Spirit Farmer of the Market Town

Qianji Market.

The Core Area of the Market Town sat atop a second-grade Spiritual Vein.

The surrounding outer districts were flat, with vast Spirit Fields cultivated and planted with abundant Spirit Rice.

Beside the endless golden rice fields,

a handsome youth formed a Hand Seal.

"Cloud Rain Technique, go!"

The spiritual power in the youth's Dantian rapidly drained away, transforming into wisps of mist that gradually rose and gathered into a Dark Cloud more than ten feet wide.

Fine raindrops fell from within.

They nourished the earth and irrigated the Spirit Rice.

The youth guided the Dark Cloud through the sky, watering a large stretch of land.

This was no ordinary rainwater.

The clouds and rain summoned by the youth contained a trace of spiritual power, greatly benefiting the growth of the Spirit Rice.

It was the season for the grain to form, and the harvest was at stake. There was no room for carelessness!

The youth had to come at least once every three days.

Besides that,

as a Spirit Farmer, he also needed to remove pests and weeds at the proper times!

The pests and weeds in the Spirit Fields were naturally nothing like those in the mortal world. This had given rise to two spells—Geng Metal Finger and Ice Crystal Technique.

The former precisely killed pests, while the latter located the roots of weeds and froze them, causing them to wither.

Clearly, this job had a certain threshold. At the very least, ordinary mortals could not do it.

A quarter of an hour later.

Chen Sheng felt that the spiritual power within him had been completely exhausted, yet one-third of the land he rented remained unwatered.

He would have to come back again later!

He sighed softly in his heart.

"Qi Refining Second Layer... my cultivation is still too low!"

Half a month earlier.

Chen Sheng had finally broken through the Mystery of the Womb and awakened the memories of his previous life.

In this life, he was called Tang Yun, fourteen years old.

His parents were both dead. He possessed a Low-grade Spiritual Root and was at Qi Refining Second Layer. He was a Spirit Farmer attached to Thousand Mechanisms Workshop.

It was rather strange.

He clearly carried Chen Sheng's bloodline, yet he did not bear the Chen surname.

Neither of his parents had been surnamed Chen either. As for the generation before them, even the original owner of this body did not know what had happened.

"I wonder how much time has passed since my previous life?"

"I thought I would awaken as a Disciple of a cultivation family, but I ended up as a rogue cultivator."

Chen Sheng had thought that he would become a Disciple of Madam Chen's main lineage in this life. Even now, he still thought longingly of his own Ancestor in the False Core Realm.

Unfortunately...

Chen Sheng shook his head.

He walked into the thatched hut nearby.

He sat cross-legged on the ground and began restoring his spiritual power. The spiritual energy around the Spirit Fields was several times richer than at his residence, so he often came here to leech spiritual energy for cultivation.

By now, he was quite experienced at it.

Another half hour passed.

After Chen Sheng replenished his spiritual power, he slowly rose to his feet.

He cast the spell once more... By the time he finished the remaining work, the sun was already high in the sky.

Wearing a straw hat to shield himself from the sun, Chen Sheng felt a little hungry and headed back to his residence.

He walked for seven or eight minutes.

A large expanse of neat Green Stone buildings came into view.

These buildings somewhat resembled countryside villas on Earth, each standing alone with its own courtyard and quite comfortable to live in.

This area was where the Spirit Farmers lived.

Courtyard Number Seventeen was Chen Sheng's residence.

Halfway there.

"Tang Yun!"

A dark-skinned youth approached from ahead.

Ji Feng, his neighbor, was at Qi Refining Third Layer.

"Ji Feng, where are you going?"

Seeing the other man heading out at this hour, Chen Sheng casually asked.

Ji Feng lowered his voice.

"You still don't know?"

"Know what?"

Chen Sheng was completely baffled and turned to ask.

"Hehe, something big happened. A small Secret Realm appeared over at Cloud Dragon Mountain!"

As Ji Feng spoke, his eyes shone.

"A Secret Realm?"

"Yes. I heard someone brought out a Foundation Establishment spirit item from inside. It's a rare opportunity. Want to go in and take a chance with me?"

Chen Sheng put on a contemplative expression upon hearing this.

Yet inwardly, he was speechless!

Those capable of fighting over a Foundation Establishment spirit item had to be experts at least in the Qi Condensation Late-stage. You're only at Qi Refining Third Layer, and you still dare to get involved?

You're courting death!

And one person isn't enough—you even want to drag me along?

Seeing Chen Sheng's pensive look, Ji Feng assumed he was tempted.

He quickly struck while the iron was hot and urged him on.

"There are plenty of Spiritual Objects in the Secret Realm."

"Don't worry, the risk isn't great. We'll only go to the outermost area, grab a haul, and run."

