Chapter Fifty-Six: A Fine Dog

“Spirit-eating insects?”

Zhou Changwang was taken aback.

Such spiritual insects would never appear on Spirit Grain Rice. Yet, recalling that the other party’s rice had already been harvested and only three acres of spiritual herbs remained, he suddenly understood. Clearly, their herb fields were now afflicted by this pest.

“Let me take you to see it first. If you can help us rid the field of these insects, you will be handsomely rewarded,” Zhao Qiang said, hurrying forward to lead the way toward his spiritual fields.

“Let’s take a look then,” Zhou Changwang replied, following him. Qian Xiaoyue naturally trailed behind.

Soon, the group entered the Zhao brothers’ backyard. No sooner had they stepped in than a large spiritual dog rose to its feet and growled, its vigilance evident.

“Woof…”

The small spiritual pup walking beside Zhou Changwang immediately bristled and barked in response. From its voice, it seemed just as fierce, though its hesitancy—retreating step by step and gradually hiding behind Zhou Changwang—betrayed its lack of confidence.

Only when Zhao Qiang sternly ordered his spiritual dog to stop barking did the farce end.

“Don’t worry, nothing will happen while we’re here,” Zhao Qiang reassured them.

“It’s a good dog,” Zhou Changwang commented. This spiritual dog, different in breed from his own pup, stood as tall as a person’s waist and was quite intimidating. No wonder the spiritual farmers at the foot of Changling Mountain dared not approach.

At the brothers’ signal, Zhou Changwang turned his gaze toward the three acres of spiritual fields enclosed by thorny vines.

Within these acres, lush spiritual herbs and materials flourished. Most were ordinary spiritual herbs such as Spirit Ginseng, White Jade Fungus, and Golden Thread Red, but there was also a small patch of Pure Heart Spirit Flowers. Some of these flowers had already formed buds, soon to bloom.

It should be known that Pure Heart Spirit Flowers are the main ingredient for refining Restoration Pills, taking five years to mature and bloom only once. In other words, this patch of Pure Heart Spirit Flowers had been growing for nearly five years.

The other herbs—Spirit Ginseng, White Jade Fungus, and so forth—were also quite mature, with ages ranging from three to five years, almost ready for harvest. Once sold, they would fetch several thousand lower-grade spirit stones.

No wonder the brothers risked danger to build their home here, tending their fields closely.

If these were stolen or destroyed, the loss would be immense.

Zhou Changwang also noticed the spiritual energy in the area was noticeably richer than in other fields. If the spiritual energy in his own fields could be rated as “one,” then in these three acres it was “one point five.” The difference seemed small, but it marked the distinction between ordinary and medicinal fields—a difference in value as wide as the heavens and the earth.

“It’s this half-acre of Pure Heart Spirit Flowers. They’ve been growing for five years and were about to bloom, just when we should have reaped the reward. But now they’re infested with spirit-eating insects. You can see this patch has been severely gnawed, its stems and leaves withered. We’ve tried countless methods, but nothing works. If it continues, they may not survive. It’s a real headache,” Zhao Jie said, pointing to the withered flowers, his face troubled.

“We even went to the Herb Cultivation Hall a few days ago to ask for help. They agreed to send Cultivator Wu Lei, but it’s been days and he’s nowhere to be seen. With the turmoil in the market lately, they’re busy with their own affairs, and I doubt he’ll be coming anytime soon. That’s why we thought to ask you,” Zhao Qiang added.

Desperate measures for desperate times. Seeing Zhou Changwang, they remembered his reputation and invited him on a whim, though their trust lay more with the Herb Cultivation Hall’s professionals.

Zhou Changwang nodded, unbothered by this. He studied the Pure Heart Spirit Flowers, frowning slightly. “It is indeed tricky.”

The spirit-eating insects were troublesome not for their tenacity, but because they typically burrowed inside the roots and stems of spiritual plants, consuming the plants’ energy and vitality from within. Ordinary pest control methods were useless. Even if their presence was detected, unless one disregarded the plant’s growth, it was difficult to eradicate them internally.

“Exactly. The spirit-eating insects hide within the roots and stems of the Pure Heart Spirit Flowers. Even if our spiritual sense locates them, we can’t remove them. If we provoke them, they retaliate by devouring the plant’s energy, hastening its death,” Zhao Jie said, his face full of worry.

“Do you have any solution, Fellow Zhou?” Zhao Qiang caught the implied meaning in Zhou Changwang’s words. Tricky, but not impossible.

His eyes brightened at the thought.

“There is a method that could be tried, but it requires someone adept at ice magic,” Zhou Changwang said after a brief contemplation.

In the past, armed only with his Metal Finger technique for pest control, he could do nothing about parasitic insects like these. However, he had recently acquired a jade slip from Wang Chang, which contained the century-long experience of a cultivator named Wan He, titled ‘The Spiritual Farmer’s Manual.’

Within this manual were detailed accounts of problems encountered in spiritual farming and their solutions. It specifically addressed parasitic insects such as the spirit-eating kind.

The simplest solution was to learn a technique called Golden Thread, which would conjure golden threads that could follow the insects’ air holes, entangle them, and extract them—almost unfailingly. Of course, this required the cultivator to have powerful spiritual control, for poorly executed golden threads could easily harm the plant itself and sever its vitality.

Apart from this, the manual described another clever method: exploiting the spirit-eating insect’s fear of cold to lure it out of the plant.

“I have studied an Ice Arrow spell. What should I do?” Zhao Jie immediately volunteered.

“It’s simple. Once you confirm the location of the spirit-eating insects inside the Pure Heart Spirit Flowers, control the cold emitted by the Ice Arrow and bring it close. I have a way to draw them out,” Zhou Changwang replied.

“Alright!” Zhao Jie agreed and quickly began casting. Soon, an Ice Arrow formed before him. Rather than releasing it, he carefully guided it toward the root of one of the Pure Heart Spirit Flowers.

Seeing this, Zhou Changwang hurried over. With a flip of his hand, a small flame appeared and, under his control, moved gently toward the plant.

Zhao Qiang observed with a flicker of surprise. Was Zhou Changwang’s speed in casting the Fireball spell a bit too fast? Instantaneous?