Chapter 14: Eyang Mountain Mu Lingtian

Liu Xiaolou counted with worry. There were already more than twenty rogue cultivators in the field. His heart sank. The manor recruited twenty helpers in previous years. There were more than twenty rogue cultivators in front of him. Where were there any quotas?

Suddenly changing his mind, he looked forward to it in hesitation. Why did they recruit four more this year?

Did they break the rules?

Since they broke the rules, adding one more... shouldn't count as anything, right?

Zang Baili is the head of the Zang family, and he is a great perfection of Qi Refinement Stage 10. But due to his aptitude, it is difficult to make any progress. Therefore, he has no chance to be included in the inner sect. But in the Zhanglong Sect, since the rise of the Zang family more than two hundred years ago, they have always been a relatively important branch of power, and almost every generation has disciples entering the inner sect, and three of them have served as high positions of elders in the Zhanglong Sect.

It can be said that the Zang family is a cultivation family in Xiangxi. Even if it is placed in the entire Jingxiang land, it is ranked within the top 100, and it has a deeper foundation than the Zhang family of Jinping Shanzhuang.

Liu Xiaolou asked to see the manor master Zang Baili, and the opportunity was naturally not great. In fact, it was the same. The one who received him was the Zang steward of Eyang Shanzhuang, a fat man in his fifties, fat without edges, his face was red, and he always maintained a hands-on-hips posture. I don't know if it was his habit or if there was something wrong with his lumbar spine.

The Zang steward had just returned from patrolling the spirit fields. He met Liu Xiaolou at the entrance of the manor and asked with his hands on his hips: "You look a bit familiar?"

Liu Xiaolou hurriedly answered: "Junior came to help three years ago. The steward is busy with ten thousand machines. Being able to remember Junior is Junior's blessing."

The Zang steward nodded thoughtfully, the fat on his neck shook, and asked again: "Three years ago? Sure enough... Then why haven't you come these two years?"

Liu Xiaolou froze, a bit unable to keep up with the steward's train of thought, so he had to accompany him with a smile: "The quota for helping out on Eyang Mountain is too small, and the applicants are like clouds. It is truly impossible to grab the opportunity."

The Zang steward gave an "Oh," the tail sound falling downward, not floating upward, meaning he accepted Liu Xiaolou's explanation, and then asked again: "Since you know that there are few opportunities, you should arrive early. Why are you late again this time?"

The reason was thought of on the way. Liu Xiaolou replied: "I left the mountain two days early, but there was a sudden mountain flood in the mountain, which blocked the road, so I was delayed for two days. Please forgive me, steward."

The Zang steward asked: "Which mountain?"

Liu Xiaolou answered: "Wulong Mountain, Gan Zhu Ling, Liu Xiaolou."

The Zang steward signaled to the village head bowing beside him. The village head was holding an account book at all times. After opening it and looking at it, he replied: "Wulong Mountain Gan Zhu Ling, Three Mystical Sect rogue cultivator Liu Xiaolou, correct."

The account book is the roster of independent cultivator helpers on Eyang Mountain. Those who have helped before and are recognized by the Zang family will be registered after verification. Independent cultivators not on the roster will not be recruited. Who knows if you will pack up the harvested spirit rice and steal it?

The Zang steward pondered with his hands on his hips for a long time, not knowing what he was thinking. Liu Xiaolou blinked and waited for his choice. After waiting for a long time, he finally waited for the reply: "Stay."

Liu Xiaolou was overjoyed, thanked him without end, watched the Zang steward leave with his hands on his hips, followed the village head to collect the sickle and bamboo basket, and put some dry food in the bamboo basket.

Spirit rice is not ordinary rice. Harvesting spirit rice is not ordinary farm work. The rice ears are extremely spiritual and can perceive danger. The needle thorns on the rice ears attack the farmers who harvest them, and the ears are tough. Ordinary farmers cannot do it. They can only recruit cultivators to help. Even that sickle is specially made, not a magic artifact, but it can withstand the slight impact of true qi.

After preparing, Liu Xiaolou followed the village head and circled around the periphery of the spirit fields. The rogue cultivators helping out in the spirit fields had long been working in full swing. Some honestly used sickles to cut the ears, some used their own magic artifacts to collect the ears, and some cultivators who were good at five-element spells directly burned the rice stalks with flames, or used ice blades and water dragons to impact the rice ears, and so on. For a time, sword light intersected, water and fire were like dragons, and five colors were shining, which was very lively.

Following the village head around the spirit fields, not only did he not go down to the fields, but he took a detour, went down from the north slope of the mountain hollow, and left the spirit fields.

Walking along the mountain road for two miles, Liu Xiaolou couldn't help but ask: "May I ask the village head, are we..."

"Just follow."

"Yes."

Turning over a small hill, the view suddenly opened up. Below, you can overlook a mountain valley, winding in the mountains. It is the West Valley of Eyang Mountain.

The valley was originally a lush forest. I don't know when, pieces of paddy fields were opened in the forest and shrubs, half a mu, one mu, two mu, three mu, large and small, interspersed in the dense forest. There were also more than twenty cultivators working hard in the fields. A rough scan showed that there were at least twenty people.

At this point, Liu Xiaolou finally realized why the independent cultivator helpers recruited by Eyang Mountain exceeded the quota this year. They opened up new fields, and the original fixed quota was not enough.

"Is there also a spirit spring vein here?" he couldn't help but be surprised.

The village head glared at him: "Don't ask too much, just work." Pointing to the mountain valley below, he said: "See that forest? Old sandalwood forest... on the left! Beside that big rock at the foot of the mountain! See it? Good... along the forest to the right, until Shang'e Creek, along the creek to the south, see that shallow ditch?"

He really wanted to rush over and take a few refreshing breaths, but this was strictly forbidden by Eyang Mountain. If everyone ran over to take a few breaths of spiritual mist, what would be left to nourish the spirit fields? Therefore, the manor specifically erected a long fence to protect the spirit fields within.

The fence would topple at a push or could be leaped over in a single bound, but it represented the majesty of the Zhanglong Sect, and no one dared to overstep this rule. Liu Xiaolou was the same; he had no choice but to follow the fence to the front of the manor to request an audience with the manor's steward, Zang Baili.

While waiting for the message to be passed on in front of the manor, quite a few rogue cultivators had already come out of the manor one after another, each holding a sickle and carrying a bamboo basket on their back as they headed down to the spirit fields.

Terrible, it seems I still arrived too late.