In the early morning, the mist is curling, dewdrops are about to fall on the leaves, a dragonfly skims over the water, and the toad guarding the valley sleeps peacefully at the bottom of the pond, taking a day off.
People coming and going at the entrance of the valley are all skilled farmers from various valleys. They heard about what happened in Huaxi Valley and came here today to investigate.
Everyone who enters the valley is amazed.
Puppets sow seeds and provide rain, spirit bees pollinate and collect honey, spirit ants eliminate insects in the fields, and puppets harvest and carry ripe fruits and vegetables, subverting our cognition.
"Xiao Wu, Xiao Wu, isn't it okay that we were wrong before? I will apologize to you and even kneel down to kowtow to you. Can you please say something good for us and let us enter Huaxi Valley as well?"
"Xiao Wu, please take these spirit stones and help us."
"If you really don't want us to enter the Flower Valley, then you can put in a good word for us and sell us one or two of these puppets that make rain every day."
Shi Xiaowu was surrounded by a group of boys and girls and felt very bored.
"What have you been doing? When I asked you to come to Huaxi Valley, you all looked down on me. Are you regretting it now? It's too late! Get out, all of you!"
"If you sell the puppets to us, we will get out of here right away."
"Go and dream your dreams! Get lost!!"
Shi Xiaowu was chasing people away, and Guo Zhen was not having a good time either. A bunch of people were forcing things on him, surrounding him and saying nice things to him.
If they can have puppets and spirit insects to do the work for them, not all of it, such as sowing, pest control, rainmaking, harvesting, etc., but if they can replace two of the tasks, these spirit farmers can find another job and accumulate more resources for cultivation.
"I've said it before, Huaxi Valley doesn't need spiritual farmers, and these farming puppets are not for sale!"
Guo Zhen pushed away the gift in front of him. He had no idea why Jiang Yuebai suddenly let go of Huaxi Valley. Making these people jealous for no reason would definitely cause trouble.
Just as he was thinking about it, Guo Zhen saw Xiao Ankuo and his group coming towards him aggressively.
When Xiao Ankuo and the other seventeen spiritual farmers arrived, they saw the spiritual farmers from their respective valleys begging to join Huaxi Valley.
Among the spiritual farmers, not all of them are willing to deal with Xiao Ankuo. There are also some like Tao Fengnian who only care about their own little piece of land.
Xiao Ankuo had to work very hard yesterday to win over seventeen young spiritual farmers to come and find out what was going on.
I thought I would see all kinds of gorgeous human-shaped puppets waving hoes and sickles that didn't match their figures and working in the fields. But when I arrived, I saw all kinds of crudely made and weird-looking bamboo puppets. Xiao Ankuo was filled with uneasiness, which turned into contempt.
"It's not that great. It looks like a piece of junk."
"Oh my! This puppet is so ingeniously designed! Wonderful!"
Xiao Ankuo had just mentioned the rags when the spiritual farmers behind him rushed to the edge of the spiritual field, staring at the puppets working in the field with burning eyes, which made Xiao Ankuo feel embarrassed.
The oldest among them, Zhu Kuan, stroked his beard while exclaiming, "This puppet looks like a flying paper crane, and is made of the most common spiritual bamboo. It must be inexpensive, and it can both bring rain and harvest. I wonder how much manpower it will save."
"This is not just about saving manpower. I'm afraid it doesn't require any manpower at all. No wonder Huaxi Valley is so confident that it dares to grow even the most difficult spiritual vegetables."
"As expected of an inner sect disciple, he is indeed not comparable to us. If my Fengming Valley could have these farming puppets and plant these spiritual vegetables and fruits, I can't even imagine it."
"I heard that she is only twelve years old this year. At such a young age, her future is limitless."
"Cough, cough! Cough, cough, cough!"
Xiao Ankuo coughed violently with a green face. He shouted that these people were here to cause trouble, not to listen to them praising Jiang Yuebai. He really wasted his breath talking to these traitors last night!
