Immortal Mystery Sequence: I Establish a Divine Duty for Heaven and Earth

Jiang Tu looked down upon the five years of peaceful life, not only focusing on Shennong Valley, but also keeping an eye on the developments in Xinping City.

The Buddhist and Taoist sects were most aggressive in purging the remnants of the Old Farmer's Hall in the first two years, digging almost three feet into the ground and uprooting all traces of the Farmer's Hall in the city. The momentum gradually weakened in the third year.

He quickly observed a phenomenon.

In the place where those agricultural cultivators perished in large numbers, the soil became exceptionally fertile, and grasses quickly grew tall and crops flourished. The crops on the outskirts of Xinping City grew stronger year by year, and the harvests increased year by year.

Some wastelands were originally so barren that even grass couldn't grow well, but since the serfdom revolution, whatever was planted there grew well, even medicinal herbs grew better than elsewhere!

Amidst this situation, Jiang Tu made an even greater discovery—even though the cleanup of the Buddhist and Taoist sects was still ongoing, there were still a few new "farmers" awakening and emerging in Xinping City!

These people did not receive the teachings of the old farmers' hall, nor were they guided by Luo Jin, yet one day they suddenly awakened to their innate wisdom. They quietly hid themselves and no longer showed themselves, vaguely becoming a considerable force scattered among the lower levels of Xinping City.

Jiang Tu summarized the whole situation and was deeply shaken.

He was reminded of the forbidden area of ​​Dajiang County in reality. He didn't know what a new student was before, but now that he put the two things together, everything fit perfectly!

So that's how it is!

The forbidden land of the Great River was reborn, the eerie aura dissipated, and a new county was built, standing on the corpses of countless agricultural cultivators!

There is no "continuous life" blessing in evolution, so this "new life" is not a blessing, but an inherent characteristic of the agricultural sequence itself!

When Luo Jin broke through to the seventh rank, he also received cultivation feedback from the dead farmer in the earth... So, is this a unique characteristic of the Farmer's Path sequence?!

He quickly deduced the pattern: the cultivation of a cultivator does not directly dissipate upon death! Instead, it merges into the earth, and a portion even returns to its origin!

This...is crucial information! It fills in the biggest question in his mind!

The Lingjiang Temple Taoist sect claims that they used profound Taoist methods to purify the evil energy and reclaim lost territory, but the truth is that it was all forged from the blood and flesh of farmers from Dajiang County... These people really know how to pat themselves on the back, and they feel perfectly justified in doing so!

Jiang Tu couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

……

……

[Year 39]

Shennong Valley.

Under Luo Jin's five years of meticulous guidance, the total number of ninth-rank "farmers" in the valley has exceeded three hundred again, reaching more than three hundred and ninety. There are also seventeen eighth-rank "field stewards," all of whom are the core members of the old farm hall who survived the serf rebellion. After five years of reflection and Luo Jin's guidance, they have successively completed the leap in rank, which is almost the limit of Shennong Valley's development.

The valley is isolated from the outside world, with no human contact with it. The population is limited and will not increase significantly in the short term.

Luo Jin secluded himself from the world, gradually shifting his focus to cultivation. His cultivation level rose accordingly, and he began to touch upon the second core ability of the seventh-rank "Herbal Compiler"... the art of straw dolls.

This technique is simple: weave grass leaves into a human shape, and then infuse it with a bit of spiritual light from heaven and earth using one's own cultivation, thus giving the grass a human form and commanding it to come to life!

However, this requires a lot of effort. Depending on the effort each person puts in, their personality, the materials used, and the timing and location, the resulting living straw figure will have different characteristics and abilities.

Even straw figures created by the same person can have completely different characteristics.

Most importantly, the number of slots is limited. He can only enlighten one at a time, and even if he is not satisfied with the final result, he cannot change it. Even if he destroys it, he cannot bring a second one back to life.

It's incredibly difficult to do!

Every blade of grass must be carefully selected and full of vitality, otherwise it may crumble at any time during the initiation process. Revitalizing is also the most difficult step, and even if all the preparatory work is done, it will always end in failure.

Luo Jin tried again and again, a hundred times, three hundred times, five hundred times... Every time the enlightenment failed, the straw man would explode on the spot.

He was not discouraged. He changed the materials, the weaving method, and the time of day, repeatedly adjusting every detail. He believed that hard work pays off.

[Year 40]

The total number of people in the valley who reach the eighth rank has exceeded forty, and there are several promising talents who are faintly touching the limit of the eighth rank.

Luo Jin began to teach seriously, hoping to cultivate a second "Herbal Compiler". However, the path to the seventh rank requires a deep understanding and accumulation of knowledge about the earth. It often requires years of accumulation and a key opportunity. It cannot be achieved by simply passing on knowledge and cannot be rushed.

At the same time, his understanding of herbs deepened.

He combined his years of accumulated knowledge of medicinal herbs with alchemy techniques to compile a "General Compendium of Materia Medica," which recorded the properties, interactions, and alchemical formulas of various herbs for the study of the people in the valley.

From then on, the farmers of Shennong Valley no longer needed to consult Luo Jin about everything; they could find the answers simply by flipping through the book.

