Chapter 192: Chapter 191: Abundance (Congratulations to the Silver Alliance!)_1
"Yi Wood Divine Thunder Formation, activate!"
The location of the Yan Family’s grand mansion had recently been transformed by Fang Xi into ’Evergreen Pavilion’, where a delicately elegant Dongfu was constructed.
Around the Dongfu, the ’Yi Wood Divine Thunder Formation’ was set up!
This array was originally incomplete, covering a small range and lacking several functions.
However, after Fang Xi advanced to a second-rank senior Array Master, through various adjustments and repairs, the formation could not be said to have regained its former glory, but it was barely restored to about seventy to eighty percent of its power. The coverage was even more extensive, covering at least the most crucial places like Evergreen Pavilion, Spirit Medicine Valley, and parts of the fish farm without much issue.
Above Dragon Fish Island, in fact, quite a few mortals still lived, even forming a small kingdom of their own.
If Fang Xi pleased, he could arbitrarily appoint a mortal to be the emperor.
Previously, this was how the Zhong Family of the Dragon Fish acted, designating a mortal who lacked a Spiritual Root from their direct lineage to be the sovereign, then ruling over the rest of the mortals.
After the Thirty Six Island Alliance took down Dragon Fish Island, the Zhong Clan Royal Family naturally faced purging, and then the three families moved a portion of their clansmen over, allowing a mortal of the Taishu Family to assume the role of emperor.
Then, after the Song Family annihilated the demons, the Yan Family came over, and as usual, executed the Taishu Family emperor and placed one of their own in the imperial seat.
This Yan Family emperor met a decent end; leading a portion of his people, he moved along with the Yan Family to Ling Kong Island, and for all one knew, might still be responsible for the affairs of Ling Kong Island’s mortals.
’The power shifts within the mortal kingdoms, all manipulated behind the scenes by Cultivators...’
’Most of the mortals on Dragon Fish Island are still of the Zhong bloodline, with a fewer portion from the Taishu, Yuchi, and Xiahou Families. As for the Yan Family, naturally all who could be moved, have been moved... along with a mix of various other surnames...’
Although the Song Family slaughtered the cultivators of the three Taishu families, they did not exterminate all the mortals—such was a sure act of the Demon Path.
Within such a vast population of mortals, there were naturally children found every so often who possessed the talent of a Spiritual Root, forming various small Individual Cultivator communities.
Many of these people were reluctant to leave the spiritual veins of Dragon Fish Island and continued staying behind, hoping to work for Fang Xi.
Because they were all Qi Refining youngsters, Fang Xi didn’t pay them much mind.
He arrived at the main hall of Evergreen Pavilion and casually sent out a few Voice Transmission Talismans.
Before long, over a dozen streaks of light wound their way over, revealing the Cultivators who rode on their magical artifacts.
They were of varying ages, and at this moment, looking at the ’Yi Wood Divine Thunder Great Array’ with its faint thunder light, faces of reverence emerged.
Upon following the path opened by Fang Xi to the main hall, they saw a young Cultivator seated upon the main seat, with a face like fine jade and wearing a green Daoist robe, exuding a vibrant sense of vitality.
"Greetings to the Island Master!"
These cultivators did not dare to delay, each of them performing a grand salutation.
After all, this was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator! Even more, one who could drive away the Yan Family, making them not even dare to destroy the Spirit Land!
"All rise..."
Fang Xi scanned with his Divine Consciousness and noticed that the lowest cultivation among these people was only at the first or second level, while the highest was an old man in a straw raincoat, who already possessed the seventh level of Qi Refining and whose face was marked with traces of hardship.
"Introduce yourselves, starting with you."
He casually pointed to the old man in the raincoat.
"Reporting to the Island Master, this old man’s name is Zhong Qi and I’ve always worked at the fish farm feeding Green Jade Carps..."
Zhong Qi revealed a pleasing smile.
"A Zhong surname? Are you a descendant of the Zhong Family?"
Fang Xi inquired casually, unsurprised in his tone.
