this, Zuo Mo’s mind jumped. Price increases in ling grains, for him, it was definitely good news.
Not taking into account the fifty mu of ling fields that he rented from the sect, just the five mu of ling grains in his yard, the harvest would be significant.
He really profited this year!
He gleefully calculated in his heart, completely not registering what Li Ying Feng was saying.
Li Ying Feng noticed Zuo Mo’s inattentiveness and couldn’t help thinking about the rumors she found out about Zuo Mo.
The shock to her that came from such a strong shidi who appeared out of nowhere was enormous. After Zuo Mo’s first visit, she went around for information. She discovered that Zuo Mo had a natural expressionless zombie-face, and achieved the third level of [Little Art of Cloud and Rain] etc, and she even managed to have a general understanding of his usual habits and conduct.
Deciding not to keep being polite, she threw out the bomb, “Coming today, it’s to ask Shidi to weed for us. This is ten pieces of second-grade jingshi. It is the goodwill of all of us. Shidi, please take it.”
Once again, it was a small pouch that appeared on her hand.
As expected, Zuo Mo shook and instantly focused.
Ten pieces of second-grade jingshi……
His saliva nearly slipped out. When he had sold three hundred catties of ling grains last time, he had just received thirty pieces of second-grade jingshi.
Zuo Mo hesitated, stating, “I’m not skilled at [Art of Earth Energy], so I’m afraid I can’t help much.”
Li Ying Feng assumed that Zuo Mo was being polite. If he wasn’t an expert, why would he have thought of using [Art of Earth Energy] to get rid of the weeds?
This time, she had prepared well. She didn’t panic, smiled and said, ‘Other than these ten pieces of second-grade jingshi, we have also prepared five pieces of second-grade jingshi for Shidi to recover ling energy in hopes that the supply of ling grass could recover in the fastest time.”
Zuo Mo’s brain exploded, completely dizzy due to being hit by Li Ying Feng’s jingshi.
Jingshi was the most important resource in each sect. Other than being used to purchase things, its other important use was for recovering ling power. The density of ling energy in ling veins could not compare at all to what was in jingshi.
In some large sects, those core disciples were completely built up through jingshi. Their job each day was to absorb ling power out of jingshi and increase their cultivation.
Zuo Mo had never tried to extract ling power from jingshi. He was poor. How could he bear it?
The enemy was too strong! He instantly surrendered, promising, “If Shijie has an order, as a shidi, I’ll naturally charge through fire and walk on fire, and will not decline!”
Li Ying Feng smiled. The tactic was successful. She put down the little pouch on the table, looking at Zuo Mo and asking, “When will Shidi go?”
Zuo Mo put the little cloth pouch into his bosom in a flash, his tone solemn as he responded, “The situation is so serious. Naturally, the earlier the better.”
Xiao Guo’s mouth twisted.
Following between the two people, Zuo Mo continued to recall the major points of [Art of Earth Energy]. In the last few days, most of his attention had been on [Art of Aged Gold] and [Art of Flora]. After roughly practicing [Art of Earth Energy], he hadn’t spent much time on it.
He could have never thought that this [Art of Earth Energy] would directly connect to fifteen pieces of second-grade jingshi. Why did he practice spells, wasn’t it for jingshi? He was upset inside. If he knew earlier, he would have practiced more.
Very quickly, they reached the Eastern Peak
. The female disciples all silently stood at the side, no one speaking.
Even though Zuo Mo didn’t care about them at all, but the completely different treatment he received this time around made him feel good inside.
“The ling fields infested with weeds are about four hundred and fifty mu. There’s about two hundred and fifty mu that are much more serious,” Li Ying Feng introduced.
Zuo Mo nearly tripped. Two hundred and fifty mu. This number scared him!
[Art of Earth Energy] was different than [Little Art of Cloud and Rain]. Its effective range was much smaller, about one mu or so. Also, he tried already. With his first level of [Art of Earth energy], he needed to repeat more than three times in order to effectively stop the growth of the damned weeds.
