Chapter 25: Blood Marrow Rice

From the Hour of the Tiger to the Hour of the Horse, there was still an entire morning left. Since it wasn't a "Triple Day," there were no spiritual plant classes.

Lin Donglai tested the Morning Sun Qi-Gathering Method again, facing the rising sun to collect the purple essence.

This was a supplementary cultivation technique, practiced by most disciples of the Azure Wood Sect.

Aside from accumulating energy to break through bottlenecks, this Morning Sun Purple Qi served as a material for alchemy; some spiritual plants also required purple qi for nourishment.

Therefore, although this technique could theoretically be cultivated up to the Purple Mansion Realm, the version for the early Qi Refining stage was widely circulated within the sect.

This was not a Qi Refining technique, but a "Divine Soul Method." It relied on the eyes to gather light and the spirit to drive the qi; one had to capture the purple light of the morning sun to induce the Morning Sun Purple Qi.

Whether it was Lin Donglai's Jia Wood Physique or his Spiritual Root Seed, he found it difficult to achieve entry at this moment.

After all, the window for gathering qi occurred for only a fleeting moment each day; if the opportunity was missed, one had to wait until the next day.

Seeing that he could not make progress, Lin Donglai headed to the Spiritual Plant Hall on Lingxi Peak. Huang Yue had mentioned that the hall contained a specialized library for farming.

To do a job well, one must first sharpen one's tools. Although the art of spiritual planting did not hold the same lofty status as the four great arts—Alchemy, Weapon Refinement, Talisman Making, and Array Formation—it was nonetheless vital.

Alchemy required spiritual herbs and fruits.

Making talisman paper required spiritual grasses, bamboo, and tree bark.

Weapon refinement and array formation also inevitably required materials like spiritual wood.

Upon arriving at the library of the Spiritual Plant Hall, Lin Donglai found that it contained almost no cultivation techniques or spells, only notes, journals, and illustrated guides to spiritual plants.

After a moment of thought, Lin Donglai turned his attention to the bookshelf for spiritual rice cultivation.

Yesterday, Huang Yue had given him an outline for farming, but Lin Donglai had not yet had the chance to read it.

Since there was a copy here, he picked it up.

He flipped through the table of contents.

Land reclamation, soil preparation, seed breeding, liquid adjustment, pest control...

Spiritual fields needed to be opened around spiritual veins; of course, if no spiritual vein was present, areas enriched by Spirit Gathering Arrays would suffice.

The land reclamation process was similar to that of ordinary farmers: deep plowing, clearing the land, weeding, and planning the ridges.

However, the soil of spiritual lands was much firmer than that of the mortal realm. Most importantly, weeds grew with frantic intensity in spiritual lands.

Therefore, clearing the land required at least a Pre-natal Martial Artist who had reached the Fetal Breathing Realm, or a low-level Qi Refining disciple. Specifically, one who had mastered the "Spirit-Casting Earth-Shaking Spell" could vibrate the soil to loosen it, drawing out the spiritual and earthly qi and completely severing the life force of the weeds.

Soil preparation following reclamation was the stage for stabilizing and upgrading the spiritual field.

Newly opened spiritual fields lacked fertile earthly qi and sufficient spiritual qi. Thus, various fertilizers, spells, and formations were used to nurture the field to suit the growth of specific spiritual plants.

The most basic spiritual fertilizer was simple: crushing used spirit stones and mixing them with the soil.

Once a spirit stone was exhausted, it could be returned to the spiritual vein, and the resulting powder also served to stabilize the spiritual qi.

There was also the ash from burning medicinal wood and fermented spirit beast manure.

There was even a formula provided: for one mu of a first-grade low-rank spiritual field, one needed twenty crushed used spirit stones, one hundred catties of medicinal wood ash, and one hundred catties of manure.

To maintain spiritual qi, it was best to have a first-grade low-rank Spirit Gathering Array and apply fertilizer in fixed quantities every year.

As Lin Donglai read, he felt the steps were much like farming in the countryside, just replaced with spiritual items and supplemented by spells.

After finishing the farming outline, Lin Donglai looked into several cultivation methods for first-grade low-rank spiritual grains.

