Teacher by day, Farmer by passion

"Don't disturb me unless it's necessary." Xiao Wuzi's voice was calm but carried an underlying edge of frustration as he stepped into the cave.

His patience was wearing thin. Despite the Xiao family's influence under his rule, they still hadn't found a single trace of the Lunar Bell Herb—the one thing he truly needed.

As the dim cave walls enclosed around him, he clenched his fists. Then, without hesitation, he drove a punch into the cold, unyielding stone. A dull thud echoed, leaving yet another mark among the many that littered the cave walls.

His chest rose and fell with suppressed rage.

Sigh… I never expected this body to be so weak. Am I—once one of the Thirteen Sovereign Dragons—really going to fall before I even reach the peak again?

The thought made his blood boil. He struck the wall again, harder this time.

Damn it. How dare you deteriorate to this extent before this esteemed dragon take over.

This body was really fragile. No matter how much he tried, it simply couldn't handle the cultivation technique he had once used in his past life.

Fine. His expression darkened. I'll force my way to Legend Rank first. Then, once I reinforce my body, I'll resume cultivation properly.

His gaze fell to a small pile of Spirit Apples laid out before him—acquired through his men who had secretly infiltrated the Catfish village festival.

Technically speaking, it wasn't against the rules. The festival was open to all, regardless of status, and even if the Xiao family didn't get a direct invitation, well… a little subterfuge never hurt.

And even if it was wrong—what of it? He felt no shame in doing whatever was necessary to reach his goal.

Picking up one of the apples, he sank his teeth into it, chewing slowly.

Bitter.

Not as sweet as the ones he usually consumed, but it would have to do.

His lips curled into a sneer.

Divine Garden, huh? So that's what these puny mortals are calling an Immortal Heart. But I also need to claim the immortal heart This Xiao Zhi currently owns before he depletes all the energy there.

An Immortal Heart was no mere land—it was a world of its own. When an immortal ascended to that rank, their heart transformed and formed their own miniature world, an Immortals greatest treasure.

Finishing the last of the apples, he closed his eyes, feeling the faintest surge in his talent. It was small—almost insignificant—but still there.

"That'll do." His fingers traced the hilt of his sword. "Now, just you wait, Xiao Zhi. The Hua family won't be able to protect you forever. This is redemption. You should have never slept with my wife."

Meanwhile…

"Achoo!"

Ace rubbed his nose, a feeling of unease washing over him. "Sigh… is it the princess talking behind my back again?"

— Focus, human. The voice inside his head snapped. Tell that spirit to grow the Lunar Bell away from the Yin Tulip.

Ace sighed and called out, "Lily, don't mix those two together. The yellow flower goes over there, and the purple one stays right here."

Lily, who had been diligently planting herbs, gave him a quick nod before carefully adjusting their placement.

They continued arranging the plants across the mountain, working under the guidance of the ever-mysterious voice inside Ace's head.

He still had no clue what exactly this voice was—a spirit? A soul? A remnant of the past? But for now, he chose not to dwell on it.

Surprisingly, he found himself enjoying the process.

With each herb he touched, he could feel their vitality—a connection unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. It wasn't just about arranging them in an efficient manner; it was about understanding them.

Some plants, when placed too close to each other, exuded a suffocating energy, as if they were struggling to breathe.

But the moment he separated them, a wave of relief seemed to pulse from their roots.

Others thrived when placed together, almost as if they were old friends reunited after years apart.

It was… fascinating.

After an hour of relentless work, a familiar tiny figure flew over—Rei.

A floating basket of spirit mangoes flew under her magic towards them.

Actually effects of the Spirit Mangoes aside, just the juice alone was enough to quench their thirst right now.

Ace eagerly took one, biting into it, relishing the burst of sweet, refreshing flavor.

Beside him, Aqua—who had been working tirelessly since the beginning—looked deeply dissatisfied.

[Ah! I only wanted to snitch on Lily. Why am I being punished with all this labor? I'd rather just maintain the fishery…]

Ace glanced at him between bites. "How's the fishery, by the way? I don't think I've heard any updates on it recently."

Aqua stiffened before waving a hand nonchalantly. "Ah, that… well, it's going fine."

[Oh please… I'm the best at what I do. Oh, right! What if I act like I have issues? Maybe I can get out of this work and go back?]

Ace chewed thoughtfully, then nodded. "Good. Let's visit the fishery then. The work here is done."

Aqua blinked. "…It's done?"

[Really? I didn't even need to make an excuse?]

Ace smirked. "Yes, Aqua. Shall we go now?"

Aqua snapped back to reality, forcing a bright smile. "Sure! Follow me!"

[Please, if I do a good job, give me more meat. But not fish. Definitely not fish. Ah… how do I bring this up?]

Ace ignored her inner ramblings as he opened his system profile.

Host Profile:

Level: 20

Talent: Rare Talent [note: You're defying fate by having those spirit apples!]

Rank: Initial Gold

Bond Beast: N/A

Assets:

Plot of Lands: 70

Tree-Grow Plots: 30

Gold Credits: 2,164,000

Farm Animals:

Spirit Chicken: 500 (level 3)

Spirit pig: 500 (level 3)

Spirit cow: 500 (level 3)

Technique learned:

Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire

Drunk Man cultivation technique (Heaven Grade), Verdant dao: The Path of Eternal Harvest (Divine grade), revised-soul burning cultivation technique (Mortal grade),

Building:

Spirit connection:

Effect: opens a gate to the spirit realm and provides a helper useful for the farm.

[1 week cooldown]

Spirit kitchen:

Effect: any food cooked in this building gets a random +1 bonus effect, even rubbish works.

Spirit winery:

Effect: provides; Quality+1, vitality+1, soul replenishment +1 to all products.

Spirit beast feed:

Effect: Produces the best beast feeds made possible of the given materials.

Spirit Herb Garden:

Effect: The Land is blessed; no herbs will ever die from being grown in this area.

Others:

Cauldron of the Thief:

Grade: unknown

Effect: When refining pills, it steals the world will and forcibly mix it with the pills formed.

[Limit of world will stolen depends on the capacity of the alchemist.]

Blank cultivation manual:

Grade: unknown

Effect: Shed a blood on top of it, it will create a cultivation technique tailor made only for the blood owner.