At the foot of Earth Vein Peak, located within the Outer Peak.

This was the gathering place for disciples with Earth Spirit Roots. Unlike the quiet desolation of the Spirit Farm area, this place was a hive of activity, filled with bare-chested, muscular men hauling rocks.

Jiang Chen stood at the crossroads, looking somewhat out of place.

Within the Cloud Sea Sect, the status of Spirit Farmers was actually quite awkward. Although the sect couldn’t function without Spirit Rice, Spirit Farmers possessed weak combat power and earned their keep through grueling, low-reward labor. In contrast, Earth Spirit Root disciples could mine, repair cave dwellings, and even serve as meat shields for physical cultivators. They usually had a few Spirit Stones to their name and walked with an air of confidence.

Jiang Chen had come here to find a specific person named Tie Zhu.

In his memories, Tie Zhu was an outlier. Although he possessed an Earth Spirit Root and great strength, his rigid personality and inability to adapt meant he was often assigned the hardest, most exhausting tasks by his Senior Brothers, with no extra benefits to show for it.

A dull thud sounded not far away.

A young man with dark skin and a build like an iron tower was being shoved backward.

“Tie Zhu, is your brain broken? Senior Brother Li told you to clear the waste slag. This is a chance for you to show your worth, and you dare ask for Spirit Stones?” A burly Earth Spirit Root disciple with a fierce face cursed angrily.

Tie Zhu’s face flushed red. He tightly gripped the shovel in his hand and muttered stubbornly, “Clearing slag consumes spiritual energy and delays my cultivation. According to the rules… it should be two broken Spirit Stones.”

“Rules? I am the rule!” The man sneered. “Not going? Fine! From now on, don’t even think about taking any tasks in this mining area!”

The group left, cursing and grumbling as they went.

Tie Zhu stood there, his eyes rimmed with red, but he didn’t cry. He just silently squatted down and began shoveling the dirt on the ground, one stroke after another. It seemed like he was venting his frustration, or perhaps helplessly practicing his technique.

Jiang Chen watched from the shadows for a while, his confidence growing.

He had strength—anyone who could survive at Earth Vein Peak wasn’t weak—but lacked opportunities. He had an honest personality and was currently at rock bottom, having been blacklisted.

This kind of person was the ideal partner.

Jiang Chen straightened his robes and walked over with a polite smile on his face.

“Is this Senior Brother Tie Zhu? May I have a word?”

Tie Zhu looked up sharply, wariness in his eyes. Upon seeing Jiang Chen dressed in Spirit Farmer robes and sensing his weak spiritual energy fluctuations—merely early Qi Condensation stage—his tense muscles relaxed slightly. However, his tone remained stiff.

“A farmer? What do you want from me? I don’t have time to go plow your fields. The little Spirit Rice you offer isn’t even enough for me to recover my spiritual energy.”

As expected. Even though he was down on his luck, he still had his pride.

Jiang Chen wasn’t angered. Instead, he cupped his hands respectfully, adopting a humble posture. “Senior Brother misunderstands. I’m not here looking for manual labor. I’m here to discuss a partnership.”

“A partnership?” Tie Zhu was taken aback; this term felt somewhat novel to him.

“My name is Jiang Chen. I manage one mu of Spirit Farm land with problematic earth energy,” Jiang Chen said, getting straight to the point. “I know Senior Brother Tie has a solid mastery of the ‘Earth Pull’ technique. I’d like to request Senior Brother’s assistance once.”

Tie Zhu frowned. “I told you, you farmers can’t afford my price. I need to cultivate, and I need to save up Spirit Stones for pills… I don’t have time…”

Jiang Chen raised one finger, interrupting him.

Tie Zhu’s words caught in his throat, and his eyes widened like copper bells. “How much did you say?”

“As long as Senior Brother helps me replenish the earth energy fully,” Jiang Chen said calmly, radiating an air of unwavering confidence, “when the autumn harvest comes, I will give you one-tenth of the Spirit Rice produced from that one mu of land. According to past norms, one mu of high-grade Spirit Rice yields only a few hundred jin at most. But for this field of mine, I am confident it can reach one thousand jin.”

Tie Zhu quickly calculated in his mind.

Fifty kilograms of Spirit Rice could be exchanged for ten Low-grade Spirit Stones on the market.t. Usually, when he helped others plow fields until he was exhausted, he only received two or three stones at most.

