Born with immortal seed

Chapter 2 Spirit Plant Master

"Chen'er, you're too young to worry about spirit stones. You can go out and play with your clan friends or practice basic five elements spells."

Bai Jiu'an discovered that his nephew was indeed precocious. At that age, he was still playing in the mud and snatching toys from the neighbor's dog, Gou Dan. Even after his spiritual root was discovered, he couldn't bear the tedious cultivation at such a young age and would slack off whenever he had the chance.

It wasn't until I was fifteen or sixteen and my mind had settled down that I understood the importance of spiritual practice and began to take it seriously.

Today, Bai Zichen was wearing a brand-new cyan-style Daoist robe, with a cluster of thriving black bamboo on his chest, one of the perks that all cultivators of the Bai family could receive from the family.

The Taoist robe was made of ordinary material, but it was decorated with silk runes that could automatically clean and repair cracks. It would be worth at least five spirit stones in the market.

A new brocade pouch was hanging from his waist, containing two spirit stones and a stack of talismans—the former being the annual offering he received from his clan as a first-level Qi Refining cultivator, and the latter being a gift from his uncle Bai Jiu'an to him as a Qi Refining Body Initiation gift.

Spirit stones are the currency of the cultivation world and an indispensable element in cultivation, so their importance is self-evident. Although Bai Zichen was not yet familiar with the price system of the cultivation world, the knowledge he had gained from miscellaneous notes told him that two spirit stones would probably not be enough.

"Uncle, the book says that among the various arts of cultivation, weapon crafting, alchemy, and talisman drawing are the three professions that are easiest to earn spirit stones in the cultivation world. Why did you become a spirit plant master?"

Bai Zichen, despite his young age, was determined to learn a skill to make money. His uncle, being his own brother, was naturally the best way to do so. Unfortunately, his uncle was completely ignorant of the skills that were at the top of the social hierarchy.

“Those three professions require extremely high talent and require a huge investment of resources to cultivate in the early stages. Apart from sects like Qingfeng Sect, which family would specialize in cultivating such talents?”

Bai Jiu'an reached out and patted his little nephew's head, not getting angry over the child's question.
"Even the most basic pills require hundreds of spirit stones of materials to refine each time a pill is made. Failures dozens of times are enough to cripple a small family."

"And don't underestimate the spirit plant master. This job doesn't require much investment. If one or two of the spirit plants you cultivate can successfully grow, you'll reap considerable benefits."

No matter how eloquently you describe it, the future prospects of a plant cultivator can't compare to those of an alchemist or weapon refiner, mainly because the investment is smaller.

Bai Zichen muttered to himself, not having much reservations about the profession of spirit plant master. He was still young, and he had no way of learning the other high-end professions, so it was good to start as a spirit plant master.

Bai Jiu'an led Bai Zichen to a bamboo grove, made a hand gesture, and a few faint emerald lights danced and circled at his fingertips before entering the bamboo in front of them. The bamboo leaves rustled, and in an instant, the bamboo stalk visibly became much more vibrant, its branches and leaves seemingly more lush.

"The Yi Wood Azure Divine Technique is a unique technique passed down from our ancestors. It is unique in the entire Black Mountain County and has great benefits for plants. It can not only promote growth and restore vitality, but also refine essence and enhance nature. It is precisely because of this technique that the spiritual plants cultivated by our Bai family are well-known throughout the Black Mountain County and are the most important product of our family."

As Bai Jiu'an explained, he performed the spell, and in no time he had successfully cast the spell on several acres of bamboo.

"Hey, isn't this the black bamboo planted outside the town? Could it also be a kind of spiritual plant?"

Bai Zichen examined them carefully. Apart from being a bit darker and more vibrant in color, these bamboos were not much different from the large bamboo forests planted in Mozhu Town.

"Haha, you guessed right, kid. This is black bamboo, but it's still far from being a spiritual plant!"

It turns out that when the Bai family ancestors settled in the Black Mountain Range, they received a bag of seeds of the first-grade low-level spiritual plant, Xuanmo Bamboo, from their predecessors' legacy. After successfully planting and cultivating it, the bamboo forest grew larger and larger.

