National Gardener: I can choose the evolution path of spiritual plants.

Chapter 209: Disaster Year
Xiantai Continent, Human World, Eight Treasures Immortal Sect.

Haoran Peak, Jade Emperor Palace.

An old man with a sage-like appearance was meditating and practicing, when suddenly a middle-aged man rushed in anxiously.

"Master, something terrible has happened!"

“Is there a drought?”

"Yes, the patrolling angel sent a letter, saying, saying..."

"say what?"

"In Pingchuan Prefecture, Liangzhou, there was a severe drought and people were eating each other! The evil spirits revived and the Taiping Dao emerged."

“Why wasn’t this drought reported earlier?”

"The Lord of Pingchuan Prefecture failed to subdue the Three-legged Golden Crow, which led to its escape. In order to conceal the news of the Golden Crow and his own fault, he sealed off the entire Pingchuan Prefecture. Later, the Spirit of Heaven discovered something unusual and sent out patrolling angels to investigate, only then did they learn the truth."

"Where is the Lord of Pingchuan Mansion?"

"Already killed!"

"He got a good deal. Go and allocate food to help the disaster relief. Besides, the foreign tribes outside the Immortal Dynasty, such as the Dongyi, Xidi, Nanman, Beirong, etc., are eyeing us covetously. We must not cause internal strife. We must wipe out the Taiping demon who is causing the rebellion."

"Yes!"

The middle-aged man left in a hurry.

……

Xiantai Continent, Liangzhou, Pingchuan Prefecture, Sanshan County.

In a charred spiritual field, Lin Zhi looked at the abandoned spiritual field calmly.

"This person's identity is too lowly. How to solve the problem of food and clothing for this body is a problem. If you want to quickly promote the village chief's daughter, you still have to think long and hard."

He sighed slowly.

The planting of the spiritual seed Qinghui Yueyun was not something he could do just by impulse or out of enthusiasm.

Even if they are in love with each other, at least he has the ability to force someone to marry him, right?
But in this body, he only has the strength of Qi training, and his family has no surplus food, so it cannot support him to continue practicing.

What lies ahead is a natural disaster!

Since ten days ago, two suns appeared in the sky, and these days only daylight remains.

The scorching sun scorched the earth, causing water sources to dry up and crops to be exposed to the sun.

He was just a poor monk at the first level of Qi training. The "rain and dew spell" he had just learned could not condense any water vapor at all. He could only rely on the ancestral spiritual well to survive.

As the water level in the spiritual well dropped day by day, he knew that the water in his well was just a drop in the bucket and could not save the spiritual grains in the spiritual fields at all.

Of the entire 10 acres of spiritual fields, only the vegetable patch that he had previously taken care of carefully was left.

The sun was blazing for ten days, and he heard that the core area of ​​Pingchuan Prefecture had been reduced to ruins. It was said that the once vast spiritual fields were now charred and no grass grew anywhere.

The counties adjacent to the core area of ​​Pingchuan Prefecture suffered the worst disasters. Large villages were left with nine out of ten houses empty. Lying on the ground were either creatures roasted into mummies by the sun's true flames or monks whose spiritual power had dried up due to lack of food.

Most of the time, only the bones were left after being eaten. These bones were not very complete, and some were even broken into pieces, with not even a trace of marrow left inside.

Compared to the core area of ​​the Jinwu self-explosion and the counties connected to Pingchuan Prefecture, Sanshan Prefecture where Lin Zhi was located was on the edge of Pingchuan Prefecture and the disaster was relatively less severe.

Although the crops were only sunburned to death, they did not turn into charcoal...

Although the rivers have evaporated, the deep groundwater has not dried up.

As long as they endure hunger, live in hardship, sow seeds again, and rely on the ancestral spiritual well, they can still harvest a season of spiritual grain in autumn.

However, when he walked out of the spiritual field and was about to return to his home next door, he ran into Wang Baopi who was surrounded by fairy servants.

Wang Baopi was a wealthy man with a face full of fat. He was holding a chicken leg in his hand and walking towards Lin Zhi while chewing on it.

"Lin Zhi, it's time to pay back the 11 stone spirit valleys your father owes!" Wang Papi approached Lin Zhi and signaled his servant to take out an IOU.

Lin Zhi looked at the IOU and saw that it read, "I am borrowing 1 stone of spiritual grain from Master Wang. You must repay 10 times this amount next year at the latest. The repayment period is not fixed. If you collect early, 1 stone will be reduced every two months. If you are late, the amount will double every month."

The name signed above is correct, it is the handwriting of my cheap father in this life.

"Master Wang, I remember my father borrowed the spiritual valley in September last year, and it's only July now." Lin Zhi said.

"That's right, but I'm not having a good time this year due to the disaster. I have to live a tight life, so I can only ask you to repay me in advance. According to the IOU agreement, you only need to repay 10 shi." Wang Papi looked at Lin Zhi with a smile on his face.

"It's a severe drought, and the harvest is dead. No matter what, I can't afford these 10 stones of spiritual grain."

Lin Zhi said, "If Master Wang can give me a few months' grace, when the new crops have grown, I will repay you 20 times as much."

