Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

Little Jasmine took tiny steps, her braids swinging, and came to Zhuang Xing's side. She tugged at Zhuang Xing's clothes, stood on tiptoe, and handed him her piece of cake with both hands.

Zhuang Xing naturally didn't want it. He took the plate, used chopsticks to break open the cake, and fed a bite to Xiao Moli.

Little Jasmine's face flushed, and she suddenly lowered her head shyly.

At this moment, Yunling suddenly walked over, snatched the cake plate and chopsticks away, and said, "Come on, let your sister feed you."

Zhuang Xing smiled and went outside.

Even when it's snowing, people are still outside playing ball with rackets; children always have plenty of energy to play with.

Zhuang Xing stretched and exhaled a puff of white breath. Using the faint firelight shining from inside the door, he looked in the direction where he had first climbed the mountain.

Hearing the commotion behind me, I didn't feel lonely anymore.

Chapter 107 Hooked Serpent

Spring is in full bloom, the melted snow has seeped into the soil, and the quiet of life's revival has returned.

The plan for a year is in spring, and the plan for a day is in the morning.

Many villagers, holding hoes and pitchforks, watched their rice paddies with extreme tension.

The village is located next to a large river with abundant water, so they mostly grow rice, which is irrigated, and grow less millet.

Now the fields are cultivated and the water has been diverted, but no rice seedlings have been planted. None of the villagers dare to approach the murky water, as if there is something terrifying beneath it.

Three Taoist priests emerged from the village, swords at their waists adorned with red and blue tassels. The village chief, wearing a straw hat, stood by, carefully giving them instructions.

"Master, this is the place."

"Seven days ago, my son was leading the village's old ox to the fields when suddenly that monstrous snake leaped out of the water and dragged both the ox and my son into the water..."

The village chief was in tears, his hand gripping the sickle trembling uncontrollably.

"Please, Taoist priest, rid us of that demonic snake..."

"We are here to exorcise the demon, so please rest assured, sir."

The leading Taoist priest cupped his hands and drew his sword.

"Please step back and don't get too close, or you might get hurt."

Upon hearing the Taoist's words, the villagers all retreated to a distance of over a hundred meters from the fields. However, they did not hide at home but simply watched from afar. Some of the more agile ones even climbed onto rooftops and trees to watch the Taoist exorcise the demon from a high vantage point.

The three Taoist priests discussed their strategy:

“Senior brother, that strange snake is tens of meters long, with a forked tail like a hook. It should be a hook snake that has awakened from hibernation,” said the young Taoist priest with a green tassel hanging from his waist. “Seven days have passed, and that yellow ox… it’s probably almost finished digesting. If we can’t kill it in one blow and frighten it, it will definitely escape by hiding in the water and go somewhere else to harm people. Let me deal with that hook snake.”

The Taoist priest, with a red tassel hanging from his waist, pondered for a moment and then nodded.

“Alright, then I will lure out that hooked snake. Junior brother, watch for the right moment to make your move.”

“Senior brother, I can lure that snake out.” Junior sister patted the medicine pouch at her waist. “Just mix some snake-attracting medicine into the water, and it will be drawn out.”

The Taoist priest remained silent for a moment, then asked, "Are you sure this medicine is effective?"

“If we can’t lure the snake out, then it’s alright for you to take action again, senior brother,” the young Taoist priest interjected.

"That's true. Then I'll keep an eye on things for you. Just be careful."

"nature."

After the three of them discussed their plan, the junior sister took out the dried snake fruit from her bag, mixed it with some herbs, and ground it into a paste.

She threw the medicine paste and the stone bowl into the water together, retreated to a distance, and then the young Taoist priest and the Taoist master drew their swords and hid behind a haystack.

Before long, the water in the rice paddy rippled, a line of water split open, and a thick, strange snake emerged from it.

"coming!"

"The demonic serpent is here!"

The tense villagers suddenly erupted in a commotion, gripping their farm tools tightly. The strange snake was as thick as an old tree, the same color as mud and water, with a forked tail that had long, claw-like hooks.

Its abdomen was somewhat bloated, and it looked like it was stuffed with something.

The strange snake seemed to have spotted the two people hiding behind the haystack, and its long, hook-like tail lashed out.

Everyone stared wide-eyed, and in a panic, the village chief couldn't help but shout.

"Master, be careful!"

The snake's tail lashed out at the young Taoist priest. According to those who were in the field at the time, the monstrous snake struck down the village's old ox with a single blow, then dragged both the ox and the man into the water...

The young Taoist priest looked quite young, and the village chief couldn't help but think of his grandson who was only nine years old. His heart tightened, and he felt a little breathless.

However, in the blink of an eye, he heard a splash as someone fell into the water.

He didn't see what happened at all; he only saw the headless snake body floating on the water, struggling a couple of times, and then becoming still. The huge snake head rolled onto the ground.

"The demon serpent is dead!"

"The demon serpent is dead!"

The villagers cheered and breathed a sigh of relief; they could finally farm in peace.

Several sharp-eyed people saw that it was the young Taoist priest who swung his sword and cut off the snake's head. Not a single drop of blood was stained on his plain Taoist robe, and not even a trace of blood could be seen on the sword.

They thought to themselves, "Xuanqing Temple is indeed as the village elders said, inhabited by immortals." But they dared not treat the young Taoist priest as a child anymore.

...

Zhuang Xing's second demon-slaying mission after descending the mountain was much simpler than the first. Apart from the travel time, it only took about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, which is more like the normal procedure.

