Chapter 18: Fang Lin Goes Up the Mountain

The area within the squares was ultimately limited, so the number of weeds that could grow would also be limited. This made it relatively easy to manage. After completing this task, the next step was to wait for the results to validate his efforts.

After Xie Yi finished transforming the medicinal field, the spiritual rice seedlings in the spiritual field gradually grew stronger. Most importantly, after careful observation, Fang Yun found that the spiritual energy in the spiritual field was abundant and had reached a balanced state with the spiritual spring. Even if he continued to wait, the spiritual energy in the field would not increase any further.

Now was the perfect time to plant the spiritual rice. So, early the next morning, Fang Yun arrived at the corner of the spiritual field to carefully select the grown spiritual rice seedlings. He picked the ones that were growing well and transplanted them into the spiritual field. After a detailed selection, he chose 320 spiritual rice plants, which was five times more than the last time. If these spiritual rice plants could fully mature, the life energy he could obtain would be around five times what he had before.

Adding in other ordinary crops, it would be sufficient to support his cultivation to the third level of Qi Training. After spending two days, Fang Yun finally completed the transplanting of the spiritual rice. The next step was the long wait for the rice to grow. Fang Yun only needed to remove the weeds regularly and closely monitor the spiritual energy levels in the spiritual field to ensure its abundance to complete his tasks.

As for pests, based on past experiences, they usually appeared only after the spiritual rice entered the ripening stage. However, Fang Yun did not dare to let his guard down. There were many types of pests, and no one could predict whether other unseen pests would appear during this process. Fortunately, with his special abilities, he could promptly deal with any pests that did show up.

Having dealt with the affairs of the spiritual field, it was time to focus on planting ordinary crops in the canyon. Although the life energy provided by ordinary crops was somewhat limited, every bit counts. Moreover, he could also take the opportunity to cultivate better crop seeds to prepare for future expansion. After all, the spiritual energy in the spiritual spring was limited, which meant that the size of his spiritual field was also restricted.

When his demand for life energy increased, the spiritual fields would clearly not be able to meet his needs fully. At that point, he might need to use the vast land on Ling Shui Island to plant ordinary crops to supplement his life energy. Although the life energy provided by ordinary crops was limited, once their numbers reached a certain level, the returns could still be considerable.

However, planting crops on Ling Shui Island presented many challenges, and he didn't have the time for that right now; he would address it later.

Returning to the canyon, Fang Yun checked the growth of weeds in the medicinal field. He found that his previous methods had been quite effective, as the growth of weeds had significantly decreased. After simply clearing the weeds that had popped up in the small squares, Fang Yun began to tackle the weeds in areas where crops had not yet been planted.

He spent an entire day working hard with a hoe, thoroughly cleaning out all the weeds. He piled these weeds in a corner, waiting for them to dry completely before burning them to ash. After completing this, Fang Yun followed the previous method used in the medicinal field, dividing all the plots, including the rice fields, into neat little squares.

All subsequent crops would be planted in these small squares. This way, he could save more time and energy for the weeding work later on. After more than ten days, the transformation of all the fields was successfully completed. Fang Yun used the Spirit Rain Technique to thoroughly water all the land and then employed the Earth Force Technique to evenly distribute the ordinary energy within the soil.

After doing all this, he immediately proceeded with planting soybeans while simultaneously completing the breeding work for the rice. Next, he only needed to wait for the rice seedlings to grow and then transplant them.

That day, after cleaning up the newly grown weeds in the canyon, Fang Yun returned to the cave. Suddenly, he saw a figure standing at the entrance of the cave. It was the clan elder Fang Lin, whom he had seen before at the foot of the mountain.

Seeing this, Fang Yun quickly walked over with the hoe slung over his shoulder. "Elder, is there something urgent from the clan that you need to discuss with me?" Other than urgent matters, Fang Yun couldn't think of any reason why the clan elder would come looking for him. Moreover, typically, for the sake of his cultivation, they wouldn't disturb him on the mountain.

Upon seeing Fang Yun finally return, Fang Lin let out a sigh of relief. "Clan leader, it's bad news! There are 18 groups of pirates approaching Ling Shui Island. Everyone is waiting for you to discuss a strategy!"

Fang Yun was taken aback by this news. 18 groups of pirates were attacking Ling Shui Island? What was going on? Where had these pirates suddenly come from in the surrounding seas? According to what he had learned before, weren't the nearest islands over a hundred miles away?

Where exactly were these pirates coming from? Fang Yun was filled with confusion and even a bit of panic! After all, it seemed that a battle was imminent, and in this world of cultivation, he didn't know if there were cultivators among those pirates. If there were, he would definitely have to confront them. As someone who had never been in a fight before, facing such a situation made Fang Yun feel a bit flustered.

However, looking at Fang Lin, who appeared anxious but not panicked, it seemed that the clan must have some plans to deal with this situation. Remembering that he was both a cultivator and a clan leader, it wasn't appropriate for him to show fear.

So, he nodded decisively. "Alright, Elder, wait a moment while I make some preparations, and then I'll go down the mountain with you!" Without waiting for Fang Lin to reply, Fang Yun entered the cave, put down the hoe, picked up his iron sword, and strapped it to his back.

Then he went to a corner of the cave and retrieved the resources left by previous generations of cultivators in the Fang family: a dozen spiritual talismans and a broken magical long knife. He packed all of these items away. After all, in the face of an unknown battle, it was crucial to bring along everything that could save his life. Otherwise, if he carelessly died on the battlefield, those items would fall into enemy hands.

After packing everything up, Fang Yun left the cave and approached Fang Lin. "Elder, let's go!"

Seeing that Fang Yun had strapped the magical long knife to his waist, Fang Lin knew the clan leader was being quite cautious, so there was no need to remind him to bring the clan's protective artifact. He then said nothing more and, together with Fang Yun, used lightness techniques to rush down the mountain.