Back in his small courtyard, Shen Yunxi snorted coldly.
The first thing Liu Sheng did was ask to borrow Spirit Stones. Did he look like a soft touch?
He said he would return them in a few days, but it would probably be decades before he could pay them back. Gamblers truly deserved to die a miserable death.
Shen Yunxi had experienced such people firsthand in his previous life; borrowing was easy, repaying was hard. Even close relatives couldn't guarantee it, let alone Liu Sheng, with whom he only had a nodding acquaintance.
Shaking his head, Shen Yunxi stopped thinking about it and continued to make a fire and cook. He stir-fried the remaining three liang of Demon Beast meat and some vegetables, then ate them.
The next few days passed without incident, working from dawn till dusk.
Eight days later.
Shen Yunxi was diligently harvesting spirit rice in the spiritual field.
Not long after, a man in his forties, corpulent, dressed in a black and white uniform, with a handlebar mustache and several Storage Pouches tied around his waist, emerged from the path in the bamboo forest.
This was Xu Kun, a Qi Refining seventh-level Cultivator, and the Manager of this spiritual field. He was mainly responsible for managing the allocation of spiritual fields and collecting taxes.
For the current Shen Yunxi, he was a truly high-ranking figure.
"Little Shen, your movements are quite nimble. How is the quality of this season's white spirit rice?"
Xu Kun walked closer, his belly protruding, grabbed a handful of white spirit rice from a bag, examined it carefully, and then brought it to his nose to sniff the fragrance emanating from the spirit rice.
"Hmm, the grains are plump, and the Spiritual Qi is abundant. It's already Medium Grade quality spirit rice, which shows you've been very diligent."
Xu Kun popped a spirit rice grain into his mouth, savored it, stroked his handlebar mustache, and then praised Shen Yunxi.
"Thank you for the praise, Steward Xu. This is what I should be doing."
After harvesting the last bag of spirit rice, Shen Yunxi stepped forward, bowed slightly to Xu Kun, and said humbly.
The ability to cultivate spirit rice that mostly reached Medium Grade quality was naturally due to Shen Yunxi's diligent labor day after day.
Shen Yunxi was quite talented in this Dao, and of course, Lu Kaishan's "Spiritual Farmer Cultivation Experience" also helped him greatly.
"Alright, enough small talk. Let me see how much the harvest is."
With that, Xu Kun's thoughts stirred, and he took out a scale-shaped Magical Artifact from his Storage Pouch at his waist to weigh the rice.
"There are a total of three hundred ninety-five jin of white spirit rice here, not bad. The six-tenths rent amounts to two hundred thirty-seven jin. Little Shen, I'll take these now."
Swish.
Xu Kun, smiling broadly, put most of the spirit rice bags on the ground into his Storage Pouch, then strode off to the next spiritual field.
Shen Yunxi watched Xu Kun demonstrate the convenience of the Storage Pouch, feeling envious.
The cheapest of these things cost nearly twenty Spirit Stones, and since his need wasn't great, he couldn't bear to buy one.
"Steward Xu, take care."
Watching Xu Kun's figure gradually disappear from sight, Shen Yunxi mused inwardly.
Although Xu Kun's attitude towards him was very friendly, his methods were quite ruthless; he was a wolf in sheep's clothing. He only treated Shen Yunxi well because he had always been diligent and paid his rent in full every time.
Azure Spirit Market belonged to the Xu family, and it was said that their clan had a Foundation Establishment Peak Old Ancestor overseeing it.
Most of the spiritual fields here were planted with white spirit rice, a spiritual plant that could be harvested twice a year. At the end of each year, spiritual farmers had to pay a certain amount of rent.
If they couldn't pay in full, they had to make up the difference with Spirit Stones. If they didn't even have enough Spirit Stones, then their fate.
Don't think the Xu family is heartless; you can choose not to plant, but there are plenty of people scrambling for this job that provides a stable income of Spirit Stones.
It was Lu Kaishan who had proactively lent Shen Yunxi dozens of Spirit Stones to bribe Steward Xu Kun, which allowed him to acquire three mu of spiritual fields.
After seeing Xu Kun off, Shen Yunxi happily collected the remaining white spirit rice.
"Hey, there are still one hundred fifty-eight jin left, about ten percent more than last time! It seems to be the credit of that Spiritual Rain Technique light cluster."
