Daylight flooded the sky.
Lin Mo opened his eyes and, as was his habit, stepped out of the house. He picked the ripe Fire Spirit Fruits and Golden Coin Grass and put them into his Storage Bag.
Watered with spirit spring water, these spirit plants produced a ripe crop every few days.
Lin Mo had also begun collecting seeds and sowing them to expand his operation. Now, his small courtyard held two Fire Spirit Fruit plants and two Golden Coin Grass plants.
That was his limit for now.
If he planted any more, he would risk letting something slip. Besides, the spirit spring water produced by the gourd also had to support his own cultivation, so there would not be enough to go around.
My wealth should exceed that of an average outer sect disciple by now.
Lin Mo felt secretly pleased with himself.
That was no idle boast.
Anyone else, even if they could obtain so many resources in the first place, would have consumed them long ago to further their cultivation. They would never have managed to save them.
That was why outer sect disciples were penniless most of the time.
He had drunk a bellyful of spirit spring water last night and still had not finished absorbing it.
Compared with when he first began, however, his absorption rate had increased by five percent. That was already a very encouraging result.
He ambled over to the spirit fields and saw a figure on Liu Xianzong's side, struggling to carry a shoulder pole while watering the crops, swaying as though she might collapse.
That girl got here awfully early.
Lin Mo stood at the edge of the field and watched for a while. Although Qin Sang Sang worked slowly, she was methodical and attentive, so he went off to tend to his own work.
"I just can't figure it out. How do your spirit plants grow so fast? At this rate, won't your field produce three crops a year? How many contribution points would that earn you?"
The Spirit Plant Courtyard stipulated that every disciple had to hand over a hundred spirit fruits each year, roughly a little less than two harvests, leaving the spirit plant farmers some profit.
But from what Liu Xianzong had observed over the past several days, the Golden Coin Grass in Lin Mo's field was clearly growing considerably faster.
It made him terribly envious.
If Lin Mo really could harvest three crops a year, he would make a fortune.
Liu Xianzong crouched on the ground to examine the earth's energy, muttering to himself.
"We're both doing the same work, aren't we? Why do your spirit plants grow faster? Could you have some special physique, you little rascal?"
Special physiques were the stuff of legends in the cultivation world.
There were heavenly prodigies born with exceptional gifts in a particular field, some of whom could even manifest extraordinary phenomena.
Some possessed a sword body, and a single day of cultivation could equal years or even decades of painstaking effort by other sword cultivators.
Others were born with a fire affinity, flames surging with their every move.
Every one of them was a treasure cherished by their sect, capable of winning resounding fame in the cultivation world.
At those words, Lin Mo's heart began pounding.
To save the few spirit stones needed to activate the spiritual energy array, he had been secretly mixing a little spirit spring water into the water he used for irrigation.
The difference might not show in a day or two, but over time, the growth rate really was far too astonishing.
And this was already the result of Lin Mo exercising caution and repeatedly reducing the amount he used.
"Oh, come on, senior brother. I wish I had a special physique. Why would I have spent three miserable years as a servant disciple?"
"Even taking ten thousand steps back, suppose I really did have some special physique. If all it could do was make spirit plants grow just a tiny bit faster, wouldn't that make it a pretty useless physique?"
Liu Xianzong laughed at his words.
"Then you really were born to be a spirit plant farmer."
"Heh, three harvests a year. You'll make a killing."
He could not make sense of it either, but he did not dwell on it, putting it down to Lin Mo's good luck.
Besides, if Lin Mo really did have a special physique, that would be a good thing.
Perhaps once he made something of himself, he could lend Liu Xianzong a helping hand.
That evening, Lin Mo opened his eyes as he sat cross-legged on his bed, exhaled a breath of stale air, and rose with delight.
The middle stage of the first level of qi refining. I did it!
In just one month, he had climbed a step on the path of cultivation despite the wretched aptitude of his five-spirit root. It was almost inconceivable.
But then he remembered that he had to drink almost an entire gourd of spirit spring water every two days. All he could say was... his cultivation aptitude really was spectacularly awful.
He took out his precious gourd and replenished his depleted spiritual energy. Then, under the moonlight, Lin Mo left his small courtyard, passed out through the sect gates, and headed toward the Black Market.
Over the past half month or more, he had saved nearly twenty Fire Spirit Fruits and Golden Coin Grass plants, enough to exchange for thirty drops of spirit spring water-just enough for a small sip.
Lin Mo had long wanted to know what would come out if he put genuine spirit spring water into the Little Gourd.
It was late at night, but the Black Market was bustling, packed with people coming and going.
"Come take a look! Treasures from deep in the mountains!"
"While traveling to temper myself, I happened upon a foundation establishment cultivator's cave abode. That's where I found this cultivation method. If my aptitude weren't too poor to meet its requirements, I would never have brought it out to sell. Since fate has brought us together, I'll let you have it cheap."
"This was crafted by a Golden Core senior. One light wave unleashes flames that fill the sky. Even against a foundation establishment cultivator, it can hold out for a while."
The vendors' cries rang endlessly in Lin Mo's ears as he walked.
They really can spin a tale.
Lin Mo put down an outline of a cultivation method.
Even an ignorant nobody like him could tell that it was plainly commonplace rubbish. These people were simply trying to fool idiots.
The Black Market was a place where fish and dragons mingled. There were tales of disciples finding great opportunities among overlooked bargains, but more often, those stories were rumors spread by stallholders fishing in muddy waters, luring in disciples with more money than sense so they could profit from them.
Without further hesitation, Lin Mo strode straight toward the banner marked "Buying and selling" that Liu Xianzong had pointed out last time.
He had come fully prepared today, wearing a mask and deliberately hunching his back.
Most of the people passing around him were similarly disguised.
"What do you want to buy?"
The black-robed man was dressed just as he had been that day. His voice was clear and resonant, and he sounded like a young man.
"How much is the spirit liquid?"
Spirit liquid and spirit spring water were both terms for liquid brimming with spiritual energy.
"Two contribution points for three drops. Bartering is fine too, at the prices set by the sect. If you buy enough, I can give you a discount."
The sect's contribution points were the foundation of an Azure Cloud Sect disciple's livelihood. They were crucial, whether for exchanging for cultivation resources or passing the Sect Examination.
The Sect Affairs Hall offered one spirit stone for each contribution point, but anyone hoping to exchange a spirit stone for a contribution point in return was dreaming in broad daylight.
After a month of painstakingly tending spirit plants, Lin Mo would earn only three contribution points. Yet the annual Sect Examination for outer sect disciples required a full thirty points, showing just how much pressure Azure Cloud Sect disciples faced.
"Fourteen Fire Spirit Fruits and six Golden Coin Grass plants. I want thirty drops of spirit liquid."
Lin Mo did not waste words and stated his offer outright.
He had done his homework before coming. This offer was essentially the going market rate.
The black-robed man raised his head and met Lin Mo's gaze for a moment, then suddenly said, "I need to inspect the goods first."
Before you continue