Moving In

Amid the Shantytown residents' flattering praise,

Qin Ming and Cai Lao Jiu drove on.

They traveled all the way into Qingyang Market and arrived at the entrance to the large courtyard.

Qin Ming had prepared a new plaque in advance and hung it up—"Secluded Cool Abode."

Plain and unremarkable, simple and unadorned.

He decided it was better to keep a low profile rather than make it something as ostentatious as "Qin Residence."

The moment they entered the courtyard,

Cai Lao Jiu felt abundant spiritual energy rush toward him.

Compared to the Shantytown, it was the difference between heaven and earth.

"So this is the Spirit Gathering Array, combined with the spiritual energy density of a Tier 2 Spirit Vein?"

No wonder so many cultivators fought tooth and nail to get in and seize a spot.

Qin Ming took a deep breath.

"I'll be cultivating here from now on."

Before long,

the two of them had moved everything indoors and finished tidying up.

Like Old Lady Liu touring a grand estate, Cai Lao Jiu lingered in the courtyard and wandered around it three times.

If he had to use four words to describe how he felt at that moment, they would be—"Making others green with envy"!

Afterward,

Qin Ming brought Cai Lao Jiu to Juxuan Pavilion.

Manager Liao greeted them with an enthusiastic smile and hurriedly ushered the pair into a top-class private room.

"Congratulations, congratulations, Fellow Daoist Qin, on advancing to a mid-grade Spirit Planter and taking another step forward on the immortal path."

"Come! Let me toast Fellow Daoist Qin."

A whole table of Good Wine and Food had been laid out for them.

Qin Ming was delighted today as well. He raised his cup and drained it with the other two.

Cup after cup.

After three rounds of wine,

Qin Ming took out the Golden Spirit Rice from the first three quarters of the year and sold it to Manager Liao.

There were a total of eighteen shi.

He earned another six hundred Spirit Stones.

His deflated Spirit Stone pouch swelled a little once more.

After eating and drinking their fill, Qin Ming and Cai Lao Jiu left Juxuan Pavilion.

Cai Lao Jiu bade him farewell and went off to attend to his own matters.

Qin Ming, meanwhile, returned to his Secluded Cool Abode.

This courtyard was quite spacious. It contained a main house, two side rooms, a quiet cultivation room, and a materials processing room.

There were also two mu of spirit medicine fields in the courtyard, though the Ruan Family disciples had already taken all the spirit herbs away.

It would be quite convenient for Qin Ming to plant other Spirit Plants there instead.

His courtyard was a Grade-A residence in the eastern district of the market center, situated at the foot of Mang Mountain.

From here, he could see in the distance the mountaintops wreathed in immortal mist, where palaces stood in clusters. That was the headquarters of the Spirit Feather Sect.

The gates of all the neighboring courtyards were tightly shut.

Qin Ming swept them with his spiritual sense, but the formations that blocked probing could not be penetrated.

From outside, the naked eye could not make out the specific conditions within the courtyards either.

Next,

Qin Ming cleared out the two mu of Spirit Fields in the courtyard.

Then, he planted all the Blood Locust Rice Spirit Seeds and immediately began skillfully using Accelerated Growth.

Two hours later,

all the Blood Locust Rice had sprouted, and two Affixes appeared in the two mu of Spirit Fields:

Name: Blood Locust Rice
Affix: Abundant Vital Energy (Maturity 1%)

Name: Blood Locust Rice
Affix: Abundant Vital Energy (Maturity 2%)

Qin Ming's eyes lit up. Including these two, he now had three Abundant Vital Energy Affixes.

Seven days passed in a row.

Qin Ming finally used Accelerated Growth on the Blood Locust Rice until it bore Spirit Rice ears.

Then, with a thought, the green leaf in his Sea of Consciousness vanished as he used the Quality Enhancement Affix.

In an instant, astonishing changes began to occur in the two mu of Blood Locust Rice Spirit Fields.

The color of the Blood Locust Rice ears gradually deepened.

Only after turning completely dark red did they stop.

"So this is Premium-grade Blood Locust Rice?"

"Not enough."

Qin Ming casually peeled open a grain of Spirit Rice and muttered to himself.

Without hesitation, he used the final Quality Enhancement Affix again.

