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

The next day, as dawn broke, Zhou Mu hurriedly left home, heading quickly towards the two acres of land where Huangjingmi (a type of rice) grew.

"One, two... twelve, two more bubble fruits than last time."

[Polygonatum Rice: Weak Magic Power x8, 1% Maturity]

[Polygonatum rice: ripened twice, maturity level 1%]

Zhou Mu stood on the edge of the field, his eyes shining, his mouth almost stretched to his ears. Although there were no magic bubble fruits in these two acres of spirit fields this season, there were two more.

Moreover, most of them were bubble fruits with 'weak magic power', which really struck a chord with Zhou Mu. What he lacked most right now was cultivation, and the magic power he accumulated through daily hard work was pitifully small.

After Zhou Mu broke through to the second level of Qi Refining, he roughly calculated that he would need at least fifteen bubble fruits that could boost his mana to break through to the third level.

"May the Dao Ancestor bless us, and grant us eight more of those two acres of spiritual fields."

Zhou Mu kept muttering to himself as he walked quickly toward the two spirit fields, 9999 and 9998. If there were eight of them, Zhou Mu would be able to break through to the third level of Qi Refining in four months.

Zhou Mu arrived quickly, his fingers tapping over each of the white bubble fruits.

"One, two... How come there are only ten? That's less than planting Solomon's seal rice."

[Spirit Grass: Weak Mana x3, Maturity 1%]

[Spirit Grass: Quality Improvement x1, Maturity 1%]

[Blood Rice: 4 with slightly weakened Qi and Blood, 1% maturity]

[Blood Fang Rice: 2 x Advanced Lesser Cloud Rain Technique, 1% Maturity]

Zhou Mu stood by the field, feeling both amused and exasperated. He was amused because there were only three bubble fruits that could boost his magic power, but also amused because the other three types of bubble fruits were all valuable.

The slight increase in vital energy and blood can enhance his physical strength, which is also a way to improve his power.

Even better is the improvement in quality, which can upgrade a first-tier low-grade spiritual plant to medium or high grade, greatly increasing its efficacy and yield.

Just like the two acres of Solomon's seal rice last season, the total harvest was 1,400 catties, but if it were of medium quality, it could reach 2,100 catties, and if it were of high quality, it would be at most 3,000 catties.

The "Great Completion of the Lesser Cloud and Rain Technique" gave Zhou Mu two opportunities to use it and two insights, accelerating his spell cultivation speed.

"I only have two ripened fruits left from last season's harvest. Which two should I ripen first...?"

"I've got it, let's take a gamble and give it a try."

Zhou Mu originally intended to accelerate the ripening of two fruits that would enhance his cultivation, but he suddenly had another idea: if he succeeded, his cultivation speed would be further increased.

A moment later, the two ripening fruits in Zhou Mu's dantian disappeared, replaced by a quality improvement and a fully mastered Lesser Cloud and Rain Technique.

Zhou Mu returned to the Huangjing Rice Spirit Field with two fruits, his expression solemn. He formed a hand seal and pointed to the sky.

"Boom..."

As the two bubble fruits disappeared, the magical power within his dantian poured out like a floodgate being opened.

Dark gray spiritual clouds floated above the two acres of spiritual fields, and spiritual rain, infused with 'quality enhancement', poured down onto the fields.

Two incense sticks later, the spiritual cloud dissipated, and Zhou Mu slumped to the ground, panting heavily.

"Hmph... With my Qi Refining Level 2 cultivation, using the Great Perfection Lesser Cloud and Rain Technique is still too much of a strain."

"But I guessed right, it really works, haha!"

Zhou Mu had previously wondered whether different fruits could be used in combination, but he didn't have many fruits or many varieties, so he had never experimented with it.

The appearance of these three new fruits prompted him to try using both the quality enhancement technique and the Lesser Cloud Rain Technique together in his spirit field.

As it turned out, his guess was correct. The two acres of low-grade Huangjing rice had advanced to mid-grade and two bubble fruits had appeared.

