Back when Li Ye had recruited Fang Ze and Xiong Li, he had made it clear the spirit plants they cultivated were for his use. Therefore, instead of splitting the harvest, he would pay them in spirit stones.
However, today's bountiful harvest brought a pleasant surprise. Despite the slightly lacking spiritual energy of this one-acre plot, it had still yielded a full 610 jin of Blood Grain Rice!
Even though they had personally tended the field, both Fang Ze and Xiong Li were stunned as they stared at the number on the scale.
Li Ye casually waved his hand, separating 50 jin for each of them, bagged and handed over.
"Think of this as a gift for your hard work not part of your wages. It may be a bit coarse, but take it home and have a taste."
Although he hadn't managed to upgrade his trait tier as hoped, he had uncovered another key rule of his panel system. With that alone, Li Ye was still in good spirits.
The two of them were immediately filled with guilt over their earlier suspicions they mentally slapped themselves for having even a shred of doubt!
What were a few scattered grains picked during harvest compared to 50 jin of Blood Grain Rice? Their master was so generous, and they had the nerve to second-guess him. Utterly shameless!
"This isn't appropriate…"
Xiong Li, a stout, middle-aged woman seasoned by years of hard labor, couldn't help but fumble in surprise. Though she tried to politely refuse, her beaming smile gave her away as she quickly bowed and said:
"Many thanks for your generosity, Master!"
Fang Ze, on the other hand, accepted it straightforwardly. After putting the bag down, he gave Li Ye a respectful bow.
"Thank you for your kindness, Master. Fang Ze will give his utmost in the coming year to continue farming faithfully for you!"
"No need to be so formal…"
Li Ye smiled and then pointed toward the two plots of Evergreen Flowers.
"You can taste the Blood Grain Rice, but don't expect to share in the Evergreen Flowers!"
"Oh, heavens no, Master! We might dare to try a bit of Blood Grain Rice, but Evergreen Flowers? Those are worth a fortune we wouldn't dare touch them even if you offered!"
Xiong Li waved her thick, bear-like arm with a hearty laugh.
"Exactly, exactly!" Fang Ze nodded in agreement, playing along.
Staying here long-term and working under their generous master was already the biggest benefit of all. Just one bag of spirit rice was more than enough to keep them content. How could they possibly ask for more?
Still, both of them couldn't help but glance curiously at the Evergreen Flowers.
Something about them felt… unusual.
They couldn't shake the feeling that this top-tier Tier One spirit plant was far easier to grow in Li Ye's fields than it had any right to be. Its absorption of nutrients seemed unusually efficient.
Could Evergreen Flowers grow this well in just a single year?
They couldn't quite make sense of it, but one thing was clear: in their minds, Li Ye's air of mystery had just deepened even further.
.....
Shortly after the Blood Grain Rice ripened, the Evergreen Flowers, which normally required at least a year to mature enough for alchemical use, also began reaching maturity and providing feedback.
[ ... ]
[ You have cultivated Tier-One Spirit Plant[Evergreen Flower]to maturity. EXP +0.5 ... ]
[ ... ]
[ Tier-One Spirit Plant[Evergreen Flower]fully matured. You've gained[Evergreen Spirit Essence](5%) ... ]
[ ... ]
Just like that, Li Ye, who had long since used up all of his previously obtained spirit essence, gained another 300 units of Evergreen Spirit Essence.
"With this, my alchemy consumption is fully covered again no more worrying about running dry."
Feeling content, Li Ye reached out and picked a mature Evergreen Flower.
[ You harvested Tier-One Spirit Plant[Evergreen Flower]. Comprehension deepened. Solidified Spirit Essence +0.1% ... ]
Huh?!
Does it strengthen the trait?!
He had assumed this plant was the same type as Emerald Bud Rice, which didn't contribute to trait enhancement.
This surprise delighted him, and with no hesitation, he harvested 1,000 Evergreen Flowers in a row, preparing and sealing them for future use.
As he harvested, the system messages continued to pop up, offering even more insights into the plant's growth:
[ ... ]
[ You harvested Tier-One Spirit Plant[Evergreen Flower]. Comprehension deepened. Solidified Spirit Essence +0.1% ... ]
[ [Evergreen Spirit Essence]solidified 100%, converting into trait... ]
[ Your skill[Planting]has gained Tier-One trait enhancement:[Wood Spirit]! ]
[ [Wood Spirit]: You possess an increased affinity with wood-type spirit plants. Any wood-type spirit plant cultivated and tended by you will grow more robustly, with a slightly increased chance of generating a Wood Spirit. ]
"So there are specific trait enhancements for different elemental types of spirit plants..."
Li Ye was pleasantly surprised by the discovery.
This new trait was especially practical for him after all, his spiritual root was of the Wood element, and he had the greatest demand for wood-based spirit plants.
If the plants he grew were now in better condition, perhaps the yield of EXP and spirit essence would also increase.
"But what exactly is a Wood Spirit?"
Li Ye frowned, puzzled. It was the first time he'd encountered a term from the system that he couldn't quite understand.
"Forget it… It's too vague, and the system doesn't provide any more details. It's a rare event anyway I'll have to dig through some old texts and see if I can find any records."
Since he couldn't draw any conclusions on his own, and the system was silent beyond the brief description, he decided to put it aside for now.
After harvesting a full acre of Evergreen Flowers, he processed and sealed them using special techniques, then stored them with spirit-sealing formations to preserve their medicinal potency.
As for that acre of land, it was naturally time to replant new seedlings.
But Li Ye had other plans for the second acre. He intended to let the plants continue growing, accumulating medicinal properties, just to see if the feedback would differ from a standard harvest.
With this harvest complete, Li Ye decided to give his two spirit farmers a few days off.
He headed beneath the Hollow Realm Tree and opened his system panel.
[Name: Li Ye]
[Spiritual Root: Low-grade Earth-Wood Root]
[Age: 27]
[Lifespan: 82 years]
[Skills:]
- Planting: Tier 2 - Low (724/7000)
- Alchemy: Tier 1 - High (6119/8000)
- Artifact Crafting: Not Yet Started (125/2000)
- Talismans: Tier 2 - Low (487/8000)
- Gu Arts: Tier 1 - Mid (425/4000)
- Formations: Tier 1 - Mid (699/8000)
[Spirit Essences:]
- Blood Grain Rice Essence x1000
- Sunfire Essence x5
- Evergreen Essence x300
[Trait Enhancements:]
- Vitality (Level 1)
- Absorption (Level 1)
- Wood Spirit (Level 1)
[Experience Points: 8500]
There was no need to overthink it. The two most critical skills for Li Ye right now are Alchemy and Formations.
He maxed out his Alchemy skill and dumped the remaining experience into Formations.
At that moment, a torrent of inspiration erupted in his mind, like a dam breaking and flooding his thoughts. All his prior experiences surged together, transforming into a newfound understanding and solid technique.
He slowly regained his focus, his eyes still dazed and thoughtful. Then, he glanced back at his panel:
[Alchemy: Tier 2 - Low (0/15000)]
The massive jump in experience requirement nearly made him leap in shock.
"I've spent a whole year farming and this is all I get... and it only just barely got me to Tier 2 Alchemy?"
His mouth twitched slightly, but a wide smile still spread across his face.
"At least Alchemy's done... As for the Tier-Two spirit field, even though I've done one round of splitting, I need to be careful to keep the seedlings alive during experiments. I'm still short on volume!"
"Still, it's been a few months now. By now, everyone's patience should be wearing thin one more sweep of the market shouldn't be too risky..."
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