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

The entire village suffered a disaster, but Lu Qingchen's fields remained unscathed!

Su Qingxue let out a soft breath.

Unexpectedly, this seemingly ordinary junior brother Lu produced such an anomaly among the spirit rice he grew!

This Junior Brother Lu is truly unfathomable.

Not long after, a streak of light shot out from the direction of Mingfa Peak, cutting through the morning mist and flying towards Qingmu Village.

Elder Zheng stood with his hands behind his back at the forefront of the escape light, his robes fluttering in the wind.

Behind him followed Ma Wenyuan and the disciple who carried the object. The two were supported by spiritual energy. Although they were not as composed as Elder Zheng, they were still quite stable.

In the short time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the light descended at the entrance of Qingmu Manor.

Upon receiving the news, Zhao Demao immediately went to greet him, but Elder Zheng waved his hand and said there was no need for formalities, and to go directly to see the fields.

The group walked towards the end of the village.

Elder Zheng walked silently and quickly.

Zhao Demao followed beside him, wanting to speak several times, but seeing Elder Zheng's expression, he swallowed his words back.

Sun Zhiyuan walked in the crowd, his face looking rather pale.

Zhou Ming stood beside him, his round face devoid of its usual smile.

Wang Youde and Liu Wenhua followed at the back, neither of them saying a word.

Lu Qingchen stood at the edge of the crowd, his expression calm, and remained silent.

Upon reaching the end of the village, Elder Zheng stood on the edge of the field, his gaze sweeping over the expanse of emerald green spiritual rice before pausing.

He didn't speak, he just watched.

Everyone around held their breath and dared not make a sound.

After a while, Elder Zheng squatted down, turned over the leaves of a spirit rice plant, and looked at it from both sides.

Then I dug away the soil and looked at the color and shape of the roots.

Several soil and water samples were taken and tested on the spot using instruments.

He remained silent throughout the entire process.

It was quiet all around.

Zhao Demao stood on the edge of the field, his fingers slightly clenched inside his sleeve.

The tenant farmers stood in a circle at a distance, craning their necks to look, but no one dared to make a sound.

After working for about half an hour, Elder Zheng stood up and patted the mud off his hands.

He turned around and looked at Zhao Demao.

"It has indeed mutated."

His voice wasn't loud, but the surroundings were so quiet that every word fell clearly into everyone's ears.

"After this batch of spirit rice contracted the disease, it produced a substance within itself that could inhibit the spirit-eating insects. I have investigated and found that this is not something that can be produced by any medicine—it is a mutation of the spirit plant itself."

He paused, his tone tinged with emotion: "The spiritual plants of heaven and earth occasionally undergo extraordinary changes. I have been cultivating this land for over a hundred years and have only ever seen similar records in ancient books. This is the first time I have witnessed it with my own eyes."

It became quieter around us.

Sun Zhiyuan's facial muscles twitched, and he couldn't help but speak up: "Elder Zheng, all the spirit rice in the entire village has been infected with the disease, except for his field, which is... "

He didn't finish his sentence.

Elder Zheng glanced at him and said calmly, "What do you want to say?"

Sun Zhiyuan opened his mouth, but didn't dare to continue.

Zhou Ming couldn't help but ask, "Elder Zheng, does that mean... only Steward Lu's spirit rice survived the disease on its own?"

"You could say that."

Elder Zheng nodded, then shook his head. "To be precise, it wasn't that they 'withstood' the illness, but rather that they 'recovered on their own after contracting it.'"

"This is even rarer than simple disease resistance. Most spiritual plants, even if they have resistance, only experience milder symptoms and slower spread of the disease. This is the first time I've ever seen a plant that can recover on its own after getting infected."

A low murmur arose from the surroundings.

The tenant farmers didn't understand what "resistance" or "mutation" meant, but they understood perfectly what it meant to say, "Elder Zheng is seeing you for the first time."

Li Laosi took the pipe out of his mouth, squinted at the spiritual field, and remained silent for a long time.

Elder Zheng turned to Lu Qingchen: "You are Lu Qingchen?"

"This disciple is indeed Lu Qingchen," Lu Qingchen quickly bowed.

Elder Zheng sized him up: "Low-grade Five Elemental Roots?"

"Yes."

Elder Zheng nodded, his tone carrying a somewhat ambiguous meaning: "Luck is a very unpredictable thing."

"I have seen top-grade spiritual roots grow dead spiritual plants, and I have also seen mixed spiritual roots grow rare treasures. The mutation of spiritual plants has little to do with the aptitude of the grower's spiritual roots; it all depends on chance."

Wang Youde couldn't help but lean closer: "Junior Brother Lu, how exactly did you grow it? Is there some secret method?"

Lu Qingchen scratched his head, looking somewhat bewildered: "Really, there aren't any. They're just normal plants. When I saw the spots that day, I thought I was seeing things and almost pulled them up."

"Thank goodness you didn't pull it out."

Elder Zheng shook his head. "These mutated spirit rice plants are worth more than your entire field."

Liu Wenhua gave a wry smile: "Manager Lu, you've stepped right into a pile of spirit stones."

Elder Zheng turned to Zhao Demao, his tone becoming solemn: "After this batch of spirit rice is harvested, all the seeds must be handed over to the Spirit Plant Hall. No one may keep them for themselves. I will send someone to keep an eye on them, and not a single grain may be missing."

Zhao Demao quickly agreed.

Elder Zheng then looked at Lu Qingchen: "Don't worry, if your spirit rice can really solve the problem of this Spirit Erosion Disease, the sect will give you a corresponding reward."

Immediately, many envious glances fell upon Lu Qingchen.

The rewards from the Spirit Plant Hall, though we don't know what they are, are exciting just to think about!

Sun Zhiyuan stood outside the crowd, without saying a word.

His lips twitched as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he simply looked away.

The expression on that face was hard to tell whether it was jealousy or resentment.

Lu Qingchen quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, Elder Zheng."

Elder Zheng waved his hand: "No need to thank me. You've done a great service this time, and this is what you deserve."

He paused, looked at Lu Qingchen, and softened his tone: "However, I must add one more thing—the mutation of spiritual plants is something that can only be encountered by chance."

"It's your good fortune that you stumbled upon this, but in the world of spiritual plants, you can't rely on luck alone. Go back and study hard, lay a solid foundation, and you might be able to cultivate good things on your own in the future."

"Your disciple will keep in mind the elder's teachings."

Lu Qingchen said respectfully.

Elder Zheng nodded, his gaze sweeping over the spirit field not far away, which was shrouded in a pale blue light.

"The Spirit Protection Field?"

A look of curiosity flashed across his face as he looked at Lu Qingchen. "Is this your protective spirit field?"

Lu Qingchen's heart tightened, but he didn't show it on his face. He replied respectfully, "Reporting to Elder Zheng, this disciple accidentally discovered two somewhat special spiritual plants on the manor. I brought them back to the sect to ask Elder Sun to appraise them."

"Elder Sun took a liking to it and said he wanted to keep it for research. In exchange, he helped his disciple apply for this protective spirit field."

"Old Sun?"

Elder Zheng raised an eyebrow, then nodded. "That old fellow does indeed enjoy doing this kind of thing, but what kind of special spiritual plant could make him so interested?"

Lu Qingchen said, "This disciple doesn't know what kind it is either. Elder Sun said he has never seen it before either."

Elder Zheng hummed in agreement, his gaze falling on the pale blue light barrier, seemingly showing some interest: "May I go in and take a look?"