Plant VS Cultivation

Chapter 15: Exclusive Spells for Spiritual Farmers

Gu Mo listened quietly, his eyes flashing with a hint of excitement. Although the so-called preferential treatment didn't include tangible cultivation resources, it did offer him the same privileges as an outer sect disciple.

As long as he joined the Spiritual Plant Hall and passed the assessment, he would be entitled to rent spiritual fields just like outer sect disciples. Typically, when a labor disciple joined the Spiritual Plant Hall, they were assigned to an outer sect disciple and tasked with managing spiritual fields.

To put it in simple terms, if the Qinglu Sect were a large company, the Spiritual Plant Hall would be one of its departments, while the outer sect disciples would be mid-level supervisors managing large stretches of spiritual fields. However, since they still needed to cultivate, they couldn't handle daily management personally, so labor disciples filled that role—essentially the company's lowest-level workers.

If the subordinates were competent, their superiors naturally had an easier time. However, the Spiritual Plant Hall mostly received unwanted and unskilled disciples, which left outer sect disciples feeling helpless. Many had to spend extra time managing the fields themselves, which severely impacted their cultivation.

Some outer sect disciples even voluntarily applied to reduce their assigned fields to ease their burden. But the abandoned fields couldn't be left untended, so a new policy was introduced: labor disciples who proactively joined the Spiritual Plant Hall could rent spiritual fields.

Once they rented a field, they only needed to pay an annual fee, and the remaining profits were theirs to keep. Moreover, they had complete freedom over what they planted—there were no restrictions from the Spiritual Plant Hall.

In contrast, ordinary labor disciples working under outer sect disciples would only receive meager wages each year.

Of course, to qualify for this privilege, labor disciples had to pass an assessment proving they could manage the spiritual fields. Otherwise, giving a field to someone clueless would only ruin it.

"Let's go! I'll explain more on the way!"

Seeing the joy on Gu Mo's face, Mai Yunfa was relieved. To avoid any last-minute changes, he decided to take Gu Mo to the Spiritual Plant Hall immediately. This way, he could finally report a successful recruitment. After years of coming up empty-handed, he had finally recruited someone. Now, Deacon Zhao wouldn't have an excuse to deduct his reward again.

Mai Yunfa led Gu Mo out of the Personnel Hall and summoned a magic sword, forming a hand seal to make it enlarge.

"Hop on."

He stepped onto the sword and gestured for Gu Mo to follow.

Gu Mo looked at the sword enviously. This was a standard magic weapon forged by the Artifact Peak. With the Sword Flight Technique, it could be used for both combat and transportation.

Unfortunately, acquiring such a weapon was difficult for someone like him. Even though it was a standard issue, it was still expensive. Moreover, wielding it properly required mastering the Sword Flight Technique.

"Let's go!"

Once Gu Mo stepped onto the sword, Mai Yunfa made another hand seal. The sword lifted off the ground and shot forward at high speed.

"This is as fast as a high-speed train," Gu Mo thought, watching the scenery blur below him. Initially nervous, he gradually relaxed and even started comparing it to past train rides.

Flying this smoothly at such speed was proof of Mai Yunfa's considerable skill in the Sword Flight Technique.

After about fifteen minutes, a valley appeared before them, filled with endless rice fields.

"I'll take you to see Deacon Zhao."

Mai Yunfa led Gu Mo toward a cluster of buildings on one side of the valley—this was the Spiritual Plant Hall's headquarters.

Hearing that he was about to meet the hall's deacon, Gu Mo tensed slightly. A deacon was at least at the Foundation Establishment stage—an entire major realm above him.

He worried that his unusual physique might be noticed. As a mere labor disciple, he possessed triple the spiritual power and physical strength of his peers, which was undoubtedly suspicious.

If he were exposed, he would have no choice but to reveal some of his lesser secrets. As long as his most important secret—the Sunflower—remained hidden, the rest wouldn't matter much. In fact, revealing something minor might even bring him unexpected benefits.

As these thoughts swirled in his mind, they arrived at the Deacon's Hall. Gu Mo quickly suppressed his spiritual power fluctuations—a minor trick he had picked up from a basic concealment technique in the library. It wasn't an actual technique, but it was better than nothing.

"Gu Mo, is it? Not bad."

A middle-aged man, Zhao Qiancheng, gave Gu Mo a brief glance and offered some casual praise. As a deacon, he normally wouldn't bother meeting a labor disciple.

But things were different now—since someone had finally volunteered to join the Spiritual Plant Hall, he had to acknowledge it. A few encouraging words cost nothing, so why not give them?

"Mai Yunfa has likely already explained the benefits of joining our hall. You just need to master one exclusive spiritual farming spell to pass the assessment."

After a few more pleasantries, Zhao Qiancheng handed Gu Mo a booklet.

Gu Mo accepted it respectfully and left with Mai Yunfa. As soon as he stepped out of the Deacon's Hall, he let out a deep breath—he had passed this hurdle smoothly.

"Junior Brother Gu Mo, you'll be staying here for now. If you have any cultivation questions, you can visit the Teaching Hall, where experienced spiritual farmers give lectures."

After arranging Gu Mo's lodging, Mai Yunfa hurried off to continue his recruitment mission. Missing another potential recruit in his absence would be a great loss.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Mai!" Gu Mo cupped his hands and bowed as Mai Yunfa departed.

Then, he turned his attention to his new residence. Compared to the usual labor disciple quarters, this place was significantly better—it even had a courtyard and a protective formation.

When activated, the formation prevented disturbances during closed-door cultivation. However, activating it required spirit stones, and aside from the assessment opportunity and the booklet, he hadn't received anything else from the Spiritual Plant Hall.

"Are all the other peaks this stingy?" he muttered before stepping inside and pulling out the booklet he had received from Deacon Zhao.

Since he was still at the Qi Refining stage, he couldn't use divine sense to read jade slips quickly, so he had to flip through the pages manually.

The booklet contained five first-tier spells, all designed specifically for spiritual farmers:

Metal: Minor Gengjin Sword Qi – A focused attack spell for eliminating pests and rodents that were immune to mundane weapons.

Wood: Minor Rejuvenation Art – A healing spell that could restore both spiritual plants and injured cultivators.

Water: Minor Cloud Rain Spell – The most frequently used spell, capable of summoning spirit rain to nourish crops.

Fire: Minor Blazing Wave – A fire spell used after harvesting, burning residual plant matter and pest eggs to enrich the soil.

Earth: Minor Earth Dragon Art – A summoning spell that conjured a giant earthworm to plow the fields.

After reading through the spells, Gu Mo gained a clearer understanding of how farming worked in the cultivation world.

"But why do all the spell names start with 'Minor'? Does that mean there are advanced versions like 'Major Gengjin Sword Qi' or 'Great Rejuvenation Art'?"