"I can't believe casting a wide net reeled in a fish!"
Back in his quarters, Li Ye sat cross-legged on his bed.
Just earlier, his cheeks had been flushed from drinking at the table, but now his face was calm and composed, his eyes bright and clear.
Only the hint of pleasant surprise lingering in his smile revealed that this trip had been well worth it.
The string of events that had occurred earlier had indeed brought him a fair share of trouble nothing major, but troublesome nonetheless.
Yet now that everything had been resolved in one way or another, the benefits coming out of it were quite considerable.
Among them, Elder Luo's initiative to befriend him was the most significant by far!
He recalled everything Elder Luo had shared over drinks at the table.
"The spiritual fields of Foundation Establishment elders' abodes… If we're talking land size and overall environment, they are superior to the sect's herb gardens."
"If I could take charge of one such field, the rate at which I gain experience and accumulate Herbal Essences would far exceed anything I'd expected before!"
"However, although Elder Ji Qing isn't fond of socializing or doing favors, he's quite picky when it comes to choosing someone to tend his fields."
"Old Luo merely has the right to recommend someone. In the end, I'll still have to compete with others for the spot!"
"In that case, my current mid-tier first-level planting skill might not be good enough…"
Li Ye muttered to himself and opened up his status panel.
[Name: Li Ye]
[Spiritual Roots: Low-grade Earth-Wood Dual Root]
[Lifespan: 73 years (3 years lost due to life force overdraw)]
[Skills: Planting – First Tier, Intermediate (252/2000); Alchemy – Not yet initiated (2/2000)]
[Herbal Essences: Emerald Bud Essence (2, 58%)]
[Experience: 766.4]
Thanks to his diligent farming over the past several days, Li Ye had accumulated a decent amount of both experience and spiritual plant essence.
That said, he currently had no other way to use the essence.
Every time he obtained some Emerald Bud Essence, he would refine it during daily cultivation to nourish his body and boost his cultivation.
Only two essences were being kept in reserve, just in case.
Otherwise, there's no way he could've recovered his lost cultivation in such a short time.
Moreover, due to the continuous nourishment, even the life force he had once overdrawn was starting to recover.
As a result, the lifespan on his status panel had increased by two years something he hadn't expected at all!
Even though refining more essence later didn't further change the displayed lifespan, it was still a welcome surprise!
Compared to the difficulty of obtaining plant essence each rice plant only ever providing one instance the feedback from experience was much easier to come by.
Some rice stalks had already granted him experience multiple times, allowing him to steadily build up his total.
Originally, Li Ye had been content with slowly accumulating experience until the harvest season, at which point he'd earn enough to
either upgrade his planting skill to the first-tier, high-level
, or finally, enter the path of alchemy and become a respected alchemist.
Naturally, he had leaned toward beginning his alchemy studies first.
But now, given the rare opportunity before him, it looked like he'd have to prioritize his farming skills as his core livelihood for now!
"And this is only possible because that elder isn't currently at the sect. He won't return to handle such matters until after the spiritual rice harvest…"
"Otherwise, if the assessment were happening soon, I'm not sure I could outcompete those guys already working in the herb gardens!"
...
Old Luo's sudden friendliness had undoubtedly opened up better options for Li Ye.
For him
He now had the chance to compete in Elder Ji Qing's spirit fields.
He still had hopes in the sect's Spirit Herb Garden.
And at the very least, he could lie low and continue farming in his current plot for another year.
This only made his desire to improve even more urgent.
Coincidentally, Li Ye had recently gained some minor fame among the sect's lower-ranked disciples twice. Not to mention, he was now on speaking terms with Cai Siwei.
As a result, many disciples would take the initiative to strike up conversations whenever they saw him.
But most of them were useless when it came to providing real intel they were just hoping he'd help put in a good word for them.
That made it harder for Li Ye to gather information than before.
So, he simply cut back on these low-yield interactions, choosing instead to maintain ties only with a few disciples he already had decent relations with. He poured the rest of his energy into improving his planting skills.
Even after he finished tending his spirit fields each day, he didn't rush off.
Instead, he stayed to help out fellow disciples like Zhang Liangfu and Hu Zhiquan, sharing his insights and techniques, and engaging in discussions to learn from each other.
Thanks to this approach, even though everyone still kept some tricks to themselves, the skill level of Li Ye and the other farming disciples as a whole improved significantly.
The condition of their spirit fields also visibly improved.
If things continued like this, by the time the spiritual rice matured, the yield from their area of fields would likely see a noticeable boost.
As for whether any of them might become strong enough to compete with him?
Honestly, Li Ye didn't care.
He was doing all this to steadily build up experience in planting skills through hard work so that once harvest season came, he could save a chunk of experience for leveling up.
If those he helped didn't know to step aside out of gratitude, then the gap in strength would eventually teach them the harsh reality.
Just as Li Ye was focused on striving toward this new goal
The Purple Profound Sect mobilized a large number of disciples, each team led by a Foundation Establishment elder.
Under the pretext of rooting out hidden demonic cultivators, the sect launched a massive sweep across its territory.
During the operation, Purple Profound Sect issued a strict decree: all clans and minor sects within its sphere of influence were to fully cooperate no excuses allowed!
This stirred considerable dissatisfaction among the various powers of the Huan Kingdom, big and small.
But with the sect's dominance looming over them, most grudgingly complied without causing trouble.
That is, until one particular Foundation Establishment clan finally had enough and tried to play both sides paying lip service while failing to fully cooperate.
They were promptly declared suspects of harboring demonic cultivators.
Within a single day, the sect's forces descended on them, wiping the clan out entirely.
From the Foundation Establishment patriarch to the lowest-ranked Qi Condensation juniors, not a single person survived.
All the wealth they had built over the years was either confiscated by the sect army or burned to ashes.
And in the end, even though no actual evidence was found, the elder who led the operation simply dismissed it with:
"They deserved to die."
From that point on, the entire cultivation world of the Huan Kingdom fell into terrified silence.
Purple Profound Sect, whose prestige had declined somewhat due to its Grand Elders being in closed-door seclusion for years, suddenly reclaimed its fearsome reputation.
In an instant, all sides began cooperating enthusiastically.
The once-loose atmosphere of the Huan Kingdom turned into a closed trap like catching turtles in a jar. Demonic cultivators, no matter how scattered, had nowhere left to hide and were hunted down one by one in short order.
During this campaign, Cai Siwei once again stood out among the low-ranking disciples.
His Blood Soul Physique was brutally powerful. He single-handedly killed multiple late-stage Qi Condensation demonic cultivators, earning praise from numerous Foundation Establishment elders.
His master, in particular, favored him deeply calling him a rare talent, unmatched in combat and gracious to his fellow disciples.
He was now regarded as the undisputed leader among the sect's Qi Condensation disciples!
And since Purple Profound Sect had taken complete control during the operation without suffering any losses
Though the situation across the kingdom remained tense, the effect on Li Ye, who stayed within the sect, was minimal.
His busy daily routine kept him fulfilled, to the point where he lost track of time.
Until the unexpected arrival of a certain guest
which broke his peaceful life.
"Third Uncle… this is the 'important matter' you were talking about?"
Li Ye looked at the middle-aged man before him he appeared to be a simple farmer, yet his eyes gleamed with a shrewd world-weariness and asked with a blank expression.