Summit Farmer
Chapter 897: Why are cultivators so poor? (5th update)

Chapter 897: Chapter 897: Why are cultivators so poor? (5th update)

Before him was a small village. When Peter Brown, accompanied by Samuel Hanson, arrived in the village, the sight that greeted him left him somewhat taken aback.

"What is going on here? Why is it so run-down?"

At first glance, Peter found the village as backward as the impoverished mountain villages on Earth. The villagers did not resemble cultivators; dressed in tattered clothes, they huddled together in clusters.

"Peter, from now on, you are the landlord. These people are the workers on your lands and their livelihood depends on you."

Peter wanted to ask how cultivators could be living in such dire conditions. However, he knew that this wasn’t the appropriate time to inquire. After all, such questions could invite trouble. Thus, he simply observed everything silently.

"This was the former landlord’s house. You can stay here for now and we can start planning for further construction."

Samuel Hanson, ever so enthusiastic, guided Peter around the village, and finally, led him to a modest-looking house.

When Peter looked over his new house, he saw a small courtyard. However, it still looked rather dilapidated.

"Thank you, Samuel."

Peter was genuinely grateful for Samuel’s help.

"You saved my life. This is nothing. Regrettably, that’s all I can do for you at the moment. From now on, you’ll have to fend for yourself. This is your identity card. Keep it safe. From now on, you are part of the River Mountain Sect and a person with an identity."

Upon receiving his identity card, Peter dripped a drop of his blood onto it. The card immediately established a secure connection with him, bearing a resemblance to Earth’s ID Card, but with much greater confidentiality.

After seeing Samuel off, Peter summoned his workers.

At a glance, he noticed that they were all at the Qi Guiding Stage of cultivation, with a few even at the Qi Refining First Layer Stage.

Gazing at these people, who lacked any sparkle of cultivation in their eyes, Peter couldn’t see them as true cultivators.

"Who was in charge before?" Peter asked.

"Master, I was responsible for managing everything," replied an old man as he stepped forward.

Peter discovered that this man was at the peak of the Qi Refining First Layer.

"What’s your name?"

"My name is Isaiah Bell."

With a nod, Peter responded, "Alright, you will continue in your role. Come with me and inform me about the situation here."

Isaiah Bell, worried that the new master wouldn’t keep him on, was now relieved and pleased on hearing Peter’s words.

Following Peter into the house...

Peter saw a wooden chair and sat down, prompting Isaiah Bell, "Please take a seat, let’s have a chat."

"I can just stand here."

Isaiah Bell was somewhat restrained.

"Please sit down. I’m not particular about such formalities. As long as you do your job well."

After Isaiah carefully took his seat, Peter said, "I won’t hide it from you. I came from the mountains and know nothing about this place. Can you tell me some things about this area?"

Isaiah didn’t care where Peter came from. As long as Peter kept employing him, he was satisfied. Under Peter’s guidance, Isaiah began to explain their current circumstances.

As Isaiah provided more information, Peter started to get a better understanding of the area.

Despite this being the Cultivation World, due to an overabundance of cultivators, resources were extremely scarce here. Lingcao, a type of spiritual herb, was becoming ever rarer. As one’s cultivation level rises, the resources required also increase exponentially, especially for those beyond the Nascent Soul Stage. This ends up being a situation where people scramble and fight for resources. For ordinary people with even superior aptitude, their cultivation progress is often hindered as each increase in cultivation level requires an astronomical amount of resources.

Peter asked, "We are not that far from the city. Why don’t you try some other alternatives?"

Unlike Earth where transportation limits development, in the Cultivation World, transportation is not an issue, even for those situated far from the city. However, seeing these people with such subpar cultivation levels, Peter was confounded.

Isaiah replied with a bitter smile, "Apart from Lingcao, there are many other things required for cultivation. These are not things we can provide. There are several powerful families in the city, and several here who monopolize the resources. The quality of Lingcao these families produce is better than ours, and naturally, we struggle to sell our spiritual objects. Additionally, this place used to belong to a sect. Now that the sect has given up on this place and no longer intervenes, we’ve been having a hard time!"

Listening to Isaiah’s explanation, Peter could only sigh. It seemed that every place had its share of underprivileged people.

"By the way, Master, there’s another thing you need to pay attention to. The Turners have been eyeing our Spiritual Pool. Now that you’re here, they might not back off."

"Turners? What’s a Spiritual Pool?" asked Peter, puzzled.

"Master, the most valuable resource in our area is an underground Spiritual Pool. The heavily spiritual-charged water that gushes out from the pool can even be used for baths. It has consistently been a source of income for us. It used to be under the sect’s control, but the Turners have been coveting it for a while now. Now that the area belongs to a private owner, with their vast influence, they might try to take it."

"How can they dare to encroach upon a territory given to me by the sect?"

"Master, once the sect has allocated a territory, it will not intervene in these matters. The Turners have high-level cultivators amongst them. I’ve heard they even have a Qi-refining sixth layer cultivator."

Damn it!

Peter was left speechless. Since when had a sixth layer Qi-refining cultivator become so formidable that they could support an entire family?

However, Peter understood that this Cultivation World was unlike any other place he’d visited. Everything here was ambitious to the extreme. Even an individual at the sixth layer of Qi refining would possess considerable power when launching attacks.

After further inquiry, Peter was more or less clear of the situation in his territory. Currently, he possessed four hundred acres of farmland and oversaw a village named Prin Village, inhabited by around two hundred villagers. The villager with the highest level of cultivation was at the Qi Refining Second Layer while the lowest were at the Qi-guiding stage. Anyone above the Qi Refining Second Layer would have already left to cultivate elsewhere.

Well, he was still a peasant, always destined to develop the countryside!