The Fantastic Little Farmer

Zhang Yun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Were you waiting for me earlier? I’m totally fine, of course. I go into the mountains all the time.”

“Even if you go into the mountains often… you’re still too amazing. Look at you, you haven’t sweat a single drop, nor are you panting, while my back is soaked!”

At first, Song Tie had been afraid that this boss wouldn’t be able to keep up. Later, he realized that no matter how much he sped up, Zhang Yun could easily match his pace. Even when Song Tie himself grew tired, Zhang Yun remained unfazed.

“We’re both young men; it’s nothing. You already climbed back and forth once earlier, so it’s normal for you to be a little tired,” Zhang Yun replied simply, humoring him.

Song Tie thought it made sense. If he hadn’t made that extra trip, he probably wouldn’t be tired either.

After drinking some water and confirming that Zhang Yun could keep up, Song Tie walked even faster. There was no fixed path here; they were just climbing toward the summit through the trees. A straight line was definitely steeper and harder to walk, but the distance would be shorter.

They made it all the way to the Ancient Tower at the top of the mountain. Song Tie supported his waist, panting heavily. “This is the place. Take your time looking around, Boss Zhang. I need to rest for a bit.”

Towards the end, Song Tie had harbored a competitive spirit. However, no matter how he walked, Zhang Yun seemed to be walking on flat ground. Even when they accelerated in a straight line up the slope, Zhang Yun’s breathing remained steady, which ultimately made Song Tie give up entirely.

“Alright, you can head back first if you have things to do. I might need to take some photos and study it slowly.” Zhang Yun took out his phone and stepped back to take a panoramic shot first.

Song Tie felt no sense of mystery about this place; to him, it was indeed boring. He had already said everything he needed to say on the way, leaving him with nothing left to explain.

“Okay, I’ll head down first. Come back for some tea later.”

“Thanks!”

Zhang Yun circled the entire Ancient Tower. It was mottled grayish-white, and it was impossible to tell what era it belonged to, though it might have been around for a few hundred years. Up close, it wasn’t very tall or exceptionally majestic; it was just a typical rural mountain tower.

Stepping into the empty tower, there was nothing but dust and Song Tie’s footprints. There was nothing else inside.

Zhang Yun walked up floor by floor until he reached the very top, finding nothing there either. He even pulled himself up to check the mezzanine on the top floor. The sweeping traces in the dust were very obvious; the Divine Master Cards that had originally been stored inside had all been taken away by Song Tie.

Standing in front of an empty window, he looked out. From here, he could see Ancient Tree Back, the mountain ridge with the large Rong tree, and even a corner of the Under the Ancient Tree village. In different directions, there were other mountain villages scattered about.

“The scenery is pretty good.” A gentle breeze blew by. Gazing far into the distance, Zhang Yun felt very relaxed. Then, he got down to business!

He didn’t step outside; instead, he simply pressed both hands against the wall inside the tower.

No reaction…

However, with his Experience from the large Rong tree, Zhang Yun was not in a hurry. He tried to actively absorb from it. After a while, he began to feel the surging of Spiritual Qi!

The entire tower was a single entity, and its base rested deep in the soil at the mountaintop, seeming completely connected with the whole mountain. Following his intentional absorption, the Spiritual Qi began to gather thread by thread, surging toward his hands in increasing amounts.

Initially, Zhang Yun had thought that those Divine Master Cards had absorbed a massive amount of incense offerings from being worshipped by descendants for so long. Now, it seemed that it had nothing to do with them, but rather, it was because of this Ancient Tower!

The scope of the Ancient Tower was large enough to absorb the essence of the sun and moon from above, and the Spiritual Qi of the earth from below. Over the years, it had accumulated a massive base. However, unlike the Ancient Rong Tree, it had no life of its own, so perhaps its capacity to absorb was limited. If there were items inside, those items would naturally benefit as well.

Since the items inside the Ancient Tower had long been emptied out, the remaining batch of Divine Master Cards had exclusively absorbed all that excess Energy, rendering them incredibly potent.

Zhang Yun wasn’t sure how effective his current absorption was, but to avoid anyone spotting his strange behavior from afar, he sat down, pressing himself closely against the inner wall of the Ancient Tower.

This absorption process took a whole hour. It wasn’t until Zhang Yun felt a swelling sensation that he could barely endure that he stopped absorbing and withdrew his hands.

