In the blink of an eye, three days had passed, and all one hundred and fifty-six Fragrant Flow Orange spirit trees had been transported to the Agricultural Spirit Temple.
For a time, not only did the labor Daoists observing the fields come out in full force, busily planting them, even the clerical Daoists in the temple who had a little leisure were drafted over as laborers.
After spending the better part of the day, everyone finally planted all one hundred and fifty-six mature trees into those two mu of spirit fields. During breaks in the work, the Daoists planting the fruit trees inevitably chatted among themselves.
“I heard they’re a fine strain from beyond the heavens. If they really bear fruit, a single spirit orange could be worth three to five days of bitter cultivation.”
“I heard that too. The county temple plans to trial-plant them at the Agricultural Spirit Temple for a year first. If they can successfully bear fruit, then after research and cultivation, they can be promoted to the various towns and villages, so the common folk can plant them widely and turn them into another cash crop for our county.”
“A spirit fruit that can be worth three to five days of cultivation... If this succeeds, our county’s economy might truly be able to escape the misery of being last among the blessed lands, and the villagers’ lives might become a bit easier...”
Not far away, the clerical Daoists listened to the discussions of these field laborers and merely exchanged glances, feeling that these men who relied on brute labor were far too naive.
How could there be a wall in this world that did not let the wind through? Within the Agricultural Spirit Temple, there were always people on good terms exchanging information.
Sure enough, by evening, even among the labor Daoists, the inside story gradually became clear.
In the dining hall, rumors quietly spread:
“I hear the temple has no intention of seriously carrying out this planting plan at all?”
“Where did you hear that?”
“Isn’t it obvious? If the temple truly valued it, how could they not send Deputy Temple Head Liu or Elder Huo to oversee it? Even at the very least, they should have established a special working group to discuss it carefully. But now they’ve merely handed it to a newly arrived labor Daoist—this is clearly just going through the motions!”
“I heard this heavenly strain is delicate and difficult to care for to begin with... Looking at it this way, the temple probably long ago decided it would be hard to keep alive, and that’s why they resorted to such a measure.”
“If that’s the case, won’t that new young laborer become the scapegoat...”
“Alas, there’s nothing new under the sun. It has always been like this. When something goes wrong, it’s always the temporary worker who takes the blame...”
“Shh—quiet! That unlucky bastard is here.”
Someone suddenly lowered his voice and cut off the conversation. Everyone saw Qin Chuan walking into the hall with a meal box in hand. All the labor Daoists tacitly fell silent and lowered their heads to eat.
Qin Chuan went to the window to get his food, his expression as usual, as though he knew nothing at all.
In truth, with his divine sense far surpassing that of ordinary people, he had already heard seventy to eighty percent of their discussion. He merely pretended not to know, and inwardly felt helpless as well—even if he knew, what could he do?
Was he supposed to take the initiative to resign from this duty? Absolutely impossible! He had fought his way across a single-plank bridge contested by tens of millions, and only with great difficulty had he obtained this chance to “come ashore.” How could he return to struggling in the mud of the countryside?
At present, the only plan was to seek survival amid danger and fight for a thread of life within a dead end.
Besides, over these three or four days, he had not been idle either.
After secretly smelting and refining the accumulated Dharma essence within many farming tools, in the depths of his sea of consciousness, where no one could detect it,
upon that illusory panel,
the Dharma Essence column had impressively accumulated to 【10 points】.
After eating, Qin Chuan returned to the fields.
He first began carefully observing these Fragrant Flow Orange trees. He saw that every tree was lush with branches and leaves, their leaves glossy and bright; clearly, they were old trees that had been cultivated for many years. Having only just arrived, it was difficult for the moment to see any clues.
Even so, he still earnestly inspected every single fruit tree.
Suddenly, his gaze focused—on the tender shoots of one tree, there were actually some aphids attached. They were a common pest among spirit plants, scientifically known as “Blood Spirit Aphids.”
