A low-grade first-tier Spirit Peach Tree could produce about 40 to 50 spirit peaches annually, yielding more than 200 spirit stones per year.
With a lifespan often spanning several centuries, this tree could generate a massive and consistent income for the family over time.
If this tree was indeed a Spirit Peach Tree, it could significantly alleviate the Chen family's current financial difficulties.
"Such a pity," Elian sighed, only to suddenly pause, a thought striking him.
"Primordial Purple Qi."
He remembered that Primordial Purple Qi had the miraculous ability to enhance roots and potential, possibly enabling the Spirit Peach Tree to evolve further.
However, he hesitated. Primordial Purple Qi was incredibly rare; after over ten years of arduous cultivation, he had only managed to accumulate one and a half wisps of this energy.
"I've thought about using it to further enhance my own cultivation aptitude, but it seems Primordial Purple Qi can only be used once. It's of no use to me now."
"Perhaps advancing this peach tree into a true spiritual tree, with its spirit peaches aiding my cultivation, would be the best choice for the moment."
Resolving himself, Elian exhaled a wisp of Primordial Purple Qi, allowing it to merge into the Spirit Peach Tree.
As the Primordial Purple Qi was absorbed, the Spirit Peach Tree began to undergo a miraculous transformation. It grew taller and more vibrant, its trunk more robust, and a palpable spiritual energy radiated from it. Its blossoms became more dazzling and radiant.
"A spiritual root!"
"It has indeed advanced into a first-tier Spirit Peach Tree."
Elian beamed with joy, though he felt a pang of heartache at the same time. It had taken him ten years to accumulate a single wisp of Primordial Purple Qi, and now it was gone.
Now he was left with only half a wisp of Primordial Purple Qi, and accumulating another full wisp would take another five or six years.
With the Spirit Peach Tree now upgraded, Elian decided to build a bamboo hut next to it before beginning work on the spirit fields.
Developing spirit fields was meticulous work. It required not only clearing the land but also setting up spiritual energy-gathering formations and using a spirit planter's nurturing technique to enrich the soil before it could qualify as a spirit field.
It took him two days to clear the land for three acres of spirit fields and another seven or eight days to set up the spiritual energy-gathering formations.
The nurturing technique was a high-grade first-tier spell that could be performed by cultivators with water, wood, or earth spiritual roots. However, it was extremely taxing. Even with Elian's late-stage Qi Refinement cultivation, he could only cast it three times in a row before needing to replenish his spiritual energy.
To cultivate three acres of spirit fields, he performed the nurturing technique over thirty times, finally completing the task.
It wasn't that he couldn't develop more fields; rather, the spiritual energy of the high-grade first-tier vein on Linghu Isle was limited. It needed to support the Azure Spirit Fish, Elian's cultivation, and now the spirit fields.
Any additional fields would require supplementing the spiritual energy with spirit stones, and creating even one additional acre would cost 1,000 spirit stones—a sum the Chen family simply couldn't afford in their current state.
After completing the spirit fields, it was already late March. Over the next three days, Elian planted two acres of spiritual rice and one acre of spiritual herbs.
"Done," he said, smiling as he looked at the newly planted spirit rice and herbs.
Spirit rice matured once a year, with each acre producing around 20 spirit stones' worth of income. Two acres would generate about 50 spirit stones annually for the family.
The spiritual herbs, on the other hand, took much longer to mature. The acre he planted contained over 30 herb seeds. The fastest would take 10 years to grow, while others could take decades or even centuries.
The value of spiritual herbs was immense. Though they didn't bring quick returns like spirit rice, they were indispensable for cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage. Rare and precious, they were often worth far more than their weight in spirit stones.
Just a few years ago, the spirit herb garden on Qingyuan Mountain had produced a single Qingyuan Ganoderma. Clan leader Chen Changxuan had it refined into a high-grade second-tier pill, enabling him to break through his bottleneck at the seventh level of Foundation Establishment.
With the planting complete, Elian finally breathed a sigh of relief. Going forward, he only needed to use the nurturing technique every two weeks and water the fields with the Spirit Rain Technique. The rest of his time could be devoted to cultivation.
Time passed quickly in cultivation, and in the blink of an eye, two months had gone by.
One day, after completing his daily cultivation tasks, Elian took a small boat across Linghu Isle to count the Azure Spirit Fish.
"Two are missing," he muttered, frowning after recounting the fish several times.
The Azure Spirit Fish usually followed the fish king, feeding in groups. With the late-stage Qi Refinement fish king guarding them, the young fish were generally safe, and disappearances were exceedingly rare.
After multiple counts, Elian confirmed that two were indeed missing. Given his heightened perception, there was no chance of an error in counting over 100 fish.
"It seems something strange is happening in Linghu Isle," he thought. "Could there be a demonic beast preying on the fish?"
"Linghu Isle has been purged of demonic beasts three times before. There shouldn't be anything dangerous left here."
"Could it be that a new beast has migrated here?"
Elian considered seeking aid from Qingyuan Mountain but ultimately dismissed the idea.
With only two young fish missing, the culprit likely wasn't a very powerful beast. Otherwise, the fish king wouldn't have been able to protect the rest of the group.
The fish king was gentle by nature. Though it possessed late-stage Qi Refinement cultivation, its combat ability was among the weakest for its level.
If the beast couldn't even deal with the fish king, Elian was confident he could handle it easily.
The priority now was to locate the beast preying on the spirit fish and eliminate it.
Elian spent half a day searching the lake but found nothing by sunset. He returned to the central island, resolving to resume his search the next day.
Early the next morning, after completing his Primordial Purple Qi cultivation, Elian set out again to search Linghu Isle.
When he checked the fish school, his brow furrowed. The numbers were off again.
Another count revealed that two more fish were missing. With his sharp memory, he immediately identified the missing fish as the smallest ones.
This made Elian furious. A single fully grown Azure Spirit Fish was worth five spirit stones. Losing four young fish equated to a loss of 20 spirit stones.
The annual stipend for a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator in the Chen family was only 10 spirit stones. Losing four fish in quick succession wasn't just a financial blow—it was humiliating.
"You damn thing! Don't let me catch you," Elian snarled, gritting his teeth as he cast the Water-Evasion Technique to dive into the lake and follow the fishes, preparing to ambush the culprit.
That day, the fishes weren't attacked. Determined, Elian stayed with the fishes overnight, refusing to return to the island.
At dawn the next day, his patience was finally rewarded.
A sneaky figure emerged from the reeds, stealthily swimming toward the fishes.
"A Purple-Striped Goose?"