Grain Buds

Intimidated by its tyrannical presence, the three wild pheasants didn't dare to resist. Although they had zero interest in the things on the ground, they obediently picked up the rock-hard fragments in their beaks.

Little Luan then urged them to swallow the pieces down.

The three wild pheasants' little beaks couldn't crack these hard fragments at all, but fortunately, Little Luan had broken them down small enough just beforehand. So, the three wild pheasants raised their heads and swallowed the small fragments whole.

When the fragments first entered their stomachs, the three birds didn't feel anything. They continued clucking and strolling in circles inside the thatched shed.

However, gradually, their footsteps slowed down little by little, and their clucking sounds faded away.

Suddenly, one of them plopped down and collapsed onto the ground.

This was immediately followed by the second, and then the third.

Watching from the side, Little Luan was dumbfounded.

What was going on?

Didn't they usually sleep sitting up in their nests? Why were they lying down like humans today?

Little Luan walked up and lightly kicked each of them with its little claws. Seeing no reaction, it didn't pay it any more mind. Feeling a bit sleepy itself, it yawned, walked over to its own straw mat, nestled down, and fell asleep.

Over at the Formation Hall, after Lin Xiao accompanied Mo Yuanjiao and Mo Que in practicing the inscription of the Minor Cooling Formation once more, he went down the mountain to head home for dinner.

By now, the sky was dark, but Mo Yuanjiao was still in the Formation Hall, holding the Encyclopedia of Basic Formation Inscription that Lin Xiao had left him, reading it with great relish.

Mo Que took out a candlestick from their luggage, lit it, and placed it on the ground beside him.

Then he quietly sat off to the side to meditate.

During his second attempt at inscribing the formation diagram, Mo Yuanjiao's fluency had improved greatly. It didn't take long for him to complete a full Minor Cooling Formation, and this time, he still had a little spiritual energy left in his body, avoiding complete exhaustion.

Moreover, after Lin Xiao inspected it, he confirmed that this formation diagram could be directly copied for normal use, and its effects would not be compromised at all.

Having received this validation, Mo Yuanjiao burst with immense enthusiasm for inscribing formation diagrams. He completely forgot about the seedlings he had been carefully tending to in the fields over the past few days.

Seeing that he was so talented and had such a strong desire to learn, Lin Xiao left the Encyclopedia of Basic Formation Inscription with him.

Before leaving, he also instructed him to keep it safe.

Thus, Mo Yuanjiao stayed in the Formation Hall, completely engrossed in turning every page of the Encyclopedia of Basic Formation Inscription under the dim candlelight.

It wasn't until his stomach let out a loud rumble that he suddenly snapped out of his trance and looked up at the sky outside.

Outside the Formation Hall, a bright moon was already hanging high in the pitch-black night sky.

Early the next morning, as soon as Lin Xiao woke up, he felt that the surrounding air was a bit damp.

Looking outside, even though it was early morning, the sky was very dim, heavily obscured by dark clouds.

It looked like it was going to rain.

And judging by the thickness of the dark clouds, it probably wouldn't be a light shower.

Today was Xiaoman, the exact time for the crops to fill out. A bit of rain was just what was needed, saving the villagers the trouble of watering their fields.

When Lin Dayou got up and saw the dark clouds overhead, he was very delighted.

After eating breakfast, the three men of the Lin family went out together. Nearby villagers who were familiar with Lin Dayou greeted him one after another.

An old man from a family a short distance away, carrying a hoe out of his house, saw the three of them walking empty-handed towards the North Mountain. He frowned and said disapprovingly to Lin Dayou:

Dayou, you shouldn't spoil your children like this. It's one thing to not let these two kids help you in the fields at a time like this, but why have you been taking them up the mountain recently? I see you're not even as diligent going to the fields as you usually are.

Hearing this, Lin Dayou smiled at him and greeted:

Morning, Third Master Qin. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. It won't delay the farm work.

The old man called Third Master Qin was just saying a few words in passing because he saw them. Seeing Lin Dayou's nonchalant attitude, he didn't press the matter further.

Anyway, the Lin family still had Old Man Lin keeping an eye on things.

Old Man Lin was a reasonable person. If he saw his second son's family starting to slack off, he would surely teach them a lesson.

So, he shook his head and took his own children and grandchildren down to the fields.

Along the way, all the villagers the three Lin family members met were beaming with joy.

Everyone was looking forward to this rain to help the crops fill out. Perhaps, relying on the extra grain brought by this rainwater, they could enjoy a very prosperous New Year this year.

Lin Dayou and his two sons, however, remained unwavering. They went up the mountain and began today's cultivation.

However, by noon, after everyone in the Lingxian Sect had finished their cultivation and began their free time, the rain was still holding back in the sky without the slightest movement.

When the time came, Lin Dayou, Lin Yun, and Lin Lei went down the mountain to work.

Yang Jinshu handed several spell booklets she had stayed up late copying to Lin Xiao, and Lin Xiao placed them together on the small bookshelf behind the cultivation room.

Having not written for a long time, her hands were itching for more, so she asked Lin Xiao if there was anything else that needed transcribing.

Lin Xiao then took out the Encyclopedia of Basic Pill Recipes, the Encyclopedia of Basic Talisman Drawing, and the Encyclopedia of Basic Artifact Forging Techniques from his private vault for her to copy.

Tietou took the two little girls of the Lingxian Sect to dig up flowers all over the mountain again.

Every day, they would dig up many flowers and plants by the roots and bring them back to plant everywhere around the sect.

Meanwhile, Little Luan and its three disciples were nowhere to be seen.

Lin Xiao guessed that Little Luan had taken them somewhere to forage again. Of course, they might also just be hiding in the thatched shed, sleeping soundly.

Only Liu Yunan, Jiang Youfu, Mo Yuanjiao, and Mo Que were still beside Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao then asked Liu Yunan and Jiang Youfu:

Do you two want to go learn how to inscribe formations together?

How could the two refuse Lin Xiao's proposal? They immediately nodded their heads like chickens pecking at rice.

Thus, the Formation Hall study group gained two more members.

Probably because their cultivation bases were relatively high, they learned basic formations quite quickly, basically able to inscribe them quite well after two or three attempts.

But when Lin Xiao started teaching them the Insect Killing Formation, it completely stumped them.

The Insect Killing Formation was slightly more difficult than the previous Minor Cooling Formation and the like. The complexity of the formation diagram was a bit higher, and there were many more spiritual energy turning nodes.

Jiang Youfu and Liu Yunan clearly were not particularly talented in the Dao of Formations. After inscribing it several times, they still couldn't produce a usable one.

Lin Xiao also wanted Mo Yuanjiao to try, but his Qi Condensation First Layer cultivation was just enough to inscribe the most basic formations; it was not quite enough to handle this slightly more advanced Insect Killing Formation.

However, Lin Xiao wasn't disappointed. Having Mo Yuanjiao as a talent for inscribing formations was already enough to satisfy him.

Oh wait, not just one, there was also himself.

Although Fuzi and Baldy didn't have much talent in the Dao of Formations, he believed there must be other skills that were much more suitable for them.