An Extra Three to Five Dou Collected

The stalks of rice suddenly bent outwards, clearly trying to evade him. He casually drew a circle, finally managing to grab five or six stalks. He could feel a distinct struggle from his palm.

"Accept your fate!" Liu Xiaolou thought fiercely, and his right hand swung the sickle.

Two of the rice ears suddenly bent down, their awns stabbing directly at Liu Xiaolou's wrist. Most were blocked by the cowhide, which suffered a few shallow scratches. A few managed to pierce Liu Xiaolou's hand, and even with his Qi Refining third layer cultivation, he yelped in pain. Although no blood was drawn, it was still very uncomfortable.

"Die!" Liu Xiaolou gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain. He infused true essence into the sickle and fiercely swept inwards, cutting off the cluster of rice ears and tossing them into his basket.

Feeling a great threat, the surrounding spirit rice became united in their hatred and actively attacked Liu Xiaolou. They bent backwards one by one, accumulating enough force before suddenly stabbing at Liu Xiaolou. For a time, every part of Liu Xiaolou's body below the waist was pricked by the awns. Many awns penetrated his clothes and pricked his skin, remaining stuck in the fabric.

The Three Xuan Scripture emphasized the balance of yin and yang and the cultivation of both internal and external strength. His skin's toughness and hardness were superior to cultivators of the same realm, so he wasn't afraid of the awns' piercing. However, the pain was unavoidable, forcing him to jump out and catch his breath after harvesting a few handfuls.

After toiling for over half an hour, a little more than a tenth of the surrounding rice stalks had been harvested. Those whose ears were cut off were declared dead and drooped powerlessly.

While resting, Liu Xiaolou looked up at the surrounding mountain slopes. After a moment of observation, he confirmed that the estate manager had left and there was no one else on the mountains. The segmented isolation of the dense forest also blocked the sight of other assisting cultivators, so no one was paying attention to him.

He then pulled up his sleeves a bit, revealing the Misty Incense Tendon wrapped around his arm.

The sect's signature skill, how could I expose it so easily?

This incense tendon was soft yet tough, tight yet fine, comparable to a magical artifact. Although it was only about three feet long, it was enough to save him some effort.

With a flick of his wrist, the end of the incense tendon whipped out from his wrist, piercing into the rice field. It wrapped around three to five rice ears from the root, the end tightly coiling a few times to secure them. These rice ears immediately began to shake and struggle violently, their awns stabbing fiercely at Liu Xiaolou.

Unfortunately, they were a bit too far away, and their awns couldn't reach Liu Xiaolou, making their efforts futile.

Liu Xiaolou infused true essence into the Misty Incense Tendon and pulled inwards sharply, immediately uprooting the rice ears and tossing them onto the ridge.

Following the same method, harvesting spirit rice became much simpler, and he no longer had to endure the pain of the awns' piercing.

Liu Xiaolou squatted to the side, continuously flicking the incense tendon and infusing it with true essence, uprooting the rice plants in clusters. In less than an hour, he had finished harvesting this spirit field.

After these spirit rice plants were uprooted, their roots gradually withered. The rice ears lay on the ground, wriggling and rolling, but they had lost their previous ferocity. It was much easier to pick the ears now.

The yield of spirit rice was not high; each rice ear contained only about ten grains of spirit grain, each covered in a thick gray husk. He gathered the harvested rice ears from this acre of land into a pile, used true essence to create a strong gust of wind to blow away the chaff, and then took out sacks from his basket to pack them. He weighed them, estimating about forty catties. The exact amount would only be known after weighing.

Liu Xiaolou pressed on, clearing three more spirit fields before dark, harvesting about two hundred catties of spirit rice.

He ate two pieces of dry rations with the clear water from Shang'e Creek, then sat in meditation for half an hour to recover his true essence. Arriving at the fifth spirit field, he planted several torches along the ridge and continued to work late into the night.

After toiling continuously for a day, he cleared fifteen to sixteen acres of spirit fields, harvesting several hundred catties of spirit grain.

Liu Xiaolou divided the spirit grain into five bags. He buried one bag in a hidden spot and carried the remaining four bags with a self-made shoulder pole to the manor to hand them in.

The manor's granary was lit with lamps and torches. The hired laborers were lining up to deliver their grain. When it was Liu Xiaolou's turn, he entered the granary with his shoulder pole. The walls were lined with bulging sacks, and spilled spirit grain covered the ground. The estate manager and accountant stood by a large basket, receiving grain and recording accounts.

Liu Xiaolou stepped forward and poured the spirit grain from his sack into the basket. He didn't stop even when it reached the brim, pouring in quite a bit more, piling it into a small mound before stopping.

This was the rule.

At the field head, he reached in, grabbed a handful of spirit grain, and looked at it, nodding with satisfaction. He stirred it a few times, finding no sand or stones. Then, he kicked the wooden basket with a powerful kick. The piled-up spirit grain immediately spilled out, rolling onto the ground. His kick was quite forceful, leveling the spirit grain in the basket to the brim, as if precisely measured. He then shouted, "Fifty catties!"

The granary servant stepped forward, poured this basket of spirit grain into a sack, and carried it to the corner to be stacked neatly.

Then came the next basket, the next kick, the next fifty catties...

After six baskets, the remaining thirteen catties were weighed with a small measure.

The accountant beside him rapidly worked his abacus, continuously calling out numbers, finally concluding, "Three hundred and thirteen catties, six taels, and six qian! Six qian rounded down!"

After writing it in the ledger, he gave Liu Xiaolou a glance. Once confirmed, he had him sign.

Liu Xiaolou confirmed it. The bag he buried had less than eighty catties.

The entire harvesting period for the spirit fields lasted only about nine days. After that, the rice ears would wither, and the spirit grain within would lose a large amount of its spiritual energy. The remaining spirit rice would have little spiritual effect, even becoming spoiled and unusable, unable to be eaten even as ordinary grain.

Therefore, the harvesting period was extremely tight. In the last few days, even the estate managers, accountants, and members of the Zang family from the manor went down to the fields to rush the harvest. The entire manor was filled with a tense atmosphere.

However, Liu Xiaolou could use the Misty Incense Tendon to harvest, saving a great deal of effort. He completed the vast majority of his task the day before the end of the harvesting period, leaving only the last spirit field of three mu and seven fen.

On this day, figures began to appear in the forest one after another. Liu Xiaolou knew these were cultivators who had finished their work and were lurking around. Some cultivators had slightly higher cultivation or more suitable magical arts for harvesting, so they worked faster. After finishing their own assigned fields early, they would seek opportunities in others' fields during their remaining free time.

Before long, someone indeed emerged from the forest, smiling and asking Liu Xiaolou if he needed help, "Little brother, only ten catties per acre for you, how about it?"

"No, thank you," Liu Xiaolou refused immediately.

"There's only one day left. If you can't finish, you'll have to compensate terribly, hehe."

"This is my last piece of land. If I can finish it, please go elsewhere, brother."

The person smiled, shook his head, and disappeared back into the dense forest.