The Path to Immortality: Starting with the Growth of Bubble Fruits from the Ground

Zhou Mu ignored him and chatted with Lao Wang on his own.

Zhou Ye's face froze instantly at Zhou Mu's indifference, and a hint of annoyance flashed in his eyes.

He walked to the edge of the spirit field, and when he saw that both acres of Huangjing rice were of the first-grade middle level, his expression changed slightly, and he glanced at Zhou Mu in surprise.

"I didn't expect Zhou Mu to have such an impressive harvest this season. If only..."

Zhou Ye's greed surged, but he knew Zhou Mu wouldn't hand it over obediently, so his greed turned into a burning rage.

Zhou Ye's eyes darted around, and he suddenly said, "Ninth Brother, you've done a good job cultivating these two acres of land. It seems you've had a tough few months."

"none of your business!"

"Yeah, hurry up and leave, are you trying to freeload a meal?"

"Ugh... Ptooey..."

Zhou Mu didn't indulge him. Since they had already broken off all pretense, there was no need to pretend anymore.

Old Wang made no attempt to hide his mockery, even spitting a glob of phlegm at Zhou Ye's feet.

"You guys... fine, fine, fine... hmph..."

Zhou Ye was so angry that his blood boiled and his eyes turned red. He snorted coldly and turned to leave, with Li Kui quickly following after him.

Zhou Mu and Lao Wang exchanged a glance, both understanding each other's thoughts, and smiled at each other.

They weren't foolish enough to think Zhou Ye's visit was out of boredom in the outer sect and that he clearly had ill intentions.

---------

Two nights later, in the middle of the night, under a bright moon and few stars, a large field of Sophora flavescens swayed in the evening breeze, making a soft rustling sound.

"Old Wang, tomorrow's harvest day. Do you think Li Kui will make his move tonight?"

"I don't know, but I do hope he'll make a move, otherwise all the time we've spent guarding him these past two nights has been for nothing."

"Old Wang is right."

"Yes, if he dares to lay a hand on me, I'll take his life."

Behind the ridge three hundred meters away from Zhou Mu's spiritual field, Zhou Mu and Lao Wang and the others only showed half their faces, constantly keeping an eye on the direction of Zhou Mu's spiritual field.

"Look, someone's coming!"

"It's that guy, Li Kui."

The four saw a dark figure appear near Zhou Muling's field, looking around and slowly moving forward with a bowed posture. It was Li Kui.

Squatting in front of the spirit field, Li Kui's Adam's apple bobbed, his face showing hesitation, but as if he had thought of something, the hesitation on his face was swept away by a fierce look.

"Zhou Mu, don't blame me, blame yourself."

As he spoke, a black porcelain bottle appeared in his hand, which he smashed fiercely towards the center of the two acres of spirit fields.

Looking at the porcelain bottle that was about to shatter, Li Kui's lips curled into a strange smile.

Just then, a hand appeared out of nowhere and firmly grasped the black porcelain bottle.

Upon seeing this, Li Kui's expression changed drastically. He looked at Zhou Mu, who had suddenly appeared, his lips trembling and his facial muscles twitching.

"You...you..."

Li Kui collapsed to the ground, pointing at Zhou Mu but unable to utter a complete sentence. He knew he was doomed, and even the Li family would be greatly implicated.

"It's all your fault, I'll kill you!"

"Azure Leaf Sword, draw!"

Li Kui suddenly got up, his eyes bloodshot like a vengeful ghost. He formed a hand seal, and a green leaf short sword shot out from his storage bag at his waist, stabbing towards Zhou Mu.

"clang…"

Amidst the ear-piercing clang of metal clashing, sparks flew as Old Wang appeared beside Zhou Mu, his tortoise-shell shield firmly blocking the green-leaf dagger.

"How is that possible?"

The sudden appearance of Old Wang stunned Li Kui. Just then, two cold, sharp voices rang out behind him.

"Golden Needle Technique..."

"Wooden Vine Technique..."

Thin golden rays pierced through Li Kui's protective magic, leaving countless bloody holes in his limbs.

