The patriarchs of each sect had only recently returned to their respective sects when they all vanished again.

In the small mountain village of the lower realm, an unprecedented bustle had also arrived.

The sect leaders, who just a few days ago had been surrounded and worshipped by disciples within their sects, were now rolling up their sleeves, hoisting hoes, and heading out to the fields.

The Spirit Marrow was crushed.

Soon, the fruits ripened.

Although forcing growth goes against the laws of nature, the fruits that emerged had not a single negative effect—each Spirit Heart Fruit was plump and beautiful.

Each person was given a small shovel and a backpack, and they began picking the fruits.

“Is the barrier between the upper realm and the lower realm really going to hold?” Lu Qi asked as he tossed a fruit aside, “If we haven’t managed to grow the World Tree before the barrier shatters… that would be a disaster.”

“It won’t be that bad. Since the Dao dared to draw on spiritual energy to cultivate the land, it will naturally have to bear the consequences if anything goes wrong.” Wen Jue glanced at the second brother standing close by Lu Qi’s side, following his every move, then suddenly raised his hand. “Qin Zhou, Lu Er is slacking off.”

Lu Er straightened up and said expressionlessly, “…I’m not slacking off. You’re the one slacking off.”

Wen Jue was completely justified. “I’m supervising the work.” He even leaned over to check how many fruits were in Lu Er’s basket. After counting them, he reported loudly, “Qin Zhou, Lu Er has been picking for ages and has only gathered nine fruits.”

Lu Er: “……” His speed at picking fruits was indeed slightly slower than everyone else’s.

Seeing Lu Er remain silent, Lu Qi sighed, “He’s useless to begin with, and you’re still supervising him. Are you afraid he’ll pick a few extra fruits?”

Lu Er lowered his eyes, fluttering his lashes, looking almost pitiful.

Wen Jue: ?

This guy is a master at putting on an act.

Wen Jue casually pulled him closer and gave his cheek a light pat. “Lu Xiaoqi, you seem to have been doing quite well while I was away. Your skin is so soft, you could practically squeeze water out of it.”

Lu Qi was long past the age of blushing, but even so, being teased like this by Lu Yi made him feel embarrassed, especially since there were not only his fellow disciples in the field, but even his son and the others.

Lu Qi’s brow twitched as he nudged Wen Jue. “… Just get going already!”

Wen Jue clicked his tongue, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and walked away with a sigh.

Watching him walk off into the distance, Lu Er silently rolled up his sleeve and wiped Lu Qi’s face.

Lu Qi: ?

“What are you doing? I’m not even sweating.” Lu Qi was confused, and even added with a hint of annoyance, “Can’t you pull yourself together and pick a few more fruits?”

Lu Er: “……”

Lu Er silently lowered his sleeve and crouched down to dig for fruit. He thought to himself, Lu Yi—my lifelong rival.

Wen Jue walked back to Qin Zhou’s side, still chattering away: “Now that the Demon Sect has disbanded, have the Sword Sect disciples accepted Old Seven so quickly? We’ve only just returned from a trip to the Spirit Mountain Realm—how come it feels like the two of them are now inseparable?”

Qin Zhou: “The Sword Sect isn’t run by Lu Er anymore.”

No one has any business telling the Cangyun Sword Immortal who to be with. The Demon Sect has disbanded; the past is settled. If anyone dares to question Lu Qi’s identity again, Lu Er’s sword won’t be one to trifle with.

Wen Jue snorted lightly, glancing at Xiao Shisi, who was buried in his work beside Qin Zhou. She couldn’t resist walking over to ruffle his hair, “Our Xiao Shisi is still the best.”

Shisi immediately tattled: “Village Chief, Lu Yi is slacking off!”

Wen Jue covered his mouth. “I was slacking off just from looking at him for a couple of seconds? That doesn’t make sense. Why are you digging here today?”

Since when has Shisi been so attached to Qin Zhou while digging?

Shisi couldn’t be bothered to respond; he simply turned his head and started digging in another direction.

“Big Brother is in a great mood today,” remarked Xiao Liu, who happened to be passing by.

Wen Jue rubbed his nose. “It’s okay.”

Of course he was in a good mood.

Qin Zhou glanced up briefly before lowering his head to continue digging for fruit.

The village was starting to buzz with activity.

As everyone returned to the village after being revived, Lu Yi was undoubtedly the happiest of them all.

Seeing how delighted he was, Qin Zhou’s lips curled up slightly.

“What were you and Shisi just talking about?” Wen Jue walked over to Qin Zhou.

“Nothing much.” Qin Zhou smiled faintly.

“Then I’m going to check on the others, okay?”

With that, Wen Jue, carrying his basket, started to run off.

Qin Zhou didn’t stop him.

Seeing that he wasn’t stopping him, Wen Jue actually stopped running and just gave a soft snort.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to supervise you first.” Wen Jue turned his head away and whispered, “I’ll go check on the others later.”

Qin Zhou: “Then can you help me pick up the fruits we’ve dug up and put them in the basket?”

“I can even help you carry them back.”

While picking up the fruits, Wen Jue kept an eye on the others.

Across the field, his voice rang out from time to time—

“You two over there with the same names—work a little harder!”

The couple he called out blushed, “… Big Brother! We are working hard!”

“Xiao Yibai really is a hard worker!” Wen Jue didn’t hold back on the praise. Xiao Yibai, carrying her basket on her back, glanced back with eyes crinkled in a smile, “Big Brother, I’ll do half the work for Brother Lu Shi.”

“Alright, then let’s not mention Lu Shi.”

“Special shout-out to Lao Wu and Bai Xing!”

“Look at Shen Yun—as a new villager here, he’s worth a hundred of you!” Wen Jue clicked his tongue in admiration, almost grabbing a handful of sunflower seeds to crack right there in the field. 

“You’ve got to take farming seriously. If I catch any of you fooling around, you’re done for!” Shen Yun blushed at the praise. 

He scratched his head with a chuckle; occasionally, he did like to slack off a bit. He’d brought both a pen and a notebook. “But… I can’t help but feel that Senior Lu Yi and Senior Shisi look alike in this scene.”

It reminded Shen Yun of the last time he was farming in the village, when Senior Shisi had earnestly lectured him to work hard. Plus, it seemed like no one minded being called out for criticism. The atmosphere in the village was truly wonderful. Zhanyu, who was not far from Shen Yun’s plot of land, heard this and smiled. “It’s not that Uncle Lu resembles Uncle Shisi. It’s Uncle Shisi who most resembles Uncle Lu.”

If they were to go back nine thousand years, the most lively and energetic person in this village—and the one most favored by the village chief—would have been his Uncle Lu. Later, the village chief, who had favored Uncle Lu the most, disappeared. 

As the world changed, he was no longer the innocent and lively young man he once was; the burden on his shoulders had never been lifted since. Seeing his eldest uncle so cheerful now made Zhanyu very happy as well.

Shier added, “Shisi was spoiled by us. The eldest was spoiled by the village chief.”

Shiba nodded. “Village Chief! Brother Shier is leading Shiba and Zhanyu in slacking off!” Not far away, Shisi’s voice rang out loud and clear. 

Shier: “……” 

Great, all that pampering was for nothing.

“Xiao Shisi, I can’t beat the eldest brother, but surely I can beat you?”

Shisi jumped up and ran away, “Big Brother! Brother Shier is going to beat me up!”

The Village Chief was back, so Lu Yi had a backer. Since that ‘Lu Yi’ was back, didn’t that mean Xiao Shisi had a backer too!

Wen Jue had no time to look at him. Qin Zhou was rolling up his sleeves for him. Wen Jue looked down, his eyes and mind filled entirely with Qin Zhou. 

Shisi: ?

“Could the two heads of households over there please get back to work? Don’t use every little opportunity to get all lovey-dovey! Are we going to plant this field or not?” Shisi planted his hands on his hips and called them out. 

Wen Jue turned around and sneered, “Lu Shisi, are you looking to die?”

Lu Shisi: ?What happened to the Lu Yi we were promised? Why is he still a demon!

Lu Shisi watched as Wen Jue flew toward him, thought “Oh no,” and took off running—“Village Chief, help me!!!”

Qin Zhou watched from afar, his expression calm.

Hmm, it’s still best to have a lively atmosphere at home.

Qin Zhou finished organizing his full back basket and was just about to stand up when a massive shadow fell over him. Qin Zhou looked up—it was Lu San.

“Village Chief.” Lu San had a basket packed to the brim on his back, and in each hand he held two more baskets filled with Spirit Heart Fruits.

“What’s the matter?” Lu San placed the three baskets of Spirit Heart Fruits in front of Qin Zhou. “Village Chief, can I trade these for Yan Qi?”

Shen Yun had come, but Yan Qi hadn’t.“I’ll do the work for Yan Qi.”

Qin Zhou: “……”

Qin Zhou patted Lu San on the arm. “Yan Qi can’t come right now.”

Lu San’s mountain-like frame stood there, silent and unmoving. Qin Zhou could only lower his voice. “Wait a little longer.”

“Alright.”

……

The joyful life in the village seemed to have passed in the blink of an eye. After about half a month, using Spirit Marrow to forcibly ripen the fruits and mobilizing every available person in the village, they planted the fourth-tier Spirit Heart Fruits four times. Finally, the small mountain village advanced from Level 5 to Level 6. At this rate, if they planted the fourth-tier Spirit Heart Fruits seven or eight more times, the Small Cultivation Mountain Village could reach Level 7.

It seemed it wouldn’t take much longer to advance from Level 6 to Level 7. However, the harvest of fruits was so massive that the storage facilities were already overflowing. With no other choice, Qin Zhou had to move his personal treasure vault over.

“Are we going to store all of this?”

“Yes. When I have some free time, I’ll refine all these Spirit Heart Fruits into spiritual pills. If I turn them all into pills, it won’t be a waste of the spiritual energy accumulated over hundreds of years in the Zhutian Realm.” Qin Zhou said as he took inventory of the warehouse.“Once the Zhutian Realm settles down, you can resume your elixir business.” 

Wen Jue sat on the rooftop, gazing up at the bright moonlight. He murmured, “Once the World Tree is planted, the barrier between the upper realm and the lower realm should no longer be necessary.”

He could almost picture the scene of spiritual energy flourishing in the small village once the World Tree took root there. By then, with the Small Cultivation Mountain Village at its center, spiritual energy would spread to every corner of the Zhutian Realm.

“Who knows? By then, even mortals might be able to cultivate.”

“Hmm. If mortals start cultivating, the prospects for the elixir business look promising,” Qin Zhou said. 

“Since we have no sect to rely on, we’d better have a few shops to earn some Spirit Stones to fall back on.”

“Qin Zhou, I can’t help but feel uneasy.” Wen Jue could see that the small village was ablaze with lights from every household, almost blinding him. Every villager had a small cottage in the village. These cottages had been uninhabited for a very, very long time. Ever since Qin Zhou returned, a sense of liveliness seemed to have gradually spread throughout the village. But would this liveliness last? Would everything settle down once the World Tree was planted?

Why was the Heavenly Dao in such a hurry? Couldn’t it wait even a moment?

As if understanding what Wen Jue was about to say, Qin Zhou didn’t wait for him to speak but raised his voice to interrupt, “It’ll be fine. Every future you envision will come true.”

Wen Jue felt a wave of relief wash over him and gave a soft snort. “You promise.”

“I promise.”

Wen Jue smiled, suddenly standing up. “Alright, then I’m going back to rest.”

“Where are you going?”

“Next door.” Wen Jue pointed to the house next to the village courtyard.

That was his little house.

“Sleep with me tonight.” 

It had been a while since he’d returned from the Spirit Mountain Realm, and Wen Jue had been going back to his little house to rest every day. Even Qin Zhou couldn’t help but speak up.

After all, they were in a legitimate relationship bound by a Dao Companion contract.

Wen Jue:?!

Wen Jue licked his lips. “But… I haven’t studied at the Hehuan Sect yet…”

Qin Zhou chuckled, “Shall I teach you?”

Watching Wen Jue’s face gradually flush in the moonlight, he jumped down from the roof, “Oh!”

“Oh.” Qin Zhou mimicked his tone.

Wen Jue blushed even more, pushing Qin Zhou toward the house while following close behind.

With their new bodies, the two were finally able to finish what they hadn’t completed last time in the Spirit Mountain Realm.

Within the hazy sea of qi.

Faint gasps and sounds drifted through the air.

The mark of their spiritual bond, etched upon their hearts, grew faintly warm; as they entwined, their love nearly overflowed.

Wen Jue hadn’t expected that what Qin Zhou called “teaching” was something far deeper than mere play.

“You didn’t say… it was this kind of teaching…” Wen Jue leaned against Qin Zhou’s shoulder; the discomfort radiating from behind him made his voice tremble.

Qin Zhou bit his lip and gave a muffled “mm-hmm.”

He drifted in Qin Zhou’s qi sea, like a piece of driftwood in the ocean, rising and falling.

His mind was a chaotic blur.

Tender kisses would occasionally land at the corner of his eye.

Or on his shoulder.

Flushes of color bloomed on his fair skin.

Until Wen Jue could no longer form a complete sentence.

“I can teach you even more,” Qin Zhou said with a smile.

“Don’t… Don’t underestimate me.” Wen Jue exhaled a puff of warm breath and bit down on Qin Zhou’s neck.

Out of sight, Wen Jue quietly exerted force, causing Qin Zhou to tremble slightly as well.

Then he smiled faintly, “Alright.”