My ancestors were spiritual plant growers, so it's not surprising that I hunt demons every day,

"Why would I explain this in such detail to a young girl like you? I'm just scaring you for no reason."

Seeing Cui Ying's expressionless face, Zhao Sihai quickly stopped talking. Just as he was about to give her a few more words of advice, he heard Cui Ying ask with certainty:

"Is the 'Old Xu' that Uncle Zhao mentioned Xu Dashan who lives at the east end of the village?"

Xu Dashan was an old cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining. In his early years, he had learned the skill of the Empty-Handed Surgery. Combined with his famous movement technique, the Wind-Stepping Step, ordinary Qi Refining cultivators could not even get close to him.

Because of Xu Dashan's various bad habits, he has offended hundreds of households of independent cultivators in and around the village over the years, but there are not many families with whom he has such deep hatred that he needs to kill to silence them.

"Sigh, that's right. I bet it was some rogue cultivator from outside who did it. I ran into Old Xu outside Dingxiang Restaurant when I went into town to buy things the other day. I even joked with him, asking if he had struck it rich and insisting that he treat me. Who knew he would be gone when I woke up yesterday morning? He probably showed off his wealth and got targeted."

While Zhao Sihai was sighing, Cui Ying remembered something else.

It is estimated that the Lei and Dong families, the two major cultivation families, will officially clash in about a year.

That's when their Shuangling Village really started to fall into chaos.

At this time, most independent cultivators did not yet have the awareness to set up defensive formations at home. After all, even the cheapest defensive formation would cost around a hundred spirit stones, which ordinary people simply could not afford.

Cui Ying couldn't and didn't care about other people's families.

But if something happens to my family, some are weak and some are young, I can't fight them all alone. I can't even imagine what the consequences would be.

Zhao Sihai's grandson is at the age where he loves to eat and play, and the two of them often go in and out of Leiyun City.

With more frequent comings and goings, he came into contact with more people and became more well-informed. Cui Ying believed that he must have known some things.

Sure enough, Zhao Sihai pulled Cui Ying aside and whispered:

“The Lei family is going to war with the Dong family of Lianyin City. Many of the Lei family members who were guarding this place have been transferred to the front line. The defense inside and outside the city is not as strong as before. The harvest season for spirit rice will be here in a few days. I have seen many unfamiliar faces in the village recently. Girl, go back and tell your father that I do not plan to go into the mountains these days. Tell him to be more vigilant.”

"Understood, thank you Uncle Zhao."

After watching Zhao Sihai turn and walk away, Cui Ying also jogged home.

It wasn't until I saw the row of low courtyard walls and the jacaranda trees with their canopies like clouds that I felt much more at ease.

"Third sister, why are you only just getting back!"

From afar, Cui Yue came to greet her. Seeing Cui Ying return empty-handed, her little face lit up with a bright smile.

"My sister-in-law made braised herring, and it tastes so delicious it makes my mouth water."

"I ran into Uncle Zhao on the way, which delayed me for a while."

Cui Ying gently stroked Cui Yue's fluffy hair before smiling and saying:

"I could smell it from far away. My sister-in-law's cooking skills are truly impeccable."

Cui Yue licked her fingers, squinted her eyes, and smiled with pride:

"Of course, Uncle Yang is a famous chef, and my sister-in-law is his blood relative, so her skills are naturally top-notch."

"hehe."

The Uncle Yang that Cui Yue mentioned is Yang Hong, the father of Cui's eldest daughter-in-law.

Yang was born into a family of spiritual chefs, and her son Yang Hong was a spiritual chef at the third level of Qi Refining.

Although this person's cultivation level was not high, he had several mortal wives and concubines in his family, one of whom was Yang's birth mother.

When Cui Ying recalled Yang Hong's actions after the Cui family's downfall in her previous life, her eyes filled with gloom.

But at this moment, Cui Ying had no time to think about these unimportant people. She looked up at the courtyard covered with ears of spirit rice and asked:

"Xiaoyue, are your parents home?"

"My parents came back half an hour earlier than my third sister."

Cui Yue, who was happily calculating how many bowls of rice she would eat today, answered without looking up:

"Third sister, I see that Father and Mother look very unhappy. It's not mealtime yet, so you'd better not go near them to avoid getting caught in the crossfire."

"understood."

Cui Ying nodded noncommittally and walked towards the main room first.

"The sun has already sunk behind the mountains, where have you been gallivanting off to again? Where's Cui Yue? That brat, she can't even keep an eye on anyone."

