Harvest Season

Liu Yunan and the others hadn't expected this situation to occur.

After a moment of hesitation, they decided to go up and seek Senior Liao's advice.

Liao Pantu listened and simply said:

"Just go down and tell him to head back first. When the news of our sect recruiting disciples comes out, he can come over and give it a try. Oh, and remember to put on some airs and carry yourselves properly. Just as our Sect Master said, you must grasp the aura of an immortal as mortals imagine it. Got it?"

The three nodded and then quickly ran out.

After a brief discussion, the three decided that Liu Yunan would be the one to speak.

So Liu Yunan changed into the sect's uniform and used the Air-Treading Art to descend through the air from the Path of Questioning the Heart.

Master Ma, who had been kowtowing continuously until he was nearly dizzy, looked up again. He saw an ethereal figure drifting down through the air right in front of him, just as the rumors had described.

Before he could say anything, the very young-looking immortal told him that their sect would be recruiting disciples later. He was told to go home and wait for the news, and to come back for the assessment once word of the sect's disciple recruitment spread.

Hearing this, Master Ma did not pester him any further. He submissively bowed deeply to Liu Yunan once more, and then left the foot of the North Mountain with his servants.

However, he didn't leave Xiushui Village directly; instead, he went to the village chief's house.

He wanted to buy a residential plot in this village!

He was going to live here from now on!

No one could stop him!

As for Liu Yunan, seeing that the man had finally left, he quietly let out a long sigh of relief.

Noticing that there were still some villagers and visitors around, he kept Senior Liao's advice about putting on airs firmly in mind. Seeing that people seemed eager to come forward and strike up a conversation, he immediately put on a wooden expression, turned around, and returned to the sect.

The villagers who had watched him grow up thought it was a pity that they hadn't managed to speak with him.

As the days passed, the mindset of the Xiushui Village residents was no longer filled with the panic they had felt when they first discovered these youngsters had actually become immortals.

They gradually accepted the fact that the children they had watched grow up had become immortals. Once the fear dissipated, it turned into a trace of intimacy.

This was a renewed sense of closeness born after the difference between immortals and mortals had turned their original neighborly ties into something foreign.

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, autumn arrived.

The farmlands around Xiushui Village were all draped in gold.

The villagers began rushing to harvest; it was the most bountiful season of the year.

It was also the busiest season.

After harvesting the grain, the villagers still had to dry it and pay their taxes.

Once that was done, they had to forage for wild vegetables and fruits to make various preserves that could be stored for a long time.

Everything was in preparation for the coming winter.

One day, an official dispatch from the capital, along with the imperial tax documents, arrived on the desk of Prefect Tong in Liaoju Prefecture.

Prefect Tong skimmed the letter rapidly and then fell into deep thought for a moment.

This official document was naturally the capital's reply upon receiving the previous report from Wen Keming, the magistrate of Anqun County.

It was this very reply that made Tong Shuzheng momentarily unable to grasp the imperial court's attitude.

The dispatch merely instructed all the officials of the prefecture and county not to focus their attention on this sect that had popped up out of nowhere. It told them not to make enemies of the sect, nor to try and befriend it, stating that the imperial court had its own plans.

As for the rewards the Anqun County magistrate had been hoping for, they were not mentioned at all.

However, that had nothing to do with Tong Shuzheng.

He thought for a moment and once again took out the Positioning Voice Transmission Talisman.

In truth, Tong Shuzheng felt somewhat conflicted.

Repeatedly leaking internal imperial news like this truly went against his duty as an official.

But in his heart, he really wanted to do everything in his power to help Immortal Lin's immortal sect.

He wasn't sure if this Immortal Lin's sect was slightly weaker in strength and thus wanted to develop in secret, or if it was actually incredibly powerful and simply desired peace and quiet.

But no matter which it was, what he could actually do was extremely limited.

Perhaps the immortals didn't even need his insignificant assistance.

But, what if they did?

Yet, he also had his worries.

Although Immortal Lin had helped them repair the Guchuan Dam before, that didn't mean the entire immortal sect behind Immortal Lin was good...

After all, it was highly possible for differences to exist between an individual and a group.

Or what if this immortal sect harbored malicious intentions and used the information he passed on? Then he would be a sinner who harmed the common people.

Tong Shuzheng looked at the Positioning Voice Transmission Talisman in his hand.

His mind was filled with chaotic, endless thoughts.

Finally, gritting his teeth, he still chose to transmit this news to Liu Yunan.

He was still willing to believe that an immortal sect with an immortal of such fine character would certainly not be a danger to mortals.

He told himself in his heart:

"I'll just transmit it this one last time.

If I still can't completely trust the overall moral character of this immortal sect in the future.

Then this will be the last time."

Liu Yunan, who received Tong Shuzheng's message, knew nothing of his inner turmoil.

After reading the message, he shared it with everyone the next morning when they were all gathered in the cultivation room.

Upon hearing it, most of them didn't have much of a reaction.

Only a few lowered their eyes in deep thought.

However, before anyone could express their views, they heard Mo Yuanjiao say:

"Baldy, everyone, I plan to make a trip home."

Hearing this, everyone was a little surprised and turned to look at him.

"Are you homesick?"

Mo Yuanjiao gave them a bright smile and said:

"Missing home isn't the main thing. Last time he wrote, he didn't believe that I had actually found a sect out here and successfully cultivated to the ninth level of Qi Condensation in just a little over half a year. So I want to go back and let him see it with his own eyes, hehe.

Besides, if I go back, I can also gather some news about the imperial court and see which way the wind is blowing. That way, you guys can get more first-hand information, saving us from having to wait a whole month for news from the capital to reach that prefect, only for him to decide whether or not to tell us."

Indeed, over the past half a year or so, Mo Yuanjiao had already cultivated to the ninth level of Qi Condensation.

Speaking of which, this was the second time Prefect Tong had sent them a message.

When Mo Yuanjiao first learned about this, he always felt it was a bit unreliable.

The education he received since childhood taught him that obtaining intelligence was something that absolutely could not be left entirely in the hands of others.

Having one's own channels and abilities to acquire it was the most reliable way.

And to do this, was there anyone in their entire sect more suitable than him, the son of a general's manor from the capital?

Of course not!

Now that his Sect Master senior brother was in secluded cultivation, as a junior brother, it was naturally his duty to step up and shoulder some responsibilities, wasn't it!

Just look at the Sect Master's other brothers: Baldy was acting as a proxy for sect affairs, Jiang He went out to forge paths for the sect, Fuzi was working hard to study culinary arts to benefit the sect, and Tietou was on daily patrol...

How could he fall behind them!

He, Mo Yuanjiao, would also work hard to become one of the pillars of their Lingxian Sect!