Chapter 105: Chapter 104 Tenant (Asking for Subscription) _1 Chapter 105: Chapter 104 Tenant (Asking for Subscription) _1 “Joy and… shock?”
Fang Xi pondered for a moment, “The so-called joy, could it have been the discovery of a good seedling?”
“Exactly!”
Feng Man Building slapped his thigh, “At this Spirit Testing Convention, the Island Master discovered a girl who possessed a superior Fire Spiritual Root! She was taken as a disciple on the spot, and given the surname ‘Ruan’, named ‘Ruan Dan’!”
Immortal Cultivators’ Spiritual Roots incorporate all Five Elements, but they are classified based on the strongest element among them.
The potential of a superior Fire Spiritual Root is such that even if she entered the Mysterious Heaven Sect, she would be more than qualified!
Especially since Ruan Xingling is also a Talisman Forging Master, and her own Spiritual Root leans towards fire as well!
“Finding a successor is a great joy for the Island Master.”
Fang Xi idly swirled his teacup, “And what about the shock?”
“This shock… is that among this batch of Immortal Seedlings, there is another, named ‘Lu Guo’, with a mid-grade Wooden Spiritual Root…”
Feng Man Building seemed to wince with discomfort.
“Lu Guo?”
Fang Xi suddenly remembered the night of the island’s capture, before the scene in Jingguan, that soft and tender infant in swaddling clothes calculating the age, six or seven would be just right for testing the Spiritual Root, “Who would have thought it was this child? However, his father was an Immortal Cultivator, and the offspring of Immortal Cultivators have a higher chance of having a Spiritual Root compared to ordinary people.”
“Alas, the shortcoming lies in his father’s identity, others may not know, but don’t you know that his father was a Cultivator from the Lu Family!”
Feng Man Building sighed repeatedly, “Back then, all the Cultivators from the Lu Family were killed, the ordinary people were forbidden to leave until death, and only this small infant was spared. How could it be such a coincidence that he happened to have a Spiritual Root?”
If Lu Guo were just an ordinary person, he would live a stable life in Peach Blossom Town, and his life would pass by peacefully.
But having a Spiritual Root changes everything!
This marks the beginning of Cultivation, and in the future, even if he doesn’t reach Foundation Establishment, at least becoming a Qi Refining Cultivator wouldn’t be a problem, granting him the power to seek revenge!
“Alas… what can be done about it? What did the Island Master say?”
Fang Xi asked about the crucial issue.
“The Island Master?” Feng Man Building suddenly wore an embarrassed look, “The Island Master said to leave it to you… after all, it was you who named him, wasn’t it?”
“Hm?”
Fang Xi widened his eyes and followed Feng Man Building outside the Array.
Only then did he see outside Jadeite Cliff, a boy kneeling, about six or seven years old, with a fair complexion and handsome features, but at the moment clenching his teeth tightly, his knees sore yet not uttering a word, depicting a stubborn resolve.
“Leave it to me, what does that mean? To follow me as a Spirit Farmer?”
Fang Xi looked at Feng Man Building.
Feng Man Building however, spread his hands, “I’m not sure either, probably… that’s what it means?”
In his view, following Fang Xi as a Spirit Farmer wasn’t too bad either.
At least he wouldn’t worry about Spirit Rice, living peacefully without strife.
And Fang Xi certainly would not teach the child any powerful spells, only techniques related to Spirit Farming.
After all, Lu Guo’s father might well have been one of those whom Fang Xi had once cut down with the Green Barley Sword!
Feng Man Building admired the Island Master more and more as he thought about it.
Out of everyone on the island, Fang Xi’s place was the most suitable, after all, he was famously reclusive, barely ever leaving home, avoiding socializing, and seldom interacting with others.
He would certainly not stand on the side of the Lu Family.
Compared to that, the Mu Family was too full of people gossiping, and up on Gemini West Peak, that mother and daughter duo…
Feng Man Building quickly shook his head, feeling that Hua Chanjuan had become increasingly neurotic since her husband’s death, staying cooped up atop West Peak planting flowers and keeping bees, refusing to come down the mountain!
