"Then I'll trouble Fellow Daoist Zhou."
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhong finally breathed a sigh of relief, cupped his hands, and said.
Zhou Changwang also returned the gesture and replied, "No need to be so polite."
...
After agreeing to help Xu Zhong exterminate the pests later, Zhou Changwang glanced at Old Xu, who was standing to the side, and jokingly said, "I don't recall you being such a warm-hearted person, Old Xu.
Come on now, did you get some kind of perk?"
"Hey, Changwang, you're wronging me here..."
Old Xu quickly denied it vehemently.
"If you didn't get any benefits, would you have brought someone here directly and gone to the trouble of speaking for him?"
Zhou Changwang sneered.
"Well, I did get a little something, but not much.
He promised to give me a referral fee of three Lower-Grade Spirit Stones if the Spirit Insects are exterminated."
Old Xu gave an awkward smile, seeing he couldn't hide it from Zhou Changwang, so he simply admitted it. However, he seriously explained in the end, "Initially, he didn't want to come to you at all. It took my persuasive tongue to drag him over here, or else you wouldn't have gotten such a nice job.
Besides, these three Lower-Grade Spirit Stones aren't easy to earn; you have to completely rid his Spirit Field of Spirit Insects for me to get them.
If you can't manage, I won't get a dime."
Zhou Changwang nodded in agreement.
Considering his cultivation level is well-known, even though he's mastered the Geng Metal Finger, among Spirit Farmers, he wasn't the only one to reach mastery in it.
If it weren't for Old Xu's persuasion, Xu Zhong might not have even considered coming to him.
Of course, the reasonable charge is also a factor.
After all, hiring someone from Spirit Plant Hall needs a baseline of thirty Lower-Grade Spirit Stones, and the price for other pest control experts isn't cheap either. Yet finding him requires about ten stones, so Xu Zhong naturally knows who to choose.
"So you've got to give it your best and quickly rid his Spirit Field of Spirit Insects.
Once that's done, your reputation will likely rise, and more people will spend Spirit Stones to hire you for pest control.
In a way, everything I do is for you."
Old Xu saw Zhou Changwang nodding and breathed a sigh of relief, then unabashedly added.
"Then I owe you my thanks."
Zhou Changwang chuckled, not holding a grudge.
...
"These Spirit Insects in the Spirit Field are far more numerous than I imagined."
Standing on the edge of Xu Zhong's Spirit Field, Zhou Changwang couldn't help but comment.
Even without earnest searching, merely standing at the edge, he already saw more than one Spirit Insect wreaking havoc on the Linghe.
In the center of the Spirit Field, an even larger patch of Linghe had turned yellow, clearly a heavily infested area.
This was just the first acre.
The remaining four acres, although the distribution of the Spirit Insects varied, wouldn't fare much better than this acre.
"Otherwise, I wouldn't be so worried."
Xu Zhong, standing nearby, bitterly replied upon hearing that.
"Don't worry, once Changwang gets involved, the Spirit Insects in your Spirit Field will surely be cleared out quickly."
Old Xu, standing slightly behind, reassuringly promised.
Zhou Changwang shot him a sidelong glance, knowing he couldn't be so certain.
Nonetheless, he didn't speak up, instead calming himself, gathering spirit, and starting to cast the magic.
Since he promised to get rid of the insects, he intended to do it well.
His first target, a Spirit Locust.
Its position wasn't far from the field's edge, seemingly well-fed, resting quietly atop the Linghe leaves.
Zhou Changwang controlled his Spiritual Power, assembling rune structures.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths…
After five breaths.
Geng Metal Finger+1
Poof!
A golden flash streaked briefly, and the Spirit Locust's head turned to ashes.
"So quickly disposed of one?
And it's the disruptively difficult Spirit Locust?"
Behind him, Xu Zhong's mouth hung open in shock.
He was well aware of the difficulty of clearing Spirit Locusts. The Spirit Plant Master he'd hired previously found five Spirit Locusts but only managed to capture two; the remaining three leapt away as the magic was about to form.
But Zhou Changwang?
From detection to effective casting, the Spirit Locust wasn't alerted, swiftly felled by his fingertip.
Skilled and precise.
In comparison, he seemed much more competent than the previous Spirit Plant Master he'd hired.
He breathed a long sigh of relief.
Perhaps he could truly help with this crisis?
"Changwang's Geng Metal Finger is getting more impressive.
The Spirit Locust didn't even have time to damage the Linghe before it died."
Old Xu echoed in admiration.
Both were astounded by Zhou Changwang's pest-removal technique.
"First one."
Unperturbed, Zhou Changwang's sharp gaze searched the surroundings, quickly spotting another.
This time, it was a Cyan Beetle.
This Cyan Beetle posed him less difficulty.
Even at two zhang's distance, he dispatched it.
Next was the Eight-cornered Black, followed by Earth-Digging Zen, Spirit Locust…
Each Spirit Insect, upon discovery, was unable to avoid his strategic fingertip.
The duo behind him moved from initial shock to numb acceptance.
Still, their inner excitement was undiminished.
"It's the tenth one."
After securing the corpse of a Cyan Beetle into his cloth bag, Zhou Changwang glanced at Xu Zhong.
Xu Zhong, prepared as if anticipating the moment, retrieved a Lower-Grade Spirit Stone from his pocket, handing it to Zhou Changwang, praising, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, your pest extermination technique is truly commendable. Here's the promised Spirit Stone, please accept it."
"Much appreciated!"
Zhou Changwang didn't refuse, taking it after confirming it weighed over a hundred grams, stashing it safely away.
Without pausing, he resumed his insect eradication task.
Soon, he entered the central plot of the Spirit Field, the zone where Linghe leaves were largely yellowed—a heavy infestation area.
"Indeed, more Spirit Insects here.
Four or five visible, all in close proximity."
A wave of caution gripped Zhou Changwang.
Spirit Insects, certainly possess territorial instincts.
Normally, within one or two zhangs, sighting another Spirit Insect was rare.
But in this case, four or five insects dwelled, all within one zhang apart, arousing his curiosity and concern alike.
Since one attack would undoubtedly alert the others, resulting in their escape.
Thus, he shifted position, retreating two zhang backward before attacking again.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths…
After five breaths.
The magic formed.
Shriek!
An Earth-Digging Zen stiffened, plummeting from the Linghe to the ground.
Zhou Changwang redirected his focus towards other Spirit Insects.
Fortunately!
None were disturbed.
Zhou Changwang sighed in relief, ignoring the fallen insect corpse, adjusting his stance, and casting again from two zhang away.
Once, twice, thrice…
The same routine repeated.
Each Spirit Insect confronted individually, systematically vanquished.