Watching Han Su's receding figure, Xu Changqing withdrew his gaze.
At the same time, he was extremely curious.
He wanted to know what sort of cultivation technique Han Su would bring back from the Rogue Cultivator Market.
As long as it suited cultivation with a Wood Spirit Root, it would be absolutely fine.
Besides, with the help of his golden finger, he could instantly max it out.
His more than seventy thousand days of lifespan had long been "ravenously hungry."
Then the man and dog set off once more toward Stone Mountain.
He already knew what was on the mountain.
But there was still one cave he had never entered.
There was plenty of time anyway, so he could go take a look.
Before long, Xu Changqing returned to the foot of Stone Mountain.
The cave was on the other side.
It was fairly well hidden.
As for the entrance, it was somewhat low and narrow.
With Xu Changqing's height and build, he had to duck his head and turn sideways to enter.
The little yellow dog, on the other hand, had no such restriction and darted inside in an instant.
Seeing this, Xu Changqing hurriedly called out, "Slow down. What if there's danger inside?"
Then he swiftly followed after it.
The deeper he went, the dimmer the light became.
Fortunately, the passage ran straight through without any turns.
After roughly ten meters, they had reached the end.
At the deepest point was only a very small inner chamber.
Xu Changqing swept his gaze around. Aside from the little yellow dog, there was practically nothing there.
The inside of this cave was just like all of Stone Mountain—utterly ordinary everywhere.
"Woof!" The little yellow dog squatted in a corner, looking as though it were exerting itself with all its might.
Xu Changqing said irritably, "The air's bad enough already, and you still had to take a dump."
He backed away a few steps and waited on the other side.
Not long after, the little yellow dog finished relieving itself.
Then it kicked at the ground with its hind legs, trying to bury the "evidence" with dirt.
There was nothing unusual about that; it was normal behavior.
Yet when Xu Changqing caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye, his eyes suddenly widened.
What caught his attention, however, was not that pile of dog shit.
It was the soil kicked aside by the dog's legs.
The top layer was yellow.
But underneath it was actually black.
"Could it be..." Xu Changqing ignored the stench and immediately moved closer.
"Woof woof!" Thinking its master was hungry, the little yellow dog instinctively blocked the dog shit.
Xu Changqing pushed it aside, then reached out to touch the black soil.
It felt somewhat hard.
But after crushing it between his fingers, it turned out to be quite sticky.
"Black soil. It's definitely black soil." Xu Changqing was beside himself with excitement.
"Woof woof?" The little yellow dog tilted its head, looking at its master in confusion.
"Little fellow, you've rendered great service this time." Xu Changqing immediately picked it up and vigorously rubbed its head.
Next, he performed the Wood-Spirit Entanglement Art (third layer).
He released the ten grass seeds stored in his Spirit Mark.
The instant they touched the ground, those grass seeds evolved into ten Black Iron Vines.
Then, under Xu Changqing's control, they burrowed around in every direction.
Gradually, the top layer of yellow earth was turned over.
Sure enough, just as he had guessed, there was black soil beneath it all.
Though it had been buried for too long and might not be as high-quality as the Spirit Fields outside, it was absolutely suitable for growing the most common Spirit Rice.
After nurturing it for a while, perhaps he could grow other spirit plants there as well.
Not long after, Xu Changqing left the abandoned cave with the little yellow dog.
Once outside, he could not help examining Stone Mountain before him anew.
The longer he looked, the more suspicious it seemed—or rather, the more deliberate.
If it had been an ordinary mountain, there would indeed have been nothing wrong with it.
But it just happened to be Stone Mountain.
And beneath it just happened to be a huge amount of black soil.
Barring any surprises, this place had once been a Spirit Field as well.
With black soil here, it had to have been at least second-grade.
He just did not know who had deliberately concealed it.
But for now, there were not many people who knew of this.
Especially now—perhaps Xu Changqing was the only one left.
When the time came, he could secretly cultivate part of it.
Then Xu Changqing could grow Spirit Rice while planting other spirit plants too.
After all, if the Four-Leaf Clover had not occupied part of his Spirit Fields—
then this harvest would definitely have been more than [3500 jin].
By the time noon arrived—
Xu Changqing specially prepared a lavish lunch for the little yellow dog.
It could not be helped; it had rendered great service this time.
After eating, Xu Changqing washed the bowls and took out a Communication Talisman from his small storage pouch.
Li Sancai had given it to him when he came, but they had never contacted each other privately.
Spring was now over.
According to their agreement, he was to deliver eight hundred jin of Second-Grade Spirit Rice to Li Lingbi.
"Senior Brother Li, are you there?"
"What is it, Junior Brother Xu?"
"Don't we have a partnership?"
"Uh... Have you prepared the eight hundred jin of Second-Grade Spirit Rice?"
