Chapter Six: The News
The seasons shifted, spring returned, and flowers bloomed. Qin Ming had already tilled the five acres of his spiritual field and planted a new crop of spirit rice. This time, he used the “Mother Seed—Beast Fang Rice” entry he had obtained earlier. The seeds within this entry were just enough to sow one acre.
That year, a tense atmosphere pervaded among all the spiritual farmers. Everyone worked desperately, fearful of falling behind. Du Haifu patrolled the hills, nodding with a satisfied expression.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, two months had passed.
The spirit rice in Qin Ming’s fields had begun to grow tall. Yet, he sat by the edge of the field, staring blankly at the soil, his face shrouded in gloom.
The good news was that, with the continuous use of his Intermediate Spirit Rain Technique, the Golden Spirit Rice in his four acres was thriving, and three new entries had appeared—one of which was the “Ripening” entry he greatly desired.
[Name]: Golden Spirit Rice [Entry]: Ripening (26% maturity)
[Name]: Golden Spirit Rice [Entry]: Faint Spiritual Power (35% maturity)
[Name]: Golden Spirit Rice [Entry]: Faint Spiritual Power (28% maturity)
The bad news was that the acre of “Beast Fang Rice” he had planted showed no signs of life—not even a sprout.
“Where exactly did I go wrong?”
“I followed the method in the Spiritual Planting Manual to the letter, and I haven’t neglected the Intermediate Spirit Rain Technique either.”
“Am I going to lose everything this time...?”
Another two months passed.
The first season’s spirit rice harvest of the year was complete.
Qin Ming’s acre of “Beast Fang Rice” remained barren—nothing but bare earth.
This season, he harvested seven stones and thirty catties of Golden Spirit Rice.
Within Qin Ming’s sea of consciousness, another green “Ripening” entry appeared, along with two white “Faint Spiritual Power” entries.
When Du Haifu learned that Qin Ming had planted Beast Fang Rice in that field, he did not scold him. Instead, he patted him on the shoulder and offered patient advice:
“Little Qin, isn’t it good enough to just plant your Golden Spirit Rice diligently?”
“Why waste your spirit stones for nothing?”
“As for this Beast Fang Rice, even first-rank spiritual cultivators in the sect rarely succeed in cultivating it.”
“The risk is too great—don’t aim too high!”
“Usually, Beast Fang Rice takes three months just to sprout. Yours hasn’t shown any sign after four months... it’s hard.”
“This season’s yield puts you outside the top two hundred.”
Qin Ming was not too concerned about his ranking now; with those entries in hand, he was confident. Still, he felt a pang of regret over the Beast Fang Rice.
He worried that if he used the “Ripening” entry and nothing grew, it would truly be a total loss.
On an otherwise uneventful day, Qin Ming finally decided to use his only “Ripening” entry on the acre of Beast Fang Rice.
Time passed.
In Qin Ming’s anxious gaze, a tender green shoot finally broke through the soil.
“It worked!” Qin Ming’s eyes sparkled with excitement, and he let out a long sigh of relief.
Soon, the Beast Fang Rice seedlings shot up rapidly, only stopping when they reached about two inches tall. Then the ripening effect faded, and the Beast Fang Rice ceased its frenzied growth.
“It seems that the higher the grade of the spiritual plant, the more ‘Ripening’ entries are needed.”
“This time, I’ll just have to wait—Beast Fang Rice takes at least three years to mature…”
“I’ll keep planting Golden Spirit Rice for now. If I’m lucky and get another ‘Ripening’ entry, I can harvest a batch of Beast Fang Rice early!”
“It took so long to sprout—I thought the seeds were ruined.”
Qin Ming was also curious what kind of entries would appear for this first-rank spiritual plant, Beast Fang Rice.
He looked into the spiritual field. Three entries shone brilliantly.
[Name]: Beast Fang Rice [Entry]: Advanced Spirit Rain Technique x5 (7% maturity)
[Name]: Beast Fang Rice [Entry]: Quality Enhancement x1 (5% maturity)
[Name]: Beast Fang Rice [Entry]: Ripening x5 (5% maturity)
He was overjoyed.
“Jackpot! Hahaha!”
Qin Ming leapt up from the field ridge, thrilled by the power of these three entries.
Advanced Spirit Rain Technique! Specifically for cultivating high-tier spiritual plants, its rainfall effect far surpassed the intermediate technique.
Most importantly, any spiritual crop below first-rank high-grade that was watered with the Advanced Spirit Rain Technique would have its yield doubled!
None of the spiritual farmers here had mastered this technique; only a few spiritual cultivators from the Feather Gate could perform it.