“Truly powerful!” Zhang Yun praised it from the bottom of his heart, thinking about how the large Rong tree had quickly shown a conscious desire to beg for mercy, while this Ancient Tower had shown no change even after being absorbed from for an hour!

However, absorbing too much made him feel extremely full right now. He immediately touched the Mysterious Iron Ring to sense it.

“Good heavens!”

Zhang Yun knew it would be a lot, but when forty-five percent appeared, he was still pleasantly surprised. It had almost doubled! This was seven times the amount from the large Rong tree, equivalent to eight or nine Divine Master Cards!

This effect made him strongly desire to continue for a few more hours, but reason stopped this impulse. He couldn’t keep going, or he would explode.

Zhang Yun didn’t want to stay in this tower any longer. Being inside, he hadn’t felt it at first, but now he felt somewhat like he was in the belly of the Ancient Tower… If this were a living, conscious monster, wouldn’t it have swallowed him whole?

After coming outside, he looked back at the Ancient Tower. Zhang Yun couldn’t help but give a respectful bow, thanking it for its gift. He could always come back in the future!

Actually, he wouldn’t even need Song Tie to guide him next time; he could find his way here just by following the sight of the Ancient Tower from a distance. Previously, he just hadn’t understood the situation. He wasn’t really worried about his motorcycle either. After all… the motorcycle could also be put into his Personal Space.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yun felt he could give it a try. If it really worked, he could directly buy another motorcycle to store in his space. That way, even if he went out of town, he would always have a vehicle at hand.

Checking the time, he saw that an hour had already passed. Afraid that Song Tie might come looking for him, Zhang Yun sprinted wildly down the mountain!

This was just to save time, but as he ran wildly along the way, his movements became smoother and smoother. The swelling Spiritual Qi in his body seemed to flow much more freely, making him feel less uncomfortable.

Running down a mountain slope was very dangerous. Even though Zhang Yun could control it now, he still felt his toes jamming against the front of his shoes. He dared to run only because he knew he could catch himself in time if he tripped.

However, during this rapid sprint, that soaring, flight-like experience reminded him of the Tibetan Incense from before.

Lightweight Skill!

He had been thinking that if he ever got the chance to catch that Female Ghost, he would see if he could learn the Lightweight Skill from her. Why not try it himself now?

Zhang Yun surveyed his surroundings. He tried sprinting toward a large rock, then leaped with all his might toward the branch of a large tree below! Carried by the downward momentum of the slope, he leaped a great distance and actually landed perfectly on the branch! However, the heavy impact of his body immediately snapped the branch, and he plummeted to the ground.

Again!

Taking advantage of the slope made jumping much easier for Zhang Yun. He practiced gauging distances, hitting his landing spots accurately, and controlling his strength. After repeatedly trying, he began to grasp the basics. He could now jump onto a branch without breaking it and steady his center of gravity just by touching the trunk, keeping himself from falling.

Before he could even practice jumping upwards, he had already reached the foot of the mountain. Zhang Yun stopped leaping, recalled his route, and found his way back to Song Tie’s home.

Perhaps he had waited too long, as Song Tie wasn’t home, and his motorcycle was gone as well. Zhang Yun simply sent a message to Song Tie and rode his own bike away. As he reached the bottom of the slope, he saw Song Tie riding his bike back.

“Boss Zhang, you’ve come down? Don’t leave yet! I went out of my way to get some dog meat. Have a meal before you go back,” Song Tie said excitedly.

Zhang Yun shook his head. “I lost track of time while looking around. I need to hurry back now. Thanks a lot for today!”

Song Tie looked a bit regretful. “You’re not even going to eat the dog meat? Even though the weather is hot, you’re strong enough to handle it without worrying about internal heat.”

Zhang Yun smiled, shook his head, and waved goodbye as he left.

“I’ll find you again if I get any good stuff!” Song Tie called out from behind.

Zhang Yun rode his bike uphill toward the mountain ridge with the large Rong tree, but he hadn’t gone far before the engine died. He checked and realized he was actually out of gas!

He had originally planned to go to the county town, so naturally, he hadn’t paid attention to the gas level since he could always find a gas station on the way. Coming to Ancient Tree Back had been completely off-plan, and the distance was a bit far.

This was a bit awkward. Should he go back to find Song Tie?

He thought, “Damn it, wouldn’t he think I’m just craving his dog meat?”