The seasons shifted, and spring returned with blooming flowers.
The soil in Qin Ming’s five mu of spirit fields had already been turned over, and new spirit rice was planted once again.
This time, he used the [Mother Seed – Beast-Tooth Rice] trait he had obtained previously.
The seeds contained within this trait were just enough to plant a single mu of spirit fields.
Throughout this year, a tense atmosphere hung thick among the various spirit farmers.
Everyone worked themselves to the bone, terrified of falling behind and ending up at the bottom.
Supervisor Du Haifu patrolled the mountain slopes, nodding with an expression of quiet satisfaction.
Time flowed on, and in the blink of an eye, two months slipped away.
The spirit rice in Qin Ming’s fields began to shoot upward.
Yet there he sat on the edge of the field, staring blankly at the earth with a look of utter gloom and despair.
The good news was that under the continuous blessing of his Intermediate Spirit Rain Art, the Golden Spirit Rice in the other four mu of fields was growing splendidly.
Three traits had spawned among them, including one that he had been yearning for: the [Ripening] trait.
[Name]: Golden Spirit Rice [Attribute]: Ripening (26% Maturity) [Name]: Golden Spirit Rice [Attribute]: Faint Spiritual Energy (35% Maturity) [Name]: Golden Spirit Rice [Attribute]: Faint Spiritual Energy (28% Maturity) The bad news was that the single mu of [Beast-Tooth Rice] he had planted showed absolutely no reaction whatsoever.
Not a single shoot had sprouted.
“Where on earth did I go wrong?” “I clearly followed the methods in the spirit planting manual step by step, and I didn’t hold back on casting the Intermediate Spirit Rain Art either.” “Is this batch going to be a total, crushing loss…?” Another two months flew by.
The first harvest of spirit rice for the new year was completed.
The plot of land where Qin Ming had planted the Beast-Tooth Rice remained completely bare, a barren patch of earth with nothing to show for it.
His harvest for this season came to seven shi and thirty catties of Golden Spirit Rice.
Deep within his sea of consciousness, a new green [Ripening] trait had materialized, alongside two white [Faint Spiritual Energy] traits.
Upon learning that the crop Qin Ming had attempted to grow in that particular plot was Beast-Tooth Rice, Du Haifu refrained from reprimanding him.
Instead, he gave Qin Ming a reassuring pat on the shoulder and patiently advised: “Xiao Qin, wouldn’t it be much better to just honestly stick to growing your regular Golden Spirit Rice?” “Why waste your spirit stones for nothing?” “Beast-Tooth Rice—let alone a cultivator of your standing, even the tier-one spirit planters within the sect rarely succeed in cultivating it.” “The risks are simply too high.
Don’t aim higher than your capabilities allow!” “Beast-Tooth Rice normally sprouts within three months of planting, and it’s been four whole months since you put yours in without a single sign of life…
It’s a lost cause.” Qin Ming wasn’t particularly worried about his ranking anymore; after all, with traits firmly in hand, he had plenty of confidence to spare!
It was just that the Beast-Tooth Rice issue left him feeling a lingering sense of reluctance.
He worried what would happen if he went ahead and used the [Ripening] trait, only for the seeds to still refuse to grow.
If that happened, he truly would have lost the bait along with the enemy.
One day during this period of relative calm, Qin Ming made up his mind.
He walked over to the Beast-Tooth Rice spirit field and applied his sole [Ripening] trait to it.
A long while passed.
Right before Qin Ming’s anxious, restless gaze, a tender green shoot finally broke through the soil.
“It worked!” A brilliant light flared in Qin Ming’s eyes.
The rock in his stomach finally dropped, and he exhaled a massive sigh of relief.
Moments later, the Beast-Tooth Rice sprouts surged upward, stopping only when they reached a height of about two inches.
Then, the ripening effect within the spirit field gradually faded away, bringing the terrifying rate of growth to a halt.
“It seems that the higher the grade of the spirit plant, the more [Ripening] traits it requires.” “Looks like I’ll just have to wait patiently this time.
The maturation period for Beast-Tooth Rice takes at least three years…” “I’ll stick to growing Golden Spirit Rice at a steady pace for now.
If my luck holds out and I roll another [Ripening] trait later on, I might be able to harvest a batch of Beast-Tooth Rice ahead of schedule!” “Staying dormant for so long had me convinced the seeds had gone bad.” Qin Ming couldn’t help feeling a surge of eager anticipation—wondering what kind of traits an actual tier-one spirit plant like Beast-Tooth Rice would spawn.
He glanced eagerly toward the spirit field, where three glowing traits flickered brilliantly.
[Name]: Beast-Tooth Rice [Attribute]: Advanced Spirit Rain Art x5 (7% Maturity) [Name]: Beast-Tooth Rice [Attribute]: Quality Enhancement x1 (5% Maturity) [Name]: Beast-Tooth Rice [Attribute]: Ripening x5 (5% Maturity) “I’ve struck gold!
I’ve really struck gold!
Hahaha!” Qin Ming leaped up from the edge of the field in sheer excitement.
The three traits sitting right in front of him were astonishingly powerful.
Advanced Spirit Rain Art!
A specialized technique exclusively used for cultivating high-grade spirit plants, its rainfall effects far surpassed those of the Intermediate Spirit Rain Art.
Most importantly, any spirit plant crops irrigated using the Advanced Spirit Rain Art—provided they were below upper-grade tier-one spirit plants—would yield a doubled harvest!
Not a single spirit farmer among their entire group had mastered this spell yet; only a handful of senior spirit planters within the Spirit Feather Sect were capable of casting it.
Ten days later.
Du Haifu stood dumbfounded, staring blankly into Qin Ming’s spirit field.
After repeatedly inspecting the plot and observing the young green shoots of the spirit rice intermingled with distinctive reddish grain patterns, he finally confirmed beyond a doubt: these were unmistakably the leaves of Beast-Tooth Rice.
“You actually managed to successfully cultivate it, you little rascal.” Du Haifu cast a complex, inscrutable look in Qin Ming’s direction, momentarily at a loss for words.
A few days later.
Qin Ming headed out once again.
‘Now that the Beast-Tooth Rice has been successfully cultivated, the rest is just a matter of time.
I need to go find a body-refining cultivation manual.’ ‘The cultivation world is unpredictable and constantly shifting.
My spiritual root aptitude is too poor, and my cultivation speed is sluggish; I need to secure some reliable means of protecting myself.’ With a clear objective in mind, Qin Ming understood the importance of being prepared for danger in times of peace.
Qingyang Marketplace.
The Gathering Pavilion at the heart of the marketplace.
“Ah, Daoist Qin has arrived?” Manager Liao greeted him with a warm, welcoming smile.
“Please, Daoist Qin, come up to the private parlor on the fourth floor.
We can chat over some tea.” “Someone, prepare a pot of our finest Spirit Mist Tea.” Over the course of more than a year of interactions—even though Qin Ming hadn’t visited the Gathering Pavilion very often—the volume of spirit rice he brought in to sell had grown larger with every single trip.
If nothing else, the young man had clearly established himself as a seasoned, consistently productive spirit farmer.
As a manager of the Gathering Pavilion, Liao naturally possessed a sharp eye for reading people.
Moreover, just two days prior, Manager Liao had caught wind of a piece of intelligence that had startled even a man as seasoned and steady as himself.
Qin Ming followed Manager Liao upstairs, marveling quietly as he took in the spacious, exquisitely decorated fourth-floor suite, styled in an antique, high-end aesthetic.
He felt a mild wave of surprise.
As usual, he retrieved two massive sacks of Golden Spirit Rice from his storage pouch and placed them neatly on the floor before him.
“The usual rules, two bags.
