First-rank Spirit Planter

Two months later.

Qin Ming stood beneath a large tree near the Spirit Field.

He looked up at an Earth Yellow beehive in the tree, as large as a pot lid.

"Buzzzzz~~"

Thousands upon thousands of bees swarmed densely around the hive without pause.

The sight made one's scalp tingle.

Each bee was as large as a little finger, snow-white all over, with two pairs of wings and an almost transparent venomous stinger at its tail, concealing poison that was hard to guard against.

One truly would not notice it without close inspection.

These were Four-Winged Frost Bees unique to the Cloud Wasteland Marsh. Though they were not ranked, their numbers were overwhelming.

If one were besieged by the bee swarm, the venom in their stingers could even temporarily numb a cultivator's circulation of spiritual power.

Of course.

Qin Ming was no longer afraid of such insects.

He was merely observing where the queen bee was, so that he could use the 'Bee Control Art.'

As long as he controlled the queen bee, he could issue commands to the swarm.

"Found it!"

Qin Ming's eyes lit up.

He formed a strange hand seal and fired it toward the inside of the hive's lower-right corner.

The 'Bee Control Art' Affix in his Sea of Consciousness was used.

A Frost Bee more than five times larger than an ordinary bee was sleeping.

Suddenly, it felt a wave of dizziness wash through its mind.

A trace of confusion appeared in its eyes.

Qin Ming's technique succeeded, and delight spread across his face.

He could clearly sense that he had formed an inexplicable connection with that Frost Bee queen.

Qin Ming immediately issued an order to the queen bee.

The swarm in the tree suddenly flew out of the hive and headed for the three mu of Yin Condensation Flower Spirit Fields Qin Ming had planted.

"It really worked!"

Qin Ming was overjoyed.

He promptly gave the Frost Bee queen another command, ordering the swarm to pollinate the Yin Condensation Flowers.

Very soon.

The Frost Bee swarm busied itself among the three mu of Yin Condensation Flower Spirit Fields.

Qin Ming looked over the Spirit Fields and nodded in satisfaction.

Originally, Alchemist Su had only required him to successfully grow one-tenth of them.

Now, the survival rate had reached a terrifying ninety percent.

And once the seven-day flowering period and pollination were over, the quality of the Spirit Herbs surely would not be poor.

Qin Ming was quite confident about that.

Within the three mu of Yin Condensation Flower Spirit Fields, each mu had roughly a hundred mature plants, for a total harvest of around three hundred Yin Condensation Flowers.

Based on the price Alchemist Su had offered him at the time—five Spirit Stones per plant—that was already nearly a thousand Spirit Stones.

Qin Ming pondered whether he ought to develop in the direction of planting Spirit Herbs and medicinal herbs.

Seven days later.

After seven consecutive days of pollination, it was over.

The Yin Condensation Flowers gave off a rich fragrance and were ready for harvest.

Qin Ming sent Alchemist Su a Message Talisman.

Before long.

Alchemist Su arrived in a white robe, unhurriedly carrying a Small Bamboo Basket on his back.

But when he saw the sight of three mu of Yin Condensation Flowers in full bloom, the expression on his face became exceedingly colorful.

"You... grew all of these?!" Alchemist Su pointed at the Spirit Fields, staring at Qin Ming with disbelief in his voice.

Qin Ming chuckled. "Lucky! It was purely luck that they grew."

Alchemist Su glared at him. "Who are you trying to fool? Lucky enough that all seven days of continuous pollination succeeded?"

With that, he carefully picked a Yin Condensation Flower and examined it closely.

"Mmm, not bad. The Yin Condensation Flowers are of superior quality and can be used in medicine and pill refinement."

Then Alchemist Su turned around and looked Qin Ming up and down before slowly saying, "I truly couldn't tell. Fellow Daoist Qin, your talent for Spirit Plants is so high."

"Being a Spirit Farmer here is really beneath your talents."

Qin Ming waved his hand and smiled bitterly. "Alchemist Su, you flatter me. I was merely lucky."

"But in that case, with so many Yin Condensation Flowers, I'll owe you no small favor." Only then did Alchemist Su slowly say.

"I don't much like owing people favors."

