Chapter 59: Farming at the Foot of the Mountain, A Person Falls from Above

"I wonder who the experts are?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Cao Qiushui, Wenzhao, Du Jiaojiao, Hong Sihai, Dong Chuan, Xiangcheng Lin..." Zong Shichang recited over a dozen names in one breath. "All of them are at the ninth level of Gathering Essence, just one step away from entering the ranks."

"If Brother Zhao wants to know the detailed backgrounds of these people, why not chat with me slowly?"

"Alright, let's do that," Zhao Xing agreed without further refusal. In truth, whether he knew these experts or not was of little consequence to him. On the first day, he only planned to stay at the foot of the mountain to farm and had no intention of immediately going up the mountain to compete.

"Phew~" A gentle breeze swirled at the bottom of the bamboo box as Zhao Xing shouldered the box and set off again.

"Others use the wind to carry heavy loads, but you manage to avoid eating dust. Your Rising Wind technique is quite exquisite," Zong Shichang praised.

"Young Master Zong also has good physical strength," Zhao Xing noted, observing that Zong Shichang wasn't using the wind to carry his bamboo box.

"Not really. This bamboo box of mine has a built-in lightening effect, so I don't need to exert myself," Zong Shichang lightly tapped the outside of the box, and a gentle breeze appeared at the bottom, left, right, and back of the bamboo box.

With a faint blue light emanating, Zong Shichang not only didn't need to carry it on his back, but his body was also largely supported by the box, effectively allowing the box to push him forward!

"..." Zhao Xing was speechless. If he had money, he would be thrilled. The bamboo box used by Young Master Zong was indeed a luxurious item. Even such a storage box was of the third-tier upper grade.

Zhao Xing had some money, but he wouldn't spend it so extravagantly.

"Once we pass this mountain stele, we'll truly enter Spirit Mountain. What are your plans, Brother Zhao?" The two stopped in front of a stele along the mountain path.

"I plan to chop you down, Brother Zong, and take your box. You must have quite a few treasures on you," Zhao Xing said lightly.

Zong Shichang was taken aback. "Is that necessary? I don't have much of value on me."

Zhao Xing laughed, "Once we pass the Forget Worry Monument, we'll forget everything after descending the mountain. Why not take advantage of it? Brother Zong, with such a showy display, even a single box is a third-tier upper-grade treasure. If someone else benefits, why not let me benefit?"

Zong Shichang realized Zhao Xing was joking, but it was a reminder to keep a low profile. He nodded, "You're right. Even if my family has some face, I wouldn't remember who bullied me or how to take revenge."

Zong Shichang then turned off the bamboo box's effects, and it became plain and unadorned, no longer emitting any green light. Now, he had to rely purely on his own strength to carry the box.

"Rising Wind!"

"Whoosh~"

"Cough, cough... Don't bother, Brother Zong. Let me help you," Zhao Xing said, as he was hit by the wind and sand, quickly stopping him.

"Sorry," Zong Shichang apologized awkwardly. "I haven't done such meticulous work before."

Zhao Xing shrugged and continued forward.

After passing the mountain stele, the Yuan Qi [spiritual energy] was noticeably denser. The first three days of the Mountain Opening were when the Yuan Qi was the thickest. If the effect of Gathering Essence outside was 1, then inside the mountain it was 10, and this was just at the foot of the mountain. It could be even more intense higher up.

East Lake Mountain, with its strange cliffs, Zhao Xing walked around the mountain foot for half a day before finally finding a suitable planting spot.

He chose a place under a cliff, beside a small stream.

"Brother Zhao, you're not going up the mountain. You walked around the mountain foot for so long just to farm?" Zong Shichang saw Zhao Xing taking things out of the bamboo box and thought he was stopping to eat, only to find it was a few seedlings.

"You've followed me for so long, are you really just here to sightsee?" Zhao Xing asked sarcastically. "Besides food, didn't you bring anything else? Don't you plan to participate in Climbing and Gathering Spiritual Elegance?"

