22: Chapter 22 Farming, playing the zither, eating, sleeping—that's true cultivation!
Hehuan Sect, Main Hall.
The morning sunlight spilled across the floor through the window lattices, completely dispelling the residual aura of slaughter from the previous night.
Wang Yang sat in a grand armchair, fiddling with the Storage Pouch he had seized yesterday from the Liuyun Sect Elder, Li Changfeng.
*Clatter—*
He turned the pouch upside down, dumping its entire contents onto the table.
As a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Elder who had spent years acting like a local tyrant, Li Changfeng's personal wealth was clearly much more substantial than that of the Loose Cultivator Li Feiyu.
There were over eight hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones alone!
There were also several bottles of Medicinal Pills helpful for Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, as well as that Medium Grade Spiritual Artifact, the 'Ghost-Head Blade,' which Su Qingge had notched.
"Xiao Wan, come over and help divide the loot... cough, I mean, organize the inventory."
Wang Yang beckoned her over.
Lin Lin Xiaowan, who was busy wiping her new dharma sword, immediately scurried over, her eyes practically overflowing with stars. "Sect Master, are we rich?"
"You call this little bit of money 'rich'?"
Wang Yang disdainfully poked the Ghost-Head Blade with a cattail fan. "It's stained with that old guy's blood Qi. It's too ugly; it doesn't fit the aesthetic of our Hehuan Sect."
"System, recycle it!"
[Ding! Recycling successful!]
[Medium Grade Spiritual Artifact (Damaged): 300 Points.]
[Miscellaneous Items (Pills, Formation Plates, Materials): 500 Points.]
[Current Points]: 90 (Previous Balance) + 800 = 890 Points.
Seeing his points break back into the triple digits, Wang Yang was in a great mood.
He pushed the eight hundred Spirit Stones toward Ye Qingcheng, who was looking over an account book nearby.
"Madam, put these into the public treasury to be used for the Sect's daily expenses."
Ye Qingcheng set down the ledger and skillfully collected the Spirit Stones, a smile playing on her lips. "Husband, although the Spirit Stones in the public treasury have increased, the Mountain-Protecting Grand Formation..."
"Don't worry about it."
Wang Yang waved his hand. "As long as I am here, this Hehuan Sect is the safest place. Our current priority is to improve our quality of life."
"Everything about our Sect is good right now, it's just lacking a bit of 'homeliness'."
Wang Yang pointed toward the bare back mountain outside. "Even though the Pill Refining Room is fully automated, we still have to spend money to buy the raw Materials. That's a loss. I have decided that we must be self-reliant and self-sufficient!"
"System, open the Mall! Buildings category!"
Wang Yang's gaze locked onto a green icon, and he clicked purchase without hesitation.
[Elementary Spirit Field (Ten Mu)]
Price: 500 Points.
Description: Special soil possessing a high concentration of Wood Spiritual Qi, includes automatic irrigation and pest-control Formations.
Special Effect: Growth rate of Spiritual Plants +1000% (One year in the outside world is one month here).
Note: You reap what you sow.
"Bought! Install it on the back mountain, next to the Spirit Spring!"
[Ding! 500 Points deducted. Remaining Points: 390.]
...
Back Mountain.
After a bout of earth-shaking, the originally barren wasteland transformed into a patch of dark, fertile black soil radiating an astonishing vitality.
The air became filled with the fragrance of earth and a dense Wood Spiritual Qi.
Wang Yang tossed a Storage Pouch to Lin Xiaowan (it contained a bunch of Spiritual Plant seeds he had conveniently bought from Wanbao Pavilion earlier).
"Xiao Wan, go, sow the seeds."
"Huh?"
Lin Xiaowan, dressed in her top-tier flowing cloud water-sleeve skirt, looked at the mud beneath her feet, a bit dumbfounded. "Sect Master, I'm wearing this... to farm?"
"What? Just because you're dressed nicely doesn't mean you can't work?"
Before Wang Yang could speak, Ye Qingcheng had already rolled up her red sleeves, revealing a section of snowy-white forearm, and walked over with a beaming smile.
"As a Cultivator, one can only comprehend the Great Dao by being close to nature. Xiao Wan, don't be so fastidious."
As she spoke, this once-lofty Tianshui Holy Maiden actually grabbed a handful of spirit seeds and began to sow them with elegant movements.
Her every move didn't look like farm work, but rather like she was performing some kind of sacred ritual.
Seeing this, how could Lin Xiaowan dare to complain? she quickly took off her boots, stepped into the field with her bare feet, and began working away with a huff.
"Elder Su."
Wang Yang turned to look at Su Qingge, who was standing on the ridge of the field holding her ancient zither, looking somewhat at a loss.
