That very day, Hu Wanzhi returned to the Inner Sect with Zhao Chun. The matter of Xu Kuangrui was both easy and difficult to handle. The key still lay with the person he relied on—Xu Feng.
Zhao Chun intended to pay a visit, but after sending a formal request, she learned that Xu Feng had gone to a Small World and would not be back for some time. Thus, she had no choice but to let Hu Wanzhi stay at her place for a few more days, to return only after the matter was settled.
It was only when she spoke with Hu Wanzhi in detail that she learned of some hidden circumstances. The post she held was in the sect's Spirit Plant Garden. This place was different from the Reed River Spirit Herb Garden; the latter was for cultivating medicinal ingredients and required more meticulous care.
The Spirit Plant Garden mostly grew Spirit Rice and Spiritual Fruits and Vegetables for the daily consumption of sect disciples. Therefore, it covered a vast area and usually only required cursory care and regular watering. Hu Wanzhi was responsible for the Fine-Grained Spirit Rice, which ripened every seven days.
A yield of six hundred jin per mu was considered normal. Xu Kuangrui had singled her out because Spirit Rice was not as precious as spirit herbs, meaning that if things were truly investigated, the punishment would not be severe.
He did not intend to completely ruin Hu Wanzhi's prospects, only bribing others to add some yield-reducing substances to the soil. As for using actual poison, he did not dare. Even so, it caused Hu Wanzhi endless headaches.
The Spirit Rice yield decreased crop after crop, never reaching six hundred jin, sometimes not even four hundred. This caused her to be reprimanded by the deacon every time, without being able to defend herself. Later, she had to ask Cui Lan'e to have someone investigate.
It was discovered that someone was playing tricks. Following that lead, the investigation naturally led to Xu Kuangrui, showing that his methods were not very clever. Interestingly, Zhao Chun actually knew the person Cui Lan'e had invited.
It was none other than the Reception Deacon of the Flying Gourd Minor World, Cao Wenguan. The two of them had apparently known each other for a long time and were quite familiar. After understanding the situation clearly, she asked Hu Wanzhi if any evidence of the crime had been left behind.
Hu Wanzhi let out a light laugh. It turned out that Xu Kuangrui had been careless in his actions. Not only were the yield-reducing substances found, but the bribed Menial Disciples had also been caught red-handed.
"That makes it much easier. Lay all the evidence out for Xu Feng to see. If he intends to shield him, let him explain it to the Law Enforcement Disciples himself!"
Zhao Chun reminded her to keep the evidence safe, as it would be useful later. As days passed, Xu Feng had yet to return, but the matter concerning the Yang Water Sect had reached a conclusion. True Spirit indeed took this matter extremely seriously.
They immediately began investigating the vassal cultivation families of the Secluded Valley, and unexpectedly, they actually rooted out two of them. They then issued an order forbidding any more old families from relocating there, hoping to prevent future troubles. Hearing this news, Zhao Chun sighed at the ruthlessness of a great sect.
However, considering how much the sect had declined because of the Yang Water Sect, they were surely extremely wary, so she could understand their reasoning to some extent. The Tu Family had both merits and faults in this matter, but ultimately, their merits outweighed their faults. They had slain the traitor and handed over the token.
Although the sect did not agree to bring them into the Secluded Valley, they sent them wealth and rare treasures, exempted them from thirty years of tribute, and assisted in their recovery. With Zhao Chun's name and True Spirit's support, the Tu Family could at least hold on for another generation.
How they would fare in the future would depend on the talent of their descendants. Zhao Chun herself was credited for reporting the matter, fighting the traitor, and assisting in his demise, once again making an appearance before the Sect Master. The sect was not stingy with its rewards.
There were heaps of various elixir pills in bottles and jars, a full ten pieces of Spirit Jade, and most precious of all, she was granted the quota for a Mortal Rank, supreme-grade magical art, showing how great her contribution was. She was also delighted and went to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion the very next day.
Previously when she came here, she had always entered the East Building, but today she entered the West Building. It was still a three-story, enclosed structure, open in the center and straight on the outside.
The furnishings and decorations within were even more luxurious than those in the East Building, and the patrolling guards were all individuals with profound cultivation bases. Zhao Chun headed straight for the section with Mortal Rank, supreme-grade cultivation methods.
She had also learned in the Drifting Clouds World that the Mortal Rank techniques used in the Qi Refining Stage could only be surpassed when one reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, where one could then glimpse Yellow Grade cultivation methods. However, once elixir pills, weapons, and cultivation methods entered the Yellow Grade, they would have completely shed their mortal air.
The grading would become even stricter, with upper-grade and supreme-grade items being existences coveted even by those in the Core Formation and Profound Division Stages. The four tiers of the Mortal Rank were just a rough classification; the differences between them were not worlds apart.
But for Zhao Chun, obtaining a supreme-grade, Mortal Rank technique during the Qi Refining Stage was already extremely rare. As far as she knew, many late-stage Qi Refining cultivators had never even learned such a magical art.
(End of this chapter)