Shen Yun crouched on the ground, using one hand to dig up soil with a small shovel while carefully picking at the emerging fruit with the other.

His pristine robes and clean, handsome face were now smudged with dirt and dust.

Interestingly, the little wind sparrow was also using both its claws and beak, trying hard to dig up a Spirit Heart Fruit.

“Little Sparrow, you’re working so hard,” Shen Yun said with a smile, seeing the little sparrow’s head covered in dirt.

“Cheep cheep cheep! Cheep cheep cheep cheep!” The little wind sparrow opened its beak and chirped a long string of sounds.

Shen Yun said regretfully, “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“It says Uncle Sugar Bean said that as long as it works hard, he’ll give it sweet elixirs to eat,” Shisi translated.

Uncle Sugar Bean… that must be Senior Qin Zhou.

“Thank you, Senior Shisi,” Shen Yun smiled, patting the little sparrow on the head. “Well then, you’ve got to work hard, and I’ll have to work hard too.”

Shen Yun looked up and saw that Senior Shisi, who had been digging side by side with him, was already several meters ahead.

Senior Shisi really is amazing.

“This little Wind Sparrow—where did you get it?” Shisi asked suddenly.

“I found it,” Shen Yun replied. “When I first arrived here, I was a wandering spirit. While I was wandering about, I happened to come across disciples from the Lingqi Mountain Sect who were trying to contract a Great Wind Sparrow. But the Great Wind Sparrow wouldn’t comply, so they planned to hunt it down and take the little Wind Sparrow, which was still just an egg at the time.”

“The two sides fought, and both ended up badly injured. I seized the opportunity to possess a body and return to life, but I couldn’t save the Great Wind Sparrow. I only managed to pick up the lonely little Wind Sparrow egg and raise it by my side.” Once it hatched, it became this little fellow.

“No wonder,” Shisi nodded. “Wind Sparrows protect their homes. When a fight breaks out, it’s inevitable…”

Shen Yun sighed. “In our Spirit Mountain Realm, humans and spirit beasts coexist in harmony. Spiritual energy is abundant, and spirit beasts thrive. Becoming a beast tamer is a common path to cultivation for many in our realm.”

That’s why he was so shocked when he learned that Senior Shisi could actually communicate with spirit beasts.

A talent like that—if it were in the Spirit Mountain Realm—would surely cause a frenzy among spirit beast tamer sects vying for him.

“Demon tamers, however, are a niche branch that specializes in raising demon beasts. Demon beasts feed on spirit beasts and are hostile toward the human race. Demon tamers defy the Heavenly Dao, raising demon beasts for their own selfish desires; they are the common enemy of both spirit beasts and the human race. The soul in Senior Qin Zhou’s possession belonged to a man named Jiang He in life—a traitor to our sect. He concealed his identity as a demon tamer and harmed his fellow disciples. I intervened to purge the sect, which is why we’ve ended up here together.”

And just like that, the moment they met, the house cleaning was already done.

“The traitor is dead, but I have no idea how to get back,” Shen Yun mused, picking at the fruit.

“Pick a few more fruits,” suggested Shisi.

“You’re right. For now, I should probably get that strand of soul from the senior first before worrying about how to get back.”

Shen Yun smiled, fell silent, and buried himself in hard work.

Shisi: “……”

No, what he meant was that the village chief likes hardworking kids who enjoy farming. If Shen Yun picks a few more fruits, maybe the village chief will find a way to send him back.

He scratched his head. Never mind.

This young man might be the head of a clan, but he’s a bit slow on the uptake.

Are people who spend too much time with spirit beasts all like this?

Shisi didn’t understand, but he just kept working hard.

“Senior Shisi…”

Shisi turned around. “What is it now?”

Shen Yun asked, “There’s a question I’ve wanted to ask for a long time.”

“Hmm?”

“In your world, seniors, don’t you use spirit beasts for farming?” Shen Yun looked left and right but didn’t spot a single domesticated spirit beast.

“We used to.” Shisi thought for a moment; back when he was still young, the village chief had indeed used spirit beasts for plowing. “It’s mainly because there’s hardly any spiritual energy in the Lower Realm now, so it’s not feasible.”