"Possibly by my ancestors, but we’ve been separated by dozens of generations, not included in the Zhong Clan Royal Family tree. Instead, generation after generation we’ve toiled for the Dragon Fish Zhong Family, farming their fields. Only I was found to have a Spiritual Root and was rewarded with cultivation, later tasked with fish farming for the Zhong Family..."
Zhong Qi answered candidly; his situation was actually quite common within Cultivating Immortal Families.
Generally, if a cultivator emerged from the collateral branches, they too would be added to the clan records, but because he had offended a direct descendant of the Dragon Fish Zhong Family, he faced hindrance, and thus was not included.
This later turned out to save his life, as not being in the Zhong family tree spared him from the Top Three Families’ purge, and with his fish farming skills, his allegiance shift led him to be ordered to continue the task.
When the Yan Family came, it was the same; after all, they had little grievance with the Zhong Family.
One might say, he had turned misfortune into a blessing.
"Not bad, not bad, do you know how to rear Little Green Dragons?"
Fang Xi touched the Spirit Beast Bag at his waist, which he had bought casually; it was a tight fit for a second-rank demon beast.
Previously, he did not care, letting Daqing suffer...
But now with the resources, he could well station Daqing at the fish farm.
The fish farm was a lake in the middle of the island, connected to Thousand Island Lake by water veins, rich in spiritual energy, and very suitable for the growth of Spirit Fish.
"The old man does not..."
Zhong Qi’s face flashed with embarrassment, "The breeding of Green Jade Carps is the unique skill of the Dragon Fish Zhong Family, and the old man just helped with the tasks, learning the method of raising first-rank Green Jade Carps by being around it... Higher grades are somewhat difficult. As for Little Green Dragons, that’s a Zhong family secret, not known to anyone outside the core..."
His mastering even a bit of fish rearing was thanks to having the Zhong surname, which although not included in the clan tree, made him more trustworthy than those foreign Individual Cultivators or guests.
"Well then, the fish farm will still be under your management..."
Fang Xi reflected for a moment, then assigned a few Individual Cultivators to assist the old man.
After all, with Daqing overseeing the fish farm, nothing major could go wrong.
"Xiahou Zun has seen the Island Master, may the Island Master live forever!"
The individual cultivators introduced themselves one by one until only a pair of a male and a female remained.
The male appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen years old, very handsome in appearance. He gave Fang Xi a respectful bow and revealed a pleasing smile, yet his cultivation was poor, merely at the third level of Qi Refining.
After introducing himself, Fang Xi found out that this person’s ancestors were immigrants who had moved to Dragon Fish Island from the Top Three Families. During the Song Family’s demon extermination, he had not yet had his Spiritual Root detected and had escaped calamity as a mortal.
Later when the Yan Family took charge, he conveniently became their tenant farmer.
This time during the relocation, he did not follow his main family in leaving.
"This is the younger member of my clan, named ’Xiahou Ying’... The Island Master is busy with countless affairs and cannot be without someone to look after him, I would like to offer my kin as a maidservant to attend to the Island Master’s daily needs..."
As Xiahou Zun finished speaking, he pulled forward the female cultivator behind him.
This female cultivator was only around fifteen or sixteen years of age, with bright eyes and white teeth, willow brows and peach cheeks, although she had not yet fully blossomed, there was an undeniable beauty in her.
Hearing this, the other individual cultivators inwardly cursed as shameless, and yet they envied not having such a sister they could offer to the Island Master...
"You are quite considerate..."
Fang Xi glanced at Xiahou Ying and found she was at the second level of Qi Refining, "What cultivation technique do you practice?"
"Reporting to the Island Master, I... I have dual medium-grade Gold Water Spiritual Roots and practice the ’Black Water Skill’!"
Xiahou Ying answered timidly.
"Dual medium-grade Gold Water Spiritual Roots, eh... If you find a suitable technique, you can cultivate faster than those with a single medium-grade Spiritual Root. Practicing the Black Water Skill is somewhat of a waste of your potential."