As soon as Cui Ying entered the main room, she bumped into Wang Rong, who was about to leave.

Wang Rong opened her mouth to question him, but when she looked up, she saw several large, blue-scaled fish splashing around in the large water vat under the eaves, and her expression softened slightly.

"Forget it, I'm too lazy to talk to you. By the way, things haven't been peaceful in the village lately, so none of you sisters should go out alone these next few days, so that I can have some peace of mind."

Cui Ying smiled and nodded, saying:

"My daughter understands."

"Did you hear that too?"

Looking into Cui Ying's calm eyes, Wang Rong was somewhat surprised, but quickly recovered and muttered to herself:

"That's true. It would be strange if such a big thing hadn't spread throughout the whole village."

Thinking of the horrific scene she witnessed yesterday, Wang Rong felt a pang of fear and lost all interest in lecturing. She simply gave Cui Ying a few instructions with a stern face before calling on Cui Lin and the others to help tidy up the rice in the courtyard.

"It's noon, I'll join you."

"Father, I have something to tell you."

Just as Cui Zhengming was about to get up, Cui Ying immediately called out to him and then relayed Zhao Sihai's instructions.

"what?"

"Does the Lei family not care about the lives of us rogue cultivators?"

Upon hearing that Xu Dashan's death was most likely the work of a calamity cultivator, Cui Zhengming cursed a couple of times without being surprised.

But when he heard that the Lei and Dong families were at war, his scalp immediately tingled.

Of course, this is not because he is a big supporter of the Lei family.

It's because the Dong family of Lianyin City has a history of over a thousand years, and it's said that there's an old ancestor named Ningyuan in the family, as well as countless Foundation Establishment experts.

Three Qi Refining Perfection cultivators are no match for one Foundation Establishment cultivator, let alone those at the Foundation Establishment or higher Yuan Condensation realm. Annihilating dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators in the blink of an eye is a piece of cake.

Rivers of blood flowed; this is no joke.

Cui Zhengming was both surprised and frightened, and paced around the main room several times with his hands behind his back.

He was so worried that a few strands of his hair turned white. Only after adjusting his mindset did he say, still puzzled:

"What kind of audacity does the Lei family, a Foundation Establishment family with a history of only four hundred years, have to dare to compete with the Dong family?"

"Fight?"

Why not fight?

"For us cultivators, immortality is the most ethereal thing; only immediate benefits are truly tangible and move people's hearts."

Thinking of the decades-long tug-of-war between the Lei and Dong families in her previous life, Cui Ying sighed softly, ignoring Cui Zhengming's surprised gaze, and said quietly:

"Moreover, we are just drifting cultivators, our lives worthless. Why would the Lei family care about us? The spirit lake that the two families are currently fighting over is located between the two cities. There is a spirit vein at the bottom of the lake, countless spirit fish in the lake, and a large number of precious and rare spirit plants in the mountains by the lake. If you, Father, are the head of the Lei family, will you fight for it or not?"

"Sigh, why did they suddenly start fighting? It's really tough on us rogue cultivators."

Cui Zhengming was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses. Suddenly, he deflated and said worriedly:

"No wonder the village chief announced at noon that the Lei family was going to add three layers of land rent. It turns out that the main family wanted to recruit soldiers and horses and exploit us rogue cultivators. I heard that several villages around have already started collecting rent ahead of time. Some rogue cultivators couldn't pay the land rent, and not only were their houses taken back as compensation, but they were also driven out of the village."

At this point, Cui Zhengming became somewhat dejected:

"Although making a living in the village isn't necessarily much better than outside, at least there's protection. Everyone lives together, so if something really happens, they'll lend a hand. It's much better than wandering around with your whole family, eventually becoming food for monsters and evil cultivators."

After saying all that, Cui Zhengming lost interest in helping and sat down in the main room to smoke.

Cui Ying picked up the teacup on the table, took a small sip, and did not reply.

The Cui family's house was passed down from their ancestors, but the spiritual field was leased from the Lei family.

Their family leased a total of three acres of spirit fields. The lease agreement clearly stated in black and white that the annual rent for one acre of spirit field was twenty spirit stones. If the price increase was factored in, the annual rent for three acres would be seventy-eight spirit stones.

In his previous life, the Lei family did indeed raise land rents, and many rogue cultivators were forced to suffer hunger, cold, displacement, and the destruction of their families.

But Cui Ying remembers very clearly that it was definitely not at this time.