Chapter Twelve: Premium Beast Fang Rice

Mist and dew herald the dawn of Spring, painting the mountains and rivers in shades of indigo and green.

With the turn of the new year, Qin Ming had already sown the first season’s Golden Spirit Rice early on. After a month, tender shoots had sprouted across the four acres of spirit fields.

[Name]: Golden Spirit Rice [Attribute]: Accelerated Growth (Maturity 3%)
[Name]: Golden Spirit Rice [Attribute]: Faint Spiritual Power (Maturity 3%)

Staring at these two new attributes flashing above his fields, Qin Ming was seized with excitement!

In three months, once this season’s spirit rice reached maturity, he would be able to harvest an ‘Accelerated Growth’ attribute and a ‘Faint Spiritual Power’ attribute. This meant he could reap a batch of Beast Fang Rice ahead of time!

The life of a spirit farmer was monotonous and dull. Every day, Qin Ming was either tending his spirit fields or devoting himself to cultivation. In his sea of consciousness lay four white leaves, each representing a ‘Faint Spiritual Power’ attribute. If he were to use them, they would be worth a full year of hard cultivation.

But Qin Ming was in no hurry to use them. The leap to the fourth level of Qi Refinement required far more spiritual power than this—such a small amount was like a drop in the ocean. Better to save them for times of need.

Near the spirit fields, a cyan magic sword danced and spun in midair under Qin Ming’s control, performing a variety of intricate maneuvers.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

This was the foundational art of object manipulation practiced by almost every cultivator. In the past, Qin Ming had been too poor to even afford the cheapest, lowest-grade magic sword, so he could only dream of cultivating such techniques. Now, though, times had changed—he could finally indulge in the thrill of wielding a flying sword.

Swoosh!

Under his direction, the Azure Spirit Sword traced an arc of blue light, striking a nearby boulder and slicing off a chunk.

“Not bad. The control still feels a bit clumsy, not yet smooth enough when channeling spiritual power,” Qin Ming murmured as he retrieved the sword, wiping it down with a cloth.

He couldn’t help but recall the image of Elder Gu of the Lingyu Sect, brandishing a crimson flying sword to slay a monkey with a single stroke—now that was true mastery. Of course, compared to Elder Gu’s sword, his own was little more than a toy. Elder Gu’s was at least of upper-grade magic weapon quality, a world apart from his own.

High-grade magic weapons often came with specialized sword techniques, multiplying their power many times over. With his present means and cultivation, Qin Ming could only dream of such things.

Putting away his Azure Spirit Sword, Qin Ming practiced the Beast Command Technique for a while. Without an ‘Beast Command’ attribute, the spell was truly hard to master, but as a spirit farmer, he could not afford to neglect such arts. After all, it had once saved his life—who knew when it might do so again?

On the hillside beyond, where several more acres of spirit fields lay, he could rely on no one but himself for protection.

......

Time passed in the blink of an eye.

Another three months went by.

The spirit rice ripened.

Since his cultivation had broken through to the third level of Qi Refinement, and with his growing proficiency in the Intermediate Spirit Rain Technique, Qin Ming’s quarterly rice yields had climbed steadily.

This season, in addition to harvesting ‘Accelerated Growth’ and ‘Faint Spiritual Power’ attributes, he also gained over eleven stone of spirit rice. After paying taxes, he still had more than three hundred and ninety jin left. Counting last year’s harvest, his stockpile now exceeded seven hundred jin—he had achieved true spirit rice abundance, able to eat as much as he pleased.

In the Qingyang Market, spirit rice prices remained high. Seizing the opportunity, Qin Ming planned to sell another portion. Shopkeeper Liao’s desire to purchase spirit rice was even stronger than his interest in pills or magical tools. Then there was Friend Long, who had come to him several times seeking rice but had left empty-handed—next time, Qin Ming would have to spare some for him, lest it strain their relationship.

......

One evening, Qin Ming quietly transplanted several hundred Beast Fang Rice seedlings—including three with special attributes—into his own small courtyard.

[Name]: Beast Fang Rice [Attribute]: Advanced Spirit Rain Technique x5 (Maturity 38%)
[Name]: Beast Fang Rice [Attribute]: Quality Enhancement x1 (Maturity 39%)
[Name]: Beast Fang Rice [Attribute]: Accelerated Growth x5 (Maturity 45%)

With everything ready, Qin Ming applied the ‘Accelerated Growth’ attribute to the three special plants. He reasoned that using one such attribute on just these three would yield results swiftly.

Under his tense gaze, the three Beast Fang Rice stalks shot up wildly. By midday, their growth only began to slow once the spirit grain heads had formed.

[Name]: Beast Fang Rice [Attribute]: Advanced Spirit Rain Technique x5 (Maturity 90%)
[Name]: Beast Fang Rice [Attribute]: Quality Enhancement x1 (Maturity 92%)
[Name]: Beast Fang Rice [Attribute]: Accelerated Growth x5 (Maturity 93%)

“At this rate, the accelerated effect hasn’t worn off yet—they should be ready to harvest by tomorrow morning,” Qin Ming thought.

The next morning, upon entering his courtyard, he saw all three Beast Fang Rice plants fully mature, bearing plump, abundant grains.

This was his first time cultivating a first-tier lower-grade spirit plant, and he felt a thrill of excitement.

Carefully, he peeled back a husk to examine a grain. The mature Beast Fang Rice was about the size of a dog’s tooth, much larger than ordinary spirit rice. Its entire body was pure white, crystalline and translucent, shaped like a beast’s fang. A faint spiritual aura shimmered on its surface, while a vivid streak of crimson shone from within.

A subtle, unique fragrance wafted from the grain—surely the source of its ability to bolster vital energy and blood.

“Though the quality is good, the ones matured with ‘Accelerated Growth’ are still ordinary grade,” Qin Ming mused.

Among spirit rice of the graded tiers, quality was divided into ordinary, fine, and supreme.

Swallowing his anticipation, he gathered up the grains and gently plucked the three plants.

In an instant, three green attribute leaves quietly appeared in his sea of consciousness.

“Now the real work begins,” Qin Ming told himself, tamping down his excitement.

He then focused on the remaining hundreds of Beast Fang Rice plants.

This time, he used both an ‘Accelerated Growth’ attribute and a ‘Quality Enhancement’ attribute.

Time slipped by.

Two hours later, the Beast Fang Rice in the courtyard soared in a frenzy of growth.

Perhaps Qin Ming’s fortune had returned—luck was on his side again!

Among the hundreds of plants, two new attributes appeared:

[Name]: Beast Fang Rice [Attribute]: Faint Vital Energy (Maturity 50%)
[Name]: Beast Fang Rice [Attribute]: Faint Vital Energy (Maturity 52%)

Qin Ming was astonished. Every time a new attribute surfaced, it was precisely what he needed for his next step in cultivation—truly wondrous!

What he lacked most now was vital energy.

When an ‘Accelerated Growth’ attribute was divided among hundreds of plants, the effect slowed somewhat.

Seven days later, a small patch of Beast Fang Rice in the courtyard reached full maturity.

Qin Ming could no longer contain his joy.

“These are fine-quality Beast Fang Rice!”

[Name]: Beast Fang Rice [Attribute]: Faint Vital Energy (Maturity 100%, ready for harvest)
[Name]: Beast Fang Rice [Attribute]: Faint Vital Energy (Maturity 100%, ready for harvest)