Chapter 1
"I Grow Spirit Herbs in the Cultivation World" by Yueji Yanyu [Complete + extras]
Synopsis:
Shan Heyuan transmigrated as a mortal to the
cultivation
world and began his
farming
life.
He had originally wanted to live out his life in peace, but after he picked up a fragment of a spirit sword and bound himself to its sword spirit, he gradually became a somewhat famous planting genius!
Later, he even fell in love with the sword spirit and began a wonderful life of cultivation, planting, and sharing a warm bed.
Only when his cultivation grew higher and higher, he developed his own portable spirit fields, and he became a world-famous plant cultivator qualified to learn the secrets of the cultivation world's upper echelons,
did he discover that this was actually a world on the verge of death.
Shan Heyuan turned his gaze on the sword cultivators, artifact cultivators, talisman cultivators, and other cultivators.
The cultivators all guiltily looked away.
The sky was falling, and they expected a plant cultivator to hold it up? Was that any way for people to behave?!
Shan Heyuan took a deep breath, rolled up his sleeves, and charged forward-
Don't treat plant cultivators as if they weren't cultivators.
When a plant cultivator got going, he could surpass the entire cultivation world's imagination!
A farming-style progression
power fantasy
. Dear readers, come dive in~
Content tags: Portable
space
, farming, xianxia cultivation, power fantasy, progression, serious drama
Search keywords: Protagonists: Shan Heyuan; Shen Duheng ┃ Supporting characters: ┃ Other: cultivation; power fantasy; transmigration
One-line summary: There was no hiding it anymore: he was a Spirit Plant cultivator with a cheat.
Theme: Talent calls for even greater striving; only through hard work can one create a better life.
Work review:
Shan Heyuan transmigrated to the cultivation world and became a genius plant cultivator, thriving in his field. Later, he fell in love with the sword cultivator Shen Duheng and created a portable small world. Just as he was about to reach the pinnacle, he learned that this was actually a world on the verge of destruction, and that he had transmigrated here over three thousand years ago. This was already his second time saving the world. This time, with everyone's help, he and his lover Shen Duheng finally succeeded in saving it.
This work's style was
lighthearted
and straightforward, with vivid, lively narration that gave it a feel entirely unlike traditional cultivation novels. The narrative followed a very clear course: relying on his marvelous planting techniques, the protagonist fought his way up from the lowest rung of cultivators to become a top powerhouse, ultimately saving the world through planting. The author took an ingenious approach, writing a cultivation story distinct from the traditional mold and combining planting with cultivation. It was refreshing and worth a read.
Chapter 1
West of Gangzhi Village, among the terraced fields.
A tall, handsome young man was bent over, placing dark yellow wooden slats among the emerald-green plants.
His slender fingers were exceptionally nimble, and he worked quickly, arranging the slats in a particular pattern in no time. Though he had no ruler, the intervals looked as though they had been measured, with not the slightest discrepancy in the distances between them.
After setting the slats in place, the young man took a soybean-sized green orb from the cloth pouch at his waist and gently set it in their center.
In an instant, the slats all trembled and lit up faintly with a hum, forming a Spirit Gathering Formation that protected the Spirit Plants at its center.
"Success." Shan Heyuan breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and pounded his lower back.
Setting up the formation was painstaking, tedious work, and it demanded great precision. The distances from point to point and line to line all had to be carefully calculated, consuming a great deal of mental effort.
He had been bent over working at it since morning, and by now his back felt ready to break and his vision was a little blurry.
Fortunately, he had succeeded in setting up the formation on the first try this time.
Shan Heyuan twisted his waist where he stood and looked at the plants beside him.
This was Earth Spirit Ginseng, a kind of spirit medicine that needed a supply of spiritual power to grow normally. Without it, the plants were prone to illness and withering.
He had planted four terraces in all and needed to set up 132 small Spirit Gathering Formations. He didn't know whether he could finish them today.
The thought left Shan Heyuan feeling somewhat despairing.
Mortals shouldn't have to do things like setting up formations. He had heard that cultivators had the aid of Divine Sense when setting up formations, which simplified many of the steps and made the work far less tiring than it was for him.
Shan Heyuan couldn't imagine what that felt like, but he hoped he could clear his blocked meridians soon and embark on the path of cultivation himself.
