Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 138 Spiritual Field Planning
The moon was bright in the sky, the stars shining brightly. In the Hunyuan Pavilion shop in Qingfengfang, Bianxi City, a thin man in his early thirties was led by Jiang Zichen to the backyard.

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, what on earth is the matter that you brought me here?" The man looked at him puzzledly.

"A senior brother from our sect wants to see you, Fellow Daoist Zhou, please come in!" Jiang Zichen pushed open the door of the room and saw Zhang Ningyuan sitting inside. Upon seeing the two of them coming, he stood up and walked over with a smile.

"Brother Ningyuan, this is the Daoist Fellow Zhou Ren I was talking about." Jiang Zichen introduced him, "Daoist Zhou, this is Zhang Ningyuan from our sect. He wants to discuss something with you."

Zhang Ningyuan looked the man up and down, then bowed and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, please come in."

The man looked at him with some confusion and returned the greeting: "I wonder what brings you down here, Fellow Daoist Zhang?"

The two entered the room and sat down as host and guest. Zhang Ningyuan said, "I heard from Junior Brother Zichen that Fellow Daoist Zhou once partnered with someone to raise spiritual beasts. He must have extensive experience in this area. Is that true?"

The man glanced at Jiang Zichen beside him, and seeing that he didn't say anything, he was puzzled, but couldn't help but respond: "I'm just a casual cultivator, how can I afford to raise spiritual beasts? I just tried to raise some red mandarin ducks, the hybrid offspring of the Canglan bird, but they can't be considered spiritual beasts at all."

"I heard that you were doing well, but later on, your property was snatched away by a group of independent cultivators. Is that true?"

At this point, the man's face turned pale and pale. "Humph! These people have no other skills, they only know how to bully the weak and fear the strong. We had successfully raised dozens of red mandarin ducks, but unexpectedly, the people from Puqing Valley jumped out and said they had obtained authorization from the Beast Taming Sect and that they were the only ones allowed to raise red mandarin ducks in Bianxi City. Then they killed all our red mandarin ducks."

"My two friends and I invested all our savings over the years in breeding red mandarin ducks. We lost everything, so we disbanded."

"If I can allow you to continue breeding red mandarin ducks without being suppressed by Puqing Valley, I wonder if you are willing to cooperate?"

The man stared at him: "What do you mean, fellow Daoist?"

"The reason the independent cultivators of Puqing Valley dare to bully you is simply because you have no one to protect you. Let me be frank! Our sect is recruiting cultivators, and people with special skills like you are exactly what we need. If you are willing to join the Hunyuan Sect, we will provide you with protection. How about you raise red mandarin ducks for the sect from now on?"

"Join the Hunyuan Sect?" The man pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "I appreciate your kindness, Daoist Zhang, but I don't want to get involved. I heard that Bianxia Town has been quite restless lately, and it seems a fight between independent cultivators and relocated sects could break out at any moment."

Zhang Ningyuan said, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, there's no need to rush to refuse. Just listen to my conditions first. Admittedly, the situation in Bianxia Town is a bit tense right now. You might be worried that joining our sect will lead to you being drawn into a war with other factions."

"Actually, there's no need to worry. The cultivators our sect recruits are divided into two categories: combatants and non-combatants. Combatants, regardless of their cultivation level or qualifications, receive a monthly salary of fifteen spirit stones. If a conflict occurs, they must follow the sect's instructions and engage the enemy."

"Non-combatants' salaries are based on several standards and are distributed according to their spiritual root qualifications. These individuals don't have to participate in battles with other forces. Just like Junior Brother Jiang Zichen, he's only responsible for the business of the shops in the market and doesn't care about anything else."

"After you join our sect, it will be the same. You will only be responsible for raising spirit beasts, and you won't have to worry about anything else. Even if our sect comes into conflict with other forces, we won't allow non-combatants like you to participate."

"In addition to this fixed salary, all costs of the spiritual beast breeding you are responsible for will be covered by the sect, and half of the income from the harvest will be given to you. In addition, the sect will allocate 20% of all profits to the disciples every year as dividends."

"Our sect highly respects talented individuals like you. Please consider carefully whether or not you would like to join our sect."

The man's eyes flickered when he heard such generous conditions, and he was tempted: "I can't decide right now. Let me think about this for a few days."

"No problem, you can come to me anytime if you're willing."

.........

As June arrived in Bianxia Town, the weather immediately became scorching hot. The fiery red sun hung high in the sky, and a faint heat wave could be seen rising from the ground. There was no trace of coolness in the air.

In Qianyuan Valley, within the courtyard wall, many mortal slaves who guarded the spiritual fields were shirtless, hiding in the shade, holding a fan to fan the cool air.

Suddenly, a loud roar broke the silence.

"Hurry, hurry, get up. The immortal master of Hunyuan Sect is here. Everyone, cheer up." A manager in a long gown called out to everyone who were lying down to rest.

In an instant, inside the house and under the big tree, many men were busy, putting on their clothes, picking up buckets of water and nutrients, and returning to their respective posts.

When Song Xian and his group entered from outside the courtyard wall, they saw a busy scene. Everyone was working hard under the scorching sun, sweating profusely.

Some were using buckets to water the plants, some were feeding the spiritual flowers and herbs, some were using sickles to cut weeds in the spiritual fields, and some were using hoes to plow the soil.

As far as I can see, none of the dozen or so people are idle.

"I greet the headmaster and all the immortal masters." The manager of Lingtian ran over quickly and saluted respectfully to Song Xian and others.

