Chapter 052

Chapter 52: Striking First

While harvesting spirit rice, Zong Hao quickly realized his spell mastery was inferior to Yun Xi’s, especially when it came to threshing with divine sense. Yun Xi could skillfully control ten stalks at a time, but he struggled to handle five.

“You’re truly amazing, Yun Xi!” praised Zong Hao sincerely.

Yun Xi smiled gently and replied, “Only practice makes perfect.”

Zong Hao nodded thoughtfully, secretly deciding to practice harder in the future. He also confirmed that Yun Xi’s cultivation had surely surpassed his own, guessing it must be at least at the eighth layer of Qi Refining. This realization quickly subdued any pride he’d felt about his recent breakthrough to the seventh layer.

After a busy afternoon, the two finally harvested all three mu of Yun Xi’s spirit fields. Looking at their bulging storage bags, they shared a knowing smile.

“Yun Xi, we should hurry and deliver these now. It’s best to avoid getting ambushed halfway,” Zong Hao urged, aware of their precarious situation.

Apart from Senior Brother Fan Si, no one knew these two novices had spent extravagantly on spirit stones to hasten the rice’s growth, so speed was their best defense.

Yun Xi agreed. Their shielding array could fool others temporarily but not indefinitely. Keeping the protective barrier active, they quickly went to find Senior Brother Wang at the task submission office.

Seeing the brother-sister pair after three months surprised Senior Brother Wang; after all, it wasn’t yet harvest season. However, remembering their generosity, he welcomed them warmly, “What brings you here?”

Zong Hao stepped forward respectfully, “Senior Brother Wang, we’re here to submit our task.”

“Now?” Wang asked, confused. “But it’s not yet harvest time.”

“Indeed,” Zong Hao affirmed, feigning relief. “Thanks to your care and Senior Brother Fan Si’s timely advice, we siblings barely managed to complete the sect’s mission.”

Wang paused briefly, quickly understanding the unspoken situation. Such troubles weren’t uncommon among new disciples, and a few unlucky ones fell victim every year.

Seeing Wang’s understanding look, Yun Xi seized the chance to elaborate anxiously, “Senior Brother Wang, you don’t know how stressful it’s been. Someone’s been lurking near our fields, making us too nervous even to cultivate at night. Luckily, Senior Brother Fan Si guided us to accelerate the growth using our hard-earned spirit stones. It cost us everything, but at least we secured our harvest. We figured it best to deliver the rice immediately, just to be safe.”

Senior Brother Wang nodded approvingly, “Smart move. Better to secure your gains first. Let’s handle the task right away.”

“That’s exactly our thought,” Zong Hao replied gratefully.

The two quickly handed over their harvested spirit rice. After weighing and registering the harvest, Wang marked their identity tokens as task-complete, collected the specialized farming storage bags, and dismissed them.

Only after hastily leaving the Outer Fifth Peak and formally completing the task at the Task Hall did Yun Xi and Zong Hao finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“Yun Xi, let’s rest today. We can return to Task Hall tomorrow,” Zong Hao suggested.

“Sounds good,” Yun Xi replied.

When they returned to the disciples’ courtyard on the Outer Peak, Yun Xi unfortunately encountered Wei Yun Qing. Wei Yun Qing had been smiling smugly, her expression freezing upon noticing Yun Xi had broken through again, now at the fifth layer of Qi Refining.

Yun Xi felt immensely pleased by Wei Yun Qing’s twisted expression and cheerfully greeted her, “Sister Yun Qing, weren’t you working at Alchemy Peak? Did you come back today because you missed me?”

Wei Yun Qing inwardly rolled her eyes at Yun Xi’s shameless remark but maintained a composed façade, replying casually, “I haven’t been back for a while. Senior Brother Ye permitted me two days off. I see your cultivation has advanced again; you must be doing quite well at the Outer Fifth Peak.”

Yun Xi nodded enthusiastically, “Thank you for your concern, Elder Sister. Farming spirit rice is tough, but it’s fantastic cultivation training. If I hadn’t been tirelessly guarding those fields day and night, I might not have progressed so quickly.”

Wei Yun Qing felt tempted but didn’t pursue the topic. She would never stoop to a lowly farming task. Moreover, Senior Brother Ye had recently rewarded her with a pill to boost her cultivation as appreciation for her exceptional alchemy work. She had returned intending to show off, but Yun Xi had preempted her.

After exchanging a few indifferent remarks, they each retreated to their respective rooms.

Upon returning to her room, Yun Xi immediately set up a protective array disk. Ever since Wei Yun Qing’s attempt at intrusion and Chen Feng’s sneak attack through earth-escape techniques, she’d invested heavily in a third-grade defensive array disk.

Though this purchase nearly drained her entire savings, she considered it worth every spirit stone. Nothing was more important than her safety. Being interrupted during cultivation could easily result in disastrous consequences; such protection was essential.

With the protective barrier activated, Yun Xi slept peacefully through the night, entirely unaware that chaos erupted at the Outer Fifth Peak. Overnight, a swarm of White Honey spirit insects devoured all remaining, unharvested spirit rice fields—not just one plot but every field across the entire peak.

Before dawn, someone reported this catastrophe to the sect, highlighting the devastating scale of the damage. Disciples wept openly, unable to bear such enormous losses.

The Discipline Hall quickly dispatched disciples to investigate the matter thoroughly, deeming it a deliberate act rather than mere coincidence.

Fan Si’s expression darkened terribly. Just yesterday, he had advised the two juniors to harvest their crops swiftly. Now, after delaying just one day himself, all his efforts vanished into nothingness.

Upon inspecting the scene, the Discipline Hall confirmed the severe losses and began a rigorous inquiry. Yun Xi and Zong Hao were soon summoned for questioning due to their suspiciously impeccable timing in avoiding the disaster.

Looking innocent and aggrieved, the siblings recounted their novice experience, their anxious discovery of suspicious disciples lurking around, and the helpful guidance from Senior Brother Fan Si. They explained their desperate use of spirit stones to mature their crops early and their immediate task submission, even vowing never to farm again.

After carefully verifying their story with both Fan Si and the stewarding disciple, the Discipline Hall finally cleared their suspicion. However, the disciples who had prowled around the fields now became prime suspects.

The investigation swiftly traced back to Tang Ru, who was utterly bewildered by this turn of events. She’d merely paid spirit stones to hire help—how had it all led back to her?

When Tang Ru was summoned for interrogation, the Golden Core Daoist she relied upon finally discovered her little schemes. Furious that she’d secretly spent his resources on another man, he immediately expelled her from his residence.