Half a month later at noon, Old Hao, holding his smoking pipe, casually strolled over the Low Hill with each step covering more than ten meters.
“After half a month of hard labor, you must have had your fill of suffering.”
“The acre I helped to plant should have already sprouted by now.”
“Those he planted himself, at least half must be dead!”
“At noon, after toiling all morning. The heat, exhaustion, and agitation.”
“All I need is to provoke him with my words, and he’ll definitely feel resentful.”
Thinking this, Old Hao’s demeanor was leisurely, yet he swiftly arrived at the edge of the field like the wind.
He immediately saw the acre he had helped plant, with young seedlings as long as an index finger, green like iron needles, breaking through the soil, pointing straight towards the sky.
“Without comparison, there can be no hurt feelings. See, it’s all stable!”
He had already seen the hard-working figure under the sun and immediately approached.
“Brother Chen, the Yellow Bud Rice you planted isn’t… hmm?!”
Before he finished speaking, Old Hao was shocked into silence by the sight before him in the field.
The Yellow Bud Rice fields, which should have had a high death rate, were neatly lined with seedlings as tall as peanuts, like yellow needles of pine.
“Old Hao, what were you saying just now?” Chen Mu arrived at the field with a smile.
A twitch tugged at Old Hao’s mouth: “I was saying your Yellow Bud Rice is planted quite well!”
Chen Mu, looking at the planting skill on the grey wall that had progressed more than First Rank, gratefully said, “It’s all thanks to your excellent guidance, Old Hao!”
Old Hao: “…” He really wanted to strangle his half-month-ago self.
Why the hell did you teach him so well!
Ten percent commission, at least twenty White Jade Coins, all gone just like that!
…
It took a good while before Old Hao adjusted his mood, looking at the vast swathes of Yellow Bud Rice seedlings emerging, he couldn’t help but click his tongue in wonder: “How many acres did you plant?”
“Aside from the acre you helped me with, I planted another five.” Chen Mu said cheerfully.
Old Hao looked impressed: “Half a month, even for me, getting up early and going to bed late, would only get four acres planted. Your speed, tsk tsk…”
Experience new tales on empire
He had to admit, the people who came from the Eight Desolate Islands, each and every one of them were really tough.
Former jianghu heroes, masters of their own domains, they put aside their pride when they said they would.
And then they could get down to business and work hard in farming.
“You must have planted through the night, right?” Old Hao asked.
Chen Mu scratched his head, looking simple and honest: “You have good eyes, Old Man, I indeed stayed up a bit.”
…
At night, under the crescent moon.
Below the Low Hill, in the Yellow Bud Rice fields, five clouds of black smoke appeared.
With a thought from Chen Mu, the paper ghosts began to work.
The Spring Ghost carried Yellow Bud Rice seeds, precisely placing them five fingers deep in the ground.
The Summer Ghost, carrying a bag, buried a palm-sized piece of Bone Powder a palm’s depth below the seeds, evenly distributed.
The Autumn Ghost, carrying a bucket and holding a fist-sized wooden spoon, carefully poured a flat spoonful of well water around each seed.
The Winter Ghost, shouldering a carry pole, traveled back and forth between the house and the field, transporting buckets of well water enriched with Earth Spirit Vital Energy to the fields.
Chen Mu lay back on the Ghost of the Character ‘中’, watching contentedly as the four paper ghosts worked.
“Even though it’s not me doing the work, I am indeed staying up late.”
He then casually threw a Bigu Pill into his mouth, as if it were a sugar bean.
Before long, an acre was completely planted.
“Can’t plant any more, the speed is too fast; it might arouse Old Hao’s suspicion.”
The five clouds of black smoke softly flew towards Chen Mu, entering the Five Ghosts Bag and disappearing from sight.
…
The next day, Chen Mu carried a bag of Yellow Bud Rice back to the stone mansion.
“No problems with the Spirit Armor Technique?” Chen Mu scratched his head, pulling up the grey wall to check.
