Chapter 58: Five Elements Fruit Core

As expected, when it came to choosing a cave dwelling, Liu Jinyang followed the map and pointed to one near Tianquan Village for Lin Donglai: "This was once the cave dwelling of an outer disciple deacon in the Spirit Plant Hall. Outside the dwelling, two medicinal fields were also developed. Although they are only half an acre, they are both first-grade high-quality spirit fields. Although they may have declined slightly due to being sealed for these years, maintaining them at a first-grade mid-quality level won't be difficult."

"Most importantly, it is close to Tianquan Village. This dwelling was built relying on the second-grade low-quality spirit vein of Tianquan Mountain. It is officially registered as a first-grade high-quality cave dwelling, but in reality, its spiritual energy is comparable to first-grade peak quality, which will be sufficient for Junior Brother's use."

"Then let's take this one!"

Lin Donglai said, "I still have the pit of that Azure Essence Fruit. Perhaps I can plant an Azure Essence Fruit tree at the entrance."

However, Huang Yue countered, "Azure Essence Fruit trees are grafted from the five-element branches of Five-Element Fruit trees. When the grade drops, the pit is actually considered a devalued Five-Element Fruit tree. The growing conditions for Five-Element Fruit trees are extremely harsh; even if you can induce germination, it will be difficult to keep it alive in a mere ordinary spirit field."

She had been the number one spirit planter of the previous generation. The Kunyuan Fruit she had eaten was a spiritual fruit produced by a tree grown from a soil-element branch of a Five-Element Fruit tree.

Presumably, Huang Yue had also failed to plant a Kunyuan Fruit tree before inquiring about the reason.

"If you are determined, you could plant two Azure Essence Date trees. These are a type of spiritual date tree improved by our Azure Wood Sect using the Azure Essence Fruit tree as a base. Eating them regularly is beneficial for cultivating a Wood Spiritual Root, and they only take three years to bear fruit."

"A Five-Element Fruit tree pit?" A thought occurred to Lin Donglai—he could plant it in his Blessed Field.

However, the area of the Blessed Field was still too small; he would have to wait until it grew larger in the future.

After selecting the cave dwelling, Liu Jinyang and Huang Yue took Lin Donglai to receive his spirit planting tasks.

"Tianquan Village has fifty acres of spirit fields. Forty of those acres are first-grade mid-quality. The sect rules dictate that thirty acres must be planted with spirit grains."

"Additionally, of the ten acres of first-grade high-quality spirit fields, eight acres must also be planted with first-grade high-quality spirit grains; you cannot plant medicinal herbs there."

"Only among the remaining ten acres of mid-quality and two acres of high-quality fields can you plant medicinal herbs."

"Although Tianquan Village has this medicinal spring flowing down from Tianquan Mountain, the village itself has no spirit vein and relies on a Spirit Gathering Array to maintain it. Therefore, planting medicinal herbs causes too much damage to the spirit fields. Once you finish planting herbs, remember to cultivate the soil and nourish the fields. You cannot let the land go to waste, otherwise, the sect will surely punish you."

"For this land, the annual requirement is to hand over three hundred catties of spirit grain per acre. This part is calculated based on the fifty acres."

"The grain seeds required for planting are provided free of charge from the Spirit Plant Hall; you do not need to pay in spirit stones or merit points."

"You will need to purchase the medicinal herb seeds yourself, but all profits from the herbs belong to you. You can either sell them to the Merit Hall for merit points or accept commissions from other alchemy disciples; it is entirely up to you."

"Furthermore, for every acre of mid-quality spirit field, as long as you plant spirit grains, you will receive a subsidy of two merit points per year; for high-quality fields, it is four merit points. This is a fertilizer subsidy, but it can only be obtained after the spirit grain has been handed over."

Lin Donglai did some mental math. He didn't necessarily have to plant all fifty acres, but he had to collect seeds and hand over grain based on the full fifty-acre quota.

Yet, it was specifically stated that ten acres of mid-quality and two acres of high-quality fields could be used for herbs.

How could one grow forty acres' worth of grain from only thirty acres of land?

