Chapter 6: News

The four seasons turned, spring warmed and flowers bloomed.

Qin Ming's five mu of spirit fields had already been tilled, and spirit rice had been planted anew.

This time, he had used up the 'Mother Seed – Beast Fang Rice' entry he had obtained last time.

The seeds contained within this entry were just enough to plant one mu of spirit field.

This year, a tense atmosphere hung among all the spirit farmers.

Each one worked the land desperately, afraid of falling behind.

Du Haifu patrolled the hillside, nodding with a satisfied expression.

Time flowed on; in the blink of an eye, two months had passed.

The spirit rice in Qin Ming's fields began to grow tall.

Yet he sat by the field ridge, staring blankly at the plot, wearing a look of gloom and misery.

The good news was that, under the constant blessing of his Intermediate Spirit Rain Art, the Golden Spirit Rice in his four mu of spirit fields was growing nicely, and three entries had been refreshed—one of which was the 'Ripening' entry he had been longing for.

【Name】: Golden Spirit Rice 【Entry】: Ripening (Maturity 26%)

【Name】: Golden Spirit Rice 【Entry】: Weak Magic Power (Maturity 35%)

【Name】: Golden Spirit Rice 【Entry】: Weak Magic Power (Maturity 28%)

The bad news was that the one mu of 'Beast Fang Rice' he had planted still showed no reaction at all—not even a sprout.

"Where exactly did things go wrong?"

"I clearly followed the method in the spirit-planting book? And I didn't skimp on the Intermediate Spirit Rain Art either."

"This round isn't going to be a total loss, is it?"

Another two months passed.

The first season's spirit rice harvest of the year was completed.

In Qin Ming's one mu of 'Beast Fang Rice' field, it was still a bare patch of nothing—this season's harvest of Golden Spirit Rice was seven shi and thirty jin.

Within Qin Ming's sea of consciousness, another green 'Ripening' entry had appeared, along with two white 'Weak Magic Power' entries.

Upon learning that what Qin Ming had planted in that plot was actually Beast Fang Rice, Du Haifu did not blame him; instead, he patted his shoulder and patiently advised: "Little Qin, honestly speaking, planting your Golden Spirit Rice isn't pretty good, isn't it!"

"Why waste spirit stones for nothing?"

"This Beast Fang Rice—even for you, even the first-rank spirit planters within the sect rarely succeed in cultivating it."

"The risk is too great—don't aim too high!"

"Beast Fang Rice usually sprouts three months after planting—yours has been four months with no sign at all, that's tough."

"For this season's spirit rice yield, you're now outside the top two hundred."

Qin Ming wasn't too worried about the ranking these days—after all, with entries in hand, his confidence was full! It was just this Beast Fang Rice that left him somewhat unwilling to let go.

He worried that if he used the 'Ripening' entry and it still wouldn't grow, what then? That would truly be losing the lady and the soldiers both.

On a certain day amid the peaceful routine.

Qin Ming still used his only 'Ripening' entry on that one mu of 'Beast Fang Rice' spirit field.

A long while passed.

Under Qin Ming's anxious, restless gaze.

A touch of tender green broke through the soil.

"It worked!" Qin Ming's eyes flashed with golden light, his suspended heart settled, and he let out a long breath.

Soon, the Beast Fang Rice spirit rice seedlings shot up rapidly, only stopping once they reached about two cun.

Then the ripening effect within the spirit field gradually faded, and the Beast Fang Rice ceased its terrifying growth speed.

"It seems the higher the grade of spirit plant, the more 'Ripening' entries it needs."

"This time I can only wait slowly—the maturity period for Beast Fang Rice requires at least three years."

"I'll slowly plant Golden Spirit Rice first; if my luck is good enough later and I refresh another 'Ripening' entry, I can harvest a batch of Beast Fang Rice early!"

"It took so long to sprout, it had me thinking the seeds had gone bad."

Qin Ming was also somewhat expectant—what kind of entries would this first-rank spirit plant 'Beast Fang Rice' refresh?

He looked toward the spirit field, where three entries shone brilliantly.

【Name】: Beast Fang Rice 【Entry】: Advanced Spirit Rain Art x5 (Maturity 7%)

【Name】: Beast Fang Rice 【Entry】: Quality Boost x1 (Maturity 5%)

【Name】: Beast Fang Rice 【Entry】: Ripening x5 (Maturity 5%)

!!!

"I'm rich, I'm rich! Hahaha!"

Qin Ming leaped up from the field ridge in excitement—the three entries before him were simply too sharp.

Advanced Spirit Rain Art!

Specially used for planting high-grade spirit plants, its rainfall effect far surpasses the Intermediate Spirit Rain Art.

Most importantly, any spirit plant crop rained on by the Advanced Spirit Rain Art—as long as it's below first-rank superior-grade spirit plant—

The harvest yield doubles! Among their group of spirit farmers, no one has mastered it yet; only a few spirit planters of the Spirit Feather Sect can perform it.

Ten days later.

Du Haifu stared dumbfounded at Qin Ming's spirit field.

After repeated inspection, looking at the green sprouts of spirit rice mingled with unique red patterns in the field, he finally confirmed these were unmistakably the leaves of Beast Fang Rice. "You little brat actually managed to cultivate it successfully." Du Haifu gazed at Qin Ming with a complicated expression, momentarily at a loss for words.

