"You've grown up well!" Zhang Junbao said as he placed his arm around Jiang Ming's shoulders and winked at him, "Shall I introduce you to some of my junior sisters? It'll make Chuyang Peak more lively, don't you think?"
"If you're thinking of introducing someone to him, you'll have to get in line, Senior Brother Zhang," Momo said with a smile.
"You don't know what type of girls he likes," Zhang Junbao said in a lowered voice, "Only a man understands another man!"
Momo scoffed before she said with a pout, "You men are all the same!" Then, she turned to look at Zi Linglong. A hint of envy and some complex feelings could be seen in the depths of her eyes.
Zhang Junbao patted Jiang Ming's shoulder and said through Voice Transmission, "She's pretty good. She has a good personality, she's gentle, and she gets along with your junior sister. Why don't you give her a chance?"
"If you think she's so good, why don't you go after her?" Jiang Ming retorted.
"I'm only interested in becoming an immortal. Women will only affect the speed of my cultivation and get in the way of my pursuit of longevity!" Zhang Junbao said as he waved his sleeves and rested his hands on his back.
Jiang Ming raised his chin slightly and said, "Your grandfather is looking this way."
At this time, Zhang Ren, Chunyang Peak's First Seat, was looking at the two boys.
Zhang Junbao's lips twitched. Then, he said to Jiang Ming before swiftly flying away, "Let's meet up for drinks when you're free!"
At the same time, Zi Linglong walked toward Jiang Ming. She grabbed Jiang Ming's arm and shook it as she asked, "I was amazing, right, Senior Brother?"
"Yes!" Jiang Ming said sincerely, "With you around, I won't have to worry about people looking for trouble with me."
"They won't dare to do that!" Zi Linglong said confidently. Then, she asked, hesitating slightly, "Senior Brother, Master and Sect Master told me to cultivate at Taiyang Peak's Sun Pit for now. The Sect Master has said that he'll impart the secrets of the sect to me as well. Do you think I should go?"
"Of course!" Jiang Ming said without any hesitation.
"B-but… But I don't want to leave you, Senior Brother!"
"Listen to me. You should go. You can always return once you're done cultivating there, right?"
"Okay. I'll come back as soon as I can!" Zi Linglong nodded.
In the end, Zi Linglong was brought away by Yan Yan.
…
After Jiang Ming followed Gu Hai back to Chuyang Peak, they sat down in the courtyard.
Jiang Ming brewed a pot of tea and poured two cups of tea before he finally took a seat. Then, he asked, "Master, will Linglong come back?"
"She can come back if she wants," Gu Hai said with a bitter smile. He drained the tea in the cup in one go before he continued to say, "She's still young and fickle. The Sect Master will definitely treat her like a princess at Taiyang Peak. I'm afraid that… Anyway, we can't complain. Her talent has been exposed. She's comparable to a Holy Daughter with her talent. Someone might make a move on her. I won't be able to protect her if that happens. Zuo Han's death means that there's a flaw in our sect's defenses. For Ling Long's sake and the sect's sake, we have to keep her safe. It's best for her to stay at the Sect Master's side."
Although Gu Hai felt reluctant, there was nothing he could do.
"I understand." Jiang Ming chuckled bitterly. "You should visit Taiyang Peak as well, Master. Linglong has never been away from our Peak before so I'm afraid she'll have a hard time adapting to new surroundings. I don't doubt they won't spare any effort in training her, but I'm worried the young disciples might bully her out of jealousy. It's best if you visit more often to watch over her."
"Alright. I'll leave the Peak to you." Gu Hai had already planned to do that as well. "I'll activate the protective Grand Formation on the Peak. It'll warn you, at least, if something happens."
The Grand Formation on Chuyang Peak was a simple one. The Formation was within the sect grounds after all. It would only produce illusions to confuse and trap intruders.
After activating the Formation, Gu Hai left.
…
Under the pavilion on the rooftop.
Jiang Ming rocked the recliner slowly, feeling slightly lonely. He was never bored when his junior sister was by his side. Even when he was cultivating in seclusion, he did not feel alone knowing she was nearby. Now that she was not around, he discovered that he cared about her more than he had imagined.
"It's not like we're never going to see each other again!" Jiang Ming shook his head and cleared his mind.