Ten days later.
Du Haifu stared in shock at Qin Ming’s spiritual field.
After repeated inspections, he confirmed that the spirit rice with distinctive red veins in the field was indeed Beast Fang Rice.
“You actually managed to cultivate it,” Du Haifu said with a complex expression, studying Qin Ming, momentarily at a loss for words.
…
A few days later.
Qin Ming left home once more.
“Now that the Beast Fang Rice has sprouted, all that remains is to wait. I should go look for a body refinement technique.”
“The world of cultivation is ever-changing, and fate is unpredictable. My spiritual roots are poor, and my progress is slow—I need some means of self-preservation.”
Qin Ming had a clear goal and understood the importance of preparedness.
Qingyang Market.
Gathering Pavilion at the center of the market.
“Fellow Daoist Qin, you’re here,” Manager Liao greeted him warmly.
“Please, let’s talk in a private room on the fourth floor while we enjoy some tea.”
“Someone, bring a pot of the finest Spirit Mist Tea.”
Over the past year, although Qin Ming hadn’t visited Gathering Pavilion often, the quantity of spirit rice he brought each time had steadily increased. Clearly, he was now a seasoned spiritual farmer with stable output.
As the manager of Gathering Pavilion, Liao was an excellent judge of character. Moreover, just two days ago, he had received some news that had greatly surprised even someone as steady as himself.
Qin Ming followed Manager Liao upstairs, glancing around the spacious and elegantly decorated room, filled with antique charm.
He was a little surprised.
As usual, he took two large bags of Golden Spirit Rice from his storage pouch and placed them on the table.
“The usual—two bags. Please weigh them.”
Manager Liao smiled and quickly completed the weighing and inspection.
“Two stones and ten catties of Golden Spirit Rice.”
“Here are seventy spirit stones, Fellow Daoist Qin, please check them.”
Qin Ming frowned. Why were there so many spirit stones this time?
He asked in confusion, “Manager Liao, what’s the meaning of this?”
Manager Liao promptly explained, “Spirit rice prices are about to go up in the market—within the next few days, in fact. Since you’re a regular, I took the liberty of paying you the new price in advance.”
“They’ve gone up?”
“Manager Liao, Golden Spirit Rice prices have always been stable. What caused this sudden rise?”
“Has something happened?” Qin Ming inquired, masking his curiosity.
Manager Liao handed him the spirit stones, glanced out the window, then took out a soundproofing talisman and activated it, enveloping the room in a shield. Only then did he speak with caution:
“In the Feather Gate’s frontier war camp, deep within the Cloud Marsh Wilds, a hidden paradise was discovered containing an intact third-rank spiritual vein!”
A third-rank spiritual vein?
Qin Ming, a low-level cultivator, had only read about such things in books. Waves of shock surged within him.
“But that place is occupied by a barbarian tribe numbering several thousand. They are fierce and fearless, formidable warriors whose cultivation methods are entirely different from those of orthodox sects. The Feather Gate’s war camp suffered heavy losses on the front lines.”
“They originally planned to summon reinforcements from the sect, but word got out, and the Golden Cloud Valley intercepted the message.”
“A third-rank spiritual vein, after all!”
“Golden Cloud Valley was instantly envious and dispatched a large force to ambush and destroy the Feather Gate’s teleportation outpost to Qingyang Market.”
“With that, they severed the Feather Gate’s supply line to Qingyang Market.”
Manager Liao watched Qin Ming’s astonishment with a knowing look, then continued:
“With such a long supply line, the Feather Gate is bound to suffer severely this time.”
“The conflict between the Feather Gate and Golden Cloud Valley will not end anytime soon—perhaps three to five years, maybe decades.”
“As a result, not only are spirit rice and meat prices rising, but other cultivation resources are also going up.”
Qin Ming listened, unable to recover for a long time. An ominous sense of an approaching storm lingered in his heart.
“No wonder the Feather Gate has even sent spiritual farmers to the front lines lately…”
…
“I’ve heard those barbarians are skilled at controlling demonic beasts. Some slipped through the Feather Gate’s defenses and vanished—be careful not to travel far from home, Fellow Daoist Qin.”
With that, Manager Liao invited Qin Ming to sit.
“Please, try this Spirit Mist Tea from the Cloud Marsh Wilds. It’s quite beneficial even for those at the Qi Refining stage.”
Qin Ming accepted the tea with courtesy and took a sip.
A lingering fragrance filled his mouth, spiritual energy suffusing him.
He knew that Manager Liao’s lengthy preamble was a gesture of goodwill. Now, it was time to discuss serious matters.