Immersing his heart spirit, Qin Ming felt the mana flow of the Intermediate Spirit Rain Technique.
For a long time.
A flash of insight rose in Qin Ming's heart; the real difference lay in the precise control of his own mana and the efficient use of spiritual qi during casting.
While casting, the flow of mana was no longer sluggish.
Even Cai the Ninth took several years to elevate the Spirit Rain Technique to an intermediate level.
This shower of spiritual rain lasted for a full incense stick before it stopped.
Of course.
Qin Ming's mana was also exhausted...
His cultivation level was still too low.
His face was pale, his legs felt weak, and his arms lacked the strength to lift a chicken. He sat down heavily, wiping the fine sweat from his forehead.
A full incense stick's time!
In the past, it was something he wouldn't even dare to dream about, let alone with the intermediate Spirit Rain Technique.
"Hmph! I can maintain it for this long now!"
"No longer the mere three-second drip like before!"
In that moment, Qin Ming's confidence seemed to return to him.
After a brief rest, he stood up to examine the effects of the rainfall.
Just half a day passed.
The half-acre of spirit rice began to grow wildly at a visibly fast pace.
Just like the crazed plants in his dreams.
This growth speed continued until the plants grew to more than double their original height before slowing down.
They were nearly ready to sprout spirit rice ears.
"Hiss~ This speed... is a bit..."
The ripening effect combined with the Intermediate Spirit Rain Technique astonished Qin Ming, making him gasp audibly.
"I even distributed that ripening effect entry across the entire half-acre."
"If it was used on just a single stalk of spirit rice, wouldn't it be harvested instantly?"
"It seems that green-quality entries are extremely rare; I should be more sparing with them next time."
While Qin Ming marveled at his own luck, the entry for that stalk of spirit rice changed as well.
[Name]: Golden Spirit Rice [Entry]: Weak Dharma Power (70% maturity)
At this development rate, he estimated he could harvest the spirit rice by tomorrow morning.
Sure enough.
The next morning, when Qin Ming returned to the spirit field, the small half-acre of spirit rice had fully matured.
Not only that, but the yield from the half-acre of spirit rice increased by about twenty percent compared to before.
The quality of the spirit rice was better, with every grain plump, translucent, and exuding an enticing aroma.
No wonder the Intermediate Spirit Rain Technique could directly draw spiritual qi from a spirit vein to fertilize spirit plants.
The most delightful thing was that the spirit rice with the 'Weak Dharma Power' entry had been assimilated into his cultivation.
Qin Ming felt a sense of joy and began to look forward to the future.
...
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time.
After managing his original three acres of spirit field, Qin Ming went to find Du Haifu for supervision and rented another two acres of spirit field next to it.
After tilling the soil, spirit rice seedlings were planted.
The Intermediate Spirit Rain Technique entry was used three times, with one use remaining.
Qin Ming gradually grasped some insights into casting the Intermediate Spirit Rain Technique.
He believed that with diligent practice, it wouldn't be long before he could cast the Intermediate Spirit Rain Technique even without the entry.
This was the difference between firsthand experience and blind experimentation.
When Du Haifu saw him renting spirit fields, he praised him for finally having an epiphany, putting on a show of encouragement.
He was eager to rent out more fields, so he could pocket more benefits.
Little did he know, Qin Ming was diligently farming to obtain entries...
After busying himself for half a month.
The five acres of spirit field were almost ready.
It was just a matter of waiting for the next harvest, with daily care and management being the only task left.
Qin Ming finally had some free time.
In the next couple of days, he planned to sell part of his spirit rice and purchase some items for cultivation.
The two urgent things he needed to buy were:
First, a storage pouch; carrying large bags every time he went out was truly inconvenient.
Secondly, a soundproof array...
Qin Ming changed into a different outfit, shouldered his spirit rice, and stepped out.
"Oh! Fellow Daoist Qin is heading to the market to sell spirit rice? Looks like you had a good harvest!"
