Chapter 15 - 15 Corner Worm Disaster_1
The Grand Wilderness Mountain was extremely vast, and its Spiritual Energy was much denser than that of the Outer City of the Great Wilderness Market. This mountain was home to tenant farmers who specifically cultivated Spirit Rice for the Five Elements Sect. They planted thousands of acres of Spirit Fields to support the Great Wilderness Market's demand for Spirit Rice.
The Spirit Farmers relied on cultivating Spirit Rice to earn Spirit Stones for their cultivation.
Before going to Lake of Smoky Waves to catch Spirit Fish, Jia Ren had also considered farming Spirit Fields on Grand Wilderness Mountain. The income wasn't high, but it was stable.
"What brings you to Grand Wilderness Mountain?"
As soon as Jia Ren reached the base of the mountain, nearby patrolling Guards spotted him and regarded him with suspicion. "Could you be here to steal Spirit Rice?"
"Have the Loose Cultivators gone mad lately?! They're even stealing unripe Spirit Rice!"
The matter of Spirit Rice was serious. Guards patrolled day and night to prevent Cultivators from stealing it. In past years, it was only necessary to be vigilant during the Spirit Rice's ripening season. This year, for some unknown reason, even unripe Spirit Rice was being stolen—it was simply madness born of poverty.
"I, Jia Ren, have come to Grand Wilderness Mountain to find a friend."
"Sign in!" the guard commanded. "Remember, you're not allowed to stay on Grand Wilderness Mountain for long."
Jia Ren understood the situation and left his Spiritual Energy imprint on the Mountain Patrol Order. Only then did the patrolling Guard allow him to enter Grand Wilderness Mountain. Each Cultivator has a unique Spiritual Energy signature, which is difficult to fake. Once a Spiritual Energy imprint was left on the Mountain Patrol Order, anyone within its sensing range could be precisely located. If anyone overstayed, the mountain Guards would also come to remove them.
Jia Ren left the Guards' post and followed the pathways between the terraced fields, heading straight up the mountain. The blue-green rice stalks, already waist-high, had begun to ear, dotted with Spirit Rice grains the size of sesame seeds. They swayed with the wind, emitting a faint aroma of grain and wood.
Green Bud Rice? It will take a few more months to mature, and then the new rice will hit the market.
"What are you up to?"
A shout rang out. An old man wearing a straw hat, his exposed skin sun-reddened, walked out of the fields, eyeing Jia Ren with caution. Anyone who saw a stranger near the Spirit Fields, eyeing the immature Green Bud Rice, would feel uneasy. This was especially true since recent incidents of unripe Spirit Rice theft gave extra reason for suspicion.
"I've come to Grand Wilderness Mountain looking for someone. Do you happen to know where Daoist Yang Bingzhi lives?" Jia Ren asked, as he didn't know Yang Bingzhi's whereabouts and had to ask for directions.
"Oh, you're looking for Bingzhi! Are you here to help with pest control?" the old man asked. "Just head up the road; his house is the one with the big jujube tree in front. Forget it, I'll take you there myself!"
There were about a hundred households on Grand Wilderness Mountain, and everyone knew each other. Guessing Jia Ren might be there to help with pest control, the old man's attitude warmed considerably.
After walking two li, they could see a jujube tree with small yellow flowers, and the air was filled with the delicate fragrance of jujube blossoms.
"Bingzhi, someone's looking for you!" the old man bellowed from afar but heard no stir within the house. "No one? Look at my old muddled head; I almost forgot! With the recent pest infestation, that lad Bingzhi should be in the fields dealing with pests. Come with me!"
Following the Spirit Fields, they wound their way around and finally located Yang Bingzhi.ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ ɴovᴇl(F)ɪre.ɴet
"Alright, that lad is in the Spirit Field. I have things to do, so I won't go over," the old man said.
"Thank you!" Jia Ren replied. Without the old man's help, finding someone on Grand Wilderness Mountain would have been a troublesome task.
"Daoist Yang Bingzhi, it's not easy to find you!" Jia Ren stood outside the Spirit Field, sighing as he looked at Yang Bingzhi. After searching the Market numerous times without finding a trace of him, Jia Ren had no choice but to come to Grand Wilderness Mountain.
Yang Bingzhi stared intently at the Spirit Field, occasionally using the Metal Finger Technique to kill the Spirit Insects destroying the crop. With every Spirit Insect he killed, he tossed its Bug Corpse into a Storage Bag. Ordinary Spirit Insects were mostly inedible and only fit to feed to a Cultivator's Spirit Beasts, so there was no hope of selling them at a high price. Making money was a process of accumulating small amounts. Once enough Spirit Insect Bug Corpses were gathered, they could be sold for a few Fragmented Spirit Stones.
"Daoist Jia? What brings you here?" Yang Bingzhi turned around, his face lighting up with surprise upon seeing Jia Ren. He dropped his pest control work and jogged over.
"Daoist Jia, you wanted to buy Earth Dragon Worms, right? That's easy to handle. Purchasing Spirit Rice is a bit more troublesome; I've run out of my own Spirit Rice, only left with lower quality rice for personal consumption." Yang Bingzhi appeared somewhat embarrassed. He rubbed his muddy hands, looking rather restrained. The two had only had business dealings and were not close. Yang Bingzhi was quite surprised that Jia Ren had sought him out.
