Chapter 61: Fame in the Fongshi

Qingliang Xiaozhu.

Morning light spilled down, a gentle breeze stirred.

Qin Ming flipped through the gifts given by his neighbors yesterday, unable to help but sigh.

"Cultivation is all about human relations and social graces!"

When any of these cultivators breaks through in the future, he'll have to repay the favor.

He put away the gifts and stopped thinking further, then rose and stepped out of the room.

He strolled to the courtyard and headed straight for the corner.

Zzzzzz～

After some time, the honeycomb hanging from the withered-blood poison vine had grown a full circle larger.

Qin Ming drew closer and peered in, his eyes revealing a hint of surprise.

"Why have these four-winged frost bees become so agitated?"

He calmed his spirit and used the Bee-Driving Spell to communicate with the queen—but was stunned to discover she had fallen into a deep sleep, seemingly undergoing a breakthrough! Qin Ming's spirit sharpened; he casually seized one frost bee and examined it in his hand.

On the bodies of the four-winged frost bees, several purple-striped patterns had appeared.

All the frost bees had grown significantly larger—they were undergoing a collective transformation!

This colony of Yunze Dahuang native bees was about to ascend to a Rank-One Spirit Insect! "How did they suddenly ascend?" Qin Ming was both startled and delighted.

"Could it be related to the three demonic flowers on the withered-blood poison vine?"

After carefully and repeatedly verifying, he confirmed that the bees' transformation was indeed caused by the purple demonic flowers.

The reason was that the purple stripes on the bees matched almost exactly the patterns on the purple demonic flowers.

The queen at the center of the hive had grown to the size of a fist; she had clearly gained immense benefits, her aura now fully upgraded to a Rank-One Low-grade Spirit Insect.

Qin Ming thought for a moment, then activated two 【Ripen】 entries, ripening the three purple demonic flowers to full bloom.

A rich, enticing fragrance instantly filled the entire courtyard.

Zzzzzz～ Now the spirit bees became even more excited!

Qin Ming did not rush to fully ripen the flowers on the withered-blood poison vine—he wanted to wait a few days and observe what further changes the spirit bees would undergo.

"Didn't expect such an unexpected gain."

…

Noon.

Qin Ming stepped out of the courtyard and walked along the streets of Qingyang City.

He intended to rent the spirit fields on the Rank-Two Spirit Vein.

On the main thoroughfare.

Around him, in the shops, several familiar cultivators greeted him as he passed.

"Comrade Qin, congratulations! At such a young age, you've achieved Mid-grade Spirit Gardener status!"

"Congratulations, Comrade Qin! You're a model for all of us lone cultivators."

"Comrade Qin, congratulations, congratulations!"

Every long-term resident of Qingyang City offered their felicitations.

Cultivators passing by all fixed their gazes on Qin Ming.

Even some who didn't know Qin Ming began asking about him.

"Excuse me, shopkeeper, who is that cultivator? Is he very powerful?"

"You don't know?"

"Yesterday, among the spirit farmers doing corvée labor at Lingyu Sect, a young cultivator from a family quietly pulled off a stunning comeback—he passed the grueling exam and ascended to Mid-grade Spirit Gardener!"

"That spirit farmer is Qin Ming, Comrade Qin!"

"From now on, his status will soar—he has boundless potential on the Immortal Path!"

"And it's said Comrade Qin is close friends with Su Yuqing, the Grand Alchemist! Besides being a Mid-grade Spirit Gardener, he's also a Mid-grade Alchemist!"

"If not for yesterday's celebration banquet at Juxuan Pavilion, none of us would've known!"

"It's rare for us lone cultivators to produce someone like this."

"Comrade Qin is the epitome of a spirit farmer—a lowly spirit farmer who climbed step by step to Mid-grade Spirit Gardener status. Truly inspiring! I plan to visit him in a few days."

…

As Qin Ming stepped out, cultivators kept coming up to congratulate and flatter him, one after another.

It left him utterly embarrassed.

