Chapter 30: Spring Planting

"In this world, can a person even catch a break!"

"I had good intentions, treating them as fellow practitioners, and even went out of my way to post a notice explaining the situation. Who would have thought they would actually want to report me?!"

Ptooey, shameless.

Chen Ci felt as aggrieved as a two-hundred-pound child, itching to immediately take his Five Yin Evil Qi Bag to find those two, explain everything clearly, and offer an apology.

But after thinking it over, he held back.

It wasn't because of some high-gong Daoist from Longhu Shan Jiuzhuan Guan.

Nor was it because he was afraid of that Dao Foundation Ancestor from the Ma Family.

*Cough*, it was mainly because he had a greater sense of the "big picture."

Xishan Prefecture was currently in a period of unrest, and with Hutou Daoren making such a grand display of attempting to break through to his Upper Grade Dao Foundation, it was hard to say what the attitude of the Longhu Shan Jiuzhuan Guan in Quanzhou might be; it was better for him to keep a low profile.

Better to just make a note of it in his little book first.

Speaking of which, he had only just learned that the Cripple Old Daoist in Baihua Lin was surnamed Ma; looking at it this way, he roughly knew the man's background.

People from the Ma Family Village at Copper Stone Mountain, two hundred miles to the west, said the Ma Family Ancestor had been alive for nearly two hundred years and was still in the world, but he never left the village; as for his cultivation level—whether he had attained a Dao Foundation or if it was due to some Life Extension Method—others had no way of knowing.

Chen Ci felt the latter was more likely, though the former was not impossible.

Bullying others by relying on one's power, absolutely bullying others by relying on one's power.

Unlike him, who never used his status as an Outer Sect Disciple of the He Mountain Sect to commit evil.

It was as if this job as a Guaiyishou at the vegetable market wasn't something he had snatched by force; Master Chen was kind-hearted, and seeing that old Su Tou was entangled with blood evil and had a short lifespan, he agreed to give him one Soul Fixing Talisman every month to wash away the evil.

Although it was impossible to eradicate the damage caused by the evil Qi entering his body, extending his vitality was no problem, so old Su Tou naturally clung tightly to the thigh of Sanyin Temple.

A win-win!

"But this isn't a long-term solution either; death-row prisoners aren't enough, and this stuff isn't like chives."

Chen Ci was also distressed; wanting to exchange for some good items in the Golden Book, the speed of only two hundred drops of Essence Refining and two merit points per month was a bit lacking.

First come, first served.

"Still have to find a way to get more Essence Refining."

"I really have it so hard, sigh."

Regarding Essence Refining, Chen Ci didn't have many leads for the time being; after all, the raw materials were limited to humans, beasts, and livestock—even a cultivator finds it hard to cook without rice.

It wasn't that he hadn't thought about using fish as a substitute; in this era, the wild rivers and lakes were rich in resources, and there were even sea-like waters like the Liuyun River, so getting a hundred thousand catties of fish meat wasn't too difficult.

But unfortunately, after trying it, he discovered that the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag didn't even care to eat such things as fish meat.

Poultry and ducks were also not very effective; the lower limit for the five types of livestock was dogs, and even if the volume of flesh and blood was sufficient, it was basically impossible to refine Essence Refining from anything smaller.

However, today, Chen Ci was busy with other matters in the backyard.

If it weren't for the busyness in his own fields, he wouldn't even have known that the day for spring planting had arrived.

"I wonder if this Black Jade Rice is easy to grow... The three treasures of immortal cultivation: farming, making talismans, and alchemy—I've managed to collect them all."

"It's a pity the current returns aren't high, but the future should be bright."

Chen Ci gave himself a fierce pep talk and began to measure the area of the yin land in his backyard.

A little over two fen, an area of about one hundred and fifty square meters.

Setting aside the patch with the heaviest yin energy where a Corpse Ganoderma was planted, and leaving a spot for himself to sit and practice Qi, Chen Ci prepared to fill the backyard with Spirit Rice, which would count as a profit by the end of the year.

According to the saleswoman, the yield of this Black Jade Rice was about five hundred catties per mu, and after husking, one could get about four hundred catties of Heiyu.

Two catties of rice seeds cost one Spirit Pearl, and ten catties of Heiyu cost one Spirit Pearl.

With only two-plus fen of Spirit Land, calculating it this way, farming didn't seem very lucrative; the annual profit wouldn't exceed ten Spirit Pearls.

But it had the advantage of being stable.

These two catties of rice seeds were the amount for one mu; Chen Ci took out four liang and looked at them—the husks of the Black Jade Rice seeds faintly carried a luster, were slightly larger than ordinary grain, and were quite heavy in the hand; they were actually two parts similar to the Five Elements Divine Sand, and a rough count of the four liang of seeds showed there were less than a hundred grains, which would save a lot of effort in caring for them.