After removing the hooked snake, they didn't take any money from the village. They simply chanted Taoist scriptures for the deceased, took the snake's skin, gall bladder, tail hook, and demon core with them, cut off a few pieces of snake meat, tied them to their horses, and then returned to the mountain.

Zhuang Xing thought to himself that this newly acquired sword was indeed very sharp. When he rested at night, he drew the sword, and the blade, illuminated by the firelight, displayed a purplish-gold color with a faint blue light flowing within it. It was clear at a glance that it was no ordinary sword.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, he went to the sword forging hall to retrieve his new sword.

This was his first time trying out the sword. He wanted to practice again with Master Wu, but Master Wu said his skills were not yet up to par and that he should not rely too much on the inherent sharpness of his innate Qi. Master Wu told him to try out the sword again when he reached the Red Tassel level.

Master Wu is indeed a master. Zhuang Xing felt that his skills were far from sufficient and he needed to practice more before he would be willing to spar with him.

After eliminating the serpent, the three returned to the inn at the foot of the mountain and each received five red banknotes.

Compared to the mountain demon, the hook snake is a very dangerous monster. They like to lurk by the river and drag passing people, horses, and wild animals into the water to drown and devour them.

Because this trip was very close to Xuanqing Mountain, the three of them, led by Senior Brother Linghui, went to exorcise the demon.

After resting for the night at the foot of the mountain, Zhuang Xing returned to the temple.

Since the beginning of spring, eight more children have left. I heard that the children who are learning skills in the mountains will also be sent back to the village next spring.

Bai Yu and the others will also be arranged to go down the mountain and settle in various villages, where they will be allocated land according to the laws of the Great Yu Dynasty.

A year is neither long nor short. I wonder if I will ever see these familiar faces again.

Perhaps it will be like what happened to my mother and father back then, a separation that lasted for ten years.

Think about it, the person who actually spent the most time with Zhuangxing on the mountain was Dachun.

Da Chun hasn't yet mastered true Qi. Among the children of his generation, only Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling have mastered true Qi and even went down the mountain to exorcise demons twice.

Even in the history of Xuanqing Temple, the two seem to be far ahead.

What will become of them in the future?

Zhuang Xing couldn't imagine things that were too far in the future, so he should focus on the things at hand first.

In the spring, he asked Bai Yu to help him sow the wheat.

They reclaimed a new field where they used to grow wheat. They could grind the wheat into flour, and the flour could be used to make fragrant and soft cakes. Those who ate the cakes last year understood this.

Especially Sister Qiaoxia, she always had a craving and wanted Zhuang Xing to bake the cake again.

Unfortunately, the wheat hasn't been planted yet, and there are hardly any wheat plants nearby. That thing is a very rare plant around Xuanqing Temple. You can hardly find it in the wild, and nobody eats it. Few people think it's edible.

That day, Zhuang Xing went to check on the growth of the wheat again. Yunling regularly used vitality magic to nourish the wheat, so the wheat was growing well. As long as there was no extreme weather, there would be no situation where there was no harvest.

Zhuang Xing thought to himself, "When Bai Yu and the others come down the mountain, I'll teach them everything that can be made from flour."

He knew that wheat would eventually be promoted and leave its mark on history and on everyone's life.

As one of the first people to use flour, Bai Yu and his group also received some benefits.

Although they couldn't cultivate, they were all his friends and neighbors. He always hoped that the people he knew could live better lives, and that when they met again in the future, he hoped they could chat together with smiles instead of talking about sad things.

After inspecting the wheat, Zhuang Xing and Yunling took the snake meat they had cut to the market to sell.

Today is neither the first nor the fifteenth of the lunar month, so the city is very quiet. Apart from a few shops that are open, there are hardly any people to be seen.

However, Zhuang Xing still managed to find out that someone was constantly collecting ingredients for the fat Taoist priest's restaurant.

The fat Taoist priest would buy the best meat from the monsters at a good price, and as the supplier of the ingredients, they could also enjoy the nutritional supplements in advance.

Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling brought the snake meat to the fat Taoist priest's shop.

Chapter 108 Long-Term Meal Ticket

"The flesh of the hooked snake..."

The fat Taoist priest placed the meat that Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling had brought on the cutting board and used a cleaver with a thick blade to cut the snake meat.

"This meat is too lean. How about three green tickets per pound?"

"It's good that you're willing to accept it, Daoist Master," Zhuang Xing replied.

As far as he knew, the fat Taoist priest didn't accept just any ingredients. Zhuang Xing was quite satisfied with selling the hook snake meat. Although they brought back a small amount of meat, it was still about ten catties, which would amount to about thirty green tickets and about six red tickets. This was more than the reward they would have received for getting rid of the hook snake on this trip.

The fat Taoist priest nodded, weighed the snake meat, counted out about thirty green bills, and handed them to Zhuang Xing and Yunling.

He then made three cuts, horizontal and vertical, into several pieces of snake meat, wrapped them in emerald green lotus leaves, and placed them in a stone cabinet.

The stone cabinet emitted a faint, cold white vapor, and inside were many blocks of ice.

"Does everyone who accepts my ingredients get a free dish from me? Do you want to eat today, or wait until the market opens on the first day of the lunar new year?"

"Let's do it today, thank you for your help, Daoist Master," Zhuang Xing said.

Before coming, he and Yunling had already decided that there would be too many people on the day the market opened, so they specially chose to come around noon so that they could have a meal here.

"Alright, then let's use this snake meat to make you a snake soup."