Another Year's Harvest
By the second year, the level of Chen Mobai's freshman class was basically obvious.
Although they are all geniuses from the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens Seventy-Two Blessed Lands of the Immortal Sect, there are still differences in their abilities among geniuses.
Most people originally thought that Chen Mobai, a student who came from Blessed Land and barely made it into the Cutoff Score thanks to the expansion of the Four Great Dao Academies, was the worst candidate. However, they never expected that he would make a name for himself among these geniuses.
In this second semester, apart from the Talisman course, Chen Mobai also ranked first in all other Puppetry Agriculture.
Suddenly, the name of the awakened Sleeper resounded throughout their grade, and even became known to the upperclassmen and teachers.
Besides Chen Mobai, other students also shone brightly, revealing talents and abilities that surpassed those of others.
For example, Ming Yihua is the best at Artifact Refining, Yun Yangbing is the best at Array Formation, Wang Xingyu is the best at Alchemy, Lu Zixuan is the best at beast taming, Zhai Jianbai the Sword Training First, and so on...
Chen Mobai was also included among them, and they were collectively known as the "Wuqi Ten Elites" of the Class 5012 of the Wuqi Dao Academy.
Chen Mobai simply laughed it off.
These are all empty titles; only Foundation Establishment is real.
Even the combined reputation of all ten of them, the "Wuqi Ten Elites," couldn't compare to a single finger of Zhongli Tianyu's. Looking across the entire Immortal Sect, if you said you were Zhongli Tianyu's classmate, most people would immediately understand.
It was also in this year that Zhongli Tianyu broke through again, reaching the third level of Foundation Establishment.
In his hands, the "Cantong Qi" shone with unprecedented brilliance, and some even speculated that he might reach the threshold of Core Formation before his Sixty-Year Limit.
Some senior students at the Foundation Establishment who had been living in seclusion in the Back Mountain of Red City couldn't help but come out of seclusion to see this person who might be the most outstanding True Dao Seed in the Dao Academy's history of a hundred years.
While everyone's attention was drawn to Zhongli Tianyu entering the Back Mountain, Chen Mobai quietly collected his final report card and left the Dao Academy.
He did not return to Vermilion Cloud City.
Because his parents went on a trip, although he really wanted to get together with his friends like Lu Hongsheng, after not seeing them for two years, Chen Mobai felt that their figures in his memory were gradually fading away.
He called Qing Nü, whom he had been in contact with, Qing Nü was relieved to hear that he wouldn't be returning to Vermilion Cloud City this year.
She's busy preparing for her Second Grade Alchemist certification exam, and during her vacation she'll be studying over a dozen related books. Since Chen Mobai isn't returning, she has no reason to go back to Vermilion Cloud City, so she can focus on her studies.
"Then I wish you great success in your exam."
Chen Mobai smiled and ended the call with Qing Nü, but inwardly he was marveling at how quickly his Heaven Spirit Root had progressed.
It should be noted that he benefited from the effects of the Spirit Opening Enlightenment Pill, which is why he passed the First-Grade Talisman Master exam this year. However, to pass the Second Grade exam, he would probably need to study for at least several more years, and might even need to reach the Foundation Establishment before he has a chance to pass.
However, compared to the rigorous professional examinations for Hundred Arts of Cultivation in the Immortal Sect, the examinations in the Sky River Realm are quite lenient, with almost no entry requirements.
Anyone who can craft any type of Second Grade Talisman can call themselves Second-tier Talisman Master.
By this standard, Chen Mobai is already a Second-tier Talisman Master.
However, he suffered many losses in the Sky River Realm and did not expose this fact.
That year, Chen Mobai focused his main energy and attention on the Dao Academy. However, thanks to the effects of the Spirit Opening Enlightenment Pill, he saved a lot of study time and did not slack off in the Divine Wood Sect.
He cultivated his two mu of medicinal herb fields and twenty-six mu of Spirit Field exceptionally well.
After all, Sect Contribution are essential if one wants to exchange for Foundation Establishment in the future. The contribution from this field is ten times the reward of ordinary tasks. Chen Mobai also kept this matter in mind when he had enough energy and time.