Qin Chuan’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he did not hesitate in the slightest.
Whoosh!
In an instant, white light flashed rapidly beneath the tree. Threads of silver poured down like a sudden rain, swift as lightning, piercing through that stretch of branches in a blur before sweeping past.
The next moment!
Swish, swish, swish—
Countless blood aphid corpses, tiny as grains of red salt, fell one after another like snow.
At last, eighteen silver needles turned back as if possessed of spirituality, drifting gracefully and silently returning into the needle case at Qin Chuan’s waist.
This scene happened to be taken in entirely by Elder Huo, who was pacing toward the wooden hut.
“Eh?”
A trace of surprise could not help but flash through his eyes.
“That needle technique...”
With his eyesight, he could naturally tell that the grade of the needle-art technique Qin Chuan used was not high—at most, it was equivalent to a basic spell like the Agricultural Spirit Temple’s Five-Spirit Soil-Turning Hand.
What truly startled him was—
“Could this boy have some profound family inheritance, practicing this flying needle art since he was in his mother’s womb? A crude introductory formula has actually been wielded by him to such a consummate level... With this kind of speed and power, even some of the temple’s mid-grade spells might not necessarily compare.”
“Or could it be that he truly possesses a transcendent talent in cultivation beyond the reach of ordinary people?”
Amid his surprise, his heart inevitably felt even more regret.
If Qin Chuan had not been drawn into this troublesome affair, Elder Huo might truly have been moved by this young man’s talent.
After all, at his age, promotion was hopeless, yet he could not fall much further either. The only thing on his mind was to find a suitable successor for all he had learned and comprehended in his life—especially the Yi Wood Azure Heaven Art he had created.
A pity. Truly a pity.
Qin Chuan slowly walked through the spirit orange field. Looking back and seeing that Elder Huo was not paying attention to this side, he could not help sighing inwardly.
He had intentionally, yet seemingly unintentionally, revealed a bit of his “talent,” hoping that this old immortal official might develop some appreciation for him. Even if the man could not pull him out of the whirlpool, at least Qin Chuan might gain some assistance.
Now it seemed that either his “talent” was still not enough to enter the other party’s discerning eyes, or Elder Huo simply did not wish to wade into these muddy waters.
In the end, his own value was still insufficient.
There was nothing he could do. He could only continue taking things one step at a time.
Another day passed, and Qin Chuan finally stabilized his cultivation at the first level of Qi Refining completely.
Looking at those 10 points of Dharma essence, he decided to add points to the basic spell, Five-Spirit Soil-Turning Hand, first.
Crack!
1 point of Dharma essence shattered in response.
In an instant, all manner of experience and insight regarding the Five-Spirit Soil-Turning Hand surged into his mind like a tide.
What had originally been a shallow spell learned by following diagrams suddenly transformed!
Boom!
Five-Spirit Soil-Turning Hand had broken through! Second level!
This spell could mobilize the five-elements spiritual energy within the soil, causing it to lean toward the ideal state needed by crops.
For example, some spirit plants liked water, while others leaned toward metal.
Of course, the spell’s power was limited. It would not truly alter the environment; it could only make slight adjustments.
Relying on this second-level mastery, over the next seven days, even the labor Daoists who did not usually pay attention to Qin Chuan’s few mu of fields noticed something unusual.
The spirit herbs and spirit plants in that plot were growing better than ever before. Not only had insect pests completely vanished, even the soil had been turned and tended to perfection.
“This newcomer is actually this good at farming?”
Zhong Ziheng, who was also a labor Daoist, was greatly shocked. He had been farming for over a year, yet he was actually inferior to a newcomer.
However, many perceptive people knew perfectly well: this might not necessarily be a good thing.
There was an old saying in the workplace: if your colleagues and superiors find out you are especially capable, then from then on, there will be no end to the work you have to do.
Sure enough.
