Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Reporting to the General Affairs Hall

When Jiang Xu arrived, this was the scene that greeted him.

He shook his head in resignation and charged directly into Shen Ji’s Spirit Field.

"Be careful! There are so many of them!"

Shen Ji cried out in alarm.

But she hadn’t expected that after silently chanting a Spell for a few seconds, Jiang Xu would kill a Sub-Insect with a push of his hands.

Then, every ten-odd minutes, he was able to cast his magic again, killing another Sub-Insect.

After just over an hour, Jiang Xu had killed every single Sub-Insect in Shen Ji’s field.

"You... How are you so strong?"

Shen Ji cautiously approached. Only after confirming that all the Sub-Insects were truly dead did she look at Jiang Xu in disbelief and ask.

"I’ve already reached the Qi Cultivation Third Layer. Of course I’m a little stronger than you."

Shen Ji was even more incredulous.

"You reached the Qi Cultivation Third Layer?"

"I’ve been reflecting on my painful past experiences. Now that I’m no longer trapped by matters of the heart, my Dao heart is clear, which allowed me to have this lucky breakthrough."

"...I’ve never heard of a breakthrough happening that way."

"That just shows your inexperience."

Jiang Xu collected all the corpses of the Sub-Insects he had killed.

He now had twelve of them.

Shen Ji still couldn’t contain her curiosity.

"Hey, since you’ve already advanced to the Qi Cultivation Third Layer, why haven’t you applied to enter the Outer Sect? Why are you still here working as a servant? Ah, don’t tell me it’s because..."

As she spoke, Shen Ji actually blushed.

"Isn’t it obvious? Of course it’s because of the Spirit Rice."

Shen Ji clicked her tongue.

"But after you’re promoted to an Outer Disciple, another servant will take over your Spirit Field anyway. You’ll still get your share; servants wouldn’t dare embezzle from an Outer Disciple."

"I’ve been with this Spirit Field for five years. I’ve grown deeply attached to my land and want to spend one last harvest season with it."

"I didn’t realize you were so sentimental!"

Shen Ji was so moved she almost cried.

Of course, this was all a lie.

Jiang Xu had only transmigrated about ten days ago; he couldn’t care less about farming.

The real reason he didn’t want to leave was that his Spirit Field, meticulously cared for with his Skillful Level Spirit Rain Technique, was certain to have a bumper harvest, with a yield far greater than that of other servants.

If another servant came to harvest it, they would definitely notice the anomaly. If word got out, there was a chance that someone with ulterior motives might realize something was amiss.

Although Shen Ji already knew about it, Jiang Xu didn’t want anyone else to find out.

Besides that, Jiang Xu also felt his current strength was far too weak.

Casually entering the Outer Sect of a Sect filled with experts, with his current level of strength, would be a very dangerous thing to do.

He would undoubtedly end up at the very bottom of the food chain.

Even if this danger was very likely just a product of Jiang Xu’s imagination.

There were less than twenty days left before the five-year term for Servant Disciples was up.

Within these twenty days, because the Spirit Fields were about to be harvested, many Servant Disciples would receive a portion of Spirit Stones. They would use them to buy Elixirs for a Realm Breakthrough and promotion to the Outer Sect.

If he was mixed in with that group of servants, he wouldn’t stand out.

Furthermore, twenty days was enough time for Jiang Xu to raise one or two more of his magic to the Mastery level.

That way, his strength would increase significantly, giving him a better chance of survival.

In gaming terms, this was called ’level camping’. Although Jiang Xu wasn’t camping his Realm, but rather his status.

"My poor Spirit Rice... so much of it has been eaten."

Shen Ji stared at her gnawed-on stalks of rice, her heart aching. She wished she could swallow all those Sub-Insects whole.

Seeing Shen Ji’s expression, an idea flashed in Jiang Xu’s mind.

"By the way, Fellow Daoist Shen, do you hate these insects?"

"Do you even need to ask? My Spirit Rice has been ruined like this. Am I supposed to sing their praises instead?"

"Then let me offer you a way to get revenge. Are you willing to try it?"

Shen Ji was a little suspicious.

"What way?"

"Right now, this insect isn’t too much trouble. The damage to the Spirit Fields it has eaten is only a fraction of what’s caused by normal pests, so the other servants don’t yet understand its destructive power.

However, if the Mother-Child Spirit-Devouring Insect continues to grow stronger like this, the consequences will be unimaginable once the Mother Insect reaches Tier Two.

You should report this to the General Affairs Hall and hand over those Ancient Texts of yours. They will definitely take it seriously and exterminate this Exotic Insect while it’s still weak. You might even receive a reward from the General Affairs Hall for it."

Shen Ji’s eyes grew brighter the more she listened, but there was something she didn’t quite understand.

"Why don’t you do it yourself? It’s clearly a very beneficial thing to do. Besides a potential reward, you could also earn a good reputation among the Servant Disciples."

"Those Ancient Texts belong to you, and it’s only because of you that I learned the true identity of this Exotic Insect. How could I take your discovery and claim the credit?"

Jiang Xu said with righteous conviction.

In reality, he wasn’t the type to seek the spotlight.

Just as Shen Ji had said, reporting it would definitely attract attention.

This was an Exotic Insect ranked in the top 500 on the list of Exotic Insects from Ancient Times. It might even startle an Elder or two.

If Jiang Xu hadn’t been afraid that the Mother Insect would reach Tier Two without anyone noticing, potentially dragging him into the disaster, he never would have meddled by getting someone else to report it.

...

「For a while after that.」

Jiang Xu continued to shuttle between his own Spirit Field and Shen Ji’s.

But this time, in addition to creating rain, Jiang Xu was also responsible for exterminating the insects in her Spirit Field.

Of course, it wasn’t for free.

Besides keeping the Sub-Insect corpses, Jiang Xu also had Shen Ji pay him an additional price of one catty of Spirit Rice per day.

Shen Ji was very doubtful that the Sub-Insects could even eat a whole catty of Spirit Rice in a day.

But Jiang Xu told her:

"After you report this to the General Affairs Hall, you’re sure to get a much bigger reward. I gave this opportunity to you, so can’t you at least let me have a little taste?"

And so, Shen Ji readily accepted.

「Ten days passed just like that.」

Jiang Xu suddenly realized that the Sub-Insects, which had been appearing from time to time, had at some point stopped showing up.

’The Sub-Insects have all vanished. Could it be that the people from the General Affairs Hall have finally made their move?’

But suddenly, a terrifying pressure erupted from an unknown location. Immediately after, Jiang Xu felt as if he were being stared down by some kind of prehistoric beast. He felt naked and exposed, able to do nothing but tremble uncontrollably, as if he had been plunged into an icy cavern.

Fortunately, the feeling only lasted for an instant before vanishing without a trace, never to appear again.

"What was that?!"

Terrified, Jiang Xu abandoned his Spirit Field and bolted for his house, where he repeatedly cast the Concealing Breath Spell on himself.

It was a full hour or two before he finally recovered from his terror.

Once he had calmed down, his mind began to race.

’Truly terrifying!’

...

Jiang Xu waited another day before going to find Shen Ji.

The moment he saw Shen Ji, she greeted him excitedly.

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, good news!"