Cultivation is just so scientific!

"Master Cheng thinks highly of you. Why not stay at Xun Peak? However, the spirit fields of Xun Peak won't benefit much from a junior spirit plant cultivator like you. You'll only be able to do some menial tasks!" On the way to the Central Peak Affairs Pavilion, Zhu Ji had a lot more to say.

Through his exchange with Zhu Ji, Li Shiming learned that no peak had any spare low-grade spirit fields available. Discover exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire

Below the sect's nine peaks lies the main spirit vein, the region with the richest spiritual energy, with Central Peak having the most and the other Eight Peaks following behind.

In the range of the main spirit vein, the rich spiritual energy supports better-quality spirit fields.

After countless years of development, all the spirit fields of the sect's nine peaks have reached the medium grade.

A junior spirit plant cultivator's use of the "Spring Breeze and Rain Skill" can only take care of low-grade spirit fields, which are scattered among the islands beyond the nine peaks in the sea.

"This is the Affairs Pavilion. I won't accompany you any further!" Zhu Ji pointed to the pavilion below and said.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Zhu!" Li Shiming bowed in gratitude.

The paper crane landed in front of the Affairs Pavilion, which was quiet and empty at this time.

The Affairs Pavilion was an institution that managed the sect's assets and usually had little to do, so there was only one Qi Refinement Realm cultivator present.

"Greetings, Senior Brother. I've come to rent a spirit field cave dwelling!" Li Shiming approached and said, simultaneously handing over ten spirit stones.

With his identity, addressing someone in the sect with official disciple marks on their clothes as 'Senior Brother' was definitely correct.

"Identity Jade Disc. The green spots on the map are the available spirit field dwellings!" The Senior Brother, having expertly accepted the spirit stones, spoke in a flat tone.

A holographic three-dimensional map appeared in front of Li Shiming.

On the map, there were no green spots on the nine peaks, which was normal. Beyond the nine peaks, however, there were quite a few green-marked spots on the variously sized islands.

"So many available spirit field dwellings?" Li Shiming couldn't help expressing his amazement.

"There have never been many cultivators with the talent for spirit planting. The spirit fields displayed here are those which have been opened up but remain ownerless, forcibly preserved. If you choose, this is Changming Island. The island has three hundred thousand mortals. It won't be too difficult for you there; you'll have plenty of mortals at your service. What you need to do is to drive away the sea beasts when they appear!" Senior Brother, having received the spirit stones, still offered his opinion.

"Are there many sea beasts? How strong are they?" Li Shiming, hearing about sea beasts, asked for advice eagerly.

"Powerful sea beasts won't appear in the sect's sea territory, but there are many of them, and often those with Qi Refining Realm strength emerge, most of which have the strength of early-stage Qi Refining. You don't have to worry about your safety. If a sea beast that you can't handle appears, activating the Identity Jade Disc will quickly bring a nearby sect cultivator to your aid!" Senior Brother replied.

Li Shiming's gaze did not linger on Changming Island. Since he had decided to pursue cultivation, he wanted to distance himself from the mundane world.

He hoped for a quieter place, free from disturbances.

His gaze settled on a small island called Eagle Beak Island, located about two hundred li from the nine peaks. In terms of distance, even if he activated the warning signal from his Identity Jade Disc, it wouldn't take long for a cultivator from the nine peaks to arrive.

Most importantly, Eagle Beak Island had no mortal inhabitants and was a small island with a five-mu low-grade primary spirit field opened on it.

A five-mu low-grade primary spirit field was within the capacity of a Qi Refining Third Level junior spirit plant cultivator like him to manage properly.

"Senior Brother, I choose Eagle Beak Island!" Li Shiming pointed to Eagle Beak Island without hesitation.

"Eagle Beak Island?" Senior Brother hesitated for a moment, still trying to persuade him, "Although the secondary spiritual vein of this island is a branch of the sect's main spiritual vein, the quality of this secondary spiritual vein is lower-end, and the spirit fields are also of low-grade primary quality. The only advantage is that it's cheap, have you really considered it thoroughly?"

"Senior Brother, I have made up my mind, it's this one!" Li Shiming nodded.

"Alright then, I will add the permissions to your Identity Jade Disc. With it, you can activate Eagle Beak Island's defense array, lift the seal on the spirit fields, and given the low-grade primary spirit field's yield plus the climate, you can plant for six months across three seasons each year." Senior Brother did some calculations, then continued, "Based on a yield of one hundred catties of Spirit Rice per acre, you will need to hand over 750 catties of Spirit Rice every year, earning you 325 good deeds annually!"

After finishing, Senior Brother looked at Li Shiming with a complex expression. Li Shiming nodded in understanding, and then Senior Brother handed him the Identity Jade Disc.

Only then did Li Shiming realize how low the yield of a low-grade primary spirit field was. He knew that the yield from less than 280 square meters in his mechanical room space could reach 364 catties per season.

Delivering 750 catties a year was no pressure for him at all. Renting the spirit field was considered a sect task, and as long as he handed over enough Spirit Rice, he wouldn't have to do any other tasks unless the sect specifically required it.

It's just that the good deeds were a bit less, but this amount was still much better than that of cultivators without a side profession.

After leaving the Affairs Pavilion, he summoned a paper crane, as this time he had a not-so-close distance to travel.

The sea breeze caressed his face as he rode the crane into the sky—a pity that it was a paper crane, which made the experience somewhat less thrilling.

The flying speed of the paper crane was quite good; it took only half of a two-hour span to cover a distance of two hundred li.

The first time he saw Eagle Beak Island, Li Shiming wondered if anyone could really live here.

The map showed Eagle Beak Island to be very small, and upon actually arriving, he found it indeed was quite tiny.

The island's shape resembled an eagle's beak—sharp at one end and broad at the other. At the root of the eagle's beak, which was no wider than two hundred meters, stood a small mountain peak fifty meters high. From the root to the tip of the eagle's beak, there was a stretch of flat land.

It was in this flat area where the spirit fields were located, surrounded by reefs to prevent ordinary sea beasts from entering the spirit field area directly.

Li Shiming used his Identity Jade Disc to activate the defense array and enter the island.

The five acres of spirit field were solidified by the array, which could preserve the Spiritual Energy of the spirit field to the greatest extent, but it would still slowly seep away over time.

A Junior Spirit Plant Cultivator needed to come by periodically to use the Earth Spirit Technique to draw up underground Spiritual Energy, improving the spirit field's energy.

However, this could only maintain the essence of the spirit field. Over time, the spirit field would gradually degrade in quality.

The spirit field in front of him had already reached the lowest quality of all grade-worthy spirit fields; low-grade primary spirit fields were the poorest, and this one was at the lower limit of even that.

Li Shiming didn't immediately undo the solidification of the spirit field as he needed to clean the dwelling first. Once he had a place to live, he would consider the affairs of the spirit field.

The dwelling on Eagle Beak Island was developed on the small mountain peak, at the edge of the spirit fields.

Using the same Identity Jade Disc, the dwelling's restriction opened, and a moist, rotting smell came rushing at him, causing his step into the dwelling to falter.

He put on a breathing device, used the Object Driving Skill to clear the garbage inside the dwelling, and then replaced the air with fresh air to finally rid it of the offensive odor.