by Fang Xiang
[Art of Flora] combined with [Little Art of Cloud and Rain], the effect was outstanding, the effectiveness increasing. Li Ying Feng didn’t care what methods Zuo Mo used, she only hoped to produce ling grasses quickly.
To increase speed, for a continuous length of time, other than going to Cold Mist Valley to make rain once a day, Zuo Mo spent all his time at the Eastern Peak. This was the first time he received the luxurious treatment of using jingshi to recover ling power.
The body was like a vessel. To contain more ling power, it needed continually increasingly large containers. The simplest way to increase the size of the container was the change the body. Continuously using ling power, the ling power would continuously strength the channels and so more ling power could be stored.
———
The next few days, Zuo Mo continuously repeated [Art of Flora] and [Little Art of Cloud and Rain]. All of that was required for more than four hundred mu of ling fields were finished by him alone.
The female disciples finally saw his mania and absorbed nature when he was at work.
Casting a spell, holding a jingshi in meditation, then standing to cast a spell until all of his ling power was used, then began meditation… …
Even as they looked on from the side, they felt exhausted. But Zuo Mo repeated the cycle and didn’t feel any dullness.
Of course Zuo Mo wouldn’t find it dull!
Such luxurious treatment that he had never thought of it even in his dreams. Such a good opportunity, if he didn’t use it, was he stupid?
He didn’t spare any of his ling power. Each time, he would wring the ling power out of his body completely! Then he would take the jingshi and absorb the ling power fanatically.
In these few days, he had gained much. Even if there wasn’t those ten pieces of second-grade jingshi, he definitely would have agreed. His channels, which had never extracted ling power in such a manner, was like the parched ground receiving a surge of rain. In these short few days, the amount of ling power in his body increased by almost one-tenth, his channels had become stronger as well.
Other than that, as he repeated used the [Art of Flora] over and over, his degree of proficiency increased. There were signs he was nearing the second level.
Looking at the green ling fields, all the fields had been replanted with ling grasses. That also meant the job was finished. His heart was full of reluctance.
“At what time would he meet such a good thing like this!”
He sighed deeply in his heart.
In five days, he used up five pieces of second-grade jingshi. No wonder Zuo Mo was still wishing to continue.
But luckily, ten pieces of second-grade jingshi was enough to satisfy the yearning in his heart.
The stone in Li Ying Feng’s heart landed. Even though the price was high, she had managed to solve a troublesome problem. And she had met a strong shidi. She was very satisfied.
Work and relax, that was the right way.
———
Returning to the yard, Zuo Mo’s wallet was bulging and his mood relaxed.
But his studies each day, he never stopped. Even though the efficiency of meditation was far from being able to compare with using jingshi, but Zuo Mo still persisted. The ling power in the jingshi might be pure and easy to absorb but it was slightly strong. It was slower to meditate and absorb ling energy but it was very gentle.
In the long run, it was easy to encounter hidden dangers by relying too much on jingshi. Those sects with strong bases and foundations had many methods to resolve the dangers, but to Zuo Mo, those methods were far out of reach.
Of course, the most important thing was Zuo Mo didn’t have that many jingshi to squander.
Other than that, right now, he was focusing on the [Art of Aged Gold] and the [Art of Flora]. The [Art of Aged Gold] was at the second level, and it wasn’t far before the [Art of Flora] would also break through to the next level. If both of these could reach the third level, and adding in the fourth level of the [Little Art of Cloud and Rain], it was enough for him to qualify as a ling plant farmer.
Ha, by that time, the jingshi will roll in ……
Over the next few days, his mood was great.
Each day, he light-heartedly ran over to Cold Mist Valley each day to make rain. The ling herbs in the medicine fields were growing well, the effect of the fourth level of the [Little Art of Cloud and Rain] was clear. The ling herbs seemed to have more vitality than before. Each time when he stated to make rain, the ling herbs in the fields would neatly follow and sway as though they were rejoicing. Zuo Mo’s mood became cheerful whenever he saw these ling herbs’ “dancing.” To this job that was forced upon him, his unwillingness had decreased.
