After binding with a genius, I became an immortal by exploiting loopholes.

Chapter 123 Gathering of Spirit Plant Doctors

Zhao Demao fell silent, thinking about it, and realized it made sense.

Lu Qingchen has been a disciple for less than a year, and has spent most of his time farming at Qingmu Manor. He has indeed had no opportunity to make enemies outside the sect.

But if he had no enemies, why did these people head straight for the end of the village?

He frowned, unable to understand the situation at all.

Lu Qingchen suddenly spoke up: "Master, I've thought of a possibility—could it be due to the Soul-Eating Disease?"

Zhao Demao's eyebrows twitched slightly.

He pondered for a moment and slowly nodded: "You are right. That batch of mutated spirit rice came from your field, and the medicinal liquid was made by the Spirit Plant Hall using your spirit rice."

"If the Soul-Eating Disease is not a natural disaster but a man-made one, then the person behind it must hate you to the bone for ruining their plans."

He looked towards the end of the village, his tone becoming more serious: "If the Soul-Eating Disease was indeed caused by someone, then these people captured you probably to find out how you broke their methods—or they want to take you back and force you to reveal the secret of the mutated spirit rice."

"Moreover, when Elder Zheng was investigating the source of the Soul-Eating Disease, the clues did indeed end suspiciously. The rogue cultivator who sold the seeds was silenced, which means that someone behind the scenes didn't want the sect to continue the investigation."

Lu Qingchen remained silent, his gaze fixed on the direction of the manor's end—where a pale blue light shimmered in the night.

Someone is attacking the protective array of the spirit field.

His expression suddenly darkened.

The Spirit Protection Field not only contains the mutated spirit rice he cultivated, but also the Vermilion Fruit, Jade Marrow Fungus, and Golden Leaf Orchid bestowed by the Spirit Plant Palace—these are rare seeds from the Spirit Plant Palace, and he spent countless efforts to get them to germinate.

More importantly, the Earth Vein Spirit Embryo is hidden in that underground area.

Although the cave was well concealed, he couldn't say for sure that it wouldn't be exposed if they broke through the formation and searched the entire cave thoroughly.

"Master," Lu Qingchen lowered his voice, "the Spirit Protection Field not only contains the spirit rice cultivated by the disciples, but also rare spiritual plants such as Vermilion Fruit and Jade Marrow Fungus bestowed by the sect. If they destroy it..."

Zhao Demao raised his hand to interrupt him: "I know."

He quickly did the calculations.

The opposing team consisted of five people, while the Zhuang family only had a few Qi Refining stage cultivators, but they had the advantage in numbers and were fighting on home ground.

There's no need for a direct confrontation; just hold them off until the sect elders arrive.

The communication talisman has been crushed; the elder may arrive at any moment.

This is, after all, the territory of the Qingxuan Sect. A few thieves at the Qi Refining stage can't cause any trouble here.

"Go and wake everyone else up," Zhao Demao decided.

Zhao Demao led Lu Qingchen to the residences of the other spirit plant growers in order of distance.

He gave each person the antidote—the same one he had just swallowed himself.

Zhou Ming was the first to be woken up.

After swallowing the antidote, his consciousness quickly returned. Seeing Zhao Demao's solemn face and the deathly silence around him, his pupils contracted. Without asking any more questions, he rolled out of bed and grabbed Zhao Demao's green wood spirit ruler.

Then there's Liu Wenhua.

He was usually taciturn, and after listening to Zhao Demao's brief explanation of the situation, he simply pulled a spirit hoe from under the bed and held it in his hand.

When Wang Youde was woken up, he almost cried out, but Zhou Ming quickly covered his mouth.

Upon learning the situation, his face turned pale, but he still gritted his teeth and nodded.

Sun Zhiyuan was the last to be woken up. He opened his eyes and saw Zhao Demao and Lu Qingchen standing in front of his bed, and he was obviously stunned for a moment.

"Master?" He rubbed his temples. "What happened? Why am I like this?"

Zhao Demao briefly explained the situation: attackers had come to the village and were destroying Lu Qingchen's protective spirit field at the end of the village. They needed to rush over immediately to stop them.

Sun Zhiyuan was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "Master, I'm not going."

Zhao Demao's face darkened: "What did you say?"

"We have no idea where they come from, how many there are, or what their cultivation level is. If we just rush in like this and fall into an ambush, we won't be able to stop them, and we'll lose everything ourselves."

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of deference, "Besides, I'm just a farmer who grows spiritual plants. I've spent far more time dealing with spiritual fields than fighting with people in my life. I haven't even seriously practiced many spells. If I go, I'll just be a burden."

"Besides, they're only at the edge of the manor right now, and they haven't damaged any of the manor's spirit fields. If the manor lord insists on going, why not wait until the elders arrive?" "What did you say? Isn't Lu Qingchen's protective spirit field also part of the manor's spirit field? By the time the elders arrive, Lu Qingchen's protective spirit field will have been turned upside down!"

Zhao Demao's voice wasn't loud, but every word carried an undeniable pressure. "I'm not discussing this with you now. You are the spirit plant master of Qingmu Manor, so you have to take on the responsibility of a spirit plant master. Pack your magical artifacts and come with us immediately."

Sun Zhiyuan's expression changed several times, but he finally nodded reluctantly under Zhao Demao's pressure and took out his magic weapon, a bluish-gray bamboo staff, from under the bed.

This spirit bamboo staff is a first-grade high-quality magic weapon, made primarily from century-old green spirit bamboo. The staff is tough and full of spiritual energy.

His fingers gripped the cane unconsciously tightened and then loosened.

Under the cover of darkness, the six men quickly moved towards the end of the village.

Sun Zhiyuan followed at the back of the group, his steps slow, his fingers gripping the spirit bamboo staff loosening and tightening from time to time, a complex look flashing in his eyes.

As Zhao Demao walked, he quickly made arrangements: "The enemy has five people, the leader is at the ninth level of Qi Refining, and the rest range from the sixth to the eighth level of Qi Refining. We have the advantage in numbers, but our combat experience is not as good as theirs. A head-on confrontation is not advisable."

His plan was clear: while they were focused on attacking the Spirit Protection Field Formation, he would strike from the side simultaneously to disrupt their formation.

We don't need to kill them, we just need to stall them until the elders arrive, and that will be victory.

Zhao Demao turned to Lu Qingchen and added, "If you're not strong enough, you don't have to participate in the direct confrontation; you can just assist from the sidelines."

Lu Qingchen nodded.

Although he had only mastered the first level of the Green Wood Sword Technique, "Condensing Qi into a Sharp Edge," its power was still insufficient to inflict direct damage.

However, the characteristic of sword energy lingering in the enemy's body and causing continuous damage is perfect for interfering with the enemy and disrupting their formation at crucial moments.

The six men made their way to the vicinity of the spirit-protecting field, and using the cover of several stacks of straw and woodsheds, they were able to see the situation ahead.

Five attackers were surrounding the pale blue light barrier. The scarred man held a black short blade, the tip of which was filled with dark spiritual energy. He was slashing at the light barrier with each strike.

The light shield flickers violently every time it is hit, and fine cracks have appeared on its surface.

The other four people were scattered around to keep watch.

The impatient man kept urging her to "hurry up," while Han Shuang stood on the east side of the protective field, her eyes scanning the surroundings.

Lu Qingchen's gaze fell on the female cultivator on the east side of the spirit protection field.