On the fourth day of the tenth month, in the year 5493 of the Yuangguang Calendar, the autumn wind rustled beneath a cloudless sky. The air was crisp and clear.
The Spirit Field at the foot of the mountain was a sea of gold, the Spirit Rice laden with plump ears. This year, Linghua Island had planted three mu of Spirit Rice. That was right-three mu.
Back in the fourth month, half a month of hard work had opened up a new mu of Spirit Field. Normally, reclaiming a Spirit Field required ten years of persistent effort before it could succeed, but Linghua Island had those two demon beast skeletons!
Apart from the turtle shell, the remaining bones weighed an estimated eight or nine hundred jin. Zhao Yi had crushed them all into powder, added powdered Spirit Stones, and mixed them into a simple version of Spirit-Nurturing Powder, all of which he had scattered over the land.
He had also placed the Demon Core in a water vat and soaked it in Spirit Spring Water to make an extremely rudimentary spiritual liquid. By watering the land with it every day, he had only just managed to reclaim one mu of Spirit Field.
Unfortunately, he had bought only four jin of spirit seeds last year, enough for just two mu of Spirit Field.
With no other choice, Zhao Yi had spread the seeds as far apart as he could to finish sowing all three mu of Spirit Field.
Now, it was time to harvest.
With the wider spacing in the Spirit Field, each Spirit Rice plant received more spiritual energy and produced ears with more grains.
Parting any ear of rice revealed at least sixty or seventy grains of spirit rice. A quick estimate showed that this year's yield would be at least twenty percent higher than last year's.
At the thought, joy blossomed in Zhao Yi's heart. Once the Spirit Rice was harvested, he had to let his fellow disciples eat their fill!
Besides the bumper harvest of spirit rice, Zhao Yi had also made progress in his cultivation.
For the sake of that newly reclaimed mu of Spirit Field, Zhao Yi had stayed in the fields day and night, ending each day utterly exhausted, his magical power depleted.
Just last month, Liu Yu had discovered that a single ear held sixty or seventy grains of spirit rice, and the newly reclaimed Spirit Field was yielding just as abundantly.
Amid his delight, Zhao Yi had been surprised to discover that his fourth meridian had quietly opened into a smooth, unobstructed channel.
With his cultivation advancing and a bumper harvest in the Spirit Field, Linghua Island was filled with laughter and cheer.
On Peach Blossom Island, more than eight hundred li south of Linghua Island, the atmosphere was rather heavy.
The tenth month was the season for harvesting spirit peaches. The dozens of spirit peach trees planted on Peach Blossom Island, along with the ordinary peach trees covering its hills, were laden with fruit. Peaches blushing red against white weighed down the branches, looking especially enticing.
In previous years, preparations to pick the peaches would already have begun by now, but this year, there was no movement at all on Peach Blossom Island.
At Lingxiu Manor on Peach Blossom Island, a group had gathered in the manor's council hall and were arguing fiercely.
"Island Mistress, the Mo Clan's Three Heroes have gone too far! They think they can take thirty percent of our spirit peaches with nothing but their bare mouths, and they even have the gall to say they aren't taking them for nothing-that they'll protect Peach Blossom Island from bandit cultivators."
"Pah! They're the biggest bandit cultivators in the Yunsha Sea Region, a whole den of thieves! Island Mistress, let's fight them!"
A tall, burly old man with graying hair and beard, seated first on the left side of the hall, shouted furiously.
A thin old man seated opposite him said, "Fourth Brother, what are you saying? Every one of the Mo Clan's Three Heroes has reached Perfection of Meridian Opening. Working together, the three can even match a Spirit Attraction Stage cultivator, and they have two more cultivators at Perfection of Meridian Opening under them."
"Besides, Sea Shark Island has also joined the Mo Clan's Three Heroes. Three Heroes Island now has six cultivators at Perfection of Meridian Opening alone. Peach Blossom Island has only five, and we aren't skilled at fighting. How are we supposed to fight them?"
"Hmph! Then tell me what we should do! Sit and wait for death? I'd rather die at the hands of the Mo Clan's Three Heroes!"
Wu Yuying, the mistress of Peach Blossom Island, sat in the seat of honor. She gave the two old men a helpless look. "Fourth Uncle, Fifth Uncle, don't get worked up yet. Let's hear what Granny thinks."
Seated second on the left was an old woman with a longevity staff in her hand and a head of silver hair. Traces of her youthful beauty could still be seen in her features. She was the granny the island mistress had spoken of, an old friend of Zhao Yi's master.
"Senior Sister, what do you think we should do?"
The thin old man spoke.
"Fourth, Fifth, at our age, with our blood and vitality declining, how much of our strength can we still bring to bear?"
Granny Liu glanced at Wu Yuying above them, then continued, "If a fight really breaks out, we'd be doing well if the three of us together could hold off two cultivators at Perfection of Meridian Opening."
"Apart from the three of us, the only ones at Perfection of Meridian Opening are the island mistress and Yu Cheng from Fourth's family."
"What would we fight them with? Could we win?"
