Li Mu pushed the cart back and met Zhang Laotou on the way. At this time, he was harvesting spirit rice in the spirit field, shirtless, revealing a lean, dark, wrinkled old man's body, drenched in sweat.
“Zhang Laotou, busy, aren't you! Do you want to hire me?” Li Mu greeted Zhang Laotou with a smile, joking.
“Forget it! This insect plague made this old man lose a lot, where would I get the Spirit Stones to hire you!” Zhang Laotou looked up at Li Mu, his face full of sorrow.
“You boy went to pay taxes? And bought so many things? Was your spirit field not affected by the insect plague?” Zhang Laotou looked at the things on the cart and asked curiously.
“It was affected, but the impact wasn't that great,” Li Mu explained awkwardly.
“Then you're really lucky! I'm miserable, I probably can't stay in Qing'an Town anymore,” Zhang Laotou looked at Li Mu enviously, saying with a hint of resentment.
...
Li Mu opened his mouth, not knowing how to comfort him. He had been too busy himself and forgotten to tell Zhang Laotou about finding the aphid worms. This whole thing made him feel a bit bad.
“Zhang Lao, where are you going?” Li Mu sighed along with him, asking with concern.
“Cultivating Immortals for decades, and in the end, it's all for naught. I've accepted my fate now! I plan to return to my roots and retire in my hometown in the Mortal world!” Zhang Laotou's face showed a look of nostalgia, full of reminiscence.
After a moment of pause, Zhang Laotou looked at Li Mu and asked, “After I pay this year's rent, I plan to propose to Qingxuan Sect about withdrawing from renting the Sect field. Do you want this spirit field of mine? Haven't you always envied my skilled Qingfeng Huanyu Technique? As long as you help me rent this spirit field, I will impart the insights of the Qingfeng Huanyu Technique to you!”
The Qingxuan Sect's spirit fields cannot be simply returned. One must find a new tenant, sign a contract, and take on the subsequent rent to ensure the Sect's stable income from its fields before being able to withdraw safely. Otherwise, one would have to pay a fine of two or three times the rent to withdraw.
Currently, due to the insect plague, most spirit rice farmers have suffered heavy losses and are unwilling to continue renting Sect fields. Zhang Laotou, wanting to retire gracefully, still lacked a successor, and Li Mu, his neighbor, was undoubtedly the best candidate.
Upon hearing Zhang Laotou's suggestion, Li Mu's heart immediately stirred.
With a Golden Finger panel that could constantly observe the state of Spiritual Plants, Li Mu wasn't afraid of losing Spirit Stones by farming. He was just worried that he didn't have enough spirit fields!
Now it was good. Emerald Spirit Fruit and Wind Spirit Grass could all be arranged for planting.
Seeing Li Mu's prolonged silence, Zhang Laotou immediately grew anxious: “Zhao Xiaoge, what other conditions do you have? Don't keep quiet!”
Li Mu was slightly stunned, then realized that he was calling out to the original owner, and quickly said, “No problem, I'll take over your spirit field. No extra conditions.”
“Then thank you so much, you've helped me a great deal,” Zhang Laotou was overjoyed and thanked Li Mu gratefully.
“It's settled then. I'll tidy up the spirit field. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll go pay the rent. Will you come with me and handle the formalities at the same time?” Zhang Laotou looked at Li Mu, eager to finalize the matter to avoid any changes.
“Alright! Just call me whenever you're free!” Li Mu smiled broadly and nodded happily.
After a brief chat, Li Mu pushed the cart back to his courtyard. He was eager to examine the Profound Grade Cultivation Technique.
Taking out the Finger Flicking Force Cultivation Technique book, Li Mu took a pair of scissors and cut open the interlayer on the last page, slowly taking out the hidden item: a tattered, blood-stained yellow paper. The writing on the paper was still clear.
【Quenching Spirit Art (Incomplete)】
【Grade: Profound Grade High Grade.】
【Attribute: Refines Divine Soul, strengthens Divine Sense】
【The first three layers of Quenching Spirit Art. Cultivating to getting Started can condense Divine Soul and refine Divine Sense.】
Heavenly Talent - Identifying Myriad Spirits took effect. Li Mu looked at the prompt on the virtual light screen with delight, quickly spread out the yellow paper, and recorded the contents of the Quenching Spirit Art Cultivation Technique.
