Plant VS Cultivation

Chapter 22: Harvesting Spirit Rice

After making all the necessary preparations, Gu Mo headed toward the valley's Spirit Plant Hall. Along the way, vast fields of mature spirit rice stretched before him, with numerous labor disciples harvesting the crops with sickles.

The valley's spirit fields were of excellent quality, managed by professional spirit farmers. As a result, the crops matured just as quickly as Gu Mo's, if not faster in some cases.

The fields he passed through were mostly first-grade inferior spirit fields located on the outskirts of the valley. Even so, the spirit jade rice from these fields matured at a rate comparable to his own, a testament to the expertise of the Spirit Plant Hall's farmers. However, seeing cultivators using sickles to harvest rice did seem to diminish the mystical aura of it all.

"Senior, I'm here to submit my spirit rice!"

Arriving at the grain warehouse of the Spirit Plant Hall, Gu Mo handed over his identification token. This was the designated place for registering and selling spirit rice; all harvested rice in the valley would eventually be gathered here.

"A labor disciple?"

The warehouse steward, upon seeing Gu Mo's labor disciple token, was momentarily surprised. Normally, it was outer sect disciples who came to submit spirit rice. Only those who had leased large plots of spirit fields would do so, whereas labor disciples were usually just hired hands working under outer sect disciples and rarely had any rice to submit themselves.

"Oh, so you're that Gu Mo."

After a brief moment of confusion, the steward quickly recalled the situation. This year, a labor disciple had somehow managed to rent a piece of spirit farmland, and the news had spread widely within the Spirit Plant Hall. It wasn't just the fact that Gu Mo had leased the land that made him well-known; it was also the stark contrast between his inferior spirit root and his astonishing comprehension ability.

However, wasn't it a little early to be submitting spirit rice? A newly recruited labor disciple harvesting their first batch of spirit rice—if there were no problems, that would already be considered a miracle. But to be ahead of schedule? Had he harvested the rice prematurely before it was fully matured?

Such incidents weren't unheard of in the Spirit Plant Hall. After all, most disciples were recruited from the mortal world, and many had little to no knowledge of farming.

But as the steward examined the rice, his slightly furrowed brows soon relaxed. The quality of Gu Mo's spirit rice was excellent. He tossed the harvested rice into a specialized artifact—a dehusking tool, it seemed. The rice stalks went in, and what came out was perfectly husked spirit rice, each grain as lustrous as jade.

"Spirit Jade Rice, 500 jin!"

After tallying up the total yield, the steward's eyes flickered with disbelief. A single mu of land had produced 500 jin of spirit rice—while this was considered average within the Spirit Plant Hall, it was an astonishingly high yield by general standards.

For a labor disciple to achieve such a harvest on their first attempt at farming was simply incredible.

"No wonder Deacon Zhao values him so much. This talent is indeed remarkable," the steward thought to himself. "What do you plan to do with this rice?"

Since Zhao Qiancheng had waived Gu Mo's land rent for three years, all the spirit rice belonged solely to him. He had three options: submit it to the sect in exchange for sect contribution points, sell it at the market near the sect for spirit stones, or keep it for personal consumption.

Consuming spirit rice could enhance cultivation speed. Although the effect wasn't as potent as medicinal pills, it had the advantage of being free from side effects—whereas prolonged use of pills was not advisable.

Gu Mo had already made his decision. He submitted 300 jin to the sect in exchange for contribution points, which could be used to obtain various cultivation techniques, spells, artifacts, pills, and talismans—many of which were priceless treasures unavailable for purchase with mere spirit stones.

As for the remaining 200 jin, he kept a portion for himself. With the power of the Sun Essence, he didn't need the cultivation boost from spirit rice, but he appreciated its superior taste. As a cultivator, continuing to eat ordinary food simply felt beneath him.

The rest he planned to sell at the market in exchange for spirit stones. While the sect did offer spirit stones in return for submitted rice, the price was slightly lower than what he could get at the market.

Gu Mo couldn't afford to ignore this difference, so he was willing to make a trip to the market to earn a few dozen more spirit stones.

After exchanging 300 jin of spirit rice for 300 contribution points, he headed straight for the Honor Hall to redeem a secret technique—one that could conceal his cultivation level.

Now that he had accumulated three Sunflowers, he needed to plan for his future cultivation. Once he started training, the Sunflowers' enhancement would grant him an upper-grade spirit root's cultivation speed. If he didn't conceal this, people would inevitably become suspicious—how could a labor disciple with an inferior spirit root cultivate so quickly? It would undoubtedly raise questions about any hidden secrets he possessed.

The Honor Hall was where sect disciples could exchange their contribution points for various cultivation techniques, secret arts, and treasures. Each peak and hall had its own Honor Hall, but the actual techniques, artifacts, and treasures weren't stored there. The Honor Hall functioned merely as a distribution center. The sect's treasure vault and library were highly restricted areas, not open to just anyone. However, since contribution points were a legitimate currency within the sect, the Honor Hall provided a means for disciples to select their desired items, which would then be delivered accordingly.

Upon reaching the Honor Hall, Gu Mo approached an empty counter, where a beautiful senior sister handed him a thick catalog. This catalog contained a list of all the cultivation techniques, secret arts, and spells available for exchange using contribution points.

Flipping through the pages, he found the section on secret arts and located a technique specifically designed to conceal cultivation—Hidden Qi Technique.

This was a common technique with moderate effectiveness. At its proficient level, it could shield one's cultivation from same-level cultivators, while at mastery, it could even conceal it from cultivators a whole major realm above.

However, mastering such a technique was no easy feat, and even Gu Mo wasn't entirely confident in doing so. Moreover, there were very few techniques of this kind to choose from. He suspected the sect possessed stronger concealment techniques but simply didn't make them available for contribution exchange.

His dissatisfaction deepened when he saw the price—3,000 contribution points.

This was far beyond his expectations. After all, first-grade spells typically cost only a couple hundred contribution points. But secret techniques were different from spells. Secret techniques usually provided unique benefits for cultivation, while spells were mainly used for combat.

At Gu Mo's current yield of 500 jin per season, he could harvest 1,000 jin per year, meaning it would take him three full years of farming to gather 3,000 contribution points.

Three years wasn't an unbearable wait. Cultivators naturally had longer lifespans than mortals, and as one's cultivation progressed, their lifespan would continue to increase. In the grand scheme of things, three years was insignificant.

However, without a concealment technique, he wouldn't be able to train freely. Waiting three years without cultivation would be a major setback for most cultivators, effectively destroying their future prospects. But for Gu Mo, it was somewhat manageable.

By not training, he wouldn't consume his Sun Essence. Instead, he could continue accumulating Sunflowers, stockpiling more Sun Essence. Once he had enough, he could rapidly advance his cultivation and make up for lost time.

Even so, Gu Mo preferred not to delay his progress if possible. The sooner he increased his cultivation, the sooner he would gain the strength needed for self-preservation.

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