Seeing that the other party remained silent, his expression strange.
"Alas."
Hu Bugui sighed. "I admit I used it before. Forty pounds of Spirit Rice Grain, how about that?"
"What?"
Xu Changqing's eyes widened. "Damn it, it's been used!"
"Thirty pounds of Spirit Rice Grain. I can't go any lower." Hu Bugui looked as though it pained him to give it up.
"Who said I wanted to buy it?" Xu Changqing rolled his eyes irritably.
"Huh? You don't want it?" Hu Bugui was utterly embarrassed.
Xu Changqing waved a hand. "I don't want the paper figure. What's in this bottle?"
Hu Bugui immediately said, "Hundred-Year Monkey Wine. Absolutely good stuff."
"What does it do?" Xu Changqing was very curious.
Hu Bugui answered, "It can slowly replenish spiritual power."
"It's not much use to me." Xu Changqing shook his head, then looked at the third item and asked, "What seeds are these?"
Hu Bugui shook his head. "I don't know what kind of spirit plant seeds they are, but they were pulled out by a thousand-year spirit beast, so they aren't cheap. You probably can't afford them."
"Name a price and let me give up." Xu Changqing truly did not believe some new thing could be that expensive.
Since a thousand-year spirit beast had eaten them, they definitely were not ordinary spirit plants.
There was a gambling element to it, but wasn't that where the charm lay?
He had nothing better to do anyway. What if there was an unexpected harvest?
"Three hundred pounds of Second-Grade Spirit Rice Grain." Hu Bugui raised three chubby fingers on his right hand.
"Shameless merchant!" Xu Changqing instantly lost interest.
"If you aren't buying, I'm leaving." Hu Bugui did not want to waste too much time.
"Wait," Xu Changqing called out.
Hu Bugui grinned. "I knew you needed paper figures—"
Xu Changqing hurriedly said, "I'm not buying anything. Can you help me find a recipe for brewing wine?"
"You want to brew Spirit Rice Wine?" Hu Bugui put away his lecherous expression.
"Yes." Xu Changqing nodded.
"Fine. I'll bring it to you next month, but you have to pay a deposit first." Cunning flashed through Hu Bugui's eyes.
Xu Changqing immediately asked, "How much?"
Hu Bugui blurted out, "Ten pounds of First-Grade Spirit Rice Grain. Give me five pounds first."
"Take it." Xu Changqing was not lacking such a small amount of Spirit Rice Grain.
"Same time next month." Looking as though his scheme had succeeded, Hu Bugui led his Spirit Beast Camel away at once.
Once he reached a place with no one around.
He opened his Small Storage Bag, rummaged through it, and pulled out a recipe for brewing Spirit Rice Wine.
This thing was not exactly everywhere, but many Spirit Farmers had one.
Although Spirit Rice Grain was not worth much, Spirit Rice Wine was different.
But why had he not sold it directly just now?
Wouldn't that have made it a one-time deal?
Only by keeping the other party constantly thinking about it could he make them remember him.
As several more days passed, the temperature grew lower and lower.
Only then did Xu Changqing begin planting Spirit Rice.
The quality of Spirit Rice was closely tied to the Spirit Fields.
The higher the grade of the Spirit Fields, the more spiritual energy they contained.
Naturally, the quality of the spirit plants grown there would also improve.
At the same time, the yield would rise as well.
In Grade-One Spirit Fields, one could only mass-produce a thousand pounds.
No matter how much more was planted, it would not exceed fifteen hundred pounds.
Even with Lin An bringing in people with Earth Spirit Roots and Water Spirit Roots to help, they had only managed eleven hundred pounds.
But in Grade-Two Spirit Fields, the yield directly doubled, starting at two thousand pounds.
If cultivation realm, spell level, and external factors were all taken into account.
It could even reach three thousand pounds.
That was why Xu Changqing had bought Spirit Beast Manure.
However, a few dozen pounds were nowhere near enough to cover the entire Spirit Fields.
So he deliberately placed it in a corner as an experiment.
He would see what quality the spirit plants would have, and how much they would yield, after adding the manure of a hundred-year spirit beast.
Thus, the fourth quarter's planting officially began.
When the Grade-Two Spirit Field was filled with spirit seedlings, the surrounding Wood Qi rapidly increased.