"No, I want you to pay me back now, even if you only have one stone of grain left."

Manor owner Wang smiled and said, "He who knows the current situation is a hero. In the current situation, you might as well join my manor and become a servant. This way, you will not have to pay off your debts, and you will not have to worry about food, clothing, taxes, and labor service. If you are hardworking and diligent, and perform well, it will not be difficult to reward you with a maid to carry on the family line."

"I appreciate your kindness, Master Wang. Although I, Lin Zhi, come from a poor family, my father told me that my ancestors were once outer disciples of the Shuide Xian Sect. It is absolutely impossible for me to live under someone else's roof."

If it is true as Wang Baopi said, it would be good. He can use this maid to cultivate Qinghui Yueyun. However, how could such a good thing happen?

This is selling oneself into slavery. It is impossible for Lin Zhi to be a servant, otherwise this body will have a worse start.

"Then you will be left to fend for yourself!"

Manor Master Wang's expression changed instantly. He waved his hand and said, "Go and search. Take away all the food and valuables. Also, hand over the land deed."

"Don't move! If you dare to take a step forward, blood will splatter three feet!"

Lin Zhi glared. Because of the drought, his family now only had an old hen that laid eggs and more than ten kilograms of spiritual rice. The most important thing was the land deed. If the spiritual field was also taken away, he was afraid that his spiritual power would be exhausted this year and he would starve to death.

Then he can only start over, which is a waste of time.

Besides, his barefoot body is not afraid of those wearing shoes. Combined with the system of the Eight Treasures Immortal Sect, he still has a chance to deal with Wang Baopi and scare him.

"Why, you want to resist?"

Hearing Lin Zhi's angry shout, Wang Papi pointed at the head held by a servant behind him.

Lin Zhi couldn't help but look to the side.

"Isn't this my neighbor, Chen Ergou, who is at the second level of Qi training?"

He didn't expect that his neighbor Chen Ergou had been killed.

"Stay still and don't move. I will not do anything to you according to the laws of the Immortal Dynasty. But if you resist, you will see your end!"

Hearing this, Lin Zhi took out his hatchet and sneered, "Come on! God, try to move it?"

"Heh, Tianling? Are you threatening me?"

Wang Papi looked at him with disdain. "Threat? No, I'm just telling the truth. This ancestral spiritual well of mine bears the imprint of my soul. Once I die, the self-destruct array on the spiritual well will be activated by me.

The heavens are my witnesses, I did not intentionally destroy the Spirit Well, and becoming a ghost cultivator after death will also exempt me from the guilt of destroying the Spirit Well, but you are the one who needs to pay with your life for forcing me to death and causing the destruction of the Spirit Well."

Lin Zhi gnashed his teeth and said, "If you stop for now, even if I starve to death or die in the sun, I will never destroy the spirit well. After all, I don't want to be caught by the city god for destroying the spirit well after I die, suffer the pain of purgatory, and not even be able to be a ghost cultivator."

Wang Papi sneered, "It's just destroying a spiritual well. Can this scare me away? My ancestor was a ghost soldier under the command of the current city god. Do you think I have the means to communicate with the spirit world now?"

"You can fool others with these words, but you want to fool me? With the spirit of heaven as a witness, will the City God openly challenge the Heavenly Rules and Sacred Laws of the Immortal Dynasty for this matter?"

Through the memories of his previous life, Lin Zhi knew that there was an absolutely ruthless and fair celestial spirit in this world who had transformed into billions of incarnations to monitor all directions, similar to the Infinite Skynet, but not as comprehensive.

The patrolling angels under the command of the Heavenly Spirit can execute the provincial governors on earth, the city gods and ghosts underground, and the mountain gods and land gods first and report later.

As long as you break the law, the spirits in heaven will record it and you will be held accountable even after death.

As long as it does not violate the law, even robbery is allowed.

Those powerful families in power have plenty of ways to evade, use the law, and have many ways to deal with ordinary people.

But the landlord class in this village does not have such great ability.

In addition, this so-called spiritual well was built with precious materials and at great cost, and it was a node of a large formation in the entire human world, and it was the same as a plowing ox in agriculture.

In military terms, it is equivalent to a fortress.

Anyone who destroys the spiritual well will have his entire clan executed and go to hell.

Seeing Lin Zhi's look of being ready to perish together with him, Wang Pa Pi laughed in anger:
"Okay, very good. The debt deadline is in two months. If you haven't starved to death by then, you can just wait to be enslaved by me!"

……

Watching Wang Papi and his subordinates leave cursing, Lin Zhi breathed a sigh of relief and hurried back to the yard.

Wang Baopi will definitely not let it go after today, and he might use some despicable means to deal with me.

Although the Spirit of Heaven was watching over him, as long as the self-destruction of the Spirit Well was not activated in time when he was killed, the death of an ordinary person like himself would have little impact, and the punishment Wang Baopi would not receive would be too great.

The spiritual well is like the oxen used to work in the past, which is more valuable than human life. Lin Zhi's ancestors were once outer disciples of the Immortal Sect. But it took several generations to save money before they applied to build this spiritual well.

