Plant VS Cultivation

Chapter 19: Spiritual Seeds

Gu Mo, who grew up in the countryside, had a solid understanding of farming. With a physique and spiritual power three times stronger than cultivators of the same Qi Refinement stage, cultivating this acre of land posed no challenge for him.

"Hmm, after turning over the soil in the spiritual field, I still need to use the Little Cloud Rain Technique for maintenance."

Gu Mo took out a booklet issued by the Spiritual Plant Hall, which contained insights on cultivating spiritual fields. His farming knowledge from the mortal world might not necessarily apply to the cultivation world's spiritual fields, so flipping through the booklet was necessary.

"Little Cloud Rain Technique, huh?"

Putting the booklet away, Gu Mo stood at the edge of the spiritual field and formed a hand seal. Instantly, dark clouds gathered over the field. Since no one was around, he didn't need to hold back and unleashed his full power.

"Whoosh!"

In just a moment, a light spiritual rain began to fall, moistening the field. Immediately, the spiritual energy within the field became noticeably denser.

Spiritual fields were located in areas where spiritual veins extended, naturally making their ambient energy richer than the outside world. Moreover, Gu Mo's plot was a mid-grade Tier 1 spiritual field, meaning its energy density surpassed that of low-grade Tier 1 fields.

Unfortunately, this spiritual energy was locked underground by formations, making it difficult for cultivators to absorb. However, spiritual plants could take in this energy through their roots.

Gu Mo didn't mind this limitation—his cultivation didn't rely on spiritual energy but on the essence of the sun.

For now, he hadn't planted anything yet, so it wasn't the right time to place his Sunflower in the field. A lone sunflower standing out in the middle of the field would be too conspicuous.

Once he had enough money, he planned to set up protective formations around the field to enhance its security.

After mapping out his plans for the field, Gu Mo returned to his small artifact house to cultivate. His cultivation, however, wasn't about increasing his realm but rather practicing the perfected Cleansing Technique on himself and mastering the remaining three spiritual farming spells.

As for advancing his cultivation level, that could wait until he had accumulated a batch of sunflowers. After all, knowing how slow inferior spiritual roots were at cultivating, Gu Mo had more or less given up on conventional cultivation methods.

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The next morning, Gu Mo set out early to the Spiritual Plant Hall to collect spiritual seeds. Last time, he had hitched a ride with Mai Yunfa to the field, so he hadn't realized the distance. Now that he had to walk, he truly felt the gap.

"I need to get a transportation tool as soon as possible."

By the time Gu Mo arrived at the hall, panting for breath, the thought had firmly taken root in his mind.

When it came to mobility, the best choice was naturally a flying sword, which was not only useful for travel but also for combat. However, it was too expensive—far beyond what he could afford anytime soon.

A cheaper alternative was paper cranes, a favorite among low-ranking outer disciples with tight budgets. Paper cranes were not artifacts but talismans with a limited number of uses. Still, they were affordable and decently fast, though they lacked any combat function.

That being said, with Gu Mo's current wealth of exactly zero spirit stones, even a paper crane was out of reach until his field started generating income.

Fortunately, he had secured three years of rent-free usage. During this period, all the field's profits would belong to him.

"Disciple Gu Mo, here to collect spiritual seeds!"

Arriving at the seed storage area in the Spiritual Plant Hall, Gu Mo bowed respectfully to the old cultivator guarding the storeroom.

"Oh, you're that Gu Mo who mastered the perfected Cleansing Technique and learned the Little Cloud Rain Technique within three months of joining?"

The old cultivator gave Gu Mo a curious once-over. It was rare to see someone with such high comprehension yet such terrible spiritual roots.

"Yes, that's me."

Gu Mo handed over his identification token.

"Here are Tier 1 spiritual seeds. Pick whatever you want."

The old cultivator took out a thick booklet and handed it to Gu Mo.

Receiving it with both hands, Gu Mo began flipping through the pages. The first seed listed was Spiritual Jade Rice, a low-grade Tier 1 spiritual rice and the most widely cultivated plant in the hall.

Spiritual Jade Rice was easy to grow, had decent yield, and could be harvested within half a year. Aside from its low grade, it had almost no downsides, making it the top recommendation for beginners.

Gu Mo planned to make it his first crop, but he didn't rush his decision. There were many other plants in the booklet, and he wanted to expand his knowledge.

As he turned the pages, he saw numerous intriguing plants, each with specific cultivation requirements. For example, Red Grass, a high-grade Tier 1 herb, required a high-temperature environment. To modify the field's climate, one would need formation arrays—a costly investment. Moreover, Red Grass didn't require the Little Cloud Rain Technique but needed daily applications of Little Flame Wave.

Cultivating Red Grass was expensive, but if successful, the returns would be substantial. After all, it was a high-grade Tier 1 plant.

Continuing to browse, Gu Mo found that all the plants listed were Tier 1, as those were the only ones he was eligible to receive.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, his eyes lit up at the sight of a particular plant—Spirit Sunflower.

Gu Mo preferred to call it Sunflower because it closely resembled the sunflowers he knew. It also bore a 70-80% resemblance to his Sunflower plant. Originally, he had planned to plant Sunflowers alongside Spiritual Jade Rice for concealment.

Now, he had an even better idea—using Spirit Sunflowers as a perfect cover for his Sunflowers!

Unlike other spiritual plants with strict growth conditions, Spirit Sunflowers didn't require anything special. Their only drawback was their slow growth. While Spiritual Jade Rice matured in half a year, Spirit Sunflowers took several years to reach full growth.

For a low-grade Tier 1 plant, that was quite a long time. However, given enough years, Spirit Sunflowers had a chance to upgrade in quality.

This "chance" was enough to deter most cultivators. But for Gu Mo, it was a non-issue—his sole purpose for planting them was to provide cover for his Sunflowers.

"Senior, I'll take Spiritual Jade Rice and Spirit Sunflowers."

Having made his decision, Gu Mo returned the booklet to the old cultivator.

"Alright!"

The old cultivator wasn't surprised by Gu Mo's choices. Spiritual Jade Rice was the most common choice among beginners, while many cultivators also took a few Spirit Sunflower seeds, hoping for a quality upgrade in the future.

That said, Gu Mo requested several hundred Spirit Sunflower seeds—an unusually large number. However, it was still within the acceptable range.

With the seeds in hand, Gu Mo rushed back to his field and planted them all. The several hundred Spirit Sunflowers were arranged in the patch of land in front of his house, while the rest of the field was filled with Spiritual Jade Rice.

Once the field was fully planted, his seeds were completely used up. While he could collect seeds for free, the amount was strictly tied to the size of his land, so there was no way to take extra.

"Little Cloud Rain Technique!"

After planting the seeds, Gu Mo formed a seal and cast the spell, watering the entire field. Now, all he needed to do was wait for the seeds to sprout.

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