Spirit Rice Withers

After eating and drinking his fill, Yang Chen arrived at the place for the monthly summary.

Just like last time, the steward Lin Chuan was present. He praised the disciples as usual and encouraged them to keep up the good work.

Unlike last time, Yang Chen made it onto the rankings, and as expected, he received 5 Spirit Crystals.

After collecting his Spirit Crystals, Lin Chuan called Yang Chen and thirteen other disciples aside. "I've seen the progress you've all made this month, and I'm very pleased. Because of your efforts, our Area 8 can rank among the best in Nineteen Peaks."

"Compared to last month, all of your rankings have improved to some extent. It's gratifying that Area 8 has another person on the list."

Lin Chuan looked at Yang Chen with a gentle expression. "Yang Chen, I hope you'll continue to work hard and work together to push Area 8's ranking higher."

"Your disciple will do his utmost to bring glory to Area 8!"

"Ambitious! I believe you have a drive to improve," Lin Chuan praised with a smile before scanning the crowd. "With Yang Chen on the list, the gap between Area 8 and Area 5 has narrowed further. I hope that when I come here again next month, Area 8 can advance to second place."

"We are willing to bring glory to Area 8!"

Huang Tianyu said solemnly. With him taking the lead, Wei Xiao and a few others immediately voiced their agreement.

"I believe in you," Lin Chuan said with a satisfied smile. "I'll make a promise too. If we can advance to second place next month, each of you will be rewarded with 10 Spirit Crystals."

Hearing about the extra reward, Yang Chen and the others were overjoyed.

10 Spirit Crystals might not seem like much, but it was more than a month's worth of their benefits, and that was after accounting for the Qi Strength Pills.

Anyone would be happy to receive more than a month's worth of resources.

Even Huang Tianyu felt the same. His cultivation speed was astonishing, but his consumption was equally staggering. Even with the rewards from the cultivation rankings in recent months, his expenses still outweighed his income.

To maintain his current pace, he still needed a large amount of Spirit Crystals, so every source of income was a cause for happiness.

"I look forward to your performance."

Lin Chuan left them with these words and disappeared with a leap.

Huang Tianyu and the others left first. Before leaving, Xu Qingqing glanced at Yang Chen. Yang Chen didn't notice this, as another person had appeared before him.

"I won't lose to you."

Meng Shijun left with a hint of resentment and then gracefully departed.

Next, Wang Kui and the other supervisors gave their customary speeches. After the speeches, it was time for the much-anticipated resource distribution. After receiving his resources, Yang Chen left with Zhu Xi.

Along the way, there was naturally a lot of chatter. Upon returning to his residence, Yang Chen played with the Spirit Crystals in his hand, pondered for a moment, and then sent a message to Wang Feng.

"Senior Brother Wang, get me two Spirit Calming Incense, two Muscle Relaxing and Vitality Pills, and two bottles of Qi Strength Pills."

He had 12 Spirit Crystals and bought cultivation resources with all of them.

Others might need to consider maximizing their value and planning for cultivation resources after breaking through to the Blood Martial Realm. He was different; he just needed to improve his strength as quickly as possible.

His current cultivation speed was not slow, but there were many others who could match him. However, once he broke through to the Blood Martial Realm, there wouldn't be many who could keep up with his pace.

This had nothing to do with talent; it was purely a financial advantage.

The night passed without incident. Yang Chen hurried to the spirit field early. It had been over two months since the Spirit Rice was harvested. The Spirit Rice in the field was growing vigorously, presenting a scene full of vitality.

He inspected it once, confirmed there were no issues, and returned to his wooden cabin to cultivate.

Two days later, the aura around Yang Chen changed:

[Realm: Qi Martial Sixth Level, Punching Strength: 7511 kg]

Without considering the cost of Spirit Crystals, Yang Chen's cultivation speed was very fast. Less than a month after his last breakthrough, he advanced again.

He clenched his fist, feeling the astonishing power within it. With such immense strength at his disposal, he could even kill an elephant with a single punch.

