Chapter 28: Chapter 28 The Chess Game
The Earth Rhinoceros Beetle had disappeared.
After that earth-shattering war, not a trace of an Earth Rhinoceros Beetle could be found in any of the spirit fields in the Outer Sect area of the Cloud Sun Sect, as if they had all been wiped out.
But the cost was exceedingly ghastly.
Hundreds of cultivators had been injured or killed, and over a thousand mu of spirit fields had been damaged to varying degrees.
Some of the spirit fields were completely barren.
And a considerable portion of the cultivators who died were Spiritual Plant Farmers.
However, for the Cloud Sun Sect, which had a hundred thousand disciples in the Outer Sect, such losses hardly mattered at all.
Soon enough, cultivators became the new Spiritual Plant Farmers, eagerly inheriting the estates of those who had perished alone.
Families of the Spiritual Plant Farmers who had lost their loved ones hastily dried their tears, preparing for the upcoming summer harvest.
As for compensation, there was absolutely none!
“Fellow disciples, I’m begging you on my knees!”
That morning, while Wang Chen was on his way back from fetching mountain spring water, he saw several Guard Hall disciples blocking the entrance of a household menacingly.
A robust man knelt in front of them, pleading, “My family really can’t produce so many spirit stones, we didn’t know we had to pay spirit stones when we received the flags.”
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Next to him, a woman with a piteous expression shielded two children behind her.
Her eyes were full of tears.
“Don’t give me that act!”
One of the Guard Hall disciples roared, “Your family accepted the Formation Banner; the Inner Sect sent out flying warships and Superiors to eliminate the pests, and it was finally resolved when the Supreme Elder took action, saving your entire family’s lives.”
“Now you’re not willing to tribute even twenty-five Spirit Stones; how do you regard the Superiors and True Persons?”
The man kneeling on the ground was completely dumbfounded by the shouting.
The Guard Hall disciple’s face grew even more ferocious, “Ungrateful wretch, if you don’t want to give up the spirit stones, that’s fine too, get out of the sect immediately, you can till the outside fields as much as you want, without paying a single Fragmented Spirit Stone in tribute!”
Purple Mansion Superior, Supreme Elder!
Not to mention a Golden Core True Person, even the title of a Purple Mansion Superior was as heavy as a mountain on the shoulders of a minor Outer Sect cultivator.
How could he possibly resist?
The man could only empty his Storage Bag and, thick-skinned, borrowed from the onlooking neighbors.
Eventually, he managed to scrape together twenty Spirit Stones to give to the Guard Hall disciples.
Among them were many Fragmented Spirit Stones.
Then, the Guard Hall disciples hurried off to the next house.
Soon, cries could be heard from that household as well.
Wang Chen learned from the conversations of passersby.
A few days ago, the Village Chief had received Formation Banners made by the main hall and distributed them to the farmers under his jurisdiction; any Spiritual Plant Farmer who suffered an infestation could receive one.
Now that the matter was resolved, the Guard Hall was sent to collect spirit stones to offer tribute for the use of the Inner Sect.
One mu of spirit field required one Low Spirit Stone!
Only those who had never received a Formation Banner and those who had lost someone in their fields were exempt from the levy.
With the Guard Hall sending people to their doors and the pressure of the titles of Superiors and True Persons, who would dare to not pay?
In the vicinity, at least seven or eight out of ten households had to bleed for it!
Seeing such a scene, Wang Chen wasn’t too surprised.
When Old Sun had shown off to him with great pride before, he had felt something was amiss.
His hunch had been right!
Now Wang Chen could do nothing, and after listening, he continued towards his home.
“Oh heavens!”
But before he could reach his front door, he saw Old Sun sitting by the roadside, crying to the skies and wailing, wiping away his tears.
The appearance of Wang Chen seemed like a lifesaving straw to the old man, who immediately pounced over.
“Doggie, your grandpa can’t live on like this!”
