Elder Gu He's voice struck like thunder in the silence beside the spirit field. The kneeling crowd was further terrified out of their wits! What did Elder Gu say? Spirit rice approaching the Peerless Grade? And it was grown by this lowly spirit farmer who was bullied to death by Zhao Dezhu?
Lin Feng took a deep breath, suppressing his churning qi and blood. He bowed respectfully but without subservience. "Replying to Elder Gu, it was indeed planted by this disciple, Lin Feng."
"Good! Good! GOOD!" Elder Gu He exclaimed "good" three times, so excited he could barely contain himself. He stepped forward in a flash, his withered hands gripping Lin Feng's shoulders tightly (then quickly letting go, afraid of hurting him). "Nephew Lin! You... you are a prodigious talent! No, you are a heaven-sent treasure bestowed upon our Profound Heaven Sect!"
His gaze was almost fiery with intensity: "Nephew Lin! This rice... could you spare some for this old man? No! I am willing to exchange it for the best Foundation Establishment stage pills! Breakthrough Pills! Spirit Consolidation Pills! Name your price!" In his urgency, this esteemed, traditionally stern Pill Hall Elder, bowed deeply to a mere spirit farmer like Lin Feng, lowering his posture to the extreme, almost pleading!
BOOM! This scene was like a massive boulder crashing into a calm lake, stirring monstrous waves in the hearts of the onlookers! The Pill Hall Elder, a Nascent Soul stage powerhouse, was actually bowing and pleading with a Qi Refining Level Three spirit farmer?! Had the world gone mad?!
At that moment, a corpulent figure pushed through the crowd, panting and stumbling. It was Zhao Dezhu, having rushed over upon hearing the news! Seeing Elder Gu He facing Lin Feng from afar, he assumed Lin Feng had been caught red-handed stealing the Elder's precious spirit herbs. His heart surged with wild joy – this was a golden opportunity to earn merit!
"Elder Gu! Elder Gu, please calm your anger!" Zhao Dezhu bellowed, throwing himself to his knees with a thud. He pointed accusingly at Lin Feng. "Did this lowly wretch have the audacity to steal your spirit plants? This humble servant failed in his oversight, deserving ten thousand deaths! I shall apprehend him immediately for you, flay him alive, and make an example of him!" With that, he actually leapt up, a ferocious grin on his face, and reached out to grab Lin Feng, unleashing his full Qi Refining Level Six spiritual pressure against him!
"Insolent wretch! GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Elder Gu He, brimming with excitement while making his request, was interrupted by this foolhardy idiot who dared slander Lin Feng. Instantly, he flew into a towering rage! The Nascent Soul stage pressure accumulated over centuries erupted like a slumbering volcano! Even a mere wisp of its leakage was far beyond what an ant like Zhao Dezhu could withstand!
SPLAT—! Zhao Dezhu felt as if struck by a ten thousand jin hammer. The hand reaching for Lin Feng instantly twisted grotesquely. Blood sprayed violently from his mouth as his obese body was slammed into the ground like a ragdoll! Terrifying pressure, as tangible as stone, crushed him flat, forcing his entire fat face deep into the stinking, muddy ridge! His bones groaned under the strain.
"Mmph!... Gurgle..." Zhao Dezhu couldn't even scream. Foul mud filled his mouth and nose, making him choke and his eyes roll back. Only desperate gurgles escaped his throat. He wanted to struggle, but under that abyssal, prison-like pressure, he couldn't even twitch a finger!
Elder Gu He, hair and beard bristling, glared at the figure wallowing in the mud, his voice colder than ice. "You lowly cur with eyes that cannot see true worth! Dare show even a shred of disrespect to Nephew Lin again, and I will flay you alive and burn your soul as a warning beacon this very instant! Kneel here and lick the mud in apology! And you will not rise until Nephew Lin says so! Do you understand?!"
"Mmph!... Mmph!" Zhao Dezhu nodded frantically in the mud, tears of terror and humiliation mixing with the filth. He could never have dreamed that the ant he despised would become someone even Elder Gu He treated with deference! And now, he himself was being held down like a mangy dog, forced to eat dirt!
Lin Feng watched all this calmly. He watched his former nemesis, the one who had once oppressed him and his sister with impunity, now writhing and whimpering in the mud like a maggot. An indescribable sense of release surged from deep within him, like a massive stone lifted from his chest. He turned to Elder Gu He, whose fury had slightly abated, offering a "sincere" and humble smile.
"Elder, you honor me too much. It is this disciple's fortune that such humble rice has caught your discerning eye. I would be honored to offer you a portion." His tone shifted, his gaze settling on Zhao Dezhu wallowing in the mud. His voice was calm but carried a profound undercurrent. "As for this unruly servant who dared offend you, Elder... a few days spent here 'reflecting' should suffice as a minor punishment to teach him a lesson."