Chapter 54: The Maturity of the Water Spirit Rice
"Interesting... he actually rejected my invitation!"
He Shaogang stared at the two names highlighted in red on the list—Yao Shifeng and Gu Mo. Next to Gu Mo's name, there was even a special mark.
"Junior Brother, with your current status as the sect master's direct disciple, you could easily recruit outer disciples. Why insist on choosing from the servant disciples?" A middle-aged cultivator beside He Shaogang spoke. He was the same outer sect steward who had brought He Shaogang to Qinglu Sect.
"Senior Brother, outer disciples are indeed better candidates, but convincing them to join us is difficult. Servant disciples, on the other hand, are different. If you give them an opportunity, they'll seize it desperately," He Shaogang replied calmly.
"I understand, but we don't have much time left," the middle-aged cultivator said worriedly. "Qinglu Sect is preparing to refine Condensing Infant Pills. If they succeed and produce a Nascent Soul cultivator, our chances will be gone."
"Condensing Infant Pills are not that easy to refine. Just gathering the materials will take years, and if we interfere a little, it'll take even longer," He Shaogang shook his head. "Right now, our priority is recruiting manpower. Only with enough people can we dismantle Qinglu Sect from within."
"Senior Brother, I'll leave the screening of the recruited servant disciples to you," He Shaogang handed over the list.
He had selected several competent servant disciples and invited them, planning to groom them as his pawns. But not everyone who accepted the invitation would ultimately become his pawns—they had to pass various tests first.
Unfortunately, the two individuals he valued most had declined his invitation.
While one of them was already on his chessboard, he had wanted to bring him in properly and cultivate him carefully. After all, this particular piece was the most promising one he had found so far.
Recalling the intelligence he had gathered on Gu Mo, He Shaogang thought about his Perfect-Level Cleaning Technique, his outstanding comprehension, and his top-tier spiritual farming talent. Other than his poor spiritual root, everything else about him was comparable to an inner disciple.
As for Yao Shifeng, though not as remarkable in comprehension as Gu Mo, the fact that he had reached Qi Refinement Level 2 within two years was rare among servant disciples. Most importantly, Yao Shifeng was ambitious, unlike those servant disciples who had resigned themselves to their fate after realizing their poor talent.
"Don't worry, leave these minor tasks to me. But Junior Brother, be careful. The Reincarnation Pill is not invincible. Don't let those old folks discover anything," the middle-aged cultivator reminded him before leaving.
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"The progress bar is finally past halfway!"
Gu Mo stared at the cultivation pot, where the previously gray upgrade arrow was now half-green. He felt as if he had crossed a major hurdle. After continuously investing in it for half a year, the arrow had finally changed color. This meant that with another six months, he would obtain a Tier-2 Sunflower.
A Tier-2 Sunflower in one year—was it worth it? Absolutely.
Even if he had an entire year, Gu Mo knew he wouldn't be able to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm on his own. But the Sunflower could.
Once he had a Tier-2 Sunflower, upgrading other plants would become significantly easier. Higher-grade Sun Essence meant faster upgrades.
The cultivation pot didn't only upgrade the Sunflower—it could upgrade Peashooters and Potato Mines too. If he managed to elevate those plants to Tier-2, then Gu Mo would possess Foundation Establishment-level combat power.
Upgrading his plants was the fastest way for him to gain self-defense capabilities.
With his plants protecting him, he could then focus on improving his cultivation level.
After checking on the sunflower's status, Gu Mo exited the Black Mist Space. It had been a year since he had planted the Water Spirit Rice, and now it was finally time to harvest.
Arriving at the spiritual field, he saw a green Pea shoot out from the field, killing a Black Spirit Rat. At the same time, jets of water sporadically sprayed out, knocking pests off the rice stalks. A gold-red koi fish swiftly devoured the fallen pests.
Now that the Water Spirit Rice was mature, its aura had attracted numerous spiritual beasts and insects. However, most were blocked by the formation. Any that slipped through were swiftly dealt with by the Peashooters and the koi fish.
This particular koi fish had even learned to spit water to flush out pests from the rice leaves before eating them.
Sensing Gu Mo's presence, the koi fish swam over, spat out the insect it had just swallowed as if to show off, then quickly gulped it down again.
"Well done!"
Gu Mo tossed a Sun Essence into the fish's mouth. To keep it motivated, he rewarded it from time to time. Thanks to this, its golden scales now covered two-thirds of its body.
This rapid transformation was due to the upgraded Sunflowers. Now that all his sunflowers were at least mid-grade, the Sun Essence they produced was much stronger, allowing the koi fish to grow golden scales at an accelerated rate.
After handing out the reward, Gu Mo turned his attention to the Water Spirit Rice, which swayed like rippling waves. He brought his two fingers together, and in the next moment, sharp sword energy shot out.
He was no longer using an entry-level Lesser Geng Metal Sword Qi—it had now reached proficiency level.
Over the past six months, all his Sun Essence had been used for upgrading Sunflowers, meaning he couldn't cultivate. However, he had never stopped practicing his spells.
As the Water Spirit Rice matured, spiritual beasts and insects had frequently invaded. Sometimes, the Peashooters and koi fish couldn't eliminate them in time, so Gu Mo had to take action himself. After countless battles, he had unknowingly refined his sword technique to proficiency level.
Now, alongside his proficiency-level Cloud Rain Technique, this was the second farming spell he had mastered.
With two proficiency-level spells, Gu Mo was already among the top-tier spiritual farmers in the entire Spiritual Plant.
With a swift strike, rice grains fell from the stalks. Gu Mo waved his hand, casting Sleeve Universe, collecting the rice before it even hit the ground.
"Only around 300 pounds..."
Weighing the harvest, Gu Mo quickly calculated the yield. Compared to the 800-pound yield of Spirit Jade Rice, 300 pounds seemed lacking. However, for a Tier-1 High-Grade spiritual crop, this was actually an excellent yield.
The highest recorded Water Spirit Rice yield in the Spiritual Plant Hall was around 500 pounds, with 400 pounds being the usual upper limit. Gu Mo was confident that if he had a Tier-1 High-Grade spiritual field, he could reach this limit.
While the yield was lower, the value of the Water Spirit Rice far exceeded the Spirit Jade Rice.
After harvesting the spiritual field, Gu Mo stored his Sunflowers and Peashooters into the Black Mist Space and prepared to report his harvest to the Spiritual Plant Hall. The Potato Mines, being highly secretive, didn't need to be removed.
He suddenly remembered—his rent exemption for the spiritual field would expire in six months.
"I need to find a way to extend it..."
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