Li Ping'an recalled a book he had read in his previous life.
There was a dog, super powerful, super calculating, and super cunning.
“So, I’ll call you… Heihei!”
“Woof woof.” The little black dog actually nodded its small head, as if it could understand human speech.
“You can understand?” Li Ping'an asked suspiciously.
“Woof woof.” The little black dog nodded again.
Li Ping'an was a little surprised, “If you can really understand, bark three times.”
“Woof, woof, woof.” The little black dog barked, paused, then barked again, exactly three times.
“Awesome, haha.” Li Ping'an was very happy, carrying Heihei and continuing on his way, even feeding it some food.
Da Huai Village.
The farmland was lush green, and the crops were growing very well.
Li Ping'an first used the Rain Summoning Technique to nourish the corn, earning 60 Cultivation Points, then cleared an empty space, took out all the harvested corn, and began to husk it.
This was a slow process.
And there were no Cultivation Points to be gained from it.
But he had to husk it; if the corn wasn't dried, it would mold.
Heihei was very smart; seeing Li Ping'an husking corn, it also held a corn cob in its mouth and tore off the outer skin.
“Interesting.”
Li Ping'an chuckled.
If a person farming alone in the wilderness felt rather lonely, then this Heihei could certainly alleviate the boredom.
Once it grew up, he wouldn't have to work so hard guarding the farmland; since it was so smart when it was young, its Comprehension Ability must be very high.
More and more husked corn accumulated, all thrown aside to dry.
Li Ping'an stretched, and Heihei also pressed down its front legs in imitation, stretching its dog waist.
“Damn it, why are you imitating me?” Li Ping'an was amused and continued to husk corn.
“Eh~ Is this corn mutated?”
Li Ping'an tore open a corn husk, and rows of crystal-clear corn kernels came into view, emitting a refreshing fragrance.
System: 'Host is surprised. This is a First-Grade Corn Spirit, containing Spiritual Qi, with the effect of prolonging life. It tastes even better when boiled into soup and is beneficial to cultivators and Divine Beasts.'
'These corn were all grown in the Spiritual Field, which is normal. They are not poisonous and can be considered an extra harvest.'
So that's how it was.
Li Ping'an understood, and asked, “What benefits would I get if I ate it?”
System: 'Better let the dog eat it.'
“…” Li Ping'an curled his lips in annoyance.
System: 'This is not an insult, nor is it nonsense. If Heihei eats this, there will be unexpected good things.'
Li Ping'an thought about it.
He broke off half and handed it to Heihei, “Here, eat it, let me see what good things happen?”
Heihei started gnawing and finished it in no time.
Immediately after, a miraculous thing happened: its tiny body actually doubled in size at a visible rate under Li Ping'an's gaze!
It was plump and fluffy, still adorably silly.
Its two dog eyes were exceptionally bright, gleaming with a cunning light.
“This is what you meant by good things?” Li Ping'an expressed his suspicion.
System: 'Yes, it doubled in size, isn't that a good thing?'
“Probably… I guess.” Li Ping'an was a little speechless.
He put the remaining half of the corn into the System warehouse and continued husking corn. This item didn't need to be dried and wouldn't spoil.
Since it was a good thing containing Spiritual Qi and had the effect of prolonging life, he had to keep some.
At dusk.
All the corn was husked, spreading a golden carpet on the ground.
As for the First-Grade Corn Spirit, Li Ping'an husked two more and threw the previous half to Heihei to eat.
The little fellow grew a bit more, but not much.
After eating some random food, Li Ping'an set up a simple tent, planning to stay here for the night.
The thirty mu of corn had all grown tall, so he had to be on guard. It would be best if Zhang Tiepeng didn't come to cause trouble, but if he did, he couldn't be allowed to succeed.
Night fell, with stars dotting the night sky.
Just as Li Ping'an was feeling sleepy, Heihei crawled in, scratched a few times with its small paws, and kept shaking its head towards outside the tent.
“Something outside?” Li Ping'an rubbed his eyes and asked softly.