The gun is easy to hide, and the dark arrow is hard to prevent.

"The most urgent thing is to improve our cultivation!"

Lin Zhi returned to the bedroom, lay on the bed, and closed his eyes.

A 16-page hardcover color book appeared in my mind.

This is a recipe that the Hall of Knowledge derived by sorting out the basic techniques of this world. The title of the book is "1000 Classic Recipes of Eight Major Cuisines and Basic Cooking Knowledge"

Looking at this book that contains recipes, various kitchen utensils, cooking methods, sauces, and seasonings, Lin Zhi smiled.
The cultivators in this world do not shun worldly life and rely solely on eating wind and drinking dew, practicing qigong and fasting.

Monks need to eat to practice!
The most basic food for monks is various spiritual grains, or pills made from various spiritual medicines, or honey made from various spiritual flowers.

It is not easy to eat spiritual grains to strengthen the body and increase spiritual power. The cultivators need a lot of time every day to refine the spiritual energy in the spiritual grains.

Although the dishes are not rich in spiritual energy, they can help the refining of spiritual grains.

Just like ordinary people who only eat staple foods and meat are prone to constipation, difficulty in digestion, and unbalanced nutrition. If they eat more fruits and vegetables to supplement dietary fiber, it will moisturize the intestines and promote bowel movements, and balance nutrition.

Of course, dishes have more than just such simple effects. It is said that the more complex and delicious the dish is, the stronger its functional effect.

There are many dishes that can change spiritual roots, break through realms, enhance understanding, and even bring the dead back to life or turn bones into flesh.

The reason why it is said is that the recipes of the dishes, like the inheritance of immortal cultivation, are in the hands of aristocratic families and powerful people, and ordinary people rarely see them.

Not to mention the village landlord Wang Bapi, even the town's big landlord Liu Eban, had at most four simple dishes and one soup every day.

In fact, there are many home-cooked meals that ordinary people can figure out even without recipes, such as simple stir-fries such as scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

However, the dishes made by ordinary people can only be said to have the form but not the spirit.

Not to mention whether the ingredients can be gathered together, it is difficult to get all the seasonings, such as "cooking wine", "soy sauce", "onion, ginger, garlic", "salt, sugar, starch", etc. These are the seasonings monopolized by aristocratic families and are kept secret.

Not to mention, to make dishes, one needs a magic-level iron pot and "Samadhi True Fire", and what is burned is not ordinary firewood, but wild spiritual trees and plants.

The preparation conditions and difficulty of the dishes are something that only the landlord class can barely enjoy.

Lin Zhi turned to a page in the cookbook and saw a picture on it and a detailed introduction below. These were all the results derived from the Hall of Knowledge.

【Cold preserved egg】

Cut the preserved eggs into pieces and put them on a plate. Chop ginger, garlic and red pepper, stir-fry, add vinegar juice and stir, then pour into the preserved egg plate.

Although it was a very simple dish, Lin Zhi had spent a full ten days preparing it.

He dug out dozens of orange-yellow "mud balls" from the straw pile in the yard, then peeled off the mud shells to reveal the eggs.

This is the preserved egg he made using wood ash and sawdust.

Due to the high temperature, the preserved eggs were ready in just 10 days.

He peeled the eggs, washed them with well water, then cut them and put them on a plate.

There is a small vegetable patch in the yard, where onions and red peppers are planted.

In less than half an hour, a plate of cold-mixed preserved eggs was ready.

Through the monk's spiritual vision, the surface of the plate of preserved eggs emitted a turquoise light.

Lin Zhi knew that this dish of preserved egg salad was ready. As for the specific effects of eating it, he would have to eat it to know.

Picking up the chopsticks, Lin Zhi picked up a piece of preserved egg and put it into his mouth.

It tastes slightly cool and springy when you put it in your mouth, and then a sour and spicy taste bursts in your mouth. With the sour and spicy taste, you chew it gently with your teeth, and the unique aroma of the preserved egg immediately fills your taste buds.

Before I even swallowed it, I felt a refreshing feeling spread throughout my body, and a light and fluttery feeling made me feel like I was falling into the clouds.

It seemed as if there was a chorus of wonderful music all around, and I felt as if I was flying in the sky.

“This preserved egg is so delicious!”

Lin Zhi then ate all the rest. When he finished the plate of cold-mixed preserved eggs, he suddenly felt something in his heart. He quickly sat cross-legged and picked up a bowl of rice.

While eating rice, he silently practiced the "Nine Embryos Immortal Canon" in his mind. Then he suddenly discovered that his practice seemed to be much smoother than before.

The body's digestion speed of the magical rice seems to have increased!
If before, the speed of digesting spiritual energy through practicing Qigong was one grain of spiritual energy per minute, now the speed has reached two grains of spiritual energy per minute.

"Sure enough, the dishes are very helpful for the digestion of spiritual rice! But this is only the most basic effect of the dishes. More unique effects can only be discovered through trial and error."

Lin Zhi continued to feel the changes in his body, and then he made a new discovery.

(End of this chapter)