The working hours of the Spiritual Agriculture Pavilion started at 10 a.m.

  It was currently 8:30 a.m.

  There was still plenty of time.

  I had breakfast together with the Plum Blossom Elder.

  The menu was simple.

  Dumplings, steamed buns, mountain goat milk, and stir-fried vegetables.

  Perhaps because we had eaten together several times already, he waved his hands and said there was no need to pay spirit stones for today’s information.

  Thanks to that, I was able to save some spirit stones.

  Talking with the Plum Blossom Elder was quite enjoyable.

  He could be considered the first friend I had made since coming to the cultivation world.

  Becoming close to a capable information broker meant I had gained another means of survival.

  Of course, that wasn’t the reason we became close.

  We communicated well, and our interests were similar.

  On the surface, the age difference looked large, but our actual years of living were similar.

  After chatting back and forth, I left the inn in a good mood.

  The feeling of my first day at work was excellent.

  I arrived at the Spiritual Agriculture Pavilion.

  After verifying my jade token, I entered.

  A guide approached and kindly explained things.

  I had been assigned to Department Seven, and I should head there.

  When I arrived at the department, no one was there.

  It seemed I had arrived first.

  Since it was my first day, arriving early was proper etiquette.

  Looking at the spiritual herb fields outside the building filled my heart with satisfaction.

  If I worked here, I could greatly expand the variety of spiritual herbs in Yun Xian Garden within my subspace.

  While I was admiring the spiritual herbs that would soon be mine, I heard footsteps behind me.

  It seemed a staff member had arrived.

  I hurriedly turned around and greeted him respectfully.

  “I’m Xuanyuan, newly assigned here. I look forward to working with you.”

  A cultivator with a round face and a warm, gentle impression approached with delight.

  “Oh! The new junior? Nice to meet you. You have no idea how long we’ve been waiting for a new worker.”

  Somehow, I felt uneasy.

  Wasn’t he a bit too happy?

  “Work has been piling up like crazy lately. Whew, I even prayed in my dreams for them to send us anyone at all.”

  …My unease only grew.

  “And our old man here is incredibly picky. He said no one met his standards, so he refused to add manpower for months. Meanwhile, the work just kept piling up. Seriously, thank you, thank you, thank you for coming!”

  He suddenly grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously.

  Meanwhile, others began arriving for work one by one.

  Every single one of them was looking at me intensely.

  …Was this department a black hole?

  Perhaps noticing the wavering in my eyes, the senior who had arrived first hurriedly spoke up.

  He probably worried I might run away.

  “My name is Yang Dongwu. You can call me Senior Dongwu.”

  Led by Senior Dongwu, everyone began introducing themselves one by one.

  Workers had no formal ranks. They were only divided into seniors and juniors.

  Those who did harder labor were sometimes called low-grade workers, but no one in this department fell into that category.

  The last to introduce himself was Senior Ling Xuan, the most senior member of Department Seven.

  “Alright, let’s end the introductions here. Dongwu, you handle the guidance. Explain the overall duties.”

  With a bright smile, Senior Dongwu placed a hand on my shoulder.

  Since I had already drawn my blade, I had to at least take a few spiritual herb roots with me.

  I couldn’t back out just because the department looked busy.

  I decided to tour the workplace with him.

  The Spiritual Agriculture Pavilion was located at the edge of the city, facing the mountains.

  Though it was said to face the mountains, the actual distance to them was several hundred kilometers.

  Just looking at that vast land made my eyes ache.

  “Everything you see here belongs to the Spiritual Agriculture Pavilion. There are spiritual herb fields, orchards, ponds, bamboo groves, and flower gardens. Among these, what our Department Seven manages are the spiritual herb fields and the spiritual farmlands outside the city.”

  Managing spiritual farmlands outside the city likely meant managing tenant farmers.

  Just like the people of Susun Village, outer disciples probably leased spiritual farmlands and farmed them as tenants.

  Since this city was large and its relationship with the sect complex, their situation might even be worse than those villagers.

  “There are also spiritual farmlands inside the pavilion. They’re over there.”

  Compared to ordinary spiritual farmlands, they were smaller. It was strange that each plot had a signboard planted in it.

  “Those are experimental fields for improving the quality of spiritual rice. You’ll be assigned three plots as well. It’d be good to think in advance about how you’ll improve them.”

