Wouldn't a Free Bare-Bones Body Refining Package Be Wonderful?

"Excellent! All four of you have outstanding insights into your craft. Among Qi Refining disciples, you truly rank at the very top!"

"On that basis alone, any one of you would be more than capable of tending my spirit fields!"

While the people below let their thoughts wander in the lull, Elder Ji finished examining the Jade Slips. He suddenly smiled and offered his praise in a booming voice.

His voice was like thunder, startling Gu Daojin and the other two into trembling. They hurriedly composed themselves.

Just as I thought!

That Li Ye really does have some skill...

But if all four of us qualified, wouldn't we still have to compete?

The thought flashed through their minds, and they instinctively looked at Elder Ji with anticipation.

But he only turned to the four stewards.

"You stewards put your hearts into finding these people..."

Elder Ji's expression had grown much gentler. With a wave of his hand, four small jade bottles flew into their hands.

"Consider these pills your reward for carrying out your duties so diligently!"

"Thank you for your generous gifts, Elder!"

The four of them excitedly bowed and offered their respectful thanks.

Elder Ji nodded. "Mm... there's nothing more for you to do here. You may go!"

Old Man Luo and the other three stewards rose at once and respectfully took their leave.

Only after the four had departed did Elder Ji turn leisurely toward Li Ye and the others.

"As for the four of you... since your skills and understanding are all quite good, let me see how you actually perform in the spirit fields..."

"I have more than five mu of spirit fields on this mountain behind us. Only the one mu close to my cave abode's Spirit Vein is second-tier; the rest are all peak first-tier... but their Spiritual Qi concentration is no lower than that of the spirit medicine garden."

"For the days ahead, each of you will be responsible for one mu of spirit field, where you will grow Blood Li Rice and assist me in cultivating Blazing Sun Flowers..."

"Before I next leave on a long journey, whoever performs best will be allowed to stay!"

With that, he rose and headed straight for the side door.

Excitement glinted in Li Ye's eyes as he hurried after him. The other three saw this and followed closely behind.

Though no one had been chosen outright, Li Ye wasn't losing out in the slightest.

Whether the others were selected or not, all they could do was take advantage of the Spiritual Qi here, far denser than elsewhere, to cultivate.

But he was different!

Even if he was responsible for only one mu of land, as long as he could farm it, he could keep gaining experience points and Plant Spiritual Essence, continually improving himself.

As long as he was willing to invest, his Planting Technique would advance far faster than these people could imagine...

How could they possibly compete with him?

And... he could even get his hands on the second-tier Spirit Plant, the Blazing Sun Flower!

"Blood Li Rice is already tempting enough... I wonder how many experience points the Blazing Sun Flower will give me, and what effect its Plant Spiritual Essence will have..."

As Li Ye silently pondered this, he followed Elder Ji through a series of pavilions and corridors and soon arrived behind the palace.

There, a pond lay as clear as a gemstone, with a stretch of spirit field beside it whose soil was tinged crimson.

Farther down were four mu of spirit fields laid out in terraces.

Walking through the front hall, he hadn't felt that anything was particularly extraordinary.

But when he arrived here, a rush of dense Spiritual Qi hit him. Caught off guard, Li Ye nearly lost control of his Law Power.

His Law Power was fairly pure now, however, so he could immediately adjust to the situation. Even so, if he stayed too long, he would probably still be too weak to bear such nourishment.

When the Spiritual Qi struck Gu, Yao, and Xiong, their faces flushed red and they began coughing repeatedly.

"Your cultivation is too low. The Spiritual Qi here does you more harm than good, so you mustn't stay long!"

Glancing at them, Elder Ji casually sent out three streams of Law Power to help them steady their breathing.

Seeing that Li Ye had barely reacted, he praised him with some surprise.

"I didn't expect you to cultivate so diligently, lad. Your Law Power is so pure that you can withstand this much Spiritual Qi at only the Qi Refining Fourth Layer... You can do some more work in this second-tier spirit field from now on."

Hearing this, Gu, Yao, and Xiong grew frantic.

"Elder Ji, I'll adapt very soon!"

This was outrageous!

They hadn't even truly begun working the fields yet, so how had Li Ye already won the elder's praise repeatedly and started taking their work from them?

At this rate, they might as well not compete at all!

"Heh... whether you insist on pushing yourselves is your own business. But if you force yourselves to endure it, lose control of your Law Power, and damage my Blazing Sun Flowers, I won't go easy on you!"

Elder Ji paid no attention to their ugly expressions and led the four to the edge of the field.

"I specifically sought out Crimson Yang Soil to mix into this mu of spirit field, enhancing its fire-aspect Yang Qi and adjusting the soil's fertility... When you tend the Blazing Sun Flowers, take care not to damage this spirit soil."

"As for the four mu of fields below, each of you will claim one and plant Blood Li Rice in it... When you run out of the beast blood needed for irrigation, come to me for more."

"And once you've finished sowing, you may come up and begin assisting me in planting the Blazing Sun Flowers!"

He waved his hand, and four portions of rice seed, lidded jars, and tokens appeared on the ground.

Each rice seed was blood-red and as large as a soybean. Piled together in such numbers, they gave off a peculiar fragrance, both bloody and fresh.

When Li Ye smelled it, the Qi and Blood within him stirred slightly, showing faint signs of circulating faster.

Li Ye was even more delighted.

To perfect his foundation and leave no deficiencies in any of the three Foundation Establishment trials, Li Ye had long been searching for and considering various ways to improve his Qi and Blood and spirit.

Among low-tier spirit rice, Blood Li Rice was the only kind that, when eaten, had some of the effects of Demon Beast meat. It was also milder in nature and could strengthen Qi and Blood and replenish vital essence.

If I can harvest its Blood Li Spiritual Essence while farming it and then refine it, wouldn't that be a great boost to my Qi and Blood?

Now that he had his contribution points, he could just barely exchange them for an introductory Body Refining Cultivation Method at the sect's scripture repository.

Combined, the two should at least allow him to lay a foundation for his Qi and Blood while increasing his combat strength somewhat.

Demon Beast meat, spirit medicines, spirit pills, and the Sha Qi of the earth's veins were each more precious than the last. He, Li Ye, truly couldn't afford them.

But wouldn't getting a bare-bones Body Refining package for free be even better?

Swallowing, Li Ye ignored everyone else. He quickly stepped forward, collected his share, and turned to stride toward the spirit fields below.

Seeing how eager he was, the other three were no slower, each heading toward the field they had their eye on.

Since Li Ye had chosen the far left, Xiong Yinxiu promptly claimed the far right, leaving Gu Daojin and Yao Shaohui to choose the two fields in the middle.

The four said nothing more and went straight to work.

Blood Li Rice was a paddy rice, so the water and soil in the spirit field had to be mixed with fresh blood in the proper proportions.

Not only did it reek of blood, but working with it was also far dirtier than working with dry-field rice like Jade Sprout Rice.

But none of the four cared at the moment.

This opportunity concerned their future cultivation, and everyone, Li Ye included, was giving it their all.

Though he had never actually handled this spirit rice before, he worked as deftly as an old farmer.

Mixing the blood and soil, sprouting and sowing the seeds... he did it all as naturally as reaching for something, every step just right.

The others had long been uncertain about Li Ye's level of skill with Spirit Plants, and had been watching him, consciously or otherwise, ever since he began.

Seeing this, they were all inwardly startled, their expressions changing.

With skill like that... even a second-tier Spirit Plant cultivator could do no better, right?

This man was so capable, yet they had looked down on him so much before...

Now it seemed that even if Li Ye hadn't gotten in through the back door, the three of them might not have been able to beat him!