Wang Chen, with his legs tightly clutched, was very speechless, “…”
Old Sun hadn’t been as heartbroken as he was now even when he drunkenly sought Wang Chen out to lament just the other night.
“Doggie.”
Old Sun wiped his tears and sobbed, “Do you know…”
“I know!”
Wang Chen interrupted him directly, “The Guard Hall came to collect thirty Low Spirit Stones from you.”
Old Sun had leased thirty mu of spirit fields by himself.
And he had accepted a Formation Banner.
Wouldn’t he have to cough up thirty Low Spirit Stones?
“So, you found out.”
Old Sun climbed up awkwardly and then pleaded, “Doggie, help your uncle out, lend me…”
“See for yourself.”
Wang Chen took off the storage bag hanging at his waist and handed it to the other party, “Take a look at how many spirit stones I have!”
This storage bag was his original one, only containing a dozen or so fragmented spirit stones.
As well as some daily necessities.
As for the large storage bag obtained from the traveling merchant, it was securely hidden inside his robes.
That way, even if the external storage bag was stolen or robbed, the loss wouldn’t be significant.
The really valuable items were all in the inner bag!
Old Sun must have been really desperate, as he actually took it to check.
Wang Chen’s storage bag didn’t have any seals set on it; it could be opened as long as mana was poured into it.
The result naturally left Old Sun dumbfounded.
“No way, Doggie, where did all the spirit stones you earned go?”
Wang Chen couldn’t help but roll his eyes, “Didn’t you see that I’ve already reached mid-tier Qi Cultivation?”
“I rented a cave mansion in the city to advance!”
This excuse was too powerful.
So powerful that Old Sun had no words to reply and could only dejectedly hand back the storage bag to Wang Chen.
Wang Chen didn’t bother to pay any more attention to the old man and walked away on his own.
Wang Chen wasn’t about to worry for him.
An old leek.
Old Sun, who had no children and had rented so many spirit fields, had been staying in the Outer Sect for decades.
Despite often splurging spirit stones in the Cloud Mountain City’s Courtesan Houses, it was impossible for someone of his character not to have some spirit stones stashed away for a rainy day.
Even if Wang Chen did have spirit stones, he definitely wouldn’t lend even half of one to him!
Back at home, he took out a water jar filled with mountain spring water from the large storage bag and put it back in the kitchen.
Then he went to the quiet room.
Sitting on the cushion, he fell into contemplation.
Earth Rhinoceros Beetles, Formation Banners, Flying Warships, fiends, the Purple Mansion Superior, the Supreme Elder…
As well as the Cloud Sun Sect’s surprising reaction when the insect calamity first erupted.
All these made Wang Chen feel as if there were a pair of invisible hands setting up a scheme behind the scenes.
Playing chess!
Of course, Wang Chen didn’t think his feelings necessarily had to be correct.
Maybe it was just his own illusion or he had simply encountered a series of coincidences.
Wang Chen didn’t continue to dwell on this matter.
If someone was indeed playing a grand game of chess, he was nowhere near qualified even to be a chess piece.
Why trouble oneself for no reason!
The urgent task was to get started with the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Method.
Over the past two days, apart from tending to the spirit fields, Wang Chen had spent most of his time at home trying to understand this body refinement technique.
The spell he had obtained included a Great Majestic Heavenly Dragon True Form Chart.
One could consider having entered the doorway by contemplating this chart and stimulating the power of Qi-Blood.
It sounded simple, but Wang Chen’s low comprehension once again led him into difficulty.
He was unable to comprehend the slightest true meaning contained within the True Form of the Heavenly Dragon.
Struggling to cross the threshold.
If he couldn’t get started with the cultivation technique, then having the immortal cultivation panel meant nothing.
So, he wanted to give it another try.
“Squeak squeak!”
Two white figures suddenly darted into the quiet room, one after the other.
Wang Chen took a closer look.
It was the big white rat along with her husband.
The previously suspected missing Brocade Fur Rat!
He immediately laughed, “You two got back together, huh?”
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