She was also constantly trying to save money to buy a Mountain Protective Array, as if she were afraid someone would harm her!
‘Wait a second… If the Island Master wanted the child dead, he would have sent him to Gemini West Peak to that madwoman!’
‘Now being sent to Jadeite Cliff, could it mean he wants him to survive?’
A lightbulb went off in Feng Man Building’s mind, and he deeply understood Ruan Xingling’s arrangement.
“Sigh… forget it.”
Fang Xi shook his head and walked over to Lu Guo.
Lu Guo looked up, revealing his cracked lips, “Begging… begging… Immortal… to take me as a disciple…”
Like other Immortal Seedlings, he was selected to go to Mirror Moon Lake and initially thought he could become a noble Immortal, not anticipating he was almost thrown into the Abyss.
Based on everything he had seen and heard along the way, this was his last chance.
However, Fang Xi’s next sentence nearly pushed him completely over the edge, “I don’t take disciples…”
Lu Guo looked bewildered, faintly full of despair.
“However… I still need tenants, boy, can you do farm work?” Fang Xi asked.
“I can! I’ve been working in the fields since I was little!” Lu Guo quickly replied.
“Hmm, then let’s go with that.”
Fang Xi nodded, signaling to Feng Man Building to leave.
He then took the young lad into the Little Cloud Rain Array.
The moment they entered, the freshness distinctly different from the outside world made Lu Guo take a deep breath of the crisp air.
The cliff was like jade, temperate in winter and cool in summer, acres of Spiritual Fields sprouting green seedlings under a thin mist.
Not far away, there was also a massive house.
Everything, looked just like paradise from the paintings!
“Starting today, you’ll live here, I’ll give you some wood later, build yourself a nest…”
Fang Xi brought Lu Guo to the edge of the Spiritual Field, casually pointing to a spot.
That was a slightly flat open space.
Lu Guo was momentarily stunned, then he nodded repeatedly.
“Remember, the only area where you are allowed to move around is this Spirit Field Area. You must not damage the seedlings in the field or enter the big house… Otherwise, I’ll kill you!”
Fang Xi finished giving instructions with a smile, and then patted Lu Guo’s little head.
Under the dual surveillance of the Monster Tree’s roots and the Array, a little boy would definitely be unable to cross his boundary.
Unless… Lu Guo had been subjected to Soul Possession!
“Yes…”
Lu Guo shrank his neck and didn’t dare to ask when he could learn the cultivation techniques.
…
One month later.
Jadeite Cliff.
Next to the Spiritual Field, a simple triangle shack had been erected, primarily constructed of wood with some thatch spread on the outside.
Although it was basic, the inside of the Array was naturally warm in winter and cool in summer, so it was fit for living.
A tiny figure crawled out of the shack; it was Lu Guo!
He walked around the Spiritual Field to inspect it, and if he found any pests, he had to carefully hide—after all, he hadn’t even started Qi Refining yet, and any kind of Demonic Insect could easily take his life.
If he discovered weeds, he had to use various saws to barely manage to remove them.
Lu Guo, young as he was, did such work with proficiency that was almost heartbreaking to watch.
At this moment, he was struggling with a so-called ‘Iron Saw Grass.’ His hands, not being careful enough to grasp the blades of the grass, were cut open in an instant.
“Oh dear, why are you doing it yourself again? Didn’t I tell you? Let Auntie do it!”
Next to him, a plump woman in her thirties, a Cultivator, hurriedly came over, looked at Lu Guo’s palm, and applied a “Little Rejuvenation Technique.”
A flash of green light, and the wound on Lu Guo’s hand began to heal.
Looking at the Iron Saw Grass in the field, she flicked her finger, and a streak of Metal Sword Qi cut off the weed, roots and all.
“Thank you, Auntie Wang!”
