"Today, I'll allocate farming regions to the three of you."
Fan Jie glanced at the three, then walked to Li An's side, rudely grabbing Li An's arm to inspect it.
Wang Zilin watched from the side, his face showing schadenfreude.
Li An will never succeed in Qi Cultivation; he's in for trouble!
But then, Fan Jie nodded: "Hmm, although the Spiritual Qi is quite weak, arguably the weakest Qi Refining First Layer I've ever seen, nevertheless, it's a success."
He released Li An's hand.
Wang Zilin and Zhang Susu were somewhat surprised.
Li An's Spirit Root was supposed to be broken; how could he succeed in Qi Cultivation!
However, considering Fan Jie's comment about "the weakest Qi Refining First Layer," neither was too shocked, thinking Li An probably risked everything to desperately cultivate Qi to achieve this negligible result.
"Based on your conditions, Wang Zilin will be responsible for the ten-acre Spirit Field on the right!"
"Zhang Susu will manage the ten-acre Spirit Field on the left."
"Li An is responsible for the ten-acre Spirit Field in the middle!"
Fan Jie concluded his assignment.
Li An was slightly surprised.
Did he actually get the most fertile part?!
Wang Zilin, with the fastest cultivation progress and best mastery of the Cloud and Rain Technique, surprisingly only got the mediocre quality Spirit Field on the right.
Zhang Susu, meanwhile, was put in charge of the worst quality left section.
But after a brief thought, Li An instantly understood.
Fan Jie was finally about to make a move on Zhang Susu's chunk of fat.
His method would be nothing more than first having Zhang Susu take on the hardest work, suffer miseries, and soon switch her to the best Spirit Field.
Experiencing the disparity between the two, Zhang Susu, wanting to consistently manage the easiest and most rewarding Spirit Field, would naturally pay something...
From frugal to extravagant is easy, from extravagant to frugal is hard.
The worst was given to Zhang Susu, leaving the best and medium Spirit Fields.
The reason the best Spirit Field was given to Li An, he guessed, was because Wang Zilin and Zhang Susu were close, which didn't please Fan Jie.
Li An couldn't help but feel that Susu is truly his benefactor.
"Immortal Master, Li An has the weakest cultivation, why give him the best?"
Wang Zilin opened his mouth in resentment.
Zhang Susu also frowned, finding herself responsible for the worst, unfair!
But Fan Jie coldly glanced at Wang Zilin, slapped him across the face.
Slap!
Wang Zilin's face instantly swelled red, his gums even started to bleed.
"Are you dissatisfied?"
Fan Jie coldly asked.
Deep fear flashed in Wang Zilin's eyes, he instantly bowed his head, "I... dare not."
Zhang Susu, seeing this, also immediately shut her mouth.
"Hmm, there's one more thing,"
Fan Jie took out three pottery jars, handing them to Li An, Zhang Susu, and Wang Zilin:
"Recently, there have been some moths in the paddy fields. When you tend the Spirit Fields, use this powder for pest control."
Li An's mind stirred; Fan Jie must have been out for this matter?
If Li An guessed correctly, Fan Jie should have gone to the black market or somewhere similar to concoct these "pesticides."
For normal pest issues, Fan Jie only needed to report to the sect, and the sect would naturally send someone to handle it.
But this pest issue arose due to his siphoning of Spiritual Qi, so he dared not let the sect know.
Nonetheless, Li An maintained a calm demeanor, took the pottery jar, and went towards the Spirit Field section he was responsible for.
Fan Jie opened the Spirit Field Restriction, allowing the three to enter smoothly.
For a while, under Spirit Plant Mountain, clouds formed, and gentle rain sprinkled, irrigating the Spirit Field.
Fan Jie surveyed from outside, frequently gazing towards the middle Spirit Field section.
Everything was normal, and he returned to the mountain top with peace of mind.
...
By evening, a day's labor was over.
Fan Jie appeared, checked the pockets of the three to ensure they hadn't secretly stolen Spirit Rice, then released them from the Spirit Field.
He then distributed the monthly allowance to them.
Since the three had started working after the newcomer period and their cultivation increased, their consumption naturally would too, so each received three bags of Spirit Rice, totaling about ten pounds.
The Spirit Stone was still a small piece.
The joy of receiving the monthly allowance reduced the fatigue of the day.