He immediately formed hand seals and began casting the Greater Spirit Rain Technique, summoning spirit rain over the Blood Locust Rice.

With the abundant spiritual energy supplied by the Tier 2 Spirit Vein,

the rain's effects here were twice the result with half the effort.

The Blood Locust Rice in the two mu of Spirit Fields continuously stretched and transformed.

Greedily absorbing the abundant spiritual energy within the spirit rain.

In the end, the Blood Locust Rice ears settled into a purplish-red color, looking exceptionally bewitching.

"This is Supreme-Grade Blood Locust Rice!"

Qin Ming's eyes gleamed, and he was practically drooling.

He hurriedly harvested it like mad, gathering the full two mu of Supreme-Grade Blood Locust Rice into his possession.

At the same time, he harvested another two Abundant Vital Energy Affixes in his Sea of Consciousness.

After collecting the Spirit Rice, Qin Ming cleared away all traces from the two mu of Spirit Fields and restored them to their original state.

He made a rough estimate.

This round of Accelerated Growth had yielded him twelve shi of Supreme-Grade Blood Locust Rice.

What kind of concept was that?

Just one jin of Supreme-Grade Blood Locust Rice would be enough to cause a sensation throughout Qingyang Market.

Yet Qin Ming had a full twelve shi in his hands—more than he could ever finish eating!

That was just how extravagant he was.

But he also knew perfectly well that before he had sufficient strength, this stuff absolutely could not make its way outside. He could only use it himself to improve his cultivation.

Otherwise, some old monsters might just turn him into a specimen for study.

With so much Supreme-Grade Blood Locust Rice,

Qin Ming struck while the iron was hot. He sat cross-legged on a cushion and began cultivating the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture.

Before him sat a bowl of cooked Supreme-Grade Blood Locust Rice.

It radiated dense Vital Energy.

How many people dreamed of obtaining something like this?

Qin Ming picked up the bowl and quickly devoured the Supreme-Grade Blood Locust Rice within.

Boom!

The instant the Supreme-Grade Blood Locust Rice entered his stomach, it transformed into a torrent of pure energy that swept over him like mountains toppling and seas overturning.

Vast Vital Energy began flowing into his bone marrow, and a tingling numbness immediately spread continuously from within it.

His Vital Energy had originally been like molten mercury; now, bolstered by such powerful energy, it became even more solid.

The enhancement effect of his surging Vital Energy continuously intensified.

Three hours passed.

Only then did Qin Ming barely finish digesting all the energy in that bowl of Supreme-Grade Blood Locust Rice.

He did not stop cultivating after that.

Instead, he pressed on in one burst of effort and used an Abundant Vital Energy Affix.

Rumble!

The Vital Energy radiating from Qin Ming's body suddenly expanded outward with him as its center.

The Vital Energy Force within him had been compressed to the absolute limit!

A mysterious force began continuously transforming and strengthening his body, meridians, sinews, bones, and skin.

In the blink of an eye,

the Vital Energy Force around Qin Ming's body abruptly doubled, like that of a terrifying demonic beast!

He suddenly opened his eyes. The Glazed Armor condensed from the Vital Energy around his body became even more solid, as though it had taken physical form.

"I've finally broken through to the sixth level!"

Qin Ming's eyes flashed with sharp light, and he was brimming with vitality.

Feeling his body, now even more powerful and domineering than before, along with more than double the Vital Energy Force,

he felt his heroic spirit soar to the heavens.

Under the dual accumulation of Vital Energy from the Supreme-Grade Blood Locust Rice and the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture,

he was now countless times stronger than body-tempering cultivators of the same level.

For a moment, he was beside himself with joy!

Qin Ming could clearly feel an explosive power hidden within his body. Even if he faced a Late Qi Refining cultivator now, he would probably have the strength to fight.

Even if he could not win, he could still retreat safely.

"If only I could break through to the seventh level of the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture."

"The seventh level corresponds to entering the late stage of body tempering."

"According to the Beast Hide scripture, once this technique reaches the seventh level, the Vital Energy throughout the body will fully solidify and undergo another qualitative transformation, becoming an entirely new Vital Energy True Force, sweeping through everything in its path!"

Excitement shone in Qin Ming's eyes. He still had so much Supreme-Grade Blood Locust Rice and so many Vital Energy Affixes.

He knew he was getting closer and closer to that step.