They didn’t know how long they had flown.

Suddenly, Jiang Chen and the others felt a wave of refreshing comfort.

They hurriedly focused their senses and discovered that the concentration of wood-attributed spiritual energy in the surrounding air was skyrocketing.

“What’s this?” Jiang Chen exchanged a glance with Lin An beside him.

Luo Tie pointed ahead and said, “We are approaching the [Core Farm] area.”

Immediately, everyone looked down below.

They were instantly stunned into silence.

A vast array of spirit plants refreshed their horizons.

To the lower left, the spirit plants resembled a green ocean. As the wind blew past, it stirred up layer upon layer of verdant waves.

On another side, vines dozens of meters long formed a giant nest suspended in the air. They even bore fruit after fruit that resembled human faces.

In the distance, a single golden Sun Spirit Sunflower stood towering like a giant tree. It emitted a dazzling golden light comparable to the sun itself. Jiang Chen took just one glance and immediately had the illusion of being pierced by something sharp.

Looking out over the entire Core Farm area, one simply couldn’t see its end. It stretched on and on, seemingly boundless.

“This is what real spirit plants are like!”

“Do we have a chance to cultivate them?”

Whether it was Jiang Chen, Lin An, or the others, they all seemed quite excited.

Because this was completely different from what they had imagined. They originally thought it would be full of things like Spirit Rice everywhere; now, their eyes were truly opened.

Luo Tie said in a firm tone, “As long as you meet the annual quota of five thousand jin or its equivalent value in assessment, you can cultivate whatever you want.”

Jiang Chen was the first to calm down, pondering, “It shouldn’t be that easy, right?”

“Of course not.” Luo Tie glanced at him with slight surprise before continuing, “These things have requirements for cultivation realm and spell proficiency. You must act within your capabilities.”

At this moment, Cloud Crane 19’s flight slowed.

It began to descend at an extremely steady speed.

Simultaneously, a bare mountain appeared ahead. It wasn’t very tall—only about a hundred meters high—and there were no plants around it whatsoever.

At its summit was a flat platform, upon which stood a small palace with an antique charm.

Luo Tie pointed at the palace and introduced, “This is the [Core Farm Management Office]. In the future, you will submit resources here and apply for spirit plant seeds. Basically, any needs you have will be handled through this place.”

Luo Tie chuckled lightly. “Once I deliver you here, my task is considered complete.”

“Thank you, Fellow Daoist Luo.” Jiang Chen and the others quickly cupped their hands in salute.

“You’re too polite. I’ll need your help in the future.” Luo Tie waved his hand dismissively.

When dealing with Outer Peak disciples, he, like the vast majority of formal disciples, was usually quite aloof. But now, Jiang Chen and the others had become formal disciples, putting them on equal footing with him. Naturally, he couldn’t keep up the cold demeanor and leave a bad impression.

Although Core Farm disciples weren’t particularly strong in combat power, they provided vast amounts of resources. Therefore, they were actually the type of people one least wanted to offend.

After Jiang Chen and the others jumped off the crane’s back, Cloud Crane 19 took flight again. Not long after, carrying Luo Tie, it disappeared beyond the horizon.

“Let’s go in.” Jiang Chen called out to everyone.

The group walked toward the entrance of the Management Office directly ahead.

Upon entering, they found no one inside.

Because they had to tend to their spirit plants, most formal disciples in the Core Farm almost never left their plots. They only came to the Management Office when they had specific business to attend to.

However, deep within the palace grew a single spirit plant.

It was a red flower with one large bud clustered tightly together.

Lin An couldn’t help but call out, “Is anyone here?”

As soon as his voice fell, that flower bud suddenly bloomed open, revealing a face with human features, though rather aged-looking. Its surface was wrinkled like sun-dried orange peel, one fold pressed upon another, clearly having lived for a very long time—all traces left by time itself.

Jiang Chen quickly stopped Lin An and then respectfully called out, “Senior!”

With Cloud Crane 19 as a precedent, since this entity dared to appear in the Management Office, it meant it was not simple.

“The junior reacts quite quickly.” The face twitched the corners of its mouth into a slightly stiff smile.

Jiang Chen then asked curiously, “We are Outer Peak Spirit Farm disciples who passed this quarter’s assessment. We came here specifically for formalization. May I ask who you are?”

The face replied, “My name is Elder Mu. I am the manager of this core area.”

Jiang Chen and the others were shocked.

