Chapter 3: Spirit Rice Yield

Back in his room.

Qin Ming set up a soundproofing formation; from now on, no matter how much noise the neighbors made, it wouldn't affect him.

"Phew~ much better, the whole world is peaceful now."

For the time that followed, Qin Ming's mind was entirely on the five mu of spirit fields.

This directly concerned his fate from here on.

Ten days later.

The spirit rice in the fields had already begun to grow, a scene of lush greenery, and Qin Ming rushed to the fields to check at the first opportunity.

What he cared about most was still what kind of entries would pop up in these five mu of spirit fields.

At a glance, Qin Ming saw four entries flickering within the green seedlings of the rice paddies.

【Name】: Gold Spirit Rice 【Entry】: Weak Magic Power (Maturity 10%)

【Name】: Gold Spirit Rice 【Entry】: Weak Magic Power (Maturity 15%)

【Name】: Gold Spirit Rice 【Entry】: Beast-Driving Art x5 (Maturity 12%)

【Name】: Gold Spirit Rice 【Entry】: Mother Seed · Beast Fang Rice (Maturity 10%)

"New entries have appeared again."

Qin Ming's expression brightened; besides 'Weak Magic Power,' there were two new entries.

"Too bad no ripening entry popped up," he said with regret.

The Beast-Driving Art — he was very familiar with it; it was also a type of spirit-plant spell.

When cast in conjunction with a specially made bell-type dharma artifact, the art could quickly drive away various demon beasts to protect the spirit plants.

However, this spell was quite difficult to cultivate, even harder to practice than the Spirit Rain Art, and very few people knew it.

The number after the entry presumably meant it could be cast five times.

Then Qin Ming's attention settled on the last entry.

"Huh? Beast Fang Rice… I have some impression of it, seems like I've seen it somewhere…"

Qin Ming's brow furrowed slightly as he carefully recalled.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed his mind — he remembered!

He slapped his storage pouch, and a booklet appeared in his hand.

Speaking of which, this was a book on spirit plants that the Lingyu Sect had issued to spirit farmers like them.

Qin Ming quickly flipped to the last few pages.

Beast Fang Rice, a first-grade lower-quality spirit plant; the grains are white as snow, shaped like beast fangs; after consumption, it can not only slightly strengthen qi and blood, strengthen sinews and bones, and harmonize the internal organs, but the spiritual energy it contains is five times that of Gold Spirit Rice! Gold Spirit Rice is merely ordinary spirit rice, unranked.

Beast Fang Rice, on the other hand, falls within the category of lower-quality spirit plants and is relatively rare.

It was exactly what body-tempering cultivators were fond of; whenever it appeared in the market, it was usually snapped up immediately.

But the cultivation conditions for Beast Fang Rice were rather demanding — one had to use the 'Intermediate Spirit Rain Art' to channel the energy of the spirit vein and maintain long-term irrigation.

Moreover, the maturation cycle was very long; even the lowest-grade Beast Fang Rice took two years to mature, and its yield was also low.

The price was ten times that of Gold Spirit Rice, and even its seeds were extraordinarily expensive.

The Lingyu Sect's booklet also specifically noted one sentence: 【Any spirit farmer who successfully plants and cultivates Beast Fang Rice shall have their spirit rice tax reduced by half.】

Being able to cultivate a first-grade lower-quality spirit plant meant one had the qualifications to be promoted to a first-grade spirit planter.

That status would be far above that of ordinary low-grade spirit farmers.

"It's actually a Beast Fang Rice seed! I'm rich now!" Qin Ming was overjoyed.

For now, he had to take even better care of these five mu of spirit fields.

In just over three months, it would be time to pay the spirit rice tax again — that would be the real test for him.

It directly concerned his very life and livelihood.

During this period, Qin Ming was on edge the whole time; absolutely nothing could go wrong in the spirit fields.

Right after, Qin Ming carefully cleared out the weeds and used up his last 'Intermediate Spirit Rain Art' as well.

……

The days passed one by one.

Qin Ming went out early and came back late each day, diligent and hardworking, toiling away.

He was hoping the spirit rice would ripen quickly.

Day to day, aside from tending the spirit fields, he focused on diligently cultivating the 'Evergreen Art' and the Spirit Rain Art.

After fully experiencing the Intermediate Spirit Rain Art five times, his cultivation of the spell had made great progress, combined with his repeated practice and exploration.

He had finally found that feeling.

One month later.

