Frost Wheat and Wheat Pellets

"This is a first-order ice-attribute spirit plant. It is especially fond of drifting, ever-changing cold snow qi. If it is merely planted somewhere and left there for too long, it will lose its vigor."

"If you are not afraid of the cold and are willing to take it out for walks.

"Once it blooms, the lotus seeds inside, after their cores are removed, make an excellent spiritual-energy ingredient. Taking them together with Moon Nectar Pearls will also benefit the body somewhat."

"Of course, it has a flaw as well. It will die after one month."

"The price is ten Spirit Stones."

After Spirit Vine finished speaking, it waited for Li Ye's answer.

Li Ye's first thought was that this Senior Vine was truly outrageous—it had actually sensed that he had eaten a Moon Nectar Pearl. Still, that happened to align perfectly with his current plans.

He needed to gradually reveal his ability to farm and cultivate spirit plants. He did not need to reveal too much, but he had to stand apart from others in some way, so he could lay the groundwork for entering the Four Seasons Sect.

After all, the injuries within his body had yet to heal. According to Spirit Vine and the original owner's memories, only the great sects truly possessed pills capable of curing them.

Even if a few occasionally found their way outside, their prices would be far beyond what he could afford.

Being a Rogue Cultivator was all well and good, but resources were difficult to obtain.

Entering the Four Seasons Sect was certainly not easy either, but as long as he proved his abilities, there would always be a way.

"Senior, this junior has a few questions..."

Li Ye asked several questions—for instance, exactly how much cold snow qi the lotus needed to absorb, and what counted as taking it out for a walk. He asked in great detail.

Spirit Vine answered every one of them.

It did not dislike such thorough explanations. On the contrary, it rather hoped everyone would ask such detailed questions, so that the spirit plants and spirit beasts sold away might find good homes.

"Thank you for informing me, Senior." Li Ye placed the ten Spirit Stones, which had not even had time to warm in his hands, on the table, then prepared to leave.

But before he could go, Spirit Vine suddenly spoke. "The sect disciples say the snow will likely continue for another fifteen days. When the spring breeze begins to blow, it will be time to prepare for planting spirit wheat.

"Come to think of it, it is rather interesting. Whether rice or wheat, both are things the sect's disciples and elders enjoy eating. Plant in spring, harvest in autumn—more or less like that."

Li Ye froze slightly, then understood at once—this was clearly hinting at the next link in his task!

Silver Moon Grass grew in the biting depths of winter, absorbing winter's yin qi and moonlight to form Moon Nectar Pearls. Once spring arrived, there would surely be other spirit plants needing to be planted.

He turned back with a smile. "Thank you, Senior! This junior also enjoys delicacies made from rice and flour, though I wonder what Senior enjoys eating?"

"Me?" Spirit Vine seemed rather surprised. "Rainwater when spring thunder cracks through the sky—the stirring of life that shatters winter's bitter chill. When all things awaken, that is the finest delicacy."

"Not only me. Many fellow Daoists are the same."

"This junior understands." Li Ye nodded, committing the matter to memory before taking his leave.

Watching his departing back, Spirit Vine could not help muttering, "His heart is in the right place, but how could rainwater from crashing spring thunder be so easy to collect? If he truly could gather it..."

It considered its current authority and felt that giving Li Ye a chance at a recommendation into the Four Seasons Sect would not be much of a problem.

Its master had said that cultivators should follow their hearts and live as they pleased. It found this boy agreeable, and he was somewhat clever too. By sentiment and by reason, it could be justified.

After leaving the Four Seasons Sect's shop, Li Ye carried the enormous fortune of a full forty Spirit Stones. He felt positively flush with wealth. With money in hand, he naturally wanted to stroll through the market and see whether he might gain anything along the way.

Compared with the flower-and-bird markets from before his transmigration, this place was noticeably less noisy. Those who truly intended to buy something either lowered their voices or communicated directly through Divine Sense transmission.

Most sellers also wore calm expressions.

After wandering around for a while, he first looked for spirit plants related to spirit wheat and spirit rice. Setting aside the task, it would still be worth planting some simply for himself to eat.

The result was unexpected—not that there were too few, but that there were too many!