"How rare, Fellow Daoist Qin."
As Qin Ming stepped out, many neighbors greeted him warmly.
Weaving through the complex alleys, he reached the main road.
At this time, two cultivators, a man and a woman, approached from the front.
"Fellow Daoist Long."
"Fellow Daoist Qin."
Qin Ming quickly set down his sack and greeted them respectfully with a cupped fist.
The cultivator surnamed Long was the only late-stage Qi Cultivation Cultivator in their shantytown area, having broken through to the Eighth Layer of Qi Cultivation several years ago.
The female cultivator beside him was Li Yanli, Qin Ming's neighbor. Judging by their intimacy, she must have latched onto him.
The area's security wasn't very stable, and thanks to Fellow Daoist Long's deterrence, the local riffraff didn't dare to cause trouble.
The Spirit Feather Sect's large-scale reclamation attracted many low-tier cultivators to come here, along with quite a few tribulation cultivators eyeing the area.
Though the Spirit Feather Sect's law enforcement team patrolled outside, incidents of murder and looting still happened occasionally.
After Fellow Daoist Long acknowledged him with a nod, he left with Li Yanli.
In their eyes, Qin Ming was just a low-tier spirit farmer, insignificant and unworthy of notice.
Getting any response was solely due to being neighbors.
Qin Ming didn't mind.
People like late-stage Qi Cultivation Cultivators had every right to be a bit arrogant.
Qin Ming watched them walk away, thinking there might be another 'battle' tonight.
He sighed inwardly and immediately changed his top priority to purchasing a soundproof array.
Before long, the grand archway of "Qingyang Market" came into view.
The market was bustling, with a cacophony of vendors hawking their wares.
Following the main road.
Qin Ming headed straight for the center of the market, arriving at the back door of a shop.
After knocking several times, someone came to open the door.
Seeing it was Qin Ming, the person asked him to wait while they went inside to call the shopkeeper.
In a short while.
A middle-aged man in a white robe with gold thread and vibrant red brocade came out.
The shopkeeper was at the Sixth Layer of Qi Cultivation, and upon seeing Qin Ming, a low-tier cultivator, he warmly smiled and welcomed him without slight.
"You're here to sell spirit rice? Come, let's talk inside."
Entering the backyard.
Qin Ming set down the spirit rice and returned the gesture with a bow, saying, "These are what I have, about a hundred pounds."
The shopkeeper nodded and instructed his staff to inspect the spirit rice and weigh it.
"A total of one hundred and eight pounds of Golden Spirit Rice."
"I can purchase it at the market rate of one Low-Grade Spirit Stone for five pounds. What do you say?"
"Deal."
Qin nodded decisively; he had come here occasionally to sell spirit rice before.
This channel was introduced to him secretly by Cai the Ninth.
Though he could set up a stall in the market and sell for slightly more spirit stones, it involved fees and was quite troublesome.
Here, it was safer and more stable.
"If you have more spirit rice in the future, you can bring it here, and I'll buy it all."
The shopkeeper took out twenty-one spirit stones and some Broken Spirit Crystals and handed them to Qin Ming.
"By the way, does your shop sell soundproof arrays?" Qin Ming asked before leaving.
"Of course." The shopkeeper smiled, tapped his storage pouch, and retrieved a simple array set.
"The low-tier soundproof array is priced at ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones."
Qin Ming held the still-warm spirit stones tightly, hesitated, and said, "Can you give me a discount? I'll buy a storage pouch as well."
"Sure, the soundproof array is ten spirit stones, the storage pouch is twelve spirit stones, but I'll charge you only twenty-one in total with a discount."
Transaction complete.
Leaving the shop.
"Money goes where it's earned, and there's not a cent to take home," Qin Ming sighed.
He then went to nearby stores to purchase some books on spirit plants and daily necessities before hurrying home.
The outing expenses were substantial, but Qin Ming believed he would soon earn more spirit stones.
...