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

"What's going on with this field?"

She frowned, her gaze sweeping across the ridge of the field before landing on Lu Qingchen.

Lu Qingchen straightened up and cupped his hands in greeting: "Senior Sister Su."

Su Qingxue recognized him and was slightly taken aback: "Lu Qingchen? You've been assigned to Qingmu Manor?"

"Yes."

The male cultivator next to him glanced at Su Qingxue, then at Lu Qingchen: "Do you know her?"

"Those who joined the sect in the same batch."

Su Qingxue said simply, her gaze returning to the drooping spirit rice field, her brows furrowing even more deeply, "Why is your spirit rice growing like this?"

Before Lu Qingchen could speak, the male cultivator chuckled.

"Entered the sect in the same batch? That means they've only recently become spirit plant cultivators!"

He looked Lu Qingchen up and down, his gaze lingering on the sparse spiritual fields, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Junior Sister Su, your classmates aren't doing so well. Even their spirit rice cultivation is so poor?"

Su Qingxue frowned slightly but did not reply.

The male cultivator didn't seem to mind and continued, "That's true. Among those who entered the sect in the same batch, there were geniuses and—"

He paused, glanced at Lu Qingchen, and didn't say the rest of his sentence, but his look was enough to make it clear.

"Brother Qian."

Su Qingxue's voice was slightly cold.

Senior Brother Qian smiled and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender: "Alright, alright, I won't say anything more, for Junior Sister Su's sake."

He glanced at Lu Qingchen, his tone becoming indifferent, "However, junior brother, I must remind you—there are harvest standards for being a spirit plant grower on the farm every year. If you fail to meet them, you'll face punishment from the Spirit Plant Hall. At that time, no one will care whether you're new or not."

After saying that, he turned his hands behind his back, no longer looking at Lu Qingchen, and turned his gaze to the spirit field in the distance.

Su Qingxue looked at Lu Qingchen, her tone softening, "What happened? Is it a problem with the field or the seeds?"

Lu Qingchen hadn't said much for a while.

He heard what Senior Brother Qian said, but his face remained expressionless—he had heard even harsher words back in Yuxin Peak and was already used to them.

Su Qingxue's words of help surprised him.

"It's a problem with the land. This land has been abandoned for several years, and the soil is not fertile enough. It's still recovering."

Lu Qingchen explained patiently.

Su Qingxue nodded, pondered for a moment, and said, "I came here as a Spirit Patrol Envoy to check on the situation. I can still say a few words to the Manor Lord."

"If you need it, I can try to mention it to Master Zhao and see if I can get you a different piece of land. Although it will take some time, as long as you put in more effort afterward, meeting the standards of the Spirit Plant Hall shouldn't be a problem."

Lu Qingchen glanced at her unexpectedly.

Su Qingxue spoke these words in a calm tone, but her sentiment was considerable.

"Thank you, Senior Sister Su." He cupped his hands in thanks, "but it's no need."

Su Qingxue raised an eyebrow slightly.

"I'm already thinking of a solution."

Lu Qingchen said, "And I already have some initial ideas, and I want to try them out myself."

Su Qingxue looked at him with a hint of surprise in her eyes.

If it were anyone else, they would probably be eager to move to a better piece of land when faced with such an opportunity, but he refused it.

Before she could even speak, Senior Brother Qian scoffed.

"Junior Sister Su kindly helped you, but you don't appreciate it."

He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over Lu Qingchen's drooping spirit field, a smirk playing on his lips: "What can you possibly do with this wretched land? Turn it over and replant? Or wait for its 'earth energy' to recover on its own?"

Su Qingxue frowned upon hearing this, and Senior Brother Qian shrugged and said nothing more.

But his gaze toward Lu Qingchen still carried a hint of disdain, as if he were looking at a naive and ignorant fool.

Su Qingxue turned to Lu Qingchen, and after confirming that he wasn't just being polite, she nodded: "In that case, I won't force you. If you need anything, you can send a message to the Spirit Plant Hall to find me."

After saying that, she turned and walked into the village, with Senior Brother Qian following slowly behind.

Lu Qingchen watched their figures disappear at the alley entrance, then lowered his head and continued loosening the soil.

Su Qingxue is not a bad person.

......

He thought the matter was over and done with.

Unexpectedly, in the evening, Zhao Demao strolled to the end of the village with his hands behind his back.

Zhao Demao stood on the edge of the field, looking at the sparse spiritual fields, and got straight to the point: "Manager Lu, Envoy Su came to see me today."

Lu Qingchen straightened up, and he roughly guessed what was going on.

She said the fields here aren't good, the soil isn't fertile enough, and asked if she could get you a different plot.

Zhao Demao looked at him and said, "She means that you should move to Zhuangdong. There are a few acres of vacant land there. Although it's not top-notch, it's much better than yours. If you're willing, you can move there tomorrow."

Although the patrolling envoys do not directly govern the farms, they have the power to inspect and supervise them.

Since Su Qingxue had spoken up, Zhao Demao was willing to give her face and go along with it, giving Lu Qingchen a chance.

Lu Qingchen was silent for a moment, then cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, Master of the Manor, and thank you for your trouble, Senior Sister Su. However, this disciple still wishes to stay here."

Zhao Demao frowned: "Have you thought this through? Zhuang Dong's few acres of land, although not as good as Sun Zhiyuan's and his group's fields, at least have good soil quality. Your land—"

He glanced at the drooping spirit rice and said, "Even the previous spirit plant growers couldn't grow it well. Even if you are capable, you will still have to spend a lot of effort to find a better field. It will save you time and effort, and the harvest will be guaranteed."

"If you miss this opportunity, it won't be so easy to change it later."

"Thank you for your kindness, Master."

Lu Qingchen said, "But I have already put a lot of effort into this land and do not want to give up halfway. Moreover, I have recently come up with some methods and would like to try them out. If they work, we might be able to restore the earth's energy."

Zhao Demao stared at him for a few moments, and seeing his resolute attitude, he stopped trying to persuade him.

"Alright."

He nodded. "Since you insist, I won't say any more. But there's something I have to say upfront—if the harvest at the end of the year doesn't meet the sect's standards, I can't help you."

"Disciple understands."

Zhao Demao waved his hand, turned around and left.

......

Two more days passed before Lu Qingchen went into the mountains again.

This time he was well prepared.

He sharpened his machete, tucked the Bright Light Talisman and Vajra Talisman into his bosom, and put the Hemostatic Powder, Bone-Healing Ointment, and Poison-Repelling Pill into the cloth bag at his waist. He wrapped a rope around his waist and hung a water bag and dry rations on his shoulder.

He walked very carefully, and did not encounter any wild animals along the way, and successfully reached the stone wall.

Digging through the vines and soil, the hole was still there.

He lay down at the cave entrance and shone the light talisman inside. The cave was deeper than he had thought, and the light talisman could not reach the end.

He took a deep breath, tucked the machete into his waistband, and crawled inside.

The passageway was very narrow, barely wide enough for one person to crawl through.

The rough stone wall hurt his elbows and knees, but he didn't care and moved forward little by little.

After climbing for about ten zhang, the cave passage gradually widened, and we went from crawling to bending over, and then from bending over to standing upright.

He stood up, lit a talisman, and shone it around.