Beneath the Mountain Lies Black Soil; An Appointment with Senior Brother Li

Watching Han Su's retreating back gradually fade into the distance, Xu Changqing withdrew his gaze.

At the same time, he was immensely curious.

He wanted to know what kind of cultivation technique the other man would bring back from the Rogue Cultivator Market.

As long as it suited cultivation with a Wood Spirit Root, there would be no problem at all.

Besides, with the help of his golden finger, he could instantly max it out.

Those seventy thousand-plus days of lifespan had long been "parched with hunger."

Immediately afterward, man and dog headed once more toward Stone Mountain.

He already knew the situation on the mountain.

But there was still a 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 concealed.

As for the entrance, it was somewhat low and narrow.

Given Xu Changqing's height and build, he had to lower 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 shouted, "Slow down. What if there's danger inside?"

Then he quickly followed after it.

The deeper they went, the dimmer the light became.

Fortunately, the passage ran straight through without a single turn.

After about ten meters, they reached the end.

At the very back was only a tiny inner chamber.

Xu Changqing swept his gaze across it. Apart from the little yellow dog, there was almost nothing inside.

The interior of this cave was just like Stone Mountain itself—utterly ordinary everywhere.

"Woof!" The little yellow dog squatted in a corner, looking as though it were exerting tremendous effort.

Xu Changqing said irritably, "The air is bad enough already, and you're still taking a dump."

He stepped back a few paces and waited on the other side.

Before long, the little yellow dog finished.

Then it kicked at the ground with its hind legs, trying to bury the "evidence" in dirt.

There was nothing unusual about that. It was perfectly normal behavior.

But from the corner of his eye, Xu Changqing suddenly widened his eyes.

What caught his attention, however, was not that pile of dog shit.

It was the soil kicked aside by the dog's hind legs.

The top layer was yellow.

Yet beneath it was black.

"Could it be..." Xu Changqing ignored the stench and immediately leaned 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 once crushed between his fingers, it became remarkably sticky.

"Black Soil. It's definitely Black Soil." Xu Changqing was beside himself with excitement.

"Woof woof?" The little yellow dog cocked its head and looked at its master in confusion.

"Little guy, you've rendered great merit this time." Xu Changqing immediately picked it up and vigorously rubbed its head.

Next, he cast the third layer of the Wood-Spirit Entanglement Art.

He released the ten grass seeds stored within the Spirit Mark.

The instant they landed, those grass seeds evolved into ten Black Iron Vines.

Then, under Xu Changqing's control, they burrowed through the surrounding ground.

Gradually, the top layer of yellow earth was turned over.

Sure enough, just as he had guessed, there was Black Soil beneath it all.

Although it had been buried for too long, and its quality might not compare to the Spirit Fields outside, it would definitely be suitable for growing the most common Spirit Rice.

After nurturing it for some time, perhaps he could even grow other spirit plants there.

Before long, Xu Changqing left the abandoned cave with the little yellow dog.

Once outside, he could not help examining Stone Mountain before him anew.

The more he looked, the more suspicious it seemed—or rather, deliberate.

If it had been an ordinary mountain, there would have been no issue.

But it happened to be Stone Mountain.

And there happened to be a vast amount of Black Soil beneath it.

Without accident, this place had once been a Spirit Field as well.

With Black Soil present, it had to have been at least Second Grade.

He simply did not know who had deliberately concealed it.

But for now, not many people knew about this.

Especially now, perhaps only Xu Changqing remained aware of it.

When the time came, he could secretly reclaim part of it.

Then Xu Changqing could grow Spirit Rice while planting other spirit plants as well.

After all, if the Four-Leaf Clover had not occupied part of the Spirit Fields,

then this harvest would definitely have exceeded 3,500 jin.

By the time noon arrived,

Xu Changqing deliberately prepared an especially lavish meal for the little yellow dog.

There was no helping it. It had rendered great merit this time.

After eating, Xu Changqing washed the bowls, then took a Communication Talisman from his small storage pouch.

Li Sancai had given it to him when he came by, but they had never contacted each other privately.

Spring was already passing.

According to their agreement, he had 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 gather it all."

"Head east. After crossing three hills in a row, 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, sprawled comfortably by the doorway.

Even when its master came near, it could not be bothered to move, merely wagging its tail as a perfunctory response.

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 toward Li Sancai.

After crossing three hills in succession, he indeed saw a river.

The water was quite clear.

There were many little white fish swimming inside.

On the opposite bank stood a stone house and two mu of Spirit Fields.

From this, it was clear that Li Sancai lived an easy, unworldly life.

Xu Changqing circled around and crossed the river via a floating bridge.

After reaching the opposite bank, he hurried without pause toward the fenced 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 fenced gate.

The two immediately walked side by side.

Xu Changqing looked curiously over the two mu of Spirit Fields on either side.

One mu contained the familiar Spirit Rice.

Judging by its condition, its quality had definitely reached supreme grade.

The spirit plants in the other mu, however, were rather unfamiliar.

They resembled orchids, yet they were brilliantly multicolored.

Noticing his interest, Li Sancai introduced them. "They're called Rainbow Orchids. They're specially used to produce talisman ink and are spirit plants supplied exclusively to the Water-Control Pavilion.

"There are roughly fifteen hundred plants per mu, and they can sell for five Mid-Grade Spirit Stones."

"Five?" Xu Changqing asked in surprise.

Li Sancai continued, "And they can be harvested once every two months."

Xu Changqing's expression shifted slightly.

Once every two months.

There were twelve months in a year.

That meant six harvests each year.

If every harvest brought five Mid-Grade Spirit Stones,

then that would be a full thirty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones in 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 immediately understood.

He had no problem with the matter of strength.

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 younger cousin Li Lingbi backing him.

Li Lingbi was a talented figure who had begun attempting to form an Earth-Grade Golden Core at a young age.

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 immediately widened.

Eight hundred jin of Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice produced from a Subordinate Second Rank Spirit Field was neither more nor less.

In truth, for their first collaboration, he had already prepared himself for the possibility that the other man would fail to produce eight hundred jin.

After all, for many spirit farmers who had just joined the Spirit Field Core,

merely completing their quota each season was already an immense struggle.

Asking them to hand over another eight hundred jin of Second-Grade Spirit Rice was somewhat forcing a square peg into a round hole.

Yet now, not only had Junior Brother Xu not disappointed him, he had even vastly exceeded expectations.

Li Sancai felt deeply fortunate that he had helped the other man back when they were on the outskirts.

Now, he had even brought Xu Changqing into the team led by his younger cousin, Li Lingbi.

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 truly gifted in farming.

Li Sancai immediately said, "Junior Brother Xu, you also know the current market ratio for Second-Grade Spirit Rice.

"But since we're working together, we obviously won't follow the market price."

"Mm." Xu Changqing expressed his understanding.

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.

"Although I can't trade at the current market ratio of one to one point five, I can still manage one to one point seven."

Xu Changqing accepted them and looked. Sure enough, they were four Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

How much?

Not much!

If the Mid-Grade Spirit Stone given earlier was included,

This transaction had yielded five Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

He had neither lost nor gained, but it was steady.

Now, the number of spirit stones in Xu Changqing's possession had reached ten Mid-Grade Spirit Stones!