Chương 7: A Ripe Season

The blink of an eye, and three months had passed. Every ten days, Zhang Huaijin swallowed an Essence Vitality Pill, and his cultivation was steadily climbing. His Cloud Rain Art and Metal Finger Art had both broken through to the Major Achievement level. He was now a tier-one, middle-rank Spirit Plant Cultivator. This was the benefit of having a powerful soul. The two techniques within the Heavenly Fire Blaze Art had also reached the Minor Achievement level.

Before he even realized it, Zhang Huaijin's cultivation had entered the fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm, the peak of the initial stage. Every day, besides cultivating, he practiced his techniques and patrolled the spirit paddies. His spiritual aura had become so stable that even a cultivator in the late Qi Refining Realm couldn't easily discern his true level.

"Whew."

"The last Essence Vitality Pill is gone," he murmured to himself.

"Looks like it won't be long before I break through to the fifth level." Zhang Huaijin stepped out of his thatched hut and gazed across the paddies. The Red Sun Spirit Rice was already beginning to ripen.

"By my estimate, the family should be sending someone soon." He cracked his knuckles.

"Might as well get started on my own. After harvesting, I still need to turn over the fields to preserve their fertility before planting the next batch of spirit seeds. It's gonna be a huge job." But he couldn't advance to the fifth stage of the Qi Refining Realm just yet. He pulled a gleaming, cold sickle from his storage pouch. Dressed in white, he disappeared back into the sea of rice. Swish. Swish. The once proud stalks toppled one after another, falling in neat rows across the fields.

Zhang Huaijin moved like an old farmer who had spent his whole life doing this, steady, efficient and skilled. His sickle flashed in the light, each swing precise and clean. Two hours later, he stopped. He sat down cross legged and began restoring his spiritual energy. The rice on Heavenly Yang Mountain was ripe. Even with the protective formation in place, he couldn't afford to let his guard down. A rich harvest tempted greedy hands.

A field of spirit rice was a massive treasure trove, even for other families in the Qi Refining Realm. For desperate rogue cultivators who lived on the edge? It was practically irresistible. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. And the Zhang family sat at the bottom of Langya County's twelve Qi Refining families. That made them an easy target. Half of Zhang Huaijin's spiritual energy was already spent.

During harvest season, he had to stay battle ready. Just in case. Fifteen minutes later. Crack! The usually quiet Six Ren Crimson Flame Array roared to life with a violent explosion. Three powerful auras burst onto the scene. Three cultivators appeared over the Heavenly Yang Mountain, hurling their spirit artifacts at the formation in a frenzy. The array's energy barrier dimmed rapidly. Zhang Huaijin's face hardened. He shot to his feet, grabbed the array core, and ran to the formation's heart.

He poured his spiritual energy into the core as fast as he could. Instantly, the trembling formation began to stabilize.

"What? That's impossible!" The three cultivators were led by a creepy faced, gray robed elder. Shock flickered across his weathered features.

"Fourth stage of the Qi Refining Realm!" the elder spat.

"Wasn't he supposed to be a Five Spirit Root cultivator? How is he cultivating this fast?" His expression darkened. Level four versus level three, it might only be one level difference, but that level separated the early stage from the middle stage. Zhang Huaijin sized up his enemies as well. The gray-robed elder was the strongest, a sixth level Qi Refining Realm cultivator. The other two were at the third and fourth levels.

From their rough clothing and hard eyes, all three seemed to be rogue cultivators, the kind who lived by the edge of a blade. Zhang Huaijin's eyes flashed with killing intent. The Zhang family was too weak. That weakness had made these rogues bold enough to think they could steal from him. He memorized each face. No panic. He crushed a spirit stone in his palm, letting its pure energy flood into his body to restore his reserves. And he calmly controlled the formation, holding the defense steady.

The message talisman Zhang Lixian had given him was already crumbling to ash in his storage pouch. Now it came down to one question, would the three rogues stay or run? Zhang Lixian was at the eighth level of the Qi Refining Realm. From Green Bamboo Mountain, he could reach Heavenly Yang Mountain in about fifteen minutes. It was clear that Zhang Huaijin's cultivation level had thrown them off. If Zhang Hong had still been guarding Heavenly Yang Mountain, they never would have dared attack.

Even wounded, Zhang Hong was at the sixth level, and he had the formation on his side. One wrong move and they could have been killed. But the rumors had said Heavenly Yang Mountain was now guarded by a teenager at the third level of the Qi Refining Realm. And the rice was ripe. The gray robed elder had been tempted. If he could break through the barrier, the spirit rice would fetch over two thousand spirit stones. Enough resources to maybe even push him into the seventh level, the late Stage of Qi Refining Realm.

Did he care about offending the Zhang family? With that kind of profit on the line? No. He'd simply flee beyond their reach. But plans change. The boy had broken through to the middle stage of the Qi Refining Realm. A middle stage cultivator defending a formation was a completely different beast from a beginner. Breaking through would now take several times longer.

"Boss, what do we do?" the fourth level rogue asked, his words tumbling out fast.

"He definitely has a message talisman. Green Bamboo Mountain already knows. One of their late stage cultivators could be here in fifteen minutes. Can we break through and kill him in that time?"

"And boss," the third level rogue added darkly, "the rice hasn't even been harvested yet. Even if we break in, we won't have time to take it all."

"Retreat." The gray robed elder looked at the formation's energy signature, sighed, and felt a pang of regret.

"We've lost our chance."

"Go!" They were greedy, but not stupid. Seeing there was no opening, they fled. By acting today, they had already angered the Zhang family. Even if the Zhangs were the weakest Clan in the country, that wasn't something a handful of rogues could simply shrug off. Those three couldn't show their faces here again. If they wanted to live, they had to get out of Zhang territory as fast as possible. The elder's plan would have seemed like a sure bet to any rogue cultivator.

No one would have blamed him for taking the risk. They hadn't accounted for Zhang Huaijin's breakthrough. Now, they have failed. Inside the Six Ren Crimson Flame Array, Zhang Huaijin's expression didn't change. He watched the three men flee into the distance, perfectly calm. Right now, the forty acres of Red Sun Spirit Rice in his paddies were what mattered most. Those three rogues were just a minor nuisance. Once his cultivation grew, he would hunt them down.

Besides, who was to say they weren't faking a retreat, trying to lure him out? He wasn't about to take that risk. Caution was the best decision.