Heihei nodded its dog head, not making a sound.
As soon as Li Ping'an stood up, he heard the sound of hooves approaching from afar, heading this way.
Not long after,
Two strong horses appeared in his sight under the moonlight. Li Ping'an's current eyesight, though not seeing night as day, was much better than before.
He could clearly see the people on horseback: two men in their twenties, both of whom he had seen before. They were from the Zhang family, Zhang Shulin and Zhang Sangou, both loyal lackeys of Zhang Tiepeng.
Their Cultivation Realm was not very strong, only Qi Condensation Realm Seventh Layer.
“Whoa~”
Zhang Shulin reined in his horse in front of the cornfield and said, “Young Master said it should be these cornfields.”
Zhang Sangou chuckled, “Da Huai Village has been deserted for a long time, so it must be right. Even if it's wrong, who can do anything to us?”
As he spoke,
He held a long-handled sickle and spurred his horse towards the cornfield.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Li Ping'an shouted loudly, carrying a hoe and stepping forward.
Heihei followed on his left, its small tail wagging. This little fellow showed no fear at all; instead, the fur on its back bristled.
This was excitement, a sign of preparing for battle.
Zhang Sangou reined in his horse. He glanced at Li Ping'an, then looked at Zhang Shulin, unsure what to do for a moment.
Although in their eyes, Li Ping'an was a useless good-for-nothing, he was, after all, the City Lord's son-in-law.
Zhang Shulin, however, gave a cold smile and whispered, “Don't be afraid, kill him.”
Kill him?
Zhang Sangou frowned tightly, clearly hesitant.
Zhang Shulin's hand was already on his sword hilt. “This is another one of Young Master's instructions. As long as Li Ping'an is found, make sure he stays outside the city forever. If it's done, the reward is one hundred thousand!”
“He also looked for assassins before, but those assassins had no professional Dao, took the money, and disappeared without a trace.”
“Now, the East Border is engulfed in fierce warfare, and there are many displaced people. There are even bandits in the mountains. This is the best opportunity.”
A reward of one hundred thousand.
Zhang Sangou was greatly tempted when he heard this, and killing intent gradually erupted in his eyes.
Li Ping'an walked over and stopped five meters away from them. “You want to destroy my cornfield? You'll have to ask if the hoe in my hand agrees or not?!”
“You useless good-for-nothing, you really don't know what's good for you.”
Zhang Sangou sneered and charged forward on his horse.
The long-handled sickle in his hand cut through the air, directly slashing towards Li Ping'an's head.
His attack aimed to take a life, leaving no room for mercy!
“Sky-Overturning Hoe!”
Li Ping'an's eyes narrowed slightly, and the hoe in his hand swung down in a ground-breaking, land-clearing motion.
Along with a sharp decrease of 10,000 Spiritual Power, dense, visible hoe-blade phantoms emerged, covering a five-zhang radius in front and striking down fiercely.
“Boom~”
Dust and gravel mixed with blood rain drifted.
In just an instant, Zhang Sangou, who had charged forward, and Zhang Shulin, who hadn't moved, were instantly blasted to death on the spot.
This hoe strike was too overbearing.
The ground itself trembled violently, yet there were no deep pits or ravines in the area covered by the hoe-blade.
Instead, the ground, gravel, and vegetation all looked as if they had been finely turned over several times, with loose soil and dust floating in the air.
As for,
Zhang Shulin, Zhang Sangou, and the two strong horses, they had all merged with the land.
The sickle and the battle sword were both shattered into pieces!
“This, is it that awesome?”
Looking at the scene before him, Li Ping'an was deeply shocked and trembled slightly with excitement.
This was no longer just for tilling the land; it was clearly a great killing technique! Even a full-power strike from a True Spirit Realm Fifth Layer Cultivator might not have such an effect!
System: 'Host, can't you be a little more impressive? Look at your legs shaking like a dog. When a farmer gets angry, heaven and earth turn upside down. This is just the beginning…'