"Most importantly, this opportunity is rare. I heard from Old Deng that the last time a Secret Realm appeared was more than forty years ago."

"Back then, one of his friends went in and made a fortune. Now he's a great expert in the Qi Condensation Late-stage."

"Old Deng was too timid to go, and he regretted it for the rest of his life. He's still only at Qi Refining Fourth Layer."

Listening to him, Chen Sheng had to admit there was indeed some chance of success.

However,

far from being tempted, he became even more wary!

The heavens would not drop pie from the sky!

A Qi Refining Third Layer cultivator was asking a Qi Refining Second Layer cultivator to explore with him.

Grab a haul from the outskirts?

More like grab a haul from me, right?

In any case,

if Chen Sheng were at Qi Refining Fourth Layer, he would be willing to invite Ji Feng along on an expedition too.

Once they left the Market Town, he would explore Ji Feng!

Chen Sheng put on a timid expression.

"Forget it. I'd better honestly farm my fields. It's too dangerous."

Ji Feng looked as though he hated iron for not becoming steel.

"The little Spirit Stones you earn from farming aren't even enough to support cultivation. You'll end up like Old Deng sooner or later, regretting it for the rest of your life."

At the mention of Old Deng again,

Chen Sheng grew curious.

"What about Old Deng? Is he going?"

Ji Feng nodded as if it were only natural.

"He's still hesitating, but he regretted missing out last time so badly. He'll definitely go this time."

"If you're not going, forget it. Old Deng and I will go together. Don't be jealous when the time comes."

When Chen Sheng heard this, Old Deng's usual kindly, smiling face could not help but surface in his mind.

But you could know a person's face without knowing their heart.

The other man's Qi Condensation Mid-stage cultivation was no lie.

For a moment, Chen Sheng could not make sense of Ji Feng's true intentions. He gave an awkward smile.

"Of course not, of course not. I wish you success in finding Spiritual Objects and a long Immortal Path."

Ji Feng burst into laughter.

"Don't worry. When I get back, I'll treat you to drinks."

Chen Sheng smiled and bid him farewell. After walking a few more steps, he finally arrived home.

He pushed open the outer courtyard gate.

Inside was a small courtyard of roughly two hundred square meters, neatly divided into several plots, where several fruit trees and lush green vegetables had been planted.

Although this was not a Spirit Field, it had still absorbed some spiritual energy.

Under Chen Sheng's careful tending, these plants were growing quite well.

He casually pinched off a handful of tender chives and headed into the kitchen to begin cooking.

All the ingredients were ordinary materials from the mortal world and very cheap.

As a Spirit Farmer,

Chen Sheng tended ten mu of Spirit Fields and earned around twenty Spirit Stones each year.

For cultivation, this amount of Spirit Stones was naturally a Drop in the Bucket.

It was barely enough to buy a single Breakthrough Pill or a low-grade Dharma Artifact.

However, if he wanted to live comfortably, feast on fine food and drink every day, eat meat and fish, and keep several beautiful maidservants to care for his daily needs, it was more than enough.

After all, the Cultivation World never lacked mortals.

You might possess a Spirit Root in this generation, while the next generation might not.

Thus, there was actually a large population of mortals at the bottom of the Cultivation World.

There were many small towns near the Market Town, where cultivators and mortals lived together.

Prices there were much higher than in the mortal world, but gold and silver still served as the primary currency. Cultivators like Chen Sheng earned "Spirit Stones."

Exchanging one Spirit Stone for a hundred taels of gold was easy, even though there were no sellers at that price.

Eating and drinking well every day, then keeping several beautiful maidservants, was no problem at all. He could easily afford it.

Therefore, as long as they were willing, these Spirit Farmers could live exceedingly comfortable lives.

Many of Chen Sheng's neighbors, for example, lived precisely such comfortable lives.

But Chen Sheng's thoughts were different.

Farming had no future. This profession had a threshold, but it was not high. He wanted to learn a genuine craft.

—Pill refinement, Weapons, Talismans, Formations, and the like.

Thus, he had lived frugally for the past two years.

Chen Sheng took out the Spirit Stones he had saved over the past two years and began counting them.

"Thirty-seven."

His brow furrowed slightly.

"Even the worst trades require fifty Spirit Stones to take on an apprentice, let alone pill refinement, Weapons, Talismans, or Formations."

"Do I have to save for another two years?"

Chen Sheng shook his head. Before his memories had awakened, he had been too thin-skinned and would most likely have done just that.

But the current Chen Sheng was unwilling to waste two prime years.

He searched through his home but found nothing of value.

"I still need to borrow money."

"But from whom? Who would be willing to lend it to me?"

Chen Sheng quickly sorted through his memories.

Before long, a Scar-faced Man surfaced in his mind, and Chen Sheng's heart stirred.