Chapter 113: Sharpening the Axe

Curiosity piqued, Lin Xiao quickened his pace, urging Fuzi and Tuzi to follow him deeper into the village.

As they passed through the village, the villagers who had been gossiping under the large tree fell silent, watching the trio intently. Once they had passed, the chatter resumed, even louder than before.

It was now the afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly, growing hotter and more intense as summer approached.

After spending the morning cultivating, Lin Dayou had lunch and then headed to the fields.

In recent days, apart from sleeping, his two new disciples had been following him around constantly. To be more accurate, it was Mo Yuanjiao who clung to him like glue, while Mo Que mainly followed to stay close to his young master.

It was one thing for them to follow him, but they insisted on helping with the farm work too. On the first day, they were more of a hindrance than a help, almost ruining three mu of land because they couldn't tell the difference between crops and weeds.

Fortunately, Lin Dayou noticed in time.

No amount of persuasion could deter them, so Lin Dayou had no choice but to teach them how to farm, step by step.

To his surprise, the young lad seemed to have a knack for farming. After just one day of instruction, he was already working quite efficiently. Mo Que, the loyal guard, didn't perform as well, fumbling with the tasks more than his young master.

As Lin Xiao passed by his family's field, he was surprised to see the three of them hard at work.

Could it be that these two came to learn farming rather than cultivating? He had assumed they were here to seek spiritual training.

Jiang Youfu and Liu Yunan, who were walking beside Lin Xiao, didn't pay much attention to the scene in the fields. They didn't recognize Mo Yuanjiao and Mo Que, nor were they aware of the situation. Both were eager to return home after being away for so long, and when they reached the fork in the road, they parted ways with Lin Xiao to head back to their respective homes.

Lin Xiao, not wanting to disturb the three hard-working individuals in the field, continued silently up the mountain.

Unbeknownst to him, the disciples of Lingxian Sect had developed a routine of cultivating in the morning and engaging in other activities in the afternoon.

The cultivation hall was empty at this time.

In the distance, Xiaoluan was patrolling the spirit fields with its three little disciples, gobbling up any bugs it encountered.

Lin Xiao couldn't spot Elder Liao, who was likely enjoying tea in his room again.

Behind the sect's main hall, a small hill of earth and neatly stacked logs indicated that Tie Tou had been busy. Wildflowers had been planted all around, and morning glories had even climbed up the shelter by the practice area.

These were the result of Tie Tou's efforts, along with Liu Shengsheng and Lin Ying, who had helped with the planting.

At the lowest level of the Guiyuan Mountain Residence, a small doorless hut had been built, with a low stove inside. The black soot marks on it showed that it had been in use for a few days. Near the small mountain spring next to the residence, two brand-new wooden buckets were placed, clearly crafted by Lin Xiao's grandfather.

Seeing how the sect was gradually becoming more homely and cozy filled Lin Xiao's heart with warmth.

After being away for ten days, returning to the sect felt just like coming home.

Without disturbing Xiaoluan, who was busy with its disciples, or Elder Liao, who was sipping tea, Lin Xiao made his way to the farthest part of the mountain.

In the distance were the terraced fields he had created earlier.

Lingxian Sect was located on a flat area halfway up the mountain, and the terraced fields were at the edge of this flat land. Beyond that was the mountain peak, and behind the peak lay the expansive Beishan Mountain Range.

Following the system's guidance, Lin Xiao circled to the backside of the peak and leaped down to the bottom.

This was a small valley surrounded by mountains. Though it was called a valley, it was almost entirely covered in dense forests and vegetation.

As soon as Lin Xiao landed, he startled a sika deer that had been foraging nearby.

He had never been to this area before. The path down was steep, and once descended, it would have been difficult to climb back up in the past.

The villagers often spoke of the many wild animals in the Beishan Mountains, and now, having just encountered a deer upon arrival, Lin Xiao realized they weren't exaggerating.

It seemed that even without livestock for the time being, they wouldn't have to worry about a meat supply.

However, Lin Xiao wasn't here to hunt today.

He walked a few steps forward and arrived at a cliff face.

When he reached out to touch the cliff, his hand passed through as if it wasn't there at all.

Without hesitation, he stepped inside.

Inside, Lin Xiao found himself in the familiar surroundings of the spirit stone mine he had discovered in Liaojufu.

The system had been considerate enough to replicate the locking and concealment formations that had originally guarded the mine.

Seeing the faintly glowing spirit stones, Lin Xiao felt completely satisfied.

He immediately sat down, took out a small hoe he had bought in the county town, along with a spirit stone, and activated the item synthesizer.

After placing the two items into the synthesizer, Lin Xiao patiently waited.

Moments later, the synthesis was complete, and the synthesizer produced a brand-new small hoe.

The hoe's wooden handle and iron blade now gleamed with a glossy sheen, resembling jade.

Lin Xiao activated the identification function to inspect it.

[Small Spirit Hoe: Can be infused with spiritual energy. Using this hoe to till the soil will better protect the roots of spiritual plants.]

Satisfied that he had created a spirit hoe, Lin Xiao then pulled out a pickaxe.

This was something he had taken from the blacksmith's shop while the owner wasn't looking, leaving money behind, of course.

Following the same process, Lin Xiao placed the pickaxe and a spirit stone into the synthesizer. Since the pickaxe was larger than the hoe, he added an extra spirit stone for good measure.

A short while later, Lin Xiao successfully obtained a spirit pickaxe.

Activating the identification function once more, he examined it.

[Spirit Pickaxe: Extremely durable, ideal for mining low-grade spirit ore.]

Without hesitation, Lin Xiao grabbed the spirit pickaxe and eagerly approached the spirit stone mine.

Despite his cultivation being at the early Foundation Establishment stage, using the pickaxe to mine spirit stones felt no different from an ordinary person mining regular stone—it was slow.

The hardness of the spirit stone mine exceeded his expectations.

After half an hour of hard work, he had managed to extract only about five hundred spirit stones.

But even a few hundred would be enough for recent expenses.

Besides, he couldn't just strip the entire mine bare all at once.

With the mine now connected to their sect's low-grade spiritual vein, as long as the vein remained intact, the mine would continuously produce spirit stones.

With that thought in mind, Lin Xiao decided to stop. Half an hour's work yielding several hundred spirit stones was far more than he used to earn from completing tasks over several days.

He needed to be content.