Number 172 Spirit Field

"It's you."

The dark-faced steward looked surprised. He clearly hadn't forgotten Xu Chunniang, the one who had refused the Inner Sect's recruitment.

He frowned and glanced at the jade slip in his hand.

"Planting spirit rice isn't easy; it requires daily, meticulous cultivation. With your Spiritual Qi, this task isn't suitable. I advise you not to take it.

The only thing that might suit you is the commission to care for demonic beasts, but even that isn't as simple as you might imagine. You must be familiar with their habits."

Xu Chunniang knew that if she had revealed her true cultivation level of Qi Condensation fifth layer, the steward would not have said another word.

But if he asked why her cultivation had advanced so quickly, would he believe it if she said it was enlightenment?

Qi Condensation fifth layer seemed powerful, but compared to ninth layer, the difference was vast. Someone could deal with her without even using half a finger.

Xu Chunniang's original intention in concealing her cultivation was to avoid drawing attention. This situation was just fine.

"But I'd like to try. If it doesn't work out, I'll switch to something else."

Seeing Xu Chunniang's persistence, the dark-faced steward shook his head and didn't try to dissuade her further.

In reality, cultivators often had no way back. She thought that if she didn't complete the commission well, she could switch to another.

But she didn't consider how difficult her situation would be in five years when she would be burdened with a substantial debt.

Xu Chunniang, unaware of the dark-faced steward's thoughts, successfully accepted the commission and walked out of the Commission Hall.

All her belongings were on her person. Thinking she had nothing to pack, she decided to head directly to the spirit fields.

Xu Chunniang took out a map, oriented herself, and then walked towards Spiritual Plant Peak.

She walked for a full half-day before reaching the foot of Spiritual Plant Peak.

The entire Spiritual Plant Peak was covered in spirit fields, scattered irregularly, with patches here and there.

Some areas were rich in Spiritual Qi, with over a dozen spirit fields connected, while others were more barren, with only a sparse one or two.

Next to each spirit field was a small wooden hut for the disciples tending to them. The huts had numbers written on them, appearing to be identification codes.

All the spirit fields were protected by a layer of Formations. One needed the corresponding formation talisman to enter, which was to prevent damage to the spirit fields and crops.

Most of these spirit fields were planted with spirit rice, with only a few being bare. Some spirit field owners had activated the shielding function of their Formations, making it difficult to see the conditions inside.

Xu Chunniang had a rough idea. These spirit fields planted with spirit rice already had owners, so she would likely have to choose from the bare ones.

She walked all the way to the summit of the peak and finally found Steward Sun, who was responsible for the distribution of spirit fields.

Seeing someone arrive, he was initially pleased. After sensing Xu Chunniang's cultivation, he frowned again.

"Qi Condensation third layer? What's going on? Are you just passing by?"

Xu Chunniang shook her head and handed over her token. "I'm here to accept the commission for planting spirit fields."

Steward Sun rolled his eyes, somewhat displeased as he took the token. He discovered she had indeed accepted a commission.

"Since you've accepted the commission, choose a spirit field."

As he spoke, he took out a blueprint that contained all the spirit fields on Spiritual Plant Peak.

The areas that lit up with white light were those already chosen, while the dull gray ones were those not yet claimed.

Xu Chunniang examined them carefully. It was not difficult to see that the best locations had all been taken, leaving only the less desirable spirit fields, located in remote areas.

Since they were all much the same, she decided to pick a spirit field in the most remote location, numbered 172.

After the steward registered her, he handed her half a pound of spirit rice seeds and a strangely shaped Spiritual Artifact, while carefully instructing her.

"Spirit rice can be planted twice a year. These are the seeds; they are only provided the first time you accept a commission. After that, you'll have to find your own way.

Planting spirit rice is no small matter. You must water it daily with the Spiritual Rain Technique and use the Earth Moistening Technique to replenish the Spiritual Soil's Spiritual Qi.