The medicine fields in Cold Mist Valley were third-grade ling fields. The intelligence in these ling herbs greatly surpassed normal plants.
The misfortunes of the past swept away. His life became bright once again.
Just as usual, he made a round of inspections before leaving. After making sure that nothing happened, he then left Cold Mist Valley.
Not long after he left Cold Mist Valley, he suddenly heard the sound of people talking in the front.
“Old Black is pretty unfortunate. The ling grains are infected with this strange disease. He probably won’t harvest even one grain this year. Next year, he might not even get to plant the ling grains. He has a family of old and young, his days will become hard.”
“Oh, it’s fate! I’m just worried if this strange disease will spread. If we get infected, that would be terrible!”
“So true! Heavens protect us! I’m still depending on this year’s harvest to exchange for a sword scripture!”
“Me too!”
……
Strange disease? Zuo Mo’s heart jumped.
What people who planted ling grains were most afraid of were those unnameable strange diseases. Once it occurred, it basically was a loss for the entire year. These two years, Zuo Mo had personally seen several shixiong, due to bad luck, become unable to even pay the rent for the ling fields to the sect and were thrown out of the sect.
A while ago when he made rain for Old Black, his ling grains were growing well, so why did they suddenly become infected with a strange disease? Zuo Mo felt it a bit strange.
If one had to say who had it the hardest in the sect, it was probably Old Black. He had a family. His son supposedly had some innate talent and had been admitted into a small sword sect. The tribute he needed to give each year to the sect wasn’t a small amount. Adding on the different materials and jingshi needed for cultivation, the cost was enormous.
Old Black had a cultivation of lianqi fifth level. He rented two hundred mu of ling fields. All his time was spent on growing ling grains. In these decades, his cultivation hadn’t increased one bit. But even so, the jingshi he earned was just barely enough.
This year, Old Black was especially hard-working. It was rumoured that his son was at the gate of lianqi seventh level. For his son to push through the big jump of the seventh level, he needed a lot of jingshi.
He needed to offer jingshi to the sect so that the sect elders would give extra tutelage to his son. This was an unwritten rule.
Other than that, Old Black had put hopes on another method.
The amount of ling energy in the air was extremely low in places without ling veins. If he relied on those ling energy to change into the ling power inside his body, it was extremely slow.
Xiuzhe who had wealth usually used two kinds of methods. One was using ling grains for a long period. There weren’t high levels of ling power in the ling grains but the effect was gentle and easily absorbed. The other method was directly extracting ling power from the jingshi. This was also the fastest method. Additionally, using jingshi was especially effective at making breakthroughs.
Old Black thought to use this method for his son to break through the barrier to the seventh level.
Zuo Mo decided to take a look. If it really would spread, then his own f
ifty mu of ling fields would also be affected.
There were many people surrounding the ling fields at the base of the mountain. Zuo Mo found Old Black in the crowd with one glance. That black face was now so pale there wasn’t a hint of blood, the eyes empty and hopeless.
The ling fields that Zuo Mo recently made rain for was enough to scare him.
The green ling grains were now almost completely withered. The leaves and primary stem were full of a kind of black energy. Anyone who saw the situation would be certain that these ling grains would certainly die. Many shixiong were gathered at the edge of the ling field. They formed groups and discussed in low voices, all their voices full of worry.
“Guo Shixiong’s here! Guo Shixiong’s here!”
Someone cheered from the crowd. A light came into Old Black’s devastated eyes and he suddenly crawled up from the ground.
Guo Lu Shixiong was the person who had the deepest knowledge of [Art of Aged Gold]. A number of years ago, he had reached the second level. The recent news was that he was going to soon enter the third level. Usually, when some strange illness appeared in the ling grains, everyone would recommend Guo Lu Shixiong. And he didn’t disappoint. He had saved the ling grains that everyone thought would die multiple times.