They never expected that the manager of this office would be a flower. No—to be precise—a flower demon who had lived for who knows how long.

“We pay our respects to Manager!” This time, everyone reacted very quickly.

Elder Mu laughed. “Juniors, from the moment you received your formal disciple attire, you were already formalized. The reason for coming here is mainly to distribute second-grade Spirit Farms and their land deeds.”

“Come on. Pick one.” After speaking, Elder Mu unfurled an enormous scroll.

Inside was clearly a map of the Core Farm area.

Miraculously, many places were already marked. For example, that golden sunflower they saw earlier was among them.

“Is there any difference?” Lin An couldn’t help but ask.

Elder Mu replied, “The difference is some are close, some are far.”

Zhao Ziyao immediately said, “I want one close to here.”

“Good.” The contents on Elder Mu’s scroll blurred momentarily, soon leaving only several spots remaining. All were second-grade Spirit Farms closest to the Management Office.

Zhao Ziyao looked them over briefly before making his choice. In his view, closer was definitely better. That way, everything would be convenient.

Soon it was Lin An’s turn.

He chose a Spirit Farm neither too close nor too far, but its vicinity was full of people.

Then came Jiang Chen’s turn.

“What about you, Junior?” Elder Mu had quite a good impression of this young man.

Jiang Chen said slowly, “I prefer quiet. I’d like somewhere farther away, more remote.”

“There are only three such places.” Elder Mu remembered this clearly.

Soon, three locations appeared before Jiang Chen’s eyes. All were farthest from the Management Office: one at the foot of a mountain, one along the path they came, and one near an abandoned cave entrance.

Jiang Chen inquired, “May I ask, Manager, if there are any powerful formal disciples near these three locations?”

Elder Mu said, “The first two have some; the third location has no people nearby at all.”

Jiang Chen decided immediately. “Then I choose the third location.”

“Why choose somewhere so far?” Lin An didn’t quite understand.

“Isn’t staying together with us good?” Zhao Ziyao also seemed puzzled.

“I’m not really fond of socializing, heh heh.” Jiang Chen grinned awkwardly.

“It’s your turn to pick now.” At this moment, Elder Mu shifted his gaze onto Zhao Ying.

“I…” Zhao Ying’s face was full of excitement as he was just about to start choosing.

“Choose one closest to me.” Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out.

Zhao Ying, upon hearing the voice, couldn’t help shuddering. The smile on his face vanished instantly, and deep within his eyes, a flicker of pain appeared.

Everyone turned to look. Indeed, it was Wang Hu!

Elder Mu said bluntly, “He is choosing, not you.”

“What do you think?” Wang Hu, however, looked at Zhao Ying and smiled meaningfully.

Zhao Ying forced a laugh and said, “Right, I choose the Spirit Farm closest to Senior Brother Wang.”

Jiang Chen and Lin An exchanged a glance, then both looked at Zhao Ying with a bit of sympathy.

It seemed the reason this person could become a formal disciple was definitely tied closely to Wang Hu. Even if he was formalized, so what? From now on, wouldn’t he just be serving as a beast of burden for another?

“Good, everyone has chosen. Finished. These are your land deeds.” Elder Mu didn’t care about the underlying schemes and directly produced the land deeds.

Because they weren’t activated, their surfaces appeared dull.

Without hesitation, Jiang Chen immediately squeezed a drop of blood from his right hand and pressed it onto his deed.

Sure enough, once the blood was absorbed, the talisman paper immediately emitted a faint glow.

Beside him, Lin An and Zhao Ziyao followed suit, all doing the same.

Zhao Ying’s heart was filled with ten thousand reluctances. Yet, his hand still trembling, he handed it over to someone watching intently nearby.

However, obtaining one land deed left Wang Hu unsatisfied.

His greedy gaze turned toward Jiang Chen and Lin An.

The [Formal Disciple Grand Competition] was held once every ten years. The next one was two years later. A higher ranking meant higher corresponding benefits and treatment. With luck, one could even become a disciple of an Immortal Elder or become a core disciple.

If he had these Spirit Farms providing resources, Wang Hu’s strength could definitely grow rapidly within two years, perhaps even allowing him to break through to the [Foundation Establishment] stage. By then, he could compete for a ranking.

Yet Jiang Chen and Lin An not only didn’t compromise, they even became formal disciples.

Becoming peers aside, they were now competitors among themselves.

This made Wang Hu very unhappy!