With only a cursory glance, he found dozens of kinds of spirit wheat and spirit rice. Rice and wheat were the two most important crops among the five grains, so naturally they were abundant within the Four Seasons Sect's sphere of influence.

Five Elements Spirit Rice, Netherworld Spirit Wheat, Mutated Spirit Wheat, Harvest Spirit Wheat... the names sounded quite intimidating, but in truth they merely carried a trace of deathly qi or grew quickly.

That made sense. If they were truly miraculous or rare, why sell them here in the market? The official shops would certainly offer fair prices. There might be good things here, but they would be very, very few.

He strolled along at an unhurried pace.

Suddenly, a stall not far away caught his attention.

There was a small cauldron there, planted with a clump of vigorous wheat. Its Wheat Ears were clearly exceptionally full and had a semi-translucent texture; through their skins, he could see the deep blue wheat grains within.

Li Ye narrowed his eyes, and the panel activated at once—

Name: Yellow Grade, Low Rank, Grade D Frost Wheat

Mood: Weary

Status: Fully matured and currently nurturing "Wheat Pellets."

Bindable: Any ice-attribute spirit plant capable of producing seeds.

Wheat Pellets?

He truly had never heard of such a thing.

Curious, he stepped forward and asked the young stall owner wearing a Daoist robe, "Fellow Daoist, what is this spirit plant called?"

The young stall owner hurriedly replied, "This spirit plant is Frost Wheat cultivated by my family. It is a first-order spirit plant, originating from the Four Seasons Upper Sect.

"It grows extremely quickly in ice and snow and produces abundant yields. It can be harvested roughly once every five days."

Its wheat grains tasted icy-sweet, and once mature, they would explode into flour. The pastries made from it were exceptionally delicious. Fellow Daoist, you definitely won't lose out buying it!"

Li Ye's expression did not change, but inwardly, he was somewhat puzzled. From the looks of it, this man seemed unaware of Wheat Pellets. Was he deliberately concealing it, or did he truly not know?

After thinking it over, he leaned closer to the wheat and praised, "It truly is a pure ice-element spiritual plant, though it still falls far short of the spiritual energy in the spirit pill I ate a few days ago."

"..." The young stall owner's lips twitched. "Fellow Daoist, that is quite an amusing thing to say. How could a first-grade spiritual plant be mentioned in the same breath as a spirit pill? Unless it were the legendary Wheat Pellet, perhaps."

He privately grumbled as well. Where had this rich young master come from? Comparing a first-grade spiritual plant to a spirit pill—was he making a fool of me?

Li Ye raised a brow. "I did not expect you to know of Wheat Pellets as well. Such things, formed from gathered vitality and spiritual energy, are truly things one may encounter but cannot seek, and are difficult to discover."

In any case, if a spiritual plant was to nurture a pill, it was probably only possible through the gathering of vitality. He put on the air of someone who knew what he was talking about and said as much.

The young cultivator nodded along, a hint of sorrow on his face. "My father once cultivated Wheat Pellets. I clearly followed his methods, yet I have never succeeded to this day."

"If I could cultivate Wheat Pellets, not only could they be sold as a substitute for Grain-Refraining Pills, their spiritual power would also come close to pills of the same attribute. But alas..."

He gazed at the Frost Wheat he had painstakingly cultivated and let out a deep sigh. "If Fellow Daoist truly likes this Frost Wheat, you may take twenty plants for one Spirit Stone."

That was quite a cheap price.

Generally speaking, the prices of first-grade spiritual plants varied according to their effects and rarity. Spiritual plants like spiritual rice and spiritual wheat, which were needed in large quantities, were even cheaper.

Li Ye had obtained the information he wanted, and besides, these things could still nurture Wheat Pellets. He swept his panel over the spiritual wheat and said with a smile, "I hope Fellow Daoist does not mind if I pick them out myself?"

"Of course I don't mind."

So Li Ye unceremoniously selected every stalk that contained a Wheat Pellet, more than thirty in total. After some thought, he simply made it an even forty stalks, then gave the cultivator two Spirit Stones.

The other party was quite pleased and even specially gave him a book containing simple planting methods for Frost Wheat.

Li Ye was quite pleased as well.

Before leaving, he did not forget to ask when the cultivator would set up his stall. What if there were more Wheat Pellets to snap up at a bargain in the future?