Chapter 87: The Deer and the Fish

Leaving aside how much effort Chen Yu expended to pacify the group of farmers, he felt quite helpless inside. The Mountain-Crushing Talisman was modest in power, but the noise it produced was certainly not small. Because he had focused his attention on clearing the earth and rubble for a moment, he failed to notice that there were other people behind the blocked pile of mud.

Fortunately, no one was accidentally injured.

However, by the time he left, the looks the villagers cast toward Chen Yu flickered with awe. Clearly, no matter how he explained or what excuses he used, these people would likely embellish what they saw and heard today and attribute it all to that ethereal Thunder God.

Perhaps after inquiring further, they would learn that there was a Cloud Crane Taoist Temple on Mount Qingtai, which was actually young but had quite a notable reputation. This matter would then serve even better as casual gossip after meals.

"Chances are, from now on, the folks in the village down the mountain will add the title of worshipping the Thunder Lord to the Cloud Crane Taoist Temple."

It would be the kind known for being quite responsive to prayers, with villagers recounting with absolute certainty just how miraculous it was.

Chen Yu could not control all of that. After clearing the mountain path, he decided not to use any more stone talismans. Of course, blasting all the way down had indeed been quite exhilarating, right up until the moment he was left with only a single one in his hand.

The Mountain-Crushing Talisman was still useful. He could prepare a few more in case he encountered such situations in the future. After all, the mountains lacked nothing except stones.

On second thought, preparing too many wasn't necessarily good either, because their uses were too limited. Since he lived in seclusion on the mountain, apart from clearing paths like this, they would seemingly just gather dust in a corner the rest of the time.

"By comparison, formations that benefit farming are much more suitable. I need to come up with more of those."

For example, the one that gathered sunlight previously, or perhaps a formation devised from a recent inspiration that could potentially increase soil fertility.

If only there were an automatic weeding formation.

The long white millet in the mountain fields did not require it, but the medicinal herb garden still did. Some wild grass seeds carried by the wind and the leftover roots of previously planted crops all needed to be pulled out and cleared away one by one, lest they compete with the spiritual plants for nutrients.

If he truly left them alone, he wouldn't have bothered dividing the medicinal herb garden into five separate sections, with each patch spaced apart.

However, thinking about it was one thing; achieving it still had quite a few difficulties. The key lay in the fact that he currently had several array patterns that were not yet perfected. This was not due to conflicting properties, but rather concerned the circulation of Qi—specifically how Qi actually interacts with heaven and earth to produce various wondrous phenomena.

This could no longer be solved by simply combining a few scribbled array patterns. If he failed to clarify the aforementioned points, many of the formations in his mind might remain unrealizable.

Not only that, but he faintly felt that if he could truly master this, perhaps his internal harvesting of Qi and even his mental strength would see significant advancements.

After all, these elements actually all originated from spiritual energy, and under the same root and origin, they might be able to mutually derive and promote one another.

...

Returning to the mountain, Chen Yu fetched the fine threads spun from fresh sheep wool. After being washed and dried, they appeared even whiter. He rubbed a strand between his hands and tried to weave it into a net, but he was an absolute layman in this regard. After fumbling with the needle and thread for a while, all he managed to produce was a ball of yarn.

Rolling it in the palm of his hand, it felt soft, and its texture actually far surpassed linen, even matching some of the top-tier fabrics he had encountered in his past life.

Yet, helplessly, let alone making garments, he couldn't even weave a single net. Sighing, he tossed it aside.

He had no choice but to first replace the fishing line on his fishing rod. Pinching one end of the line and pulling it, the resilience was excellent.

"Let's go see how Brother Rooster is doing."

***

Having packed away the fishing rod, he looked forward to its next deployment.

Chen Yu patted his clothes, flicked off a few speckles of dried mud clinging to the hem of his garment, and strolled with his hands behind his back toward the chicken coop.

Not far ahead, a wild cassia plant was spreading its leaves and exuding an aura. Ever since he transplanted some insect-repelling herbs, snakes and insects had never appeared again.

Considering that the effect was overwhelmingly outstanding, he later moved these wild cassia plants further outward, and under the nourishment of the spiritual liquid, not a single one had died.

Consequently, within the perimeter of the chicken coop, there were still some small bugs for them to peck at and eat.

As for free-ranging them... Chen Yu had no such plans for the time being, at least not until the chicks grew a bit larger. There were quite a few wild beasts on the mountain, and if the chicks wandered into the thickets, they would easily be snatched away.

