484: Chapter 484 Farming Life

Your heart warmed, and you waved to them. "Don't worry, everyone. I'll see you again another day."

Having said that, you summoned your Magical Artifact Flying Sword, leaped onto it, and turned into a streak of light, flying into the distance.

The four of them stood there, watching your figure grow smaller and smaller until you finally disappeared over the horizon.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Somehow, everyone simultaneously thought back to the past few months—those carefree days of drinking tea and wandering around all day, without conflict, only fun.

Now that they had entered the Sect, they feared such days could never be found again.

After a moment, the four exchanged a few pleasantries before summoning their own Magical Artifacts and scattering in different directions.

As for you, stepping on your Flying Sword, you leisurely headed west.

You flew for several days, crossing mountain range after mountain range.

Finally, the light on the jade token matched what was before your eyes.

You descended and stood beside a Spirit Field at the foot of a mountain, taking in the scene—

A small wooden shack stood crookedly there, with a Spirit Stream winding down from the mountain beside it. Over a dozen Spirit Fields had been cultivated on both banks of the stream, with spirit grain sparsely planted in them, growing poorly.

This was where you would stay from now on.

The task of a Utility Disciple was simple: plant spirit grain, tend to the Spirit Fields, and hand over the spirit grain on time every year in exchange for some Sect Contribution Points.

Then, use those contribution points to exchange for resources, striving for an early Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment and then Golden Core. Only upon reaching Golden Core could one undergo the Inner Sect Examination.

The good thing was that you didn't have to deliver it yourself—someone would come to collect the harvest every year.

Standing on the ridge of the field, you looked at the wooden shack and suddenly smiled.

Farming.

Quite peaceful indeed.

Your Divine Sense quietly spread out—

Hundreds of thousands of miles of mountain ranges were laid bare in your mind.

At the foot of countless peaks, tens of thousands of Utility Disciples were scattered about.

Some were sitting cross-legged in their wooden shacks to Cultivate, with Spiritual Qi flowing around them.

Some were brandishing Magical Artifact longswords in the Spirit Fields, fighting back and forth with small Yao Beasts that were stealing spirit grain.

Some simply sat at their doors in a daze, staring blankly into the distance.

Inside some small wooden shacks, a man and a woman were performing Dual Cultivation...

Others were muttering to the air, unclear if they were talking to themselves or to someone else...

You withdrew your Divine Sense and smiled.

It was enough to just take care of your own little plot of land.

You flipped through the Utility Manual and glanced at the chores—planting spirit grain, watering the Spirit Fields, and watching out for Spirit-Devouring Rats.

You opened the bag of spirit grain seeds and tossed them casually; the seeds scattered and were planted like falling rain.

Then, with a wave of your hand, clumps of water rose from the Spirit Stream and hung in mid-air.

With a casual squeeze, those clumps of water instantly turned into steam, dispersing into a fine mist that fell evenly over every Spirit Field.

Done in a few minutes.

Any other Utility Disciple would be carrying wooden buckets and ladles right now, running back and forth from the stream to the fields; after half a day, they wouldn't even be able to straighten their backs.

This Rain-Making Technique, to put it bluntly, wasn't some profound trick; basically anyone at the Late Stage Qi Refining knew it.

But no one did it this way—it consumed too much Spiritual Qi. After watering a few fields, one would be paralyzed for half a day.

Besides, if all the Spiritual Qi was exhausted, what about the Spirit-Devouring Rats?

You, naturally, had no such concerns.

After watering the Spirit Fields, you glanced at the mountain peak again.

From top to bottom, the mountain was riddled with countless caves, tens of thousands of them.

Those were the burrows of the Spirit-Devouring Rats.

Those Spirit-Devouring Rats were each plump and round, about the size of an adult cat, completely pitch-black with purple eyes that darted around, and two sharp teeth glinting coldly from the corners of their mouths.

The manual stated clearly: these things were the biggest headache for Utility Disciples.

They hid underground during the day and came out in swarms at night to steal spirit grain.

Many Utility Disciples were helpless against them—they couldn't catch them all, and they couldn't guard against them.

Standing by the field, you swept your Divine Sense into the mountain.

Tens of thousands of Spirit-Devouring Rats were either napping, grinding their teeth, or happily gnawing on spirit grain stolen from who-knows-where.

A single thought.

A very faint muffled groan came from deep within the caves.

Tens of thousands of Spirit-Devouring Rats silently breathed their last.

You withdrew your Divine Sense and turned to walk toward the wooden shack.

Day and night alternated, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day,

A figure arrived on a sword and landed in front of your wooden shack.

The person was none other than Murong Zhaozhao.

"Junior Brother Qin, are you there?"

You pushed open the wooden door and walked out, looking at her expressionlessly:

"What is it?"

She didn't hurry to answer, her gaze sweeping over the surrounding Spirit Fields—the golden spirit grain weighed down the stalks, Spiritual Qi overflowed, and the fragrance of rice filled the air.

She couldn't help but gape, stunned for several breaths.

"Your spirit grain... why is there so much?" She was full of disbelief. "Don't those Spirit-Devouring Rats steal it?"

"I have my ways," you said flatly.

She blinked, sized you up again, and muttered under her breath, "Strange, how strange..."

"What's strange?"

"Your Luck..." She frowned. "It seems to be tied to our Wuji Immortal Sect. This is unbelievable."

Your heart stirred, but you didn't show it: "Isn't that normal? I am now a Disciple of the Immortal Sect as well."

"You?" Murong Zhaozhao burst out laughing. "You're just a mere Utility Disciple. How could you possibly be linked to the Sect's Luck?"

She counted on her fingers for you: "Those who can be linked to the Sect's Luck are at least at the level of Protectors and Elders. There are only a few dozen of them in the entire Sect."

You smiled, but felt strangely comfortable in your heart: "According to you, I'm responsible for the Sect's prosperity?"

"Psh," Murong Zhaozhao rolled her eyes at you. "In your dreams."

Just as she finished speaking, another figure landed.

You recognized the newcomer—Zhao Lang, an Outer Sect Disciple at the Early Stage Foundation Establishment. He was specifically in charge of this area, and things like collecting spirit grain fell under his jurisdiction.

He landed beside Murong Zhaozhao and cast a scrutinizing gaze on you: "Senior Sister Murong, you know this kid?"

Murong Zhaozhao didn't even look at him, saying with a cold face: "Why did you follow me? I hate it when people cling to me."

Zhao Lang's face turned livid, and he turned his anger on you: "Kid, why are you standing here instead of farming properly?"

You smiled and jerked your chin toward the Spirit Fields: "Aren't the Spirit Fields doing just fine?"

Zhao Lang looked over, his eyes widening as they swept across the field of golden spirit grain: "How is this possible? Your spirit grain..."

He paused, then glanced at Murong Zhaozhao as if understanding something, and snorted coldly: "Kid, there are some people a Utility Disciple like you shouldn't covet. Don't touch what you can't afford to, understand?"

You ignored him and looked directly at Murong Zhaozhao: "Zhaozhao, can you clarify... we don't have a deep relationship."

Murong Zhaozhao acted as if she hadn't heard, turning her head to look at Zhao Lang with a cold face:

"Zhao Lang, he is my friend. If you dare to bully him, I'll break both your legs."

Zhao Lang's face turned shades of blue and purple, and he gave you a vicious glare.

You were speechless.

This Murong Zhaozhao was clearly doing this on purpose.

What exactly was she trying to do?

Drawing hatred toward you?