[Polygonatum Rice: Abundant Magic Power x2, Maturity 5%]

With the improvement in quality, both bubble fruits are green, and judging from their names, they are much better than the white ones. Although the fully-developed Lesser Cloud Rain Technique drained Zhou Mu dry, it accelerated the ripening time.

"If I stack several ripening fruits together, wouldn't I be able to harvest them immediately?"

Zhou Mu shook his head, patted his face, and dismissed the dangerous idea.

His two acres of Huangjing rice had been upgraded to the middle level of the first rank, which was quite ordinary in the Wandao Sect. It wouldn't even cause a ripple, at most making Manager Liu think highly of him.

But if Zhou Mu dared to artificially ripen large quantities of Huangjing rice, that would be a different story. Even the Golden Core elders of the sects could come out and strip him bare to see Zhou Mu's amazing abilities.

"No rush, we'll use the empty space in the yard after this season's harvest."

Although Zhou Mu wouldn't use it openly, he wasn't a pedantic person and could do it secretly. He decided to make use of the half-acre of open space in the courtyard, and all the harvest from that half-acre would be for his own cultivation.

Once Zhou Mu's cultivation reaches the fourth level of Qi Refining and he becomes a first-tier intermediate spirit farmer, the Internal Affairs Hall will give him his own spirit field, so he won't have to squeeze in with other spirit farmers. At that time, he will have much more room to maneuver.

"Xiao Zhou, you're the one who gets up the earliest every day in our area. Do you have to be so diligent?"

At this moment, the sun rose in the east, and thousands of Lingnong (a type of peasant) marched in large groups. Old Wang, carrying a hoe, walked towards Zhou Mu, a hint of mockery on his thin face.

"There's no way around it, my cultivation level is too low. If I hadn't come sooner, how could I have completed the mission?"

Zhou Mu said with a wry smile, "The Internal Affairs Hall actually has assessments for spirit farmers. No matter what kind of spirit plant it is, the Internal Affairs Hall has set a minimum yield per acre."

If Zhou Mu hadn't spent two years farming in the Zhou family, he probably wouldn't have made it to the Myriad Paths Sect as a spirit farmer.

The previous spirit farmer who managed these two acres of spirit fields died in the Cold Iron Mine because his yield per acre failed to meet the minimum assessment line for three consecutive quarters.

"Hey! Xiao Zhou, there's something wrong with your two acres of Polygonatum rice."

Old Wang squatted down and fiddled with the newly sprouted seedlings. When he saw a thin golden line on the back of the seedling, he suddenly turned to look at Zhou Mu beside him.

"Your Huangjing rice has advanced to a higher level?"

A hint of disbelief lingered in Old Wang's cloudy eyes.

It's not surprising that you can grow medium-grade Huangjing rice; Old Wang grew it decades ago, but that was his tenth year as a spirit farmer.

Zhou Mu has only been here for a short time, only in the second season, and he has already grown them in less than half a year. In Lao Wang's memory, this speed is no more than a hundred. The lowest level of these people will be a first-class superior spirit farmer, and most of them will advance to second-class spirit farmers, which is comparable to the inner disciples.

"Just lucky."

Zhou Mu scratched his head, playing the role of a lucky little fool.

"Let's go, let's go, it's boring, not fun."

Old Wang muttered a few words, picked up his hoe, and left.

"Xiao Zhou, don't hold back when Manager Liu comes next time; it will benefit you."

After taking a couple of steps, Old Wang turned to Zhou Mu and said something, then waved his hand and strode away without waiting for Zhou Mu's reply.

"Benefits? This old Wang is always so mysterious."

As Zhou Mu watched Old Wang's departing figure facing the rising sun, his mind raced with thoughts. He certainly wouldn't hide his talents too much; that would be foolish.

However, it should be kept within certain limits.

"Well, let's set it above talent and below genius, which aligns with Confucius's doctrine of the mean."