"Based on your performance during this period, the spirit fields will be redistributed."
"Zhang Susu will be in charge of the central spirit field!"
Zhang Susu was instantly overwhelmed with excitement, almost to the point of tears.
Recently, her days had been miserable, with her monthly allowance completely deducted. She was starving while working and had lost a lot of weight.
"Great!"
Wang Zilin was also delighted. It seemed Zhang Susu was swapping with Li An, whom he had long disliked. Now Li An would have to endure hardship...
"Li An will be in charge of the right side spirit field, and Wang Zilin will be in charge of the left side!"
But Fan Jie's words left him stunned.
To be in charge of the worst spirit field—it was actually himself?
"Why..."
He blurted out, full of anger.
"Why?"
Fan Jie's gaze became sharp, fixing on Wang Zilin: "Wang Zilin, what is this? You're hoarding spirit rice!"
He took out a cloth bag.
Wang Zilin's face changed drastically. That was his bag, left in his residence, not brought to the spirit field.
"Immortal..."
He wanted to argue, but Fan Jie slapped him across the face.
Wang Zilin fell to the ground, coughing up blood, and Fan Jie kicked him hard in the thigh.
"Stealing rice, damn you!"
Wang Zilin's thigh snapped with a crack, clearly broken, and he let out a piercing scream.
Next to him, Zhang Susu was even more terrified, her face turning pale.
...
That night, Fan Jie stayed at Zhang Susu's place for dinner.
The night was very quiet. Li An vaguely heard Zhang Susu's painful moans, Fan Jie's heavy breathing, and Wang Zilin's crying, ignored and alone in the night...
He remained calm, not intervening, instead reviewing his current gains.
In three months, he had accumulated two complete spirit stones, a small piece of a broken spirit stone, and one hundred jin of spirit rice!
It was time to go out. In two or three months, he would attempt to break through to the second level of Qi Cultivation and had to prepare for it.
After all, many knew about his damaged spirit root. If he broke through smoothly, it might attract attention.
Some cover-up was needed.
Moreover, after Zhang Susu got into Fan Jie's bed, Li An was definitely only going to be responsible for the mediocre spirit fields. Considering the pest issues, he would likely get no extra profits in the future, so he needed to come up with a plan.
...
The next day.
He asked Fan Jie for leave.
Fan Jie was in a good mood and approved with a wave of his hand.
Zhang Susu perhaps was too tired, still not awake, and had not gone to work in the fields.
When Li An left, he looked back to see Wang Zilin with a wooden crutch, limping into the worst spirit field on the left.
That figure looked like a miserable dog.
...
After leaving Spirit Plant Mountain, around noon, Li An entered the outer sect buildings of Profound Yang Sect.
In the outer sect, there are many halls, such as Spirit Plant Mountain, Iron Refining Hall, Scripture Pavilion, Pharmacy, and so on.
Most are managed by menial workers, with registered disciples overseeing them. Above the registered disciples, there are some outer sect elders.
In contrast, the inner sect truly belongs to the cultivators' world. Inner sect disciples focus solely on cultivation without needing to do any menial work.
In the outer sect, besides the monthly allowance, registered disciples gain resources by completing sect missions to earn contribution points, which can be used to exchange for materials in the pavilion.
Besides, there are many unofficial trade markets for exchanging needed items with each other.
The end-of-month trade market is the busiest, held on a piece of open ground in the southern part of the outer sect.
Li An walked over.
All sorts of things were being sold around him.
Broken fine iron, incomplete cultivation techniques, raw materials for artifact refining... the list was endless.
Most of those coming and going were registered disciples and menial workers, easily distinguishable. Menial workers wore light grey hemp clothes, while registered disciples wore standard robes.
Li An first took a stroll around, stopping at several herbal stalls, before finding a place to set up his own stall, putting down the one hundred jin of spirit rice he carried on his shoulder.
Many inquired about prices, but seeing him as a menial worker, those registered disciples deliberately lowered the price.
Li An rejected all of them.
"Hey, isn't that Senior Sister Xu?"
Suddenly, someone beside him spoke.
On the other side of the trade market, a young woman in a light yellow long dress walked gracefully, her figure enchanting and radiant, attracting everyone's attention.