At noon that day, Qin Chuan had just arrived in the fields when he saw this fellow Daoist, whom he had already met before, coming over.
“Little Qin, are you busy today?”
Qin Chuan keenly heard the hidden meaning in his words, but did not expose it. Instead, he smiled gently. “It’s all right. Not too busy.”
“Not busy, huh...”
Seeing Qin Chuan take the bait, Zhong Ziheng was pleased inwardly and hurriedly piled on a smile, warmly putting an arm around his shoulder.
“Your elder brother here happens to have an urgent task! Temple Head Liu just purchased a batch of blackstone bamboo seedlings from the neighboring county and urged that they absolutely must be planted today. But it just so happens that Elder Huo assigned me the paperwork for May’s planting report, and I really can’t be in two places at once...”
“This...” Qin Chuan deliberately hesitated.
“Don’t worry, your elder brother absolutely won’t treat you unfairly!”
Zhong Ziheng hurriedly said, “Help me plant this batch of bamboo seedlings. When Temple Head Liu asks about it, I’ll say the two of us completed it together and split the merit evenly! Chances to have the leadership remember a merit right after joining are rare... If Elder Huo’s task really didn’t have me tied down, I wouldn’t have come to trouble you.”
At this point, the dagger was revealed after the map was unrolled. No matter whether Qin Chuan agreed or refused, Zhong Ziheng had follow-up words prepared.
Unexpectedly, Qin Chuan suddenly raised his head, looked toward those two mu of spirit orange fields, and said calmly, “The task assigned by Temple Head Liu is naturally important. It’s just that these Fragrant Flow Oranges of mine are also an important duty personally assigned by County God Sun, and likewise cannot be delayed. If I attend to one and neglect the other, delaying the county’s grand plan, this little brother truly cannot bear the responsibility.”
Zhong Ziheng’s expression stiffened. He had never expected that this newcomer who had just entered the yamen would be just like an old fox who had been around for decades. With a few casual words, Qin Chuan had dissolved his rhetoric, and had even brought out the great Buddha that was Sun Qinghan to turn the tables on him.
He forced out a smile. “You’re right. This elder brother was inconsiderate.”
Resentful inwardly, he was just about to turn and leave, secretly thinking of finding a chance to make things difficult for this kid later, when Qin Chuan suddenly called out to stop him:
“Actually, helping Fellow Daoist Zhong with this matter isn’t impossible... It’s just that if Temple Head Liu asks about it, this task of planting the black spirit bamboo must be counted under my name alone.”
Zhong Ziheng abruptly turned back and looked deeply at Qin Chuan. Then he suddenly smiled. “That works too.”
Inwardly, however, he sneered: So that was what you were scheming. I thought you were capable of something more.
In any case, after the bamboo seedlings were planted, he would be the one reporting to the temple head. So he said, “Fine! But Little Qin, you’ll have to work diligently. If you don’t finish planting them today and the temple head blames someone, then this punishment... will also have to be borne by you alone.”
“Understood.” Qin Chuan extended his hand. “Just give me the farming tool box for your field.”
“Farming tools? Don’t you have...” Before Zhong Ziheng could finish, he saw the other party’s expressionless face and immediately understood. He gave a dry laugh. “That was my oversight. Different spirit soils and spirit plants indeed require dedicated farming tools. Here, just go directly to the storeroom and take tool box number thirty.”
Qin Chuan nodded and turned to leave.
Watching his back, Zhong Ziheng’s face showed a pleased expression. The labor Daoists who had glimpsed this scene from not far away also secretly sighed:
Another newcomer being manipulated by an old fox.
Every place always had people like this, cleverly using all kinds of pretexts to push work onto newcomers while they themselves hid away in leisure.
Yet no one knew.
Inside the storeroom, Qin Chuan tightly gripped the farming tool box that belonged to Zhong Ziheng. The instant his fingertip touched one of the farming tools inside, the corners of his mouth quietly curved upward.