He sat cross-legged on the floor and closed his eyes to cultivate. He tried to break through to the Purple Mansion Realm, but he ran into a wall. It was as though a huge mountain stood on his cultivation path. He knew this was normal; the higher one's cultivation base was, the harder it would be to break through.
This stage was especially crucial to him. Advancing to the Purple Mansion Realm from the Golden Core Realm was stepping into a whole new world.
Jiang Ming continued to will his Golden Core to push against the invisible wall in his sea of consciousness. Once he succeeded in breaking the wall, his sea of consciousness would transform into a divine sea, which was unique to the Purple Mansion Realm.
Jiang Ming continued circulating his qi with his Golden Core and pushed against his sea of consciousness. The wall seemed to stand between heaven and earth. The thickness of the wall corresponded with his achievements in the Golden Core Realm. This was the reason he had a difficult time breaking through after reaching the 81st Extreme Golden Core Realm. It was too difficult, and he could only rely on sheer willpower and strength to break through.
Rumble!
When his Golden Core pushed against the invisible barrier again, it triggered endless surging waves. Alas, the barrier only shook without breaking. He continued trying a few times, but his attempts were all in vain.
After a while, he decided to rest and focused on comprehending the Great Akasa Formless Sword Qi instead. Unfortunately, he could not calm down enough to do that. In the end, he opened his eyes and looked outside.
The sun was slowly moving west; it was already late afternoon.
"I should go and harvest the crops. I wonder what rewards I'll obtain…"
Jiang Ming rose to his feet and leaped to the back of the mountain.
…
At the back of the mountain.
The paddy stalks bent low in the golden field. The oilseed rape was also waiting to be harvested. His vegetable farm was verdant and lush, but the medicinal field seemed rather sparse.
"This is the only world where paddy, wheat, and oilseed rape would mature at the same time."
Jiang Ming spread his senses wide and determined that no one was spying on him. Then, he waved his hand and launched a wind blade across the field. The blade easily cut the stalks of the oilseed rape near their roots.
He waved his hand again and the crops rose and flew into his hand. After shaking them vigorously, the seeds of the oilseed rape dropped to the ground. A gust of wind carried the seeds and the fallen leaves away.
In just a short time, he collected 100 kilograms of oilseed rape. Since this was a spiritual strain, this yield was satisfactory.
Subsequently, Jiang Ming joined his palms together. He manipulated his mana and squeezed the seeds like a compressor. Soon enough, droplets of oil emerged, and he collected them in a jade bottle.
"This is really convenient!" Jiang Ming exclaimed. In just a matter of minutes, he was done extracting the oil from the seeds. "Cultivators truly make great farmers! The efficiency is 100 times better!"
[Ding! Congratulations on harvesting one Mu of oilseed rape and extracting oil from it. Reward: 20 years' worth of cultivation and a human spiritual fruit!]
[Ding! Human spiritual fruit: a rare fruit that helps focus one's mind and improves one's comprehension skills]
"This can improve my comprehension skills?" Jiang Ming inhaled sharply.
20 years' worth of cultivation was a huge reward in itself. He did not expect to be rewarded with something that would improve his comprehension skills as well. He did know something abstract and abstruse like comprehension skills could be improved.
He clicked his tongue in wonder as he brought the fruit out without any hesitation. He took a bite of the fruit that was the size of a pigeon's egg. "It's sweet!"
After he ate the fruit, he could feel a faint trickle of energy entering his mind. It was a rather refreshing feeling. It felt as though his thought process had been accelerated by at least ten times. He exclaimed in shock, "This is amazing!"
Then, Jiang Ming looked at the three Mu of paddy and three Mu of wheat with a burning gaze. However, he did not harvest them immediately. Instead, he sliced and diced the withered stalks of the oilseed rape and turned them into powder before scattering them across the fields as fertilizer.
After that, he finally harvested the paddy and the wheat. He swiftly threshed them. In the end, they weighed about 600 kilograms. He could feed himself for a long time with this. Although the process was slightly more troublesome, it was nothing he could not handle.
[Ding! Congratulations on threshing three Mu of spiritual paddy. Reward: 60 years' worth of cultivation and the special ability, Great Akasa Steps]
[Ding! Congratulations on threshing three Mu of spiritual wheat. Reward: 60 years' worth of cultivation and five Enlightening Tea Leaves]