Writing: 4710/10000/Second Rank;
Painting: 5967/10000/Second Rank;
Cooking: 9145/10000/Third Rank;
Pharmaceutical Technique: 1167/10000/Fifth Rank;
Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse: 5251/10000/Seventh Rank;
Shape-shifting Technique: 2347/10000/Fourth Rank;
Cloud Mirage Spirit Armor Technique: 9757/10000/Sixth Rank;
Planting: 5416/10000/First Rank;
“Am I eating a bit too much?”
Chen Mu had asked around, and indeed, normal people practicing the Spirit and Soul Unification Secret Technique tended to eat much more.
But all things considered, a hundred pounds of Yellow Bud Rice a month should be enough.
“I’ve eaten a hundred pounds in half a month. And that’s not even including the Exotic Beast meat.”
“Is my appetite a little too good?”
Chen Mu rolled up his sleeve, revealing silver threads beneath his skin, faintly visible.
It was as if there were actual silver threads weaving through his skin and between his blood vessels.
The Sleeve Sword Technique could not pierce his skin, clinking against it without leaving a scratch.
“I’ve gone through two White Jade Coins in half a month. Tsk tsk…”
“In another seven or eight days, I should be able to master it, and by then my appetite should return to normal,” Chen Mu calculated, breathing a sigh of relief at the progress in his proficiency.
…
Eight days later, late at night.
Inside a room in the Low Hill Courtyard.
On a long table beneath a window sill, there was a glow of crimson charcoal light within a hollowed-out three-legged incense burner.
Wisps of barely visible blue smoke drifted out of the holes.
The entire room was filled with a faint fragrance that brought tranquility to the mind and heart.
Chen Mu slowly opened his eyes.
In his mind, the Divine Intent Diagram for the Cloud Mirage Spirit Armor Technique had completely vanished.
On the back of his hand, a flash of silver light flickered and disappeared.
He grasped his skin, feeling a toughness laced with a slight chill.
It was like flexible iron skin, maintaining both hardness and softness.
The Soul Strength developed by the Cloud Mirage Shape Cultivation Technique and the Divine Intent Diagram had fully integrated.
“What about the rest of this?” Chen Mu scratched his head looking at the patchwork Soul Strength on his body.
He pulled up the grey wall.
Cloud Mirage Spirit Armor Technique: 7/10000/Seventh Rank;
“Can I continue to practice?” Chen Mu felt a surge of unexpected joy.
After Spirit and Soul Unification comes the Perceptive cultivation.
After so many events, time spent, and traveling the vast seas from Da Liang, wasn’t it all for this day?
“It’s a pity there’s no Chunfeng Tower here,” Chen Mu felt somewhat regretful.
“Forget it, I’ll make myself a feast tomorrow.”
“By the way, my cooking skill is about to advance too, double happiness.”
…
The next day, Chen Mu sat at a square table gorging himself, but his expression was ugly.
He realized that after the Spirit and Soul Unification, not only did his appetite not decrease, but it had increased again.
“Others don’t have this issue,” Chen Mu finally noticed something was amiss.
“I need to find time to inquire about the details of Spirit and Soul Unification.” He couldn’t just keep on cultivating blindly.
“I also need to convert the Calming Pills into cash quickly.”
After buying the materials for Calming Pills, Yellow Bud Rice, and Exotic Beast meat, he was left with only nine White Jade Coins.
“Should I sell them to Hundred Herbs Pavilion?” Chen Mu hesitated.
Hundred Herbs Pavilion was affiliated with Jilong Road’s Lower Courtyard.
They offered fair deals, and the disciples of the Lower Courtyard could even get credit for Exotic Beast Bone Powder, making it a conscientious shop.
But being a newcomer who’d only been around for just over a month, suddenly producing such a large batch of Calming Pills could attract unwanted attention, couldn’t it?
What Hundred Herbs Pavilion knew, Jilong Road’s Lower Courtyard would also know.
Once exposed, there might be advantages, but disadvantages were certain to come!
After all, wealth moves the heart!
“I wonder if there’s a place like the Ghost Market,” Chen Mu pondered, stroking his chin.
With thousands of disciples in the entire Lower Courtyard planting basin, there had to be a black market.
“Old Hao should know.”
His family had been living here for three generations; they must be privy to many secrets.
Chen Mu made up his mind.