Xiaoqing's Specialization

At the very back of Qingxi Town, there is a large open space, about twenty acres in size.

This land is completely barren.

Forget about grass, even an ant crawling by would probably have to bring its own food.

This open space is the spiritual field that Yue Yinping mentioned.

Xu Yunxin squatted down, used his five fingers to dig hard, and only managed to scrape off a tiny bit of dirt.

He pinched the clod of dirt and examined it.

The soil is hard and has a dark yellowish-black color, unlike the surrounding gravelly soil. It must have been transported from elsewhere.

Looking at the field, large clumps of soil were hardened.

He tried poking it with his finger, and the hardness almost broke his fingernail.

"..."

Xu Yunxin silently withdrew his hand, thinking to himself that this was hardly a spiritual field; its hardness was almost comparable to that of bricks and stones.

He shook his head and took out the farming kit that Uncle Fu had bought in advance in Qingxi Town—a hoe and a rake.

Both of these are low-grade magical artifacts, specifically used for managing spirit fields.

When using this type of hoe or rake to turn the soil, it vibrates on its own, loosening the soil and saving a lot of effort.

Xu Yunxin turned around and saw Yue Yinping standing beside him, curiously examining the tools in his hand. Her face showed both anticipation and a desire to see him make a fool of himself.

Xu Yunxin handed over the rake: "Sister Ping, you're just idling around anyway, so lend a hand. I'll hoe over there later, and you can rake it over with me."

"yeah?"

Yue Yinping subconsciously took the rake, and was completely stunned.

No, she came along to watch the fun, why was she given work to do?

After handing out the rake, Xu Yunxin had already started working with the hoe.

He raised his hoe high with both hands, his waist and stance in perfect harmony, and with a powerful stroke, he shoveled the hoe into the hardened spiritual field.

The moment the hoe struck, he felt his thumb and forefinger tremble.

This ground is really hard!

After striking with the hoe, he used his waist to exert force, then his shoulder and arm, and forcefully pried up the clod of earth.

Then, he channeled his spiritual energy into the hoe.

With a "whoosh," the hoe shook, and the clod of earth finally loosened and fell back to the ground with a clatter.

Only then is the first hoeing done.

Xu Yunxin took a deep breath and swung the hoe a second time.

The third hoe.

The fourth hoe.

......

When it was time for the tenth hoe stroke, Xu Yunxin finally couldn't help but straighten up, let out a long breath, reached out and touched his forehead, which was dry, and murmured.

"This kind of farming... is really tiring!"

This place is so small! He'd only hoeed less than an inch of land, but he felt more exhausted than if he'd fought a barbarian.

When Yue Yinping saw him like this, her eyes lit up.

She slammed the rake to the ground, her tone full of expectation and guidance.

"This 'spiritual field' has been abandoned for too long; the soil is rock hard, so hoeing it is naturally exhausting!"

"Besides, the spiritual energy here is thin. Even if we cultivate it properly, we won't be able to grow spirit rice. I think it's pointless to bother. Let's just not plant it!"

While Yue Yinping was talking about the spirit field, her face conveyed a completely different meaning.

"We don't need to harrow anymore, right? We don't need to, right?"

Xu Yunxin smiled upon hearing this: "Sister Ping, you're already saying discouraging things after we've only just started?"

Yue Yinping's eyes widened, and she was about to retort.

Xu Yunxin spoke up first: "How about this, I'll hoe as much as you need, and you can rake as much as I need, Sister Ping?"

Yue Yinping hesitated for a moment.

She glanced up at the ground, which was as hard as a rock, and then at Xu Yunxin, who looked tired after only ten or so hoe strokes.

He quickly calculated in his mind, "How long can he last?"

We'd be lucky to get one acre, right?

If it's one mu (approximately 0.16 acres), it doesn't seem that big, so raking it shouldn't be too tiring.

"OK!"

