The Path to Immortality: Starting with the Growth of Bubble Fruits from the Ground

"It smells so good! This rice cooked with 'Polygonatum sibiricum' is really delicious."

This was the first time Zhou Mu had ever eaten high-grade grain, but three ears of rice could only last for one meal, and he would have to eat ordinary rice again in the days to come.

After finishing the meal in a few bites, Zhou Mu sat cross-legged and began to cultivate his inner energy, refining the spiritual energy within the Solomon's Seal Rice.

"Not bad. This bowl of rice is equivalent to half a day of my arduous cultivation. If I could eat three meals a day, wouldn't my cultivation speed double?"

Zhou Mu was only thinking about it; of course, he would sell the spirit rice and exchange it for pills, which would be the best solution.

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Four months later, under Zhou Mu's careful care, the first crop of Huangjing rice matured. Zhou Mu went to the field early in the morning to harvest it with a sickle. He packed the rice into sacks and placed them by the roadside. He also crushed the rice stalks and scattered them on the ground as fertilizer for the next season.

He was only at the first level of Qi Refining, so it would be extremely difficult for him to harvest these two acres of land with a wave of his hand.

Three hours later, Zhou Mu stood by the roadside with seven burlap sacks beside him. Seven white bubble fruits had appeared in his dantian, three of which were 'weak magic power' and were beckoning to Zhou Mu at the second level of Qi Refining.

"Zhou Mu, it's your turn."

The flying boat hovered three feet off the ground in front of Zhou Mu. The person who controlled the flying boat was the steward of the Internal Affairs Hall, who was in charge of the allocation and handover of thousands of acres of low-grade spiritual fields. He was Zhou Mu's direct superior, and Zhou Mu had originally received two acres of spiritual fields from him.

"Manager Liu, this season my two acres of land yielded a total of 1,400 catties of golden rice. This is 70% of what I'm handing over to the sect, and I've prepared it all."

Zhou Mu placed the six large sacks in front of the flying boat, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said respectfully.

"Hmm? Interesting."

Every year, the amount of Huangjing rice that passed through Manager Liu's hands could be piled up into a mountain. He could tell at a glance that the six sacks contained not 70%, but 80%.

However, this kind of thing was too commonplace for him. What surprised him was that Zhou Mu was so young and had such awareness, which saved him the trouble of having to remind him.

"You did well, keep up the good work."

After putting the two bags of spirit rice into his storage bag, Steward Liu gave a lukewarm compliment, saying that over a hundred catties of spirit rice didn't even deserve a smile from him.

"Manager Liu, I'd like to request another acre of spirit land." Seeing Manager Liu heading to the next household, Zhou Mu hurriedly spoke up.

"Don't you understand the sect rules? Here, take a good look at this booklet." Manager Liu tossed down a thin booklet and then rode his flying boat to the nearby spirit field.

"The Ginnocents Advanced Manual?"

Half an hour later, Zhou Mu put down the manual at his residence, his face showing a look of realization.

The Wandao Sect has a strict division of spiritual farmland under its jurisdiction: the first level of Qi Refining only has two mu of spiritual farmland, the second level has four mu, the third level has six mu, and the fourth level has eight mu.

The land and spirit rice that Zhou Mu is currently planting are both of the lowest grade of the first rank, so he is now a lowest grade spirit farmer of the first rank.

To advance to the intermediate level of a first-tier spirit farmer, one must have the cultivation level of the fourth level of Qi Refining and successfully cultivate four kinds of low-grade first-tier spirit plants, regardless of type.

Once the above conditions are met, the eight acres of spirit fields will be transformed into a mid-tier first-class spirit field.

The booklet also details the conditions for Lingnong's subsequent advancement.

"A mid-level first-tier spirit farmer can wear a blue robe, which is equivalent to an outer disciple."

Zhou Mu muttered to himself, he hadn't expected that the Myriad Paths Sect would even have arranged the path for the Spirit Farmer so perfectly.

"No wonder sects can dominate a region in Qin. Their meticulous system is unmatched by ordinary forces."

As Zhou Mu gazed at the distant Fallen Flower Mountains, he suddenly realized that this seemingly peaceful sect was actually a massive machine, with every cog in the machine perfectly aligned, drawing on endless resources to support that small group of people making rapid progress on their path to immortality.

"I don't want to think about it anymore. I'll break through to the second level of Qi Refining today, and then go to the Internal Affairs Hall tomorrow to collect the spirit fields and complete the planting."

