Cultivating Land in the Courtyard

Chen Ping'an carried the watermelon back to his courtyard.

Upon seeing the watermelon in his hands, Su Ling's eyes lit up. She put the pebbles into her pocket and ran over to Chen Ping'an.

Looking at Su Ling, who had just beaten him up, Chen Ping'an's expression was strange. "Little Ling, let me ask you something. Do you think your brother is strong or not?"

Chen Ping'an's eyes revealed a glimmer of anticipation. He still hoped he was quite powerful.

Su Ling shook her head vigorously.

Chen Ping'an felt a little dejected. However, he still had an idea. Perhaps weak people couldn't see his true strength, while truly powerful individuals like Mu Rong Gong and Long Ao Tian had that kind of "vision-obscuring bug."

Chen Ping'an weakly consoled himself, thinking this was still possible. After all, he felt that the middle-aged cultivator he met earlier wasn't very strong either, at most only capable of flight.

After answering Chen Ping'an's question, Su Ling hugged the watermelon and headed toward the kitchen, her pace swift and excited, leaving Chen Ping'an speechless. Su Ling really loved watermelons.

Why not... cultivate a plot of land in this courtyard to grow them?

His courtyard was quite spacious. Not to mention the small pond. This pond even had a small spring, constantly replenishing the water supply.

He could develop a small plot of land by the pond to grow watermelons and vegetables.

With this idea in mind, Chen Ping'an began to act on it. He called Su Ling out and shared his plan with her. Upon hearing about growing watermelons, Su Ling's eyes lit up, and she rushed to grab a hoe.

Chen Ping'an shook his head with a smile, and the two started working.

It didn't take them long before a ten-square-meter plot of land appeared beside the small pond.

Chen Ping'an looked at their accomplishment, wiped the sweat from his brow, and felt quite satisfied.

Then, he glanced at Su Ling and realized that despite her effort, she hadn't broken a single sweat.

He couldn't help but wonder if he was out of shape or if it was due to Su Ling being the child of a cultivator.

After preparing the land, Su Ling couldn't wait to cut the watermelon and eat it.

"Wash your hands first!" Chen Ping'an called out like an adult.

However, Su Ling had already darted into the kitchen.

Chen Ping'an smiled wryly.

The two of them quickly devoured an entire watermelon. Actually, Chen Ping'an only ate a few small pieces, while Su Ling consumed the rest.

After eating, Chen Ping'an collected the watermelon seeds, and together with Su Ling, they planted them in small holes in the soil, covering them with fertilizer and burying them.

Once they were done, Chen Ping'an wiped the sweat from his brow again. Seeing that Su Ling still hadn't broken a sweat, he felt he needed to brew some goji berry tea.

That night, under the twinkling stars, after a tiring day and the beating he had endured, Chen Ping'an fell into a deep slumber as soon as he lay down on his bed, pulling the covers over his head.

As the room fell silent, a commotion began outside in the courtyard.

The Blade asked, "Goldfish?"

The gazes of the other celestial artifacts turned toward the small fish pond.

The Goldfish replied, "We can cultivate it into a messenger."

After saying this, the Goldfish looked toward the Celestial Sword.

"Little trash, you go and take this thing, force it to absorb it, and make it transform properly, then come back here."

As the Goldfish spoke, a golden bubble suddenly emerged from the surface of the fish pond.

The bubble slowly drifted toward the Celestial Sword.

Seeing this golden bubble with the dao resonance swirling around it, the Celestial Sword's body trembled in shock.

The Celestial Sword didn't dare disobey these senior artifacts' instructions and hurriedly said, "Understood, I'll go right away."

With that, the golden bubble suddenly vanished in front of it.

Then the Blade chuckled, "If it doesn't obey, little trash, you know what to do, right?"

Hearing this, the Celestial Sword also chuckled, "I understand."

After saying this, the Celestial Sword secretly slipped out of the courtyard, tore through space, and disappeared.

After a brief silence in the courtyard, the Blade and the others began conversing again.

"This Black Flood Dragon is quite peculiar. It has a lot of dragon bloodline essence within, and I've noticed it hasn't utilized it all. From this, I suspect it must have gained some opportunity before transforming into a flood dragon," the Blade said.

The Rooster, still lounging under the peach tree, finally spoke up, "It must have eaten a dead dragon."

After these words, silence fell for a moment.

The Goldfish in the pond said, "Correct, a dragon of decent rank must have fallen in this mortal realm a long time ago. It probably died from severe injuries, and the only ones capable of inflicting such damage would be those trash from the Divine Realm."

"As for this Black Flood Dragon, if it has a chance to stay by my side for a while, it might fully absorb the dragon essence and become a true dragon."

The Peach Tree said, "Viewed this way, it's quite possible the Divine Realm will send some down in the future."

The Blade chuckled, "Having one come to play with me would be nice. I wonder how those peak immortals and Buddhas in the Divine Realm are doing lately. Do they miss this Blade Patriarch?"

All the celestial artifacts: "..."

They wouldn't miss you even if you begged them. With how you constantly bully others, they're finally at peace without you around. Why would they miss you?

...

In front of a secluded mountain valley, a black rift suddenly appeared.

The Celestial Sword emerged, hovering in the air.

The moonlight was perfect, illuminating the entire valley with a serene glow.

However, it was eerily silent.

Not a single sound of animals could be heard.

Only occasional rustling noises from the wind blowing through the grass.

The Celestial Sword approached a dark cave entrance.

Just then, two massive "lanterns" lit up from within the cave.

After just a moment, these "lanterns" began flickering, as if their owner was anxious and fearful.

The Celestial Sword said, "Don't be alarmed, I'm not here to eliminate you."

Hearing this, the flickering of those lantern-like lights intensified.

"Come out," the Celestial Sword said.

The Black Flood Dragon inside the cave was currently bewildered. It had just fallen asleep not long ago when it suddenly sensed an extremely formidable aura and hurriedly opened its eyes to look outside.

But it would have been better off not looking.

Upon seeing the golden longsword hovering at the cave entrance, its body couldn't help but tremble.

It was a celestial artifact!

Hearing the Celestial Sword's words, it had no choice but to obey, trembling as it emerged from the dark cave.

"G-Great One, how may I assist you?" the Black Flood Dragon asked with a quivering voice.

Although usually arrogant during the day, upon sensing the overwhelming pressure, its primal instincts told it that this being could extinguish it with a mere thought!

Hearing the Black Flood Dragon's address, the Celestial Sword suddenly felt that bringing it back to the courtyard would be a blessing for itself as well.

After all, it was the weakest among the artifacts in the courtyard.

Now, with a weaker being around, it could finally play the role of a senior for once!