Purple Extreme Rice, Solar Flare Rice, Blood Marrow Rice, Azure Bamboo Rice, Pearl Rice, Golden Bell Millet...

After scanning the options, Lin Donglai chose Blood Marrow Rice. This rice could nourish blood marrow and essence, making it a favorite among low-level body-refining cultivators.

The spiritual rice provided at Xianmiao Peak, which required spirit stones for, was also this variety.

Although Lin Donglai was already at the first layer of Qi Refining, he still had to persist in marrow refining, converting essence and blood to cultivate his Fetal Breathing. He would certainly need to eat this rice every day.

In a first-grade low-rank spiritual field, this rice could yield two harvests a year. One mu required eight catties of grain seeds. Since one cattie of seed cost one spirit stone, the seed cost for one mu would be eight spirit stones.

Once grown, one harvest yielded about three hundred catties, totaling six hundred catties a year.

One spirit stone could buy ten catties of rice, meaning one could harvest sixty spirit stones' worth. However, after accounting for fertilizer, seeds, and field maintenance, one mu of land actually only earned about twenty-some spirit stones a year. If one intended to eat it themselves, six hundred catties was merely sustenance; not only would they not earn spirit stones, but they might even incur a loss.

Taking on outer sect missions—catching insects or logging medicinal wood—paid better than farming. Unless one farmed ten or twenty mu to become a "landlord," or constantly improved their spiritual planting skills to grow more expensive alchemical herbs, it was a matter of patience and experience.

In reality, only the early stages of reclamation, soil preparation, and seedling nurturing were labor-intensive. Later, one only needed to check on them occasionally, cast a "Dew-Rain Spell" once or twice, and supplement water and fertilizer. One could then find time for other tasks or cultivation.

"I wonder how much twenty used blank spirit stones are worth, and where can I get this spiritual fertilizer?"

Lin Donglai went to find Huang Yue. She replied, "Spiritual fertilizer isn't expensive; a hundred catties costs two spirit stones. Medicinal wood ash is even cheaper, at one spirit stone for two hundred catties. As for blank spirit stones, they go for three spirit pearls each. One spirit stone can be exchanged for thirty-three used blank spirit stones."

"The Spiritual Plant Hall has connections for all of these; you just need to prepare the spirit stones."

"However, if you want a higher yield, you should plant a variety of crops together. For example, you can plant Yellow Spirit Beans on the ridges. They help fix nitrogen in the soil and can be sold to the spirit beast breeders at Zhenling Peak as fodder."

"The stalks of the Blood Marrow Rice can also be used as fodder for herbivorous spirit beasts."

"First, go to the Spiritual Grain Valley below Xianmiao Peak to reclaim land. Work hard to learn the 'Sprouting and Gestation Spell.' This spell can not only induce seeds to sprout but also help them gestate."

"Otherwise, the harvested grain won't become seeds, and you'll have to buy seeds again next year. With this spell, you can save your own seeds or even earn spirit stones by helping others breed them."

"While you are being nurtured at Xianmiao Peak, it's fine; you don't even need to pay for land rental. Don't be fooled by the fact that Spiritual Grain Valley looks desolate now; many disciples from previous classes invested spirit stone powder and fertilizer there. It only looks barren because after each two-year cultivation period, the valley is sealed for three years before the next batch of disciples arrives."

"There were no spiritual veins there originally. Later, because disciples scattered too much spirit stone powder, combined with the third-grade spiritual vein of the Misty Mountains, a first-grade low-rank spiritual vein formed on its own. You can grow things there just by tending to it a little."

"That's all to build your confidence. Once you officially lease spiritual fields and start real farming, you'll realize it's not that easy. It'll be hard to even break even then."

"Huh? What!"

Lin Donglai hadn't expected such a scheme, but it made sense. In Lin Family Town, farmers often farmed themselves into debt or lost their land, eventually becoming mere tenant farmers for the landlords.

"Don't worry. You have the Jia Wood Physique and the blessing of a Wood Spiritual Root; almost anything you plant will grow. I have high hopes for you."