Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Two-Pronged Approach
Yun Xi quickly followed up. “Senior Brother, doesn’t the sect have the Law Enforcement Hall? How could they allow something like this to happen?”

Fan Si said meaningfully, “In the Cultivation World, the strong rule. Hao Ran Sect has thirty to forty thousand Outer Sect disciples, and the Law Enforcement Hall disciples can’t follow you every day. There are bound to be times they miss things.”

“If you’re lucky, nothing will happen this time, or the Law Enforcement Hall might help you avoid a disaster,” Fan Si continued. “But can you guarantee you’ll be lucky every single time?”

Yun Xi and Zong Hao exchanged a look and understood the unspoken meaning in Senior Brother Fan Si’s words. Even though the Wei Family disciples had backing, distant water could not put out a nearby fire. Besides, their uncle had recently taken an outing task for training and had already left the sect.

Maybe those people watching in the shadows wanted to strike while they had the chance, or maybe it was a test. If the Wei Family’s Golden Core elder did not step in, then the troubles the Wei Family disciples faced would only grow more and more.

In the end, everyone was fighting over cultivation resources. The Wei Family had some foundation. They could not compare to great cultivation clans, but compared to disciples with no support at all, they were stronger, which made them an easy target for those who wanted shortcuts.

After they understood, the two of them thanked Fan Si solemnly again, then returned to the thatched hut to discuss what to do next.

Fan Si was willing to offer them guidance because he could see that Wei Zong Hao was about to break through to Qi Refining level seven. He considered it forming a good relationship. Besides, the two of them knew how to act. He only hinted that he wanted to rent the spirit fields on both sides, and they took the initiative to make room for him, so he said a few extra words.

On the other side, Yun Xi first opened the protective barrier over her own spirit field to guard the nearly ripe spirit rice, then went to Zong Hao’s spirit field.

“Little Sister Yun Xi, it looks like we have to work both angles,” Zong Hao said. “If we wait any longer, I’m afraid we’ll get set up.”

“You’re right. Let’s start now,” Yun Xi said. “You go into the thatched hut and use spirit stones to break through to Qi Refining level seven. Once your cultivation rises, we can protect ourselves.”

“I’ll activate the spirit field array and speed-ripen this season’s spirit rice. When the rice is ripe, I’ll harvest first,” she added.

Zong Hao’s chubby face was full of pain. “To speed-ripen the spirit rice, it takes ten low-grade spirit stones! And if you focus on my spirit field first, what about your own?”

Yun Xi waved her hand. “At times like this, we have to learn what to keep and what to let go. Like Senior Brother Fan said, if we can’t bear to spend spirit stones, then all our harvest will end up in someone else’s storage pouch.”

“Then wouldn’t our three months of work be for nothing? And if we fail to complete the sect task, we’ll be punished. No matter how you look at it, it’s not worth it,” Yun Xi said. “Besides, once we hand in the required amount of spirit rice, we can make back the loss. Just treat it like we earn ten fewer low-grade spirit stones.”

Zong Hao thought about it and felt his sister was right. Without another word, he entered the thatched hut, opened an isolation array plate, sat cross-legged, and held a low-grade spirit stone in each hand as he focused on breaking through to Qi Refining level seven.

When Yun Xi saw Zong Hao enter cultivation, she took out the array plate that controlled this spirit field. She embedded ten low-grade spirit stones into it and activated the speed-ripening function, watching as the plate guided the stones’ power into the spirit rice and shortened its ripening time.

Then she sat down on the ground, stared at the spirit rice that was nearly as tall as her, and began thinking about the next step.

Fan Si’s words made her understand that even cultivating in the sect was not free of danger. First there was Chen Feng digging a tunnel into her spirit field in the middle of the night, and now there were people watching in secret. She had to be even more cautious. Before she had the power to protect herself, she needed to keep her head down and survive.

After Zong Hao broke through to Qi Refining level seven, she would also adjust her outward cultivation to Qi Refining level five. Sometimes, a higher cultivation could solve many problems.

As for whether they should keep taking farming tasks, she planned to discuss it with Zong Hao.

She watched helplessly as ten low-grade spirit stones in the array plate turned into ash. It hurt, but she could endure it. When she saw the spirit rice seemed close to ripening, she steeled herself and embedded another ten low-grade spirit stones into the plate.

This time she did not have to wait long. When the moon was high, the spirit rice fully ripened. The second batch of spirit stones was not completely consumed, and she took them all out and put them back into her storage pouch.

There was still no movement from Zong Hao inside the thatched hut, so she felt at ease. She used the object-control technique to harvest the spirit rice, then used her spiritual sense to thresh it, and finally packed the snow-white, plump pearl rice into her storage pouch. Only then did it truly feel safe.

By dawn, she had finished harvesting all three mu. Thankfully, she was not truly only at Qi Refining level four, or harvesting even one mu would have been a miracle.

After finishing, she held a spirit stone and began recovering the spiritual power she had nearly exhausted. At the same time, she kept part of her attention on the thatched hut beside her. She felt Zong Hao should be close to breaking through.

When the sun rose, Wei Zong Hao finally walked out of the thatched hut with light steps, his face full of bright smiles. But in the next instant, his smile froze.

“Yun Xi, this… what’s going on?” he asked.

He had already seen his bare three mu. Had someone looted his home overnight?

Yun Xi looked at the young boy’s stable Qi Refining level seven cultivation and stood up with a smile. “Don’t worry. I speed-ripened the spirit rice. When I saw you still hadn’t come out, I harvested it for you first. Once it’s in the pouch, it’s really yours.”

As she spoke, she tossed the storage pouch to Zong Hao.

Zong Hao caught it and took a look, and a smile returned to his face. “Thank you, Little Sister Yun Xi. Come on, let’s not waste time. We’ll go to your spirit field now and speed-ripen your spirit rice. This time you handle breaking through, and I’ll handle harvesting.”

“Alright!” Yun Xi said.

Yun Xi did not put on airs. Right now was when the two of them had to help each other.

After that, Zong Hao, with his Qi Refining level seven cultivation, accompanied Yun Xi to her spirit field.

Of course, under Yun Xi’s strong insistence, Zong Hao did not close the protective barrier over his own spirit field.

Even though there was not a single grain of rice left inside, he still kept it open. Even if it consumed spirit stones, he did not feel bad about it. It could completely confuse the people wandering nearby.

When they reached Yun Xi’s spirit field, the two of them switched roles. Yun Xi pretended to go into the thatched hut to break through, while Zong Hao guarded the spirit field and speed-ripened the rice, holding a spirit stone in his hand as he consolidated his cultivation.

After Yun Xi opened the isolation array plate, she adjusted her outward cultivation to Qi Refining level five. But she did not go out right away. Instead, she took out blank talisman paper and began drawing talismans.

She drew twenty talismans every day without fail. Because her spiritual sense strength had reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, she could already draw Second Rank talismans. It was only because she was limited by her Qi Refining level eight cultivation that her Second Rank talismans could only stay at the low-grade level.

So she focused on improving the quality of her first-rank talismans, keeping all the first-rank talismans she could draw at high-grade or top-grade. That way, she could sell them for spirit stones and also save up some high-quality talismans for her own use.

Just as Yun Xi finished today’s talisman-drawing quota, Zong Hao began harvesting the spirit rice with the object-control technique.

Yun Xi immediately put away her talisman tools, stored the isolation array plate, walked out of the thatched hut, and joined the harvesting.