Guo Lu shixiong was barefoot and wearing shorts, his face full of wrinkles like an old farmer. When he saw the swaths of withered ling fields, his face couldn’t help but change before recovering.
The change was extremely subtle but Zuo Mo coincidentally caught it. When he had seen the withered ling fields, he had already had a bad feeling. When he saw the change in expression of Guo Lu Shixiong, the ominous feeling inside became even stronger. As he improved on the [Art of Aged Gold], he understood much more.
If it was normal pests, the withered leaves wouldn’t have been slightly black. This black was like dead ash, and made Zuo Mo’s heart beat frantically.
Old Black almost rushed in front of Guo Lu Shixiong and shouted heart-wrenchingly, “Shixiong, save me!”
Seeing Old Black’s despairing expression, a flush came upon Guo Lu’s face and he gravely said, “As much as I’m capable!”
He walked into the ling fields.
Everyone’s eyes gathered on his body, not a sound of discussion made. Everyone stared fixedly at Guo Shixiong that stepped into the ling fields.
Guo Lu Shixiong’s expression was grave. He walked in front of a withered ling grain stalk and squatted down, attentively examining every part of the ling grain. He also ripped down the withered and slightly black leaves, putting it to the nose for a smell. His inspection was extremely fine. He almost walked around the entire ling field and took more than an hour.
The puzzled expression on his face became even heavier, as though he had encountered something impossible.
He shook his head, his expression still perplexed and his hand landed on a withered ling grain.
Zuo Mo, who also knew [Art of Aged Gold], suddenly became alert. He knew the most crucial time had come.
Chapter 14: Strange Disease
Reaching out his hand and touching the ling grain, a hint of gold suddenly floated onto Guo Lu Shixiong’s face.
Just this was enough to make Zuo Mo feel admiration. Guo Lu shixiong’s comprehension of the [Art of Aged Gold] was much deeper than his. Even though Zuo Mo’a the [Art of Aged Gold] was at the second level but his experience in usage and level of comprehension, he was much weaker than Guo Lu Shixiong.
Yet something unexpected happened!
Guo Lu Shixiong’s expression changed and he spat out a mouthful of blood, falling to the ground. The disciples spectating instantly paled and rushed forward heading for Guo Lu shixiong.
They only saw that Guo Lu Shixiong’s face was as white as paper, he was barely breathing and had fallen unconscious.
Some of the shixiong who had good relations with Guo Lu Shixiong hurriedly held him up and ran up the mountain. Old Black stayed still in his original place and then started to wail, the sound so mournful listeners also became saddened.
The crowd gradually dissipated, each person’s face filled with worry.
Zuo Mo moved towards the ling fields. Nearing a stalk of ling grain, he closely examined it. He didn’t dare to touch it with his hand. The scene just now had made him extremely wary of these ling grains.
A fishy odor entered his nose. Zuo Mo couldn’t help but frown. In his two years of farming, he had never smelt something like this. Inside, he really was curious about what was inside these ling grains. He thought about the first time he encountered pests. That brutal and dangerous aura was still fresh on his mind. It was only when he had used the [Art of Aged Gold] on his five mu of ling grains that first time that he encountered a similar situation.
When Guo Lu shixiong suddenly spat blood, the first thought in his head was: were there similar yet stronger presences inside these ling grains?
But after seeing the result of Guo Lu shixiong’s attempt, he was not going to be rash and try.
Looking at Old Black, he sighed inside. A problem that even Guo shixiong was unable to solve, he had the desire to help but not the strength.
———
Even when he got back to his small yard, that scene was still replaying in his mind. The seriousness of the issue had increased dramatically due to Guo Lu Shixiong throwing up blood. It was certain that the sect would respond. However, the only one knowledgeable in the sect about farming, Fourth Shigu Shi Feng Rong had left to wander half a year ago and still hadn’t returned. Hao Min Shijie who was responsible for the medicine fields had also left with Luo Li Shixiong.