……

A few more days passed.

Qin Ming went out once again.

"The Beast Fang Rice has been successfully cultivated. From here on it's just a matter of time. First, I'll go find a body-tempering art."

"The Immortal Realm's winds and clouds shift unpredictably, and worldly affairs are ever-changing. My spiritual root aptitude is too poor, my cultivation speed is slow—I need to get some means to protect my Dao."

Qin Ming had a clear goal; he knew how to think of danger while at peace.

Qingyang Market Town.

Juxuan Pavilion at the center of the market town.

"Daoist Qin, you've come?"

Shopkeeper Liao greeted him with an enthusiastic smile.

"Daoist Qin, please come up to the fourth-floor private room for a chat. We'll drink and talk as we go."

"Someone, prepare a pot of top-grade Spirit Mist Tea."

After more than a year of contact, although Qin Ming had only visited Juxuan Pavilion a handful of times in total, the quantity of spirit rice he had recently put up for sale had grown larger with each transaction.

Setting everything else aside, the other party was clearly already a seasoned spirit farmer with a stable output.

As the shopkeeper of Juxuan Pavilion, his eye for people was naturally not poor.

Moreover, Shopkeeper Liao had learned a piece of news two days prior that had startled even his usual steady, experienced self.

Qin Ming followed Shopkeeper Liao upstairs, taking in the vast, spacious private room—antique in style, elegant and refined in its decoration.

He felt a little surprised in his heart.

He still, as usual, took out two large bags of Gold Spirit Rice from his storage bag and set them before him.

"Same as always—two bags. Shopkeeper, weigh them for me."

Shopkeeper Liao smiled faintly and quickly finished weighing and inspecting them.

"Gold Spirit Rice, two shi and ten jin."

"Daoist Qin, here are seventy spirit stones. Please verify and accept them."

Qin Ming frowned—how was there so many extra spirit stones?

He asked in confusion, "Shopkeeper, what is the meaning of this?"

Shopkeeper Liao hurriedly explained, "Recently spirit rice in the market town is about to go up in price. It'll happen in the next day or two anyway. Daoist Qin is a regular customer, so I took it upon myself to pay you for the spirit rice at the post-increase price."

"Going up in price?"

"Shopkeeper Liao, the market for Gold Spirit Rice has always been very stable. How could the price suddenly rise?"

"Did something happen?" Qin Ming asked, somewhat surprised, probing without showing any change in expression.

Shopkeeper Liao handed the spirit stones to Qin Ming and glanced out the window.

He then took out a sound-isolating talisman and cast a layer of soundproof barrier over the room before saying very cautiously, "The Lingyu Sect's frontline reclamation battle camp discovered a place like a paradise deep within Yunze Dahuang—and inside, there's actually a complete third-rank spirit vein!"

A third-rank spirit vein?

Qin Ming, a bottom-rung cultivator of the Immortal Realm, had only ever seen it mentioned in book records; his heart was instantly stirred into waves.

"But that place is occupied by a barbaric tribe numbering in the thousands. The barbarians there fear no death, are valiant and skilled in battle, and the arts they cultivate are vastly different from those of ordinary Immortal Realm sects. The Lingyu Sect's battle camp suffered a major setback on the frontline, with heavy losses."

"Originally they intended to contact the sect to send reinforcements, but unexpectedly the news leaked midway and was intercepted by Jinyun Valley."

"That is a third-rank spirit vein, after all!"

"Jinyun Valley was naturally green with envy and immediately dispatched a large number of disciples to raid and destroy the Lingyu Sect's teleportation array outpost leading to Qingyang Market Town."

"And in one stroke, they cut off the supply line between the Lingyu Sect and Qingyang Market Town."

Shopkeeper Liao looked at Qin Ming's shocked reaction with an expression of having expected it, then continued:

"With such a long supply line, the Lingyu Sect is likely to suffer a major loss this time."

"The conflict between the Lingyu Sect and Jinyun Valley this time—whether short, three to five years, or long, several decades—will not be easily resolved."

"Therefore, not only will daily necessities like spirit rice and meat rise in price, other cultivation resources will also go up."

Qin Ming listened to Shopkeeper Liao's words and didn't recover his composure for a long time. A sense of foreboding, as if a storm were about to break, lingered in his heart.

'No wonder the Lingyu Sect has recently even been sending spirit farmers to the frontline.'

……

"I heard those barbarians are very skilled at commanding demon beasts. A batch of demon beasts slipped through the net on the frontline and broke through the Lingyu Sect's defenses—no one knows where they went. Daoist Qin should be extra careful when going out recently, and not travel far."

After Shopkeeper Liao finished speaking, he invited Qin Ming to take a seat.

"Try this—it's Spirit Mist Tea produced from Yunze Dahuang. It's quite beneficial even for Qi Refining stage cultivators."

Qin Ming politely accepted the tea and took a sip.

The fragrance lingered on his lips and teeth; the spiritual resonance was delightful.

Qin Ming knew Shopkeeper Liao had laid so much groundwork earlier, putting on an appearance of showing him goodwill.

Next, it was time to get down to business.

(End of this chapter)