Chapter 102: Stand Tall

The chief official sent by Lingyu Gate to collect spirit rice this time was Du Haifu.

But Gu Elder had come along too.

Du Haifu stepped down from the magic vessel.

Gazing at Qin Ming’s spirit field, his eyes held nothing but shock.

He had never imagined that the once desperate little spirit farmer would now be on the verge of advancing to Second-Rank Spirit Planter.

He had already reached a height even he must look up to.

Gu Elder stood atop the magic vessel, silently watching Qin Ming’s spirit field, his expression dark as deep water, lost in thought.

“Qin, my fellow cultivator, shall we begin?” Du Haifu seemed to have something to say to Qin Ming, but with Gu Elder present, he held his tongue.

Next, Qin Ming and Du Haifu swung their spirit sickles and began harvesting the three mu of Five-Color Spirit Rice.

Soon, Qin Ming alone had harvested two mu.

But Du Haifu’s progress was slow, panting heavily, and after much effort, he’d only cut a tiny patch.

The stems of Second-Rank Five-Color Spirit Rice were exceptionally tough; with Du Haifu’s cultivation base, his efficiency was truly worrying.

Half a stick of incense later.

Qin Ming finished harvesting the remaining half mu of Five-Color Spirit Rice.

After removing all the Five-Color Spirit Rice, he stored the stalks in his storage bag as well.

These can be used to weave high-grade straw mats, or burned as excellent fertilizer.

At this moment.

Li Yan and his group from nearby spirit fields had just finished paying their spirit rice tax and were walking over this way.

They seemed curious to see just how Qin Ming’s harvest turned out.

“Li Yan, fellow cultivator, you harvested a full fifty jin of Jade Crystal Rice this year—surely you’ve secured first place?”

“After all, Second-Rank Spirit Rice is notoriously hard to grow, and yields are extremely low.”

“To get fifty jin from just two mu—Li cultivator, you’ve clearly put in tremendous effort!”

“Hmph! Just average, nothing special.”

With that, Li Yan and his group of spirit planters arrived at Qin Ming’s field, just in time to see Du Haifu weighing the Five-Color Spirit Rice.

Before Qin Ming stood five neatly arranged sacks of Five-Color Spirit Rice.

After Du Haifu used his large measuring device to weigh each sack, his voice trembled: “Second-Rank Five-Color Spirit Rice… harvest… five hundred and twenty jin.”

“Tax due is thirty-five percent—that’s… one hundred and eighty-two jin.”

After paying the spirit rice tax, Qin Ming swiftly stowed the remaining three hundred-plus jin of Five-Color Spirit Rice into his own storage bag.

Not far away.

The air grew quiet.

Long moments passed before someone finally broke the silence.

“How much?”

“Five hundred and twenty jin?”

“Did I hear that right? That’s Second-Rank Spirit Rice!”

Li Yan’s face turned ashen as a spilled soy sauce vat; without a word, he turned and left.

The other spirit planters, sensing the tension, quickly followed suit and departed.

At Qin Ming’s side.

Du Haifu finished collecting the spirit rice tax and returned to the magic vessel to report to Gu Elder.

Gu Elder had seen the entire process clearly.

He took out a single grain of Five-Color Spirit Rice, studied it briefly, and his eyes flickered with interest.

Then.

Gu Elder leapt down from the magic vessel and landed directly before Qin Ming.

His stern face revealed no emotion, yet he forced a thin smile: “Might I ask, young Qin, would you consider selling some of this Five-Color Spirit Rice to me?”

He was deeply envious of this batch of Second-Rank Spirit Rice, but Qin Ming’s status was no longer what it once was—he could no longer exploit a lowly spirit farmer as he pleased.

“Sorry, Gu Elder, I have my own use for this rice—I won’t be selling it.” Qin Ming refused outright, offering no courtesy.

Qin Ming had long known the old man was secretly targeting him; there was no need to pretend anymore.

He had already added the old man to his list.