If you wouldn’t mind weighing them, Manager.” Manager Liao smiled faintly, and the shop attendants quickly stepped forward to verify and weigh the goods.
“Two hundred and ten catties of Golden Spirit Rice.” “Daoist Qin, here are seventy spirit stones.
Please verify the amount.” Qin Ming frowned slightly.
Why were there so many extra spirit stones this time?
Confused, he asked, “Manager Liao, what is the meaning of this?” Manager Liao quickly offered an explanation.
“Spirit rice prices are starting to rise across the marketplace.
It’s bound to become official public knowledge within the next couple of days anyway, but since Daoist Qin is a valued regular customer, I took the liberty of paying you at the post-increase rate ahead of time.” “Prices are rising?” “Manager Liao, the market for Golden Spirit Rice has always been exceptionally stable.
Why would the price suddenly surge like this?” “Did something happen?” Qin Ming asked, his expression remaining outwardly calm as he probed for information.
Manager Liao handed the bag of spirit stones over to Qin Ming, glanced out the window, and then took out a soundproofing talisman.
He cast a sound-isolation barrier around the room before speaking in an extremely cautious tone: “The Spirit Feather Sect’s front-line cultivation camp in the depths of the Yunze Great Wilderness discovered an idyllic, hidden sanctuary.
Inside, they found a completely intact third-tier spirit vein!” A third-tier spirit vein?
For a bottom-tier cultivator like Qin Ming, who had only ever read about such things in ancient texts, this revelation immediately sent shockwaves crashing through his mind.
“However, that territory was entrenched by a savage, primitive tribe numbering in the thousands.
Those barbarians are utterly fearless of death, fierce and valiant in battle, and practice cultivation techniques completely different from those of standard immortal sects.
The Spirit Feather Sect’s frontline camp took a heavy blow and suffered devastating losses.” “They originally intended to request reinforcements from the sect headquarters, but somehow the news leaked midway, and the rival Gold Cloud Valley intercepted the intelligence.” “That’s a third-tier spirit vein we’re talking about!” “Naturally, Gold Cloud Valley turned green with envy, immediately dispatching a massive force of disciples to launch a surprise attack and destroy the Spirit Feather Sect’s teleportation array outpost connecting to the Qingyang Marketplace.” “In doing so, they completely severed the supply line between the Spirit Feather Sect and the Qingyang Marketplace.” Watching Qin Ming’s stunned reaction with an expression that clearly suggested he had expected nothing less, Manager Liao continued: “With a supply line stretched out that far, the Spirit Feather Sect is bound to take a massive hit this time.” “The conflict between the Spirit Feather Sect and Gold Cloud Valley is unlikely to settle down anytime soon.
It’ll drag on for at least three to five years, if not several decades.” “Because of this, not only will everyday necessities like spirit rice and meat go up in price, but all other cultivation resources are going to skyrocket as well.” Listening to Manager Liao’s words, Qin Ming remained speechless for a long moment as an ominous sense of an impending storm began to coil tightly around his heart.
‘No wonder the Spirit Feather Sect started drafting ordinary spirit farmers to the front lines recently…’ “I hear those barbarians are exceptionally skilled at driving and commanding demonic beasts.
A batch of stray beasts from the front lines managed to break through the Spirit Feather Sect’s defense line and their whereabouts are currently unknown.
Daoist Qin, you should exercise caution when you go out lately and avoid traveling too far from home.” With that warning, Manager Liao cordially invited Qin Ming to take a seat.
“Come, try this.
This is Spirit Mist Tea produced right here in the Yunze Great Wilderness; it has quite a few beneficial properties even for cultivators in the Qi Condensation stage.” Qin Ming politely accepted the cup of tea and took a small sip.
It left a lingering fragrance on the lips, infused with a soothing spiritual charm.
Qin Ming knew that after laying down all that heavy foreshadowing, Manager Liao was putting on a very deliberate display of goodwill.
The real business talk was about to begin.