He had picked up a Divine Sense Cultivation Technique. Although it only had the first three layers, Divine Sense was a core ability that Foundation Establishment Cultivators could master. While Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators also had Divine Sense, it was very weak, mainly focusing on condensing Spiritual Power, magical power, and true essence. Divine Sense Cultivation Techniques were extremely rare, and no Qi Refining Cultivator had the energy to Cultivate Divine Sense.
However, Li Mu would not let go of this opportunity. The strengthening and improvement of Divine Sense had very obvious benefits: firstly, it could increase the power and range of spells; secondly, it was helpful for Artifact Refining and talisman crafting, improving various arts; thirdly, it could be used to detect enemies... In short, the benefits were countless.
“Heart and breath interdependent, embracing the origin, concentrating the mind into stillness, heart and Qi united, body still to refine essence daily, heart still to refine Qi daily, will still to refine spirit daily…”
Li Mu silently recited and memorized the key points of the Quenching Spirit Art, walked into the Cultivation room, sat cross-legged, and focused on Cultivating according to the guidance of the Quenching Spirit Art.
...
Time flew by, and a day and a night passed.
“Zhao Xiaoge, Zhao Xiaoge! Are you home?” Zhang Laotou's voice called from outside the courtyard.
“Coming, coming, Zhang Lao, please wait a moment, I'll be right there!” Li Mu responded, jogging over to open the door.
The courtyard gate opened, revealing a handsome, mature-looking young face.
“Zhao Xiaoge, you're looking more energetic than ever. Eh! No, how are you at Qi Refinement Stage five?” Zhang Laotou greeted Li Mu with a smile, and upon feeling the Spiritual Pressure emanating from him up close, he exclaimed in surprise and asked in confusion.
“Hehe! A few days ago, I went foraging with someone and luckily picked up a red Spirit Fruit. After eating it, my cultivation improved. Didn't you notice yesterday?” Li Mu chuckled, giving his pre-arranged excuse.
“Yesterday, I was busy harvesting spirit rice and didn't pay attention. Zhao Xiaoge, you're truly lucky! You saved ten years of hard work. What did that red Spirit Fruit look like? Where did you pick it up? Wasn't there a Yao Beast guarding it?” Zhang Laotou was incredibly envious, looking at Li Mu and nervously throwing out a series of questions.
“How could there be no Yao Beast? Two Yao Beasts were fighting fiercely over that Spirit Fruit. I took advantage of their distraction, picked one, and ran off. The Spirit Fruit was the size of a baby's fist, bright red, and it was near Luo Hun Valley!” Li Mu explained, feigning a look of lingering fear.
“You actually went to Luo Hun Valley? Don't you care about your life?” Zhang Laotou's expression changed slightly, asking in shock.
Just by hearing the name Luo Hun Valley, one knew its danger. It was a valley located thirty li east of Qing'an Town, situated between two Spiritual Mountains. It was perpetually shrouded in thick fog, possibly nurturing a High Grade Spiritual Vein, and often had many rare Spirit Medicines growing there, as well as a large number of first and second-tier Yao Beasts.
The reason why Qing'an Town gathered so many Loose Cultivators and was valued by Qingxuan Sect was precisely because of those abundant Spirit Medicines, Yao Beasts, and rich Cultivation resources.
Hunter Cultivators and herbalists often entered Luo Hun Valley to collect Spirit Medicines and hunt Yao Beasts. Similarly, many Cultivators also buried their bodies and Divine Souls in this valley. Over time, that valley gained the terrifying name of Luo Hun Valley.
“I was so poor I had no choice! If I didn't go into the mountains to gather some Spirit Medicines to sell, could I afford the Sect's rent?” Li Mu gave a bitter smile and explained.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Laotou immediately lost interest in continuing the topic and sighed heavily. He had already decided to give up Cultivating Immortals, so why was he still unable to let go when encountering such an opportunity?
“Zhao Xiaoge, I'm ready. Let's go handle the Sect field sublease formalities!” Zhang Laotou looked at Li Mu and pleaded.
Li Mu nodded, locked the courtyard gate, and helped Zhang Laotou push the cart of spirit rice towards Qing'an Town.