At the foot of Low Mountain, Yellow Bud Rice Fields.

    Even though the harvest had been completed, the yellow bud rice plants remained lush and green.

    At this moment, accompanied by a buzzing sound like a swarm of bees flapping their wings,

    a grey cloud of insects descended into the yellow bud rice fields.

    Wherever they passed, the tough stalks, which were almost as hard as sticks, instantly turned into a green, moist powder that fell to the ground.

    The scent of fresh grass spread all around the fields.

    In the middle of the insect swarm, a man in his fifties, draped in a black cloak, was slowly moving forward.

    He carried a black ceramic urn almost as tall as a man on his back; wherever he went, the grey cloud of insects followed.

    "Haven''t seen this before, have you?" Old Hao squatted at the end of the field, puffing on a cigarette.

    "Tsk tsk, quite the eye-opener." Chen Mu, also squatting at the field''s edge, observed the insect swarm at work with great interest.

    After the harvest of the yellow bud rice, the plants also needed to be dealt with.

    The man carrying the black ceramic urn was the professional responsible for handling the plants in the Lower Courtyard.

    All the tough plants were pulverized by the grey insect cloud and recycled back into the field.

    In the past world, large agricultural machinery accomplished this, while in this alternate world, they developed a method using insects.

    "We have Director Song to thank for this," Old Hao said with a smile.

    Chen Mu understood and thought back to the red insect cloud from that night.

    He thought to himself that the director was truly an expert in manipulating insects.

    "How were they dealt with in the past?" Chen Mu asked curiously.

    "You can''t burn them; that would damage the Earth Spirit Vital Energy. What else could you do but plane them?" said Old Hao, exhaling a puff of white smoke casually.

    "Plane?"

    "Yes, with knives and swords," said Old Hao with an inexplicable expression.

    Chen Mu squinted his eyes and couldn''t help but laugh.

    Most of the farmers here were from elsewhere, with Shell Souls.

    In the past, they were all significant figures in Jianghu, their blade and sword arts having cut down countless people.

    But here... using supreme swordsmanship to chop for the landowners?

    The feeling was quite peculiar.

    ...

    Two quarters of an hour later.

    Chen Mu handed the elder a cloth bag: "Elder Zhang, please keep this safe, it''s fifteen jin of yellow bud rice."

    The elder opened the bag, took a handful to check, and smiled, nodding at Chen Mu.

    After chatting briefly with Old Hao, he hurried away.

    "The work''s not easy this year," Old Hao said, smoking a cigarette as he walked with Chen Mu towards Low Mountain.

    "Quite a bit of the yellow bud rice was nibbled by green beetles, so to make this money, they had to travel further and to more places than in previous years."

    "How much does the Lower Courtyard give them?" Chen Mu asked curiously.

    "It seems to be one White Jade Coin for two hundred mu of land," Old Hao thought for a moment before answering, "This job is only available for a short period. Working tirelessly for five or six days, they can make roughly four or five White Jade Coins."

    "But you need to know how to raise insects."

    "If they die or get injured, you have to compensate."

    "A novice taking on this task will essentially end up working for nothing."

    "With such difficulty, how long would it take to save enough to buy a Secret Technique?" Chen Mu couldn''t help but wonder.

    Moreover, for later cultivation, the Jade Plate would consume White Jade Coins, and auxiliary elixirs would also require White Jade Coins.

    He hesitated for a long time, then looked at the elder with grizzled hair.

    "Old sir, do you think you could possibly..."

    He hadn''t finished speaking when the elder with graying hair interrupted him expressionlessly.

    "If you dare to haggle with me again, I''ll throw you out!"

    Chen Mu felt embarrassed in an instant.

    It was just about last time I haggled so hard, how did this old man remember it.

    Seeing the old man''s gaze growing colder, Chen Mu could only reluctantly part with his money.

    The elder was accustomed to Chen Mu''s pained expression.

    With a wave of his hand, the strands of White Jade Coins on the counter disappeared.

    In their place was a brown, wooden flat box as wide as a palm and as long as a forearm.

    Chen Mu''s face brightened, and he reached out to take it.

    However, the gray-haired elder held down the wooden box, staring at Chen Mu.

    "Remember, you can only view it when your Jade Seed has reached Perfection."

    "If you don''t heed the warning and your head explodes, don''t have any complaints in the Underworld."

    Chen Mu''s heart skipped a beat.

    "My... my head could explode?!"

    The elder with graying hair looked at Chen Mu askance: "Did you think cultivating Perceptive Spirit Light was easy?"

    "If success could be guaranteed with just a Secret Technique, why would so many people be desperate to come to Jilong Road''s Lower Courtyard?"

    Chen Mu felt a chill in his heart.

    "On the path of cultivation, every step is a challenge, and any small mistake can potentially end your life and your pursuit of the Dao!" the elder with graying hair said with a sigh.

    "You should be grateful that you became a member of Jilong Road''s Lower Courtyard."

    "Here we have the Scripture Transmission Institute."

    "A well-established system of lecture and teaching that can help you avoid many troubles in cultivation."

    "Unlike those Wild Cultivators out there, always secretive and never fully disclosing their methods."

    "Who knows how many naturally talented Daoist Bones have been killed or crippled by these deceptive Wild Cultivators!" the elder with graying hair exclaimed sadly.

    Chen Mu listened with a pounding heart.

    Indeed, he had an external advantage that could grind for experience.

    But before climbing the wall, he had none whatsoever.

    A minor mistake could completely block his path to the Dao!

    "Afraid?" the elder with graying hair asked, concerned.

    Chen Mu looked terrified: "Afraid!"

    "Don''t be scared. Since you''ve come to Jilong Road, that''s your fortune," the elder with graying hair said more kindly.

    "The Perceptive Spiritual Light cultivation class, taught by the veteran cultivators of the Scripture Transmission Institute, is thoughtful and meticulous, with one-on-one teaching that guarantees learning—for just fifty White Jade Coins."

    "Not afraid anymore, are you? Want to give it a try?"

    Chen Mu: "..."

    I was wondering why it all seemed so familiar just now.

    Isn''t this just like the anxiety-selling soft articles from peddling courses in my previous life?!

    Fuck!