Immortality Cultivation: I Farm in the System Space Chapter 1: Expelled from the Sect
Nanming Domain, Qingyuan Sword Sect
July
The midsummer sun beat down mercilessly from the sky.
Past the hour of noon, the heat reached its most lethal peak. Lin Jing moved slowly along a dusty path bordering the grain fields, pushing a wooden handcart. The vehicle creaked under the burden of several heavy, bulging sacks.
Lin Jing eventually pulled over when he reached the shade of a few trees. After wiping the perspiration from his brow, he unfastened a gourd from his hip. He pulled the cork and began to drink deeply, draining nearly half the vessel in a single breath before forcing himself to stop. He had to conserve the rest; the journey ahead was still arduous.
He sat on the edge of the cart to recover his strength. In this brutal summer climate, even the wind carried a stifling heat; only beneath the canopy of trees could a person find a brief reprieve. Looking out, he surveyed the vast expanses of golden Spirit Rice, which would be ready for the scythe in just a few days.
The sight caused a wave of disorientation to wash over him as memories of his childhood on Blue Star surfaced. His old home had looked remarkably similar; he recalled playing in such fields with his peers and laboring alongside his grandparents. Looking back now, that life felt beautifully nostalgic.
However, maturity is inevitable. As his education grew more intense and life became a frantic race, he fell into the same cycle as everyone else. Studying, testing, graduating, and working... until the weight of existence crushed him, causing him to slowly forget that tiny mountain village where his happiest days were spent.
Then, a sudden car accident had cast him into this world. Initially, beyond the initial shock, he had felt a surge of excitement. A Cultivation world! Flying on swords! He had consumed countless novels about such things in his past life.
Yet, once he actually lived it, he discovered the Cultivation world was far grimmer than the stories suggested. In a realm where martial prowess dictated everything, weakness was considered the ultimate sin. This was especially true when he first arrived, possessing only the first level of Qi Refinement. With his parents dead and no allies to turn to, he likely would have perished long ago if not for his protected status as a Spirit Farmer for the Qingyuan Sword Sect.
“There is no turning back...” Lin Jing murmured with a heavy sigh.
......
Suddenly, a voice hailed him from behind.
“Well now! If it isn't Brother Lin?”
“Why are you sitting here all by your lonesome? Could it be you’re short on Spirit Rice for this year’s quota? Are you too terrified to face Manager Li?”
Lin Jing turned his head. A young man of about twenty-three was perched atop a bullock cart, staring down at him with blatant scorn. It was Yuan Bo.
Lin Jing’s face remained impassive. “That is none of your concern.”
Yuan Bo did not take offense. Instead, he remarked in a slow, mocking drawl, “It looks like someone is on the verge of being kicked out of the Qingyuan Sword Sect...” He made no effort to mask his derision.
As the bullock cart rolled past, Yuan Bo sneered, “I hope you maintain that tough attitude when you’re standing before Manager Li.” He didn't look back as he continued down the road.
Yuan Bo was his neighbor. Because of a grudge between their families in the previous generation, their relationship had always been bitter, bordering on hostile. This explained the immediate friction whenever they crossed paths.
Lin Jing watched the cart fade into the distance, noting it carried twice as many sacks as his own. He turned his gaze back to his own meager harvest. This was the Spirit Rice he owed the Qingyuan Sword Sect this year, but the amount was woefully inadequate. Someone had sabotaged and ruined half of his Spirit Field just before the harvest began.
Lin Jing was certain Yuan Bo was the culprit, mainly because the man had been the first to show up at the scene of the crime. However, he lacked evidence. Even though Manager Li had conducted an investigation, no proof was found, and the case was closed. Without a culprit, the burden of the loss fell entirely on him. With his yield being so low, his expulsion from the Sect seemed inevitable unless a miracle occurred.
For now, he could only take things as they came. He needed to deliver what he had and see what the Manager had to say.
......