Gu Elder’s face twitched with suppressed rage, but he held his temper in check.

“Good! Good!”

He gave Qin Ming a long, threatening glance.

Then, without another word, he turned and climbed back onto the magic vessel.

Qin Ming now had many cards to play—he could stand tall and speak his mind, and had no fear of a newly promoted Foundation Establishment Elder.

Next, he harvested the two mu of Red-Silver Yellow Hemp. Ten days later.

Qin Ming took the wooden token granting him entry, obtained from Chen Qiaoling, and headed to Lingyu Gate for the trial examination.

When he arrived, nearly everyone was already gathered.

Around a dozen top-rank spirit planters were participating in this trial.

Li Yan was among them.

Some looked confident; others were tense.

Nearly all of Lingyu Gate’s Elders had come to observe.

When Gu Elder saw Qin Ming standing among the examinees, his brows knitted tightly as he turned to a nearby elder with ram’s horns and demanded: “Liu Elder, wasn’t the agreement that this brat get no chance? Why did you give him the last slot?”

Liu Elder flushed with embarrassment and chuckled evasively: “Ah, I didn’t want to either—but someone came to me, and I owed her a favor…”

Gu Elder’s expression shifted, but he said nothing more.

“Sigh! If this boy truly passes the trial, then fate has decided—he may have his way!” Zhuang Elder sighed, stating his position.

In truth, he had long admired Qin Ming’s talent for spirit planting and truly wished to take him as a disciple.

But Qin Ming showed no interest in joining Lingyu Gate.

The master-disciple bond simply hadn’t formed yet… Moments later.

The Elders led the dozen top-rank spirit planters into a forbidden zone.

Here, ancient trees towered, and jagged rocks jutted everywhere.

Eventually, they reached a grassy clearing, where seven massive wooden stelae, over ten zhang tall, stood in the center.

“This is where you will undergo the Wood and Plant Illusion Trial.”

“Use your wooden tokens to enter the illusion—each of you will experience a different trial, and you’ll understand once inside.”

“No matter the trial’s nature, the one who completes it in the shortest time will rank highest.”

After Zhuang Elder finished explaining, he waved his hand, and a white beam shot out, striking the wooden stela array.

Instantly.

The array activated, emitting a glowing emerald radiance that surged skyward, astonishingly mystical.

Li Yan stepped forward before all eyes, crushed his wooden token, and the array rained down green light, instantly enveloping and vanishing his figure.

Qin Ming watched this, realizing the man was clearly familiar with the process—likely had been here before.

One by one, the other spirit planters followed suit.

Figures vanished beneath waves of green light.

Qin Ming stepped forward, took a deep breath, and crushed his wooden token.

In an instant.

His vision blurred, the world spun, and when he opened his eyes again, he stood inside a wooden hut.

Qin Ming’s gaze fell on a stone stele at the hut’s entrance.

He studied it for a long while.

Then he understood: this “Wood and Plant Illusion Trial” had been created by a brilliant high-rank spirit planter.

Such wooden arrays capable of inducing illusions were not unique to Lingyu Gate.

Other major spirit planting sects also possessed them.

Trial results were recognized across the entire Southern Wasteland cultivation realm.

For spirit planters,

Even failing the trial granted immense benefits—deepening insight into spirit planting, or other gains.

Hence, the slots were exceedingly precious.

As Qin Ming finished reading the illusion’s description,

A line of characters suddenly appeared on the stele:

【Please select the difficulty level for this illusion trial】

【A, B, C, D, E, F, G】

Qin Ming froze. “I can choose the difficulty myself?”

“Higher difficulty means greater rewards?”

He thought for a moment. With the Word Sheet in hand, he felt no fear, and immediately selected “Grade A Difficulty.”

Creak.

As Qin Ming made his choice, the wooden door of the hut opened automatically.

The scene outside made Qin Ming’s mouth drop open in shock.

“What the hell!”

(End of chapter)