Preparation!
Time flew by, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.
During this period, the crops in the Spiritual Field were harvested three times, earning quite a few low-grade spirit stones.
All of them became nourishment for the Space.
Over these three months, Yan Qingyan was so busy she barely touched the ground, spending almost every day and night in the Space, using her Wood Element Ability to nourish the Primordial Purple Spirit Grass.
During the day, she was rarely seen, even replacing meals with Fasting Pills, which left Ling Mochen quite astonished.
He even teased her, wondering if she had been possessed by some old monster, earning a big eye-roll from Yan Qingyan.
Behind the hard work, the rewards were significant.
Not only did her Level 4 special ability faintly approach the threshold of Level 5, but six stalks of the Primordial Purple Spirit Grass had also been cultivated to eight hundred years!
Still not enough!
The older a Spiritual Plant gets, the harder it is to increase its age. A thousand years is a major hurdle!
‘If only my special ability could level up to Level 5 now,’ Yan Qingyan thought.
After resting for a short while, Yan Qingyan swallowed a Fasting Pill with determination and continued to bury herself in her work.
Being soft on her present self would be cruel to her future self. She couldn’t stop!
She wanted to pursue Cultivation and achieve immortality!
…
In the Space, there was no perception of night or day, making it easy to lose track of time.
Early morning.
Ling Mochen carried a bucket of diluted Spirit Spring Water to the Spiritual Field.
With Yan Qingyan focusing her energy on the Primordial Purple Spirit Grass, the other Spiritual Plants in the field were somewhat neglected.
From the moment Yan Qingyan decided to ‘seclude herself,’ the seven acres of Spiritual Field were entrusted to Ling Mochen’s care.
Under Ling Mochen’s care, the Weiling Flowers and Bone-Penetrating Grass clearly weren’t as well cultivated as when Yan Qingyan tended to them. To prevent the quality of the Weiling Paste from declining, Yan Qingyan specifically left an entire vat of Spirit Spring Water.
Produced by the Space, its effects were outstanding.
Even diluted at a 10:1 ratio, the Spirit Spring Water’s effects were comparable to Wood Spirit Techniques.
“Young Master Ling is here!”
“Good morning, Brother Chen!”
“Good morning.” Ling Mochen smiled faintly.
“It’s just Brother Chen again. When will Qingyan come out?”
“She’s busy, in seclusion.”
“What’s she busy with?”
Ling Mochen smiled without answering.
Early in the morning, quite a few people had already arrived at the Spiritual Field.
The villagers of Yujiang Village were quite enthusiastic and enjoyed chatting while working.
Many were curious about what Yan Qingyan had been up to these past few months, as she hadn’t been seen for quite a while.
But this Young Master Ling was tight-lipped. No matter how many times they asked, they couldn’t get anything out of him.
The villagers didn’t dare press further. No matter how down on his luck he was, he still came from a prominent family, not someone they, as ordinary folk, could afford to offend.
A few years ago, a major incident occurred nearby. In a neighboring village, a villager bought a child bride from a human trafficker and mistreated her, frequently beating and scolding her. Not long after, the girl’s biological father showed up—a Cultivator—and the entire village was slaughtered!
There was also a village in the neighboring town. It was said that the village’s overseer, upon arriving at the village entrance, unfortunately encountered an earthquake and was severely injured, falling unconscious. When he woke up, he found all his belongings stolen. He called upon his family’s influence, and after an investigation, it was discovered that the thieves were villagers from that very village. The entire village was also slaughtered.
Then there was Old Liu’s wife’s family, a few towns away. It was said that an Evil Cultivator arrived, performing some kind of ‘blood sacrifice’ for his cultivation, slaughtering two villages in a row before being jointly eliminated by the local prominent families.
In the eyes of those cultivators, the lives of ordinary mortals are like ants—slaughtering a village is akin to stepping on an anthill.
Toward cultivators, they feel envy and respect, but more than anything, fear.
Ling Mochen skillfully watered the spiritual plants. The surrounding villagers watched the bucket in his hands, their eyes burning with desire.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this young master Ling’s farming skills were far inferior to those of Miss Yan, yet the spiritual plants he cultivated were nearly as good. It was likely due to this "water."