Zhou Mu shook his head, sat down cross-legged, cleared his mind of distractions, and began to circulate his Green Wood Technique. His magical power flowed through his meridians along predetermined routes, circulating endlessly.

Three white 'weak magic power' bubble fruits exploded one after another in his dantian, and streams of mellow and gentle spiritual power suddenly appeared, which Zhou Mu quickly refined.

It is completely unlike the chaotic spiritual energy in the world, which is so violent and requires a lot of effort to pull and pull.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Mu vaguely heard a soft sound.

"We've broken through!"

Zhou Mu opened his eyes, feeling the doubled magical power within his body, and finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

With his original talent, without any extraordinary opportunities, he would have only reached the fifth or sixth level of Qi Refining at most in his life. But now the steps beneath his feet have finally been extended, and it remains to be seen how Zhou Mu will climb them.

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The next morning, Zhou Mu carried a small half-bag of Solomon's seal rice to the Internal Affairs Hall.

"Xiao Zhou, are you going to the Internal Affairs Hall?"

As soon as Zhou Mu stepped out, he saw Old Wang from next door also come out at the same time, waving to him with a smile.

Old Wang was quite old, with a full head of white hair and a cultivation level of the fourth level of Qi Refining. His farmland was next to Zhou Mu's, and the two had become much more familiar with each other over the past few months, often working in the fields together.

The only thing that embarrassed Zhou Mu was that Old Wang always looked at him like he was his grandson, and often proudly boasted about his grandson's three spiritual roots and his cultivation in the outer sect.

The two then walked together toward the Imperial Household Department.

"Yes, I'll go to the Internal Affairs Hall to get two more acres of spirit fields and exchange them for some seeds."

Zhou Mu patted the sack on his body with a smile. It contained 100 jin of Huangjing rice, which he planned to exchange for points to buy two kinds of spiritual seeds.

"You broke through?"

Old Wang looked Zhou Mu up and down and immediately noticed the difference. With his mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation, it would be easy for him to investigate Zhou Mu.

"Just lucky. What about you? Did you go and exchange points for your grandson again?"

Zhou Mu smiled and changed the subject, looking at the storage bag on Old Wang's waist.

"That's right, this is all the old man has to do in his life, so of course these resources should be left to my grandson."

When it came to his grandson, Old Wang couldn't stop talking, praising his grandson's excellence and hard work incessantly to Zhou Mu.

Zhou Mu listened with a smile, but a bitter feeling welled up in his heart.

His parents in this life both died fighting for resources for the family, and the Zhou family took over their inheritance, citing his low aptitude.

If his parents were still alive, Zhou Mu's life would be much easier.

"Xiao Zhou, we've arrived at Room 90, the Internal Affairs Hall."

Zhou Mu, an internal affairs disciple of the Wandao Sect, did not know how many there were. Guang Laowang told him that there were at least five thousand first-level low-grade spirit farmers, three thousand middle-grade ones, and five hundred high-grade ones.

Zhou Mu estimated that if those internal affairs disciples who were engaged in mining, raising spirit beasts, etc., were included, the number of internal affairs disciples in the Myriad Paths Sect could reach 50,000.

With so many people, one Internal Affairs Hall is definitely not enough, and the No. 90 Internal Affairs Hall is the closest to Zhou Mu.

Upon entering, Zhou Mu almost felt as if he had returned to his past life. Four thick, coiled dragon pillars supported the spacious hall, crystal covered the floor, and familiar counters and service windows were present. Even with thousands of people present, there was no sense of disorder; everything was in perfect order.

This was Zhou Mu's first time here. The two acres of spiritual fields he now had been arranged for him by Zhou Ye in advance. At that time, Zhou Ye said that he would take care of all the miscellaneous matters and Zhou Mu could just focus on farming.

Zhou Mu wouldn't pay any attention to him. When he was in the Zhou family, he was treated as a strong laborer by the family. Now that he's in the sect, Zhou Ye still wants to exploit him? Don't even think about it.

"Senior brother, could you please help me exchange these Solomon's seal rice for points?"

As soon as Zhou Mu finished speaking, ripples appeared on the surface of the counter, and the burlap sack placed on it sank to the bottom.

"One hundred catties of Polygonatum rice, ten points, take it."

Without even looking up, the senior internal affairs officer tossed Zhou Mu's token to him. In addition to the number for the two acres of land, there was also a cross on it.