Cleaning

He immediately used one Accelerate Growth entry. A mysterious radiance fell upon the Spirit Field before him.

Before long, he saw the Yellow Barley Malt Grass in the mu of Spirit Field that had already been harvested once growing at a speed visible to the naked eye. Soon, a lush expanse of tender green shoots was rapidly branching out and growing taller.

The other four mu showed no reaction at all, leaving him baffled.

Thinking that one Accelerate Growth entry wasn't enough, he used the remaining one as well.

To his surprise, the moment he used it, tender yellow barley shoots suddenly sprouted across the Spirit Field, which had been pitch-black and bare.

They swelled like balloons being inflated, growing at astonishing speed—like bamboo shoots after the rain, shooting up section by section. They changed with every blink.

His eyes could barely keep up. They soon shot up to twenty centimeters, then forty, as if growth came without cost.

Before long, the entire Spirit Field was packed with dense Yellow Barley Malt Grass, all at the same height and looking nearly ripe. Golden edges had appeared on many of the leaves in the middle of the field.

This was a sign that the crop was nearly mature.

Seeing this, he knew it wouldn't be long before the entire field reached maturity.

Lu Wanyuan rather liked the sight of the nearly ripe Yellow Barley Malt Grass, but inside, he was in a complete panic.

So far, he had used two Accelerate Growth entries and one Minor Accomplishment Spirit Rain Technique entry, yet he hadn't gained any new entries—not even a Strand of Spiritual Qi.

He had thought that with five mu of Spirit Field, he would gain at least a few entries, but now he hadn't gotten a single one.

This left him uneasy. Without a steady supply of new entries, the ones in his mind would eventually run out.

Still, it wasn't all bad. Once the Yellow Barley Malt Grass across those five mu ripened, harvesting the whole crop would bring him 3,450 Spirit Stones.

With that much, he could put them to good use and ease his current predicament.

Only then did he stop. After looking around and finding nothing amiss, he prepared to leave the Household.

He glanced at the front courtyard and saw that it looked even more run-down and desolate.

The house was built of stone, and moss and all kinds of creeping vines covered the entire structure. Some parts of the walls had even collapsed.

When he had first arrived, he hadn't taken a close look at the buildings. Back then, he had only wanted to find work at Bayberry Market; otherwise, he would have been driven out.

He had been far too pressed for time to think about anything else. Now, though, he was about to have another harvest.

That was why he finally had the leisure to look around.

The outer walls of the entire estate were also built of Mystic Black Stone. They looked perfectly fine, but inside, after years without maintenance, everything was rotten and desolate. The trees in the courtyard had grown in a wild tangle.

At the front of the courtyard stood three towering Ginkgo Spirit Trees, their age impossible to guess. There were also flower beds, but they were now full of weeds and wildflowers, and the Spirit Soil inside had long since dried out.

There was also a Rain Pavilion and a fishpond, but no one had cleaned the pond. It was filthy, with algae everywhere.

Seeing all this, Lu Wanyuan thought that since he was already working here, and both the outer walls and the front courtyard were in such a sorry state, it was hard to look at—so disorderly it made him feel compelled to fix it.

It would be much more pleasing to the eye once everything was tidied up.

He decided to get started.

He began by clearing the house's outer walls, pulling down the Azure Vines and moss that covered them.

The house was built in a U shape, with side rooms on either side at the front and the main hall and central rooms at the back.

After two shichen, the blue vines had piled up into a small hill. He then cast a Fireball Spell and burned the whole heap.

He cast a Cleansing Spell as well, cleaning the outside of the walls.

It took him another shichen to finish cleaning.

Before long, the house's original appearance emerged. Apart from the collapsed and damaged areas, the rest revealed how carefully the whole structure had been built.

It was made entirely of massive blocks of Mystic Azure Stone, each almost the same size. Some of the mortar between the stones had crumbled away, but the overall structure was still fairly sound. With some Spirit Stones to repair it, it would be in good shape.

He still hadn't gone inside the house. After all, it belonged to someone else, and he couldn't just barge in without permission. Even if its owner wasn't at the estate, he still had to show respect and follow the rules.

After finishing the cleanup, he pruned the withered branches from the towering Ginkgo Spirit Trees and cleared the weeds from the flower beds. He also loosened the Spirit Soil.

His plan was to buy some flower seeds when he got the chance and plant them in all the beds, bringing them back to life.

After tidying everything up, he went to the Rain Pavilion. It was an Octagonal Pavilion built over the fishpond.

The Octagonal Pavilion had looked rather dilapidated, but after he cleaned it, it took on a rustic charm.

The paint around the entire pavilion was mottled and peeling, but that did nothing to diminish its beauty. It looked breathtakingly lovely.

After cleaning the fishpond, he drained away the foul, stagnant blue-green water that had rotted inside it. Only then did he find the original inlet: a tiny Spirit Spring. The discovery left him astonished.

He hadn't expected the fishpond to be fed by a sealed Spirit Spring. No wonder the whole pond had been so lifeless.

Wasn't it a little extravagant to use Spirit Spring water to nourish a fishpond?

Though the Spirit Spring contained only a trace of spiritual energy, even that was enough for him. Having free spiritual energy available nearby whenever he needed it would be wonderful.

Once the spring water filled the entire pond, the water was crystal clear. A faint trace of spiritual energy floated above its surface, occasionally shimmering with a silvery-white glint in the rippling breeze.

Seeing this, Lu Wanyuan thought he could raise a few Spirit Fish here.

That would bring the whole pond to life!

Thinking about raising Spirit Fish reminded him of Silver Moon Spirit Carp. If possible, could he buy a few Silver Moon Spirit Carp to raise here? After all, the place had Spirit Spring water—definitely flowing water.

He immediately decided to buy a few and try raising them here.

But to buy Silver Moon Spirit Carp, he would have to wait until after he harvested the crops, when he had Spirit Stones to spare.

After finishing up, he also cleared the weeds, rotten branches, and moss from the walls.

He cleaned the entire courtyard floor as well.

Only then did the whole estate finally feel lively again.