"How about this? When I refine pills in the future, I'll allow you to observe from the side. But I won't teach you hand over hand. How much skill you can learn will depend on you. What do you say?"

After thinking for a moment, Alchemist Su spoke earnestly to Qin Ming.

Qin Ming was instantly beside himself with joy upon hearing this.

Hadn't he spent an entire year working for exactly these words?!

To this day, Qin Ming had not forgotten the taste of Alchemist Su's two Spirit Gathering Pills.

He even dreamed of the day when he could refine pills that increased cultivation himself.

"Then I shall not decline." Qin Ming gave Alchemist Su a cupped fist salute in thanks.

The two of them then began harvesting the Yin Condensation Flowers.

"A total of three hundred and twenty Yin Condensation Flowers were harvested. As we agreed before, nine for me and one for you."

Alchemist Su immediately took out thirty-two plants from the bamboo basket and handed them to Qin Ming.

"Remember to take these Yin Condensation Flowers back and seal them in Jade Boxes, or their medicinal potency will dissipate."

Qin Ming accepted the Yin Condensation Flowers and carefully put them away.

Alchemist Su then took his leave, telling Qin Ming that he would notify him through a Message Talisman whenever he was refining pills.

Qin Ming did not leave in a hurry.

Instead, he released the Four-Winged Frost Bees back where they had been.

After so many days of pollination, these Frost Bees were not tired. On the contrary, each one looked extremely excited.

This swarm might come in handy when I plant Spirit Herbs someday. I'll leave them here for now and come back to take them away after buying a Spirit Beast Pouch.

Two days later.

The Spirit Rice in the Spirit Fields had all ripened as well.

Elder Gu of the Spirit Feather Sect came with disciples, as usual, to collect the Spirit Rice.

This season, Qin Ming's Beast Fang Rice had fully matured.

Naturally, it became a key focus of this Spirit Rice collection.

Very soon.

The four mu of Golden Spirit Rice and one mu of Beast Fang Rice had all been harvested.

Du Haifu took out the Large Measuring Bucket artifact to weigh them, then said to Qin Ming, "The total harvest is twelve shi and eighty jin of Golden Spirit Rice."

"The Beast Fang Rice harvest totals four shi and ten jin."

After announcing the numbers, Du Haifu approached Qin Ming with a smile. "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Qin. Your Beast Fang Rice planting has been completed and harvested. From now on, you may enjoy a fifty-percent reduction on all Spirit Rice taxes."

Qin Ming was also rather baffled. This local tyrant among the Spirit Farmers, Du Haifu, had even changed the way he addressed him this time.

He did not call him "Little Qin," and Qin Ming did not react for a moment.

"I'll have to rely on Overseer Du's care in the future." Qin Ming replied.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, this is your identity token for the Spirit Planter Assessment. You may choose a time to go to the Spirit Feather Sect's Hall of Affairs branch in Qingyang Market and complete the assessment." Du Haifu took out a wooden token and handed it to Qin Ming.

"Hehe, then let me congratulate Fellow Daoist Qin in advance once again for joining the ranks of First-rank Spirit Planters."

Qin Ming accepted the wooden token and looked at it. His name was carved on the front, while the back bore the image of a Spirit Plant.

He examined it with spiritual sense and saw that the wooden token recorded his completed planting of the first-rank Spirit Plant, Beast Fang Rice.

Spirit Plant knowledge assessment: pending completion.

After the Spirit Feather Sect members collected the taxes and departed, they took away the lowest-ranked Spirit Farmers as usual.

After paying the taxes, Qin Ming still had more than six hundred jin of Golden Spirit Rice and two hundred and ten jin of Beast Fang Rice left from this season.

To him, that was another considerable income.

"Little Qin, you promised me."

"You should treat me to a drink at Juxuan Pavilion."

"Come on, come on. We have to celebrate you becoming a First-rank Spirit Planter."

Cai Lao Jiu came over with a grin, envy gnawing at his heart.

"Fine, I'll treat you." Qin Ming was in a good mood. He smiled sheepishly and nodded.

He happened to be going to sell Spirit Rice to Manager Liao as well, and while there, he could inquire about moving to live in Qingyang Market.

Besides that, he also needed to visit Daoist Ruan and obtain the final four layers of the "Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture."