So, when the rest of the Lu family arrived, they found that nearly all the fruit on the hillside had already been harvested.

“It looks like we’re too late.”

“……”

The Lu brothers all fell silent.

How could this be!

They had come to the lower realm immediately after settling their physical forms! It had only been a day or so—had all the fruit on this mountain really been harvested already?

Pair after pair of wide eyes stared at the baskets of Spirit Heart Fruit already piled high in the spirit fields, utterly incredulous.

But that wasn’t all.

Shen Yun formed a hand seal once more, issuing another summoning order as space tore open. Soon, sturdy horse-like spirit beasts leaped out one after another.

There were about a dozen of them. Upon receiving their orders, they all headed to the fields, hoisted the baskets filled with Spirit Heart Fruits onto their backs, and carried them home one by one.

The Lu brothers watched this scene in silence.

Someone asked reluctantly, “Who is this guy?”

“The village chief’s new villager—one of him is worth a hundred others,” Shisi replied matter-of-factly. Then, hoisting a small bamboo basket—heavily laden—he walked alongside the various horse-like spirit beasts, directing them as he went: “Follow this path home. It’s fine to take it slow—just don’t spill the goods.”

“Right, you all listen to Senior Shisi. Don’t spill the fruit.” Shen Yun called out from the side as well.

As they passed in front of the Lu family members, Shen Yun flashed a shy smile. “Greetings, seniors. My name is Shen Yun.”

The Lu family: “……”

“What are you all standing there for?” Wen Jue walked over carrying a large basket, a blade of dry grass clenched between his teeth, speaking slowly, “Just because they’re taking a break doesn’t mean you can stop. After harvesting the fruit, we still have to plow the fields, plant again, and harvest again—there’s plenty of work to do.”

Only then did everyone snap out of it.

As long as there’s work to do, that’s fine.

Otherwise, why would they have come down here?

So, a large group joined in.

“Shiyi, you’re no good. How come you’ve got less than a hundred pounds on your back?”

“Shut up. I just haven’t done this kind of work in a while; my hands are a bit rusty…”

“Look at how much Third Brother is carrying!”

“……” He’s carrying a small mountain on top of another small mountain.

“Thank goodness, thank goodness—we still have someone in our family who’s worth five men!”

Lu San “……”

Lu San glanced up at the sky.

It’s really lively here.

It’s been a long time since it’s been this lively.

Although the deep mountains brought him peace of mind, he also really enjoyed this kind of liveliness.

Thanks to Shen Yun, this busy farming season didn’t seem quite so hectic.

When Lu Wu walked into the courtyard, Qin Zhou was reading in the alchemy room.

Curious, Lu Wu tiptoed inside.

“Village Chief, what are you reading?”

“I’m looking for information on the Eighth-Tier Reformation Pill.” Qin Zhou didn’t look up; he was flipping through the alchemy notes he had left behind. “Did you come to refine Solidifying Essence Pills?”

Lu Wu nodded. “Yes.”

Many fellow disciples had come down to this realm this time, and the number of Solidifying Essence Pills required was staggering. As the only alchemist among them, Lu Wu had volunteered to come.

However… the Reformation Pill—that must be the eighth-tier elixir the Village Chief mentioned that could save all the senior disciples.

“Village Chief, do you have a formula for the Reformation Pill?”

“I have a rough idea,” Qin Zhou said. In fact, he had researched the villagers’ method of rebirth’ long ago.

Raising a villager is no easy task.

Especially someone like Lu Yi, into whom he had poured so much effort. Even though his power was now unmatched, unforeseen circumstances could always arise. Qin Zhou didn’t want to wait until something actually happened to a villager before thinking about a way to revive them. That’s why he had been researching methods to revive the villagers all along.

And that revival method was the Reformation Pill. Why did he call it an eighth-tier elixir? Because to refine the Reformation Pill, one ingredient was required that was extremely rare.

That ingredient is the fruit of the World Tree—a fact explicitly recorded in the official chronicles. In fact, the chronicles describe the fruit of the World Tree as—restoring vitality.

Qin Zhou even suspected that this “vitality” might extend beyond the physical realm—perhaps even to the… spiritual realm. Of course, he had no proof.

Qin Zhou’s suspicions were not entirely unfounded.

After all, even a small fragment of the World Tree’s roots or vines is the seventh-tier Tree Spirit Vine.

The World Fruit is even more extraordinary. As the fruit of the World Tree, its flesh can “restore vitality,” and its core serves as the seed to cultivate a new World Tree.

Therefore, the difficulty of obtaining the World Fruit is rated SSS-class.

Qin Zhou had always kept an eye on how to obtain the World Fruit; the chronicles contained only three simple words—the Heaven-Piercing Rankings.

It could be obtained through the Heaven-Piercing Rankings, but the probability was extremely low.

Qin Zhou had played the game for eight years and had been ranked number one for several consecutive years, yet even so, he had never obtained a single World Fruit.

Later, he quit the game, and the matter was left unresolved.

Thinking about it now, since even the villager recruitment system could be activated, perhaps the Heaven-Piercing Arena could be as well.

“How’s your Seventh-Tier Soul-Nurturing Pill coming along?” Qin Zhou snapped out of his thoughts and asked.

Lu Wu stiffened instantly, like a student suddenly called on by a teacher. “…I haven’t started yet. I plan to try refining the Sixth-Tier Soul-Consolidating Pill first.”

He had heard about the Demon-Slaying Plan earlier and rushed to the Immortal Prison. After the battle ended, he hurried back, so he really hadn’t had much time.

“Don’t worry about the Solidifying Essence Pills. Just focus on refining the Soul-Reviving Pills here.”

“…Alright. With the Village Chief watching over me, I’m not worried about ruining the pills.” Lu Wu naturally let out a sigh of relief.

Qin Zhou thought for a moment, then pulled something out of his storage pouch.

Lu Wu waited obediently.

“……Village Chief, what is this?” Lu Wu stared blankly at the object in his hand. A… velvet box?

“Shisi likes it. Use this to hold the pills.”

Lu Wu:?

Lu Wu took the box and smiled wryly. “I thought you were going to give me some secret notes or a manual on how to refine the Soul-Reviving Pill.” Like the little notebook he was holding now, filled with precautions.

Qin Zhou looked puzzled. “Why would a seventh-tier elixir need a manual?”

Lu Wu: “……”

“You can do it,” Qin Zhou added.

His tone was so calm that it sounded like he was stating an established fact. Lu Wu smiled.

Alright.

He could do it—after all, Shisi’s life depended on it. He had to succeed.

Seeing that Lu Wu had fallen silent, Qin Zhou continued flipping through the manual.

The primary ingredient for the Reformation Pill was the World Fruit, but it also required several other seventh-tier ingredients. He could find a few of them in his warehouse, but this one, called “Qilin Pearl” was missing.

“Lu Wu, do you know where I can find a Qilin Pearl?”

Lu Wu thought for a moment. “Are you referring to the seventh-tier ingredient, the Qilin Pearl? That one can also be used in formations…”

“That’s the one.”

“Actually, there is.” Lu Wu hesitated slightly. “As far as I know, it should be in the Cangyun Sword Sect’s protective formation, serving as the formation’s core.”

Qin Zhou’s eyes lit up.

Lu Wu continued, “Back in the day, the Cangyun Sword Sect’s protective formation…” Lu Wu chose his words carefully before saying, “The formation broke down once. Later, Second Brother asked Little Seven to repair it, and it was Little Seven who produced the Qilin Pearl.”

“Qilin Pearls must be rare these days.”

Qin Zhou nodded. “I see.”

It seemed he would have to pay a visit to the Cangyun Sword Sect at some point. There were many items that could serve as the array’s focal point; he could simply exchange something else for it.

To refine the Reformation Pill, this Qilin Pearl was indispensable.

“Village Chief, all the fruits have been harvested, and the soil has been turned over. Should we plant new ones now?” Nineteen called out from outside.

Qin Zhou stood up and walked out of the alchemy chamber.

“Yes. The third-tier Spirit Heart Fruits are in the storeroom; extract the seeds. The Spirit Marrow is there, too. After planting them, crush the Spirit Marrow to force them to ripen.” With that, Qin Zhou walked out as well.

Even during the busy farming season, he couldn’t afford to slack off.

The real priority was to upgrade the small village to Level 4 and reactivate the villager recruitment system. Chen San’s soul was still trapped inside the Spirit Qi Orb; if he couldn’t add him to the villager roster in time, he couldn’t be certain the Reformation Pill would save him.

Lu Qi’s family arrived relatively late.

After all, the Demon Sect was such a massive operation; everything had to be arranged properly.

Moreover, on this trip, Lu Qi had brought Lu Xiao along.

Lu Xiao, in turn, had brought Jiang Huan along.

That’s right, Jiang Huan still hadn’t managed to return to the Cangyun Sword Sect. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go back; he had originally intended to. But then, Lu Qi returned.

Jiang Huan could still put up a fight against Lu Xiao, but he couldn’t resist the Supreme Patriarch Lu Qi in the slightest.

He still remembered the Supreme Patriarch’s enigmatic smile when Lu Xiao suggested bringing him along, along with those words that were impossible to fathom—

“I’ll take you out to see the world.”

See the world?

Jiang Huan didn’t understand, but he had no choice.

To “see the world”—and then, their spiritual bodies collectively left their bodies, and they arrived in the lower realm.

The three of them even ran into an acquaintance at the foot of the mountain.

As soon as Jiang Huan saw him, he instinctively hid behind Lu Xiao.

“What’s wrong?” Lu Xiao tilted his head, puzzled.

Hiding behind him, Jiang Huan frowned. “The Young City Lord of Immortal-Demon City. That man is unfathomable.”

Lu Xiao looked up and saw a figure in the distance.

“It’s nothing,” Lu Xiao said.

Jiang Huan grabbed the hem of his robe, panicking. “He knows I…”

That’s the Young City Master of Immortal-Demon City!

If he saw me associating with the likes of the Demon Sect… As Jiang Huan thought this, his grip suddenly loosened. Hmm, maybe being discovered wouldn’t be such a big deal after all.

The Immortal-Demon City was essentially the third faction of the Righteous Path, and the Demon Sect, and the Young City Lord was a shrewd individual; he likely wouldn’t expose Jiang Huan’s identity as a disciple of the Cangyun Sword Sect in front of the Supreme Patriarch.

“Don’t be afraid,” Lu Xiao told him. “Think about it—what’s my surname?”

Jiang Huan: “Your surname is Lu.”

“Now think about what his surname is.”

Jiang Huan:?

“…His surname is also Lu.”

“Right, so we’re brothers.” Lu Xiao chuckled.

Jiang Huan: “……” Are you out of your mind?

Over there, Zhanyu had also spotted them and raised his hand to halt the palanquin.

As the two groups met, Zhanyu stepped down from the palanquin, a smile on his pale face. He greeted Lu Qi first, “Uncle Qi, Lu Xiao.”

Lu Xiao replied, “Brother.”

Jiang Huan:?

Lu Qi was even more astonished. “Zhanyu, you’re here too? With your health being so fragile, why did you come?”

Zhanyu covered his mouth and coughed, then paused before saying, “I heard from Uncle Shiyi that everyone was coming back to farm the land, so naturally I had to return as well. It just took me a while to wrap up matters in the Immortal-Demon City, so I arrived late.”

“Same here. We were delayed dealing with the Demon Sect.” Without another word, Lu Qi took off his cloak and draped it over Zhanyu.

Zhanyu didn’t refuse. He smiled and said, “Thank you, Seventh Uncle.”

“Let’s head up together then. Would you like Lu Xiao to carry you?”

Zhanyu raised his hand to decline. “Uncle Qi, it’s just a hike.”

Zhanyu glanced at Lu Xiao, then at the person behind him. When he recognized Jiang Huan’s face, he was quite surprised. But just as Jiang Huan had anticipated, he didn’t say anything; he merely gave a slight nod as a greeting.

Jiang Huan also nodded cautiously in response.

Wait a minute.

That’s not right!

He shouldn’t be thinking right now that the Young City Lord of Immortal-Demon City hadn’t exposed him after all!

He should be wondering what exactly the relationship between these three is!

The City Lord of Immortal-Demon City calls the Supreme Patriarch of the Demon Sect “Seventh Uncle”? And Lu Xiao even addressed him directly as “brother.” Jiang Huan’s pupils dilated in shock; he couldn’t recover.

“This is Brother Zhanyu, the son of my Twelfth Uncle and Eighteenth Uncle,” Lu Xiao whispered as he introduced him. “My father and all my uncles treat him as their own son.”

“He’s the Young City Lord of Immortal-Demon City,” Jiang Huan said with difficulty. The Young City Lord of Immortal-Demon City should belong to the Third Faction!

No matter how you look at it, this is clearly pro-Demon!

“His surname is Lu,” Lu Xiao retorted, even adding, “All three City Lords of the Immortal-Demon City bear the surname Lu.”

Jiang Huan: “…So those three…”

“Are my uncles?” Lu Xiao smiled.

Jiang Huan’s hand trembled.

No wonder the Demon-Slaying Plan went silent halfway through.

The Demon Sect and Immortal-Demon City—they’re actually that closely connected.

He should report this back to the Cangyun Sword Sect and inform his Master.

The Immortal-Demon City’s sphere of influence is too vast… If they were to ally with the Demon Sect… the righteous path would be in grave danger.

But…

Jiang Huan’s gaze lingered on Lu Xiao for a moment.

Just then, Lu Qi’s voice rang out like a death knell—

“Left Guardian, aren’t you going to move? Do you want me to carry you on my back?”

Jiang Huan flinched and hurried to catch up. “This humble disciple dares not!”