章節 128: Chapter 128: Water Absorption Technique

By the time the disciples of Lingxian Sect finished their cultivation in the late afternoon, they found that the heavy rain had yet to let up. Seeing this, Lin Dayou grew concerned and hurried to the spiritual fields to check on the situation. The others, sensing his worry, followed closely behind.

Upon reaching the fields, they found that the young seedlings of the spiritual grain they had planted were still standing upright, and the fields showed no signs of flooding. This eased everyone's minds a little.

However, they couldn't help but think about their fields in the village. The fields in the village were not as high in elevation as those on the mountain, and they were not spiritual fields either. Who knew what condition the crops down there were in?

Those who lived in the village became increasingly anxious and hurriedly bid farewell to the others, rushing down the mountain to check on their homes.

On their way back, they noticed that the normally clear and gentle stream had risen significantly, turning muddy and turbulent. The relentless downpour battered the green crops in the fields below, as if trying to flatten them.

The crops were struggling to stay upright, but some had already succumbed to the relentless onslaught, collapsing into the muddy fields. Many villagers, worried about their crops, were out in the rain wearing straw raincoats, propping up the bent stalks with wooden or bamboo stakes.

The Lin family's fields were no exception.

The fields belonging to Lin Xiao's family and the old family house were connected, and at that moment, Old Man Lin and Lin Dashan were busy trying to save their crops. If there had been more rain gear at home, Lin Daboniang and Granny Lin would have been out there helping as well.

When Lin Dayou arrived with Lin Lei and the other boys from the mountain, they immediately jumped in to assist.

Lin Xiao, on the other hand, racked his brain for any spells that might be helpful in this situation. Most of the spells he had created before entering the secret realm were combat-oriented, with none specifically designed to deal with natural disasters like this.

As he propped up the crops, he mulled over potential solutions for the current situation.

With the added help, they were able to secure the Lin family's and the old house's fields relatively quickly. However, Lin Dayou and Lin Dashan both knew that if the rain continued like this, their efforts would be in vain.

They hurriedly escorted Old Man Lin back home, where Lin Xiao quickly dried him off and activated a Minor Heating Array he had created earlier that day to warm up everyone who had gotten soaked, especially Old Man Lin and Lin Dashan, to prevent them from catching a cold.

As for Lin Dayou and the others, their cultivation and spiritual energy shielded them from the cold and damp.

Meanwhile, Granny Lin and Lin Daboniang dug up some fresh ginger from the courtyard to make ginger tea for everyone.

After ensuring Old Man Lin was settled, Lin Dayou and his sons returned to their own home.

Throughout the journey, Lin Xiao remained deep in thought, pondering the creation of new spells.

The most immediate solutions he could think of were spells for drainage or water absorption, but those felt like temporary fixes. As for stopping the rain altogether, he knew he didn't have the power to do that yet. Even if he could create a spell for it, he doubted his current cultivation level would be sufficient to execute it.

Still, he decided to create a weather-related spell and see if it was feasible. He also planned to create the drainage and water absorption spells for testing.

After all, now that they had plenty of spirit stones, it didn't matter if the spells weren't immediately useful. Once his cultivation level increased, they could always come in handy.

So, as soon as the father and sons arrived home, Lin Xiao secluded himself in his room to begin researching.

The rain continued to pour relentlessly throughout the night.

By the following morning, the rain had finally lessened.

The night before, Lin Xiao had created three new spells: Cloud Control Technique, Water Absorption Technique, and Object Control Technique.

The Cloud Control Technique, as the name suggests, was designed to control clouds and had three levels: first-level Cloud Dispelling Technique, second-level Cloud Gathering Technique, and third-level Cloud Creation Technique.

Although the spell didn't seem particularly useful in combat, it required a high cultivation level. From what Lin Xiao could sense upon mastering it, even the first-level Cloud Dispelling Technique would require a cultivation level of at least the Core Formation stage to use effectively.

The Water Absorption Technique and Object Control Technique, on the other hand, were single-stage spells that could be used at a minimum of Qi Refining Stage 5. However, their effects varied depending on the user's cultivation level.

For example, with Object Control Technique, Lin Xiao could potentially lift and straighten all the crops in their fields at once, but because of the sheer number of objects, it would consume a lot of energy.

The same principle applied to the Water Absorption Technique: the higher the cultivation level, the more water could be absorbed.

When the villagers woke up after a restless night and saw that the rain had finally let up, they felt much more at ease.

Lin Xiao was up early and used the Water Absorption Technique to drain the waterlogged fields, starting with his own family's fields. Afterward, he looked around the village and used the spell to drain water from several lower-lying fields that were more severely flooded, leaving only moist soil behind.

Once he was done, he headed up the mountain for his daily cultivation.

When the villagers arrived at their fields, expecting to spend hours bailing out water after the previous day's downpour, they were pleasantly surprised to find that their fields looked clean and clear, even in the light drizzle.

Relieved, they suddenly found their lives a bit more bearable.

But just before noon, village chief Du Liushui received an urgent message from the township.

Due to several breaches in the dikes along the upper reaches of the Guyue River, the county had issued an emergency conscription for labor. Each household was required to send one able-bodied male to help with repairs. If they wanted to avoid the labor service, they would need to pay a fee of five taels of silver, except in cases where the household had no male members or only one male member.

This news caused an uproar in Xiushui Village.

Normally, conscription for labor rotated among the twelve nearby townships, with four townships serving each year, meaning that each township only had to serve once every three years. But this time, the emergency conscription applied to the entire county, and households that had already served the year before were now being called upon again. The prospect of having to pay five taels of silver if they didn't want to serve made the situation even more difficult for everyone.