  Senior Dongwu glanced around and whispered.

  “It seems one of the sect’s higher-ups is a serious gourmet. They even hold a spiritual rice competition every year. If you win, there’s prize money and even magical artifacts.”

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  To think all workers of the Spiritual Agriculture Pavilion had to farm just to satisfy the palate of a higher-up. The world of flattery was deep and profound.

  “Our department is currently on a three-year losing streak. As the department responsible for spiritual farmlands, it’s terribly embarrassing. This year, we must win and reclaim our honor. We have to show those bastards from Department Three what’s what. Remember that, junior. Let’s do this with our lives on the line.”

  With our lives on the line…?

  Why, exactly…?

  I already felt drained.

  “This is the spiritual herb field. Among the inner cities of the Qingxiu True Realm, our Qingliu City probably has the largest one. Well, if you include the sects themselves, our ranking drops.”

  As he said, the scale of the spiritual herb field was astounding. What I had seen earlier was just the tip of the iceberg.

  All kinds of spiritual herbs swayed in the wind.

  “In total, there are over two thousand kinds. We divide them up and take responsibility, so it’s naturally exhausting. Managing the spiritual herb fields must never be neglected.”

  Over two thousand types of spiritual herbs alone. It was a bit overwhelming. Fortunately, there were separate low-grade workers who actually cultivated the herbs.

  “Once a month, the city and the sect come to collect spiritual herbs. If the quantity is insufficient or the quality doesn’t meet standards, you could be beaten and expelled. You have to manage the low-grade workers well so they don’t slack off.”

  Beaten? Just imagining it sent chills down my spine.

  “On the upside, you can buy spiritual herb seeds and seedlings cheaply. Except for extremely rare types, you can get most herbs. It’s a kind of privilege.”

  Hearing that calmed my heart.

  Choosing to become a worker of the Spiritual Agriculture Pavilion had been the right decision.

  While working, I could gradually purchase spiritual herbs and find a way to become an alchemist.

  I didn’t yet know how to do that.

  But where there’s a will, there’s a way.

  “Alright, for now, just follow me and observe how things are handled. Starting tomorrow, you’ll really begin working. Shall we go?”

  Perhaps because the land was so vast, it took quite a while just to return to the department.

  “In the mornings, we usually listen to the tenant farmers’ grievances and resolve what we reasonably can. Sometimes, you’ll have to go on site trips. When that happens, there’s extra pay, so it’s nice.”

  He smiled and drew a circle with his hand. That circle sign really was universal.

  “And anything we can’t handle at our level, we just push it upward. No need to rack your brain over it.”

  This was excellent. It was truly an ideal work environment.

  “In the afternoons, you check and supervise your assigned spiritual herb fields. At the same time, you have to inspect the experimental farmlands, so it gets hectic.”

  As we passed the experimental fields, I paid close attention to the signboards. They listed the worker’s name, the variety of spiritual rice being cultivated, and an outline of the experiment.

  At last, we returned to the department. The inside was complete chaos.

  Premonitions never turned out wrong.

  It looked extremely busy. No, it was beyond busy.

  Tenant farmers had crowded in, clamoring for help.

  It looked like the threshold might wear away entirely.

  “Hoo. It’s starting again.”

  A senior who was about to complain noticed me and changed his words.

  “Ah, it’s not always like this. It’s just been especially busy lately.”

  Didn’t you just say it’s starting again?

  I sat down together with Senior Dongwu. The tenant farmers were all shouting over one another.

  “It hasn’t rained for three months already. The spiritual rice is withering. Please do something.”

  “That’s right. Couldn’t you ask the sect to use Spirit Rain Art? We beg you.”

  “The spiritual rice is about to dry up completely. Even if we use Water Nurturing Art, it only helps temporarily, and then it dries up again. We can’t just sprinkle water all day long….”

  My ears were about to ring.

  Amid the confusion, the most senior, Senior Ling Xuan, stepped forward.

  “Everyone, listen carefully. We can try requesting the sect. But to cast Spirit Rain Art over all the city’s spiritual farmlands would require a large-scale formation. That means bringing in a formation master of Foundation Establishment or higher. Can you afford that many spirit stones?”

  The clamoring tenant farmers fell silent at once.

  The cost of hiring a formation master was high.

  The higher the realm, the higher the cost.

  It would be cheaper to buy spiritual rice to make up for shortages when paying rent.

