As he watched, the second day arrived.
Meanwhile, the longer Hu Man waited, the more anxious he became.
From the first day of infusing attribute spiritual power, the process could not be interrupted afterward.
He had thought Xu Changqing would give in, but unexpectedly, Xu Changqing did not say another word.
In the end, Hu Man could only compromise.
He revised the compensation again.
He had no choice but to change it from (1 day of points + 10) to (1 day of points + 100).
Then he changed the spirit stones from (1 day of compensation + 10 Low-Grade Spirit Stones) to (1 day of compensation + 1 Mid-Grade Spirit Stone).
He had already made up his mind.
Once this cooperation ended, he would never ask this spirit farmer for help again.
After receiving confirmation from the other party,
the first thing Xu Changqing did was head to the [Spirit Field Core Administration Office].
He first reported the changes to the task to the staff inside.
After confirming there were no problems, he stepped onto a Flying Paper Crane and flew toward the [Earth Vein].
With his previous experience, both his speed and efficiency were much greater this time.
In less than an hour, he arrived once more at Hu Man's cave abode on the eighteenth level of the Earth Vein.
Compared with yesterday, the Earth-Spouting Lotus had faded considerably in color.
However, it still maintained the form of a wood-attributed "Green Lotus."
Xu Changqing did not waste any time and decisively sat down cross-legged.
The Wood Spiritual Power within his body slowly flowed into it.
At once, the Earth-Spouting Lotus, whose color had faded, brightened again.
It turned silently in a clockwise direction.
It was not fast, taking roughly ten seconds for a full rotation.
With every rotation, the lotus leaves and flowers upon it became clearer.
This time, it also felt somewhat larger than yesterday, as though it were growing.
And so, the days passed one after another.
Every day, Xu Changqing entered the Earth Vein and watered the Earth-Spouting Lotus.
At first, Shan Fei followed along, but in the end, he simply could not be bothered to spare it a glance.
Until the seventh day, the final watering.
Xu Changqing circulated the Evergreen Formula.
The wood-attributed spiritual power in his body continuously poured into the Green Lotus, which now seemed almost solid.
As it turned clockwise, it released a faint fragrance.
After seven consecutive days of watering, it had completely transformed from a gaseous state into a solid form.
Just as the final session ended, Xu Changqing's right hand trembled.
The Spirit Mark that had been born from cultivating the Wood-Spirit Entanglement Art
surfaced on its own without being activated.
The character [Wood] emitted a green glow.
For no apparent reason, it resonated with the Green Lotus before him.
Its light flickered repeatedly.
Then, the spiritual power within Xu Changqing's body began to drain without pause.
Within a few breaths, he had lost one strand.
If he had not reached Late Qi Refining, possessing five strands of spiritual power,
and cultivated the Evergreen Formula to the fifth layer, increasing his recovery speed,
he simply could not have sustained such depletion.
As one strand of spiritual power after another in his body was absorbed by the Green Lotus,
until only the final strand remained,
the absorption finally stopped abruptly.
At the same time, the lotus's pistil trembled lightly, and a seedpod actually grew from it.
Then, with a soft pop, a green lotus seed fell out.
It was oval-shaped, with pointed ends.
Its surface was covered in extremely fine patterns.
Though it was only a tiny seed, it contained extraordinarily dense Wood Qi.
The [Wood] Spirit Mark flashed and directly absorbed the green lotus seed.
"What is going on?" Xu Changqing was stunned.
Hu Man had never mentioned that such a change would occur.
Or was this something unexpected?
His heart stirred.
The green lotus seed stored within the Spirit Mark appeared in his palm.
After he sensed it closely, information surfaced.
[Spiritual energy sufficient] [Supreme grade seed] [Awaiting maturity]
Xu Changqing raised an eyebrow.
This was the first time he had seen the words [supreme grade] on a seed.
It showed that this thing was far from ordinary.
He looked again at the Green Lotus. Overall, it had not changed much.
After dropping a lotus seed, the seedpod turned into gas and dispersed.
But the pistil remained, only somewhat smaller than before.
At a glance, the Green Lotus was still that same Green Lotus.
After thinking it over, Xu Changqing stored the Green Lotus Seed back inside the [Wood] Spirit Mark.
Then he turned and walked out of the cave abode.
If Hu Man did not ask, he would never voluntarily hand it over.