Otherwise, he would work himself to death in the fields sooner or later.
After resting where he was for a while, Shan Heyuan bent his head to the work again, pulling out any weeds he saw growing in the field as he went.
He had transmigrated to this world from Earth a little over a month ago and had been settled in Gangzhi Village by the sect that found him.
To support himself, he had asked the village chief and then specifically reclaimed this patch of unwanted wasteland to grow spirit medicine.
Perhaps because no one had cultivated it for years, the newly reclaimed field had a great many weeds. Almost every time he came to tend the spirit medicine, he had to pull a fresh round of them.
Fortunately, his hard work had yielded good results.
He lifted his head and looked at the little Spirit Plant garden in the sunlight.
In the soil at his feet, the Earth Spirit Ginseng, only ankle-high so far, swayed its verdant leaves in the breeze and gave off a faint medicinal fragrance.
A month ago, these terraces had still been lying fallow, covered in weeds and small shrubs.
They had changed so much in just over half a month. As the one who had reclaimed them, Shan Heyuan felt a deep sense of accomplishment.
He had nearly figured out the new method of setting up the Spirit Gathering Formation. Once he had mastered it, he would replace the formation around these Spirit Plants with a new one. By then, the growth rate of both the spirit medicines and the spirit vegetables couldn't be increased any further.
Shan Heyuan worked until noon, then wiped away the sweat that had nearly run into his eyes and decided to head home for a midday rest before coming back in the afternoon.
He picked some Earth Spirit Ginseng leaves to eat as greens, gathered them in the front of his clothes, and strolled down the mountain path.
His home was not far below the terraces. At the foot of the mountain, he only had to turn right and then take another turn.
Shan Heyuan was thinking about planting, his mind wandering as he walked. It wasn't until he was almost at his front door that he noticed someone standing there.
The man wore his hair in a round bun and was dressed in a close-fitting white robe. He was rather lean and very tall, and Shan Heyuan recognized him at once as Ma Rupei, the senior brother the Supreme Harmony Sect had sent to guide him.
A smile immediately appeared on his face, and he hurried over to greet Ma Rupei. "Senior Brother Ma! What brings you here? Come in and take a rest."
Shan Heyuan was about to put down the greens gathered in his clothes and take out his key to open the door.
"Let me." As Ma Rupei spoke, he took the key directly from Shan Heyuan's hand and opened the large copper lock. "Our hunting team is back, so I came to see how you were doing. You're settling in all right in the village?"
Shan Heyuan followed Ma Rupei inside. "Quite well. Everyone's been looking after me. I've planted Spirit Plants in all the spirit fields I reclaimed on the mountain, and they're growing nicely now."
Ma Rupei said, "I caught a glimpse from a distance just now. I saw them. You set up the Spirit Gathering Formations quite well. You've got a talent for it."
Shan Heyuan smiled. "You think so? I learned it from a book. Master Shanlai created the formation, and even mortals without spiritual power can use it."
Ma Rupei said, "It is good."
Shan Heyuan said, "Have some tea, Senior Brother. Have you eaten lunch? Would you like to eat here?"
Ma Rupei took a large piece of meat out of his storage ring. "We haven't celebrated your move here yet. This is meat from a spirit deer we hunted on this trip. We can stir-fry it and eat it today."
Shan Heyuan took it. "Thank you, Senior Brother. Then I won't stand on ceremony. Sit for a bit while I cook a dish. We'll be eating in no time."
Shan Heyuan's kitchen was in a corner of the courtyard. Carrying the meat and the greens gathered in his clothes, he went inside, deftly washed the rice and put it on to cook, then prepared the vegetables and meat.
The mountains and forests here, especially those far from human settlements, contained all kinds of spirit beasts and Spirit Plants, including many highly aggressive varieties.
As a mortal, Shan Heyuan didn't dare go up the mountain alone, much less gather firewood and the like.
He now used Conflagration Talismans directly for cooking.
Once a Conflagration Talisman was tucked into the stove and activated with a spirit orb, the strength of the fire could be adjusted within a certain range, and it could also be switched on and off at will. It was much like a gas stove on Earth, but the flame was far fiercer.
Cooking with a Conflagration Talisman made fairly high demands of the cook. A moment's carelessness and the food in the pot would burn.