This wasn’t a partnership; this was charity!

But he quickly calmed down and looked at Jiang Chen suspiciously. “You’re just an early Qi Condensation stage farmer. How dare you claim you can produce a thousand jin? What if your crop fails? Wouldn’t my effort be wasted?”

Jiang Chen pulled a crumpled piece of yellow paper from his robe—a low-grade Contract Talisman he had spent a considerable sum to purchase.

“Words are wind; let’s put it in writing as evidence,” Jiang Chen said firmly. “If the yield is insufficient, I will sell everything I have to make up your hundred jin of Spirit Rice. If I breach the contract, the Sect’s Punishment Hall will deal with me.”

Jiang Chen looked at Tie Zhu with sincere yet sharp eyes. “Senior Brother Tie, I know you’ve suffered grievances at Earth Vein Peak. Rather than enduring that treatment over there… why not take a gamble? If we win, you get resources worth ten Spirit Stones. If we lose… you’ve only expended some effort. With this Contract Talisman here… even if the monk runs away, the temple remains.”

Tie Zhu looked at the Contract Talisman, then looked back at Jiang Chen.

He had never seen such a confident farmer before.

Even those formal inner sect disciples who hired him acted high-and-mighty. No one had ever been like Jiang Chen—laying everything out clearly on the table.

Tie Zhu gritted his teeth and took hold of the Contract Talisman. “Since Junior Brother Jiang is so straightforward… I’ll take this job! But let me be clear upfront—if I do my best but still can’t replenish the earth energy fully, then it’s due to problems inherent within the land itself, not due to any fault on my part!”

Back at the Spirit Farm.

Although Tie Zhu had spoken harshly earlier, when it came down to actually working, he was meticulous and cut no corners whatsoever.

He took off his shoes and socks, stepping barefoot into the soil. Earthy yellow light flowed along his legs and into the ground below. The originally lifeless, dull soil seemed to come alive, emitting faint sizzling sounds as it accepted the energy.

Jiang Chen stood atop the ridge, watching.

He could feel that as Tie Zhu performed the technique, the ambient earth-attributed spiritual energies in the surrounding area were continuously converging toward this single mu of land.

“This Tie Zhu’s ‘Earth Pull’ technique probably isn’t just at first layer proficiency—he might have even touched the threshold of the second layer,” Jiang Chen noted, nodding inwardly with approval.

This deal was worth doing indeed!

One hour later.

Tie Zhu climbed onto the ridge, looking pale-faced, and plopped down onto the ground, panting heavily. “That exhausted me… Junior Brother Jiang… your field’s depletion was too severe. It almost emptied out my entire foundation.”

Jiang Chen handed over a gourd of water. He didn’t offer immediate payment—because he had no money—but instead shook the Contract Talisman in his hand. “When harvest time comes, I’ll personally deliver it to Senior Brother.”

“Alright.” Tie Zhu wasn’t afraid of him reneging either; the Contract Talisman was signed, and Sect laws governed such matters.

After seeing Tie Zhu off, Jiang Chen stood alone before the revitalized Spirit Farm plot.

The originally dry, hard, pale earth had turned dark, loose, and rich; stepping onto it felt as if one could squeeze oil droplets from the soil.

Jiang Chen squatted down and picked up a handful of soil, the corners of his mouth curling up in a slight smile.

If one is incapable, spend money to hire a professional to do the job properly!

The next step was his own work.

Jiang Chen pulled out a packet of Spirit Rice seeds from his robe pocket.

Unlike other farmers who directly scattered seeds randomly, he sat cross-legged atop the ridge and circulated his newly upgraded Second Layer Evergreen Art.

A faint cyan light enveloped each individual grain of seed.

He wanted to imprint his own spiritual energy onto them while sowing! This way, not only could he perceive the condition of each seedling, but he could also use the growth process of the Spirit Rice to nourish his own cultivation base reciprocally.

“As long as this season is successful, I’ll have over a thousand days of lifespan accumulated!”

“By then, it won’t be just the Evergreen Art—I could pile my offensive techniques up to the max level too!”

Jiang Chen pressed the first seed into the soil, his eyes resolute.

Wang Hu, just you wait.

My trump cards have only just begun to flip over.