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

Zhou Ming was holding a teacup when his hand froze in mid-air, and the smile on his face stiffened for a moment.

He put down his teacup, looked at Senior Brother He, then at Zhao Demao, his tone tinged with uncertainty: "Senior Brother He, are you sure you're not mistaken? Lu Qingchen? He's only been at Qingmu Manor for less than two months, and has been a spirit plant grower for less than half a year. How could the sect have granted him a dedicated spirit field?"

Sun Zhiyuan leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, and didn't say anything, but his eyes were fixed on Senior Brother He, and his expression was not good.

Zhao Demao looked at Senior Brother He, his tone calm but with a hint of scrutiny: "Manager He, protecting the spirit fields is no small matter. You say you are acting on Elder Sun's orders, but do you have Elder Sun's written proof?"

Senior Brother He took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it over with both hands: "Here is Elder Sun's letter. Please take a look, Master."

Zhao Demao took the letter, unfolded it, and read it through.

The letter was indeed written in Old Master Sun's handwriting, with vigorous strokes and concise content—instructing He Mingyuan to go to Qingmu Manor to survey the spirit fields for the spirit plant grower Lu Qingchen and set up protective formations for the cultivation of special spirit plants.

The signature bears Old Master Sun's personal seal; the spiritual imprint cannot be faked.

After reading it, Zhao Demao returned the letter to Senior Brother He and nodded: "Since it is Elder Sun's will, then we will do as he says."

He paused, then added, "However, this matter concerns the sect's rules, so it would be best to have Steward Lu come over and explain it in person."

Senior Brother He put the letter back into his sleeve and nodded, saying, "The Master is right."

Zhao Demao said to Wang Fu, "Go and call Steward Lu here."

Wang Fu responded and turned to leave.

Before long, Lu Qingchen followed Wang Fu into the main room.

He glanced at the people in the room. Besides a few familiar faces, there was also a middle-aged cultivator sitting next to him, dressed in a clean blue robe and carrying a cloth bag, who was sizing him up.

"Master of the Manor".

Lu Qingchen bowed.

Zhao Demao pointed to Senior Brother He: "This is Steward He, from the Spirit Plant Hall. He said Elder Sun sent him to build your own exclusive spirit field. What's going on?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Qingchen felt relieved—Old Sun had indeed kept his word.

Lu Qingchen then recounted the story of the two spiritual plants.

A few days ago, I brought it back to the sect for Elder Sun to appraise. Elder Sun took a liking to it and said he wanted to keep it for research.

In exchange, Elder Sun agreed to help him apply for a private spiritual field, protected by an array.

The main room fell silent for a moment.

Zhou Ming was the first to react, clicking his tongue twice: "A special spiritual plant? Elder Sun has taken a liking to it? Manager Lu, you're really lucky."

He said he was lucky, but there was something indescribable in his eyes.

He worked at Qingmu Manor for so many years before he finally managed to acquire his own private spirit field.

Lu Qingchen, a newcomer who had only been there for less than two months, managed to exchange a piece of land with just two potted spiritual plants, which left him feeling somewhat resentful.

Wang Youde couldn't help but ask, "What kind of special spiritual plant could make Elder Sun take a liking to it?"

"Hehe, just two small potted plants, not worth mentioning."

Lu Qingchen smiled but didn't elaborate.

Sun Zhiyuan finally spoke, his voice indifferent: "So, it was Old Master Sun who pulled strings for you?"

That's not a very polite way to put it.

Zhou Ming's gaze shifted between Sun Zhiyuan and Lu Qingchen, a hint of amusement playing on his lips.

Lu Qingchen turned his head and glanced at Sun Zhiyuan.

His gaze was neither cold nor warm, but he didn't look away.

"I cannot agree with what Senior Brother Sun said."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.

"Old Sun himself said that he had never seen such things in his entire life of farming. Those two pots of spiritual plants..."

"According to the sect's rules, a cultivator who has successfully cultivated a special spiritual plant can apply for a dedicated spiritual field for further research."

"I simply followed the proper channels; it was just that Elder Sun valued my talent and saved me some trouble."

He paused, his tone as calm as if he were talking about something unrelated to himself: "If Senior Brother Sun thinks this counts as using connections, then I have nothing to say. After all, I really don't have any special skills; I was just lucky enough to grow two spiritual plants that even Elder Sun has never seen before."

The smile on Zhou Ming's lips faded slightly.

He glanced at Lu Qingchen, then at Sun Zhiyuan, a hint of surprise in his eyes—this kid was usually so quiet, but he was surprisingly sharp-tongued when he started to argue.

Sun Zhiyuan's expression changed.

He leaned forward slightly against the back of his chair, his lips twitched as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just gave a cold snort, turned his gaze to the window, and said nothing more.

Lu Qingchen withdrew his gaze, his expression remaining unchanged.

Zhao Demao was silent for a while, then slowly nodded: "Since it was arranged by Elder Sun, then I have nothing to say. Elder Sun has been in the Spirit Plant Hall for decades. It is your good fortune that he took a liking to your spirit plant."

His tone was tinged with a mix of emotion and envy: "A dedicated spirit field... It took me several years to cultivate a special spirit plant, and you've already got one in less than two months. Work hard and don't let Elder Sun down."

"Disciple understands," Lu Qingchen replied.

Zhao Demao stood up and said to Senior Brother He, "Manager He, if there's anything the manor needs to cooperate with, just tell Wang Fu."

He then said to Lu Qingchen, "Take Steward He to select a site."

Senior Brother He cupped his hands in greeting, picked up the cloth bag, and followed Lu Qingchen out of the main room.

......

The two walked towards the end of the village, one after the other.

Brother He didn't say much along the way. When they arrived at the end of the village, he stood on the edge of the field, looked around, squatted down, picked up a handful of soil, rubbed it, and nodded.

"The soil quality is alright."

He stood up, pointed to the plot of land near the hillside, and asked, "Which of these twenty acres are you planning to designate?"

"Those two acres."

Lu Qingchen pointed to the deepest part, backed by the mountain wall, "The location is remote, with shelter on three sides, making it convenient to set up an array."

Senior Brother He glanced at it, nodded, took out a tape measure from his bag, and asked Lu Qingchen to help him hold it as he began to measure the land.

He measured very carefully, touching the ground with his toes with each step while muttering to himself.

After taking the measurements, he took out a small notebook from the cloth bag, drew a few strokes on it, and then looked up.

"Two acres of land, square in shape, is enough to set up a first-grade low-level protective array."

He took the materials out of the cloth bag one by one and laid them out on the ridge of the field: "One array plate, eight array flags, and six spirit stones for power."

"The array plate is buried three feet underground in the center of the field, and the array flags are placed at the four corners and four sides according to their positions. After activation, it can block mortals and low-level beasts. Even a cultivator in the mid-stage of Qi Refining will have to put in a lot of effort to break through."

He paused, his tone becoming more serious: "But you must remember, this is only a low-grade first-order formation, effective against honest people but not against scoundrels."

"If someone in the mid-to-late stages of Qi Refining is determined to break through, they can still do so with more effort. Don't rely on it too much."

"Thank you, senior brother. I will remember this!"

Lu Qingchen nodded.

Brother He said no more and rolled up his sleeves to get to work.