Harvest

Li Shiming gathered the Spirit Rice with his consciousness and recorded the data.

He currently had no conditions to optimize the Spirit Rice, but that did not mean he would never be able to. Each season of Spirit Rice took one month, and every extra set of data he recorded was equivalent to saving a month's time.

The average number of tillers per plant was sixty, and the overall yield of a single-layer cultivation rack was 0.65 kilograms per square meter.

After planting this season of Spirit Rice, he had obtained a total of 364 jin of Spirit Rice, nearly two and a half shi.

Looking at the Spirit Rice, a satisfied look appeared on his face.

His consciousness wrapped around the Spirit Rice, selecting the plumpest grains with the strongest vitality.

This Spirit Rice would become the seeds for the next season, continuing to produce even more Spirit Rice for him.

What made him even happier was that with this yield, even if it never increased again, it would be enough for his own consumption, with quite a bit left over.

Though there was extra Spirit Rice, it could not be given to ordinary people to eat.

The Spiritual Qi contained within Spirit Rice was considered gentle for Qi Refining Stage cultivators, but to ordinary people, it was highly poisonous.

If an ordinary person ate Spirit Rice, their body would burst, so he had no intention of sharing it with anyone else.

To prevent the fragrance of the Spirit Rice from spreading everywhere, even cooking with Spirit Rice was done inside the Server Room Space.

He used one jin of Spirit Rice, added Spirit Rain Water produced by the Spring Breeze Transforming Rain Art, and made a pot of Spiritual Rice Meal.

Li Shiming took the Spiritual Rice Meal out of the Server Room Space, and an indescribable rice fragrance immediately rushed into his face. Faint, gentle Spiritual Qi dispersed along with the steam.

He hurriedly ate in big mouthfuls, afraid that if too much time passed, too much of the Spiritual Qi in the Spiritual Rice Meal would be lost.

Although he had not eaten his fill for nearly a month straight, he still only ate a quarter of the Spiritual Rice Meal before he could not eat another bite.

He had overestimated his appetite. One jin of Spirit Rice cooked with water had made a huge full pot of Spiritual Rice Meal, and combined with the sense of fullness that quickly arose after the Spiritual Rice Meal entered his stomach, it let him know how much Spirit Rice he needed each time he cooked.

The Spirit Rice he needed in a month would not exceed seven and a half jin, and that was still judged based on his appetite after nearly a month of hunger. He believed the actual amount would be even less.

In that case, he would be able to have more than 350 jin of Spirit Rice left every month.

"I'll store it for now and see when I can sell some!" Li Shiming considered it for a while and did not stop planting Spirit Rice.

Spirit Rice was currently the only resource he had that was presentable and could be traded with other Cultivators.

Although he still had no trading partners, it was necessary to prepare in advance.

Planting the second season of Spirit Rice did not require as much effort as the first. With complete planting data, he only needed to pay attention to it at set times.

His consciousness entered the Server Room Space and opened a wooden chest in the small area he had reserved.

Inside the wooden chest lay two rows of iron objects protected by soft cloth. Each iron object was the size of a fist, with five in each row.

These were the self-defense weapons Li Shiming had prepared. The first row was White Phosphorus Bombs. White Phosphorus Bombs were extremely dangerous; after they touched an object, they would continue burning until they went out. Therefore, when they came into contact with a person's body, they would pierce through flesh and then sink all the way into the bones.

The second row was Thermite Bombs. Thermite Bombs were extremely powerful; when this kind of incendiary bomb exploded, it did not simply give off high temperatures and produce new substances.

Specially processed Thermite Bombs could release temperatures of 3,000°C, and their dazzling light was enough to blind the eyes of anyone completely unprepared.

At the same time, steel targets attacked by Thermite Bombs would usually melt rapidly.

This point was actually not hard to understand. After all, even a simple thermite reaction could melt elemental iron, let alone a Thermite Bomb.

These two extremely powerful bombs were the strongest life-saving weapons he could make using the materials he had on hand.

After he had Researched the defensive power of the White Robe Artifact, he had lost interest in making weapons such as firearms.

That was because ordinary firearms simply could not break through the defense of the White Robe Artifact, while stronger firearms were not something he could manufacture in a short time.

They were far less practical than White Phosphorus Bombs and Thermite Bombs. At the very least, these two kinds of bombs were the most likely to harm Cultivators.

As for that wooden Small Sword, it was not something he could use at all. He had tried once, and it had nearly drained the Spiritual Power inside his body dry on the spot.

The problem was that even if all the Spiritual Power in his body were drained dry, he still could not activate the wooden Small Sword.

The wooden Small Sword's demand for Spiritual Power was like a bottomless pit, not something he, at the Qi Refining Second Level, could control.

So even though he knew the wooden Small Sword was stronger, to him, it was still not as practical as the Longsword Artifact.

Li Shiming then sensed the Spiritual Power situation in the Server Room Space. After thinking for a moment, he began circulating the Five Elements Qi Absorption Art while drawing Spiritual Qi out of the Server Room Space.

Threads of Spiritual Qi were absorbed into his body, and as they circulated through him, the Impurities accumulated over nearly a month were expelled through his pores.

When one circulation of the Five Elements Qi Absorption Art was completed, he once again felt the lightness and clarity of his body.

There were actually not many Impurities expelled from his pores. It had only been a little over a month, and he had also controlled his food intake.

So there was no unbearable stench on his body, but he still had Si Qin prepare bathwater and gave himself a thorough wash.

The White Robe Artifact was quite nice. It had not been stained with the slightest bit of dirt, so it did not need to be changed and washed.

"Shiming, tomorrow the Official Ship stops at the Dock. I won't see you off!" In Li Wenyuan's study, he looked at Li Shiming and spoke in a deep voice.

Everything that should have been prepared had been prepared long ago, and all the greetings that should have been made had been made. A fledgling had to leave the nest eventually.

"Father, I put some tea leaves in the storeroom. After I leave, you must take good care of yourself!" Li Shiming lowered his head and said.

He had a feeling that after leaving Nanling Prefecture this time, he did not know when he would be able to return.

This time, he had said he was going to take part in the Spring Examination, but in truth, he was preparing to search for the path to immortality. He had no confidence in this matter either, so he would not mention it now. If there truly was a path to immortality in the future, he would inform Li Wenyuan by letter.

So even though Spiritual Qi was tight, he had still used the Spring Breeze Transforming Rain Art several times to produce tea leaves containing weak Spiritual Qi.

"Shiming, you've grown up. You have your own secrets, and I won't ask about them, but you must remember to take care of your safety. A gentleman does not stand beneath a dangerous wall!" Li Wenyuan hesitated for a moment, but did not ask anything. Instead, he gave him this reminder.

He had drunk the tea Li Shiming had stir-fried, so how could he not know how special it was?

Just look at his body now—he felt as if he had regained ten years of youth.

Every time he drank that tea, he could feel the improvements and changes in his body. Of course, as he drank it more often, that feeling was becoming less and less obvious.

Such miraculous tea leaves, together with the fact that Li Shiming had actually placed as Second Scholar in the Autumn Examination—these things, far beyond his expectations, had happened, and he knew there had to be some reason behind them.

But no matter what had happened, Li Shiming was still his son, and he would not go prying into his son's secrets.