Dawn filtered through the window, and birds chirped outside the courtyard.
Qian Duoduo jumped out of bed, gently pushed open the door, and headed towards Mengyuan River.
Ever since the Spirit Chickens arrived in his courtyard, he had moved his sword practice to the riverside.
Mengyuan Mountain in the early morning was covered in a light mist.
The mountain in the mist was like a fairy draped in silk gauze.
The occasionally visible rocks and trees were her skin and hair, damp as if she had just emerged from the river.
Spirit Bugs whispered in the grass, and the distant river sighed.
Qian Duoduo even heard the footsteps of ants foraging on the ground.
For the first time, he felt a sense of familiarity with this place.
Perhaps this was the feeling of home.
Following Liu Boli's instructions, Qian Duoduo stood on a high point on the riverbank, his Golden Rooster Sword quietly suspended about five zhang in front of him.
The Mengyuan River surged beneath the sword, its mist gradually fading, almost imperceptibly floating on the water.
When a streak of crimson appeared on the horizon, just as the sky was about to brighten, Liu Boli commanded: "Infuse Spiritual Qi into the sword hilt, straight to the sword tip."
Qian Duoduo gripped tightly with his right hand, and the long-accumulated Spiritual Qi surged into the sword hilt, reaching the sword tip in an instant.
The tip of the Golden Rooster Sword suddenly opened, like a rooster stretching its neck, and a long crow pierced the air from within the sword.
At this moment, above the Five Immortal Mountains, between heaven and earth, thousands of male Spirit Chickens crowed simultaneously.
Darkness receded, and light expanded.
With this long crow, a deep vortex appeared out of thin air on the upstream surface of the Mengyuan River, directly opposite the sword's edge.
The vortex was carried by the river, flowing downstream.
"Master, this sound wave attack is quite powerful!" Qian Duoduo praised Liu Boli in his mind as he put away his Golden Rooster Sword.
More than a month of waiting was worth it.
"It's acceptable," Liu Boli said calmly, as if he had known it all along.
He paused for a moment, then added: "Actually, farming also has Magic Treasures.
If you know Artifact Refining, let alone a thousand mu, even ten thousand mu can be easily managed.
If you know how to refine Puppets, it would be even simpler."
His words, like the rooster's crow just now, made Qian Duoduo's heart suddenly light up—
If he had three or five Puppets working for him, wouldn't he be able to lie back and count money?
Puppets, these were the essential Divine Artifacts for a life of idleness!
His past self was too foolish.
It was foolish to make becoming a Genius his goal for Artifact Refining, but wasn't it equally foolish to oppose Artifact Refining because he opposed becoming a Genius?
This Liu Bo didn't even remind him; why didn't he say so earlier?
Qian Duoduo now understood that Artifact Refining and the Estate were not contradictory at all; they could form a downstream relationship, like growing grass to raise chickens.
Refining more efficient Estate Magic Treasures could lead to greater output of materials from the Estate, and more materials could be used to refine more and better Magic Treasures.
Qian Duoduo waved towards the Wanjin Pavilion: "Sorry, although I don't like the fanaticism there, I still have to go play there."
Liu Boli saw his enlightened expression, and his heart was overjoyed, secretly thinking:
"Little brat, there are many benefits to Artifact Refining.
Only when you encounter difficulties and need solutions, with a slight guidance, will you return to the path of Artifact Refining."
Qian Duoduo came down from the high ground, passed by Buhuan Estate, and dug up the soil to check.
The seeds planted yesterday had already swelled a size, about to sprout.
The Spiritual Qi of these Immortal Mountains was indeed abundant; everything grew and thrived quickly.
It was incomparable to his original poor village.
The two thousand Spirit Chickens from yesterday, Huang Guiren feared someone might steal them, so he kept them in his own courtyard, saying he would move them to the Estate once the chicken coops were built.
However, it was hard to say when the chicken coops would be built.
Now both their tokens were out of money, and out of the thousand mu Estate, over eight hundred mu remained unplanted.
"It's fine," Qian Duoduo comforted himself in his mind, "The Spirit Chickens have started laying eggs, what is there to fear?
Now I'll go back and study how to incubate eggs.
The eggs are ours, the grass is ours; it's a no-capital business, there's no way we won't get rich!"
Walking to number 1972, a gray figure stood at the courtyard gate, knocking.
