Planning for the Future

Although Wang Daoyuan had never personally planted spirit grain, he had eaten pork and seen pigs run. He knew that from germination to seedlings reaching half a foot in height, spirit grain needed ten to twenty days.

Yet in a day and a half, it had achieved the effect of more than ten days of growth. For the moment, he could think of only two possibilities: first, the Spirit Pearl Space was exceptionally suited to growing spirit grain; second, time flowed differently within the Spirit Pearl Space than it did outside.

Whether the Spirit Pearl Space was suited to growing spirit grain was difficult to judge, but the flow of time was easy to test.

He found two incense sticks and lit them. He placed one outside and the other inside the Spirit Pearl Space. By the time the incense within the space had burned out, the one outside had burned down by only about a tenth. The result showed that time in the Spirit Pearl Space flowed ten times faster than in the outside world.

"Mother of heaven! I'm going to get rich!" Wang Daoyuan roared excitedly.

If the profits calculated earlier from selling spirit grain were multiplied by ten, he would earn eight thousand Spirit Stones a year—far beyond what an ordinary Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator without one of the Hundred Cultivation Arts could make.

The entire Wang Clan earned only twenty to thirty thousand Spirit Stones a year, but that income had to support dozens of cultivators. These eight thousand Spirit Stones of Wang Daoyuan's would all be his own.

By that calculation, the spirit grain would ripen once every nine days, for forty harvests a year. Four mu of Spirit Fields would yield thirty-two thousand jin of spirit grain.

Wang Daoyuan cried. How was he supposed to sell all this? After planting this season, he could not grow so much spirit grain anymore. He could neither sell it all nor eat it all, and he could not give it away either. Who would have thought that one day, he too would worry over having too many resources?

Ever since his Five-element Spiritual Root had been detected, he had always lacked cultivation resources.

Therefore, his plan for the future had been to become a Talisman Master and earn resources through talisman crafting. With the knowledge accumulated in his previous life and his diligent study and hard training in this one, he had long been able to easily produce Tier One Mid-Grade Talismans.

He was confident that by around the age of thirty, he could become a Tier Two Talisman Master. Once he became a Tier Two Talisman Master, earning Spirit Stones would be easy. With sufficient resources, he would have a good chance of reaching the Qi Refining Peak before the age of seventy.

He had not even dared hope to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill. Its auction price had never fallen below fifty thousand Spirit Stones; even if the Wang Clan emptied its coffers, it would be hard-pressed to buy one.

Besides, even if the Lineage bought one, it would be allocated to the Lineage's Foundation Establishment prospects. And even if they gave it to him, a single Foundation Establishment Pill would give him very little chance of succeeding in Foundation Establishment.

His original plan had been to make every possible effort, then force a breakthrough before the age of seventy.

Now that he had the Spirit Pearl Space, resources were no longer a problem. Wealth, teachings, companions, and land—wealth came first. As long as there were enough resources, even the worst aptitude could be hammered into Foundation Establishment.

With the hard conditions changed, his original plans were no longer suitable. Wang Daoyuan made new plans for his future.

Set a small goal: first earn... no, first cultivate to the Qi Refining Peak.

Considering his own aptitude, even under the most optimistic estimate, he would need to be around thirty to achieve this small goal.

After that, he would still have forty years to prepare for breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

With the small goal decided, he still needed to consider how to act right now.

The Lineage rules stated that before coming of age at twenty, clan descendants could remain at the ancestral grounds to cultivate without taking on any duties. After turning twenty, they had to work for the Lineage.

Wang Daoyuan's previous plan had been to remain at Jade Spring Peak and work hard to improve his talisman-crafting skills. Once he left the mountain at twenty, he would work at a Wang Clan shop and provide Talismans for the Lineage.

After becoming a Tier Two Talisman Master, he could become a Lineage elder like Ninth Granduncle Wang Shoude and take charge of one category of the Lineage's business.

But now, staying on Jade Spring Peak would instead delay his cultivation.

Because underage descendants could not casually leave Jade Spring Peak. If he did not leave Jade Spring Peak, he would have no way to sell the spirit grain and spirit herbs grown in the Spirit Pearl Space. Wang Daoyuan could only stare helplessly at huge quantities of spirit grain and spirit medicine, unable to exchange them for even one pill that could improve his cultivation.

Wang Daoyuan was now a Tier One Mid-Grade Talisman Master, a "technical talent." Working in a shop, aside from completing a certain monthly quota of talismans, he would face no other restrictions.

