Chapter 127: Deal

Dawn at Wangyue Lake.

Like a secluded paradise, mist curled around, dreamlike and illusory.

Gentle morning light spilled over the island, as if a transparent curtain fluttered beneath the sky.

Qin Ming awoke naturally to the sound of birdsong, stepped out of his cave dwelling, and drew in a deep breath of the crisp, clean lake breeze.

Since his Spirit Body cultivation progress increased,

he could clearly perceive the condition of every blade of grass and tree here.

This would greatly aid his future cultivation of spiritual plants.

Added to that, his cultivation had broken through, and his mood was truly excellent.

He thus released the nest of Four-Winged Frost Bees from his Spirit Beast pouch.

He hung it upon the Longevity Vine.

Instantly,

countless spiritual bees emerged from the hive and swarmed toward the dozens of gray skull-like flowers, diligently gathering nectar and pollinating.

As the bees' activity lengthened, the purple spiritual runes on their bodies flickered faintly, as if gaining substantial benefits.

After releasing the hive, Qin Ming left it to develop on its own.

"Hmm~"

"With such a large island, I ought to keep a spiritual beast for guarding the grounds."

Qin Ming pondered, chin in hand.

Of course, since it was for guarding, it couldn't be some cute pet.

It had to be powerful, radiating dominance.

Yet raising a spiritual beast still depended on fortune.

Next,

Qin Ming tended his medicinal fields, ate lunch,

then mounted his Spirit Light Shuttle and flew toward the Mo Family's Qingxiadao.

Two hours later,

Qin Ming arrived before the Shanmen at the foot of the main peak.

The guards here had seen him before; upon learning his identity, they dared not neglect him and immediately went to report.

Moments later,

an elder with silver hair stepped out, scanned Qin Ming from head to toe, then exclaimed in surprise: "Congratulations, Qin Daoist, your cultivation has advanced greatly! I never expected that after just a few days apart, you've broken through to Qi Refining Stage Nine!"

"Qin Daoist, please come inside!"

The elder's expression was warm, but inwardly he was stunned—clearly, the clan lord's choice was correct.

"I wish to speak with Qingxian Xianzi about something. Is it convenient?" Qin Ming cut straight to the point.

The elder nodded slightly. "The clan lord is on the island. Please follow me."

The two followed a stone path through the mountains to a lavish cave dwelling.

Mo Lingwei, clad in a green gauze long dress, stepped forward. Her first reaction upon seeing Qin Ming was inner turmoil.

Yet she showed no sign of it, only smiling coolly to congratulate: "Congratulations, Qin Daoist, on furthering your immortal path!"

"Just good fortune—nothing worth mentioning," Qin Ming replied modestly.

"Qin Daoist is far too humble. Your victory over all rivals to claim Wangyue Island is still being talked about across nearby spiritual islands."

"Even Zhao Chanzhen had to yield."

When Mo Lingwei first heard the news, she too had been deeply surprised.

She could only admit she had good judgment—who could have imagined that the unremarkable Qin Ming possessed such formidable strength?

Mo Lingwei invited Qin Ming to sit and poured him tea, asking gently: "What brings you here so suddenly today?"

"I heard the Mo Family possesses spiritual seeds of spiritual energy Rice. I've come specifically to purchase some," Qin Ming stated plainly.

Mo Lingwei paused, surprised—she hadn't expected him to be after spiritual energy Rice.

Her delicate, jade-white fingers lightly traced the rim of her teacup, then she smiled and replied: "Qin Daoist's information is quite sharp."

"Indeed, I still have a small amount of spiritual energy Rice seeds—though not much."

"They were left to us by our ancestors."

"But… surely Qin Daoist knows the rarity of spiritual energy Rice?"

"Of course. I know such seeds aren't easily obtained. What conditions do you require for the sale?" Qin Ming knew well it wouldn't be simple.

Mo Lingwei fell silent, thinking.

Moments later,

she suddenly smiled. "Are you so certain you can cultivate it successfully?"

"Historically, very few have succeeded in cultivating this rice."