"Who's looking for me?" Qian Duoduo coughed.
The person turned their head, and it was Wang Meiruo.
"Bu Huan—Senior Brother, where did you go to play so early in the morning?" Seeing Qian Duoduo, Wang Meiruo's eyes shone.
Qian Duoduo wore a blue robe, and his aura was stronger than hers, so according to the Sect's rules, Wang Meiruo began to call Qian Duoduo Senior Brother.
"I practiced my sword by the river for a while."
The Golden Rooster Sword's sound wave attack was Qian Duoduo's big killer move, so he naturally couldn't reveal it casually.
He just couldn't figure out why Wang Meiruo had come.
He opened the door and invited her into the courtyard.
Wang Meiruo looked at the courtyard full of violet clover and was instantly stunned.
"It's so beautiful, like a pretty silk dress," she exclaimed after regaining her senses.
She ran over and gently caressed the flowers.
Pearl-like dewdrops rolled from beneath the petals.
"Shh, don't move," Qian Duoduo went over and pulled her back.
Wang Meiruo blushed slightly and obediently stopped.
"It's laying an egg," Qian Duoduo pointed to her feet.
Half a foot away, a yellow-and-white Spirit Chicken hen was lying under a pile of violet clover leaves.
A white spirit chicken egg was already half exposed behind its bottom.
"Oh, laying an egg..." Wang Meiruo giggled softly, clearly having never seen such a fresh scene.
After laying the egg, the hen clucked twice and walked away with proud, splayed steps.
Qian Duoduo picked up the spirit chicken egg and placed it in Wang Meiruo's hand.
"Look, it's still warm.
Incubate this egg, and in a few days, it will turn into a Spirit Chicken chick."
"Hehe," Wang Meiruo cradled the spirit chicken egg, carefully turning it over a few times.
"Why do I feel like there's a heart beating inside?"
Qian Duoduo took the egg from her hand.
"Give it up, how could it be that fast?
Right now, it's just a yolk inside."
"This egg is yours, and when a Spirit Chicken chick hatches from it, it's also yours," Qian Duoduo said generously.
This beautiful young woman in front of him was his benefactor.
Giving her an egg generously was not too much.
"Okay, okay!" Wang Meiruo jumped up.
"Why are you here today?" Qian Duoduo asked, putting the egg away and turning around.
Wang Meiruo and several of her uncles had deposited tens of millions of gold coins with Qian Duoduo.
After the lending business was taken over by the Sect, these contracts were also taken over by the Sect.
Her visit this time was certainly not about deposits.
"My brother won't let me out to play, so I snuck out while he was on a mission.
I didn't have anything specific to do here, just wanted to see what fun things you had.
And indeed, it wasn't a wasted trip.
The flowers are beautiful, and the eggs are beautiful too."
Wang Meiruo's face was like a flower, her expression joyful.
"What's this? Only two or three mu.
We set up an Estate by the river, it's not too big, only a thousand mu," Qian Duoduo said modestly, puffing out his chest.
"Bu Huan Gege, quickly take me to see it!" Wang Meiruo grabbed Qian Duoduo's hand.
Her small hand was like a warm, smooth ripple of water, resting on Qian Duoduo's wrist.
Qian Duoduo's arm felt a little numb, a little itchy, and he wondered: "Could her hand be electric?"
"We just finished clearing it yesterday and just sowed the seeds."
Although he said it was a thousand mu, it wasn't fully planted yet, which looked a bit bad, so Qian Duoduo steeled his heart and didn't want to take her.
"It's fine, I'll just take a look."
Wang Meiruo pulled Qian Duoduo and started walking out.
Seeing the two big characters "Bu Huan," Wang Meiruo gave a thumbs-up.
"Gege is amazing! In the entire Refining Spirit Sect, only Gege dares to set up his own banner!"
"Is that so?" Qian Duoduo thought about it.
Indeed, in all the mountains and places of the Refining Spirit Sect, none were named after anyone.
A surge of pride welled up in his heart.
"This large area of land, is it all planted with the same flowers as before?"
"No, only a little over a hundred mu are planted."
"What are you planning to plant in the rest?"
"When I have money, I'll plant the same ones again."
Wang Meiruo turned to face Qian Duoduo directly.
"Out of money? Ask me, I have some!"