Cultivation begins with harvest.

Before Chen Guang even reached Lu Daxian's house, he saw several lanterns surrounding a sacred field in the distance, illuminating the area as if it were daytime.

The room was filled with a cacophony of voices, and all that could be heard were endless praises.

Chen Guang went over to take a look and saw that the one-acre spiritual field was completely submerged in water, and it had been soaked for quite some time. The outermost layer of purple spiritual soil had turned into a soft and runny mud. Without even looking, one could tell how compacted the mud was underneath. It was so sticky that it would take a lot of force to pull it up with a hoe, and a large area would be pulled up with each stroke.

"Junior Brother Chen is here." The spirit farmers carrying lanterns naturally recognized Chen Guang and greeted him with smiles.

During this time, Chen Guang had already gained some fame. He had been somewhat famous for two years of cultivating blood he shou wu without any success—all of which were names of ridicule. But later, the Linquan pumpkin, the ice mist array, a wisp of pure spiritual energy, and the apparent body-refining inheritance made Chen Guang suddenly stand out. At least in front of people, he received not only the respect he had never felt before, but also a kind of "sour" feeling that made people feel comfortable. Naturally, some people envied, were jealous, and resentful of Chen Guang's success.

so what?

Within the Qingheng Sect, all they could do was offer sarcastic remarks.

"Brother Lu also said he wanted to thank you," Lingnong said.

Thank me?

Chen Guang was truly bewildered. Only when he stood at the edge of the field did he finally see Lu Daxian and his wife walking from the other end of the field ridge, holding a golden bracelet covered with runes in their hands, making a hand seal with their expressions serious.

Not far from Lu Da's feet, in the not-too-turbid water, two clumps of mud kept rising and turning, making the water surface even more turbid, but you could also see the compacted and sticky purple spirit soil being turned over.

"Haha, Brother Chen, I was just about to thank you," Lu Da activated his magic and arrived at the other end, where he saw Chen Guang. He immediately showed his joy. "If it weren't for the market trip with you last time, where we saw the snake scale vine, I would have sold those few demon snakes. Now they've developed the ability to turn over paddy fields. Although I don't have the same luck as you, Brother Chen, I've still made a small profit."

Chen Guang looked into the water again and saw a black and a green demonic snake, each with a silver collar covered in runes tightly around its seven-inch mark. This was the method Lu Da had used to control them.

The two-headed snake was now covered in dust and dirt, but it had no choice but to obey orders.

Animal taming can also be applied to farming.

Although using a demonic snake as an ox and a plow seems like overkill, if you really used an ox and a plow, two oxen would die from exhaustion in this one acre of paddy field. Only demonic beasts or spirit beasts could withstand the compaction of the purple spirit soil.

"No, I didn't help you at all in here," Chen Guang quickly waved his hand. "But Brother Lu, once your paddy field is developed, things will definitely be much easier."

Chen Guang and his group's spiritual fields are actually dry fields, because purple spiritual soil requires frequent loosening, and paddy fields would make it even more difficult, so few people would do it. But if it could be done, the advantage of paddy fields is that they can grow an additional crop—fish, turtles and other spiritual beasts in the water. Even if they don't raise spiritual beasts, they can start cultivating vegetables such as water chestnuts and lotus roots, which are relatively expensive, or spiritual plants such as calamus and reeds, which are generally more valuable.

Especially the spirit lotus, without exception, is at least a first-grade top-quality one. The petals, lotus seeds, and lotus leaves are all extremely valuable materials. The lowest quality is the lotus root, but it is still the most valuable type of spirit plant vegetable.

Many farmers on the shore coveted this acre of paddy field, as its economic benefits were clearly visible.

The prerequisite is to solve the problem of turning over the soil, and the demonic snake in front of us is an excellent choice.

Lu Daxian's wife then said, "As everyone knows, these demon snakes were sent by my uncle. Lu Daxian is clumsy and can only enslave two of them, but we still have five young snakes at home. They are easy to raise. We also grow some snake scale vines at home, which makes it easy to manage these demon snakes. Even if they are demon beasts, they are obedient. If any of you fellow disciples want them, just ask."