Qin Ming gazed at the spirit clouds covering his five mu of spirit fields overhead, a look of joy appearing on his face as he said: "The Intermediate Spirit Rain Art is complete!"

From now on, even without relying on entries, he could cast the Intermediate Spirit Rain Art on his own.

However, the magic power at the second layer of Qi Refining was truly a cause for concern.

Even so.

To boost the yield, Qin Ming went all out! Every time he cast the Intermediate Spirit Rain Art, he squeezed out every last drop of magic power! To ensure two or three spirit rains could be brought down each week.

Every time he returned home from the spirit fields, his face was drained, looking as if he had been hollowed out, walking while leaning on the wall.

"Goodness, Fellow Daoist Qin, who would have thought!"

"Honestly, have you been secretly looking after your neighbor Li Yanli's business lately?"

"Young man, you need to know some restraint!"

"Even if your waist is forged of iron and your kidneys of steel, you can't keep going at it like this every day."

As a result, neighbors once thought he had gone on a wild spending spree.

"Ah, still too low in cultivation—each time I cast the Intermediate Spirit Rain Art, my spiritual energy just can't sustain it."

Qin Ming sighed inwardly; faced with these speculations, he merely gave an awkward smile in reply, offering no further explanation.

Focusing on farming is the true way.

Watching the spirit rice in his fields grow steadily stronger day by day.

Qin Ming smiled with satisfaction.

"Finally, all the effort wasn't in vain."

Two months later.

The spirit rice had ripened.

【Name】: Golden Spirit Rice 【Entry】: Weak magic power (maturity 100%, harvestable)

【Name】: Golden Spirit Rice 【Entry】: Weak magic power (maturity 100%, harvestable)

【Name】: Golden Spirit Rice 【Entry】: Beast-Repelling Art X5 (maturity 100%, harvestable)

【Name】: Golden Spirit Rice 【Entry】: Mother Seed · Beast Fang Rice (maturity 100%, harvestable)

Qin Ming took these four stalks of spirit rice; four white leaves instantly appeared in his mind sea.

Not long after.

A group of spirit farmers began harvesting the spirit rice under the supervision of Du Haifu.

When it came to Qin Ming's field, Du Haifu gazed at the scene before him and could not help but show a hint of surprise.

He looked once and saw only golden spirit rice stalks in Qin Ming's field, each plump and heavy, so laden that they bent the stalks downward.

"Have you mastered the Intermediate Spirit Rain Art?"

Du Haifu turned to study Qin Ming; after a long moment, he showed a rare trace of approval.

"I happened to master it a few days ago."

"Good, quite impressive—go and harvest your spirit rice."

Qin Ming began working swiftly, harvesting the spirit rice.

After a full day of labor, he reaped eight large sacks full of spirit rice. Du Haifu began inspecting and weighing the harvest.

"Harvest: eight shi and twenty jin of spirit rice…"

"Tax due: seventy percent, totaling five hundred seventy-four jin."

The moment he finished speaking.

A massive magical vessel sliced through the sky in a flash of cultivation light and hovered steadily above the hillside.

On its prow stood an old man in blue robes, arms crossed, face stern and unyielding; behind him stood seven or eight disciples of the Spirit Feather Sect, neatly aligned and bowing respectfully.

Du Haifu immediately bowed low: "Greetings, Elder Gu. As you instructed, this season's entire spirit rice tax has been collected—please inspect."

He then presented a jade slip with careful reverence.

Qin Ming also quickly lowered his head in salute.

At this moment, before Elder Gu, Du Haifu was all bowing and scraping, utterly devoid of the sternness he normally showed the spirit farmers.

Though the man was merely an outer-disciple overseer of the Spirit Feather Sect, he was still Du Haifu's direct superior—no one dared overstep or act presumptuously.

After reviewing the jade slip, Elder Gu ordered his disciples to gather all the spirit farmers together.

Over three hundred people.

Cai Laojiu squeezed through the crowd to Qin Ming's side and gave him a sidelong glance: "Young Qin, how was your harvest today?"

Qin Ming laughed lightly, keeping his tone neutral: "Not bad. But you, Old Nine, aren't being fair—you had a great harvest last season and didn't tell me a word. Hiding your wealth, eh?"

"Hehehe, well, I gave it all up, didn't I?" Cai Laojiu's eyes darted away, sounding guilty.

At that moment, Elder Gu swept his gaze over the crowd and announced coldly: "The three-season spirit rice tax has now been fully collected."

