Chapter 51: Chapter 44: A Mere Herb Garden, Nothing But a Paper Tiger

Night.

The newly tilled soil of the herb field shimmered darkly under the moonlight.

Su Ling’er stood over the field, the night wind rustling her red robes, which now carried the fresh scent of earth.

She had returned to the land she had just left.

As expected, it had once again reset to the state she had first found it in.

But she didn’t care. A fire now burned in her eyes, which had previously held only numbness.

This was perfect. It meant she could endlessly complete the task of tilling the three-acre herb field in the Hundred Herbs Garden!

The Blood Coagulation Grass tucked in her robes gave her limitless motivation, driving her forward.

Now, she only needed to till the field three to five more times, and another Spirit Grass would be hers.

’What’s a little hardship?’

’What’s a little exhaustion?!’

’As long as I can get the reward...’

’Never mind three acres—even if it were thirty, or three hundred, she would do it without hesitation!’

’Of course, if three acres is enough, there’s no need for all that extra work.’

At Qingxu Temple, she never even had the chance to earn Spirit Grass through labor.

But here, she did!

How could she possibly let this opportunity go?!

Spiritual Power surged from her body without reservation, the white moonlight bathing her palms.

After sweeping and watering hundreds of times before, she had been forced to control her output, and her mastery over Spiritual Power had become increasingly refined.

Now, she could even give form to her Spiritual Power, commanding several hoes and plows by the edge of the field all at once.

"Hah!"

With a soft cry, a dozen or so hoes spun around her before falling in a neat line, turning over sheets of black earth.

The plows, meanwhile, charged forward relentlessly, carving a perfectly straight furrow before her!

With her Spiritual Power flowing freely, her efficiency was several times greater than before!

Unleashing the full force of her perfected Qi Refining cultivation, it took only a moment for Su Ling’er to reappear in the Transmission Hall.

The hall was still brightly lit, filled with flickering shadows and an unending clamor.

She walked straight to the stone counter and put down the task jade slip.

The task elder impassively pushed another new cloth pouch toward her.

She snatched the pouch, accepted the task to till the three-acre herb field in the Hundred Herbs Garden again, and turned to leave.

On the way, she took the opportunity to check the reward inside—it was a Red Blood Ginseng!

’It seems the low-rank Spirit Grass rewarded by the sect after each task is random.’

A moment later, she returned again.

In the meantime, she had circulated her energy to recover some of her Spiritual Power.

Turn in, receive, leave. Not a single wasted word.

This time, it was a Cooling Grass.

She was like a tireless monster, treading only the shortest path between the herb field and the Transmission Hall.

When her Spiritual Power ran out, she would sit cross-legged and circulate the *True Understanding of Ten Thousand Transformations Returning to the Origin*. The moment she opened her eyes again, she would rise and walk back toward that familiar field.

The cheers of the support group had completely faded into background noise.

"Junior Sister, break from your cocoon and become a butterfly!"

’I’m breaking!’

"Water the path of cultivation with your sweat!"

’I’m watering!’

She even grew frustrated with herself for not working fast enough.

’It’s just tilling a measly herb field. I could do this a hundred times without breaking a sweat!’

’This herb field is nothing! I, Su Ling’er, can crush it with the flip of a palm!’

Su Ling’er worked even harder!

...

「Some time later...」

’Ah...’

’I can’t go on...’

’I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die...’

’I really can’t do another bit of this...’

’If I keep going, I’m going to drop dead on the spot...’

As the first sliver of dawn lit the horizon, Su Ling’er dropped the tools she was controlling.

Her Spiritual Power was depleted, and her mind was utterly exhausted from the high-intensity labor.

No matter how great the temptation before her, all she could feel now were sharp pains wracking her body—a sign of overexertion.

Her vision blackened as her body swayed. She grabbed the fence at the edge of the field to steady herself.

The heavy cloth pouches in her robes were the only reason she had kept going.

She dragged her heavy feet back to the Transmission Hall.

’I need to rest.’

She had been working all night long.

If it weren’t for the Spirit Plant rewards for tending the herb field, she would have returned to her dilapidated thatched hut to rest long ago.

She turned in her last task for the day and didn’t accept another.

She desperately wanted to rest; her body and mind had reached their limits.

Her Eldest Senior Brother saw that she had already farmed over seven hundred contribution points for the day and hadn’t been slacking off. Seeing that she looked utterly exhausted, he didn’t press her any further.