After some thought, Fang Xi took out a jade slip from his Storage Bag, "This ’Gold Water Skill’ is a cultivation technique that complements the Gold and Water elements. I’ll bestow it to you."
He had even forgotten from which unlucky cultivator’s Storage Bag he had confiscated this technique.
"Thank you, Island Master!"
Xiahou Ying bowed her head in gratitude, and Xiahou Zun beside her heaved a sigh of relief, ignoring the various looks from others.
Previously branded as Demon Cultivators by the Top Three Families, they now feared being treated differently and had to try their best to curry favor.
Fang Xi casually accepted a maid, not for her beauty, but to indicate his willingness to accept the local individual cultivators.
Sure enough, the cultivators below, even after Zhong Qi saw this, felt relieved.
"As for you, Xiahou Zun... You shall manage the Spirit Medicine Valley..."
Fang Xi, with hands clasped behind him, walked out of the Evergreen Pavilion, "Let’s take a stroll to the Spirit Medicine Valley..."
...
Spirit Medicine Valley.
This place was not far from the Evergreen Pavilion, and the valley was abundant with spiritual energy, featuring well-cultivated second-tier Spiritual Fields and medicine gardens.
Not far away, there were alchemy rooms and such left by the Zhong Family, which had now been converted into dwellings by the tenant farmers.
"Reporting to the Island Master, most of the plants in Spirit Medicine Valley are Spirit Medicines, supplemented by Spirit Rice... After the Yan Family left, they uprooted all the Spirit Medicines..."
Xiahou Zun followed behind Fang Xi and reported quietly.
"Forget it... it hasn’t been that many years anyway."
The value of Spirit Medicine lies in its age, and this Spirit Medicine Valley had already been through a disaster at the time of the Zhong Family’s downfall. Even if it had been replanted after that, it still required time to grow.
Unfortunately, it had also gone through the chaos of the Three Families, truly a tangled mess.
"From now on, allocate the ten acres with the richest spiritual energy in Spirit Medicine Valley for planting Spirit Medicine seeds, the rest will be for farming..."
Fang Xi felt the soil, making up his mind, "What type of rice did the Zhong Family plant in the past?"
"Mainly first-tier Green Corn, as well as second-tier Dragon Scale Fine Rice... Green Corn is one thing, but the second-tier Dragon Scale Fine Rice is a secret of the Zhong Family. Although we still have seeds, it’s very hard for us to cultivate them successfully, or they directly degrade..."
Xiahou Zun sounded somewhat disheartened.
"Hmm, the methods of cultivating high-tier Spirit Rice are usually a closely-guarded secret, so that’s normal..."
Fang Xi also had experience in farming and asked a few pointed questions, causing Xiahou Zun to break out in a cold sweat on his forehead.
In the end, Fang Xi concluded, "It seems that the main issues are with the fertilizer and water..."
"Yes, old Zhong used to say that when the Zhong Family planted Spirit Rice, they often went to the fish farm for water, but we have tried irrigating with Spirit Water rich in Green Jade Carp excrement, and it didn’t do much good..."
Xiahou Zun wiped away the sweat and replied.
"Probably because the Green Jade Carp is of an insufficient rank... It needs at least a Little Green Dragon."
"It’s alright, we can try it in the future."
Fang Xi was quite confident about this, after all, the Azure Horn Fish Dragon was a second-tier Monster Beast, much more precious than a first-tier Little Green Dragon. Maybe the bathwater would be useful for Dragon Scale Fine Rice?
If he regularly ate this second-tier Spirit Rice, it would be very beneficial to him.
After giving specific instructions to Xiahou Zun, Fang Xi returned to the Evergreen Pavilion.
Looking down from the top of the pavilion, one could clearly see a green Flood Dragon joyfully swimming in the glistening fishpond below.
"This is... my enterprise!"
Fang Xi felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.
Now, he was finally not living under someone else’s roof like in Baize Immortal City, but had truly settled down.