Lu Yin had quite a good impression of Liu Zhan. Was everyone in the Liu family like this Gate Master? Did they all focus entirely on pursuing their goals and ignore plots and schemes?
Elder He was taken back to Huaiyuan Gate, and he confessed to everything within less than a day.
It really had been pointless for him to remain within the Shangling clan, but the Mother Tree was home to too many traitors and Redbacks. The moment something big happened, such hidden dangers would prove quite troublesome.
Lu Yin had arrested Elder He, and everything went smoothly.
The old man again found Lu Yin, and gave him another name. Lu Yin took a day to rest, and then went out to arrest the traitor.
Five days passed, and Lu Yin escorted another traitor to Huaiyuan Gate. This person had also been found within the Blue Moon District, but Lu Yin had given a warning to Liu Zhan, though the Gate Master had not given any response beyond a polite hello.
From the family of the second traitor, Lu Yin received more than 30 million star essence, which was not very much. This time he had been given the money to deliberately not announce the traitor’s affiliation. It would be possible for people to find out through an investigation, the Humility’s Gate would not publicize the matter, which saved the family’s reputation.
The old man immediately gave Lu Yin another name upon his return, and Lu Yin continued to arrest one traitor after another. Over the course of a month, Lu Yin arrested more than ten traitors, and all of them were from near Huaiyuan Gate. Lu Yin’s success created quite a stir within Humility’s Gate, but no one pressed the matter of how Lu Yin had learned of the traitors, and Qing Chen helped suppress people’s curiosity.
At the same time, Qing Chen encouraged Lu Yin and reminded Cai Shu to protect the youth.
After arresting so many traitors, Lu Yin had managed to collect more than 400 million star essence, which was not bad at all.
“Hey kid, I heard that you’ve been accepting people’s money, that right?” One night, as light shone through the water above Huaiyuan Gate and illuminated Huaiyuan Gate beautifully, the old man arrived in Lu Yin’s quarters. There was a strange gleam in the old man’s eyes.
Lu Yin remained completely calm. “That’s not wrong. I do want money.”
The old man carefully observed Lu Yin, amazed at this youth. “You should be the first member of Humility’s Gate from the time of it’s founding to use arrests to collect money. Qing Chen hasn’t said anything?”
“Not that I know,” Lu Yin said. He gave the old man an odd look. “How did you find out about that?”
The old man drew himself up proudly. “There’s nothing that this universe can hide from this old man! Still, are you that broke?”
Lu Yin nodded seriously. “I need a lot.”
“Why do you need so much money?” The old man had become very curious.
Lu Yin fell silent. He caught himself making more and more mistakes when speaking to this old man. There was no way that the old man would be able to guess that Lu Yin needed star essence for his innate gift, but still, Lu Yin preferred the safety of silence.
“Fine, don’t tell this old man. I found a big arrest for you: Seed Garden, at the Nong family’s ancestral home,” the old man commented.
Lu Yin was shocked. “There’s a traitor within the Nong family?”
The old man smiled. “There’s more than one.”
Lu Yin became excited. This would be a really big deal. The Nong family was a power that was second only to the four ruling powers.
“Tell me,” Lu Yin said.
The old man was completely unconcerned, and simply gave Lu Yin four names, which left Lu Yin speechless. “There’re actually four traitors within the Nong family?”
The old man replied, “That’s pretty normal. Don’t you think that the Nong family is pretty weird?”
Lu Yin remembered the strange clothes that Nong Sanniang and Nong Lie had worn, as well as their odd behavior. Even their battle techniques had revealed an incredibly eccentric background.
“The Nong family is unique in the Perennial World, and no one dares to go up against them. Even the four ruling powers will make sure to show respect to the Nong family, and their eccentricities have even given rise to Progenitors. There are many people who are curious about the family, both openly and secretly. Many experts have been sent to investigate the Nong family, and even those monsters have sent people. Having four traitors within their numbers is actually pretty good. It wasn’t that long ago that the Nong family discovered more than ten traitors on their own,” the old man explained.
Lu Yin understood. The Nong family was viewed as a treasure, and they lured in countless people into their territory to investigate them.
“Both the Nong family and the Liu family try to deal with traitors on their own and avoid the need for Humility’s Gate to interfere. You had to expose a traitor within the Liu clan in order to complete a mission for the Fourteenth Gate, but did you actually arrest that person?” the old man continued.
Lu Yin knew that the old man was referring to Liu Ke. After Liu Ke had been exposed, he had been instantly killed by the Liu clan’s elders, which had made it impossible for Lu Yin to arrest the traitor.
“Reputation is everything for such organizations, so even if they do find a traitor, they’ll deal with the mess internally in order to prevent outsiders from learning of their dirty laundry. This should let you understand how big a deal these arrests will be,” the old man stated proudly.
Lu Yin took a deep breath. “Nong Lie once invited me to visit Seed Garden, and I received another invitation after exposing Yun Mubai. Looks like it’s time for a visit.”
The old man suddenly grew serious. “Don’t waste your time while visiting Seed Garden. This old man’s going to remind you again that there are many people who want to uncover the Nong family’s secrets, and that should show you how important Seed Garden is. Keep an eye on things, and you just might find out why they’re so important, haha.”
The old man then left.
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. Could the old man have been waiting for Lu Yin to go to Seed Garden? No, that should not be the case, as the old man would then have pushed Lu Yin in that direction earlier. He would not have waited so long.
Regardless, Lu Yin needed to pay a visit to the Nong family.
Seed Garden was not like the small families that Lu Yin had visited before to make arrests. After deciding to go to Seed Garden, Lu Yin immediately contacted the Nong family. When Lu Yin had first been invited, he had been given Nong Lie’s contact information. It was more convenient since they were both from the same generation.
