Chapter 52: A Bountiful Harvest from the Spirit Spring

After a moment of shock, Li Jing quickly recovered his smile and clasped his hands towards Qin Haoxuan. “Congratulations on your return from Confinement Mountain, Junior Brother Qin. I have been so focused on trying to catch up to Junior Sister Xu that I’ve lost track of time. Not only did I fail to match her progress, but I also missed the day of your release. Please forgive me for not being there to greet you.”

“Senior Brother Li is too kind.”

Qin Haoxuan smiled and returned the gesture, but he noticed something strange in Li Jing’s eyes. He seemed a bit flustered when he saw me. Could something be amiss?

“You must have suffered in confinement, Junior Brother Qin. I have some Qi Replenishing Pills here. Please take them to restore your energy.”

As he spoke, Li Jing took another jade bottle from his robes. The quality of this bottle was far inferior to the one he had given Xu Yu, and it was clear that the pills inside were of a different class as well.

With the power of the One-Leaf Golden Lotus still not fully digested, Qin Haoxuan had no need for such pills. Besides, accepting gifts from someone like Li Jing always came with strings attached.

“I ate and slept well in the Nine Yin Ice Cavern, but I thank you for your concern, Senior Brother. I appreciate your kind intentions, but I cannot possibly accept such a precious gift,” he said with a slight bow, firmly refusing the offered pills.

Li Jing chuckled and, seeing his resolve, put the bottle away. He then turned the conversation to Xu Yu.

Just as they were all talking, a disciple from Xu Yu’s faction ran over, panting. “Senior… Senior Sister Xu, your corn and Senior Brother Murong’s… it’s ripe! You have to come and see!”

Hearing this, Xu Yu and Murong Chao were overjoyed, but they then looked at Qin Haoxuan with some embarrassment. His corn, in the very field he had chosen for them, had been destroyed. If not for that, he would be sharing in this harvest with them.

Qin Haoxuan just smiled magnanimously. “Let’s go and see! I can’t wait to see what our corn looks like!”

His cheerful attitude put them at ease.

He then turned to Li Jing. “Does Senior Brother Li have time? Why don’t you come with us?”

Seeing both Zhang Kuang and Xu Yu reach the Sprouting Stage one after the other while he was still on the verge, Li Jing was anxious to get back to his cultivation. But he couldn’t very well refuse the invitation, not when he was still trying to win over Xu Yu.

“Of course! I’d love to see the corn from Junior Sister Xu’s field and study the difference between a normal spirit field and a Spirit Spring field,” he said with a laugh, then sighed. “It’s a pity Junior Brother Qin’s corn was destroyed by Gu Xiaoyun. Otherwise, you would also be celebrating a great harvest today.”

Qin Haoxuan just smiled. “This despicable Gu Xiaoyun, when I get the chance, I’ll have to give him another beating.”

His deadpan delivery made Li Jing and the others laugh, and the group headed towards the fields in a seemingly harmonious atmosphere, each hiding their own thoughts.

As they approached, the fresh, sweet scent of ripe corn wafted towards them, a fragrance so rich that they could almost smell the dense spiritual energy within it.

A large crowd was already gathered around their three plots, buzzing with amazement.

“Will the corn in our fields ever grow this big and thick? Look at the stalks! And the ears are so golden. It’s beautiful!”

“Indeed. This is corn grown on Spirit Spring land. Not even the crops from the other spirit fields can compare. No wonder Gu Xiaoyun was so desperate to get his hands on this land!”

“I still don’t know how Qin Haoxuan found these three plots. Even Elder Chu couldn’t see the Spirit Spring. And for Xu Yu and Murong Chao to have trusted him so completely… it’s incredible.”

“Whatever the case, they’ve struck it rich. Ai…”

When the trio arrived, the crowd parted for them, their eyes fixed on Qin Haoxuan with a new level of respect. In their eyes, he was the very definition of the weak overcoming the strong.

At the edge of the field, he finally saw the corn that had caused such a stir. It was indeed corn, but the ears were twice the size of normal ones, the kernels so plump they were visible through the thin husk, and the stalks were twice as thick as anyone else’s.

Xu Yu, who had been in seclusion and hadn’t seen the fields, was just as stunned as he was. “It’s so beautiful! Brother Haoxuan, you’re amazing. Thank you for choosing such a good field for us.”