"We can set aside the Spirit Rice for now; I'm looking to buy some Spirit Insect Eggs." Purchasing Spirit Rice was simple, as the rice shop was always open, and Jia Ren still had enough Spirit Rice in stock for the time being. Only the Earth Dragon Worms and their Spirit Insect Eggs required Yang Bingzhi's assistance.
Eggs? Yang Bingzhi had a strange expression as he raised his hand and pointed towards the Spirit Field.
"There's no need for Spirit Stones," Yang Bingzhi said. "The earth is teeming with Spirit Insects and their eggs; I'll find some for you right now."
Jia Ren wanted to follow Yang Bingzhi into the Spirit Field but was stopped.
"The ground is all mud; don't dirty your Robe, Daoist Jia." Yang Bingzhi added, "Looking for Spirit Insect Eggs while getting rid of pests is just part of the job."
Perhaps because he constantly farmed Spirit Fields, Yang Bingzhi's circle of friends was on Grand Wilderness Mountain. He seemed somewhat 'humble' when dealing with Cultivators from the Great Wilderness Market. He was mostly eager to please Jia Ren, whom he viewed as a wealthy patron.
"It's alright," Jia Ren said. "Discerning Spirit Insect Eggs is important; not just any egg will do. Besides, the eggs in the Spirit Field are your property. How could I let you do all this work for nothing? Since a bug plague has erupted here, I can at least help out a bit."
Jia Ren followed Yang Bingzhi into the muddy paddy field. His Spiritual Sense, sharp from being at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, soon detected insects gathered on rice panicles, leaf nodes, or under the roots. There were larvae and adult insects alike. Their sizes ranged from being too small to see with the naked eye to as large as a fist. The larger ones were bold enough to attack Cultivators and were extremely ferocious. The Spirit Insects constantly gnawed on the Spirit Rice seedlings. This would inevitably decrease the Spirit Rice yield, a significant concern for Spirit Farmers.
"Corner Worms have become a disaster; they're everywhere!" Yang Bingzhi said. Corner Worms were beetle-like creatures as large as chicken eggs, with dark shells and sharp horns on their heads. They were adept at burrowing. Yang Bingzhi expertly employed his Metal Finger Technique. A golden ray of light flickered past, accurately exterminating a Corner Worm.
Sensing the presence of living beings, the Corner Worms either burrowed to hide or attacked the two men. In just a short time, no fewer than a hundred had gathered. Using the Metal Finger Technique, Yang Bingzhi was already struggling to keep up. It wasn't that he lacked more powerful Spells; rather, using such Spells would also damage the Spirit Rice. The insects were too numerous. Attempting to eliminate them one by one was inefficient and an endless task. He could only watch helplessly as the Corner Worms rampaged through the Spirit Field, ravaging the Spirit Rice.
Yang Bingzhi sighed, "I'll have to ask the Pest Removal Team for help; I can't manage this alone." A look of helplessness was on his face. He then said to Jia Ren, "Daoist Jia, you go ahead and look for the Spirit Insect Eggs. I'll go hurry the Pest Removal Team along." Yang Bingzhi knew that paying for their services was his only option to mitigate the disaster from this bug plague. This year's bug plague was unlike those in past years. The Pest Removal Team was harder to hire and more expensive. With the Spirit Rice yield already reduced, he would also have to shoulder the costly pest extermination fees. A year's farming could be wasted, and he'd even have to invest more Spirit Stones.
"Go ahead," Jia Ren said, sensing Yang Bingzhi's predicament. The bug plague was indeed a serious threat to Spirit Farmers. If others treated him with sincerity, then Jia Ren felt obliged to offer what little help he could.
The newly reached Breakthrough Point of my Insect Control Technique will finally see some action!
Jia Ren eyed a dark-shelled Corner Worm and adeptly used the Insect Control Technique.
Control forcefully achieved! It's consuming ten times more Spiritual Energy than controlling a mosquito, and I can faintly feel the Corner Worm's resistance. Controlling too many Corner Worms might become burdensome.
In a short period, Jia Ren controlled more than thirty Corner Worms and had them attack their own kind, eliminating the Spirit Insects he encountered. Using insects to fight insects was quite efficient. He continuously replaced the dead and damaged Corner Worms, and his Proficiency Level with the Insect Control Technique surged.
After the Skill Breaking Point, the change in the Insect Control Technique is astounding—akin to a transformation! My Insect Control Technique has reached Master Level!
As his Proficiency Level in the Insect Control Technique advanced, the number of Corner Worms he could control increased. He only began to feel pressure after controlling the fiftieth Corner Worm. Fifty Corner Worms rampaged through, invincible in their path and undefeated in battle. Their pest control efficiency was many times faster than the Metal Finger Technique.
I'm quite suited for this pest extermination line of work, he mused.
Thanks to the bug plague, finding Spirit Insect Eggs was quite easy, and he quickly located hundreds of them. Most were Corner Worm Eggs; other Spirit Insect Eggs were few and far between. After searching another section of the field, his expression grew increasingly puzzled.
Could it be that only Corner Worms are in this Spirit Field? The Insect Control Scripture states that Corner Worms have a weak reproductive capacity and aren't prone to causing infestations. Something feels amiss.
Just as Jia Ren was growing suspicious, Yang Bingzhi arrived at the edge of the field accompanied by a familiar face.