Experienced villagers had even inspected the soil in his field and found that the quality of the spiritual field had improved significantly since the two first arrived.
The villagers were envious—truly, a great family indeed, with so many treasures!
Soon, the morning passed, and Ling Mochen returned home with his tools.
At the doorstep, several children were laughing and playing. A few of them used bricks as "pots" and weeds as "ingredients" to cook "dishes."
Ling Mochen watched with curiosity—so this was the "playing house" that children loved.
In the garden, the spirit fruits and spiritual vegetables thrived under the nourishment of the Spirit Spring Water.
Since Yan Qingyan enjoyed eggs and rabbit meat, and Ling Mochen preferred chicken, a few chickens and rabbits were also raised in the backyard.
Ling Mochen picked a few spirit fruits, set down his farming tools, and turned back into the house.
…
At that moment, in the empty backyard garden.
Suddenly…
Sss—
"Squeak!"
A rat quietly crawled toward the bag of spiritual rice, only to be pierced through by the thorns of a vine.
Blood dripped onto the soil, staining it crimson.
Before long, the earth churned and writhed, and the rat, along with the blood on the ground, vanished without a trace.
These were vine seeds Yan Qingyan had buried in advance, infused with dense Wood Element Ability, spread throughout the entire estate.
Unbeknownst to Ling Mochen, Yan Qingyan had turned their home into an impenetrable fortress.
…
Inside the house, in the living room.
Lunch was once again eaten alone. With the same ingredients, Ling Mochen felt the meal lacked the flavor it once had.
Had his cooking skills regressed instead of improved?
Just as Ling Mochen was pondering this, the sound of a door opening reached his ears.
Creak—
Yan Qingyan emerged from the bedroom, dark circles faintly visible under her eyes.
She naturally walked to the other side of the table and served herself a bowl of rice.
"I’ve run out of Fasting Pills," Yan Qingyan said dryly under Ling Mochen’s unwavering gaze.
Ling Mochen chuckled softly, a warmth flickering in his heart. He whispered, "From now on, let’s just eat meals. Give yourself some time to rest too."
"Alright."
Today’s spiritual food seemed even more delicious than usual.
Yan Qingyan silently reminded her future self: in all things, balance work and rest; don’t rush—haste makes waste.
Pitter-patter.
A light rain began to fall, and the number of pedestrians on the roads gradually dwindled.
In Yujiang Town.
A group of seven people arrived at the Yan Family’s Yan Clan Medicine Hall, all of them cultivators at the Qi Refining Stage.
The Weiling Paste refined by Ling Mochen was exceptionally effective, and many Qi Refining Stage cultivators frequently visited the Yan Clan Medicine Hall to purchase it.
As the product sold like hotcakes, other merchants in the same trade began inquiring about the source of the Weiling Paste.
Upon investigation, they discovered it was refined by the young master of the Ling Family’s main lineage. The gazes toward the Ling Family’s business branch couldn’t help but grow somewhat nuanced.
The manager of the Ling Family’s business branch hadn’t paid much attention to it at first—just a discarded good-for-nothing abandoned by the family, what great things could he possibly achieve?
Over the next few months, due to the hot sales of the highly cost-effective Weileng ointment, many loose cultivators made long trips specifically to Yan's Medicine Shop to purchase it. Even within Ling's family business, many people discussed it, and Ling Mochen's dissatisfaction continued to accumulate.
The Ling family manager frequently complained to acquaintances during these months, saying that this direct-line descendant was confused. It was clearly Yan's daughter who had caused him to become a cripple, yet he was selling good products to the enemy family—wasn't that a problem with his head?!
People in the Cultivation World also loved gossip, and Ling Mochen, as a former genius, naturally became the focus of many discussions.
Even though he had left Danyang City and settled in a remote, desolate place, he was still occasionally mentioned.
Thus, the news that Ling Mochen could make wound medicine, had earned a large sum of low-grade spirit stones, but only sold to Yan's family and not to his own family spread to Qingyang City.
It naturally also reached Ling Yaozu's ears.