Su Qingge said with some embarrassment, "Sect Master, Qingge... does not know how to farm."
She could kill people, play the zither, or compose poetry, but she had truly never touched a hoe in her life.
"Who asked you to farm?"
Wang Yang pointed to a large green stone not far away. "Go sit over there."
"Sit?"
"Right." Wang Yang said with a straight face, "Spiritual Plants need more than just Spiritual Qi and water to grow; they also need 'artistic cultivation'. I heard your zither music can draw in Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi?"
Su Qingge nodded. "With a clear zither heart, one can indeed draw in Spiritual Qi for resonance."
"Then that's it!"
Wang Yang slapped his thigh. "You play the zither there! Give these seeds some 'prenatal education'! If they grow up listening to music, their medicinal effects will surely be better!"
Prenatal education... for herbs... by playing the zither?
For the first time, an expression that could be called 'dumbfounded' appeared on Su Qingge's cold and beautiful face.
What kind of Dao was this Sect Master actually cultivating?
However, seeing Wang Yang's certain gaze and looking at the busy master and Disciple in the field, the corners of Su Qingge's mouth curled up slightly.
"Qingge... obeys your command."
She walked to the green stone, sat cross-legged, and laid the ancient zither across her lap.
*Zheng—*
Melodious zither music echoed through the valley.
This music was no longer as murderous as when she faced the enemy yesterday; instead, it was full of vitality and gentleness, like spring rain nourishing things silently.
A miraculous scene occurred.
As the music flowed, the seeds that had just been sown actually began to flicker with faint spiritual light, breaking through the soil and sprouting tender green shoots at a speed visible to the naked eye!
"Wow! They sprouted! They really sprouted!"
Lin Xiaowan shouted excitedly.
Ye Qingcheng straightened her back, wiped the non-existent sweat from her forehead, and watched the scene with eyes full of smiles.
At this moment.
The sun was warm, and a gentle breeze brushed past.
In the field, the pretty Disciple was cheering, and the beautiful wife was smiling.
Beside the field, the cold beauty was playing the zither.
As for Wang Yang, he lay in the grand armchair on the ridge, a piece of foxtail grass in his mouth, waving his cattail fan and squinting his eyes to enjoy this rare peace.
"This is what cultivation should be like..."
Wang Yang sighed, "Fighting and killing is so boring. A wife, kids, and a warm bed... oh wait, I mean a Dao Companion, a Disciple, and a warm Spirit Field—that's the Righteous Path."
The sun set behind the western mountains.
For the first time, dinner at the Hehuan Sect became quite sumptuous.
Lin Xiaowan used the freshly grown spirit onions to stir-fry a plate of spirit eggs.
Ye Qingcheng personally went to the kitchen to stew a pot of spirit rice porridge.
Although Su Qingge didn't know how to cook, she contributed a jar of 'Breeze Drunk' wine she had bought.
The four of them sat around the stone table outside the main hall.
There was no posturing of Sect Master or Elders, only the casual chatter of a family.
"Husband, that Liuyun Sect Elder died today; I'm afraid they won't let the matter rest."
Ye Qingcheng served Wang Yang a bowl of porridge, her tone calm, but a hint of worry lingered in her eyes.
"Let them come."
Wang Yang took a sip of porridge and picked up some eggs with his chopsticks. "The Spirit Field just happens to need some high-grade fertilizer."
Su Qingge took a sip of wine, set down her cup, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes:
"If they dare to come, my zither is just lacking a few souls for its refinement."
"Alright, alright, don't talk about fighting and killing while we're eating."
Wang Yang placed some food into each of the three women's bowls. "If the sky falls, I'll be the one to hold it up. Your task right now is to eat well and drink well, and keep yourselves plump and white... cough, I mean, beautiful."
Looking at Wang Yang's carefree attitude, the three women looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh.
With him around, it felt like there really was nothing to fear.
The night grew deep.
The lights of the Hehuan Sect remained warm.
Su Qingge returned to her Tingyu Pavilion and sat on the second floor of the bamboo building, looking at the distant lights of the main peak and listening to the faint chirping of insects.
She stroked the Cold Jade Bracelet on her wrist, and the string of revenge that had always been taut in her heart actually relaxed a bit for the first time in a long while.
"Home..."
she murmured to herself.
This place might truly become her second home.
Meanwhile, inside the main hall.
Wang Yang looked at the System panel; Su Qingge's loyalty and sense of belonging were skyrocketing, and Ye Qingcheng's happiness index was also at maximum.
He contentedly blew out the candle.
"System, goodnight."
He then glanced at Ye Qingcheng, who was looking at him and giggling secretly by the pillow.
"Tonight will be another night of working hard for progress."
...