"Sister-in-law, are you free? I'd like to go see the baby snakes now."

"Yes, looking at Senior Brother Lu's paddy field, I'm also a little nervous, hahaha, to be honest, I'm really tempted."

"How much is a young snake? I'm willing to buy an extra snake scale vine."

The Lingnong people on the shore surrounded Lu Daxian's wife, chattering and vying for her attention.

Chen Guang was actually somewhat tempted, but gave up almost without thinking. Lu Da's decision to plow the field in front of so many farmers was clearly the result of careful consideration. He certainly wouldn't be in a hurry to sell it tonight. He might even perform for another day or two to attract more farmers before starting to sell it.

Sure enough, soon they heard Lu Daxian's wife say that it was also a spur-of-the-moment decision, that they weren't ready yet, that there were too many people wanting the land, and that they didn't know what to do. She also said that they needed to hurry up and start selling the land. In short, she implied that they would have to wait two more days before they could start selling.

None of the Lingnongs present were stupid, yet they still enthusiastically fawned over Lu Daxian's wife.

Young demon snakes are hard to find. While spirit snakes are easy to find in shops, spirit beasts are not as troublesome as demon snakes. Demon snakes are known for being reckless, tough, and stamina-rich. They can only be tamed by force. Lu Da only managed to tame one by using spirit tools and taming techniques.

Physical labor like turning over fields is not something spirit beasts can necessarily handle. The advantage of spirit beasts is that they are intelligent and have strong learning abilities. For example, the spirit cranes in Xingfeng Hall are willing to be close to cultivators and obey their commands, even if they are not in a master-servant relationship.

"That rogue cultivator brother of Lu Da's is quite skilled; with so many baby snakes, he must have killed a mother snake and found a snake den."

"No wonder Senior Sister Cao said she hadn't seen Brother Lu these past few days; it turns out you were very confident," Chen Guang praised.

"Not at all, by the way, Junior Brother Chen, would you like a baby snake? They're so cute. I only discovered the uses of the demon snake because of you, and just to thank you, I'll give you a discount..." Lu Da said in a low voice.

Seeing Chen Guang standing alone to one side, Lu Da tried his best to persuade him. Chen Guang then made an excuse to pick some vegetables from Lu Da's field and took his leave.

"A man should be looked at with new eyes after three days of separation." When I met Lu Daxian a few months ago, he was a somewhat dull and taciturn man. Now he has quite a bit of the shrewdness and eloquence of a businessman.

It's not surprising. The couple had a newborn son and a younger brother who was also practicing Buddhism. The pressure was immense, which naturally changed them.

But forget about the demon snake. Chen Guang planned to raise something in the pond, but the demon beast was reckless and fierce, and wouldn't stay in the pond obediently. It would easily leave the pond, and Chen Guang would be heartbroken if it ruined even a little bit of the Concentration Flower and Ice Pine.

Back in his courtyard, after cooking dinner, he practiced the "Blood Sutra" several times and then fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, the cultivators from the branch building arrived as promised and called Chen Guang to the edge of the field to begin harvesting the Jade Heart Grass.

Their harvesting doesn't affect their reward orbs, but starting today, the reward orbs for the harvested Jade Heart Grass will begin a countdown of up to nine days.

Harvesting Jade Heart Grass uses specially made tools that are neither metal nor wood, which can preserve the medicinal properties of Jade Heart Grass to the greatest extent. The tools used for storage are also neither metal nor wood.

However, inferior Jade Heart Grass with damaged leaves, regardless of how many leaves are damaged, will not receive this treatment. Inferior quality means that its medicinal properties are not up to standard and there are defects. The tools used for harvesting and storage will have a very minor impact. As long as it is not stored in metal or stone containers, other storage tools will not have a significant impact in the short term.

All 48 qualified Jade Heart Grass plants were harvested. Chen Guang also returned the remaining seeds. After deducting 350 yuan per ear for five mu, he received 238 yuan per ear, which was immediately in his hands.