Chapter 18: Farm Life

The farm was divided into six distinct areas.

The Spirit Valley Zone occupied the largest stretch of land, accounting for a full seventy percent.

Within this zone lay the ninth-grade spirit fields, where Spirit Gathering Grass thrived. This area alone took up ten percent of the total landmass.

Adjacent to it stood Fruit Mountain, home to Nutritive Fruit trees, which claimed another ten percent of the terrain.

Near the Kui Mountain Range lay Lotus Lake, covering over forty square kilometers—an expanse equivalent to more than sixty thousand acres of water surface.

In truth, it wasn’t as daunting as it seemed—smaller even than one-tenth of Qian Island Lake from Qin Shu’s previous life.

Beyond these lay Qin Shu’s living quarters and the separate recharging station for the machine puppets, distanced far from each other.

This farm paled in comparison to Grandfather Qin’s old Qin Family Farm.

Here, spiritual energy was far more potent, and the cultivation of spirit grains, spirit-gathering grass, and nutritive fruits had already advanced to higher stages.

Spirit grains were classified as first-stage spirit plants. On average, each hundred square meters nurtured a single plant. Under ideal conditions, these spirit rice plants could grow to two meters tall, yielding ten kilograms of spirit grain per plant.

Over a year, this translated to a potential harvest of twenty-eight thousand tons.

However, such yields were purely theoretical.

The mission set by Liu Yubai aimed at the maximum possible output for each farm: ten thousand tons of spirit grain annually.

The actual yield depended heavily on the farm owner’s cultivation level.

While the earthbound spiritual power within the spirit fields contributed significantly, the growth of crops also relied crucially on spiritual rain.

One might wonder: What is the range of spiritual rain that can be summoned by someone at the first stage of Qi Refinement? With some thought, it becomes clear that achieving full coverage across all fields four times a year would be an impressive feat.

On average, each season would receive just one round of spiritual rain.

And spirit rice, being an annual crop, could only be harvested once a year.

In the spring, seeds were sown; in the winter, the harvest was reaped. Afterward, the spiritual fields were allowed a month of rest.

This month marked Qin Shu and his team’s time off.

The same pattern held for other crops as well.

While spirit plants yielded high production, they also demanded vast tracts of land and consumed tremendous amounts of earth’s vitality.

Within a standalone villa beside the lotus pond, Qin Shu bid farewell to Hu Xue and began reviewing the Five Elements incantations.

These included techniques such as Spiritual Rain Summoning, Earth Surge Channeling, Golden Needle Pest Control, Burning Fire Pest Control, and Clear Wind Pollination.

The Spiritual Rain Summoning technique involved condensing surrounding spiritual qi into a shower of life-giving rain.

At the first level of Qi Refinement, each activation could cover an area of up to ten thousand square meters at most.

The Earth Surge Channeling art, on the other hand, harnessed the power of the earth itself, drawing forth earthly spiritual energy for absorption by spirit plants.

Pests often plagued their crops, but while ordinary machines could handle common infestations, some required more specialized attention. When detected, these would be reported to the central formation, necessitating the use of either the Golden Needle or Burning Fire Pest Control techniques.

Finally, there was the Nutritive Fruit’s pollination, which relied on the Clear Wind Pollination Technique.

As for the Dew Lotus of Serenity growing within the pool, they needed the influence of spiritual souls’ Dao essence to flourish.

Across the entire lake, precisely three hundred sixty-five clusters of lotuses thrived.

These unique crops represented the heart of the farm’s operations.

Qin Shu approached the lakeside, gazed upon it briefly, then extended his hand toward one particular cluster of Dew Lotus of Serenity. With a wave of his fingers, his true fortune transformed into a gentle breeze that caressed the water’s surface.

The patch of Cyan lotus swayed gently, appearing more vibrant than any other lotus field.

Qin Shu stepped across the water, his footfalls precise as he activated each of the 365 patches—a year’s worth of work completed in moments. Now all that remained was to wait for the New Year, when the lotus seeds would ripen into Dew Lotus of Serenity.

As for the Cyan Lotus Dao Essence, could these mere lotuses withstand such power? It might cause them to leap from first rank straight to second, or even third!

Qin Shu decided against it; this was no gamble he’d take.

During the day, he called home to reassure his family everything was well. He mentioned nothing about his current situation, simply stating all was fine.

After all, there were confidentiality protocols to uphold.

Nightfall marked the beginning of his cultivation practice.