And so, Su Ling’er successfully dragged her weary body back to her thatched hut.

However, her steps faltered as she passed a small marketplace run by sect disciples.

A yawning disciple was laying out a neatly folded quilt.

The quilt’s material was unidentifiable, but it glowed with a soft halo in the faint light of dawn.

It was embroidered with cloud patterns and immortal cranes in gold and silver thread, the stitching so fine and dense that the figures seemed to come to life.

A small wooden sign next to the stall read:

[Cloud Silk Immortal Crane Quilt: Calms the mind and soothes the spirit. Warm in winter, cool in summer.]

[Grand opening sale! Yours for only fifty low-grade Spirit Stones!]

A sliver of longing rose in Su Ling’er’s heart.

After all, what she slept on in her thatched hut was a pile of moldy straw.

But the thought had barely formed before she ruthlessly stamped it out.

She touched the pouches in her robes. ’I’ll be leaving in a few days. What’s the use of improving my sleeping conditions?’

’Besides, this doesn’t help with my cultivation. It just makes sleep more comfortable.’

’These things are my capital for when I leave this place and set out on the true path of cultivation!’

’I absolutely cannot waste a single bit of it here!’

Still, she bought a large-capacity storage pouch.

’I’ll probably be able to farm a lot of things in the next three to five days. A large storage pouch is a must.’

Finally, she returned to the dilapidated thatched hut.

Su Ling’er closed the door, and the tide of exhaustion washed over her again.

She finally crawled onto the pile of moldy straw.

The chaotic scenes flashed through her mind again.

’Why is the Transmission Hall still so lively in the middle of the night? Don’t they need to sleep?’

’Don’t they need to cultivate?’

’They’re constantly doing tasks, just as lifeless as she was back then.’

When accepting tasks, she had already seen several familiar figures. With vacant eyes, they would accept a task, leave, return, complete it, and then repeat the cycle endlessly.

It was just like when she had accepted those five hundred tasks designed to "tame" disciples.

In fact, they were even more numb than she had been.

’And who is it that’s secretly wiping away the fruits of the disciples’ labor, making them work over and over again?’

’Is it simply to tame them, again and again?’

’Or is there some deeper conspiracy at play?’

’And who was the demonic culprit who murdered Mr. Qian and framed that sect?’

’Which great fiend of the demonic path is the mastermind behind all this?’

’Why can’t I remember what those dead disciples looked like?’

’Who is controlling everything?’

She couldn’t figure it out.

She knew that this place defied common sense and logic. It was filled with nothing but incomprehensible madmen.

Sometimes, they were driven by a kind of fanatical will, immersed in a joy that was impossible to understand;

Other times, they were just like her during those five hundred tasks—or even more numb.

All they knew was how to repeat the cycle, doing those endless tasks as if there was no end in sight.

’Is there something wrong with everyone in this sect, from top to bottom?’

’Whatever. Maybe this is just how demonic Evil Cultivators are.’

’What a bunch of energetic and unreasonable Evil Cultivators...’

’Still, after farming for two more days, I should try to send back some of the intel I’ve gathered...’

’Even if the communication jade slip doesn’t work, the Contracted Spirit Insect should...’

Her thoughts grew heavier, and the exhaustion of her body finally overwhelmed the chaos in her mind.

Her head tilted to the side, and she fell into a dead sleep.

Meanwhile, the Sorrow Flower next to her thatched hut began to wilt, a result of the hope and fighting spirit rekindling in her heart...

At that moment, the game announcement for *Ashen Heaven* also displayed...

[Golden Autumn Harvest Festival Event Countdown: 2 Days]

...

「Secrets of the Outside World」

The Ashen Heaven Realm.

Ever since the righteous and demonic paths jointly orchestrated the "Jade Heart Secret Realm" incident, an undercover agent successfully retrieved the Spirit Eye Tree Essence Liquid. Aside from a few sleeper agents from both sides, all other participants were eliminated on the spot by neutral sects.

This incident shook the entire Cultivation Realm, and the credibility of both the righteous and demonic paths plummeted among the other sects.

They were even denounced as "thieves" by the neutral sects of the world.

And Qingxu Temple, as a subordinate sect of the Celestial Furnace Sect, would face a "tithe" harsher than ever before this year...