A bumper harvest of mid-quality spirit grain only yielded about three hundred to eighty catties per acre.

Given the current level of Lin Donglai and the Spirit Field Mutual Aid Society, they might not even reach that much. Even calculating at a best-case scenario of a 50-catty surplus per acre, that would be 1,500 catties, which was still short by half.

Although the growing period for mid-quality spirit grain was longer than first-grade low-quality grain—making it impossible to have two harvests a year—it matured in about seven to eight months. The remaining time was needed to cultivate the soil for the following year, during which one could at most plant something like spirit soybeans to sell as spirit beast fodder.

High-quality spirit grain, however, was more demanding, requiring at least ten months of growth, or even a full year.

The yield was also lower, and others simply lacked the ability to grow it. Only Lin Donglai and Nie Caixia had the capability, and even then, they could only produce about 30 catties more per acre. Eight acres would only yield 240 catties, which was nowhere near enough to cover the other two acres. Therefore, one would need subsidies, or more practically, simply plant nine acres of grain and leave only one acre for herbs; otherwise, they wouldn't meet the quota.

Even with the fertilizer subsidy, the actual merit points one could earn were not much. If the crop failed, one might lose everything.

It seemed the Azure Wood Sect had indeed calculated everything, maintaining a delicate balance.

Nevertheless, Lin Donglai accepted the task for the fifty acres of Tianquan Village, following Liu Jinyang's lead.

Tianquan Village was good, and the cave dwelling was excellent. If not for those suspicions, Lin Donglai would have sincerely thanked Liu Jinyang.

"Senior Brother Liu, what kind of rice did the previous deacon plant?"

"Mid-quality Purple Sun Rice and high-quality Black Marsh Rice."

"Purple Sun Rice loves sunlight and water. Tianquan Village has sufficient sunlight, so it's a perfect fit."

"Black Marsh Rice is a water-attribute spirit rice, which can be supplemented by the medicinal spring water."

"Then I will plant those two types of rice."

Lin Donglai made his decision: "The senior's judgment must be correct."

"Junior Brother Lin is quite clever!" Liu Jinyang smiled.

In his view, he had already hinted that Nie Caixia's grandfather might have hidden an opportunity within Tianquan Village, and by giving the cave dwelling to Lin Donglai, Lin Donglai would surely be unable to resist searching for it.

"Senior Brother, Senior Sister, I also need to go to the Instruction Hall to supplement my subsequent Qi Refinement cultivation techniques. Do you have any advice?"

"There is no specific advice," Huang Yue said, "other than to comprehend the subsequent techniques. However, the 'Morning Sun Qi Gathering Technique,' which gathers purple qi, is extremely useful."

"If Junior Brother can gather five years' worth of purple qi, the bottleneck of the mid-stage of Qi Refinement will surely dissolve. If you can gather twenty years' worth, even the bottleneck of the late-stage of Qi Refinement can be dissolved."

"Junior Brother is only seventeen or eighteen. Even if you add twenty-five years of qi gathering, you will only be in your early forties upon reaching the seventh layer of Qi Refinement. You will certainly reach the ninth layer before you are fifty. If you have a steady supply of spirit rice and fruit, consume fewer pills to avoid accumulating medicinal toxins, and keep your physical body in peak condition, you will even have a chance at Foundation Establishment."

"This is the beauty of the sect's system. As long as your merit points are sufficient and you are under sixty, regardless of your spiritual root type, you can exchange for a Foundation Establishment spiritual item."

Lin Donglai nodded, indicating he would practice this technique. After all, it was a technique that could assist in breaking through barriers, even if the required amount of purple qi increased the further one progressed.

For example, to grind through a Foundation Establishment bottleneck, one would need at least sixty years of purple qi, and it was best if it was gathered personally; qi gathered by others might inevitably be tainted by their essence, spirit, or soul.

However, for True Person Chanxia, this was not a concern, as he used purple qi to refine methods, treasures, and techniques. The uses of this technique were infinite, far beyond just breaking through barriers.

Holding his outer disciple token, Lin Donglai demonstrated his third-layer Qi Refinement strength and entered the Instruction Hall to view the complete Qi Refinement cultivation manuals.