  “So for now, everyone go back and exercise restraint. As long as you do your best, we won’t press responsibility.”

  After hesitating for a while, the tenant farmers left the building with reluctant expressions.

  At least securing a promise that they wouldn’t be held responsible was fortunate.

  After sending them off, Senior Ling Xuan let out a sigh.

  “Ahh. It’s unfortunate. But there’s no way the sect would send a precious high-level formation master… there’s just no solution.”

  A doubt suddenly arose.

  Was the drought really so severe that Water Nurturing Art couldn’t handle it?

  Qingliu City wasn’t in some other cultivation realm.

  Did that even make sense?

  Noticing my confusion, Senior Dongwu explained.

  “Ah, junior wouldn’t know. There’s a bit of a story here.”

  A story? My ears perked up.

  “Long ago, about three thousand years back, a certain eccentric fought with this sect’s leader. That eccentric was extremely vicious and held grudges terribly.”

  Just how gutsy did someone have to be to fight the leader of such a large sect?

  “They were originally friends, but a trivial argument drove them apart. Some say they made a bet… after days of bickering, the eccentric finally caused an incident.”

  This was getting interesting.

  Stories about fights were always the most fun.

  What kind of incident could it have been?

  “Well, he punched the sect leader in the face and then declared that no more water would flow in Qingliu City. After that, he set up a powerful Water Severing Formation and ran off.”

  It was a shame there was no popcorn or cola.

  He was a cultivator, yet he used his fists?

  On a sect leader, no less?

  A sect leader should be at least at the Nascent Soul stage.

  And he personally decked him?

  And that wasn’t enough—he even set up a Water Severing Formation and fled?

  “Even though his cultivation was only at Core Formation, his ability as a formation master was so outstanding… they still haven’t been able to break the formation. That’s why water is particularly scarce here. Every household has to draw water from far away wells.”

  …My lips twitched involuntarily.

  Those details sounded strangely familiar…?

  The afterimage of an old man flickered before my eyes.

  I lowered my gaze.

  I had to desperately pretend not to know.

  Yes.

  I was someone who knew nothing.

  Mistaking my expression, the senior added an explanation.

  “Well, if they really put their all into it, it’s not impossible to break the formation. But that would cost too much spirit stone and manpower, so they just leave it. In truth, this drought is unusually severe. Normally, it’s not this bad, so there’s no need to worry too much.”

  I didn’t have the confidence to look him in the eyes.

  How could I forget the mess that old man had caused?

  The rest of the workday passed smoothly.

  Senior Dongwu, who could be considered my direct senior, was extremely kind.

  No, the overall atmosphere of Department Seven was good.

  Everyone focused on their own tasks, and there was no territorial behavior.

  Perhaps they were simply too busy to worry about others.

  Well, good was good.

  I finished my first day of work slightly exhausted.

  The seniors each handed me a bag of spiritual rice.

  “You worked hard today. You followed along really well. Just keep doing that. Alright, see you tomorrow.”

  It felt like they were giving me bait so I wouldn’t run away.

  I put the mountain of spiritual rice into my storage belt.

  They were really good people.

  It wasn’t because they gave me food that I was saying this.

  Anyway, it wasn’t.

  That aside, a Water Severing Formation?

  That was definitely something Elder Haoranzi had done.

  What on earth had our old man been thinking when he punched the sect leader and took a dump on the city before leaving? I became curious about what the Water Severing Formation actually looked like.

  But then… that meant.

  There was a Formation Stone somewhere in Qingliu City?

  I should take Baizi and go check out the Water Severing Formation sometime.

  I’d ask Senior Dongwu for the location tomorrow.

  Sigh. Ever since coming to Qingliu City, every day felt overwhelmingly busy.

  There was too much to do.

  It was about time I went to learn Exorcism Arts as well.

  Strike while the iron was hot.

  I headed straight for the Qing Script Pavilion.

  After arriving, I searched for books about ghosts.

  The author of the Cultivation Compendium seemed to deeply despise the Ghost Path and Demonic Path, as there was almost no explanation of them.

  But to know the enemy and know oneself was the path to victory in every battle.

  I needed to clearly understand what ghosts truly were in this cultivation world.

  I quickly read through several books.

  Hmm….

  So that was how it was?

  I had a decent grasp now.

  It seemed I could capture it quite easily.