"Susu, keep going! I've heard that as long as the Spirit Field yield reaches the standard, any excess will be rewarded proportionately to us. By then, we'll have leftovers to sell and exchange for Spirit Stones!"
Wang Zilin spoke with great motivation.
The Spiritual Qi provided by Spirit Rice was limited, along with the daily consumption from the Cloud and Rain Technique, hardly any could accumulate within the body.
Spirit Stones are the most important.
"Yes, keep going, I have to work hard, and strive to someday break through to Qi Refining Third Layer. By then, I can apply to become a registered disciple!"
Zhang Susu also wiped the sweat off her face. She was radiant, her body glowing with sweat after a day of hard labor, the light gray servant's attire slightly damp and clinging, accentuating her figure.
Their eyes carried hope for life, believing that through their efforts and hard work, they could fulfill their dreams and goals.
"Li An, you should keep going too!"
Zhang Susu spoke again to Li An.
Because Fan Jie particularly cared for Li An, she felt maybe Li An had some relation with Fan Jie.
It was worth befriending.
Li An smiled.
"Yes, keep going."
...
At night, as usual, Li An sneaked into the Spirit Field under the cover of darkness.
Heading straight for the vortex.
Just as Li An expected, this Spiritual Qi-stealing vortex couldn't operate openly during the day to avoid detection, only working at night.
Around the vortex, dozens of plump Spiritualized moth larvae were generated again.
This was Li An's third harvest of high-quality protein.
"It's not sustainable this way..."
Li An whispered.
Spirit Rice had too many impurities, low absorption rate, and even though he entered Qi Refining First Layer now, at most he could absorb three pounds of Spirit Rice daily.
The amount of Spiritual Qi that could be obtained was capped.
Spiritualized moth larvae were rich in Spiritual Qi, but their numbers were very limited.
Future dependence would still be on Spirit Stones!
Otherwise, relying on Spirit Rice, who knows how many years he'd have to steal before seeing hope of breaking through to Qi Refining Second Layer.
...
Half a month passed swiftly.
The hard work of farming gradually overshadowed the initial expectation and novelty, Wang Zilin and Zhang Susu spoke less than before.
Especially Zhang Susu, her eyes clearly showing more fatigue and anxiety.
The Spirit Rice was approaching maturity now, this period being crucial.
But her hard labor, exhausted daily, found her part of the Spirit Rice lagging behind Wang Zilin's and Li An's.
If things continued this way, the yield could be only a third of what Li An's section would produce.
Wang Zilin was increasingly envious too.
It wasn't because Li An's cultivation was stronger than theirs. In fact, Li An spent less time farming each day, often resting.
But the favorable terrain was as good as enjoying success from no effort.
"Brother Li, your luck is really good."
Zhang Susu's beautiful eyes had a hint of helplessness and envy.
Li An coughed twice, his face appearing somewhat weak: "My Spirit Root's injury isn't healed yet. Maybe the Immortal Master is caring for my frailty, so he gave me an easy-to-manage Spirit Field."
Saying so, he returned indoors to rest.
"Susu, don't worry, I'll work harder tomorrow, after finishing my part, I'll come help yours. Believe me, with our effort, that land will eventually be more fertile than his..."
Wang Zilin gritted his teeth, unwilling to give up.
...
Another seven days passed.
In these days, Wang Zilin kept his promise, busied himself with his own tasks before helping Zhang Susu, working like a bull.
Fan Jie entered the Spirit Field once, made no evaluation of their work results, only checked the efficacy of the "pesticides" they used.
His brows furrowed tighter, finding all three pesticide types ineffective, the best being Wang Zilin's jar, but even then two to three out of ten moths weren't killed.
He instructed Li An to temporarily manage here for a few days during his absence.
Being "entrusted with important responsibility" made Wang Zilin and Zhang Susu all the more envious.
They increasingly felt Li An must have some connection with Fan Jie, to receive such trust and care.
But Li An knew the truth.
Fan Jie simply thought he was easy to control.
Because, in Fan Jie's view, Li An's Spirit Root was damaged, having forcefully broken through to Qi Refining First Layer without recovery meant he might stay in this stage for life.
...
The last day of the second month, Fan Jie had not returned.
But that day, a guest arrived.
Wang Dazhu!
"Brother An, I came to see you!"
From a distance, Wang Dazhu eagerly ran over, his face beaming with a smile.
...