After choosing his Dao Foundation path, Lin Donglai felt more confident in letting go. He allowed Ning Feng, Niu Fusheng, and the others to tend to the crops in Tianquan Village on their own, only personally handling the seedling nursery himself.
Ning Feng said with some concern, "Chief Lin, we lack experience. Ziyang Rice is a mid-grade spiritual grain, and Heize Rice is a high-grade spiritual rice. Although you are handling the seedlings, it won't be a problem for us to take over for a while, but even though we have mid-grade Dharma tools now, our cultivation is still a bit low. We might fail to provide proper care."
Lin Donglai replied, "It's fine. If you find any problems, come find me. This way, you can grow as well. You've planted Senior Brother Xiao Yi's Wonder Flowers with me before, so this is a good chance to get hands-on. Spirit Qi Flowers aren't difficult to grow either; they are all first-grade low-rank spiritual flowers."
"Cultivation can be improved gradually. Senior Brother Xiao Yi will be refining Yellow Bud Pills soon. When the time comes, we can get some high-quality ones from him at cost, so everyone will have pills to consume."
Niu Fusheng said, "Chief Lin, the spiritual qi and earth qi in these spiritual fields are not very sufficient. To plant Ziyang Rice, each mu of land requires one hundred catties of spiritual fertilizer, one hundred catties of Danwood ash, and twenty pieces of blank spirit stone powder."
"Furthermore, if we want a bountiful harvest of Ziyang Rice, we will need a mid-grade Sun-Gathering Array Disk to gather enough Yang energy. We would need to rent one from the Array Hall or purchase a set directly."
Although Lin Donglai currently had over four hundred spirit stones, he could not afford a Sun-Gathering Array capable of covering forty mu of mid-grade spiritual fields, so he said, "Let's rent one first, and we can look into custom-ordering one from the Array Hall next year."
Lin Donglai estimated that he would be hunkered down in Tianquan Village for some time; renting long-term would be less efficient than buying one.
Zhang Bai added, "Heize Rice is a first-grade high-rank rice. Besides irrigation from the medicinal spring, we also need to perform the Dew-Sprinkling Rain Technique once every morning and evening. Combined with the forty mu of Ziyang Rice, which also loves water, our spiritual power will be drained every day."
"Then go to my cave dwelling to recover your mana. It's not far, and the spiritual qi concentration in my cave is first-grade high-rank. The cultivation room is arranged with spirit stones, reaching first-grade peak grade, which should be enough for you to recover your spiritual power quickly. At night, you can each return to your own cave dwellings to cultivate and rest."
Lin Donglai encouraged them, "Let's strive to pass our assessment all at once this time, master our skills to the level of Great Completion, and raise our cultivation to the third layer of Qi Refinement. By then, passing the assessment for a first-grade mid-rank Spiritual Planter will be a certainty."
Lin Donglai had not chosen to plant medicinal herbs, opting instead to plant only spiritual grains. For the first year, stability was the priority. He used only a few mu of low-rank spiritual fields that were not officially registered to plant the Wonder Flowers and Spirit Qi Flowers required by Xiao Yi; the seeds and fertilizers were all provided by Xiao Yi.
Additionally, he planted some spiritual vegetables and raised eight spiritual chickens—all hens. Each of the eight companions in the spiritual field received one, so they could lay eggs by mid-year and be slaughtered for food by year-end.
As for the half-mu of high-rank spiritual field in front of his cave dwelling, following Huang Yue's advice, Lin Donglai spent spirit stones at the Spiritual Plant Hall to buy two first-grade high-rank Green Essence Date tree saplings.
A single sapling cost twenty spirit stones, which was quite expensive.
However, they would bear fruit in three years and provide a continuous stream of income.
From then on, Lin Donglai could say: "In my front yard, I have planted two trees; one is a date tree, and the other is also a date tree."
Besides those, he planted some higher-grade spiritual grains that nourished blood and essence, known as Jade Marrow Rice. It was higher in quality than Blood Marrow Rice, being a first-grade mid-rank spiritual rice. When planted in high-rank spiritual fields, it could yield a bountiful harvest even without meticulous care. Lin Donglai only needed to step out daily, perform the Dew-Sprinkling Rain Incantation upon his return, and occasionally check the fertility.
"The Tendon-Strengthening and Marrow-Washing Stance Method has reached perfection, but this is ultimately a body-tempering technique of the Fetal Breathing Realm. As it transforms into a Celestial Navel, the life essence it provides to me is limited. My cultivation in the Qi Refinement Realm cannot rise too quickly, so it might be better to focus my energy on body tempering."
At the first layer of Body Tempering, one possesses ten thousand catties of strength; at the ninth layer, it is ninety thousand catties. After Foundation Establishment, strength exceeds one hundred thousand catties, allowing for the manifestation of physical divine abilities.
Lin Donglai also intended to condense more Fetal Breathing to strengthen his Five Elements Origin; body-tempering techniques were essential for this, and they could also thicken a root of his Jianmu Spiritual Root, strengthening his foundation.