After finishing his rest, Lin Jing resumed his trek. An hour later, he entered Spirit Farmer Village. Only those who managed Superior Spirit Fields were permitted to live here; Low Grade Spirit Farmers like Lin Jing were relegated to thatched huts on the fringes of their fields.
In front of a grand estate built of blue brick and black tile, a long line of Spirit Farmers waited. Some pushed carts while others drove bullocks, all waiting to submit their harvest. This was the residence of the steward.
Lin Jing surveyed the queue; everyone else clearly had far more Spirit Rice than he did. As he stood there with his sparse load, nearby farmers began to cast shocked glances in his direction. Whispers broke out among the crowd.
“He worked all year only to harvest that much? He must have been incredibly lazy.”
“I agree.”
“That won't even come close to the quota; he’s in for a world of trouble.”
At that moment, Yuan Bo, who was further up in the line, spoke up as if to defend him.
“I happen to know he wasn't slacking off.”
“Not slacking? Then how is his harvest so pathetic?”
“He must have suffered a catastrophe. His crops were doing fine, but right as they matured, someone completely destroyed half his field. A whole year of work gone in an instant. My field is close to his; I went to see it myself—the damage was truly gut-wrenching.”
“Someone sabotaged a Spirit Field and the steward doesn't know?”
“Manager Li is in charge here, so of course he knows. He went to investigate the very day it happened, but I heard they haven't found a single lead.”
“Now that he’s short on rice and can't meet the quota, I'm afraid he'll have to take the fall.”
“Indeed! If things go as expected, I'd bet he’s getting expelled from the Sect.” Yuan Bo raised his voice slightly at the end, causing the crowd to turn and stare at Lin Jing. Having finished his performance, Yuan Bo shot Lin Jing a provocative, gloating look.
The onlookers couldn't help but sigh in sympathy. “What a shame... you won't find treatment this good outside the Sect. He should have been more careful.”
“You’re right about that,” Yuan Bo agreed, his eyes gleaming with schadenfreude. “There’s no place as good as this on the outside.”
Lin Jing ignored the taunts and remained silent. He took his place at the end of the line, waiting to hand over his grain and face his fate. The queue moved efficiently, and within thirty minutes, it was his turn.
Stepping into the courtyard, he felt a wave of refreshment. The Spiritual Energy here was significantly more potent than outside, likely due to a minor Spirit Gathering Formation. Lin Jing looked toward the front where Manager Li stood, smiling while conversing with a younger man. Based on the man's robes, he was an Inner Sect Disciple sent to oversee the collection.
The disciple looked to be around thirty. To reach the Inner Sect of the Qingyuan Sword Sect, one had to be at least at the Foundation Establishment Stage. Achieving such a rank at that age meant his talent was remarkable. In contrast, the fifty-year-old Manager Li was only at the fifth level of Qi Refinement.
Lin Jing had often heard that the gap between some humans was wider than the gap between humans and dogs; since arriving in this world, he had come to understand that truth deeply. Yet, compared to Lin Jing, even Manager Li was a genius. Lin Jing’s Spiritual Root was the infamous "useless" Five Elements Mixed Spirit Root. The original owner of this body had only reached the first level of Qi Refinement through ten years of tireless, day-and-night Cultivation and the desperate help of his father. Anyone else with such a poor root would have abandoned Cultivation long ago to live as a commoner.
......
Lin Jing pushed his cart to the scales and began unloading the sacks. An attendant immediately began the weighing process.
“Five hundred and thirty jin. Inadequate.”
Upon hearing the tally, Manager Li’s brow furrowed as he turned to look. When he recognized Lin Jing, his expression softened slightly, though he remained stern.
“It’s you,” Manager Li said. “The investigation is over. It was determined that vagrants from the mountains were responsible, and I have dealt them the proper punishment. However...”
Manager Li’s tone turned solemn. “You are guilty of negligence for allowing the Spirit Field to be compromised. I have submitted the report to the Sect, and they have reached a decision. Effective immediately, you are expelled from the Qingyuan Sword Sect.”