Watching the Mountain

Chapter 292: Chapter 178: Dependence

”By the time I was born, the situation had already changed a lot. Natural disasters still occurred frequently, but it was rare for people to starve to death.”

He paused, a look of longing suddenly appearing on his face. ”The one who solved this problem was an elder from our very own Sect.”

Xu Ran’s heart stirred, but his expression remained impassive. ”Which elder?”

”It was Elder Nameless,” Jiang Nian said, his tone resolute and his eyes shining.

”He didn’t leave his name in the records. He only said he was an ordinary Outer Disciple. It was him. He researched a method for pest control, and later developed high-yield rice, as well as a high-yield Spirit Rice that could be grown in ordinary fields.”

”Most importantly, the rice and Spirit Rice that elder developed could still produce a harvest even during severe droughts or floods.”

”In my home of Jiuyou County, basically every town and village has a statue of that elder. Since no one knows his name or what he looked like, the statues have no facial features. There’s just a stone tablet next to them recording his accomplishments.”

Hearing this, Xu Ran’s mind reeled. He couldn’t help but recall the faceless statue he and Little Xiyue had seen in Wang Xingye’s Wang Family Village.

It was only after seeing that statue that he realized he had, at some point, left a deep mark on this world. That realization led to an epiphany, allowing him to achieve Bright Heart Illuminating Self and start on the path of sentiment.

And now, learning from Jiang Nian that the entirety of Jiuyou County was practically littered with his statues gave him a strange, wonderful feeling.

While he was lost in thought, Jiang Nian continued.

”It was after hearing the story of Elder Nameless that I decided to come to the Profound Pure Sect and become a Spirit Plant Master.”

”I feel like that elder’s work isn’t finished, and I want to do my part to help him complete his unfinished business.”

He shook his head and sighed, a dejected look on his face. ”It’s just a shame that elder is so low-profile. I’ve never had the chance to meet him since I arrived at the Sect.”

’Hm?’ Hearing this, Xu Ran was taken aback. ’Unfinished business? What am I not aware of?’

He asked, curious, ”What is this unfinished business you’re talking about?”

Jiang Nian’s expression turned solemn as he replied, ”I could sense it from the elder’s actions. He must have felt that we Cultivators are too dependent on the heavens and the earth, so he chose a path different from most Spirit Plant Masters in the world.”

”Developing new varieties of Spiritual Plants, Spirit Rice that can be grown in ordinary fields... all of it points to one thing: he wanted us to break our dependence on the world, to be self-sufficient in the face of any natural disaster.”

”So that even if the heavens one day turn against us, we can still survive on our own.”

”He’s only completed part of that goal. He hasn’t fully achieved it yet.”

He smiled faintly. ”When I shared these ideas back home, many people agreed with me. When they heard I wanted to come to the Profound Pure Sect to help the elder, they gave me their full support. They pooled together Spirit Stones for me so I could take a Cross-Border Trade Team’s Flying Ship. That’s how I managed to get here.”

After listening to Jiang Nian’s tale, Xu Ran gave him a complicated look.

He really wanted to tell the young man that he was overthinking things. His research back then had been purely to repay Senior Sister Yue’s kindness; he hadn’t thought about it any deeper than that.

But after some thought, he decided against it.

This was a young man who had chosen the path of a Spirit Plant Master because of him, after all. Since he was so full of dreams, it was best to just let him carry that beautiful dream forward.

’Shattering someone’s dream is a cruel thing to do.’

After a moment of thought, he asked Jiang Nian, ”Have you finished studying all the theories left behind by Elder Nameless?”

When he had submitted his findings to the Sect, he hadn’t just turned in the seeds; he had submitted all the accompanying theoretical research as well.

Hearing Xu Ran’s question, Jiang Nian paused for a moment, then asked hesitantly, ”Senior Brother, are you referring to the treatises the elder left behind?”

Xu Ran nodded.

”I’ve studied them all.”

”And you’ve mastered them?”

”Not at all. The elder’s treatises are far too profound. I expect I could spend my entire life on them and only master a fraction of their wisdom.”

Xu Ran’s brow twitched. ’This kid is a total fanatic.’ When he had written down those theories, he had intentionally used the simplest, most basic language to make them easier to learn. He had structured everything systematically, from easy to difficult.

’Spending a lifetime to master just a fraction of it? That’s the textbook definition of a fanboy talking.’

He shook his head, deciding not to press the issue. Instead, he asked, ”So which ones have you studied?”

At this, Jiang Nian lit up, launching into an enthusiastic list of every single treatise Xu Ran had left behind. As he spoke, he lavished them with all sorts of praise, gushing about how incredible they were.

Even with Xu Ran’s thick skin, he couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed by all the compliments.

After Jiang Nian finished, Xu Ran put on a thoughtful expression. He pondered for a long while before his eyes glinted and he said:

”That can’t be right. Everything you’ve mentioned are his much older findings. He’s produced new research since then. Haven’t you studied it yet?”