This is a low-grade Spiritual Artifact specifically for harvesting spirit rice. It will be reclaimed after you complete the commission. If it's damaged or lost, you'll be deducted one hundred Contribution Points. Oh, and the formation talisman—"

The steward grabbed a bag, found the formation talisman marked with the number 172, and handed it to Xu Chunniang.

"You can use this to open the spirit field's protective formation. Just inject Spiritual Qi to use it.

Remember to bring your spirit rice to me every six months for submission. If you have a surplus yield, I will purchase it at the price of one Spirit Stone per two jin.

However, as a novice with early-stage Qi Condensation cultivation, you'll likely struggle for the first two or three years..."

The steward shook his head, appearing quite pessimistic about Xu Chunniang's prospects.

Xu Chunniang took the items, nodded at the steward, and said nothing more before heading towards the spirit field.

Spirit Field Number 172 was located in a very remote area. It took Xu Chunniang a full hour to reach her destination.

Looking around, she saw that this entire area only had this one spirit field, which spoke volumes about how barren the region was.

Beside the spirit field stood a solitary wooden hut, within the formation. The hut was surprisingly well-maintained.

Xu Chunniang used the formation talisman to open the formation and walked inside, carefully examining the spirit field.

The Spiritual Qi within the spirit field was moderately sufficient. She secretly compared it to Spiritual Soil and found that the Spiritual Qi content in the spirit field was only about one-tenth of that in the Spiritual Soil.

However, the entire spirit field maintained this level of Spiritual Qi content, and its area was many times larger than that of the Spiritual Soil. It was barely enough for planting spirit rice.

After inspecting the spirit field, Xu Chunniang didn't rush to sow the seeds. She first entered the small wooden hut beside it.

Because it was protected by a formation, the small wooden house looked very clean, with hardly any dust.

The furnishings inside were very simple. Besides a bed and a set of table and chairs, there was nothing else.

Xu Chunniang nodded with satisfaction. Although it was a bit crude, it was livable. This would be her residence for the next five years.

The house looked clean, but since no one had lived in it for a long time, she should clean it up a bit.

"Spiritual Qi Manifests as Rain."

As Xu Chunniang's voice fell, it began to rain throughout the entire house, sprinkling densely into every corner.

If anyone else saw this scene, they would surely not understand and think Xu Chunniang was wasting Spiritual Qi.

After all, it was just to wash the house; she could have fetched water from the well outside. It would have been better to use this Spiritual Qi to water the spirit fields.

But Xu Chunniang didn't think so. Fetching water from the well, while saving Spiritual Qi, was too slow. She might as well use that time to cultivate.

Moreover, a single Spiritual Rain Technique wouldn't use much spiritual power.

Looking at the brand-new wooden house, Xu Chunniang smiled slightly and left the wooden house, heading to the spirit field.

She didn't sow directly but began to cast the Spiritual Rain Technique.

With her current cultivation, casting the Spiritual Rain Technique was as easy as raising her hand.

However, after casting the spell twice, Xu Chunniang stopped the Spiritual Rain Technique and switched to the Earth Moistening Technique.

She stood in the center of the spirit field, transforming the Spiritual Qi in her body into pure Earth Spiritual Qi, continuously channeling it downwards.

After consuming three-quarters of the Spiritual Qi in her body, Xu Chunniang withdrew her hand and took out the half-pound of seeds given by the steward from her Storage Bag, scattering them gently.

The spirit rice seeds were plump and crystal clear, almost three times the size of ordinary rice.

Looking at the newly planted spirit rice, Xu Chunniang fell into thought.

She had tried casting the Spring Growth Technique on multiple targets simultaneously before. At that time, she could condense at most three streams of pure Wood Spiritual Qi at once.

She wondered how many streams of Wood Spiritual Qi she could condense now, after these two years had passed.

I've communicated with the editor, and we'll be launching next Tuesday. (Latest news: I just received a notice from the editor saying we can launch this Friday, so you won't have to wait too long!) Thank you to fellow Daoists Xin Lian, Yu, and Zhao Hong for your monthly tickets!