"This is bad! People fear fame, pigs fear growing fat. If I draw the attention of bandit cultivators, I'm doomed."

"Sigh! I shouldn't have thrown that gathering!"

Qin Ming inwardly regretted it deeply.

He first went to find the overseer Du Haifu and terminated the lease on the eight mu of Rank-One Spirit Vein fields.

"Ah—I never expected, Comrade Qin! I heard from the sect elders that you actually passed that impossible exam."

"Your reputation isn't just spreading through Qingyang City—it's caused a small stir even within Lingyu Sect! Haha!"

Though his spiritual roots were ordinary, at just over twenty, becoming a Mid-grade Spirit Gardener already marks him as a young cultivator with potential.

Hearing this, Qin Ming sighed again inwardly.

He couldn't even stay low-profile anymore.

But his goal was Rank-Two Spirit Gardener—he'd have to walk this path eventually.

He then completed the lease termination procedures with Du Haifu.

"Comrade Qin, now that you're a Mid-grade Spirit Gardener, you're eligible to rent the spirit fields on the Rank-Two Spirit Vein."

"You can go directly to the Steward Hall to handle it."

"Fellow Daoist Qin, don't forget about us folks up on the mountain; come visit often when you have time, hehehe!"

Du Haifu's plump face beamed with flattery, smiling just like the Maitreya Buddha.

His heart was also a mix of complex emotions.

From now on, Qin Ming would no longer be under his jurisdiction.

After taking leave of Du Haifu,

Qin Ming arrived at the Steward Hall and stated his purpose.

The Lingyu Sect steward responsible for the second-tier spirit fields also introduced the details to him with a gentle attitude.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, all the second-tier spirit fields are located in the eastern region near Qingyang Market; based on their distance from the center of the spiritual vein, they are divided into four grades: Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding. Second-tier spirit fields are quite scarce, totaling only about one hundred mu altogether."

"Grade Jia spirit fields are the areas with the most superior soil conditions and spiritual energy concentration; besides paying the spirit rice tax, an additional three hundred spirit stones per mu must be paid annually."

"Grade Yi spirit fields are next, requiring two hundred spirit stones per mu annually."

"Grade Bing spirit fields require one hundred and fifty spirit stones per mu annually, while Grade Ding spirit fields require one hundred spirit stones per mu annually."

Qin Ming pondered briefly, then decided: "Rent me five mu of Grade Jia spirit fields."

Upon hearing this, the steward's smile widened even further.

"Very well, Fellow Daoist Qin, I will process this for you immediately."

Qin Ming took out one thousand five hundred spirit stones and handed them over to the steward.

The Lingyu Sect steward efficiently completed the spirit field leasing procedures for him.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, here is your spirit field leasing token; please keep it safe."

Qin Ming took the token, bid farewell, and left the Steward Hall.

He could not wait to see for himself what these second-tier spirit fields were actually like.

Two sticks of incense later,

Qin Ming arrived at the second-tier spirit fields east of the market.

What met his eyes was a scene of clear springs and verdant forests, with secluded and peculiar scenery, and fields brimming with spiritual elegance—a world entirely its own.

In particular, the spiritual energy here was extremely dense; Qin Ming took a deep breath and immediately felt refreshed and relaxed.

All the spirit plants cultivated within these spirit fields were of first-tier upper grade or higher.

Furthermore, teams of Lingyu Sect Qi Condensation late-stage cultivators patrolled the area throughout the day.

However, after walking around for a while, he had yet to see any spirit field where second-tier spirit plants were being cultivated.

Qin Ming arrived at the five mu of Grade Jia spirit fields he had leased.

The spirit fields here had already been neatly tended and were merely awaiting his planting of spirit plants.

He squatted down, casually grabbed a handful of spirit soil from the field, and carefully examined it.

The soil quality was quite fertile, perfectly suitable for cultivating high-grade spirit plants.

After pondering for a while, Qin Ming had already decided which spirit plants to cultivate.

However, he planned to make a trip to the Juxuan Pavilion first to purchase some spirit seeds.

(End of Chapter)