Seeing that Fang Yun had taken his words to heart, Fang Lin nodded in satisfaction and comforted him, "However, Patriarch, you shouldn't bear too much pressure. Although our family currently has only one cultivator, we have a considerable number of martial artists.
Setting aside the later stage martial artists, we have as many as ten elders at the innate stage. Coupled with the profound heritage left by past cultivators, as long as we don't recklessly provoke others, we can certainly maintain control over Spirit Water Island!"
Fang Yun was surprised to hear the terms "later stage" and "innate stage" and looked at Fang Lin with astonishment. "Later stage, innate stage? Elder, aside from cultivators, are there really martial artists in this world?"
Hearing Fang Yun's confusion, Fang Lin smiled and stroked his beard. Clearly, being able to clarify things for Fang Yun, a cultivator, was a source of great satisfaction for him.
Fang Lin continued, "As a cultivator, it's understandable that you're unaware of the martial artists among ordinary people! Among mortals, there exists a technique that allows them to extract vital energy from food to practice martial arts.
This is used to combat fierce beasts in nature or marine creatures in the ocean. However, this method can only deal with ordinary creatures and is insufficient to contend with those magical beasts infused with spiritual energy.
Martial arts are roughly divided into the later stage and innate stages. However, even the most powerful innate martial artists can hardly compete with cultivators who absorb spiritual energy.
This is a fundamental gap that cannot be bridged!"
By the end of his explanation, Fang Lin's expression became somewhat wistful. After all, he had spent his entire life practicing martial arts, and after much hardship, had finally broken through to the innate stage, yet he could only dominate among mortals.
Even against a cultivator at the lowest level, without relying on the talismans passed down from his ancestors, they would stand no chance. This illustrates the essential difference. Despite Fang Lin's current mindset, looking at the young Fang Yun, he couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion and helplessness.
Perhaps this was fate; who could blame himself for not having spiritual roots? As he pondered this, Fang Lin's enthusiasm for conversation noticeably waned.
He then brushed aside these feelings and resumed discussing the family's financial matters with Fang Yun. After hearing about the significant disparity between the innate stage and cultivators, Fang Yun couldn't help but nod silently in agreement.
He had originally thought that the innate realm in this world was equivalent to the Qi Refinement stage of cultivators. However, it now seemed that even the most powerful innate realm could not compare to a Qi Refinement cultivator who possessed spiritual roots.
This realization put him at ease; otherwise, facing the many elders of the innate realm as a cultivator still in a "disabled" state would be quite a pressure. Although Fang Yun remained curious about the innate realm of martial arts, seeing that Fang Lin had lost interest in discussing that topic, he felt it inappropriate to press further.
Fang Lin's subsequent explanations about the Fang family's financial matters were met with casual interest from Fang Yun, as he did not see them as particularly complicated. The island where the Fang family resided was nearly a hundred miles from another island, and interactions with the outside world were infrequent. Thus, there were not many complex financial issues to deal with.
Before long, Fang Zhou returned from searching for seeds. Fang Yun's spirits lifted immediately, and he hurried over to take a large package from Fang Zhou. He placed it on the nearby table and opened it. Fang Zhou pointed to each bag inside, introducing the seeds one by one.
The variety and quantity of seeds on the island were not very abundant; the most numerous were rice seeds. In addition, there were soybean seeds and some vegetable seeds. Aside from these common seeds, the rest were mostly seeds for commonly found medicinal herbs on the island.
As Fang Zhou spoke, the scene of the land in the canyon unconsciously appeared in Fang Yun's mind. He then made a rough plan based on the types and quantities of seeds. Once Fang Zhou finished his introduction, Fang Yun glanced at the quantity of seeds in the package. The amount Fang Zhou had prepared was quite substantial, enough for him to use generously.
He nodded towards Fang Lin and Fang Zhou, saying, "Alright, I appreciate both of you for your help. I'll be heading back now!"
"Patriarch, you're too polite! We are here to handle these trivial matters for you. If you have any needs in the future, just come find us!" Fang Lin said with a smile.
Fang Yun nodded, shouldering the heavy package and turning to walk back up the mountain. Watching Fang Yun's departing figure, Fang Zhou spoke up, "Old Lin, what do you think of our new patriarch?"
Fang Lin pondered for a moment, recalling Fang Yun's previous behavior, and replied, "In terms of cultivation, I can't see much, but he seems quite steady in character. He should make a good patriarch!"
Upon hearing this, Fang Zhou sighed in relief, saying, "It's good if he's steady. The previous patriarch was far too impulsive; he went out for the first time and never returned. That was too dangerous for our Fang family."
Fang Lin shook his head, "As cultivators, the spiritual energy on this island is too thin; eventually, we have to venture out to seek opportunities. The previous patriarch was left with no choice!"
Fang Zhou shook his head, choosing not to respond further. While Fang Lin made a valid point, he still hoped for a more composed patriarch who wouldn't easily leave the island. Even if he had to leave, a steadier character would provide a greater chance of survival, preventing the Fang family from suddenly falling into danger.
Thinking of the recent disturbances outside the island, Fang Zhou couldn't help but feel a weight in his heart. Fang Yun swiftly returned to the cave along the mountain path, picking up his hoe and strapping on his iron sword. He grabbed the package and strode toward the canyon.
Soon, he reached the top of the canyon and carefully descended using the rope he had left behind. Placing the package filled with seeds aside, Fang Yun examined the land in the canyon closely and began planning for the planting.
There was a low-lying area of over a hundred acres that was waterlogged year-round, making it perfect for growing rice. With a small stream nearby, the rice here wouldn't have to worry about a lack of water. After arranging the low-lying area, he divided the remaining land into two sections: one for planting soybeans. The other section was further divided into several smaller plots for the medicinal herb seeds.
Lastly, there were some vegetable seeds, which Fang Yun planned to plant along the banks of the stream in succession. This way, he could fully utilize the several hundred acres of land. After detailed planning, Fang Yun spent five days categorizing and dividing the terrain. Then, he began the rice planting process.