Harvesting Spirit Grain

As the Spirit Grain entered its ear-emergence stage, the Spirit Farmers along Azure Water Lake's shores grew busy.

In the past, only a few figures could be seen in the Spirit Fields each day. Now, every Spirit Field had someone watching over it, casting rain and killing pests. They were busy beyond measure.

These Spirit Fields had not been built atop Spirit Veins. If they relied solely on the spiritual energy leaking from the Spirit Veins for cultivation, they could never yield a good harvest.

The Spirit Fields built atop Spirit Veins belonged only to the sect.

The Spirit Farmers' role was to use methods such as casting rain, sorting Earth Qi, and extracting wood-element vital energy to replenish the spiritual energy needed for Spirit Grain to grow strong.

Ji An understood. They were simply "fertilizing" machines for Spirit Grain.

He was now at the very bottom of the sect's pyramid, but one day, he would see the scenery at its peak and find out whether the heights were truly too cold to bear.

Busy days always seemed to pass swiftly. Two months vanished in the blink of an eye.

In the days leading up to the harvest, Ji An squatted in the Spirit Field all day and did not dare leave for even a moment.

Thousands upon thousands of birds gathered around Azure Water Lake. Whenever people were not paying attention, they would fly into the Spirit Fields and peck at the crops.

If those little creatures were allowed to linger in the fields for a while, who knew how much Spirit Grain would be lost.

Some wealthier Spirit Farmers bought puppets to guard their Spirit Fields. Old Huang had one, but Ji An did not have that kind of money, so he could only serve as his own rice-field watchman.

"Finally, it's over." Ji An wiped away his sweat, shouldered the bag of harvested Spirit Grain, and returned to his bamboo house.

He tied up the cloth sack with a rope, took out the large scale he had borrowed from behind the door, hung the rope from it, lifted the wooden scale beam with his right hand, and moved the weight with his left.

"One hundred... one hundred ten... one hundred twenty-one jin of Spirit Grain. Not bad!"

Ji An smiled in satisfaction.

For one mu of Spirit Field, under good management and with the Spirit Farmer's Farming Spells all reaching the second tier, the harvest could reach two hundred jin of Spirit Grain per season. That was the ideal outcome.

Ji An possessed Minor Accomplishment in the Minor Cloud and Rain Art, Thick Earth Art, and Wither and Flourish Art. Under ideal conditions, his half-mu Spirit Field could yield one hundred thirty jin of Spirit Grain.

The sect's purchase price for First-tier Spirit Grain was one Spirit Crystal per jin, though it varied slightly depending on quality.

Ji An's batch of Spirit Grain looked quite good. If he sold it all, he should receive more than one hundred twenty Spirit Crystals. That counted as a huge sum, probably twenty or thirty Spirit Crystals more than the Spirit Farmers who had entered the sect in the same batch as him.

However, only in his first year could he enjoy such a harvest. A year later, he would have to pay field rent, taxes, and other additional expenses.

For one mu of Spirit Field, calculated by season, buying grain seeds cost roughly twenty Spirit Crystals, the field rent was sixty jin of Spirit Grain, and there was also the "head tax."

The First Layer of Qi Condensation required ten Contribution Points per year, the Second Layer of Qi Condensation required twenty points, and so on. Contribution Points were deducted directly from one's jade token.

If someone failed to pay the full taxes for two consecutive seasons, they would be sent to the mines for three months of hard labor before being expelled from the sect.

Old Huang had said that if one wanted to save money on grain seeds, the harvest would teach Spirit Farmers how to behave. Cultivating grain seeds was one of the sect's secret arts. Three years ago, the field rent had suddenly risen from fifty jin of Spirit Grain to sixty, making the lives of many Spirit Farmers even more impoverished.

Ji An sighed. Even though the sect's taxes were not low, they were still far better than wandering as a Rogue Cultivator. His father had once said that during Early Qi Condensation, there were times when an entire year's gains amounted to less than two Spirit Stones.

He pulled out a chair and sat in the courtyard, wondering whether he should get himself a rocking chair.

At sunset, he could set a rocking chair beneath the great tree, brew a pot of spirit tea, sit down in blissful contentment, and raise a spirit beast to lie beside the chair.

Tsk, tsk. Just thinking about it gave him the feeling of being beyond the dust of the world.

He closed his eyes and linked his consciousness to the Stone Turtle.