That was to say, at the least, he needed to perform the [Art of Earth Energy] seven hundred and fifty times.
The answer made his eyes flip and he nearly fainted. This number, it was enough to work him to death.
He had thought he got a cushy job. He didn’t think he agreed to such drudgery! Falling from heaven into hell, the strong contrast nearly made Zuo Mo cry.
Zuo Mo looked at the ling fields under his feet filled with weeds and wanted to cry. There were almost only weeds left in these fields. It was hard to even find a trace of the ling grass. Such strong weeds, with his just introductory level of [Art of Earth Energy], he might have to do it seven or eight times to be effective.
At this time, his mind was clever and a spark flashed though. He suddenly thought of a beautiful idea.
Since these ling fields were almost completely weeds, they could erase everything and plant ling grasses again.
The kind of domineering spell that [Art of Flora] was, wasn’t it just perfect for the situation? [Art of Flora], other than extracting the vitality and essence of the weeds, it wouldn’t even miss the seeds that were in the soil. What it extracted was the essence of plants, not ling energy, so it wouldn’t even harm the ling fields.
The more he thought, the more excited he became so he expressed his thoughts to Li Ying Feng. When Li Ying Feng found out that Zuo Mo also knew [Art of Flora], she was slightly shocked. Inside, she thought that this Zuo Mo Shidi wasn’t an ordinary person.
Increasingly feeling that Zuo Mo wasn’t ordinary, Li Ying Feng naturally didn’t have any objections. Inside, she felt that it was very likely to succeed this time.
This time, she was working against major pressure. Fifteen pieces of second-grade jingshi was almost all the jingshi she had.
Quickly going through it again in his head and checking that no problems should occur, Zuo Mo decided to do it.
The two fists were slightly open, held in front of his chest. The fingertips glowed slightly. Taking a deep breath, the ten fingers moved!
The others only felt threads of light weaving between Zuo Mo’s ten fingers. It was like a drawing, dazzling everyone’s eyes. Only shock was left on everyone’s face.
Only now did they realize the uniqueness of this zombie-like shixiong!
It was a dance of light at the fingertips. That pair of dried up and thin hands, it seemed to have a strange power, and attracted everyone’s gaze.
The diagram that had been drawn was already extremely complicated but the dancing fingers didn’t stop!
Even Li Ying Feng’s face couldn’t help change!
Such complicated finger motions! What spell would require such complicated moves?
She didn’t know that it was due to the complicated nature of the finger movements that [Art of Flora] was the most difficult among the five element spells and the number of people who learned it numbered the fewest.
Countless green threads flew up from the ling fields and wriggled between Zuo Mo’s palms. Unlike the restraint that happened usually, Zuo Mo had no hesitations now. The fear and trepidation that was present completely disappeared. The ten fingers flipped and danced and he pushed forward with all his ling power.
Gradually, a very strange feeling birthed. It seemed that something was slightly throbbing at his heart.
Unconsciously, the movement of his ten fingers became faster. The throbbing at his heart became even stronger. Everything in the surroundings seemed to fall away. Empty and clear, like a void, he looked on silently. The subtle connections between the dancing ten fingers, the rhythm as the ling power changed, it went from barely perceptible to the surface.
It was as though a paper window had been poked open and his vision suddenly became clear.
The rawness of Zuo Mo’s finger motions instantly disappeared. The ten fingers were like they had been dipped in water, abnormally smooth, flowing like the water. Of all the female disciples, Li Ying Feng’s cultivation was the highest and her eyes the most experienced. She was the first to detect the peculiarity. If it was said that she had just been admiring the complicated nature of Zuo Mo’s finger movements, she felt completely different now. The finger movements were still beautiful, yet it didn’t have that feeling of profoundness, but a kind of strange cadence.
Xiao Guo’s eyes widened. On the little apple face, an intoxicated adorable expression appeared.
Threads of green energy floated up from the ling grasses and weeds in the field. The space between Zuo Mo’s ten fingers was like the center of a whirlpool, energetically sucking in the green energy!