Worthy of being the Spirit Field Core Region.
The concentration of Wood Qi was much richer.
Xu Changqing immediately sat cross-legged on the ridge between the fields and began circulating the Evergreen Formula.
At once, a powerful suction force swallowed the Wood Qi from the Spirit Fields into his body.
Five strands of spiritual power began to move through him.
They circulated through one heavenly cycle after another.
In the days that followed, Xu Changqing cultivated without pause.
Finally, the next month arrived—December.
It was time for his appointment with Hu Bugui, the disciple from Beast Spirit Valley.
Xu Changqing cultivated as he waited patiently.
Just then, as the spiritual power within him accumulated more and more.
All of a sudden, a sixth strand of spiritual power appeared.
Though it seemed to be only one additional strand of spiritual power.
It represented another step forward in his strength.
"Fellow Daoist Xu!" Hu Bugui's voice rang out from afar.
Xu Changqing opened his eyes and looked toward the source of the voice.
The familiar Spirit Beast Camel.
The familiar jingling bells.
The familiar bundles.
And the familiar plump cheeks.
Hu Bugui said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Xu, I'm punctual, aren't I?"
"Of course." Xu Changqing gave a slight nod.
"This is the Spirit Rice you planted?" Hu Bugui had not cared much at first, but the longer he looked, the more stunned he became.
Though he was a disciple of Beast Spirit Valley.
He often traded in the Spirit Field Core Region, so his eye for such things was not poor.
One look was enough for him to discover that the Spirit Rice before him was astonishingly vigorous.
One had to know, this was winter planting.
The difficulty was greater, and it tested one's skill even more.
Yet it was not inferior in the slightest to the work of those experienced old Spirit Farmers.
If he remembered correctly, the other party had only become a Formal Disciple two months ago.
This truly shocked Hu Bugui.
Then, the smile on his face became even brighter.
"Winter cultivation really isn't easy." Xu Changqing smiled.
"Ah, yes, yes, yes." Hu Bugui agreed outwardly, but inwardly he was speechless.
If this counted as difficult to cultivate.
Then what were everyone else?
Trash?
"Did you bring the brewing recipe?" Xu Changqing looked very expectant.
"Since your brother promised, I had to get it." Hu Bugui patted his chest, then took it out of his Small Storage Bag.
Xu Changqing accepted it and took a look.
Sure enough, it was a recipe for brewing [Spirit Rice Wine].
The main ingredient was Spirit Rice Grain.
The process involved soaking the rice, steaming it, spreading it out to cool, mixing in the starter, saccharification, and alcoholic fermentation.
The steps were extremely detailed, easy to understand at a glance.
However, what surprised Xu Changqing was this.
His attribute panel suddenly changed.
[Evergreen Formula (Level Five)]
Beneath it.
[Spirit Rice Wine (Initiation) ↑]
What did this mean?
It meant it could also be improved by consuming lifespan!
"Don't worry, it definitely isn't fake." Hu Bugui dared to guarantee it.
"Fine, I'll give you the remaining five pounds of Spirit Rice Grain." Xu Changqing came back to his senses and took out his Small Storage Bag.
After accepting the remaining five pounds of First-Grade Spirit Rice Grain, Hu Bugui asked curiously, "Brother Xu... how many pounds of Second-Grade Spirit Rice Grain can this acre of Spirit Fields produce?"
Xu Changqing considered it before answering, "Around fifteen hundred pounds."
Barring any surprises, the yield should be two thousand pounds.
And the quarterly task only required him to submit one thousand pounds.
In other words, he would have an additional thousand pounds of profit.
He certainly could not reveal everything, so he deliberately concealed half of it.
No matter what, one must always keep one's guard up.
Hu Bugui pondered. "Five hundred pounds of Second-Grade Spirit Rice Grain... that should be enough."
"What do you mean?" Xu Changqing raised an eyebrow.
"During the New Year, the Immortal Sect will open a market in Red Maple Valley. At that time, Formal Disciples and even core disciples from every region will participate," Hu Bugui explained.
"What does that have to do with me?" Xu Changqing still did not understand.
"You can trade Spirit Rice Grain for other things." Hu Bugui spoke seriously.
"Right." Only then did Xu Changqing realize it.
Before you continue