Master: Ji An

Dao Rhyme: 0

Spiritual Inspiration: Kan Spirit 23.4, Kun Spirit 7.2, Xun Spirit 0.1

Spells: Minor Cloud and Rain Art (Minor Accomplishment 92%)

Thick Earth Art (Minor Accomplishment 97%)

Wither and Flourish Art (Minor Accomplishment 52%)

Blazing Fire Spell (Beginner 1%)

Sharp Metal Art (Proficient 12%)

Over the past two months, Ji An had practiced his spells diligently, and with the Stone Turtle providing a tiny bit of help, the Minor Cloud and Rain Art and Thick Earth Art could catch up at any time with the level Old Huang had attained after years of bitter cultivation.

The only less-than-good news was that despite two months of uninterrupted cultivation without any shortage of pills, he still had not advanced to the Third Layer of Qi Condensation.

If he had not worried that spell mastery too high for his current cultivation would be difficult to control, the Minor Cloud and Rain Art and Thick Earth Art would certainly have already reached Great Accomplishment.

"Little Brother An, how was the harvest?"

His thoughts were interrupted. Ji An opened his eyes and saw Old Huang standing beyond the fence with a genial smile.

He hurriedly rose to his feet and smiled.

"Senior Brother, please come in. Thanks to your good fortune, the harvest was quite good."

He pointed at the cloth sack on the ground again.

"Senior Brother, weigh it. I guarantee it will leave you stunned!"

"Oh? Then I must take a proper look."

Old Huang grabbed the rope binding the sack and weighed it in his hand. A knowing look appeared in his eyes.

"About one hundred twenty jin. Little Brother An, you truly are a born Spirit Farmer!

If I'd had your talent back then, perhaps I would be a great Foundation Establishment cultivator by now."

After saying that, he could not help but sigh with emotion.

"Senior Brother's senses are astonishing!"

Ji An praised him. Seeing Old Huang estimate the weight so accurately without a scale left him quite amazed.

"Alas, I calculated it carefully. Once I start paying the sect's taxes a year from now, this harvest will barely be enough to make ends meet."

After working hard for three months on one mu of Spirit Field, only a little over one hundred Spirit Crystals would end up in his hands. He would not even dare consume pills freely.

Half of the spiritual power he refined had gone to feed Lord Stone Turtle. If he did not use pills to speed up his cultivation, advancing to Mid Qi Condensation would likely be difficult.

He also owed a mountain of debt. He had to repay part of it a year from now, or he would lose his credibility.

Ji An stepped closer and said,

"Senior Brother, how much can the First-tier Spiritual Field you cultivated increase production?"

"I don't know."

Ji An frowned slightly. Was it a trade secret he was unwilling to reveal?!

Old Huang laughed. "Little Brother An, an ungraded Spirit Field can only grow Yellow Bud Rice.

But the yield of Yellow Bud Rice is capped at three hundred jin per mu of Spirit Field."

"Even if you train Farming Spells like the Minor Cloud and Rain Art, Thick Earth Art, and Wither and Flourish Art to Perfection, you still cannot break through that limit.

But a Low-grade First-tier Spiritual Field can grow Azure Corn. Hehe, this is the main ingredient for refining Azure Jade Pills, the pills used by Mid Qi Condensation cultivators.

No one would use a First-tier Spiritual Field to grow Yellow Bud Rice."

"Then you're making a fortune, Senior Brother!"

Old Huang's face turned bitter.

"Little Brother An, you don't think the rent for Spirit Fields is all settled with Yellow Bud Rice, do you? Whatever you grow is what you must use to settle it.

The cost of Azure Corn seeds makes up nearly twenty percent of the expenses, and even Great Accomplishment Farming Spells provide a much smaller increase in Azure Corn yield."

"Life is not easy."

Ji An let out a sigh.

Old Huang nodded in deep agreement. He opened the cloth sack, grabbed a handful of Spirit Grain, hulled it, and praised it.

"The quality is excellent. You can sell it for a few more Spirit Crystals."

"Not bad." Ji An smiled. He did not plan to sell it; he intended to keep it for himself to eat.

Yellow Bud Pills could not be taken every day, for fear that pill toxins would accumulate and become difficult to purge. But Spirit Grain could be eaten every day, every meal.

For him, once his cultivation rose, he would have more choices.

Others had to bitterly comprehend spells, but he did not. That was his greatest advantage.

The setting was adjusted earlier: Spirit Fields not established near Spirit Veins were all ungraded, while First-tier Spirit Veins corresponded to First-tier Spiritual Fields.