"Not entirely," Zong Shichang replied, already setting up a mat and folding the bamboo box into a reclining chair.

He lay by the stream, holding a jar of fine wine, and drank leisurely. "Before entering the mountain, I found four good hands to search for Mountain's Spiritual Elegance for me."

"When they gain something on the mountain, I can directly take it and trade it," he continued.

Zhao Xing asked while planting, "Will they agree? Mountain's Spiritual Elegance is a good thing. Without the Forget Worry Monument, they might not be willing to share."

Zong Shichang chuckled, "Why do they gather Spiritual Elegance? To rise in rank and gain wealth. I can directly help them achieve that, isn't that more stable?"

Zhao Xing asked, "Brother Zong, would you mind if I paid thirty taels to punch you once?"

Inside the bamboo box Zhao Xing prepared, there were Diamond Bamboo and Green Vine seedlings.

Zhao Xing took three stems each and planted them.

Then he used the Earth Vein Comprehensive Yuan technique to cover the soil within a mile radius.

"Cloud Walking!"

"Rain Spreading!"

With a flick of his finger, a small cloud appeared three meters above the seedlings, perfectly covering the ten-meter-square soil.

Thanks to the nearby stream, Zhao Xing easily absorbed enough rain without consuming much of his own Yuan Qi.

"Drip, drip~" The rain soaked into the soil.

Zhao Xing applied the Cultivation Technique again.

"Good work!" Young Master Zong clapped from the side. "To control the cloud so precisely, no wonder you're in the top three, Zhao. Are you planning to grow some scarecrows again?"

"Yes, just like the last time I beat you with those scarecrows," Zhao Xing replied without hesitation.

"..." Zong Shichang gulped, seemingly recalling an unpleasant memory, and his smile shifted to Zhao Xing's face.

Young Master Zong found it boring, looked into the distance, and drank alone.

As he drank, Zhao Xing noticed that this fellow had fallen asleep?

You really came here for a vacation!

Shaking his head, Zhao Xing continued his work.

Due to the dense Yuan Qi of East Lake Mountain and the fertile soil after half a year of sealing, the soil here was quite rich.

The Diamond Bamboo and Green Vine Zhao Xing planted quickly entered the growth phase.

"Once they reach the growth phase, it's easier to manage. The roots are deep, and they can withstand mid-level Magic Arts for ripening."

"Wild Barbarian Growth!"

Zhao Xing's fingertip emitted six rays of golden light, which penetrated the Diamond Bamboo and Green Vine.

This consumed half of his Yuan Qi, but the effect was very noticeable.

"Swoosh, swoosh~" The Green Vine began to grow wildly, climbing along the cliff, and in the blink of an eye, it had climbed a meter high and even bloomed.

The Diamond Bamboo's performance was not weak either, growing almost every second, and after a quarter of an hour, it surpassed the growth speed of the vine.

"Rustle, rustle~" The surrounding area showed the opposite situation, with all the green grass wilting, and small trees starting to shed leaves.

Even the fish in the stream began to flip white.

The surroundings looked like a late autumn scene.

"Did I fall asleep? What's going on?" Zong Shichang looked around in surprise. He was clearly on a green grass field, but upon waking, he found himself on withered grass!

The leaves around were also yellowed, and when the wind blew, they fell onto Zong Shichang's head.

"Brother Zong, you overslept. It's already late autumn," Zhao Xing joked casually.

"Do you take me for a three-year-old?" Zong Shichang snorted. "I only slept for a quarter of an hour."

"Then you're quite capable... huh?" Zhao Xing's expression suddenly changed, as if sensing something, and he looked up sharply.

A shadow appeared in the sky, falling along the cliff.

"Bang!" The shadow landed on the rocky ground ahead, stirring up a cloud of dust.

Zhao Xing's expression shifted slightly. It turned out someone had fallen down! (End of Chapter)