Hearing her heartfelt thanks, Murong Chao, though he nodded in agreement, felt a sour taste in his mouth. He was a dignified Gray Seed, yet in her eyes, he was less outstanding than a weak seed.

“Congratulations, Senior Sister Xu and Senior Brother Murong, on your bountiful harvest!”

“Not just a bountiful harvest, but a new record for the fastest corn harvest among new disciples!”

Two quick-witted disciples from Xu Yu’s faction started the flattery, and the others quickly joined in, their words as sweet as honey.

This time, Xu Yu, who usually disliked flattery, did not seem annoyed. She just smiled faintly. “If it weren’t for the Spirit Spring land Brother Haoxuan chose, our corn wouldn’t be this good.”

Her comment immediately shifted the praise to Qin Haoxuan. He gave a wry smile. Although he couldn’t approve of their sycophantic behavior, he understood that everyone had their own way of surviving. Perhaps their goal wasn’t to achieve immortality, but simply to live a better life in the Taichu Sect.

He stepped into the field and plucked a large ear of corn. As he peeled back the husk, the plump, golden kernels were revealed, and a fresh, sweet scent filled the air.

“Junior Brother Qin, may I have a look?”

A Sixth-Leaf Spirit Sprout expert stepped forward. This was Hao Shuai, a knowledgeable disciple Murong Chao had recruited.

The short, stout Hao Shuai took the corn and examined it from all angles, smelling it and even tasting a kernel. After a long moment, he looked at Xu Yu with a shocked expression. “Junior Sister Xu, this corn is incredible! Truly incredible!”

“What’s so incredible about it?”

His words piqued everyone’s curiosity.

Hao Shuai smiled and said, one word at a time, “This… is Grade-1 corn!”

Grade-1 corn?

His words made jaws drop all around.

In the cultivation world, grains were graded from one to nine based on their spiritual energy content. The corn grown in ordinary fields was usually Grade-9. With daily irrigation from a Spirit Spring, one could harvest 3,000 jin of Grade-9 corn per acre in a month. 20,000 jin of Grade-9 corn could be exchanged for ten low-grade spirit stones.

The fields of Zhang Kuang, Li Jing, and Zhang Yang were the lowest tier of spirit fields. Elder Chu had estimated they could produce at most Grade-3 or Grade-4 corn, which was already an incredible achievement for new disciples.

According to the current market, 12,000 jin of Grade-1 corn could be exchanged for ten low-grade spirit stones. At a yield of 6,000 jin per acre from their Spirit Spring land, the three of them could earn ten spirit stones in just two months. Over the remaining four and a half months of their initial period, they could earn another 30!

At this thought, the other disciples looked at them with unconcealed envy, and many felt a renewed sense of pity for Qin Haoxuan’s destroyed crop. That was five spirit stones down the drain!

Spirit stones were not just currency; they contained rich spiritual energy that could be used in formations to accelerate crop growth, craft flying swords, and create Spiritual Talismans.

Even the menial disciples who had been in the sect for years could only save up ten low-for just a few years to save up ten low-grade spirit stones. For Xu Yu and the others to be able to earn that in just two months was enough to make anyone burn with jealousy.

“Grade-1 corn… so this is what it looks like! No wonder it’s so much better than ours!”

“Senior Brother Qin is amazing. To think the land he chose could grow Grade-1 corn! If they plant something more advanced later, they’ll be rich! No wonder Gu Xiaoyun wanted to steal his land. At this rate, I want it too!”

“Just think about it. That Seventh-Leaf expert was beaten black and blue by him. What makes you think you can take his land?”

Just then, Elder Chu and a few other immortal masters arrived. They plucked an ear of corn, and upon seeing the golden, plump kernels and feeling the dense spiritual energy, they exclaimed in shock, “Grade-1 corn! It really is Grade-1 corn!”

If it had just been Hao Shuai, some might have still been skeptical. But the words of Elder Chu, who had been in the valley his entire life, were undeniable.

He looked at Qin Haoxuan with regret. If the corn in their fields was Grade-1, then his would have been as well. What a pity it had all been destroyed by Gu Xiaoyun.

At that thought, Elder Chu felt a strong urge to drag Gu Xiaoyun here and give him a sound beating. To destroy so much Grade-1 corn! Such a terrible waste!