"I must also choose a soul cultivation technique. Cultivation requires looking upward; Foundation Establishment has three hurdles: the Physical Body hurdle, the Mana hurdle, and the Divine Sense hurdle. One must undergo transformation in all three to withstand the infusion of Heaven and Earth's power after opening the Heaven-Earth Spiritual Bridge, thereby condensing a supreme Dao Foundation."
Although Lin Donglai claimed he wanted to live cautiously to outlast others and eventually become a Sect Leader or Dao Ancestor, he did not slacken in his cultivation even slightly. Otherwise, a flaw in his cultivation foundation would make it difficult to achieve higher realms, forcing him to endure the Three Calamities of the Earth Immortal.
The first hurdle, the Wind Calamity, required at least the Golden Core stage to withstand.
Golden Core cultivators—not a single one had achieved it in the Qingmu Sect for twelve hundred years, which showed how difficult it was.
Time flew by; more than two months had passed since Lin Donglai moved into Tianquan Village and discovered the Jade Marrow Golden Lingzhi Old Stump.
Lin Donglai had also completed the two Earth-element Fetal Breathings, Jiwei and Xuwu. Consequently, in addition to the [Thick] and [Virtue] traits, his Inner Landscape Blessed Field now possessed the trait of [Nurturing All Things].
In other words, Lin Donglai could now store items in his Inner Landscape Blessed Field space at will.
Previously, only plant seeds could enter due to his Jianmu Spiritual Root's authority as the Sovereign of All Plants.
Other objects and essence-like substances could only enter the Blessed Field if they were absorbed; even spirit stones could only be placed inside after their spiritual qi was drained.
Now, he could freely store spirit stones, Dharma tools, talismans, and other items.
Beyond that, there were the various affairs within Tianquan Village.
The Ziyang Rice seedlings had been transplanted on the Winter Solstice. On the Winter Solstice, the first Yang energy arises, and the rice would eventually mature on the Double Ninth Festival in September of the following year, spanning nine months.
The Heize Rice needed to be planted in the spring of the following year. Therefore, the first-grade high-rank spiritual land was currently planted with Spiritual Yellow Soybeans, which could survive the winter. These beans helped increase the fertility of the spiritual fields.
Lin Donglai spent his time reading in the Spiritual Plant Hall. Occasionally, he would see the Grand Elder, Zhou Huaying, and could ask her a few questions regarding the ways of spiritual plants.
She had proactively taken over the duties of the Fifth Elder to guard the Spiritual Plant Hall, continuing to exert her usefulness as an old Foundation Establishment cultivator of the sect.
Although she had not taken Lin Donglai as a disciple, she would answer his inquiries without reservation.
On this day, Lin Donglai searched through the notes and journals of the Spiritual Plant Hall but found no method to make a willow branch, which had been scorched for three days, bloom again.
Thus, taking advantage of the moment when Zhou Huaying came out to sunbathe on a lounge chair, he inquired, "Grand Elder, what if these willow branches had been tempered in a furnace for three days? How could one revive them after they have been burned into charred wood?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Huaying did not dismiss Lin Donglai's wild idea, but merely said, "If you were to practice the 'Everlasting Spring Unaging Technique' to establish your foundation and cultivate the Dao Foundation of the [Everlasting Spring], and condense a single drop of Everlasting Spring water, you could protect the tiny spark of life within the willow branch. Even if it were scorched for three days and turned into charcoal or ash, you could restore its form with a single thought."
Lin Donglai shook his head. "Is there a method available to someone in the Qi Refinement Realm? And one that I can perform personally?"
Zhou Huaying thought carefully for a moment, then said, "There is a type of dew that can achieve this, called 'Hou Water,' which is refined from the dew collected during the seventy-two solar terms between the dawn and the rising sun."
"Using it on the Awakening of Insects day can allow plants to instantaneously experience various solar terms, bursting with a momentary surge of life; in an instant, they would show the cycle of withering and blooming."
"A willow branch scorched for three days might still have a sliver of life if it were a second-grade or higher willow, and one that possessed qualities like Metal-within-Wood or Water-within-Wood, allowing it to resist the furnace fire with Metal intent and consume the fire's heat with water vapor."
"But Hou Water is useless for metallic spiritual plants. That leaves only water-attribute spiritual plants, and it would have to be a second-grade water-attribute willow with long-lasting vitality."
"The questions you've been asking lately are all quite tricky. Are you trying every possible way to make things difficult for this old woman?" Zhou Huaying felt that Lin Donglai was being too pedantic, almost as if he were intentionally making things hard for an elderly person.
"Forgive me, Grand Elder. I am merely interested in the ways of healing spiritual plants. After all, how can one make money by growing low-grade plants when one can heal high-grade ones?"
"Heh! Focus your mind on the righteous path!" After Elder Zhou Huaying finished speaking, she closed her eyes again to bask in the sun on her lounge chair.