Lu Guo bowed respectfully.
This woman’s surname was Wang. She had the cultivation of the third level of Qi Refining, was a widow, and also had a child.
Having Ruan Xingling cram a Lu Guo onto Fang Xi, he thought that whether it be one sheep or two, he might as well let someone from Feng Man Building introduce another tenant to him.
As a result, Feng Man Building introduced him to Widow Wang.
This female cultivator came from White Feather Island, with three generations being tenants under the Feng Family, which made her background clear and untainted.
However, the Spiritual Fields on White Feather Island were limited, and eventually, there wasn’t quite enough to go around for the tenants.
Widow Wang’s husband died accidentally during a clandestine struggle for tenancy rights.
Even though the Feng Family severely punished the other party afterward, Widow Wang, with a child, no longer wanted to live on White Feather Island.
Just then, Feng Man Building was looking for suitable candidates for Fang Xi, and thus both parties came to an agreement easily.
After bringing her over, Fang Xi assessed her and found that she was quite good at planting Spirit Rice; consequently, he took her on, had her build a wooden house next to the Spiritual Field, and live there with her son, Xiao Hu.
Moreover, he rented five mu of Spiritual Field to her, agreeing to grow Red Blood Spirit Rice with a harvest split of forty-six.
Of course, it was sixty percent for Fang Xi, forty percent for Widow Wang.
This arrangement left her overjoyed, and she promptly signed the contract, even wanting to have it notarized by the Island Master for a ten-year long-term agreement.
After all, Fang Xi provided the seeds, and there was a plot of Spirit Land to cultivate on, terms enticing enough to move a Spirit Farmer at the early stage of Qi Refining.
Widow Wang was diligent and often came over to help when she saw Lu Guo getting hurt while tending to the Spiritual Field.
By the time the sun was high, Fang Xi, carrying a teapot, leisurely came to inspect the Spiritual Field.
“Master!”
Widow Wang greeted him respectfully.
“Good day, Master!” Lu Guo, who had not been taken as an apprentice by Fang Xi and was now a tenant farmer, followed Widow Wang’s lead in greeting.
“Hmm… You all have taken good care of this place.”
Fang Xi took a sip from the teapot and smilingly said to Lu Guo, “Starting today, I’ll teach you the first layer of the ‘Eternal Spring Skills.’ Make sure to remember it well, strive to channel Qi into your body early, and become an Immortal Cultivator!”
“Yes, Master!”
Lu Guo clenched his fists inwardly, his eyes brimming with excitement.
Was he finally going to become an Immortal Cultivator?
Seeing how excited he was, Widow Wang felt a bit embarrassed to tell him that ‘Eternal Spring Skills’ was the most common Cultivation technique, and that even the ‘Black Water Skill’ she practiced was more refined than that one!
And it was only the first layer…
But with the master right there, she didn’t have the heart to shatter the boy’s happiness.
‘Let him be happy for a while more then!’ she thought.
Recalling the instructions from Feng Man Building before her arrival, Widow Wang dared not to overmentor Lu Guo.
Fang Xi then walked over to Widow Wang, engaging in casual conversation: “How is Xiao Hu doing? Is he adjusting well?”
“Thanks to your blessings, Master, all is well,”
Widow Wang responded with a smile.
“How come I heard that it’s been quite unrestful around Thousand Island Lake lately?”
Fang Xi asked Feng Man Building to introduce someone to him because he indeed needed a handyman, and also because he was out of touch with news and needed a conduit.
Widow Wang enjoyed running to Mirror Moon Lake to gossip with a bunch of aunties about family affairs; she was indeed a good choice.
“Isn’t that so?”
Without any doubts, Widow Wang confirmed the matter since it was something any Immortal Cultivator would know, “Sigh… Isn’t it because our Thirty Six Islands are going to open a big market fair? It’s said that ‘Ling Kong Island,’ where the venue is chosen, has a second-order Spiritual Vein. It’s definitely going to be bustling when it opens…”