"Otherwise, it wouldn't have vanished entirely by now."

"Heh, I'm new here and quite curious about this rice—just want to give it a try," Qin Ming chuckled. "Whether I can grow it remains uncertain."

Mo Lingwei nodded. "In that case, I'll sell you the seeds—but with one condition."

She immediately stated the terms of the deal.

Qin Ming frowned, then relaxed.

The two negotiated further.

Mo Lingwei produced a spiritual contract; Qin Ming affixed his mark to it.

Then, Mo Lingwei instructed the elder to retrieve from the clan's vault a small jade box containing greenish spiritual rice seeds.

The seeds were perfectly preserved within the jade box, their spiritual essence intact.

"This is spiritual energy Rice?" Qin Ming took the jade box, his expression brightening; after comparing it with Gu Qingzhao's description, he confirmed it without doubt.

Afterwards,

he put away the seeds, exchanged a few more words with Mo Lingwei, and departed Qingxiadao.

…

Inside the Mo Family's cave dwelling,

the silver-haired elder hesitated, then asked Mo Lingwei in confusion: "Clan Lord, why did you really give him the seeds?"

"That was the last bit we had! Even a high-grade two-star spiritual gardener failed to cultivate it—how could he succeed?"

"If we don't give them away, they'll just gather dust."

"Though they're the final remnant left by Great-Grandfather, if spiritual energy Rice ever reappears in the cultivation world, I believe he'd be pleased," Mo Lingwei said calmly.

"Besides, even if Qin Daoist fails, we don't lose—he's already agreed to my terms."

The elder nodded and said no more.

…

After obtaining the seeds, Qin Ming rushed back to his cave dwelling without delay.

He had just enough seeds to plant about three mu.

But that was enough.

As the condition for selling the seeds, Mo Lingwei demanded that if Qin Ming succeeded, he must deliver fifty jin of spiritual energy Rice to the Mo Family.

If he failed, he must pay an equivalent amount of spirit stones.

Qin Ming found these terms acceptable and agreed.

Upon returning to Wangyue Island, Qin Ming did not rush to plant the spiritual energy Rice.

Instead, he transformed the three mu of land prepared for cultivation into paddy fields.

Then he channeled the island's spiritual spring water into the fields.

Next came seedling cultivation.

This step was crucial—whether the seeds survived depended entirely on it.

Qin Ming found a small patch of land nearby.

First, he burned the stalks of the previous two-star spiritual rice, Five-Color Rice, mixed them with spiritual soil, added the droppings of a local spiritual bird called the White Spirit Egret, stirred thoroughly, and combined with other spiritual materials to create spiritual fertilizer.

This was also based on some ancestral knowledge from Mo Lingwei's lineage.

Then he sowed the spiritual energy Rice seeds.

Once the seedlings grew, they could be transplanted into the spiritual paddy fields.

After completing this, he traveled to the Tianhe Bazaar and found the Spiritual Gardener Guild.

He learned that advancement beyond two-star spiritual gardener also required entering the Verdant Illusion to complete the corresponding trial.

But it didn't require the cumbersome procedures mandated by Lingyu Gate.

The record keeper at Tianhe Bazaar responsible for spiritual gardener assessments only needed to register the cultivator upon planting and inspect the harvest once more.

This eliminated many middle steps.

Moreover, slots to enter the illusion were allocated based on the difficulty of each gardener's cultivated plants and their final grade.

The wooden array for entering the Verdant Illusion was located within major cultivation cities across the realm.

The nearest one was Canghai Xiancheng.

After all, the Ten Thousand Woods Mother Qi could accelerate the growth and advancement of Qin Ming's life-linked spiritual plant.

Regardless of other considerations, he deeply desired this substance.

One day.

Qin Ming was tending to his spirit fields when the protective array rippled, and a message talisman flew in.

He opened it and saw it was from Wu Jiang.

He then activated the array to let it in.

"Brother Qin, I've found news on the method for refining spirit fire, and the whereabouts of the two spirit herbs you asked me to look for."

(End of chapter)