Lu Yin spoke with Nong Lie, and the very next day, he led Shang Qing, Liu Tianmu, and Wang Dashuai towards Seed Garden while escorted by Cai Shu.
Seed Garden lay further away from Huaiyuan Gate than Qing Chen Mountain, so it took the youths nearly five days of travel to complete the journey.
During their travel, Lu Yin again say Liu Ye and Fei Hua, which left him rather speechless. He did not know what the two wanted to ask him, but they were certainly persistent. Lu Yin ignored the two powerhouses, and it was clear that they were wary of his identity, as they did not approach.
Lu Yin realized it was becoming more and more difficult for him to return to the Fifth Mainland. On top of Cai Shu, Lu Yin also had Liu Ye and Fei Hua watching him, not to mention some weirdo Semi-Progenitor. Lu Yin came down with a migraine. It was starting to feel like he would need to rely on Mister Mu in order to return.
Before visiting, Lu Yin had held various assumptions about Seed Garden. It had naturally been impossible for him to guess that the name came from the environment. The name sounded like a large garden or nursery.
However, upon arrival, Lu Yin felt that he had been too naive. Seed garden really was a farm.
He came upon a vast stretch of farmland that spread out into the distance. There were many people working the land, but every single one of them was a cultivator.
He saw fish ponds off in the distance, and his eyes were even able to catch the sight of distant wheat fields. Seed Garden really was a farm.
“Each time I see Seed Garden, I feel relaxed and happy.” The fatty let out a sigh. He sounded as though he was feeling quite complicated emotions.
“You’ve been here before?” Lu Yin asked.
Wang Dashuai replied, “I have followed my Junior Progenitor here once a bit before the Yuanlun Festival. Sanniang has a good relationship with our Junior Progenitor, and she invited Wang Su to plant her own plants.”
“Plant her own plant?” Lu Yin felt confused.
The fatty explained, “Seed Garden’s cultivators hold fast to a theory of the earth. They believe that every creature that is born from the earth should cultivate, work, rest, and even eat through their own labors. They claim that this allows a person to return close to the source.
“While it sounds quite reasonable, no one believes the theory except for Seed Garden’s people. Still, Seed Garden has a Progenitor. Progenitors are uncommon, and countless people chase after the goal of becoming one for their entire lives chasing after the opportunities necessary to become a Progenitor. While people don’t accept Seed Garden’s beliefs, no one can deny that they have a Progenitor.
“Seed Garden’s approved guests are allowed to plant their own plants here, and that plant will have its own energy. It’s said that you can feel the earth’s source through that plant, which can allow a person to get closer to the Progenitor realm. The Wang family’s Junior Progenitor has her own plant here, as do the other Junior Progenitors. Since you’ve been given an invitation, I bet you’ll also be given the same opportunity.”
This was the first time that Lu Yin had heard such information. He was already close to the ground, so he moved down and landed on the soil. He looked around at the cultivators working in all of the nearby fields. It was clear that all of these people believed in the theory that Seed Garden promoted.
Nong Lie approached from the distance. He was alone, covered in sweat, and carrying a hoe.
Typically, this was a very rude way to greet an invited guest, but everyone was aware of Seed Garden’s peculiarities, so no one was offended.
“Brother Long Qi, you’re here, haha! I knew you’d come visit my Seed Garden.” Nong Lie appeared to be quite excited.
Lu Yin felt a bit guilty facing Nong Lie. After all, Lu Yin had poisoned Nong Lie on the Junior Progenitor Planet. “Brother Nong Lie, it’s been quite a while.”
Nong Lie smiled. “Even though we haven’t seen each other, I’ve heard quite a bit about you, Brother Long Qi. You’ve arrested so many traitors recently, which is amazing. You have Nong Lie’s admiration, haha.”
Lu Yin and Nong Lie exchanged a few more niceties before Nong Lie escorted the youths into Seed Garden.
Seed Garden was a place that was not concerned with etiquette as much as other powers. They had their own etiquette, which amounted to any respected guest being allowed to enter the fields.
Lu Yin soon stood in a field, holding a hoe with a blank look on his face. Behind him, Shang Qing, Liu Tianmu, and Wang Dashuai all held hoes as well. All of them were being treated with respect.
There were many cultivators all across Seed Garden who were fastidiously tilling the ground. There was a flock of birds flying through the sky, playing and releasing pleasant cries. It was a harmonious scene.
“Com’on, Brother Long Qi! I’ll teach you!” Nong Lie raised his hoe and slammed it violently into the ground. A small section of the field was loosened up.
Lu Yin was caught off guard when he slammed his own hoe into the ground. It was so hard! It did not appear like Lu Yin used as much strength as Nong Lie, yet a large section of the field was loosened up.
Nong Lie was surprised. “Brother Long Qi is really strong. It shows that you absorbed dragon saliva and opened your lower meridian point. That was amazing.”
Lu Yin pursed his lips. He had actually not even used a fifth of his true strength.
“Is Brother Long Qi surprised by how my Nong family treats our guests?” Nong Lie asked with a smile. He glanced over at Shang Qing and the others. He did not underestimate Shang Qing in particular. Nong Lie understood how difficult it must have been for Shang Qing to overpower all of the Celestial Frost Sect’s youths in order to earn a spot on the team that entered the Dominion Realm.
Lu Yin gripped his hoe. “It’s rather unique.”
Nong Lie smiled. “Cultivating is like plowing the field; there’s no end to it. Even after you’ve finished preparing an entire field, there will be another one off in the distance, and then yet another one after that. Cultivating through farming is not as rigid as other methods. This way of doing things can bring us closer to the land while also opening our minds.”