This woman was someone Li An also knew, Xu Qiuhui, the senior sister among the official outer sect disciples, rumored to aim for the inner sect disciple status in the year-end examination.
She was in charge of their entry assessment when they joined the sect.
Personalities at Xu Qiuhui's level rarely showed up in such trade markets.
Many registered disciples greeted her respectfully, and Xu Qiuhui nodded gracefully and calmly as she passed by, suddenly stopping at Li An's stall.
"These spirit rice are of decent quality, and it's quite rare to see so much... How much are you selling it for?"
Xu Qiuhui looked at Li An.
A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes. Clearly, she had some impression of this boy with decent talent who chose to join the Wuling Sect and work as a menial worker at the last stage.
Li An's heart stirred, "Half a spirit stone."
"For all of it?"
"All of it!"
Xu Qiuhui said indifferently, "So much spirit rice should sell for one spirit stone at market price."
"I don't seek such favors."
Li An replied, "Immortal Xu, I'm not looking for a favor. I just want to ask you about something."
Xu Qiuhui glanced indifferently at Li An, "You can ask first. If I'm willing to tell you, then we can make the deal."
"Immortal Xu, I want to ask, how can one heal a damaged spirit root?"
Li An showed genuine concern.
Xu Qiuhui glanced at Li An, "If you hadn't started Qi cultivation yet, acquiring a Second Grade Recovery Pill might give you an eighty percent chance to repair your spirit root. Now that you've reached the first level of Qi Cultivation, even with a Second Grade Pill, the chance is only thirty percent."
Li An looked absolutely desperate, unwilling to give up, "A Second Grade Spirit Pill... Immortal Xu, is there any cheaper herbal medicine that might help the spirit root?"
Xu Qiuhui replied, "Spring Herbs have some effect, but it's minimal."
Li An appeared grateful, "Thank you, Immortal Xu!"
Xu Qiuhui nodded, then took out a spirit stone and handed it to Li An, "These are just basic knowledge. There's no use taking advantage of you; I'll still purchase it at market price."
Li An hastily said, "Immortal Xu, such knowledge is effortless for you but a revitalizing grace for me!"
"Truly, just give me half a spirit stone... Otherwise, I cannot repay this great kindness."
He was very sincere.
Xu Qiuhui actually felt quite appreciative; this menial worker had a commendable temperament.
"Alright, I'll buy this one hundred jin of spirit rice for half a spirit stone. The other half, along with this spirit sand, consider it a deposit."
"Bring another one hundred jin in two months."
Upon hearing this, Li An was overjoyed, "Thank you, Immortal Xu, thank you!"
He took the spirit stone, "Immortal Xu, where do you reside? Do you require me to deliver it?"
"No need."
Xu Qiuhui waved her hand gracefully, and in an instant, the one hundred jin of spirit rice was packed into a gray pouch.
A storage bag.
Then, Xu Qiuhui turned and left.
Watching her leave, Li An turned and walked to a nearby herbal stall.
The herbs sold here contained a trace of spiritual qi but were not up to standard, only slightly beneficial to low-level cultivators.
After a round of bargaining, Li An used a small piece of spirit stone to buy thirty jin of Spring Herbs.
He had his eye on these Spring Herbs from the moment he arrived. He asked Xu Qiuhui purposely to build a connection.
In the Cultivation Realm, networks are vital. Simply having a friend like Wang Dazhu, a registered disciple, was enough to deter Fan Jie from oppressing him further.
But how long could his friendship with Wang Dazhu last? Who knows?
More social resources would have to be sought by Li An himself.
Moreover, he had another goal.
Spring Herbs are very similar to another Second Grade spirit herb—Primordial Spring Herbs!
Unless one is an alchemist of sufficient rank, it's usually impossible to tell them apart.
Primordial Spring Herbs have a significant effect on spirit roots.
When his spirit root gradually recovers, and his cultivation advances, he could claim it was from accidentally consuming Primordial Spring Herbs, using it as a cover for repairing his spirit root!
Combined with the credibility of querying Xu Qiuhui, naturally, nobody would question him.
"Hey, Brother An?"
As Li An finished buying Spring Herbs, he heard Wang Dazhu's voice.
Li An turned to see Wang Dazhu and several disciples entering the trade market.
Among them were acquaintances like Mu Qingwan, Zhao Xian's Story, and others!
...