Hao Min Shijie was going to be out of luck, but Zuo Mo didn’t have much joy.
He had a feeling that the strange disease would spread. When he entered the ling fields he had detected that the withering of the ling grains were clearly different. From that, it could be seen that there was a progress in which the ling grains in the field were infected.
The situation was exactly what he had predicted. In the following days, another two shixiong’s ling grains became infected with this kind of strange disease.
The higher ups of the sect still hadn’t set out any measures. Guo Lu Shixiong was still unconscious.
A layer of dark clouds covered Wu Kong Sword Sect.
There were still about two months before the time to harvest the ling grains. Everyone could only pray that the ling grains in their own fields would escape and endure to harvest.
However, prayers didn’t do anything. This year, the number of outer sect disciples who would be unable to harvest a single grain had quickly increased to ten people.
Zuo Mo’s luck seemed to have been used up. He became one of the ten people. The five mu in the yard was still good, but some withered ling grains started to appear in the fifty mu he rented from the sect.
His heart suddenly became nervous!
At no time had he ever thought he would be forced to leave the sect. Farming wasn’t an easy job but he still lived well. From when he first opened his eyes two years ago, he had lived at Wu Kong Mountain. This was like his home.
But if he couldn’t completely pay the rent for the ling fields this year, he would be exiled from the sect.
This was something he could not accept! Even more, if he left the yard, where would he go to find even the smallest section of ling vein?
Nothing was harder to accept than seeing the ling grains in the fields wither stalk by stalk. Being able to do nothing other than watching the disease spread made people feel despair. The harsh fishy odor wafted off the fields. The rich fields became a pit of mud.
The sect was swarming with victims. The number of outer sect disciples that was infected by the strange disease increased to twenty five people. The remainder was also in danger.
The ling grains had almost entirely dried and wilted. Only at base of the stalks could a hint of green be seen. If they couldn’t find a solution immediately, then the vitality of this ling grains were completely gone and it would
be too late.
Just as Zuo Mo was at his wit’s end, a pink Little Thousand Crane suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.
“Damned woman! Making a bother at this time!” Zuo Mo saw this paper crane and couldn’t help starting to swear.
He didn’t have any intentions of picking the crane, sneering and musing to himself, “Humph, ge won’t pay attention to you, go play by yourself.”
After the sound landed, the Little Thousand Crane suddenly opened on its own.
“Ye, where are you waiting for me?”
A sweet and adorable voice wormed into his ears. It was like licking a mouthful of honey, or gently tickled at the heart. A person who was less resolute would have softened to the bones.
Zuo Mo stared at this pink paper that opened up on its own in front of him with an open mouth. On it was written exactly what the voice said.
Automatically unfolding, automatically speaking, and automatically finding people ……
The tiny pink Little Thousand Crane showed so many wonders that let Zuo Mo’s weak soul received an unprecedented battering.
He suddenly had a premonition. He might have provoked big trouble.
“Fine, fine, it’s not good to argue with a woman. Ge won’t play with you!” He said to himself righteously.
“Wanting to use beauty to tempt me? Humph humph!” Zuo Mo sneered, “You’re still tender. Not just a magic voice, but even if it was a peerless naked woman, ge can still calmly, heart as fixed as pine.”
In the ling fields, there was only the sound of Zuo Mo’s duck like voice singing, “I was originally a mirror, yet dust fell upon me, ya yi ya……”
Before his voice stopped, another pink Little Thousand Crane flew in front of him from the sky.
The exquisite pink Little Thousand Crane moved like stripping off clothing, the motions elegant as it automatically unfolded.
“Haha, ye, if you don’t reply, the next Little Thousand Crane, I’ll draw a Flame Exploding Seal.”
“Am I afraid?” Zuo Mo wasn’t scared, “Am I one that will lower his head due to power……”