The farm itself functioned as an enormous spirit-gathering array, drawing spiritual energy from a twenty-kilometer radius around it.

Cultivating here proved far more efficient than doing so within Yangzhou City limits.

However, due to his nightly training regimen, the farm’s spirit-gathering array had to operate at full capacity during darkness hours.

This resulted in significant fluctuations of surrounding spiritual energy levels.

But with only farmland nearby and the outer reaches of the Kui Mountain Range lying just northward, these fluctuations went largely unnoticed.

For Qin Shu, this place was nothing short of a sacred ground for cultivation.

Every few days, waves of spiritual rain fell over the area, each covering a ten-kilometer radius.

He occasionally visited the spirit-gathering grass fields to tend to pests and pollinated the Nutritive Fruit orchards.

By daytime, most of his time was spent fishing while seated on the lotus leaves of the Dew Lotus of Serenity.

He continued using his Ruyi Golden Rod.

Without any bait, relying solely on golden hooks for fishing—this wasn’t truly angling, but rather a means to hone his divine sense.

To guide a hook into the mouth of a spirit fish was no easy feat.

Consider it sword practice, he thought.

Two months passed in this manner, devoted to cultivation.

Qin Shu’s cultivation base was on the verge of another breakthrough; the lotus leaf phantom was about to solidify.

In the farm, crops flourished with life, their condition absolutely idealized.

This was all despite Qin Shu’s laid-back approach, akin to catching three days’ worth of fish while drying two nets—a metaphor for taking things easy.

Among these, the Dew Lotus of Serenity stood out as exceptional. Each lotus seedpod grew as large as a water basin, every hole within producing seeds the size of a fist.

A single cluster of twelve lotus flowers yielded twenty-four seeds per pod.

Calculating the total, one could expect 105,120 Cleansing Lotus Seeds.

Translating that into work efficiency, Qin Shu accomplished in half a year what others would take ten years to achieve.

Cleansing Lotus Seeds were nearly second-tier mystical fruits, each worth a spiritual soul coin.

“Ten thousand or more spiritual soul coins in just a year isn’t bad at all,” Qin Shu muttered to himself, savoring grilled fish.

Everything here was ideal, save for the loneliness—the lack of anyone to talk to.

But it afforded him the tranquility to cultivate diligently.

Indeed, his progress would have been far slower had he remained outside.

The grilled fish he was enjoying had been caught from the nearby lake, providing a convenient opportunity to hone his culinary skills. Naturally, these improved with each attempt.

After all, with an exceptional mind, learning came swiftly.

As the fish cooked, he nurtured it with a wave of his cultivation base, doubling its flavor.

In the lake, spirit fish feasted on lotus leaves and fallen petals, making them exceptionally succulent and full of spiritual energy at this time.

Buzz!

Just as he savored his meal, the token at his waist vibrated.

A beam of light projected into the air, summoning Liu Yubai’s figure before him.

“Mr. Liu!” Qin Shu greeted.

Liu Yubai glanced down at the stove fire and grilled fish, along with the spirit rice, and couldn’t help but smile. “Enjoying your meal?”

“Yes, you can’t go wrong with good food!” Qin Shu chuckled. The spirit rice had been cultivated using his cultivation base, harvested earlier that day.

“It seems you’ve adapted well to life on the farm,” Liu Yubai nodded approvingly. Then he said, “Our new students will be heading to the Kui Mountain Range for training. Your place is best suited for hosting them.”

Qin Shu paused for a moment before nodding. “Alright, is there anything else you’d like to instruct me on?”

Liu Yubai grew even more pleased as he said, “I could tell from the first glance that you’re a steady individual—very good indeed. However, there isn’t much else to cover; just focus on your duties. As for them, I doubt they’ll cause any trouble with you around, especially since their teacher will be present.”

“Understood,” Qin Shu replied. “Is there anything else you need, sir?”

“No, that covers it all. I won’t keep you from your meal any longer.”

With a flash of light, Liu Yubai’s projection vanished.

A training exercise for new students, huh? Qin Shu mused. Seems they’re preparing for their second Abyssal entry.

Considering the timeline, these freshmen would soon reach Foundation Establishment—a significant milestone in cultivation.

Mythical Rank spiritual soul awakeners wouldn’t attend Yangzhou Warrior God Academy anyway. They either became apprentices under immortals or headed straight for the Holy Court’s educational institution across the Nine Provinces.

The most promising newcomers here were likely at the Sunlight Rank level.

Sigh, wonder how challenging this will be! Qin Shu thought. At least it’s only for a day.