However, as time goes by, many of the newly grown Xuanmo bamboo degenerate into ordinary black bamboo, only slightly more durable than common bamboo. But with the careful care of a spirit plant master, and the cumulative effect of the Yimu Qingshen Technique hundreds of times, it is possible for them to be promoted again and become Xuanmo bamboo once more.

Outside the mortal town, black bamboo was planted everywhere, which was naturally at the behest of the Bai family cultivators, so that they would have enough bamboo reserves.

“There are dozens of nameless hills like this within our family’s territory. Once you reach the mid-stage of Qi Refining, which is the fourth level of Qi Refining, you can apply to the family for one specifically for cultivating spiritual fields and nurturing spiritual plants. For now, you can choose a place on my Fufeng Ridge to practice your skills.”

Bai Zichen was delighted to hear this. The family's benefits were quite good. This small mountain was enough to settle hundreds of ordinary people, a territory he would never have dared to dream of in his previous life.

Two or three hundred bamboo stalks occupy the most spiritually rich spot on Fufeng Ridge. Behind them is a cliff, with lush vines climbing up the mountainside. Looking down, there is a pool of water only a few meters wide.

On the other side, a flat area about a hundred feet long and wide was cleared out and planted with a patch of dazzling red crops with slender stems and leaves that grew to an isosceles height.

A gentle breeze swept across the area, causing everything to sway to one side and then stretch back, creating the illusion of a surging sea of ​​fire. Bai Zichen, who was seeing this for the first time, was stunned. A wall had been built at the edge of the flat land, inside which stood three solitary, gray houses.

Bai Jiu'an dealt with the red crop much more casually. He used the Yi Mu Qing Shen Technique to cover a large area of ​​the spiritual field, making the green light so thin that it was difficult to see with the naked eye. He finished it off in no time.

"Yangyan Grass, once it grows up, can be used to make talisman paper for first-grade low-level fire-type spirit talismans. It's not worth much; a piece this size would probably only sell for a dozen or so spirit stones. But it's good because it doesn't require much spiritual energy and is very easy to grow and take care of. Almost every low-level cultivator will plant some."

Bai Jiu'an had already realized that his nephew could not be treated like an ordinary child. Over the past half day, he had taken a serious look at every detail of the spiritual plants, and when he encountered something he didn't understand, he kept asking questions without the slightest impatience or boredom. He even took the initiative to introduce them to him.

“I only come here when I’m taking care of the spiritual plants. I’ve lived here for less than half a month a year, so I just built a simple house back then. In a few years, when my uncle reaches the late stage of Qi Refining, he can bring a few mortal servants into the mountains to take care of our lives and handle some miscellaneous matters.”

In the beginning, the Bai family lived together as immortals and mortals, but after several generations, as the number of clan members increased, some cultivators raised objections. The clan leader of that generation simply set a rule to establish a small town at the foot of a nearby mountain and relocate all the Bai family mortals without spiritual roots to it.

Only cultivators who have reached the late stage of Qi Refining can apply to bring a certain number of mortals up the mountain.

This is for the sake of convenient management, and also to prevent overpopulation and disruption of the mountain's spiritual energy.

This rule, however, caused great hardship for many low-level cultivators. Qi Refining cultivators, who had not yet reached the stage of abstaining from grains, had to prepare their own meals, do laundry, and clean every day. This caused many cultivators who felt they had soared to extraordinary heights after their spiritual roots were detected to complain endlessly. Those with fickle minds and aversion to work were unwilling to endure such hardship and would escape to the small town at the foot of the mountain for a few days of pleasure whenever they had the chance.

Of course, Bai Jiu'an didn't stay on Fufeng Ridge mainly because he was constantly traveling and accumulating cultivation resources for his family's missions. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to reach the late stage of Qi Refining with his four spiritual roots.

That evening, after having a spiritual meal with his uncle, Bai Zichen returned to his room. The spiritual meal was actually just a small plot of spiritual land that his uncle had roughly cultivated, where he planted some ordinary rice and vegetables. Occasionally, the land would receive some nourishment from the Yi Wood Azure God Technique, but it did not help his cultivation in the slightest.

Adding to the problem, Bai Jiu'an's cooking skills were poor and he didn't use good ingredients, making Bai Zichen, who was a carnivore in both his lives, feel like he was chewing wax. He could only hope that his uncle's cultivation would improve soon and that he could find a top-notch cook.

(End of this chapter)