Watching the Mountain

Chapter 291: Chapter 178: Dependence

As far as Xu Ran could recall, this was the first time Senior Sister Yue had ever taken the initiative to ask him for help since he joined the Sect.

This alone was a testament to the young Spirit Plant Master’s incredible talent, and it couldn’t help but pique Xu Ran’s curiosity.

He requested the Spirit Plant Master’s file from Yue Qingyu. The man’s name was Jiang Nian.

The image on the Jade Scroll revealed a rather handsome youth with a slender face, short hair, and a slim build.

To Xu Ran’s surprise, he wasn’t from the Mortal Realm governed by the Profound Pure Sect, but from Jiuyou County, a place far removed from Changqing County.

Xu Ran dredged up what he knew about Jiuyou County. It was supposedly a hub for Demon Dao powers.

’I wonder how a mere mortal like that Jiang Nian fellow managed to get from Jiuyou County all the way to the Profound Pure Sect.’

His curiosity piqued, Xu Ran followed the information on the Jade Scroll and quietly made his way to the Spirit Field that Jiang Nian frequented.

When he arrived at Spirit Stream Peak, he saw a youth in gray robes busying himself in the field.

Xu Ran didn’t disturb him, instead standing quietly at a distance to observe.

Only after Jiang Nian finished covering the soil, carefully checked the condition of the surrounding Spirit Grass, and let out a long sigh, did he wipe the sweat from his brow with his sleeve. He then turned, and his gaze met Xu Ran’s.

Jiang Nian froze, clearly not expecting to see anyone in this secluded corner.

He quickly sized up Xu Ran. He didn’t recognize him, but seeing how young Xu Ran was, and with no powerful aura to speak of, he looked completely ordinary. Jiang Nian assumed he was just another disciple.

He took a couple of steps forward and gave Xu Ran a cupped-fist salute, saying:

”I am Jiang Nian. Greetings, Senior Brother. Might I ask your name?”

”Senior Brother?” Xu Ran let out a quiet laugh. ’Just from that greeting, I can tell this Jiang Nian is a simple, earnest person, without any hidden motives.’

He didn’t correct the title. Instead, he smiled and returned the salute. ”I am Hidden Mountain. It’s a pleasure, Junior Brother Jiang Nian.”

”Hidden Mountain?” Jiang Nian was taken aback. ’What a strange name,’ he thought.

He didn’t let his surprise show, however. Instead, he flashed a wide, toothy grin at Xu Ran and asked, ”Senior Brother Hidden Mountain, I don’t think I’ve seen you around. Are you also a Spirit Plant Master?”

Xu Ran waved a hand, his tone casual. ”No, I was just taking a walk and ended up here without realizing it.”

Then, his tone shifted as his gaze swept over the experimental plot. It contained many types of Spiritual Plants, but none were of a high grade. Some were even common herbs mixed in with Low Tier Spirit Grass, making the whole area look rather disorganized.

”Did you... plant all of these?”

”Yes. I’ve made a fool of myself, Senior Brother.” Jiang Nian smiled sheepishly, his round face full of a young man’s characteristic bashfulness.

”Some are the Spiritual Plants the Sect assigned me to care for. The rest... I got them to plant for fun.”

”The ones you planted yourself?” Xu Ran walked to the edge of the plot and crouched down, looking at a Dew Grass whose leaves were a bit thick but whose quality was mediocre.

”With such a mix of species, and the quality being... not so high, what’s the point of all this effort? To earn Contribution Points? Or for practice and research?”

Jiang Nian scratched his head and squatted down too, his gaze fixed on the Spiritual Plants with intense focus.

”To answer your question, Senior Brother, I do earn some Contribution Points from them, but that’s not the main reason. I’m just... messing around. You can just consider it a hobby.”

”Oh?” Xu Ran picked up a clod of dirt, weighed it in his hand, and said with profound meaning:

”Planting as a hobby... what can that possibly accomplish? Shouldn’t a Cultivator focus all their energy on High Tier Spirit Medicine and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures? That is the true path to raising one’s Cultivation.”

Jiang Nian fell silent at his words, seemingly organizing his thoughts.

He plucked a weed from beside a Spirit Grass. His movements were gentle, but his voice became clear. ”Senior Brother has a point, but I always feel... aren’t we Cultivators a bit too reliant on this world?”

Xu Ran froze and looked at him.

Jiang Nian didn’t look up. He continued speaking, his previous shyness replaced by a serious tone.

”Spiritual Qi is created by the heavens and the earth. Spirit Stone Veins are grown by the heavens and the earth. Spirit Medicine and Spirit Fruits are also born and nurtured by them.”

”It seems we’ve all grown accustomed to this. But what if...”

”What if what?”

”What if... one day the heavens are no longer pleased with us and stop giving us these resources? What would we do then?”

Jiang Nian looked up, his eyes shining brightly in the sunset.

Xu Ran gave the young man a surprised look. He instantly sensed a quality in him that set him apart from most people, so he asked curiously:

”Why would you think that way? The Cultivation Realm has an immensely long history. Hasn’t it always been like this for endless ages?”

Jiang Nian was silent for a moment, then lowered his head and replied, ”You may not know this, Senior Brother, but I’m not from Changqing County. My hometown is in Jiuyou County.”

”The environment back home is extremely harsh. We suffer from frequent natural disasters—either terrible droughts, or floods, or blizzards and gales. Every time a major disaster happens, the people there say it’s because the heavens are angry and don’t want to give us food to eat.”

”We have many Cultivation Sects there too, but their Spirit Plant Masters only think about how to transplant wild Spiritual Plants into the Sect and keep them alive, or how to raise those Spiritual Plants to a higher grade. As for anything else... basically no one does it.”

He finished and raised his head slightly, a different kind of light in his eyes. ”But I’ve mostly just heard about these things from my elders. They said that in the old days, people there would often starve to death because of the great disasters, and the Cultivators in the area would almost never get involved.”