His attempts at the straw doll technique have still failed, with over three thousand failures, yet he persists.

Summer, the Grain in Ear season.

A strange thing suddenly happened in the field.

A farmer was weeding when he saw something flash by in the grass.

He thought it was a grasshopper and reached out to grab it, but the thing was incredibly fast and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

In the following days, more and more people saw that shadow in the fields. It was right in front of them, but they couldn't catch it no matter what they did. Even if they tried to chase it with earth-遁法 (earth-遁法 is a type of magic or technique), they couldn't catch it. It was like a dragon that appeared and disappeared without a trace, strange and inexplicable!

When the news reached Luo Jin's ears, he went down to the field himself, squatted on the ridge, closed his eyes to sense for a moment, and then suddenly reached his hand into the soil.

Rumble-

The soil surged and the earth rippled, demonstrating the earth-shaking technique to its fullest extent!

Chi Chi Chi!

He finally pulled the thing out of the soil; it was a grasshopper!

But it was no ordinary grasshopper. Its entire body was emerald green, almost blending into the grass. Its six legs had faint yellowish-brown markings. After landing in Luo Jin's palm, it did not struggle. Instead, it touched his fingers with its antennae, showing a close relationship with him.

Luo Jin was stunned. He could feel a strange connection between the little insect and the earth, as if it had been born from the land and received the creation of heaven and earth.

He tried to communicate with it, and as soon as the idea came to him, the little grasshopper jumped onto his shoulder and quietly lay down.

He suddenly realized something!

It turns out that these were not flying insects or beasts, but guardian spirits naturally born in Shennong Valley.

Later, farmers in the valley discovered more of the same kind of small insects. They were called "Insect Spirits". They were as fast as lightning, extremely good at hiding, and could move freely in the fields. The way they recognized their owners was very simple: the first person to catch one became its owner.

From then on, it could deliver messages for its master, traversing the land as if strolling in a garden.

In just a few months, dozens of insect spirits were captured and recognized as masters, making communication within the valley extremely convenient. In the past, sending a message required using earth magic to travel all over the valley, but now a letter can be sent in the blink of an eye!

Wonderful!

On the winter solstice, another new discovery was made in the fields.

While washing vegetables by a stream in the valley, a peasant woman saw something swimming under the ice. She broke the ice and revealed a carp, its body silvery-white, its scales shimmering with a faint seven-colored halo, like a rainbow.

The fish didn't make a fuss when it landed in her hand; it simply opened its mouth and spat out a piece of seven-colored scale that landed in her palm.

Later, the people in the valley learned that this was called "Carp Spirit".

Even if they are fished out, they will not easily recognize a master. They choose their owners based on their own preferences. When they meet a passerby they like, they will float to the surface with a piece of colorful scale in their mouth. The person who takes the scale will then be bound to the fish, and keeping it at home will bring good luck.

It is said that if someone greedily kills and eats it, they will be plagued by bad luck. No one dares to try it, and everyone who sees it regards it as a rare treasure.

[Year 41]

Summer, the sun is shining brightly.

An eight-year-old girl was chasing butterflies among the flowers when one of them suddenly stopped moving on a medicinal herb.

The little girl took a closer look and saw that the butterfly's wings were inlaid with fine gold patterns, unlike ordinary butterflies, making it special.

She called for an adult.

After a long period of observation, everyone gathered around and confirmed it!

This is the third type of land spirit, called the "Butterfly Spirit." It resembles a butterfly, with golden patterns on its wings that shimmer and shine. A closer look reveals that it is no ordinary creature.

Butterfly Spirit is the most unique and also the most effective.

The first crop or herb it lands on after it is born will become its favorite, and wherever it flies thereafter, the same crop or herb will grow.

Once a rare and superior medicinal herb flies by, soon more will grow on rocks, flowers, trees, and even cliffs and in the water...

The only downside is that butterfly spirits don't seem to recognize their masters, and they don't last long before disappearing.

They fly erratically through the valley, landing on this field today and that field tomorrow, entirely according to their whims. The farmers of Shennong Valley can only go along with their whims and quickly harvest and transplant wherever they land, but that's enough.

With the help of Butterfly Spirit, the spread of many superior breeds has increased several times over compared to before.

……

……

Watching these changes unfold, Jiang Tu slowly opened his mouth wide in astonishment.

Three distinct earth spirits are roaming freely in Shennong Valley...

Emerald green insect spirits leap among the grass blades, silvery white carp spirits swim in the stream, and golden butterfly spirits flutter among the flowers. Each is busy with its own tasks, yet they do not disturb each other, but together they bring unprecedented prosperity to the place.

It turns out that the so-called guardian spirit of the land that brings blessings to the region is not a single entity, but rather a combination of many different kinds of spirits that encompass the entire Shennong Valley.

That's interesting!

These little creatures—grasshoppers deliver messages, koi bring good fortune, butterflies spread their species—will give rise to even more wondrous varieties in the future. Each has its own role and unique abilities, and they are probably much more enduring than the old man of the earth.

With this blessing that manifested its power, Shennong Valley, the agricultural base, has finally established itself!

There are people, there is land, there is food, there is medicine, there is spirit—