"When are you going to grow a spine? We're close to the Spirit Field. Spit it out, what's on your mind?"
Wang Meng asked. 'This fatty never showed up unless he wanted something.'
Zhang Xiaojiang quickly laid out his plan: he would help Wang Meng sort out the Spirit Field, and then Wang Meng would go with him to hunt a Tiger Eagle. It was a win-win, killing two birds with one stone—a truly brilliant idea.
Wang Meng didn't answer and just led the fatty to the Spirit Field. When the fatty had to use every ounce of his strength just to pull out a single weed, he had an epiphany.
"Damn it, Brother Meng, aren't they just messing with us? When the hell are you going to finish clearing this field? The Thunderfire Hall doesn't even have any Tiger Eagles. I have to go all the way to Thunder Peak! On the way, what if I run into a Demon Cultivator or a Demon Beast or something? I'll be done for... Brother Meng... Brother Meng... What's wrong?"
Wang Meng stared, dumbfounded, at the patch of land he had spent all of yesterday clearing. It was now overgrown with weeds again. "This... I already cleared this yesterday. They grew back overnight!"
The fatty was speechless. "The Holy Hall is just bullying us. How about we just quit? Let's just go back."
THWACK...
The fatty got a knock on the head. Wang Meng crouched down, staring at the weeds before him. "Maybe my method was wrong. What if we set them on fire?"
"Great idea!"
The two of them took out their Fire Stones and started setting a fire...
Not far away, Zhao Lingxuan was bursting with glee. Her master happened to be away on business; a Fifth-Transformation Golden Rhinoceros had appeared, attracting many Cultivators. The beast's horn could ward off evil, and since it was about to reach the Sixth Transformation, it was guaranteed to form an Inner Core, making it a coveted prize.
'They're so stupid. Setting it on fire... I can't believe they actually came up with that.'
Zhao Lingxuan watched the show while snacking. "Little Spirit, that roly-poly guy is pretty funny. With that little courage, he actually dares to cultivate."
The Nine Heavens Fire Simurgh, however, was bored out of her mind. She didn't think two country bumpkins were worth wasting so much time on. The Golden Rhinoceros, on the other hand, was on her mind.
Wang Meng and Zhang Xiaopang's plan to burn the Spirit Field naturally ended in failure. How could a mortal fire possibly burn away weeds that grew by absorbing Spiritual Qi?
Not only did the fire fail to catch, but the two of them ended up covered in soot. Staring at the weeds that seemed to mock them, Wang Meng and Zhang Xiaopang both felt a little faint.
"There's definitely a trick to this, we just haven't found it yet!" Wang Meng said firmly. He trusted Elder Xu. If the goal was to eliminate them, they would have been eliminated from the start. Why go through so much trouble?
"Brother Meng, when it comes to thinking, count me out. I'm going to take a break."
Just as Wang Meng was racking his brain for a solution, a voice sounded in their ears.
"Among the weeds is a Life Grass, the very source of all the weeds in the Spirit Field. To clear this patch of weeds, you must first find the Life Grass."
The ethereal voice startled Wang Meng and made the fatty look around suspiciously.
Wang Meng stood up and looked all around, but he couldn't see anyone. He could only bow to the empty air. "Thank you for your guidance, Senior. May I ask how to find this Life Grass?"
"Feeling."
Feeling?
Wang Meng and Zhang Xiaojiang were both completely baffled.
Zhao Lingxuan, on the other hand, was rolling with laughter. She struck a pose in front of the Nine Heavens Fire Simurgh, stroking an imaginary beard. "Have you ever seen such a cute and beautiful Senior?"
The Fire Simurgh shook her head. "It's useless even if you tell them. For a Cultivator to discern it, they'd need to be at the Tenth Layer of Life Mark at the very least, and that's with corresponding techniques. To do it by feeling alone requires at least the Twentieth Layer of Life Mark."
The Nine Heavens Fire Simurgh still didn't quite understand her master's peculiar sense of humor.
"Of course I know that. But if I don't give them a little hope, they'll just fall into despair. How boring would that be?"
Zhao Lingxuan tossed a nut into her small mouth, her red lips smacking a few times. She was the very picture of cuteness.
Zhang Xiaopang gazed at the endless weeds and immediately grew discouraged. "This Senior is so unhelpful, only telling us half the story. 'Feeling' is something for women."
Wang Meng's eyes were fixed on the Spirit Field. 'Life Grass... Life Grass... Concentrate... Feeling?'
'That's right!'
'I have to use my Elemental Power to perceive it. The Life Grass must be different from the others. No matter how it hides, that fact can't change. I have to use my heart, use my feeling!'
Wang Meng relaxed as much as he could, letting his body loosen up.
This kind of perception was something only powerful Cultivators could achieve by relying on their immense Elemental Power.
Zhao Lingxuan hadn't expected Wang Meng to actually strike the pose of an expert and try to perceive it. And to be fair, the pose really looked the part.
The Fire Simurgh beside her was also speechless. In truth, the simplest way for a Cultivator to deal with the weeds in a Spirit Field was to set them on fire—using a Fire Skill, that is.
Wang Meng tried to relax, but in reality, his perception couldn't extend outwards at all. His Elemental Power was too weak. But just as he hit a barrier, something seemed to burst forth, expanding in an instant. Wang Meng had a crystal-clear, penetrating sensation, as if the entire Spirit Field was laid bare under his Insight.
Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaopang was struggling with a weed he thought was the Life Grass. He figured that since this one was fatter, it must be well-nourished, which meant it had a high status.
Wang Meng was on the verge of grasping something when he suddenly remembered the key the "Senior" had mentioned—Feeling!
'I can't be deceived by external appearances!'
Wang Meng decisively closed his eyes and walked step by step into the Spirit Field. His sense of sight vanished.
The sound of the wind stopped... His sense of hearing vanished.
Gradually, he could no longer feel the grass brushing against his body... His sense of touch vanished.
Zhao Lingxuan wasn't smiling anymore. Beside her, the Nine Heavens Fire Simurgh's eyes went wide. '...This... How is this possible???'
A confident smile touched the corners of Wang Meng's lips. A rather short weed, even more inconspicuous than the others and easily overlooked, yet in Wang Meng's perception, it stood out starkly. It was the master of all the weeds in the Spirit Field.
Wang Meng grabbed it and snapped his eyes open. "Hehe, the game of hide-and-seek is over. Come on out!"
Channeling his Elemental Power, he let out a sharp yell, and the Life Grass was yanked right out by Wang Meng. Instantly, all the weeds in the entire Spirit Field wilted as if they'd been drained of all moisture. Wang Meng stomped on the ground and found that the soil of the Spirit Field had softened.
Just then, Zhang Xiaopang, who was still yanking on his weed, tumbled over, pulling up a large clump with him.
"Zhang Xiaopang, I found it! Haha! Thank you for your guidance, Senior! Wang Meng is eternally grateful!"
Although Wang Meng didn't know if that expert was still around, he had to express his gratitude.
"Damn, so this thing is the Life Grass? It's so scrawny, nothing special about it at all. I thought it would look like a ginseng root or something."
The fatty examined it from every angle but couldn't see anything special about it. "Brother Meng, how did you know it was this one? That's incredible! Did you really learn to use a woman's sixth sense?"
"Oh, shut up. It was actually very simple. You just have to quiet your mind and use your feelings to search. See? I told you there's a reason for the tasks the Elders give us. Cultivation requires persistence, but you also have to use your brain!"
Zhang Xiaopang gave the Life Grass a vicious tug. "This thing caused us so much trouble. How about we chop it into a million pieces?"