"This is a talisman from the Saint Sect, exclusively used by the Upper Realm Immortals to keep an eye on our shops," the shopkeeper said with a smile as he explained to Jiang Tang.
It turned out that in order to protect the Mortal Realm, the Immortal Court of the Upper Realm chose the best among the ten paths of cultivation to form the Imperial Sect, Sword Sect, Medicine Sect, Taoist Sect, Buddhist Sect, Poison Sect, Worm Sect, Blade Sect, Spirit Sect, and the Saint Sect.
The Imperial Sect sought to rule the world and prove the Way; the Sword Sect wielded swords to uphold justice and prove the Way; the Medicine Sect used their skills to save the world and prove the Way; the Taoist Sect proved the Way by slaying demons; the Buddhist Sect attracted worshippers and proved the Way with their incense offerings; the Poison Sect purged evil spirits with poison to prove the Way; the Worm Sect proved the Way by using worm techniques to eliminate harm; the Blade Sect proved the Way by slaying scourges of the world; the Spirit Sect proved the Way by mastering beasts and banishing demons.
Most of these were directly linked to cultivation, except for the Saint Sect, which proved the Way by supporting the world through commerce.
The top noble clans were involved in these industries. But though they were called the Ten Great Clans, there were only nine.
That was because ever since the clan leader of the ancient Saint Sect lineage ascended, the descendants declined and disappeared from sight. Since then, no merchant has been able to join the Saint Sect and be listed among the Ten Great Clans.
"As for this talisman, all of us business folks write one up to facilitate observation from the Upper Realm. If one day you strike it big, who knows, you might become the second generation of the Saint Sect," the shopkeeper said, filled with longing.
Jiang Tang listened carefully but remained silent.
These high and mighty things had nothing to do with him.
He only wanted to farm earnestly, become a wealthy landowner in this world, and then be able to freely enjoy Spirit Grass.
After the farming tools were forged, Jiang Tang paid with silver, and with a few days to spare, he decided to look for some Spirit Grass seeds to stock up on, which he could later sell to his own sect.
He settled in a nearby small inn, casually nibbled on a couple of steamed buns, and began meditating after nightfall.
While meditating, Jiang Tang entered the Spirit Field Space.
All the crops in the space had matured.
Jiang Tang quickly brought out the newly forged sickle and started harvesting the mature Spirit Grass and Spiritual Medicine.
He didn't know if it was the effect of money, but he felt that his harvesting speed had increased.
Busy for an hour and a half, Jiang Tang finished reaping two acres of the Spirit Field.
While harvesting the second section of the Spirit Field, Jiang Tang unearthed several ancient scrolls from the ground.
He dusted off the soil and examined them closely to discover that they were ancient medical texts.
After flipping through a few pages, his excitement soared.
The texts contained prescriptions for pills, including common ones that had been passed down to the present and ancient prescriptions that had been lost. Moreover, many of the rare medicinal ingredients were available in his Spirit Field!
If he could refine these pills and sell them, wouldn't he make a fortune?
Jiang Tang carefully stored the ancient texts into his Qiankun Bag, then led the Little Blue Ox over to plow the fields.
"Little guy, you've grown so fast, you're a big fella now. I'll call you Niu from now on. Work hard, and I'll buy you lots of new fodder," Jiang Tang patted the strong forehead of the Little Blue Ox and stuffed a handful of beans into its mouth.
The Little Blue Ox chewed the beans while wagging its tail, putting its strength into plowing the field with vigour.
In less than an hour, they had plowed the entire two acres.
Jiang Tang blended several loads of quality manure bought from the market into the Spirit Field soil, then activated the Golden Body Spell to break the soil.
The soil quickly became fertile and rich with Spiritual Energy.
Satisfied with sowing the seeds and watering, Jiang Tang added a large bunch of fodder for the Little Blue Ox before leaving the space.
By the time he exited, it was the end of the second watch of the night.
Jiang Tang used his Divine Sense to inspect his Dantian.
The accumulated cultivation was pitifully small.
Before entering the space, he had cultivated for two hours.
His body's talent was not good, quite mediocre in fact. If it wasn't for using the prescriptions in the ancient texts to refine pills that used the medicinal plants from the Spirit Field to cleanse his marrow and tendons, he might still be stuck at the half-baked stage of Qi Introduction.
Cultivation was still too slow.
Jiang Tang decided that after returning to the sect, he would borrow the Alchemy Room, refine another batch of pills, and improve his qualifications.
However, this time, he intended to revise the alchemy prescription according to the medical canon.
Jiang Tang called over a waiter to add a bucket of hot water, and after bathing and taking advantage of the refreshing early morning, he leisurely made his way to the western market he had never visited before.
Along the way, he heard some early-rising women, while picking vegetables, gossiping in small groups.
"Did you hear about the big incident last night?"
"I heard. They say that heartless one, how could they run all the way to our place, huh."
"Ah, who knows. Last night, the Young Master of the Sword Sect's Su Family, that Lord Qianchen himself took action, which stirred up quite a commotion."
"Isn't that the truth? My little girl was frightened awake in the middle of the night and has been crying until now."
"Who knows when they'll be able to wipe out all these heretics in one fell swoop."
"..." "..."
Jiang Tang paused listening to the fragmented chatter, and then he grasped the gist of it.
Su Chang'an had captured heretical disciples last night in Spirit Water Town.
He deployed quite a few Shadow Guards and captured more than a dozen heretic disciples alive.
The eldest brother truly lived up to the name of eldest brother.
Jiang Tang sighed with emotion.
In this world, where there is a righteous path, there naturally exists a heretical path as well.
Those who practice on the heretical path cultivate wicked and devious techniques, all of which are used to harm common folk.
Righteous disciples are chivalrous and just; their goals are not only to achieve immortality through cultivation but also to eradicate the heretical path.
However, the heretical forces are just as intricate and entwined as the righteous ones, and so, for thousands of years, the righteous path has always strained every nerve to clear out heretic disciples wherever they appear.
The righteous and the heretical are like water and fire, never coexisting peacefully with each other.
Jiang Tang strolled around for a few more days, buying lots of Spirit Grass seeds he fancied to stock up before returning to the Immortal Sect.
Du Long had been waiting for news of Jiang Tang's death.
But after waiting for two or three days, there was still no news.
Not long ago, an Outer Sect Steward came with two grayed soul stones, found the Servant Steward, reported that two servant disciples encountered danger and died outside, registered the names, collected the stones, and left.
Only then did he realize that his two underlings had been killed. As for who killed them, he hadn't found out. He heard that an Elder used time reversal, but after seeing it, remained silent on the matter.
Could it be… that someone else killed them?
Or was it Jiang Tang who killed them?
Du Long did not think it was likely someone else, considering these two were only servant disciples.
The Immortal Sect has its rules; internal cultivation must not involve killing unless a life-and-death agreement is signed, while life and death during outside experiences were not a concern.
For this reason, in order to compete for resources and resolve personal grudges, many disciples would secretly execute their fellow sect members when they went out.
The more Du Long thought about it, the more he was convinced that Jiang Tang had killed the two of them.
He gritted his teeth furiously, a ruthless light flashing in his eyes.
Don't think this will let you off the hook.
Du Long had always been narrow-minded and vindictive; he was the type to repay any slight or humiliation manifold.
His eyes rolling in contemplation, he concocted a plan and then quietly slipped away.
Upon returning to the courtyard, Jiang Tang busied himself harvesting the ripe crops in the Spirit Field, then he loosened the soil, sprinkled the newly bought seeds, and watered them before heading to the place where the Outer Sect received Spirit Plants.