Chapter 13 Eryao Helps Till the Land
"Daddy, Eryao is full," Eryao burped loudly and grinned at Jiang Tang.
Jiang Tang: "..." expressed the pain in his wallet.
Well, one chose to raise the cub oneself, even if it meant crying, one had to nurture it.
He sighed, took out the fertilizer he had bought at the market from his Qiankun Bag, and began to pour it over each row of soil.
"Niu!"
At Jiang Tang's call, the Green Ox mooed and walked out from the shed, hitched itself to the plow, and started plowing the field with Jiang Tang.
As he plowed, Jiang Tang scattered the newly purchased Spirit Water, moistening the soil to make it easier for breaking up and raking later on.
The Green Ox was strong and quickly finished plowing two acres of land.
Jiang Tang patted the Green Ox's head, fed it a handful of tender Spirit Grass, and then picked up a hoe to start breaking up the soil.
After mixing in the fertilizer and Spirit Water, the Spiritual Energy, which had been absorbed by the crops, began to grow dense again in the two acres.
The soil also became fertile and just right.
Jiang Tang wiped the sweat from his forehead, took out a large sack of seeds from his Qiankun Bag, placed it next to the shed, grabbed a gourd, and then channeled a spell to fill it with seeds.
This gourd, too, had been harvested from the Spirit Field; he had heard others say this kind of gourd could be used to nourish swords. But since Jiang Tang didn't practice swordsmanship, he found the gourd to be a good container for sowing seeds and decided to use it for that purpose.
"Niu, keep an eye on this bag of seeds, okay? These are our future money-making treasures," said Jiang Tang as he removed the Green Ox's plow, led it back to the shed, and provided it with fodder and Spirit Water, patting its head affectionately.
The Green Ox nuzzled Jiang Tang's waist to show it understood.
Jiang Tang walked over to the Spirit Field, took out a wooden stick, and gently tapped the gourd while walking towards the front of the row of land.
Seeds fell out of the gourd, evenly covering the ground.
In less than an hour, Jiang Tang had finished sowing the seeds over the two acres.
The first batch of seeds already started to sprout roots and shoots.
The crops planted in the Spirit Field Space grew quickly.
Jiang Tang took out some Spirit Soil from his Qiankun Bag, started to construct a nest next to the shed, added Spirit Grass to it, and then brought Eryao over, placing it inside.
"From now on, Eryao will live here, helping me watch over the Spirit Field. Once the crops are ripe, you can eat as much as you want," Jiang Tang rubbed Eryao's head while saying this.
"Thank you, Daddy." Eryao was already sleepy, blinking its eyes, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Jiang Tang clearly saw that after Eryao fell asleep, dense mists from all directions started to converge towards Eryao.
They turned into wisps and carefully merged into Eryao's body.
Then, a visible mass of Spiritual Power appeared, swirling around Eryao's body.
This was… self-cultivating while asleep?
Jiang Tang exclaimed, impressed.
Born with a natural advantage indeed.
Enviously watching the little one for a while, he left the space.
After bathing, Jiang Tang also began to meditate and cultivate—he needed to unlock other Spirit Fields quickly, plant better things, and feed the little dragon cub.
Thinking thus, Jiang Tang closed his eyes and began to enter meditation.
He was completely unaware that once he deeply entered meditation, his mind wholly focused, the jade on his neck released a faint white mist, enveloping him.
The Spiritual Energy absorbed from all directions, originally thin and rife with impurities, became rich and pure after being filtered by the light before it entered Jiang Tang's Dantian.
Much of the Spiritual Energy entered the Dantian, assimilating it, while a smaller portion was absorbed by the jade.
The jade sparkled for a while, transforming into a smooth-surfaced Jade Pendant.
Several hours later, the light of the jade dimmed slowly.
Outside, day and night exchanged places, three days fleeting by in the blink of an eye.
At the hour of Mao, Jiang Tang suddenly opened his eyes.
He had actually... stepped into the perfect realm of the Fifth Layer of Body Refinement, only a step away from the Sixth Layer!
Didn't that mean he could unlock the Spirit Field again?
Jiang Tang felt delightfully satisfied.
Thinking of the Spirit Field, he remembered Little Dragon Eryao.
Oh no, it seemed he hadn't fed it for a few days, could it have starved to death?
With a thud in his heart, Jiang Tang hurried into the space to check.
What he saw next left him somewhat astonished.
That tiny Spirit Beast, floating in mid-air with a sickle larger than itself in its hands, was vigorously harvesting the crops in the first mu of the Spirit Field.
The harvested Spirit Plants were neatly placed beside the cowshed—there was already a mountain of Spirit Grass there.
That was not all; Eryao had even imitated him, plowing the field with Brother Niu, and then used spells to rake and water the earth before sowing seeds taken from its pouch?
It must have become sentient.
"Daddy!" Having finished sowing the last ridge, Eryao turned back, saw Jiang Tang, and immediately pounced over, rubbing against him affectionately.
"Eryao, tell me honestly, how many times did you plow the fields with Brother Niu?" Looking at the small mountain-like Spirit Grass and weapons, Jiang Tang slowly came back to his senses from the astonishment.
"Eryao plowed four times. The first time, half of it went wrong. Afraid of being scolded by Daddy, Eryao ate it all up," Eryao said sheepishly, grinning.
Jiang Tang: "..." Truly a genius.
When he first learned to farm, he didn't know anything and ruined much more than half a mu of land; he spoiled a whole thirty mu.
Those months were full of toil and trouble for him, and in the end, it was all for naught; he was so heartbroken that he almost became reclusive.
It was only when a more experienced senior brother couldn't bear to watch and taught him by hand that Jiang Tang painfully learned and eventually became proficient as he was today.
This little thing had watched him only once and was already able to grow six mu of top-quality crops.
Talent really is something to be envied and jealous of.
"You did a great job. This is your reward," Jiang Tang said as he collected the Spirit Grass and took out a piece of candy from his Qiankun Bag to hand over.
"Daddy, what is this?" Eryao smelt the rich Spiritual Energy and immediately lit up with excitement.
"This is a candy made from Spirit Grass, it can help you improve your cultivation. Grow up quickly so that you won't be bullied in the future."
Upon hearing this, Eryao nodded promptly, grabbed the candy, and hugged it in its arms as if it were a treasure, reluctant to eat.
Not until the candy was almost melted from being held did Eryao finally eat the sweet treat.
Seeing a decline in the quality of the Spirit Field, Jiang Tang decided not to continue farming.
He already had enough stockpiled goods; it was time to go down the mountain and find a shop.
Without hesitation, Jiang Tang quickly took a bath, changed into a fresh outfit, and applied for leave to descend the mountain.
Little did he know, this trip down the mountain would once again draw unwelcome attention.
And not from just one source.
In a courtyard, upon receiving the report from his underling that Jiang Tang had descended the mountain, Chu Zuo sneered coldly, "He likes farming, doesn't he? Go break his legs and arms for my sake, and let's see how he farms then!"
The underling immediately called his dozen or so brothers and set off down the mountain.
In another place, upon hearing of Jiang Tang's descent, Du Long hardened his heart and sent several more underlings, instructing them to gather a dozen brothers and plan to go down the mountain with the intent to completely eliminate Jiang Tang.
Poor Jiang Tang, it looks like his troubles are far from over.