That way, he would have ample time to sell spirit grain and spirit medicine, and he could also purchase some more valuable First-Order Spirit Medicine.

He made up his mind that he had to find an excuse to leave Jade Spring Peak as early as possible and work at a Lineage shop.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten days passed. The spirit grain in the Spirit Pearl Space had been harvested once. Perhaps because there were no insects in the space to harm it, the yield was quite good, averaging more than two hundred and thirty jin per mu. Afterward, Wang Daoyuan kept only one mu for spirit grain. Of the remaining three mu, he planted Yellow Cloud Grass on one and Crimson Blood Ginseng on the other two.

Today was the last day of the year. Although cultivators generally did not celebrate the New Year as mortals did, the Wang Clan was rather unusual and had retained the mortal custom of observing it.

The Wang Clan's founding ancestor, Wang Chengzhu, had originally been the pampered second-generation heir of a wealthy mortal family. Moreover, he had been the family's sole sprout among a thousand qing of land—the only son. The affection lavished on him by his elders went without saying.

Before the age of twenty, Wang Chengzhu spent every day amid fine horses and fragrant carriages, flying hawks and hunting hounds, living a plain, unadorned, and boring life.

Until the day he turned twenty, the city where Wang Chengzhu lived was trampled flat by a sudden Beast Tide. His parents and relatives were all buried in demon bellies, while he alone narrowly escaped calamity.

Wang Chengzhu swore to slaughter every Demon Beast and avenge the destruction of his family.

Later, he happened upon the inheritance of a Rogue Cultivator and set foot on the path of cultivation. Though he started very late, Wang Chengzhu possessed Dual Spiritual Roots, and his Water Spiritual Root measured an astonishing eight cun and nine fen—only a hair short of a Heavenly Spiritual Root. His cultivation speed could be called breathtaking. He began cultivating only in his twenties, yet successfully achieved Foundation Establishment before forty and opened his Purple Mansion in his eighties.

Afterward, Wang Chengzhu hunted Demon Beasts everywhere and made a name for himself in the northern part of the Zhao Kingdom. The Zhao Clan, the Zhao Kingdom's most powerful cultivation family and royal house, wished to recruit him.

Wang Chengzhu's ancestors had once been ministers of the Zhao Kingdom. His father had named him Chengzhu in the hope that he would, like his ancestors, become a general abroad and a minister at court.

For the sake of fulfilling his father's last wish, and also to find himself a patron, Wang Chengzhu accepted the offer and became a guest elder of the Zhao Clan.

Later, Demon Beasts north of Return Goose Mountain invaded the Zhao Kingdom in force. Wang Chengzhu shone brilliantly in the war against them, his merits outstanding.

After the Demon Beasts were driven back, the Zhao Clan rewarded Wang Chengzhu with a great quantity of cultivation resources and bestowed Jade Spring Peak upon him. Wang Chengzhu married, had children, and established the Wang Clan.

Because of Wang Chengzhu, the Wang Clan had retained many customs and habits of mortal families from the moment it was established. After Wang Chengzhu's death, these customs gradually faded, but practices such as settling the accounts at year's end and worshipping the ancestors remained.

Today was precisely the day when the Lineage elders settled the accounts, reviewed the past, and looked toward the future. By afternoon, every free clansman on Jade Spring Peak gathered before the ancestral temple to listen to the Lineage elders deliver their "year-end summary" and announce the plans for the coming year. After that came the ancestral rites.

Wang Daoyuan stood before the ancestral temple, listening to the Great Elder, Wang Zhiren, speak from the high platform. It felt as though he had returned to his previous life, listening to some leader hold forth in grandiose rhetoric. He truly could not muster any interest, so he thought about how to leave Jade Spring Peak early and work outside.

After who knew how long, Wang Daoyuan's legs had begun to ache when the Great Elder finally finished yammering. Next, Clan Head Wang Zhian stepped forward and said, "Next, I'll briefly say a few more words."

Wang Daoyuan listened for a while and was just about to let his mind wander into the great void again when the clan head's words caught his attention.

The clan head said, "This year, the Lineage acquired a new shop in Qingli Market. It needs five or six people to work there. Those with a skill will be given priority. Any clan descendants willing to go may register with the Great Elder."

Hearing this news, Wang Daoyuan, who had been preparing to let his mind drift beyond the heavens, immediately perked up. Just when he was dozing off, someone had handed him a pillow. This was simply a perfect excuse falling from the sky.