More and more of the green energy accumulated on Zuo Mo’s hands. Very quickly, a green and glistening plant essence bead appeared at his fingertip.
The ling fields were turned into a patch of dry yellow, not a hint of green could be found. As a gust of wind blew across, the plants fell down like dust.
In the blink of an eye, a vital and living ling field had become dead ground.
Everyone looked dumbstruck. Their gazes as they looked at Zuo Mo were like looking at a ghost.
Li Ying Feng was incomparably shocked inside. If it was said that the grandiose finger motions made her entranced, then the shocking result in front of her would only made her uncontrollably feel terror!
Was he really in lianqi?
She suddenly found it somewhat suspicious.
Chapter 13: Success
Leaving the trance state, Zuo Mo mused upon it for a long time. Had that been a moment of enlightenment? He thought with joy and some regret.
As expected, when he cast [Art of Flora] the following few times, the state of emptiness didn’t appear like they did the first time. His finger movements had clearly gone up a step and became much more fluid, especially the cooperation between the ling power and the finger movements. It was as though he found the trick to it. When his fingers moved, the ling power followed and changed, the two tightly connected.
The grandiose finger movements, the terrifying results, it made the female disciples that were still apprehensive docilely close their mouths.
Zuo hadn’t thought the effects would be this strong neither.
The dominance of [Art of Flora] surpassed his predictions. He couldn’t help but become alert inside. When he cast [Art of Flora] in the future, he needed to be careful.
The following matters were much easier. They only needed to plough the ling fields again before planning the ling grasses.
The method the female disciples used to plant ling grass broadened his vision. He saw a female disciple take out a bamboo container from her waist, pluck out the cork and a gold earthworm climbed out. She chanted a spell and the gold earthworm burrowed into the ling fields.
In a short while, the soil rolled and twisted. After twenty minutes when it stopped, the ling fields were completely overturned. What was most amazing was that not one bit of soil had splashed out of the ling fields.
Zuo Mo couldn’t help but be interested. “What’s this? It’s very convenient!”
Li Ying Feng was both educated and kind. She said knowingly, “We call them Mud Turning Earthworms. It’s isn’t anything high-grade, and is just used to plow the fields. But the results are pretty good. Afterwards, we’ll give some to Shidi. It would be of
help in growing ling grains.”
Zuo Mo was overjoyed. “Many thanks Shijie!”
In the newly turned ling fields, the female disciples spread out the ling grass seeds. Growing ling grasses didn’t have as many concerns as growing ling grains. They only had to spread it densely.
After finishing seeding, Zuo Mo saw a female disciple preparing to cast [Little Art of Cloud and Rain], and volunteered, “Does it need rain, I’ll do it.”
He returned favors. It wasn’t good to take another person’s things for free.
Li Ying Feng was overjoyed. “I heard that Shidi’s [Little Art of Cloud and Rain] reached the third level. Today, I get to have a look!”
[Little Art of Cloud and Rain] was Zuo Mo’s most familiar spell. He almost didn’t need any preparation. Just started the spell and the cloud formed, appearing above the ling fields.
Silver threads gradually entered the ling fields, the air full of vitality. Everyone felt their minds become refreshed.
There were very big differences between the fourth level of the [Little Art of Cloud and Rain] and the third level. Just when the rain stopped, a rainbow appeared above the ling fields.
Just as everyone was complimenting, one female disciple shouted as she pointed at the ling fields, “Heavens! Look, it’s sprouted!”
At some time, a patch of thin and light green sprouts appeared in the ling fields.
Zuo Mo took out the plant essence bead and cast [Art of Flora] again. It instantly dissolved into countless bunches of green thread and merged into the ling fields.
The light green sprouts in the ling fields instantly became darker, their growth delightful.
“Shidi is just as rumored!” Li Ying Feng complimented sincerely. This unknown shidi seemed to have endless methods, and always could bring her unexpected surprises. She found that no matter which technique that Zuo Mo used, there were major differences with what she had heard.
What was he concealing? Li Ying Feng thought of this question again.
