The empire buzzed with rumors.
From the smallest border hamlets to the towering spires of the Imperial Capital, one name whispered through the streets like incense smoke carried on the wind:
"The Farmer God."
Some called him a myth, a tale mothers invented to soothe frightened children. Others swore they had seen him—an ordinary man in straw sandals, tilling the soil with one hand while crushing demons with the other. In taverns and teahouses, stories clashed and twisted into contradictions. To some, he was a wrathful deity who drowned the Azure Sect in blood. To others, he was a benevolent guardian, ensuring villages near Fallen Town knew no famine, no plague, and no monster raids.
But the one fact that no rumor denied was this: wherever the farmer walked, cabbages grew lush, and corpses piled high.
The Sects Stir
In the distant mountains, in candle-lit chambers of cultivation sects, elders debated with hushed, fearful tones.
The Azure Sect, once a colossus, now stood as little more than ash and memory. A sect whose name once inspired awe, erased in a single night by someone who wore farmer's garb. If such a being could destroy Azure, what chance did lesser sects have?
"Do we treat him as an enemy?" one elder asked, voice trembling.
Another spat back, "Enemy? Are you suicidal? Even Azure's ancestor fell!"
"But we cannot remain still! If he sides with the empire, what becomes of our independence?"
Sect leaders across Hong Chen struggled, torn between pride and terror. One by one, they dispatched spies, scouts, emissaries, each determined to glimpse this farmer for themselves. Yet none dared step foot too close to Fallen Town.
All except one.
The Cautious Ironheart Sect
Unlike their rivals, the Ironheart Sect was not reckless. Their Sect Master was a man who thrived on caution, weighing consequences like a general studying maps before battle.
To him, the "Farmer God" was no myth, but a fact. And facts demanded calculation.
He summoned an elder and whispered his decision:
"Send gifts to Fallen Town's mayor. Lavish gifts. Spiritual grains, protective talismans, elixirs. Tell the mayor it is our thanks—for his administration's wisdom, for the peace of his region."
The elder was startled. "But… Sect Master, that mayor is a mortal."
"Exactly," the Sect Master replied, eyes sharp. "But he is a mortal who knows the farmer."
The hall fell silent. Ironheart Sect had chosen diplomacy. Not confrontation. Not investigation. Respect.
The Mayor's Surprise
In Fallen Town, Mayor Huo Jin nearly collapsed when wagons rolled through his gates—wagons bearing the Ironheart Sect's crest.
Silken banners unfurled. Boxes of rare medicine and treasures were carried into his courtyard. Dozens of sect disciples bowed and presented gifts.
"For the honorable Mayor Huo," the lead emissary declared. "In recognition of your loyal service to the empire, and your friendship with… certain figures."
The townsfolk gaped. Never in their lifetimes had a great sect bowed so low for a mortal mayor.
Huo Jin's hands trembled as he accepted the tribute. He understood well who these gifts were truly meant for. But he said nothing.
That night, sitting alone, he thought back to the moment his wife's life had nearly ended.
Flashback — Saved by the Farmer
It was three years ago.
His wife had been struck by a rare illness, a venomous rot that even the empire's healers could not cure. Desperation had clawed his heart until he knelt beneath the heavens, praying for any miracle.
And then—Lai arrived.
Not with divine light. Not with celestial fanfare. But in muddy clothes, hands calloused from farming. He glanced at the dying woman once, sighed, and muttered a single word:
"Heal."
In an instant, her sickness evaporated. Color bloomed in her cheeks. Breath returned.
Lai had simply patted the mayor on the shoulder and left, saying, "Take care of her. She looks like she nags too much to die yet."
The mayor never forgot.
So when the sects whispered of a "Farmer God," Huo Jin merely smiled to himself. He had known all along.
Confusion Among Sects
The news spread quickly.
Ironheart Sect was sending tributes—not to the empire, not to the capital, but to a small-town mayor. Other sects were baffled.
"What does it mean?" one elder demanded. "Why Fallen Town?"
"Perhaps they are cowards," another scoffed.
But unease grew. If Ironheart was bowing, then perhaps they knew something the others did not. Slowly, doubt began to gnaw at even the most arrogant sects.
And so, for the first time in centuries, Fallen Town—a backwater forgotten by maps—became the center of Hong Chen's attention.
The Empress's Quiet Smile
Far away, in the Imperial Palace, the Empress received word of the events.
Her advisors panicked, debating how to interpret Ironheart's submission. But she only smiled faintly, a private smile she never shared with her court.
So, the farmer continues to move without lifting a finger…
Her heart beat faster than she would admit.
Cliffhanger — The Ice Fairy's Journey
And far beyond the capital, high in the frostbitten north where snow never melted, a girl stirred from her meditation.
She was no ordinary girl—Li Xueyin, the Ice Fairy.
Born with the cursed Extreme Yin Body, her beauty was a blade that cut down her own life, frost crystallizing in her veins each year she lived. For all her talent, she was doomed to die young.
But now… rumors had reached even her frozen sect. Rumors of a "Farmer God" who healed the incurable, who brought life to wastelands, who destroyed sects as easily as weeds.
She clenched her pale hands, frost spilling between her fingers.
"If anyone can stabilize my body… it must be him."
Her steps echoed in the snow as she left her sect behind, determination burning in her icy eyes.
Her destination: Fallen Town.