The Spirit Rice Was Almost Ripe

It was already evening, but the elevator happened to be empty.

When Fang Zelin came out of the elevator, he was on the ground floor.

He wheeled himself forward a few paces and spotted the trash bin in the distance. Seeing no one around, Fang Zelin gave his hand a light flick.

The trash bag in his hand traced an arc and landed squarely in the bin ahead.

Fang Zelin smiled in satisfaction, then continued wheeling himself forward.

A short while later, Fang Zelin arrived at a food stall outside the residential complex and ordered a serving of fried rice as usual.

Fang Zelin was something of a regular here, and the owner greeted him as he sat down.

Phone in hand, Fang Zelin played around on it while waiting for the owner to finish cooking his rice.

Just then, several boys came running over from a distance, each holding a wooden stick as they chased one another.

As they chased each other, they kept shouting things.

Fang Zelin listened closely, and the corner of his mouth immediately twitched.

Weren't they shouting the names of Martial Dao moves from Seeking the Dao?

Things like the Stele-Splitting Hand and some sort of kick.

Then he watched them run past him, laughing and joking.

Fang Zelin smiled at the sight, then noticed his phone screen light up.

When Fang Zelin picked it up, he saw a message from Jiuchuan.

"I've finally made some progress with my saber technique!"

Jiuchuan seemed extremely excited right now. Fang Zelin could sense it even from the words he had sent.

Fang Zelin was quite happy to see the message, too.

Jiuchuan had told him a long time ago that he had joined a martial arts school.

But he had heard no further news after that. Today, Jiuchuan had finally made some progress.

"Don't worry. Now that I've made some progress, I can take on other, more profitable jobs. I'll get you that Severance and Mending Salve afterward!"

Jiuchuan had not forgotten about this. After announcing his progress, he immediately thumped his chest and assured Fang Zelin that he still remembered.

"You don't need to worry about that. I've already found a way on my end."

Seeing that Jiuchuan still remembered, Fang Zelin quickly replied.

He wasn't disabled in the game at all, so there was no need to worry about it.

Reading Fang Zelin's message, Jiuchuan was half convinced and half doubtful.

With Fang Zelin's abilities, could he really find Severance and Mending Salve in the game?

He had his doubts, but remembering that someone with Fang Zelin's character was indeed unlikely to lie, he felt a little more reassured.

"By the way, this game feels so real. Do you think we could succeed if we practiced in the real world?"

Jiuchuan hesitated, but still shared the question on his mind with Fang Zelin.

After sensing Qi Force, he had distinctly and clearly felt it moving through his body.

The sensation was so real, as though he were truly cultivating.

Under those circumstances, he could hardly help asking this question.

The corner of Fang Zelin's mouth twitched at the question. Well, then.

This game world was far too real. Other people weren't fools, either, so such thoughts were bound to occur to them.

Even Jiuchuan had thought of it. Fang Zelin reckoned someone would definitely give it a try.

"Forget it, forget it. I was just saying. This game is so realistic it's hard to believe."

Jiuchuan felt a little embarrassed. Asking a question like that was rather like...

Watching superheroes in a movie, then asking someone whether they existed in the real world.

By the time the two finished chatting, the stall owner had brought over the fried rice.

Fang Zelin browsed the forum on his phone, wanting to see how far everyone had progressed in Seeking the Dao by now.

After taking a closer look, Fang Zelin realized that the players' progress in Seeking the Dao could be considered astonishing.

There were even people who had begun cultivating before Jiuchuan.

By now, apparently a few had already become Fifth-Rate Experts.

Fifth-Rate Expert sounded like something that didn't amount to much.

In reality, however, someone at that level already had a bit of strength.

According to one player, he had accidentally spotted a ginseng root while felling trees in the mountains, and his cultivation had soared after he ate it.

Reading this, Fang Zelin couldn't help marveling at the fellow's luck.

He had actually managed to eat some ginseng and greatly boost his cultivation.

But judging by the news on the forum, Fang Zelin reckoned that if someone really tried sensing Qi Force in the real world...

Someone would probably sense it very soon.

And these were all players who were relatively far ahead.

There were also plenty of players who still had not earned enough silver.

Silver was hard to earn. That much was understandable.

Aside from all this, there was one other thing: the post Fang Zelin had made earlier had now gone viral.

It had been pinned and marked as a featured post outright. Its replies now numbered over a hundred thousand, making it the hottest post on the forum.

Below the post, a great many players thanked Fang Zelin for sharing.

Quite a few were also curious about how Fang Zelin had managed to enter a martial arts school so quickly, and what rate of expert he had become by now.

Fang Zelin skimmed through it, then closed the forum.

After hurriedly finishing his meal, Fang Zelin returned home.

Why think about so many things? Better to get the spirit rice grown as soon as possible first.

Once the spirit rice ripened, Fang Zelin also planned to leave Yingping Peak in search of immortals.

At the foot of Yingping Peak.

A small patch of rice paddy stood out conspicuously.

In the little paddy, the ears of grain on more than a dozen spirit rice plants had already weighed their leaves down.

The ears were covered in grains of rice, and wisps of fragrance drifted from them.

Fang Zelin leaned close beside them, stroking the ears with his hand and carefully examining the grains. His eyes were filled with delight.

"After being fed so much Spiritual Qi, they're finally starting to look almost ripe."

He was overjoyed at the sight. At this rate, it probably wouldn't take much longer for the spirit rice to ripen.

Splash!

Fang Zelin was examining the paddy closely when, the very next moment, a splash of water sounded in the distance.

Was that water ghost rescuing another drowning person?

Hearing the sound, Fang Zelin assumed that water ghost was rescuing another drowning person.

But when Fang Zelin turned to look, he saw Zhang Weichu coming toward him, parting the water.

So it was Zhang Weichu.

At the sight of Zhang Weichu, Fang Zelin's expression immediately relaxed.

When Zhang Weichu had passed through on patrol before, he had discovered Fang Zelin here. Afterward, Fang Zelin would often see Zhang Weichu come by to catch up.

As time passed, their relationship had grown considerably closer.

"Sir, it looks as though your rice paddy here is about to ripen!"

Zhang Weichu had only just arrived, but after sweeping his gaze over it, his eyes filled with a smile.