Zhu Kuan and others glanced at Xiao Ankuo with uneasy expressions.
Before Jiang Yuebai suddenly appeared, Xiao Ankuo had the strongest magic among all the spiritual farmers, so other spiritual farmers would inevitably give him some face when they needed his help.
However, he is arrogant and regards himself as the boss of spiritual farming masters. The younger ones may recognize him, but the old spiritual farming masters like Zhu Kuan are not so good-tempered.
"Brother Xiao, what advice do you have for me?" Zhu Kuan asked in a deep voice, taking on the attitude of a senior.
Xiao Ankuo cursed the old man in his heart, and said with a smile: "These farming puppets really opened our eyes. We are all spiritual farmers, and we always help each other and never eat alone. Brother Ma, when there was an insect plague in your valley last time, was it Sister Zhao who helped you?"
"Junior Sister Li, during the rainy season last year, your dry fields were flooded and your spiritual herbs were severely damaged. It was I who used the Red Flame Art to help you restore them, wasn't it? And Junior Brother Zhang, you lent me the batch of Spirit-shaking Hoes from the valley, but you haven't returned them yet. Master Zhu, you haven't forgotten what happened before the New Year, have you?"
Zhu Kuan's expression eased a little, "I haven't forgotten. I am grateful for your kindness, but what does this have to do with why you asked me to come here today?"
Everyone nodded, and there was a calculating light in Xiao Ankuo's eyes.
"Of course it is related. This Junior Sister Jiang is proud of her status as an inner sect disciple and doesn't take us seriously. She is young, so I will not argue with her. Today, I would like to invite you all to come and have a good talk with her."
"We all dig for food in the same soil. Today I help you, and tomorrow you help me. We should be a family. We should not have different opinions. If there is any good thing, we should share it with each other. Master Zhu, fellow brothers and sisters, don't you think this is reasonable?"
Everyone understood, their eyes gleaming, and they looked at the farming puppets in the spiritual field and nodded hurriedly.
Anyway, Xiao Ankuo is in charge of this matter. If anything goes wrong, it will be his fault for misleading everyone.
Zhu Kuan stroked his beard and smiled, "That's right, we spiritual cultivators are all one family, we should be united. Let's go and meet Jiang Yuebai."
＊
Jiang Yuebai came down from the Rice Garden on the mountainside. The thick fog behind him closed in automatically, covering the Rice Garden and the terraced fields completely, making it impossible to see anything inside.
Guo Zhen came forward and was about to ask Jiang Yuebai why he opened Huaxi Valley today and attracted people's covetousness, when he saw Xiao Ankuo gathering a group of people over.
Leading the group were all spiritual farmers from various valleys, followed by dozens of spiritual farmers who were watching the fun. Shi Xiaowu and Qi Yue wanted to stop them in front, but were pushed away by Xiao Ankuo.
"Junior Sister Jiang," Xiao Ankuo walked up to her, "Junior Sister Jiang has never visited the seniors since she became a spiritual cultivator. Today, I have brought all the seniors to pay a visit to Junior Sister Jiang, also to respect Junior Sister Jiang's status as an inner sect disciple."
Guo Zhen clenched his fist, knowing full well that Xiao Ankuo was going to force Jiang Yuebai to oppose all the spiritual farmers. At this moment, those older spiritual farmers were all displeased.
In response to this, Jiang Yuebai looked calm and said, "I have paid my respects. You can leave if you have nothing else to do."
"You!" Xiao Ankuo was furious, but suppressed his anger in an instant and said with a smile: "Okay, Junior Sister Jiang is an inner sect disciple, so her status is naturally higher than ours. We came here today because there are some things we can't figure out."
Jiang Yuebai folded his arms and stood high on the slope so he didn't have to look up at them.
Xiao Ankuo said, "We really can't understand. Sister Jiang, you are so talented. Since you have already become an inner sect disciple, why are you still here competing for food with us poor people who depend on the weather for food?"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone nodded, feeling that what Xiao Ankuo said made a lot of sense.
The inner disciples have always thought highly of themselves and disdained farming. They didn't think much of it before, but when Jiang Yuebai, an inner disciple, suddenly came out to farm, they felt it was unfair.
"The sect doesn't care. Our lives are already difficult, and they let the inner disciples come and compete with us for resources."
"I didn't realize it before, but now I realize this is the truth."
Guo Zhen was anxious beside him. Shi Xiaowu and Qi Yue also rushed over and looked at Jiang Yuebai anxiously.
Jiang Yuebai remained unmoved and continued to look at Xiao Ankuo with a faint smile.
Seeing this, Xiao Ankuo felt unsure, but he could only continue.
"Junior Sister Jiang, please don't blame me. I am a straightforward person. I don't mean any harm. I just want to say that you are worthy of the title of inner sect disciple. You are very clever and designed these farming puppets casually. I really admire you."
"Of course. Do you really think my Senior Sister Jiang is the same as a fool like you?"
"Xiao Wu, shut up!"
Shi Xiaowu was so angry that he started yelling, Guo Zhen frowned and shouted at him, Qi Yue pulled his sleeve, frowned and shook his head at him.
Xiao Ankuo was obviously trying to trick Shi Xiaowu, but Shi Xiaowu was too simple-minded to figure it out.
Jiang Yuebai chuckled, "If you want to say something else, go on."
Xiao Ankuo turned around and glanced at Zhu Kuan and the other spiritual cultivators, "What I want to say is that you, Junior Sister Jiang, are just playing around with farming. Even if you go too far and lose your status as a spiritual cultivator, you are still an inner sect disciple. But farming is our lifeblood."
Xiao Ankuo came a little closer and said, "In our Tianyan Sect, spiritual cultivators have been helping each other since ancient times. You said you are so capable that you can easily create these spiritual cultivator puppets. I admire you very much and am grateful for your benefit to all the spiritual cultivators in our Tianyan Sect."
"I think you should share the method of making this spiritual farming puppet with everyone. Everyone will remember your kindness. If Huaxi Valley has problems in the future, everyone will lend a hand, whether it is to provide people or labor. If anyone dares not to listen, I, Xiao, will be the first to disagree. Don't you agree?"
Everyone nodded in agreement and looked at Jiang Yuebai with eager eyes.
Zhu Kuan stroked his beard and said, "That's right, Jiang girl. When Tao Fengnian was still alive, he often helped me. He was a generous man. As her apprentice, you must be good."
"What's more, as an inner sect disciple, you have received the sect's kindness. Sharing this method with everyone will improve everyone's farming efficiency and benefit the sect. When the sect master knows about it, he will definitely remember your merit."
Everyone was watching, waiting for Jiang Yuebai to express his opinion. Guo Zhen and the other two looked at Jiang Yuebai nervously.
Jiang Yuebai put down his arms. "You've laid so much groundwork just to ask me to hand over the method of making the Spirit Farming Puppet? Senior Brother Xiao, thank you for your trouble."
Xiao Ankuo smiled nonchalantly and said, "Junior Sister Jiang, what are you talking about? A spiritual farmer is the leader of the spiritual farmers, so naturally he should consider everyone else in everything. You are young and don't understand, so you should learn from the seniors. Don't be too selfish. You benefit everyone, and if Master Tao knew about it, he would be proud of you."
"Besides, who are you? You have only level 5 spiritual farming skills. Without these farming puppets, farming wouldn't be a problem for you. But I heard that when you were taking the test, a level 5 cloud and rain spell directly covered the entire sky above the Wanfa Hall. You didn't need these puppets to cast clouds and rain, right?"
"That's right. She can easily farm without puppets. Even if she doesn't farm, she still has the sect to support her. But these puppets are of great use to us spiritual farmers. If she is unwilling to hand them over, she is too selfish."
"I don't think she will pay. Some people are like this. Even if the rice in their bowl is so full that it falls to the ground, they are unwilling to give a grain of rice to someone who is starving to death. They will only feel happy if they see others starve to death."
"That's right. Have you ever seen an inner disciple who cares about the lives of us servants?"
"No, even if the matter today is reported to the Sect Master, we servants must be given justice."
Listening to the crowd's growing excitement, Xiao Ankuo was very pleased with himself, while Zhu Kuan and other spiritual farmers remained silent and watched the situation develop.
Guo Zhen was so anxious that he was sweating, knowing that this group of people were bullying Jiang Yuebai because he was young and easily lost his composure. At this moment, he regretted not stopping Jiang Yuebai earlier.
Jiang Yuebai remained calm and even laughed out loud in the face of the situation that was gradually getting out of control.
"Why should I give you my own things? Just because you are all trash?"
As soon as he finished speaking, old man Zhu Kuan became anxious and said angrily, "Little girl, Tao Fengnian had to call me big brother back then. When he first took charge of Huaxi Valley, if it weren't for the help of me and other spiritual cultivators, I'm afraid he wouldn't have been able to keep his spiritual cultivator token!"
"You are his apprentice. I heard that he treated you like his own granddaughter. If he knew that the person he taught so carefully was such a selfish and ungrateful ungrateful person, how could he rest in peace in his grave?"
"Shut up!" Jiang Yuebai suddenly became furious and looked very imposing.
Zhu Kuan was frightened and took half a step back.
Jiang Yuebai's eyes were cold and stern. "A group of robbers came to my house to rob, and you dared to mention my grandfather? You want to repay a favor? You bastards don't deserve it!"
"You! You're going too far!" Zhu Kuan's chest heaved, and the other spiritual farmers also glared at him.
Xiao Ankuo said, "Junior Sister Jiang, you are going too far. Elder Zhu is a senior after all. Do you still want to take action?"
"Can inner disciples bully us servants at will?"
"Without us spiritual farmers, their inner disciples wouldn't even be able to eat spiritual grains."
"That's right. Their daily chores are handled by us, the menial disciples. Without us, how can they practice without distraction?"
In the crowd, the errand disciples arranged by Xiao Ankuo took advantage of the situation to fan the flames. The differences in status and position already made these errand disciples feel resentful, and now their anger was aroused, and they all regarded Jiang Yuebai as the object of their hatred and venting.
Xiao Ankuo raised his eyebrows. He didn't care whether he could get any puppet blueprints. What he wanted was to create chaos and make her give up farming and complete Jia Xiuchun's orders.
Xiao Ankuo came closer and whispered to Jiang Yuebai, "Junior Sister Jiang, a man who knows the current situation is a hero. If you don't farm, you are still an inner sect disciple, but you have offended so many people at once. You will definitely be in trouble in the future. Don't make a mess."
Jiang Yuebai raised his eyes slightly and looked towards the horizon, smiling faintly, "You are the one who will not be able to finish this today."
"Your Flower Valley is so lively!"
A powerful female voice came from the sky, like a thunderclap, which made Xiao Ankuo pale with horror and turned his head away in fear.
I saw a middle-aged female cultivator coming on a sword. She was dressed simply and looked plain, but she had a temperament as mellow and burning as strong liquor. She had no expression on her face and looked intimidating without even getting angry.
The female cultivator and Hong Tao landed one after another. Everyone retreated in fear and knelt down to worship.
"Greetings, Great Elder Gongsun!"
The person who came was the chief steward of the Internal Affairs Hall, the great elder of the late Jindan stage, Gongsun Zhu.
It’s a big chapter of 4,000 words. I don’t want to split it up. It’ll be counted as one update. There will be another chapter of 3,000 words at 12 noon.
(End of this chapter)