You're lying!

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Just as Lin Mo had expected, the Golden-Light Wheat ripened every two days, just like the other spirit plants in his courtyard, yielding a bountiful harvest.

Ordinary spirit wheat ripened twice a year and yielded slightly less than spirit rice, but Golden-Light Wheat had larger, plumper grains brimming with spiritual energy. Each ear produced a hundred grains, and each stalk bore ten ears-a thousand grains per plant!

"After watering them with Spirit Spring Water, Golden-Light Wheat and spirit rice yield the same amount-a thousand grains per plant..."

Lin Mo went through the familiar motions of harvesting, fertilizing, and replanting. Before long, he had gathered the entire crop and planted another half mu of spirit plants.

To his delight, another Fire Spirit Fruit plant had mutated, along with two Golden Coin Grass plants.

He now had seven mutated spirit plants in his spirit field. Although the others had not mutated, their yield and quality far surpassed those of ordinary spirit plants.

"I now have six jin of spirit rice, five jin of Golden-Light Wheat, ten mutated Fire Spirit Fruits and ten pieces of mutated Golden Coin Grass, and nearly six hundred ordinary spirit fruits..."

Over these two days of cultivation, Lin Mo had eaten another mutated Fire Spirit Fruit and a leaf of mutated Golden Coin Grass, leaving the ordinary fruits untouched.

He did not intend to trade all the remaining fruits. There were too many, and that could easily arouse suspicion.

Although the black-robed man was a disciple of the Penglai Commerce Association, mutated spirit fruits were simply too rare. Bringing out too many at once would not earn him a fortune-it would invite disaster!

I can give the ordinary spirit fruits to Xiao He... Hmm, there's no need to keep testing Qin Sang Sang, either. Her loyalty is dependable...

After tidying up the spirit field in the backyard, Lin Mo returned to the front courtyard. Watching Qin Sang Sang and his younger sister Xiao He laughing and playing together, he gradually formed a plan.

He waved the two girls over, his expression solemn. "You must remember what I'm about to tell you. You cannot reveal it to anyone."

"I have a special constitution suited to growing spirit plants. Only the sect's higher-ups and Steward Wang know about it. The sect has been quietly looking after me and has given me quite a few spirit plants and spirit fruits."

"From now on, we'll still eat our three daily meals at the Dining Hall as usual. Make sure to leave some room in your stomachs, though. We'll cook for ourselves again when we get home."

"If outsiders find out and word reaches the wrong people, our lives will surely be in danger!"

Lin Xiaohe was lively and feared neither heaven nor earth, yet Lin Mo's words still gave her quite a fright. She nodded hastily.

Qin Sang Sang was timid to begin with. Her little face turned deathly pale as she repeatedly assured him, "I'll let this secret rot in my belly. I won't say a word, even if they beat me to death!"

Lin Mo grunted in acknowledgment, then carefully considered the possible risks and the steps needed to carry out his plan. In the end, he concluded that unless he flaunted it himself, the secret would never leak.

Even if something unexpected did happen, he could attribute it to his "special constitution." To contribute to the sect, he had neglected his own cultivation, poured his heart and soul into growing spirit plants, and even developed a method for cultivating mutated spirit plants.

With the groundwork he had already laid, Wang Qiuru firmly believed this as well, naturally reducing the risk considerably!

I hope everything goes smoothly.

Lin Mo inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, but he was in no hurry to bring out the spirit rice or spirit rice plants.

The rice was all in his Storage Bag. Xiao He had no spiritual energy in her body and could not open it, while Qin Sang Sang's cultivation was still too shallow. She had not even entered the Qi Refining Realm and was scarcely better off than Xiao He.

There was plenty of time. This could wait until Qin Sang Sang cultivated spiritual energy.

After repeatedly reminding both girls to keep the secret, Lin Mo left for the Ghost-Crying Field. Only that night, once both girls were asleep, did he disguise himself and return to the Black Market.

Lin Mo had not visited for several days, but the Black Market remained much the same as ever.

With nothing else to do at the Ghost-Crying Field these past few days, Lin Mo had spent nearly all his time cultivating. Not only had he grown more proficient at circulating the Evergreen Art, but he had also gained considerable insight into the Turtle Breath Art.

Now, even without deliberately using the technique, his aura was elusive and indistinct. Anyone below the third level of Qi Refining could not gauge his strength at all.

Even a Foundation Establishment Realm Outer Elder would struggle to determine Lin Mo's exact cultivation level without deliberately probing him!

"That aura... So it's you."

The person seated at the "Buying and Selling" stall this time was once again Black-Robed Du's junior fellow disciple.

Very few people had the privilege of cutting the queue. When the black-robed man first saw Lin Mo step ahead of the others, he was somewhat surprised.

He studied Lin Mo's build, then stared at the bark mask on his face for a while before smiling in recognition. "It's only been a few days, and you've improved at concealing your aura again. Even I nearly failed to recognize you."

Then he urged him eagerly, "What fine fruits have you brought this time? Let me see!"

Lin Mo was eager as well, but he remained unhurried and said quietly, "Screen us off."

The black-robed man grinned, reached into his robes, and casually deployed the screening formation.

Only then did Lin Mo take out his Storage Bag and retrieve a single grain of Golden-Light Wheat. In a low voice, he said, "My master poured his heart into cultivating spirit wheat and ended up producing this. Even he doesn't know what it's good for."

"Lend me your expert eye and see what special effects this spirit wheat has. All I can confirm right now is that it has mutated."

Another kind of mutated spirit plant?!

Both astonished and delighted, the black-robed man took the grain of Golden-Light Wheat from Lin Mo and examined it closely. His movements grew increasingly slow, and his eyes, visible through his mask, gradually turned solemn.

After a moment, he drew a deep breath and pressed the Golden-Light Wheat to his forehead to sense it carefully. At last, he praised it. "Excellent. It has indeed mutated."

"The golden light this spirit wheat gives off can repel evil and ward off malevolent spirits. The phantom man inside is nothing special, but it does no harm, either."

Nothing special?

Was there truly nothing special about it, or could even this black-robed man not discern it?

Lin Mo neither agreed nor disagreed. He took out a grain of spirit rice and handed it to the black-robed man. "This was cultivated alongside the mutated spirit wheat. I'm not sure whether it has mutated, but its grains are larger, and its yield has increased slightly. Take another look."

This time, the black-robed man did not examine it for long before smiling. "This spirit rice has mutated too, but the improvement is minor. Eating it regularly should temper the body. As for its effects... they're better than nothing."

Lin Mo believed only half of what he said.

No one understood the Treasure Gourd's secrets better than he did. Any spirit plant that mutated after being watered with Spirit Spring Water contained that mysterious, special aura, which greatly benefited cultivation.

The black-robed man's claim that its effects were minor was very likely a deliberate attempt to belittle it, laying the groundwork to drive down the price in their later negotiations.

"There's too little spirit rice and spirit wheat, so my master doesn't intend to trade them for now. You can have these two grains as a gift."

In a rare show of generosity, Lin Mo then took out five hundred ordinary spirit fruits and said regretfully, "Our luck was poor this time. Not a single spirit fruit mutated. Master beat his chest and stamped his feet over it."

"Alas, Master has squandered all the spirit stones and spirit liquid from our last trade again!"

There was nothing to pick apart in his story, but the black-robed man clearly did not quite believe him.

He stared into Lin Mo's eyes for a while, then suddenly gave a cold laugh.

"You're lying!"