Chen Ci estimated, then simply started from the corner of the wall, planting one grain every two steps; in the end, he planted a total of ninety-two grains, completely utilizing the yin land in the backyard.

"This planting of Spirit Fields isn't hard either."

Chen Ci clapped his hands and nodded with satisfaction; he had originally been curious why the volume of two catties of rice seeds was only a little bigger than a fist, but now it seemed very reasonable.

Six months later, that would be about ten Spirit Pearls in hand; this rate of return was actually quite sweet.

"The remaining rice seeds smell so fragrant."

Chen Ci sniffed, and a grass-and-wood fragrance he had never smelled before faintly wafted out, actually giving him the urge to salivate.

"Gurgle~"

Chen Ci shook his head, rubbed his stomach, and put the rice seeds away: "These can't be eaten; Black Jade Rice seeds can be stored for three years, better to wait until the harvest from my own Spirit Field to have a beautiful meal."

Thinking of this, Chen Ci felt a strange sorrow welling up: "I, a dignified cultivator with thirty-one Acupoints refined, can't even afford to eat Spirit Rice—where is the justice in this? If I become wealthy in the future, I won't just eat it every day—I'll eat three big bowls every single meal!"

He wondered what kind of happy life those True Inheritors in the sects lived.

Eating one bowl of Spirit Rice and dumping another?

Chen Ci tightened his belt and sighed as he went to busy himself with other things.

There was endless work to do every day.

Next, it was time for the monotonous cultivation schedule.

Chen Ci greeted old Sun Tou at the county office, and from then on, the death-row prisoners in the prison would be executed every ten days, emphasizing efficiency.

Aside from the added task of refining Essence Refining, which was just like going to work, his little life was about the same as before.

Sanyin Qi-Eating Method: 31/100

As expected, when the Huang Family's Frost Sugar payment arrived at the end of the month, he would be able to open another Acupoint.

Stone Lock Hunyuan Art: 56/100

Five Yin Evil Qi Bag: Sixth-level Prohibition / 77/100

Soul Fixing Talisman: Minor Accomplishment / 46/100

Small Heavens Qi Absorption Pill Method: Not yet entered/1/4

Basic Sword Technique: Great Success/27/100

It is just this Small Heavens Qi Absorption Pill Method; the progress is truly a bit slow. Not to mention the time and money consumed, it also requires diligent practice.

Pill Absorption Incantation: Entered/6/100

Fire Control Method: Not yet entered/79/100

Observation Qi Method: Not yet entered/57/100

Condensing Pill Method: Not yet entered/10/100

Especially the Condensing Pill Method; it is truly difficult to practice. It always gives a sense of difficulty similar to multi-tasking in games from his past life. Once his thoughts exceed two paths, it is easy to become flustered, with True Qi going wrong everywhere. It is somewhat hard to bear.

"The Stone Lock Primordial Art and the Soul Fixing Talisman should still take about half a year."

"The Five Yin Evil Qi Bag is also nearing its seventh Prohibition, but flesh and blood in the county are becoming increasingly scarce. Seven strands of Five Yin Black Evil should be enough for now. Should I pause the rations for the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag? That way, I should be able to squeeze out another forty or fifty drops of Essence Refining each month."

Five Yin Evil Qi Bag: "." Are you even speaking human language?

Chen Ci was somewhat hesitant, preparing to wait and see after the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag reached the seventh Prohibition.

The Small Heavens Qi Absorption Pill Method can only be practiced as fate allows; it seems there is still a considerable distance to go before getting rich.

On the other hand, the Basic Sword Technique practiced for self-defense has a promising future. Chen Ci would like to see where the limit of this Gold Finger lies and whether it will bring him any unexpected surprises.

After sorting out his progress, Chen Ci began to bury himself in cultivation. In the world of cultivators, there are no easy tasks.

Five days later, Chen Ci looked at the Basic Sword Technique, which had advanced a little more, and was very satisfied.

He went out to clear his mind.

It was mainly because he vaguely felt he had forgotten something, but he wasn't quite sure. He decided to just relax his mood; being too obsessed with cultivation is not a good thing either.

Chen Ci walked halfway up the mountain, just in time to see the early-rising tenant farmers working in their thousand acres of fertile fields.

The early spring morning sun was so gentle and warm that Chen Ci squinted his eyes.

This feeling of having his feet on the ground and making progress step by step was actually quite nice.

"Although the pastoral scenery is good, it is not my ambition. Pity... wait!"

Chen Ci stopped abruptly, frowning as he looked at the farming in the fields below the mountain. He pondered for a moment, then turned and ran toward Sanyin Temple.

"Hey, where is the Black Jade Rice I planted?"

Chen Ci looked at the still-bare backyard and touched his head: "This isn't right, is it? Even if it's a spiritual seed, it should have sprouted by now, right?"

Could it be that the growth cycle of this spiritual seed is different?

Chen Ci muttered a few words, but in his heart, he inexplicably felt something was wrong.

(End of chapter)