Not all chickens possessed the robust physique and fierce combat prowess of Brother Rooster, who was not only unafraid of snakes and insects but even dared to take on a black bear.

Its boldness was truly something else.

Yet it had managed to live quite well, which made him wonder what kind of spiritual plant had such a potent effect.

Looking at the large rooster patrolling incessantly inside the chicken coop—its comb as crimson as blood, its tail feathers glossy black, and its spirit soaring—it truly looked majestic viewed this way.

Chen Yu stood aside, rubbing his chin. It seemed that the four staple crops cultivated with spiritual essence also met expectations, showing no obvious side effects.

That being the case, he could set his mind at ease and finally taste them.

Once the effects of the mutated crops were determined, he could decide how to cultivate them further.

Grain was one of the few types of crops he had discovered that steadily produced seeds, but whether they could be successfully replanted remained to be verified in the future. As for the present, watching Brother Rooster once again mount a hen shamelessly, he couldn't help but wonder if these grains somehow had aphrodisiac effects.

Otherwise, why would this fellow constantly mount the two hens day after day, taking turns back and forth?

"And yet you never hatch any eggs... Brother Rooster, you're not cutting it!"

Glancing at the energetic red rooster diligently propagating its offspring, he turned and walked back.

Passing the two rows of peach trees, the peach blossoms that had been infused with spiritual essence showed no signs of withering, though some petals had already curled back toward the branches, leaving only a few at the very top still blooming enchantingly.

Not long ago, upon confirming that drying them in the sun still retained a certain healing efficacy, Chen Yu had picked some, gathering a little over two pounds. He had even ground a handful into powder and brewed it with water; the taste remained as bitter as ever.

As for the little fawn, its snacks were completely gone.

Even though he had slightly increased the power of the water-mist needle-repelling formation, causing the little creature to merely bleat twice outside before turning away to eat fresh grass, now it didn't even have the luxury of longing. Those blossoms at the top were beyond its reach even without the formation, at most serving to tease its appetite in vain.

And as the days passed by, the mutated peach blossoms grew fewer and fewer, to the point where it wouldn't even be able to tease its appetite much longer.

As for the peach trees that had not received the spiritual essence infusion, they had borne fruit quite early on, waiting only another month to ripen.

***

Bearing fruit along with them were the two trees planted in the courtyard.

Yes, that gnarled, dwarfed pine tree had borne fruit. Thumb-sized pine cones, layered like fish scales, hung from the branches, as black as charcoal.

The large-headed pear tree was the same, except it wasn't laden to the full like the pine tree. He counted them and found there were only eight or nine fruits, a few of which seemed particularly thin and withered.

It looked as though they were malnourished.

Chen Yu paid them no mind and left them untreated for now, waiting to see how they would develop later on.

While he was tasting the four types of grain crops—having boiled a small portion and served it in a bowl, carefully chewing and swallowing—the reddish-brown fawn had found a new friend.

By the base of the wall, a row of four vats—one large and three small—was lined up. The fawn tilted its head slightly, staring intently at the black fish suspended motionlessly in the water, floating with its white belly up as if it were on its last breath.

The fawn lowered its head, stuck out its tongue, and licked the fish's belly.

Splash!

The fish's tail whipped around, and the black fish dealt a slap!

*Youse!* The fawn dodged away, shaking its little head. Not long after, seeing that the creature had once again floated to the surface with its belly exposed, it walked a few circles around the water vat and once more eagerly stretched its head forward.

The black fish flicked its tail. This time, the fawn failed to dodge, but it was neither angry nor annoyed; instead, it grew even more intrigued, hopping back and forth around the water vat.

*Puff!*

Annoyed to distraction by the commotion, the black fish swallowed a mouthful of water and spat it right at the fawn's face. The fawn froze for a moment, and the next second, it seemed to have rediscovered the days of playing beneath the peach trees.

It grew even more jubilant.

*Youse, youse, youse!*

"..." The black fish spat another couple of times, and realizing that this silly, dim-witted creature only advanced instead of retreating, it simply gave up and sank back down into the vat, suspending itself motionlessly.

*Glug, glug, glug!*

As a bubbling sound arose, a massive deer head suddenly appeared right before the black fish's eyes, submerged in the water, its snout exhaling bubbles and making a commotion.

A pair of large, round eyes stared straight at it, as if asking why it wasn't continuing...