It's impossible for one person to take care of so many Spirit Field, but Chen Mobai hasn't forgotten that he's a member of the Spiritual Plant Department.
He issued a sect mission through the Spiritual Plant Department to the Spirit Treasure Pavilion to take care of the Spirit Field, recruiting three people with no limit on cultivation level. As long as they have cultivated spiritual power and can activate the Green Light Formation to defend against birds and beasts, they are eligible.
In any case, he personally handled all the main tasks of plowing, sowing, fertilizing, controlling rainfall, pest control, and harvesting.
He offered 15 Spirit Stone a year for this task, which was rather low, but two Qi Refining Level 2 disciples and one Qi Refining Level 3 disciple from the Divine Wood Sect Qi Cultivation Third Layer still accepted it.
Chen Mobai personally tended to the two mu of medicinal herb fields and two mu of Spirit Field on Little Sun Ridge. The remaining twenty-four mu of Spirit Field were distributed in three different locations, with each of the disciples he recruited occupying one field.
He didn't hold back; when sowing seeds, transplanting rice seedlings, or even when weeding after rain, he openly demonstrated these techniques to the three disciples of the Divine Wood Sect.
However, the crucial fertilizer was brought from the Immortal Sect, but they weren't told about it.
"Junior Brother Chen, it's another year of bountiful harvest."
Led by Chen Mobai, Lu Jun and Teng Jie harvested all two acres of medicinal fields and nineteen acres of Spirit Field under the name of the Spiritual Plant Department. Due to the large yield, it took them three days to complete the task.
"You two have worked hard. Come on, have a drink before you go."
"Junior Brother Teng, this is the Spirit Wine that Inspector Sun praised so highly after drinking it last time. We are in for a treat."
The jar of wine that Lu Jun took from Chen Mobai last time was so amazing after he tasted it that he immediately gave it to his superior Sun Gaochang, who was also a drunkard. After drinking it, Sun Gaochang went straight to Chen Mobai and asked to buy all of his stock.
However, Chen Mobai also knew that things are valued for their rarity, so he only took out ten jars of wine and did not even think about asking for Spirit Stone. He simply gave them to the inspector of the Spiritual Plant Department.
However, Sun Gaochang was an exceptionally serious person. After taking the wine, he immediately threw down a Mid-grade Spirit Stone.
"We, the people from the Reward Hall, are most particular about clearing accounts. If these accounts are not cleared up at the beginning, they will become increasingly difficult to clear up later. If they become accounts of favors, they may even cost you your life. Therefore, this Inspector must give you this Spirit Stone."
After saying this, Sun Gaochang left with ten jars of wine.
It was through this incident that Chen Mobai came to believe that Sun Gaochang, this seemingly smiling but actually cunning Foundation Establishment Elder, was a reliable ally.
In the Sky River Realm, the Spirit Wine has not developed at all.
The Green Mountain Yeast from Chen Mobai's hometown, Qingshan, can only brew up to Second Grade Spirit Wine.
The Jade Sprout Spirit Rice used by the Divine Wood Sect is of such high quality that, despite the rice being of average quality, the resulting Spirit Wine is comparable to Green Mountain Wine.
The wine he served to Lu Jun and the other man was the Jade Sprout Spirit Wine he had brewed before the Lunar New Year.
After they finished their drink, they opened another jar of Green Mountain Wine and compared them, finding that each had its own unique flavor.
Jade Sprout Spirit Wine is strong, Green Mountain Yellow Wine is mellow.
After the reception, the three settled the production of the Spirit Rice, and Chen Mobai's account gained an additional 3,000 points of Sect Contribution.
Among these, there are 2650 points for Jade Sprout Spirit Rice and 350 points for two mu of Dew Condensing Grass.
After comparison, it is clear that planting spiritual herbs and medicines yields greater rewards. No wonder that even though farming yields ten times the contribution points, everyone in the Divine Wood Sect flocks to the medicinal herb fields, almost completely disregarding the Spirit Field.