After resting for a while, Lu Wanyuan prepared to till these five mu of Spirit Fields.
The Spirit Fields had lain abandoned for too long, leaving the soil severely compacted. In some places, it was hard as iron.
At his current strength, it would probably take him three to five days to till the entire field.
That was because he not only had to break up the soil, but also clear away all the rocks, tree roots, and weed roots in the Spirit Fields. Clearing them all was a time-consuming, laborious process.
Only after finishing that could he till the field again. After the second tilling, the soil would be fine and loose, and the nutrients and spiritual qi it contained would be much more abundant. The spiritual crops would then grow much more vigorously.
That was because the field's vitality could be devoted entirely to nourishing the spiritual crops, instead of being stolen by other things. He had already cleared away the weeds and other plants that would compete for spiritual qi.
Just as he'd predicted, it took two shichen.
By then, Lu Wanyuan was drenched in sweat, utterly exhausted and pale. There wasn't a trace of spiritual power left in his Dantian.
The Spirit Fields had been abandoned for far too long. The earth had settled and become badly compacted; it was practically as hard as a rock.
Beneath the Spirit Fields were clumps upon clumps of weed roots, reaching several meters deep.
Whenever he came across one of those dense clumps of weed roots, it took him ages to dig them out.
Looking at the blisters on his hands, now bleeding, Lu Wanyuan couldn't help sighing. How was this any different from being a peasant farmer in his previous life? And he called this the Cultivation World? It was downright embarrassing.
This was just too hard. But when he thought about how the rent would be due again in two months, he had no choice but to get right back to work.
Another shichen passed, and he finished tilling one mu of Spirit Field. After turning and leveling the soil several times, he had tidied up a square mu of it.
Just as he was feeling thoroughly exhausted, a series of new entries appeared above the Spirit Field:
[Name]: Unranked Spirit Field [Entry]: Giant Strength Amplification 2x X2 (Spirit Field tilling 100% complete, ready to harvest) [Name]: Unranked Spirit Field [Entry]: Accelerate Growth X2 (Spirit Field tilling 100% complete, ready to harvest) [Name]: Unranked Spirit Field [Entry]: Strand of Spiritual Qi X4 (Spirit Field tilling 100% complete, ready to harvest)
He hadn't expected to gain so much after all that grueling work: eight entries of three different types, including two new ones, "Giant Strength Amplification 2x" and "Accelerate Growth."
Without a second thought, he immediately harvested all of them.
The entries were all stored in his mind. "Accelerate Growth," "Giant Strength Amplification 2x," and "Fire Attribute Magic Power Amplification 2x" were green, while "Strand of Spiritual Qi" was white.
The "Fire Attribute Magic Power Amplification 2x" entry was one he'd harvested yesterday and hadn't used up yet.
There were now twelve entries deep in his mind: two "Accelerate Growth" entries, two "Giant Strength Amplification 2x" entries, four "Strand of Spiritual Qi" entries, and four "Fire Attribute Magic Power Amplification 2x" entries.
Seeing so many entries in his mind—and especially gaining so many this time—came as a real surprise!
He'd been grumbling about how much effort it took to reclaim the land. But now that he'd gotten "Giant Strength Amplification 2x," he felt it had all been worth it!
There were still nearly four mu of barren Spirit Fields left to till. Without a word, Lu Wanyuan used one of the "Giant Strength Amplification 2x" entries.
With a thought, one "Giant Strength Amplification 2x" entry vanished. Then he hoisted his Spirit Hoe and began tilling the field.
Sure enough, a tremendous power filled both his hands and feet, flowing from the soles of his feet up to his waist, chest, and arms. When he swung the Spirit Hoe, each stroke had previously gone only half a foot deep, but now a single stroke cut two meters into the earth—and it felt effortless.
If he hadn't been looking at his own arms, he would've thought he was operating an excavator.
Great swathes of farmland opened up beneath his hoe, the earth swooshing aside like waves splitting and rolling back.
Just like that, in no time at all, he finished tilling the two mu of Spirit Fields, leaving them neat and level.
The previous mu had taken almost three shichen to till, but this time he finished in just one. The main reason was that it took so little effort. Deep tilling no longer left him irritated; instead, he was in high spirits, and so his work went faster.
Seeing how effective it was, Lu Wanyuan immediately used his other "Giant Strength Amplification 2x" entry to clear the remaining two mu of Spirit Fields.
He wanted to finish all five mu of Spirit Fields today and plant the seeds as well. After all, he still had other things to do.
Before long, he had finished clearing the land. After tilling those four mu of Spirit Fields, he gained five "Strand of Spiritual Qi" entries, one "Accelerate Growth" entry, and two "Minor Accomplishment Spirit Rain Technique" entries. It was quite a haul.
The moment he saw the "Minor Accomplishment Spirit Rain Technique" entries, Lu Wanyuan's eyes lit up. The Spirit Rain Technique used a spell to draw spiritual qi from the surrounding air and let it fall as spirit rain, nourishing the crops in the Spirit Fields and helping them grow quickly. Spiritual crops nourished by ample spiritual qi were generally more resistant to pests and grew stronger and healthier.
In other words, if you wanted to grow crops well in your Spirit Fields, the Spirit Rain Technique was crucial. The more proficiently you could cast it, the more secure your harvest would be.
However, spellcasting proficiency was divided into four levels: initiation, minor accomplishment, great accomplishment, and perfection.
Lu Wanyuan had been stuck at Qi Refining Level 1, so his Spirit Rain Technique had remained at the initiation level. His spiritual power was simply too limited; each time he cast it, it lasted only as long as a candle's smoke, and the results weren't very good. The area it covered was barely one zhang across, about half the size of a dining table.
He took out the Yellow Barley Malt Grass Seeds and scattered them over the Spirit Fields. The small white seeds fell onto the dark soil like white sesame seeds. Once he had finished sowing, Lu Wanyuan immediately used one "Minor Accomplishment Spirit Rain Technique" entry.
A vast layer of spirit rain appeared in the sky above the soil. The rain pattered down onto the dark earth, and before long, the Spirit Field was moist.
Only after seeing this did he stop.
He'd never expected to use spirit rain to moisten all five mu of Spirit Fields in just one shichen.
The Minor Accomplishment Spirit Rain Technique was so effective. If it reached the Great Accomplishment Realm—or even the Perfect Realm—the results would surely be many times better.
Thinking of this, Lu Wanyuan couldn't help looking forward to it. His lack of spiritual power had held him back before, but now, with these entries, it seemed that limitation no longer existed.
With all that done, all he had to do now was wait for the Yellow Barley Malt Grass to grow. Once it did, he could harvest it in batches, just like cutting chives. After all, it was used as raw material for talisman paper.
He could harvest three crops a year. He'd originally thought his employer had given him spirit grain seeds, but it turned out they were Yellow Barley Malt Grass Seeds.
He had no idea how much the mature Yellow Barley Malt Grass would sell for, or even where to sell it. To find out, he'd have to make time to ask around. But with his current Cultivation Realm, he would probably have to wait until he reached Qi Refining Level Three. Otherwise, his strength was too low, and he might get into trouble.
Besides, the Yellow Barley Malt Grass had only just been planted, and it would still take some time to mature. For now, he should spend that time cultivating.
In any case, he'd already received a lot of "Strand of Spiritual Qi" entries. He could probably advance to Qi Refining Level Three just by using them all.
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