Mountains and giant beasts, cabins in the woods

the next day.

The sun hung high above the eastern mountains, casting its brilliant white rays across the land. The residents of Xizhen awoke to the fragrance of flowers, taking advantage of the bright spring day to prepare for the year's livelihood.

Liu Xingmo watered and fertilized the foxtail grass in the wooden basin, then moved it to the balcony to bask in the spring sunshine.

In just one night, the little grass visibly grew a bit taller.

It is also desperately absorbing nutrients at this moment, and its upward momentum is so strong that it seems to want to embrace the azure sky.

Liu Xingmo felt the time was right, so he activated the newly formed soul imprint within his body, allowing it to flow along the wood channel's energy channels, absorbing a wisp of fresh and natural energy, and then merging it into the foxtail grass.

A stinging pain! A sharp blade piercing my heart, a pain like being torn apart a thousand times!

The soul of plants lacks joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness; it directly reveals the most primal rage of nature.

Liu Xingmo's face contorted in pain as he forced himself to endure the discomfort, letting the Soul Imprint wander through the sharp sword energy, searching for a faint trace of a soul.

found it!

The soul imprints rushed forward, determined to merge into one without a word.

After a fierce battle, Liu Xingmo subdued the ignorant consciousness and transformed the innate sword grass into his contracted seedling.

Soaked in cold sweat, Liu Xingmo washed a towel with clean water and wiped his body.

He then went to his desk and wrote on the first page of a blank booklet:

At the first level, one can cultivate both the Blood Path and the Wood Path, and the Soul Imprint can be used interchangeably.

The book mentions this, but both the Mountain Goddess and Great-Grandpa directly inscribed powerful soul imprints. Whether it was effective at lower levels is uncertain. Now, after verification, it is confirmed to be true.

After some thought, Liu Xingmo wrote down the second point:

It's best to wait until your cultivation in the Wood Dao is solid and your Soul Imprint and Wood Qi have merged into one before making a contract. Otherwise, the rejection and resistance from the innate extraordinary seedling will cause severe mental anguish.

Liu Xingmo put down his pen and paper.

That's it. Completing the entire technique is a huge project that requires years of hard work.

On the balcony, in the wooden basin, the little grass was so green it seemed to glow, like the finest jade, as if it had been sculpted by a master craftsman.

The sword energy contained within it flickered on the willow-leaf-like tips of the grass. At this moment, the foxtail grass seemed no longer to be grass, but a divine weapon forged from refined steel.

Liu Xingmo shook his head and chuckled: "You're like a weed, yet you like to prick people. As the saying goes, 'A needle against a wheat awn,' so your name shall be Needle and Awl."

The green grass is silent, leaving only its delicate leaves swaying in the wind.

After completing his daily practice, Liu Xingmo asked his wife to look after the needle before heading out to work.

Arriving at the Yinqianshan mine, I greeted acquaintances, loaded a truck full of cement and steel bars, and headed towards Zhongcheng via the main road.

At the construction site of the new house, a circular fortress has risen from the ground. It is currently two and a half stories high and is not far from completion.

Liu Xingmo helped unload the goods and then paid the next installment of wages.

He entered the fortress; the rooms, covered in scaffolding, were pitch black and exuded a cave-like coolness.

He checked each progress item one by one and confirmed that there were no problems.

Liu Chunya put down her work and went to her employer's side: "It's been a while! We've done our best to make the house exactly as you requested."

Liu Xingmo pondered for a moment and said, "Lighting is a problem..."

"The house is too big, that's inevitable. Besides, the walls are either stone or cement, they don't reflect light, so the house is dark." Liu Chunya didn't think this was a problem. "Lighting is easy to solve. If we have money, we'll use spirit stone lamps; if we don't, we'll use kerosene lamps."

"Ah..." Liu Xingmo sighed, "I wonder when we'll be able to use electric lights, sigh!"

"That kind of high-tech stuff is tricky. It could explode and electrocute someone if you're not careful." Liu Chunya looked at her employer with a strange expression. "You're not running a movie theater, why are you using light bulbs?"

"Huh? Is this what all architectural experts like you think?" Liu Xingmo smiled wryly. "I understand now. This village is probably doomed to remain backward forever."

Several design schemes were modified according to the requirements.

Liu Xingmo rode the old turtle down the slope towards the city.

"Awooo—!" A howl came from ahead.

Liu Xingmo looked up and saw Liu San Niang riding a gray wolf coming towards him.

"Third Sister, what are you doing here?" Liu Xingmo asked in confusion.

"My new home is over there," Liu San Niang said, pointing diagonally forward.

Liu Xingmo turned around and saw a field enclosed by a bamboo fence, connected to a dilapidated wooden house. That place was not far from his new home; he had visited it before, but no one lived there.

He exclaimed in surprise, "What? Are you kidding me? How did you get here?!"

Liu San Niang glared at her and replied with great authority, "Do you think raising gray wolves is so simple? Do you know how much space it requires? How can we house these three monstrous dogs without a ranch at the foot of the mountain on the outskirts of the city!"

"Then why did you move next to my new house? Do you want to be my neighbor?"

"Of course, I'll stay close to look after my precious little grass! I don't trust you with her completely."

"Fine, you're amazing. My old neighbor." Liu Xingmo resignedly accepted his fate.

Sitting on the wolf's back, Liu Sanniang looked down at Liu Xingmo and laughed, "Hehe, this distance is just right, not too far, not too close. At least I won't have to be kept awake by the noise you two make."

A turtle and a wolf passed each other by.

……

There are other things to do next.

Liu Xingmo drove around the city, finding pharmacies of all sizes in every street and alley, looking at various ready-made wound medicines, inquiring about their prices and comparing their quality.

I bought a small amount of each of these medicines as samples for research, and then combined them with alchemical formulas and other classic texts to try to use alchemy to create a high-quality, cost-effective medicine.

This medicine will be the core of our work for the next year.

Liu Xingmo glanced at the sky; there was still some time.

Let's get some more fertilizer and take advantage of spring to help the awns grow quickly so we can harvest the grass seeds sooner.

Following my memory, I passed two rivers and eight streets, and my destination was just around the corner.

It was a tall and chaotic building, with wooden houses piled up in layers, and stacks upon stacks of patched planks. There were also numerous entrances and exits, allowing everything that flew in the sky and ran on the ground to pass through freely.

Chengdong Market.

Liu Xingmo drove the car in, and the chaotic market was bustling with noise.

The wooden planks formed multiple stalls, displaying a dazzling array of trinkets.

Liu Xingmo went directly to the agricultural area and found the shop with the fewest people and the most expensive goods.

He got out of the car, went into the shop, and laid out a few copper coins: "Give me a bag of ash fertilizer and a bag of green fertilizer. Oh, and a bag of soil fertilizer too."

These abbreviations refer to wood ash, fermented crushed leaves, and dried manure, respectively.

The store staff efficiently carried out large bags and threw them onto the car.

Liu Xingmo thought for a moment and asked, "Boss, how much are the fertilizers from other regions?"