Chapter 59: Farming at the Foot of the Mountain, A Person Falling from the Peak

"I wonder what kind of experts are around?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Cao Qiushui, Wen Zhao, Du Jiaojia, Hong Sihai, Dong Chuan, Xiang Chengling..." Zong Shichang reeled off a dozen names in one breath. "Everyone I just mentioned is at the ninth stage of Qi Gathering, just a step away from entering the official ranks."

"If Brother Zhao wants to know their detailed backgrounds and origins, you might as well chat with me slowly."

"Alright, let's go together then." Zhao Xing did not refuse.

Actually, whether he knew these experts or not made little difference to him. Anyway, on the first day, he only planned to stay at the foot of the mountain to farm and had no intention of immediately climbing up to participate in the contention.

"Whoosh~"

A gentle breeze swirled around the bottom of the bamboo carrying case as Zhao Xing shouldered it and resumed his journey.

"Others use the wind to support heavy loads and end up choking on dust, but your wind-raising technique is quite exquisite," Zong Shichang praised.

"Young Master Zong also has great stamina." Zhao Xing glanced over and noticed that Zong Shichang was not using the wind to support his bamboo case.

"Not at all. This bamboo case of mine has a built-in lightness enchantment, so it doesn't require any physical effort from me." Zong Shichang tapped the outside of the case lightly, and immediately, swirling breezes appeared at the bottom, sides, and rear of the bamboo box.

Specks of green light radiated outward. Not only did Zong Shichang not need to carry it, but most of his body was actually leaning against the box, which meant the box was pushing him along!

"..." Zhao Xing was left speechless.

Having money is truly damn nice.

What Young Master Zong was using was a proper luxury item.

Even just a bamboo case for storing things like this was a tier-three superior artifact.

Zhao Xing considered himself somewhat well-off, but he would never be so extravagant.

"Once we pass this mountain stele, we will have truly entered the Spirit Mountain. What are Brother Zhao's plans?" The two walked along the mountain path until they stopped in front of a stone tablet.

"I plan to cut down Brother Zong and rob your case. You definitely have quite a few treasures on you," Zhao Xing said calmly.

Zong Shichang was taken aback. "There's no need for that, is there? I don't have many valuable things on me."

Zhao Xing smiled. "Anyway, after passing the Carefree Stele, once we go back down the mountain, we won't remember anything anyway, so it's better to do it than not! Since Brother Zong is being so flamboyant—even a single storage case is a tier-three superior treasure—rather than letting someone else take advantage of you, why not let me?"

Realizing that Zhao Xing was joking and actually reminding him to keep a low profile, Zong Shichang scratched his head and said, "That's true. Even if my father has prestige, I won't remember who bullied me, so how could I seek revenge?"

With that, Zong Shichang deactivated the mechanism of the bamboo case, and it immediately became plain and unadorned, no longer emitting specks of green light.

However, this meant he now had to rely purely on his own strength to carry the box.

"Raise wind!"

"Whoosh~"

"Cough, cough... Don't raise any wind, Brother Zong. Let me help you instead."

Choked by the dust stirred up by the wind, Zhao Xing quickly told him to stop.

What kind of garbage wind technique did you just conjure?

"Sorry about that," Zong Shichang said, looking somewhat embarrassed. "I've never done such delicate work before."

Zhao Xing shrugged and continued forward.

Crossing the mountain stele, one could distinctly feel that the spiritual energy had grown much denser.

The first three days of opening the mountain were precisely the times when the spiritual energy was most concentrated. If the effect of gathering qi outside for a day was rated as 1, inside the mountain it would be 10. And this was just at the foot of the mountain; higher up, it might be even stronger.

East Lake Mountain was rugged, steep, and perilous. After walking around the foot of the mountain for half an hour, Zhao Xing finally found a suitable location for planting.

He chose a spot beneath a cliff, right beside a small stream.

"Brother Zhao, instead of going up the mountain, you walked around the base for so long just to farm?" Zong Shichang saw Zhao Xing taking items out of the bamboo case and thought he was stopping to eat, only to discover they were a few saplings.

"You've tagged along for so long, you surely don't intend to just sightsee, do you?" Zhao Xing asked in surprise. "Aside from food, did you not bring anything else? Do you have no intention of participating in climbing the mountain to gather the peaks' spiritual essences?"