"Per sect orders, I hereby declare: the ten cultivators with the lowest annual spirit rice yields will be forcibly assigned to the frontline battle camps to reinforce manpower—no refusal permitted."

Elder Gu's voice, unchallengeable, rang like thunder through the hearts of the spirit farmers, leaving them shaken for long moments.

"What? Frontline battle camps?"

"No way?"

"I-I won't be among the bottom, right?"

"Why wasn't this announced earlier?"

…

All the spirit farmers instantly grew fearful, their minds in turmoil.

"Hmph!" Elder Gu let out a cold snort; the pressure of a fully cultivated Qi Condensation cultivator spread outward.

Everyone fell silent at once.

"The spirit rice yields for these three seasons and all rankings are here—you may inspect them yourselves."

As Elder Gu spoke, one of his Spirit Feather Sect disciples stepped forward and cast a spell toward the jade slip ahead.

Instantly.

Above the heads of the spirit farmers, a massive glowing screen appeared, filled with clear, dense text.

It displayed rankings from highest to lowest, each followed by the exact yield for each season.

Qin Ming looked up and quickly spotted his name: 156th! "Phew~"

He exhaled deeply.

Mid-rank.

His tense heart finally eased.

"How is that possible? Eight shi and twenty jin?"

Beside him, Cai Laojiu let out a startled exclamation.

A dramatic scene unfolded.

The ranking on the light screen read: One hundred and fifty-seventh place, Cai Jiuwu...

Cai Laojiu's ranking followed immediately after Qin Ming's.

It must be known that

in the previous two seasons, his spirit rice yield had far exceeded Qin Ming's by a considerable margin.

Yet Qin Ming's spirit rice yield for the third season was simply too absurd, actually surpassing his own by a wide margin!

If judged solely by the yield of the third season, it would have already broken into the top fifty.

Those at the very top of the rankings were all senior spirit farmers at the mid-stage of Qi Condensation.

"I presume you have all seen clearly now?"

"The last ten, board the boat and follow me."

"Tian Youcai, Zhao Shan, Lin Chengdong..."

The ten spirit farmers whose names were called instantly turned pale, their hearts turning to ash.

What awaited them was the brutal frontier reclamation.

Yet facing Elder Gu's command, they dared not disobey.

These people were led onto the Dharma Boat by disciples of the Spirit Feather Sect.

"I hope you all will redouble your efforts; continue working hard in the fields for the coming year and contribute to the sect. Next year, the sect will issue new quotas, and the thirty spirit farmer cultivators ranked at the very bottom will be the ones assigned to the war camp."

Elder Gu's unquestionable voice lingered in everyone's ears for a long time.

Hearing this, Qin Ming pondered silently.

This time, the Spirit Feather Sect had failed to notify everyone in advance.

As a result, most of the spirit farmers were unaware that assignment to the war camp was even a possibility.

Had Du Haifu not offered him a hint back then, he too would have remained completely in the dark.

And after this incident,

next year, fierce internal competition would inevitably arise among these spirit farmers.

After all,

no one wished to go to the frontline and serve as cannon fodder.

Qin Ming gazed at the four entry leaves within his sea of consciousness.

An inexplicable sigh arose spontaneously in his heart.

In the past,

refining the Intermediate Spirit Rain Art in such a short time would have been something he wouldn't even dare to imagine.

Yet now,

it had taken less than half a year.

His experience in planting spirit rice had also improved significantly; after paying the spirit rice tax this time, he still had over two hundred and fifty jin of Golden Spirit Rice remaining.

With so much spirit rice, he could not finish it all himself; once sold, it would allow him to accumulate a small sum of spirit stones.

With spirit stones, surviving in this environment would grant him an extra measure of confidence.

"But developing at this pace, my cultivation will soon fail to keep up."

"Continuously extracting magic power at such high intensity for too long will inevitably damage my meridians, causing irreversible harm."

Moreover, he now possessed the Beast Tooth Rice spirit seed.

Thus, planting Beast Tooth Rice had to be put on the agenda.

And to sustain the circulation of magic power required by the Middle-Grade Spirit Rain Art for extended periods,

the third layer of Qi Condensation was the minimum requirement.

"I wonder if those two 'Faint Magic Power' entries can enable me to break through to the third layer of Qi Condensation."

"No, I must work even harder at farming and definitely extract that 'Ripening' entry!"

(End of Chapter)