"Three Heroes Island growing stronger isn't necessarily a bad thing for us. We can all see what the Zhao Family has had in mind these past years. They want to dominate the entire sea region. Right now, only the Zhao Family has Spirit Attraction Stage cultivators in the whole region, so they can take their time putting their methods to work."
"If one of the Mo Clan's Three Heroes breaks through to the Spirit Attraction Stage, the Zhao Family will be the ones unable to sit still. When that happens, they'll certainly be the first to step forward."
"Senior Sister, so that's what you had in mind. Then I know what to do."
The thin old man smiled faintly and nodded.
"Besides that, we must also prepare for a fight with Three Heroes Island that leaves both sides badly hurt."
Granny Liu took a sip of tea and continued.
"What preparations?" Wu Yuying asked.
"Naturally, we should invite like-minded friends to help us. The cultivators on the other islands in the Yunsha Sea Region won't want to see us supplying the Mo Clan's Three Heroes with so many spirit peaches every year either."
Wu Yuying nodded. "We have quite a few islands on friendly terms with us, but not many have the strength to come to our aid. There's only Black Wind Island, Kongqing Island, Haikong Island, and Xuanli Island."
"If we could invite the Wind-Thunder Rogue from Wind Howl Island, that would be ideal. With his strength, we'd have no need to fear Three Heroes Island."
"We can try the Wind-Thunder Rogue, but we'll have to bleed heavily for it."
"That's still better than handing things over for nothing!"
The burly old man spoke with a frown.
"In that case, I'll leave this matter to Granny, Fourth Uncle, and Fifth Uncle."
The three seated below all nodded.
"Yuying, outside strength is ultimately not to be trusted. You must devote yourself to cultivating and reach the Spirit Attraction Stage as soon as possible. Only then will Peach Blossom Island have no need to fear anyone!"
Granny Liu spoke slowly.
Wu Yuying nodded solemnly.
By the end of the tenth month, on Little Wave Island.
After selling his goods, Zhao Yi returned to the Linghua, piled the Spirit Stones on the table, and counted them happily. There were one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones in all.
The refined rice had sold for one hundred Spirit Stones, and the Spirit-Nurturing Powder for twenty.
This year, the Jade Essence Rice had been watered with Spirit-Nurturing Powder made from the bones of a Spirit Attraction Stage demon beast, substantially increasing the spiritual energy within its grains.
Although there were still only a little over one hundred and fifty shi of refined rice, it had produced fifty-two shi of Jade Essence Rice. Moreover, the spiritual energy in the refined rice had increased by twenty percent over previous years, greatly improving the quality of the Jade Essence Rice.
This year, he had brought twenty-five shi of Jade Essence Rice, and the price had risen slightly too, to one Spirit Stone for twenty-five jin.
Fortunately, they were all regular customers. Although the price had risen, the spiritual energy and quality had indeed improved considerably, so they had all accepted the price, and the sales had gone extremely smoothly.
Three large sacks of spirit rice were still piled in the corner. This year, the three mu of Spirit Field had yielded a total of two hundred and seventy-four jin of spirit rice.
The spirit rice yield had increased by nearly thirty percent. Having one more mu of spiritual land really did make a difference.
This time, Zhao Yi had brought two hundred and fifty jin of spirit rice, which could sell for one hundred and twenty-five Spirit Stones. Together with the one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones he had already earned from selling refined rice and Spirit-Nurturing Powder, that would buy quite a few spiritual goods.
Zhao Yi happily imagined it all. Whatever happened, this year he would buy himself a bottle of Essence Origin Pills.
Clack! The cabin door opened.
Zhao Yi turned to look. It was Liu Yu.
Zhao Yi brought the Spirit Stones out from behind his back.
"You didn't even knock. You startled me." As he spoke, he brought out the Spirit Stones he had concealed behind him and went on counting.
"Senior Brother, something's happened," Liu Yu said, looking tense.
"What is it?" Zhao Yi asked without looking up, carefully wiping the Spirit Stones he held, one in each hand.
"Peach Blossom Island and Three Heroes Island are at odds."
"Oh. What? Where did you hear that?" Zhao Yi's voice suddenly rose.
"It's all over the Trade Fair. You didn't know?"
"You know me. I generally don't listen to random gossip."
"It seems to be because Three Heroes Island wants thirty percent of Peach Blossom Island's spirit peaches every year as tribute."
Liu Yu sat opposite Zhao Yi and looked at him speechlessly, thinking, When will Senior Brother ever cure this money-grubbing habit of his?
"Pfft!"
Upon hearing the cause of the conflict, Zhao Yi burst out laughing.
"Ha ha!"
"Have the Mo Clan's Three Heroes driven themselves into cultivation deviation? How could they make such a stupid demand? If they'd asked for even ten percent, Peach Blossom Island might have agreed."
"Do they think all three brothers have become Spirit Attraction Stage cultivators? Even the Zhao Family only trades for ten percent of the spirit peaches Peach Blossom Island produces each year. Ha ha!"
Liu Yu watched Zhao Yi helplessly, waiting for him to finish laughing.
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