Immediately afterwards, several vines as thick as a forearm broke through the ground and bound Li Kui, who was kneeling on the ground, tightly, leaving only his head outside.

"Uh... ah..."

The thorns on the vines were deeply embedded in Li Kui's body, and blood flowed down the ground through the cracks.

Li Kui's face was deathly pale, and two streams of bloody tears slid down his cheeks. He looked at Zhou Mu with eyes full of resentment: "You...you were all waiting for me?"

Before Zhou Mu could speak, Old Wang interrupted, "You think you're the only one who can keep an eye on people? You think you're so smart, do you think we're fools?"

Zhou Mu frowned as he looked at Li Kui, whose face was full of resentment, and asked, "Old Wang, what do we do now?"

"Bang..."

A fireball flew from Old Wang's hand into the sky and then exploded, the sound carrying far.

Old Wang whispered to Zhou Mu, "Wait, we're almost there."

Then Old Wang put away the short sword on the ground and grabbed the storage bag from Li Kui's waist and put it in his pocket.

At that moment, a streak of light flashed by in the distance, and then Zhou Mu felt a blur before his eyes, and a black-robed man standing on a flying sword appeared before him.

"What happened?"

The man, wearing a black robe embroidered with silver mountain patterns, floated in mid-air, expressionless, and asked calmly.

Old Wang gave Zhou Mu a nudge.

Zhou Mu stepped forward, holding up the black porcelain bottle and a talisman: "Reporting to Your Excellency, this man is named Li Kui. He attempted to commit an unlawful act, but we discovered and subdued him."

"The information is clearly recorded in this image talisman. I urge you, sir, to be fair."

With a wave of his hand, the black-robed man sent the porcelain bottle and talisman in Zhou Mu's hand flying toward him.

As he channeled his magic into the talisman, a flash of light appeared, and the entire process from Li Kui's appearance to his subjugation was replayed at an extremely fast speed.

"How dare you use blood locusts to destroy the spirit field!"

The man in black robes remained expressionless after watching the replay, but suddenly flew into a rage after opening the porcelain bottle.

"How could that be? That's clearly a bloodworm."

Li Kui, who had been silently accepting his fate, suddenly let out a roar, his eyes filled with disbelief and despair, and his whole body was trembling.

But no one paid him any attention.

"You guys did a good job. I will report this to the sect."

"As for you, come with me to the Hall of Enforcement."

As he spoke, a golden whip emerged from the black-robed man's hand, coiling around Li Kui like a snake, then pulling him off the ground and suspending him in mid-air, flying towards the Fallen Flower Mountains.

"Finally, this problem is solved."

Seeing Li Kui disappear without a trace, looking like a dead dog, Zhou Mu breathed a sigh of relief. Li Kui was like a thorn stuck in his flesh for four months.

With this thorn finally removed tonight, Zhou Mu felt refreshed and invigorated.

"Let's go back and divide the spoils."

Old Wang patted Zhou Mu on the shoulder, and the group walked back together.

---------

"Aunt Liu, Brother Zhang, thank you so much for tonight. Zhou Mu will definitely repay you in the future."

Inside Old Wang's residence, Zhou Mu cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the two men.

Aunt Liu and Brother Zhang were both spiritual farmers in this area. Their spiritual fields were next to each other, and they eventually fell in love and got married. Old Wang was the one who officiated at their wedding.

Their daughter is now also cultivating in the Wandao Sect, and I heard that she is a disciple of the Foundation Establishment Sect.

The couple had a good reputation, and when Zhou Mu and Lao Wang found them that day, they agreed without hesitation.

"Alright, alright, we're all family, no need to be so polite."

"Come and take a look at these things, Li Kui has quite a few good ones."

Old Wang smiled and urged them on. The four of them sat in a circle, with several items placed on the table in the middle.

Zhou Mu glanced around, his face showing surprise. Li Kui's inheritance was indeed much larger than he had expected.

One storage bag, five and a half bottles of Qi Gathering Pills, three bottles of Qi Cultivation Pills, nearly three hundred low-grade spirit stones, one flying sword, one bronze bell, and three stacks of various talismans.