After all, this thing looked extremely rare and was likely worth a fortune.
He immediately left the Earth Vein and the pit.
He returned to the Spirit Fields at top speed.
Only when he saw his home, the yellow dog, and the Pearl Chickens did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
His entire body relaxed completely.
As he drew closer, Xu Changqing suddenly caught a scent.
The closer he got, the stronger the smell became.
It resembled the scent of Spirit Rice Wine, yet it was not intoxicating.
"Could it be..." Xu Changqing's heart jolted, and he hurriedly flew toward Stone Mountain.
The moment he entered its interior, the sight before him left him utterly shocked.
The Mutated Spirit Rice had grown to two meters tall.
From top to bottom, it seemed to have been watered in gold, radiating a dazzling brilliance.
Every grain on the rice ears was as plump and full as fruit.
That fragrance was emitted by it—or rather, by them.
Because Xu Changqing had been caring for the Earth-Spouting Lotus these past few days, he had not paid much attention to the Mutated Spirit Rice.
Who would have thought that it would quietly mature at this very time?
Fortunately, there was no one nearby, or it would definitely have been exposed.
He immediately circulated the Evergreen Formula to inspect its exact condition.
[Mutated Spirit Rice] [Matured] [Undamaged] [Spiritual energy sufficient] [Today's Top Grade] [More Children, More Blessings] [0.25 jin]
The attributes were still there, and several more had appeared.
It had completely matured.
Even its quality had reached the supreme grade.
At that moment, Xu Changqing's breathing grew heavy.
He had thought that unexpectedly obtaining a Green Lotus Seed was already good luck.
Yet he had not expected good fortune to come one after another.
The Mutated Spirit Rice he had awaited for so long had finally matured today.
He took a sickle from his small storage pouch and was about to harvest it, but suddenly stopped.
His attention focused once more on the attribute [More Children, More Blessings].
If he understood correctly,
then so-called More Children, More Blessings should distinguish between mother and child, right?
If the spirit rice on the ears was the "children,"
then was this stalk of golden Mutated Spirit Rice not the "mother"?
At that thought, Xu Changqing extended his sickle, but he did not harvest the stalk of Mutated Spirit Rice.
Instead, he cut off the heavy rice ears.
After carefully counting them, he discovered that the seeds from the nine rice ears totaled exactly 999 grains.
Next, he took out the same quantity of Second-Grade Spirit Rice to compare them.
He found that the Mutated Spirit Grain was larger, heavier, and fuller.
The same quantity.
Second-Grade Spirit Rice lay in his left hand.
Mutated Spirit Grain lay in his right hand.
He could clearly feel that his right hand was heavier.
After the rice ears were cut away, the light on the Mutated Spirit Rice dimmed.
Though it remained golden, it was no longer dazzling.
Even the fragrance in the air gradually dispersed.
"Should I... try some?" Feeling the astonishing spiritual energy within the Mutated Spirit Grain, Xu Changqing swallowed.
He forcibly suppressed the urge and first watered the Mutated Spirit Rice with spring water.
Though he did not know whether it would mature a second time, he was in no rush to harvest it.
After all, one could never be too careful.
Once everything was settled, he rushed into the kitchen.
Of course, there was not much Mutated Spirit Grain to begin with.
Therefore, he only mixed a small portion into the Second-Grade Spirit Rice.
Before long, fragrant rice was served on the table.
Most of it was Second-Grade Spirit Rice.
It was white as snow, without the slightest impurity.
The Mutated Spirit Grain stood out clearly, scattered among it like golden pellets.
Its rich fragrance even drew over the yellow dog and the Pearl Chickens.
They stayed nearby, staring fixedly at the fragrant Spirit Rice Grain.
A great deal of drool even flowed from between the yellow dog's teeth.
"Don't rush. Let me taste it first." Xu Changqing picked up his chopsticks, lifted a little, and put it into his mouth.
The Second-Grade Spirit Rice was chewy and springy.
The Mutated Spirit Grain was even better.
The instant he chewed it, saliva flooded his mouth.
The rich fragrance, mixed with a great amount of spiritual energy, flowed down into his abdomen.
At once, Xu Changqing's previously depleted spiritual power rapidly recovered.
Then he could no longer stop, eating more and more.
His spiritual power continued to rise, and with a pop, it actually increased from five strands to six!!!
Before you continue