"Oh, right, I also harvested quite a few new light clusters this time. These are the good stuff."
Shen Yunxi's thoughts stirred, and he immediately sensed nineteen white and three green light clusters, circling each other quietly suspended in his Sea of Consciousness.
[White Light Clusters: Weak Spiritual Power (3 times), Spiritual Rain Technique (8 times), Golden Sword Technique (8 times)]
[Green Light Clusters: Growth (3 times)]
With an excited and anxious heart, he rushed home, encountering Lu Kaishan, who was harvesting spirit rice, on the way.
Seeing Shen Yunxi on the field ridge, carrying several bulging spirit rice bags, Lu Kaishan smiled and said,
"Cloud Creek, it looks like you had a good harvest today."
"It's alright, a bit higher than usual, thanks to Big Brother Lu's care."
Shen Yunxi also replied with a joyful expression.
Indeed, seeing the fruits of one's diligent labor harvested, most people would be filled with joy.
"Big Brother Lu, how are things on your side?"
"It's just that you put in the effort. I'm still the same. You go back first. Oh, right, be careful during this time. This is usually when rogue Cultivators appear. The outskirts of the market are not like the inner city; your cultivation is not high, so remember not to show off your wealth."
Lu Kaishan stopped what he was doing, waved his hand indifferently, then became serious and earnestly cautioned him.
"Okay, I'll be careful with everything."
Shen Yunxi nodded solemnly, indicating he had remembered everything.
He had no way to repay Lu Kaishan, who had helped him in his time of need, but he would engrave it in his heart. However, with the help of the panel, he believed he would soon soar to great heights and then be able to repay this kindness.
On the way, Shen Yunxi tried to avoid others' gazes and quickly returned home.
Inside the room, Shen Yunxi sat cross-legged on his bed.
"Let's try the effect of that Weak Spiritual Power first."
His thoughts gently touched one of the white light clusters.
Swish.
A ball of incomparably pure, attribute-less, light green Spiritual Qi burst forth from the light cluster and appeared in Shen Yunxi's Dantian.
Unlike the Spiritual Rain Technique light cluster and the Spiritual Power vortex, which were incompatible, this ball of Spiritual Qi slowly transformed and flowed into the Spiritual Power vortex.
"This Weak Spiritual Power can actually strengthen the Spiritual Power vortex, and I don't even need to actively refine it. It's incredible."
Shen Yunxi was full of excitement. He had initially been puzzled about the purpose of this Weak Spiritual Power, but now it had given him a huge surprise.
"Each use only requires a thought, and it can exist in the Sea of Consciousness for a long time. This light cluster is incredibly convenient."
Feeling the increase in his internal Spiritual Power, he was already approaching the Late Stage of Qi Refining third level.
Regarding the description of this light cluster, a question mark slowly formed in Shen Yunxi's mind.
"This is actually just Weak Spiritual Power? I'm afraid this single ball of Spiritual Qi can already rival several bottles of Spirit Gathering Pills. And there are no side effects! Only a small amount of Spiritual Qi couldn't be completely transformed; it seems it's still affected by the Spiritual Root."
Spirit Gathering Pills, as a first-tier Medicinal Pill that could increase cultivation, were sold for fifteen Spirit Stones a bottle at Myriad Treasures Pavilion in Azure Spirit Market. Refining one bottle took approximately several days.
Moreover, ordinary Medicinal Pills usually contained pill toxins, which could damage a Cultivator's Foundation. Therefore, ordinary Medicinal Pills could not be taken continuously in large quantities; one had to resolve the pill toxins in the body before continuing to take them.
Sensing that a small amount of Spiritual Qi couldn't be refined and slowly dissipated into the world.
Shen Yunxi felt a bit lost, but seeing the remaining two Weak Spiritual Power clusters, he decided to continue using them.
"Continue."
Another ball of light green Spiritual Qi appeared in his Dantian.
This time, he circulated the Spirit Origin Skill to actively refine this ball of Spiritual Qi, greatly speeding up the process.
After an unknown amount of time, the Spiritual Qi was completely refined.
"Qi Refining third level Late Stage."
"There's one last one. I'll use it tonight and see if I can reach Qi Refining fourth level in one go."