"A Yi."
A streak of emerald light flashed across the spiritual wheat field, the wind stirring layers of golden waves. Far away, a male disciple heard it and turned to see Senior Uncle Danya heading to this spiritual grain land again to find the mortal. As he landed, his blue robes layered and fell one by one, exuding extreme elegance.
They didn't know whether to sigh in admiration or exasperation.
For the past three years, everyone knew that Senior Uncle Danya had been looking after this mortal. The interaction between this single woman and this man, over time, always carried a hint of ambiguity in the eyes of others. What's more, this mortal was also Senior Uncle Fusheng's wife.
The female disciples all said that Senior Aunt Ziying of Hua Shan was a femme fatale, but they, the male disciples, felt this mortal was even more extraordinary.
First, there was Senior Uncle Fusheng, who possessed a Heavenly Spiritual Root and was still devoted to her. Even when in seclusion, he worried about her safety, leaving his immortal sword to protect her. Then there was Senior Uncle Danya, who seemed amorous and refined but was actually distant and cold to others. For some unknown reason, he also treated her with special favor, showing her meticulous care for three years.
What was it to handle two "old foxes" fighting over her? To ensnare two geniuses of the Great Evolution Sect, one with a Heavenly Spiritual Root and the other with an Earthly Spiritual Root, both destined to achieve heaven-defying feats, that was true skill.
It was just that they didn't know what they saw in her.
Old, sickly, early death?
"A Yi."
Ever since Liu Jiang Fusheng had called her so affectionately, he had inexplicably remembered it. As they grew familiar, he unconsciously imitated Liu Jiang Fusheng's tone and called her this way.
Gu Junshi no longer cared what others called her. Gu Junshi was her, and Gu Yi had also become her.
She was currently looking down, inspecting the quality of the wheat seeds she had personally planted. Hearing the familiar, repeated calls, she turned her head and bowed to him, "Senior Brother Danya."
Danya walked through the wheat field, his eyes curving into a smile as he looked at Gu Junshi, who stood straight-backed in the golden sunlight.
Unlike other female cultivators who wore elegant wide-sleeved robes, she often wore simple, unadorned plain clothes. Her face was fair and unadorned by makeup, but after three years of looking at this plain and simple face, he found it incredibly pleasing.
She was a mortal, wasn't she? How was it that the past three years seemed to have left no trace on her?
"Is this the spiritual grain you've recently cultivated?"
He casually picked up a bunch of wheat ears. The mature wheat grains were plump and swollen, growing exceptionally well. Even the spiritual energy contained within was at least three times higher than that of ordinary grain crops.
Danya had to admit that he was truly impressed by her sometimes. She might be a mortal unable to cultivate, but her other special talent was astonishing.
That was—wealth accumulation.
Three years ago, he had used his personal connections to hard-insert her as a page under Elder Jiu Long, and then he had intentionally or unintentionally left her to fend for herself, paying little attention.
He had expected her to suffer under the difficult Elder Jiu Long, and then he would step in to protect her, making her grateful and dependent.
That was the plan, but everything developed differently from what he had expected.
She had, by some unknown method, persuaded Elder Jiu Long to hand over the ten mu of long-abandoned spiritual land in the western ridge of the sect for her to manage.
The spiritual soil, after centuries of repeated cultivation and forced maturation, had become barren land where nothing grew, yielding scarce and low-quality crops. She had somehow found some seeds and planted them in the wasteland. Within two months, they had grown lush and verdant, but before they could mature, she had burned them to ashes.
In this way, she had used a peculiar method to re-cultivate new spiritual soil and, a year later, successfully planted spiritual grain with five elemental attributes.
The special characteristic of this grain was that it could quickly replenish spiritual energy based on each person's spiritual root attributes, and it was also very beneficial to the body when consumed regularly.
It could be imagined that once this five-elemental spiritual grain was introduced, there would be no shortage of buyers.
At harvest time, she sold this special five-elemental wheat grain to Elder Jiu Long. They hit it off immediately. From then on, she was responsible for cultivating the spiritual grain, while Elder Jiu Long was responsible for buying and selling it externally, with a seven-three split between them.
In addition to this, she had also accumulated an astonishing amount of sect contribution points in her spare time. God knew how she had managed to take on all the complex, difficult, and idle tasks within the sect and complete them with a hundred percent success rate.
Not only did she complete tasks herself, but she also distributed her resources to outer disciples. Her proficiency in skills suited for the right person was also masterful. She was responsible for coordinating and formulating plans, assigning tasks to the appropriate disciples, and pairing them up perfectly.
If he hadn't known that she was indeed a peasant woman who was now skillfully engaged in farming, he would have thought she had once been involved in officialdom.
"It's almost harvest time. I'll send some to Senior Brother Danya to taste then," Gu Junshi said politely.
Danya smiled upon hearing this, "Then I thank you, A Yi. But... is this spiritual grain only for me?"
Gu Junshi, accustomed to his flirtatious remarks, replied with social niceties, "It's just to thank Senior Brother Danya for your care over the years."
Danya liked her gratitude, even though he had ulterior motives. Still, she could not forget his kindness to her.
"If you truly appreciate me, why not..."
Gu Junshi cut him off, "No eating, no accepting, no going."
As soon as she finished her "three nos," Danya's face froze.
He laughed exasperatedly, "I didn't bring you any food this time, I have nothing to give you, and I didn't plan to take you anywhere for fun."
Every time he came, it was these same old three things, and Gu Junshi, used to it, refused.
Gu Junshi nodded, understanding, "Then you have something important to discuss?"
Three years, why couldn't she warm her heart? This woman was truly heartless. He finally understood why Liu Jiang Fusheng was so afraid of her leaving that he had to send an immortal sword to guard her day and night.
He smiled gently like a clear breeze, but his voice became slightly hoarse, "The seclusion confinement array of Senior Brother Fusheng is about to be lifted. He is coming out."
"Oh."
Gu Junshi's indifferent demeanor satisfied Danya immensely.
"Aren't you looking forward to seeing him?"
She replied, "If I am to see him, I will."
"That's not necessarily true. Do you know that as soon as he emerges from seclusion, he will be dispatched by the sect leader to participate in the twenty-eight-day newcomer rankings? By then, he might not have any extra time to see you."
Newcomer rankings?
Laishan Gorge, You Sui Secret Path, Yin Chi Yang Poison...
Keywords flashed rapidly in her mind.
The newcomer rankings were a competition held every fifty years for disciples below the Nascent Soul stage. Those who won a spot in the top ten of the newcomer rankings would gain qualification to enter the Dragon Island Secret Realm.
The Great Evolution Sect had not sent any promising disciples to participate in the newcomer rankings for over a hundred years. However, fortune smiled upon them, and this time Nine Tails had reported four disciples at once: Liu Jiang Fusheng, Danya, Fang Rui, and Ziying.