Harvesting Spirit Rice

Chapter 6: Harvesting Spirit Rice

Returning to his residence, Shi Yue eagerly took out the blue pearl, injected it with spiritual power, and entered the mysterious space.

Compared to yesterday, the spirit rice seedlings in the spirit field had grown considerably taller, their leaves thick and broad. As Shi Yue had expected, the flow of time here was ten times that of the outside world.

With an excited expression, Shi Yue circled the one mu of spirit rice, confirming that the seedlings were in perfect condition. Then, he turned his attention to the two mu of vacant spirit fields.

Low-grade spirit rice had little demand for spiritual energy and could mature after a certain period of growth. Spirit herbs, however, were different—they needed to absorb sufficient spiritual energy to grow, otherwise they wouldn't even sprout. A hundred-year spirit herb referred to one that had grown for a hundred years in an environment suitable for its growth. Suppose a spirit herb needed to absorb a thousand units of spiritual energy over a hundred years; if it grew in an environment with exceptionally abundant spiritual energy, it could absorb that thousand units in far less than a hundred years.

The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy here was far richer than in the outside world. Planting spirit herbs here could greatly shorten their maturation time.

Shi Yue took out the silver hoe, raised it high, and brought it down with force.

This hoe was a mid-grade magic tool. Its sole purpose was to till spirit fields, breaking up the spiritual energy condensed in clods of soil and distributing it evenly throughout the land, making it easier for spirit plants and herbs to absorb.

For other cultivators, a hoe artifact was utterly useless, a mere chicken rib. But for a spirit planter who grew spirit herbs, a good hoe artifact was crucial and indispensable.

"If you want a good harvest, you need a good hoe"—a saying widely circulated among spirit planters.

Shi Yue gripped the silver hoe tightly, smashing large clumps of earth and turning over the soil beneath.

After half a day, Shi Yue had tilled both mu of spirit fields. The turned soil became soft and loose, greatly beneficial for the growth of spirit herbs.

Wiping the sweat from his face, Shi Yue put away the silver hoe and produced two leather pouches. From one pouch, he took out a red seed and carefully buried it in the soil.

Blazing Sun Grass needed to absorb sufficient sunlight, so the seeds had to be spaced farther apart, ensuring each plant received enough light. Condensing Smoke Grass didn't require as much sun; regular watering sufficed, so the seeds could be planted closer together.

Shi Yue buried a Blazing Sun Grass seed every foot or so, making sure the gap between seeds exceeded one foot.

After planting the last Blazing Sun Grass seed, Shi Yue began to chant, and a large amount of blue light gathered around him.

A moment later, his incantation ceased, and he pointed at the sky above the spirit field.

The blue light surged toward the sky above the field, converging into a massive white cloud mass that covered the one mu of spirit field planted with Blazing Sun Grass.

"Fall!" With Shi Yue's low shout, raindrops as large as beans poured down from the white cloud mass onto the spirit field.

One after another, golden blades of grass emerged from the soil, growing continuously until they reached about a foot in length and stopped.

Blazing Sun Grass didn't require much rain. After half an hour, Shi Yue withdrew his hand seal, and the white cloud mass dissipated.

Next, Shi Yue planted Condensing Smoke Grass seeds one by one into the remaining mu of spirit field, spacing them less than half a foot apart. He applied far more water than he had for the Blazing Sun Grass.

After finishing all this, Shi Yue exited the mysterious space.

Having worked for most of the day, Shi Yue was exhausted, but he didn't rest. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the stone bed, silently reciting the cultivation mantra for the second layer of the Great Void Art, absorbing spiritual energy.

For a cultivator, meditative cultivation could also serve as rest, though it wasn't as comfortable as lying in bed to sleep. Still, Shi Yue didn't indulge in comfort; no matter how tired he was, he persisted in his cultivation.

Shi Yue had already experimented: the flow of time in the mysterious space was ten times that of the outside world. If he cultivated inside for ten days, even if only one day passed outside, his lifespan would still decrease by ten days. Therefore, cultivating in the mysterious space wasn't worthwhile unless he had sufficient resources or was at a critical breakthrough point in his realm.

The next morning, when the first rays of sunlight fell into the courtyard, Shi Yue walked out of the stone house, a faint smile on his face.

Today was the day to harvest the spirit rice—the happiest day of the year for Shi Yue.

From nearly one mu of spirit field, he could harvest about eighty to ninety jin of spirit rice.

Shi Yue walked up to a stalk of spirit rice, produced a pair of golden scissors, and snipped off a grain the size of a baby's fist. He carefully placed it on the ground, then moved on to the next...

After more than an hour, all the spirit rice was harvested. Plump grains piled up together, forming a miniature golden hill.

Shi Yue looked at the mountain of grain before him, a hint of a smile appearing on his slightly tired face. He took a storage bag from his bosom, tossed it into the air, and cast a hand seal onto it.

The mouth of the storage bag opened wide, emitting a beam of light that enveloped all the grains. The grains shrank rapidly at a visible speed until they were small enough to fly into the storage bag and disappear.

Shi Yue beckoned to the floating storage bag, and it flew back into his hand.

He moved his lips slightly, and red light gathered before him, quickly condensing into a crimson fireball.

"Go," he pointed at the spirit rice stalks in the field, and the crimson fireball flew swiftly toward them.

With a "puff," the crimson fireball ignited the spirit rice on contact, burning fiercely. The flames grew larger, and the intense heat forced Shi Yue to retreat into the stone house for shelter.

Before long, the flames subsided, leaving only a pile of ash in the spirit field.

He walked out of the stone house and performed a rainfall technique, causing raindrops as large as beans to fall continuously onto the field.

After a quarter of an hour, Shi Yue withdrew his hand seal and stopped the rainfall.

Leaving the courtyard, he released his magic tool and flew toward Great Void Valley.

Great Void Market was a market established by the Great Void Sect, located in a valley three hundred li northeast of the sect. The Great Void Sect had stationed a Core Formation Cultivator there long-term, showing how much importance they placed on the market.

In truth, the Great Void Sect's market was quite famous, far more prosperous than those run by other sects.

The Great Void Sect was located in Yuezhou, which bordered Northern Yan Country. The Great Tang Cultivation World and the Northern Yan Cultivation World had fairly amicable relations, and cultivators from Northern Yan occasionally came to the Great Void Sect's market to trade goods. Sometimes, Northern Yan cultivators brought items not found in the Great Tang, which broadened people's horizons and attracted even more cultivators to visit, making the market increasingly thriving.

After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Shi Yue landed in a small grove outside Great Void Market.

He changed into plain clothes, looking like an ordinary cultivator, and then walked toward the market.

According to the conventions of the cultivation world, flying was prohibited within five li of the market. As Shi Yue walked along, he saw many cultivators hurrying past, a few of whom wore peculiar attire—likely cultivators from Northern Yan Country.