"I did not disgrace my mission. I barely managed to scrape it together!"
"Head east. After crossing three hills in succession, you'll see a river. I'm on the other side."
"Alright."
The communication ended.
Xu Changqing put the Communication Talisman back into his small storage pouch and began making preparations.
The little yellow dog was full and satisfied, lying comfortably by the doorway to rest.
Even when its master approached, it was too lazy to move, merely wagging its tail perfunctorily.
Xu Changqing smiled and instructed it, "I'm heading out. Guard the house properly.
"If bad people come, run quickly and hide in that abandoned cave."
He shut the door securely, then headed in Li Sancai's direction.
After crossing three hills in a row, he indeed saw a river.
The water was quite clear.
There were many little white fish inside.
Across the river stood a stone house and two mu of Spirit Fields.
From this, it was clear that Li Sancai was a man who lived easily and with Transcendence.
Xu Changqing went around to the other side and crossed the river via a pontoon bridge.
After reaching the opposite bank, he hurried without pause toward the wicker gate.
Why?
Because Li Sancai was already waiting at the entrance!
"Senior Brother." Once he drew near, Xu Changqing hurriedly cupped his hands in salute.
"Come in." Li Sancai opened the wicker gate.
The two immediately walked side by side.
Xu Changqing looked curiously at the two mu of Spirit Fields on either side.
One mu held the familiar Spirit Rice.
Judging by its condition, its quality had definitely reached supreme grade.
The spirit plants in the other mu of Spirit Fields, however, were rather unfamiliar.
They resembled orchids, yet were brilliantly multicolored.
Noticing this, Li Sancai introduced them. "They're called Rainbow Orchids. They're specially used to make talisman ink, spirit plants supplied exclusively to the Water-Control Pavilion.
"One mu yields around fifteen hundred plants and can be sold for five Mid-Grade Spirit Stones."
"Five?" Xu Changqing was astonished.
Li Sancai continued, "And they can be harvested once every two months."
Xu Changqing's expression changed slightly.
Once every two months.
There were twelve months in a year.
That meant six harvests a year.
If every harvest brought five Mid-Grade Spirit Stones—
then that would be a full thirty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones a year.
Equivalent to three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
Li Sancai seemed to see that Xu Changqing was tempted, but then changed the subject. "But not everyone can grow them."
"Huh?" Xu Changqing was stunned.
Li Sancai shrugged. "First, you must reach Late Qi Refining.
"Second, you need connections within the Water-Control Pavilion."
Xu Changqing was no fool and understood immediately.
His strength was not a problem.
But he simply could not meet the second requirement.
The only person he barely knew in the Water-Control Pavilion was Bai Ling'er.
Unlike Li Sancai, who had his cousin Li Lingbi backing him.
That man was a genius who, at such a young age, was already attempting to form an Earth-Grade Golden Core.
Afterward, the two arrived before the stone house.
There was a small pavilion here.
Inside stood a stone table.
Hot water and tea leaves had already been prepared atop it.
Xu Changqing did not waste words and decisively took out eight hundred jin of Second-Grade Spirit Rice.
"Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice?" Li Sancai had merely sensed it casually, but his eyes widened.
Eight hundred jin of Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice produced from Subordinate Second Rank Spirit Fields was neither too much nor too little.
In truth, for this first partnership, he had already prepared himself for the possibility that the other party could not produce eight hundred jin.
After all, for many spirit farmers who had just joined the Spirit Field Core—
completing each season's task was already an immense struggle.
Handing over another eight hundred jin of Second-Grade Spirit Rice was somewhat making things difficult for them.
Yet now, this Junior Brother Xu had not only failed to disappoint him, but had even far exceeded his expectations.
Li Sancai felt deeply fortunate that he had helped Xu Changqing back when they were on the outskirts.
Now, he had even brought Xu Changqing into his cousin Li Lingbi's circle.
Ordinary people could not grow Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice; even he himself could only produce high-quality rice.
It seemed this Junior Brother Xu was highly gifted when it came to farming.
Li Sancai immediately said, "Junior Brother Xu, you know the current market ratio for second-grade Spirit Rice.
"But since we're working together, we obviously won't follow the market rate."
"Mm." Xu Changqing indicated that he understood.
Li Sancai took out four spirit stones from his storage pouch and handed them over. "Of course, Senior Brother won't take advantage of you either.
"Though I can't trade at the current market ratio of 1:1.5, I can still manage 1.7."
Xu Changqing accepted them and saw that they were indeed four Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.
How much?
Not much!
Including the Mid-Grade Spirit Stone he had given earlier.
This transaction yielded five Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.
He neither lost nor gained; the only advantage was stability.
Now, Xu Changqing had ten Mid-Grade Spirit Stones in hand!
Before you continue