Chapter 29: Sowing

To cast a spell, a cultivator requires at least the second level of Qi Refinement.

However, by using his spiritual power to drive the Dew Gourd—a low-grade, first-tier spiritual plant tool—Lin Donglai could activate it even at the first level of Qi Refinement.

The only drawback was that the spiritual field it could irrigate was only a few feet square, yet it would drain seventy to eighty percent of his spiritual power.

This was when the heaven-defying effect of the Dao Seed was most apparent!

With the Dao Seed providing automatic cultivation, Lin Donglai's speed in recovering spiritual power was extremely fast; he could release another spell in just a few breaths.

Even so, after using the Dew Gourd several more times, he still felt a sense of exhaustion—a normal phenomenon resulting from the excessive use of spiritual power.

Furthermore, because the Dew Rain Incantation was triggered via a spiritual tool, the spiritual content of the falling dew droplets was quite mediocre.

However, these droplets did indeed carry a faint earth-element aura from Lin Donglai's current "Chen Earth Qi Gathering Technique," which was somewhat effective in nourishing the spiritual field.

After repeatedly soaking the small patch of seedling ground, Lin Donglai carefully took out the germinated grain seeds of the Blood Marrow Rice and began to sow them.

Since his cultivation was insufficient, he could not master the Sprouting and Gestation Technique, but the "Manual of Farming" contained a seedling method that did not require such a technique.

That was the Seed Soaking Method.

Lin Donglai had already used this method to soak the seeds in the Dew Gourd for three days in advance.

The Dew Gourd had two functions: one was to generate and store spiritual dew rain using spiritual power, and the other was to release the stored dew rain.

By pre-storing dew in the gourd to soak the seeds, and then pouring out the water that had lost its spiritual essence the next day to inject more spiritual power to generate fresh dew for the seeds to absorb, one could ensure the seeds germinated smoothly within three to four days.

What Lin Donglai needed to do now was to sow the already germinated seeds into this pre-soaked seedling field.

The seedling stage required constant supervision; birds might come to peck at the seeds, or jealous individuals might attempt to sabotage the field.

Lin Donglai built a small shelter directly beside the field, choosing not to return to Xianmiao Peak to cultivate.

As for meals, he had already made arrangements with Ding Zhen. Ding Zhen would eat first and then come here to watch the field for a while; once Lin Donglai finished eating, he would return.

He also conducted his cultivation here.

This was the reality for most spiritual farmers who could not afford low-level formations; during critical periods, they practically had to guard their fields day and night.

Lin Donglai had also asked Huang Yue, who merely suggested buying a warning formation and a recording formation.

If someone truly came to sabotage the field, their image could be captured by the formation and reported to the Law Enforcement Hall. The perpetrator would not only have to pay compensation but would also face punishment.

However, if you set one up, it was unlikely anyone would actually come to sabotage it, making it feel somewhat useless.

Yet, if you didn't set one up and something actually happened, you would have no grounds for justice.

As for birds, beasts, and insects, one would need to buy insect-killing or protective formations, but these were not only expensive but also required spirit stones to maintain. Only precious medicinal herb fields typically had such setups.

Pressed by poverty, Lin Donglai suddenly felt that cultivating at the Spiritual Field Valley was a good choice.

At the very least, practicing the Chen Earth Qi Gathering Technique was faster here than at Xianmiao Peak. It was also quieter; at night, only a few spiritual plant disciples who were also afraid of sabotage remained to guard the area.

Once darkness fell, no one could see anyone else. Lin Donglai could practice the Primordial Nourishing Breathing Technique to nurture his spiritual marrow and stimulate his essence and blood without much disturbance.

After finishing the sowing of the germinated rice seeds, Lin Donglai used the Dew Gourd to generate more dew. Once a gourd was full, he watered the field once more.

After watering, Lin Donglai took out a copy of the *Green Wood Herbal Classic* borrowed from the Spiritual Plant Hall to read.

It contained an illustrated guide to over a hundred types of spiritual medicines and herbs, along with descriptions of their medicinal properties. It also described the planting and harvesting methods for various herbs.

Over these past few days, Lin Donglai had read more than half of it, including several low-grade spiritual herbs mentioned in the Multitude of Wonders Pill.

However, the planting and harvesting times for these herbs varied.

For example, the Seven Star Grass was noted to be planted in April and harvested in October. It needed to be planted in an open, uncovered area; in summer, one had to be careful to provide shade with a canopy, but in the evening, the canopy had to be removed to allow it to absorb starlight.

The Lock Yang Grass was planted in May and harvested in September; it loved sunlight but required careful watering and preferred fertilizer made from Dan Wood ash.

The Essence Supplementing Flower preferred shade and moisture, needing to be planted in February and harvested in June.

The Kidney Essence Grass, when wild, liked to grow on other trees. When cultivated artificially, one needed to use things like tree bark, stones, and moss to create an environment with little sunlight and plenty of dew. This variety was planted in the tenth month of autumn and harvested in March of the following year.

Lin Donglai was not confident he could grow them successfully before reaching the second level of Qi Refinement, so he did not begin breeding them yet. Instead, he focused on how to arrange the necessary planting conditions.

...

Time passed quickly, and when the second hundred-day assessment arrived, Lin Donglai made a point of inquiring about the news, even though he had no reason to worry.

This time, over twenty people had failed to successfully guide Qi into their bodies. They were all demoted to handyman disciples and burdened with debt to repay the costs of their cultivation at Xianmiao Peak—twenty spirit stones per person.

"If it weren't for that Primordial Ginseng Stewed Chicken, I might have failed as well and been demoted to a handyman," Ding Zhen sighed. "They all had low-grade five-element roots; there wasn't a single one with low-grade four-element roots. We are quite lucky."

"A handyman earns only half a spirit stone in monthly wages, and they have to do all sorts of menial service work."

"Even so, the service work is considered the easy part."

"I heard that some pills require testing, so they use handyman disciples as test subjects. Many die from eating the pills."

"Then there are the various mines that need manpower to dig; accidents happen very easily there too."

"Once we complete our Xianmiao training and can choose a cave residence among the various outer peaks, we can use spirit stones to hire handymen to serve us. It's very cheap—only half a spirit stone a month."

"For instance, we wouldn't have to do things like lighting fires, cooking, or washing clothes ourselves; we could focus entirely on cultivation and outer sect missions."

Although Ding Zhen sympathized with them, the thought of becoming an outer sect disciple and standing above the handymen brought him a certain sense of pride. After all, despite both having low-grade five-element roots, his circumstances were worlds apart from those of a handyman.

Lin Donglai shook his head. "That is all superficial. It is more important to increase our cultivation and master a skill."

"In the time I've spent carefully reading the sect rules, they all blatantly state that the sect needs useful cultivators; useless ones will be discarded just the same."

"If your cultivation doesn't grow and you haven't mastered a skill, do you remember those old Taoists at the secular academies? That is where we are headed."

"Even outer sect disciples who have mastered a skill aren't much; inner sect disciples can hire outer sect disciples, just as we can hire handymen."

"True disciples are even more powerful, equivalent to inner sect elders; they can directly kill a disciple who shows them disrespect without facing punishment."

Lin Donglai's cold water was indeed effective. Ding Zhen nodded, but couldn't help but sigh again. "For people with low talent like us, even if we work hard to dedicate our lives to the sect, perhaps in their eyes, we are nothing more than insignificant specks."

(End of Chapter)