This person was originally a servant in his mansion. After taking control of the spiritual field, Song Xian sent him here to serve as the steward. Due to the tense situation in Bianxia Town, Song Xian did not send any disciples here, fearing they would be targeted by the Loose Cultivator Alliance and lose another disciple in vain. Therefore, he only sent a few mortal servants from the mountain gate, mainly to guard the spiritual field and prevent those mortals from deliberately destroying it.

"Fellow Daoist Wei, please give me some advice on how to use this spiritual field to its maximum benefit." Song Xian said to an old man beside him.

This man's name was Wei Lian. He was not yet fifty years old, had dark skin, and a slightly hunched back. He did not look like a monk at all, but rather like an old man who had been doing farm work for a long time.

Don't be fooled by his appearance, he is a well-known independent spiritual plant master in Bianxia Town.

Wei Lian had a stern face and was not smiling. After hearing this, he just nodded slightly, first looked around, and walked around the spiritual field.

Then he stepped into the spiritual field, took the hoe from a mortal servant who was hoeing the ground, and started to hoe the ground himself. After digging more than a foot deep with two or three strokes, he scooped up the soil inside, sniffed it first, then held the grains in his hands for a while, then scattered the soil in his hands and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Master Song invited me here. Did he want me to teach you how to care for these spiritual herbs, or to re-plan the use of the spiritual fields?"

"I have just said it. Please advise me, Fellow Daoist Wei, on how to maximize the use of this spiritual field."

Wei Lian said slowly, "The Trifoliate Grass planted here was originally a good choice, but it was not planted properly. It was too sparse, and there must have been problems with daily maintenance, which led to the death of many of them."

"This piece of land has a strong spiritual energy, moist soil, and plenty of water. The terrain is also low. If I were to follow my idea, I would plant wisteria orchids. However, wisteria seedlings are quite delicate, so I would plant a few large trees nearby to block the wind."

"In frosty weather, you need to add a roof over the shed. On normal days, you need to add more powder made from yellow rice and tangerine peel."

"The rain should not be too much. If there is continuous heavy rain, a shed should be erected for it."

"Also, it needs a moderate amount of sunlight, but not too much heat either. In weather like this, you have to be careful. You need to water it at least twice an hour, but not too much. When it's a seedling, only half a bucket of water is needed. Once it grows to half a foot tall, you need a full bucket of water."

After listening to his detailed explanation of the precautions, Song Xian nodded calmly, "What about other places? Should we plant wisteria orchids together?"

"No rush, let me take a look first." Wei Lian picked up the hoe and walked forward. Several people followed him. Basically every ten meters, he would pick up the hoe and dig a one-foot deep pit, then scoop up the soil and look at it carefully.

"From there to here, the spiritual energy of this piece of land is a little weak, the soil is drier than that piece, and the terrain is located on a slope. In my opinion, this is where seven-leaf clover should be planted."

"Seven-leaf clover is quite hardy. Unless it's extremely cold, it generally doesn't need special protection from the wind and rain. In hot weather like this, just water it three times a day. Also, use moutan bark and kuanjiao powder, and sweep it in every day. The soil is a bit dry, so it's best to turn it over once a month and use more cow dung and cow urine."

"The only thing you have to be careful about is that seven-leaf clover is prone to infestation by golden flies, so you have to pay special attention. These bugs burrow underground and like to gnaw on the roots."

After saying this, he picked up the hoe again, walked forward, and surveyed for a while: "This place is high, the soil is particularly dry, and it is on the windward side. In my opinion, it is best to plant red sun fruit trees."

"The red sun tree is not afraid of heat, but it needs to be carefully protected when encountering severe cold weather. When the weather gets cold, its trunk needs to be wrapped with cotton, especially when it is a seedling, to prevent it from being eroded by ice and snow."

"In extremely cold weather, in addition to covering the shed with a roof, it's best to place a charcoal fire around it every day."

"The red sun tree easily attracts black ants, so you need to pay more attention to protection. Once the black ants build a nest in the tree, they will reproduce in large numbers and quickly consume all the sap in the tree, causing death."

After listening to this, Song Xian asked, "Fellow Daoist Wei, with your ability, if this spiritual field is given to you, how many spiritual stones can you earn?"

Wei Lian hadn't expected him to ask this. He pondered for a moment and said, "Wisteria orchid and seven-leaf clover mature every two years. If they're well cared for, from such a large area, the harvest should be worth about three thousand spirit stones at market price. The red sun tree will take a little longer, needing a three-year growth period before it bears fruit, which can yield about four to five thousand spirit stones."

"That means, on average, we can earn 1,500 spirit stones every year."

"Almost! The prerequisite is to maintain it properly and take good care of it."

"Fellow Daoist Wei, I wonder if you are willing to take over this spiritual field?" Song Xian put his hands behind his back, looked at the large area of ​​flowers and plants at his feet, and stated his purpose.

He accompanied Wei Lian to inspect the spiritual field in order to let him see it with his own eyes and then rent it to him for use. The reason why he did not tell him in advance was also to seize the initiative.

He himself knew nothing about growing spiritual medicines. He had no idea what to plant in a spiritual field or how much profit he could get. If he told this to his friend from the beginning, there was no guarantee that he would not conceal his own interests and offer a very low price.

That's why we invited him over under the pretext of asking for his advice. In this way, he would quote a relatively fair profit price as an outsider.

Only after grasping the true value could Song Xian put forward his conditions.

(End of this chapter)