If you can't find the book by its title, you can try searching for the author. Perhaps the title has been changed!

The breakthrough in cultivation brought not only changes in strength but also made his senses sharper and his eyesight improved. It was an all-around enhancement.

Yang Chen was not complacent. He was still a low-level martial artist. While the Qi Martial Realm might be considered strong in a town, it was insignificant in a county or a prefecture.

Not to mention being in the Sun Moon Sword Sect, where there were far too many people stronger than him. The road ahead was long, and he still needed to take it one step at a time.

This world was dangerous, but fortunately, the Sun Moon Sword Sect was very safe. No matter how great the trouble, it couldn't threaten him, a mere handyman disciple.

Time slowly passed in this exhausting yet fulfilling cultivation. Without realizing it, another half a month went by.

[Realm: Qi Martial Sixth Level, Punching Strength: 8451 kg]

In the past half a month, Yang Chen's strength had improved significantly. He guessed that his current strength would allow him to climb many more spots on the rankings. However, during this half a month, he hadn't gone to the testing monument, and his ranking had dropped to ninety-first.

This caused quite a bit of discussion. The happiest among them was Meng Shijun, as he had advanced instead of falling back, now ranking eighty-second.

Yang Chen heard some of the comments but didn't care. He just needed to show his strength at the end of the month settlement.

"My brewing skills are getting better and better."

In his wooden cabin, Yang Chen poured himself a cup of wine with a hint of pride.

This was not rice wine, but actual alcoholic water.

Drinking his own brewed wine and eating the beast meat and rice stew he made himself was truly a unique experience.

After eating and drinking his fill, Yang Chen cultivated as usual before lying down on his bed and falling into a deep sleep.

The next morning, he arrived at the edge of the field and began his inspection.

Just as he thought everything was normal, he unexpectedly found that a few Spirit Rice plants in a corner of the spirit field were yellowing. He didn't dare to be careless and leaned in for a closer look.

Upon seeing this, his heart sank. These few Spirit Rice plants were listless, seemingly suffering from malnutrition.

This was unbelievable, as the spirit field had a Spirit Gathering Formation, so the Spirit Rice shouldn't be lacking spiritual energy at all. How could it be malnourished?

Moreover, the Spirit Rice had been lush and verdant just a few days ago. There was no reason for a problem to suddenly appear.

He frowned. If only these few plants had a problem, it would be within his acceptable range. He was afraid this wasn't an isolated incident.

If a large area had problems, his path in the Sun Moon Sword Sect would be cut off. This was something he absolutely could not allow.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to report the matter this afternoon and ask someone to examine what kind of problem this symptom was.

Throughout the day, Yang Chen's cultivation was somewhat distracted. He waited until the afternoon, then rushed back to the living quarters. Without even time to eat, he headed straight for Wang Kui's place.

Wang Kui was the supervisor of the spirit field area, but he rarely went there, spending most of his time cultivating in his residence.

"Yang Chen, why are you here?"

Seeing Yang Chen rush over, Wang Kui was a little surprised.

The two didn't have much interaction, but ever since Yang Chen made the list, he had paid much more attention to him.

He was also a newcomer and knew what it meant to make the list.

Those from their Area 8 who had made the list back then had all been promoted to outer disciples by now.

"Supervisor Senior Brother, there's a bit of a situation with the spirit field I'm responsible for..."

Yang Chen quickly explained the situation, especially detailing the symptoms of those few Spirit Rice plants.

Wang Kui had been the spirit field supervisor for over a year and knew the various conditions of Spirit Rice like the back of his hand. He immediately offered a suggestion: "This symptom indicates the Spirit Rice has been infested by insects. Go to Nineteen Peaks town and buy a bottle of Insect Luring Powder. It should resolve the issue within two days."

Yang Chen breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that there was a solution. He thanked Wang Kui and hurried away.

Watching Yang Chen's retreating back, Wang Kui, however, frowned. "With the Spirit Gathering Formation in place, how did the rice-eating insects get in?"