After transmigrating into the body of the protagonist's childhood friend, he was targeted by a

The magistrate looked troubled.

Where can they get spirit stones in this mortal realm?

Even the ten low-grade spirit stones that were given for the mission were obtained by him after reporting through multiple levels and pestering for half a month.

Now they need ten more, and he really can't come up with them in a short time.

Although people in the mortal world knew of the existence of cultivators, ordinary people still lived ordinary lives, using copper coins and silver scraps.

This is also a restriction imposed by the laws of the mortal world to protect the people.

After all, if a child were to carry gold in the market, and ordinary people were allowed to trade spirit stones at will, it would inevitably attract some people with ulterior motives.

Jiang Che was also in a dilemma. Although he wasn't there to earn spirit stones, he couldn't work for nothing; he had to at least recoup his costs.

Lin Zhixu thought for a moment, then looked at the county magistrate: "Can we issue an IOU?"

The county magistrate and Jiang Che were both stunned for a moment and looked at him.

Lin Zhixu said, "Since you can't come up with it right away, let's just have you write an IOU. I trust you won't renege on your promise, right?"

The magistrate's eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously, saying repeatedly, "No, no! Even if I had a hundred lives, I wouldn't dare to renege on the immortal's debt!"

As long as he isn't pressured to hand over spirit stones on the spot, he has time to report it up the chain of command, and after ten days or half a month, he can eventually settle this score.

Jiang Che thought for a moment and nodded.

Ten low-grade spirit stones were nothing to him; he just didn't want to work for free.

He wasn't afraid of the county magistrate defaulting on his debts, because there were heavenly constraints on transactions with cultivators.

Moreover, judging from the magistrate's fearful and apprehensive appearance, he probably didn't have the guts.

The magistrate quickly spread out paper and pen and wrote an IOU. Jiang Che signed his name, and the matter was settled.

After the matter was explained, Lin Zhixu led Jiang Che to prepare to go up the mountain.

The magistrate wanted to follow, but Jiang Che waved him away.

Cultivators have their own methods for handling spiritual plants, and outsiders are only a hindrance.

The magistrate, being astute, did not insist further.

……

Jiang Che followed Lin Zhixu up the mountain, and the more he looked around, the more alarmed he became.

The situation on the outside was the same as Lin Zhixu described.

The higher you go up the mountain, the denser the grass becomes. Patches of withered grass lie flat on the ground, and even the old trees, as thick as a bowl, have withered leaves and their bark is cracked as if it has been drained of moisture.

The two started cleaning from the outside. Jiang Che took out a special powder from his storage bag and sprinkled it evenly around the edge of the spreading rotten moss.

This powder was specially formulated by Danfeng and has a remarkable effect on parasitic spiritual plants.

Less than half a quarter of an hour after it was sprinkled, the moss attached to the rocks began to turn black and crack, crumbling into powder at the slightest touch.

The two continued along the mountain path until the outer ring of decaying moss was completely cleared away. Only then did Lin Zhixu lead Jiang Che through the pile of rocks to the hidden crevice in the stone.

Jiang Che's medicinal powder had killed off much of the decaying moss on both sides of the crevice, but the dark red veins deep inside the crevice were still very thick.

Jiang Che did not rush to apply the medicine.

He stood in front of the crevice in the rock, closed his eyes, and extended his divine sense to perceive it for a moment.

He has an earth elemental root, which gives him a natural affinity with this mountain and its surrounding landforms. In addition, his cultivation level is higher than Lin Zhixu's, and his perception is much more refined.

Besides sensing the spiritual energy fluctuations that Lin Zhixu mentioned, he also sensed a bloody smell.

Moreover, this bloody smell was unlike anything else, subtly conveying an eerie feeling.

A moment later he opened his eyes, his brows furrowed in a frown.

Seeing Jiang Che frown, Lin Zhixu asked, "What did Senior Brother Jiang sense?"

Jiang Che shook his head: "I'm not sure. I sense a hint of evil energy inside. I don't know what kind of demonic beast it is, or something else."

Perhaps it's a demon...

The thought suddenly popped into his mind, making his heart skip a beat.

He suppressed the idea as soon as it popped into his head.

The demon race has been absent for tens of thousands of years. How could they suddenly appear in an ordinary mountain village in the human world? What a coincidence!

Jiang Che withdrew his divine sense and said seriously, "Junior brother, this matter cannot be handled by the two of us alone. No matter what's inside, for the Corrupting Spirit Moss to mutate to this state, it's certainly not something the two of us can handle. Let's go back and report to the elders first."

Lin Zhixu nodded without hesitation.

Jiang Che was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and his perception and judgment were more accurate than his.

Even Jiang Che spoke so solemnly, so the thing in the crevice was most likely beyond their level to touch.

No matter how strong your curiosity is, it's not worth risking your life for.

On their way down the mountain, the two passed through Qingxi Village and stopped by the fields for a quick look.

After the rotten moss was cleaned up, the trapped spiritual energy began to slowly flow back. The rice stalks, which were originally so withered that they would ignite at the slightest touch, visibly straightened up, and the shriveled grains swelled up a little.

But that's where it ends.

Jiang Che squatted on the edge of the field, gently pinched the recovered rice ears, and then probed the remaining spiritual energy in the soil: "Fortunately, it hasn't been fundamentally damaged yet."

"The Corrupted Spirit Moss has been rooted here for quite some time, severely depleting the soil's fertility. This little bit of returning spiritual energy can only provide temporary relief and cannot support a bountiful harvest. To restore the yield to what it was in previous years, it will take at least three to five years to cultivate it."

A number of villagers who had heard the news had already gathered at the other end of the field.

Some people witnessed their crops revive instantly as if by magic, and their knees buckled, so they knelt down, repeatedly praying for divine protection.

It quickly attracted even more people.

A dark mass of people knelt on the ridges of the field, many of them elderly, their hands trembling as they held a few grains of rice that had just begun to ripen, their murky tears streaming down their faces.

Someone quickly shouted, "Quickly, gather people together and get ready to harvest!"

Everyone, disregarding their emotions, quickly got to work.

Once the matter was resolved, the two stopped paying attention to it and quickly returned to their sect.

After the two returned to the sect, Jiang Che hurriedly went to Danfeng to report the matter of the stone crevice to Elder Xuanqing.

Lin Zhixu went to Wanbaoge alone to hand in the task.

The middle-aged cultivator took the token, confirmed that the mission was completed without error, counted out the reward of ten low-grade spirit stones, glanced at the mission record, and casually asked a few questions about the situation in Qingxi Village.

Lin Zhixu briefly explained the matter of the Corrupted Spirit Moss. The middle-aged cultivator nodded, made a note in the dossier, and indicated that the task was completed.

When Lin Zhixu returned to Qiyue Peak, the courtyard was empty.

He pushed open the door and glanced inside. The bed was neatly arranged, just as it had been when he left in the morning.

He paused for a moment.

Over time, he had gotten used to Yu Linzhou appearing in his yard.

Sometimes he would lounge on a deck chair in the porch, and sometimes he would brazenly occupy his bed.

Every time he came back from going out, that person would come by smelling him, but today was unusual; he wasn't there at all.

On second thought, it was probably Jiang Che who reported the matter of Qingxi Village.

The aura emanating from the crack in the rock, which even made Jiang Che's expression change, if it truly involved something important, would surely prompt the sect to convene a meeting.

No matter how unwilling Yu Linzhou was, he had to attend this kind of occasion.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside the main council hall was somber.