If it were the group of spirit beasts in the mountains behind his house, they wouldn’t just be unable to work—they wouldn’t even be able to stay there for a moment.

“What about beast spirits?” Shen Yun frowned.

“What’s that?”

Shen Yun looked up and saw that Qin Zhou and Wen Jue were both staring over at them. He felt a little nervous, but still explained, “It’s a beastmaster’s primary ability—the ability to summon beast spirits. It consumes the beastmaster’s own spiritual energy, but not much.”

It’s similar to summoning magic. Any spirit beast with which a bond has been formed can be commanded. And the so-called beast spirit is essentially the physical manifestation of the spirit beast’s primordial soul.

This beast spirit summoning technique is actually just the most basic skill a beastmaster possesses. What Qin Zhou hadn’t expected was that Shen Yun would bring this up at this very moment.

This plot of land was somewhat peculiar. Perhaps due to the nature of the game, even those with the highest cultivation levels could only plant crops here by digging individual holes for each radish—there was no way to use spiritual energy to “speed up” the process.

That was precisely why Qin Zhou had been constantly troubled by the shortage of manpower during this busy farming season.

But what if… Shen Yun’s idea actually worked?

“Can you summon them?” Qin Zhou asked him.

“I should be able to,” Shen Yun explained. “A Beastmaster’s bond is forged through a pledge of the soul. Even if I switch bodies, I should still be able to…”

“Give it a try,” Qin Zhou said earnestly.

Hearing this, Shen Yun hesitated no longer. He formed a hand seal, and a spiritual mark suddenly appeared between his fingers—

“Spirit Beast, summon!”

A summoning as simple as could be.

Suddenly, space tore open, and a small creature resembling a squirrel quickly squeezed through a tiny gap.

“Squeak~” The little squirrel gave a light hop and settled onto Shen Yun’s shoulder. Its fluffy tail wiggled about, seeming both unfamiliar with and curious about its surroundings.

“Xiao Zhi, can you help me bring that spirit fruit out? Be careful not to damage it.”

The little squirrel couldn’t speak, but upon receiving the command, it leaped lightly and landed on the ground.

It dug into the soil a few times with its little paws, then patted the dirt aside, revealing a plump Spirit Heart Fruit. Clutching the fruit in both paws, it hopped back, “Squeak~.”

The whole process took no more than a few seconds.

Shen Yun carefully took the Spirit Heart Fruit and sighed. Sure enough, the little squirrel was better at working than he was.

“How many can you summon at once?”

Shen Yun looked up and realized that Senior Qin Zhou had walked over without him noticing.

Shen Yun froze for a moment, then replied earnestly, “At the same time? A hundred shouldn’t be a problem.” Since the little squirrels were small and not particularly powerful, summoning multiple at once was indeed feasible.

And if it were just simple farm work like this, it wouldn’t be a problem.

Qin Zhou stepped closer. “You…”

Shen Yun stiffened. “Senior?”

“Would you be interested in becoming one of my villagers?” Qin Zhou’s tone was extremely serious.

Shen Yun: Huh?

Shisi jumped to his feet, his little hands trembling. “This… this kid!”

Wen Jue walked over, patted him on the head, and chuckled, “One for two isn’t enough anymore; you’d need one for a hundred to even be in the same league.”

Seeing how pleased Wen Jue looked, Shisi was livid: “What’s there to be happy about! He alone is worth a hundred of us! Haven’t you thought about it? If this kid becomes a villager, the Village Chief won’t like us anymore!”

Waaah, he saw it too—the Village Chief’s eyes were all aglow when he looked at that kid!

Wen Jue’s expression grew slightly strange. “It can’t be that bad.”

“Don’t forget, the village chief loves kids who know how to farm.” Shisi lowered his voice, feeling his position was hanging by a thread.

Wen Jue pressed his lips together in thought. “You’re right.”

“What are you agreeing to?!” Shisi was on the verge of tears. He could only be worth two people—he couldn’t possibly be worth a hundred!

“Senior… I’ll pass on being a villager. I just want a wisp of that traitor’s soul… If you could give it to me, that would be great.” Shen Yun scratched his head and smiled.

“Alright. Any other requests?” Qin Zhou asked. If Shen Yun helped him farm, he could grant him two more favors.

Shen Yun stole a glance at Wen Jue ahead of him.

“He’s out of the question.” Qin Zhou flatly refused.

Shen Yun’s spirits sank. He’d only wanted to shake hands with Senior Lu Yi.

“It’s already more than enough that I can be of service to you, Senior. You’ve already helped me eliminate the traitor; Shen Yun asks for nothing more.”

“I can send you back.” Qin Zhou said suddenly.

Shen Yun: ?!

“Senior, do you mean…”

“Back to the Spirit Mountain Realm.”

Qin Zhou called out in his mind: Xiao Lu.

【Okay】

Shen Yun’s fingers trembled slightly. “I should be the one asking—what do you want, Senior?” For some reason, he didn’t doubt for a moment that the person before him was lying.

Shen Yun felt a natural sense of closeness and trust toward Qin Zhou—a feeling he couldn’t even explain to himself.

“I hope I can ask for your help with farming whenever I need it.”

Qin Zhou thought: If he could summon Shen Yun to help him farm whenever he wanted…

A Level 7 small village wouldn’t be a dream.

【Friendly Reminder: Village Chief, you haven’t reactivated the villager recruitment function yet, so you cannot recruit new villagers to the roster.】

“What level does the small mountain village need to be?”

【……Village Chief, you can’t just ask me that directly. You must explore the upgrade requirements yourself. Although I am your guiding spirit, I am also the Dao. Fairness and impartiality are essential to the Dao…】

Qin Zhou touched his storage pouch; the Milky Way was inside.

【Level 4 :(】

“Hmm, I’m almost Level 4.”

【……】

Shen Yun seemed to have no choice, because Senior Qin Zhou had not only helped him eliminate the traitor but could even send him home!

What could Shen Yun do?

Shen Yun could only keep summoning.

One little squirrel.

Two little squirrels.

Three, four…

Many little squirrels.

The little squirrels got to work.

Since he had never imagined that the Spirit Mountain Realm would establish ties with Zhutian Realm, using summoned spirit beasts to farm was truly a path Qin Zhou had never considered.

When he first met Shen Yun, he hadn’t expected it would bring him such a surprise.

Qin Zhou didn’t stop either. “Let’s go. We’re heading there too.”

Wen Jue followed, saying in a tone that was half-question, half-statement, “People from the Spirit Mountain Realm are well-suited to farming.”

Qin Zhou: “Hmm.”

“Are they better?” Wen Jue asked him. “Better than the Zhutian Realm, better than the villagers of the Lu family.”

Qin Zhou:?

“I’m asking on behalf of Shisi,” Wen Jue snorted.

Shisi, with his keen ears:?

He hadn’t asked a thing!

Qin Zhou stopped in his tracks and looked at him.

In that moment, Wen Jue felt as though the slightest trace of displeasure in his heart had been completely seen through, leaving him nowhere to hide.

Wen Jue lowered his eyes. Lately, it had been nothing but the Spirit Mountain Realm, Spirit Mountain Realm—it seemed those three words followed him everywhere he went.

He didn’t want Qin Zhou to get involved with other worlds or become entangled with them.

He didn’t want Qin Zhou to leave Zhutian Realm again.

“No, you guys are better,” Qin Zhou answered bluntly.

“But he’s worth a hundred villagers,” Wen Jue said.

Upon hearing this, Shisi’s ears perked up!

Qin Zhou retorted, “So what?”

So what?

Wen Jue wrapped her arm around Shisi’s neck, smiling with narrowed eyes. “Hmm, Shisi says he’s quite satisfied.”

Shisi nearly jumped out of his skin!

But…

Never mind.

“Alright, Shisi is actually a little satisfied,” Shisi mumbled under his breath.

Qin Zhou shook his head and smiled.

After learning about Lu Yi and the others’ tragic past, he already had a plan in mind.

He didn’t know when another portal might suddenly appear in Zhutian Realm. Nor did he know what kind of high-level raiders would be on the other side of the portal.

To prepare for future threats, he had to speed things up and raise the village’s level.