Yue Yinping readily agreed, and she stood to the side with her rake, ready to see Xu Yunxin make a fool of himself first.

Xu Yunxin smiled and bent down to continue hoeing the ground.

Everything was normal at first.

Xu Yunxin worked diligently, hoeing away at a steady pace, looking quite energetic.

Yue Yinping watched his back from behind, waiting for him to give up and call for a stop.

As she was hoeing, she suddenly realized something was wrong.

Why is the hoeing speed getting faster and faster?

She blinked, and Xu Yunxin had already darted forward a bit, the hoe moving rhythmically, almost as if it were on accelerator.

"What happened?"

Yue Yinping rubbed her eyes.

Looking again, Xu Yunxin had already left her far behind!

Yue Yinping quickly picked up the rake and went up to rake the land to catch up on the progress.

Just as he finished raking the patch that Xu Yunxin had hoeed, he looked up again and saw that Xu Yunxin had darted forward another five zhang!

"???"

Yue Yinping gritted her teeth and decided to risk it all!

She rolled up her sleeves, gripped the rake with both hands, and used all her strength to rake the ground.

Fortunately, he was at the eighth level of Qi Refining and a skilled spearman. He wielded the rake with great force, sending dirt flying, and charged forward like a wound-up toy.

No matter how fast she worked, Xu Yunxin was always one step ahead of her.

Yue Yinping chased after him relentlessly until her back ached, her legs trembled, and she was covered in sweat.

When Xu Yunxin finished weeding all twenty acres of spiritual fields as if flying, he walked back leisurely.

Yue Yinping had barely finished raking half of it when she was exhausted, drenched in sweat, and leaning on the rake, panting heavily.

As she gasped for breath, she suddenly realized something was wrong.

Why is Xu Yunxin empty-handed?

She suddenly looked closely.

There was clearly a blue snake tail coiled on the handle of that hoe!

Little Qing was perched on Xu Yunxin's neck, its tail wagging leisurely as it swung its hoe. Its adorable big eyes looked at her, and it even playfully flicked its tongue at her.

It turns out that the person who was hoeing the ground just now wasn't Xu Yunxin at all, but Xiao Qing!

It's this second-tier high-grade spirit beast, using its snake tail to wrap around a hoe while it works!

Xu Yunxin only needed to follow the rhythm and walk forward, occasionally striking with a spiritual energy to activate the magic hoe!

"This works?!"

Yue Yinping's mind went blank.

She slowly raised her head and looked at Xu Yunxin.

Xu Yunxin was looking at her with an innocent expression.

"You~"

"Sister Ping, let me explain~"

"You cheated!!!"

Yue Yinping's roar echoed for miles around, and the townspeople picking up bricks and stones in the distance all smiled in unison when they heard it.

After shouting, Yue Yinping grabbed the rake in her hand and hurled it at Xu Yunxin with a whoosh.

Xu Yunxin dodged, and the rake flew past him, grazing him, and crashed to the ground with a "bang".

After throwing the rake, Yue Yinping turned and ran.

Xu Yunxin stood there, watching Yue Yinping's departing figure, and shook his head helplessly.

"Just kidding~ I didn't expect Xiaoqing to be so capable, and so good at it~"

"Hiss! Xiao Qing~ Well done~ Xiao Qing is good~"

Xiaoqing was overjoyed to hear Xu Yunxin praise it.

It very consciously dropped the hoe that was curled up on its tail, opened its mouth and sucked the rake that had been thrown aside, and then curled its tail and began to swing rhythmically again.

Little Qing looked at Xu Yunxin with her big, adorable eyes, obediently waiting for him to take her to hoe the ground.

Xu Yunxin reached out and touched Xiao Qing's snake head, saying with satisfaction, "Xiao Qing is so well-behaved, sensible, and capable!"

Upon hearing this, Xiaoqing's big eyes immediately curved into a smile, and she was extremely satisfied.