Spirit Stones

"I got lucky and broke through."

Zhou Changwang smiled as he spoke.

"Mastery?"

Old Xu asked again.

Zhou Changwang nodded.

Seeing this, Old Xu immediately said sourly, "I never expected you to have such talent with the Geng Metal Finger. If only you had broken through to Qi Refining, Fourth Layer and gained Spiritual Sense—then not a single spirit insect in these Spirit Fields could evade one finger from you."

"Not necessarily. The Geng Metal Finger is only one spell; it can't wipe out every kind of spirit insect."

Zhou Changwang shook his head.

He had been an apprentice at the Spirit Plant Hall for several years, and it was not as though he had learned nothing. Naturally, he knew that there were countless spirit insects in the world. Some of the troublesome ones were said to leave even Foundation True Cultivators helpless.

His Geng Metal Finger was only suitable for clearing spirit insects clinging to Spirit Grain. If he were growing spirit herbs, or even more precious spirit materials, it would be far from enough.

"Changwang, you see, Old Xu has treated you pretty well usually, hasn't he?"

Old Xu's eyes shifted as he suddenly said with a beaming smile.

"So-so."

Zhou Changwang promptly cut him off.

He had heard these words plenty of times in his previous life. If he agreed, countless pits would be waiting for him afterward.

Some would even be linked pits, one after another, impossible to guard against.

"Well..."

Old Xu's expression stiffened. After a dry laugh, he continued on his own, "It's not really anything major.

It's just that the spirit insects in the Spirit Fields are growing more and more numerous.

Your three mu of Spirit Fields are easy to manage.

But this old man has ten mu of Spirit Fields. If three spirit insects hide in each mu, that's thirty of them.

With these old arms and legs of mine, how could I possibly handle that?

So, when you have time, could you lend me a hand?"

"I can't."

Zhou Changwang did not hesitate in the slightest.

He wanted him to work for free?

This old bastard was dreaming with his eyes open.

"One Low-Grade Spirit Stone."

Old Xu gritted his teeth, looking as if it pained him deeply.

"For one day?"

Zhou Changwang shot him a sidelong glance.

"For ten days."

Old Xu blurted it out.

He had calculated it well. Ten days later, the spirit rice would be more or less ripe and ready for harvest, so there would naturally be no further need to remove insects.

"Then I won't do it."

Zhou Changwang decisively shook his head.

"Three days."

Old Xu thought for a moment, then said through gritted teeth.

He truly was beginning to feel overwhelmed. With ten mu of Spirit Fields, even one or two spirit insects hidden in each mu were enough to give him a headache, not to mention that after the fruiting stage, their numbers would only increase.

And then there were the spirit insects that occasionally migrated over from Xu Zhong's Spirit Fields... Just thinking about it made his scalp go numb.

Rather than asking someone from the Spirit Plant Hall to come over then, spending three Low-Grade Spirit Stones in one go for only a single day's work, he might as well leave it to Zhou Changwang. He would actually save some money that way.

"The spirit insects I kill belong to me."

Zhou Changwang immediately said.

"Fine."

Old Xu nodded, then said with feeling, "Changwang, I could tell from the very beginning that you weren't an ordinary person. Now, it seems I was right after all..."

"Sweet-talking won't help.

Give me the Spirit Stones first.

Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll refuse to pay."

Zhou Changwang looked at him expressionlessly as he spoke.

He did not believe any nonsense about Old Xu having seen that he was no ordinary person.

Before he had transmigrated, the original owner of this body had been utterly ordinary. With the aptitude of a Five Elements Spiritual Root, he was considered poor even among spirit farmers—entirely unremarkable.

On the contrary, with Old Xu's personality, stingy as an iron rooster, he truly feared that once the work was done, the other man would refuse to hand over the agreed Spirit Stones.

After all, ever since his rebirth, he had not even seen what a Spirit Stone looked like.

"Really now, would I, Xu Fugui, ever cheat you out of your Spirit Stones?"

Old Xu's face immediately reddened. He spoke indignantly, hesitated for a while, then finally tossed out a slightly translucent chunk and said, "As it happens, I still have three mu of Spirit Fields where the insects haven't been cleared. Handle them all for me while you're at it."

As he spoke, he smiled smugly, as though he had gained some great bargain, and hurriedly pointed at the three mu of Spirit Fields not far away.

"No problem."

Zhou Changwang did not decline. Once he took the money, he ought to do the work.

Besides, he had only just cleared all the spirit insects from his own Spirit Fields, yet he still had spiritual power remaining in his body. He had already been thinking of killing more spirit insects, so naturally he did not want to waste it.

After all, spirit insect meat was not only delicious, but also contained spiritual energy. It could tangibly increase the progress of his cultivation.

And most importantly, extra spirit insects could be exchanged for Spirit Stones...

Thinking of Spirit Stones, he could not help examining the slightly translucent chunk in his hand once more.

"So this is a Spirit Stone?"

Comparing it with the appearance of Spirit Stones in his memories, Zhou Changwang immediately felt a trace of satisfaction rise within him.

Clearly, this was a Spirit Stone.

A Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

It resembled some sort of jade, though it was grayer, rectangular in shape, and not heavy—only a little over a hundred grams. Yet merely holding it in his hand, he could still sense the abundant spiritual energy contained within it.

He knew that this was one standard Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

The standard of measurement was its weight.

One hundred grams counted as one piece.

Two hundred grams counted as two pieces.

After all, Spirit Stones were, in a sense, consumables.

Cultivators could directly absorb the spiritual energy within Spirit Stones to cultivate or restore the spiritual power in their bodies.

As the spiritual energy inside a Spirit Stone was consumed, the stone itself would naturally shrink, and its weight would decrease accordingly.

Thus, Spirit Stones weighing less than one hundred grams were known as Shard Spirit Stones. They could also be used for buying and selling in the marketplace, equivalent to loose change in the real world.

Afterward, he carefully put away the Low-Grade Spirit Stone, then stepped directly into Old Xu's Spirit Field and began searching it carefully.

As though he knew the road well, he quickly discovered the first spirit insect.

A Spirit Locust.

He had not expected that he had found no Spirit Locusts, these savage spirit insects, in his own Spirit Field, yet discovered one in Old Xu's field instead.

But when he saw its wings, thin as cicada wings, he felt that was only normal.

Spirit Locusts could fly, after all.

Wherever they chose to fly down, it truly depended solely on their own whims.

Without hesitation, he held his breath and stopped two zhang away from the Spirit Locust. Then he circulated his spiritual power, controlling it with his mind and condensing it into one intricate rune structure after another.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

After five breaths.

He adjusted the angle of his fingers and pointed forward.

Soundlessly, a streak of golden light flashed away.

Geng Metal Finger +1

The Spirit Locust's head, only the size of an ordinary person's thumb, was instantly blasted to pieces. Yet its entire body suddenly tensed on instinct, and with its two scythe-like forelimbs, it slashed hard, directly cutting a huge gash into the stalk of Spirit Grain it had been clinging to.

Very soon, the upper half of that stalk of Spirit Grain tilted slightly and drooped down, as though it were about to snap.

This was what made Spirit Locusts so troublesome.

Even after death, they would instinctively swing their forelimbs and tear apart every obstacle before them.

Their vigilance was also high. At the slightest sign of trouble, they would leap up and fly away... Thus, no matter which spirit farmer it was, the spirit insect they least wanted to see in their own Spirit Fields was this one.