"Not entirely." Zong Shichang had already pitched a tent and folded the bamboo case twice, transforming it into a recliner-style chair.

Lying beside the stream with a flask of fine wine, he took a casual sip. "Before entering the mountain, I hired four skilled mercenaries to search for the mountain's spiritual essences for me."

"When they make gains on the mountain later, I'll simply take them and hand them in to fulfill my assignment."

While planting, Zhao Xing asked, "Will they agree? The mountain's spiritual essences are precious treasures. Who knows, an official appointment might just hinge on having such a portion of spiritual essence to assist."

Zong Shichang chuckled lightly. "What are they gathering spiritual essences for? Nothing more than advancing in official rank and growing wealthy. Since I can directly help them advance and grow wealthy, isn't that much safer and more reliable?"

Zhao Xing asked, "Brother Zong, would you mind if I spend thirty taels of silver to punch you once?"

...

Inside the bamboo carrying case that Xue Wenzhong had prepared for Zhao Xing were Vajra bamboo and green vine saplings.

Zhao Xing took out three of each and planted them on the spot.

He then cast the Earth Vein Qi-Unifying technique, enveloping the soil within a radius of one li.

"Gather clouds!"

"Bestow rain!"

With a wave of his hand, a small cloud formed three meters above the saplings, perfectly covering a ten-by-ten-foot patch of soil.

Thanks to the nearby stream, Zhao Xing easily absorbed enough moisture without expending much of his own spiritual energy.

"Drizzle, drizzle~"

The raindrops melted into the soil.

Zhao Xing cast his spell once more, initiating the [Cultivation Technique].

"Fine work!" Young Master Zong applauded from the side. "To be able to control the raincloud to such a small scale—as expected of the Three-Acre Zhao. Are you planning to craft some straw figures again?"

Since I'm working hard farming down here, you're treating it like a theatrical show up there? Zhao Xing retorted without hesitation, "Yes, exactly the kind of straw figures that beat you up last time."

"..." A chill ran down Zong Shichang's lower half as he recalled some unpleasant memories, and a smile spread across Zhao Xing's face instead.

Having made himself the butt of the joke, Young Master Zong looked off into the distance and continued drinking alone.

As he drank, Zhao Xing noticed that this fellow had actually fallen asleep?

Are you really here on an autumn outing?!

Shaking his head, Zhao Xing went back to work.

Due to East Lake Mountain's dense spiritual energy and the fact that it had been sealed for over half a year, the soil here was exceptionally fertile.

The Vajra bamboo and green vines planted by Zhao Xing quickly entered their growth phase.

"Once they reach the growth stage, things become much easier. Their roots are deeply anchored in the ground, allowing them to withstand the maturation effects of intermediate spells."

"Feral growth!"

Six streaks of golden light erupted from Zhao Xing's fingertips, plunging into the bodies of the Vajra bamboo and green vines.

This single action consumed half of his spiritual energy, but the effect was strikingly apparent.

"Sizzle, sizzle~" The green vines began to grow frantically, clinging to the cliff face. In the blink of an eye, they grew a meter tall and burst into blossom.

The Vajra bamboo's performance was equally impressive, shooting up taller by the second. After a quarter of an hour, it actually surpassed the growth rate of the vines.

"Swish, swish~" Conversely, the surrounding area experienced the exact opposite phenomenon of the two plants: all the grass withered away, and smaller trees began shedding their leaves.

Even many of the fish in the small stream rolled onto their bellies, dead.

The entire vicinity took on the appearance of late autumn.

"Did I sleep my brains out? What's going on here?" Zong Shichang looked around in bewilderment. He had clearly pitched his tent on a patch of lush green grass, but upon waking up, he found that the ground beneath him had turned into withered grass!

The leaves around him had also turned yellow and withered; when the wind blew, they swirled down and landed right on Zong Shichang's head.

"Brother Zong, you overslept. It's already late autumn," Zhao Xing casually fabricated.

"Do you take me for a three-year-old child?" Zong Shichang scoffed. "I only slept for at most an hour just now."

"Then you've got quite the talent for... huh?" Zhao Xing's expression suddenly shifted as if he had sensed something, and he snapped his head upward.

He saw a black shadow plunging down along the cliff face.

"Thud!" The shadow crashed onto the gravel beach ahead, instantly splashing a patch of crimson red.

Zhao Xing's expression changed slightly. A person had actually fallen down from up there!