Chapter 137: Harvest and Refinement

On the outskirts of Moon-Watching Island.

The onlookers watched in astonishment as Zhao Wuji fled in a disheveled panic. Moments before, they had only seen him enter the periphery of the mist, only to suddenly begin dancing and shrieking, his behavior akin to that of a madman. The noble image of the great Young Master Zhao had vanished, replaced by an display of pure ugliness.

They turned their gazes back toward the pink mist, deep apprehension and fear rising in their hearts.

"What—what exactly is this?"
"Could it be that Moon-Watching Island has been swallowed by this fog?"

Zhao Wuji, too, wore a look of lingering terror. "What a sinister illusion-mist; to think it could conjure such a perilous hallucination. If not for the life-protecting talisman gifted by the Ancestor, I would surely have perished there. This Qin fellow is truly not as simple as he appears."

Having tasted the power of the illusion-mist and knowing full well he could never force his way through, Zhao Wuji straightened his attire and, with a grim expression, led his group away.

On Moon-Watching Island, Qin Ming had long since observed the situation outside. He flew into mid-air, and with a wave of his hand, two blood-red orbs shot out from the illusion-mist, landing precisely in his grasp. He then swept his divine sense over the corpses of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators, pocketing their storage bags as well.

"Consider yourself lucky, Young Master Zhao," Qin Ming muttered to himself, watching the direction in which Zhao Wuji and his party had scrambled away.

He returned to the island and tossed the two blood orbs to his natal spirit plant, the Longevity Vine. The black vines danced, absorbing the orbs completely and sprouting several new branches. The Longevity Vine stretched its tendrils, joyfully radiating strands of the aura of time, which flowed continuously into Qin Ming’s body.

...

Following this incident, a strange rumor gradually spread across the Lingxi Archipelago: Moon-Watching Island had been shrouded in a pink fog, and its illusion-mist was so formidable that even a Golden Core Ancestor would have to give it a wide berth.

"Alas! What a pity for Master Qin! A man of such talent!"
"It was so difficult for our archipelago to produce a spirit-planting master capable of growing Lingxi Rice, and now he is gone."
"Perhaps not necessarily. What if the island is perfectly fine?"
"Such eerie mist is comparable to the mysterious grey fog of the Northern Great Marsh. If even a Golden Core Ancestor could not survive, what hope is there for Island Master Qin?"

More and more rumors emerged, branching into various versions. Much like the strange mist itself, they added an air of mystery to Moon-Watching Lake. Moon-Watching Island was officially marked as one of the dangerous forbidden zones of the Lingxi Archipelago; any cultivator who ventured in blindly would surely never return.

This news eventually reached the Mirror Snow Pavilion in Canghai Immortal City. Gu Qingzhao and Manager Liao were both shocked.

"What?!"
"Fellow Daoist Qin’s Moon-Watching Island has been submerged by the strange fog?"
"This... Pavilion Master, what are we to do?"

Manager Liao was also full of worry. The previous large-scale auction held by the Mirror Snow Pavilion had been an immense success, and its influence had caused their turnover to soar ever since. The superiors at headquarters had praised them highly, all thanks to the Foundation Establishment pills and rare spirit plants refined by Fellow Daoist Qin. If something were to happen to him, it would be a significant blow. Beyond that, there was a personal element of concern as well.

Just then, the voice of a shop attendant came from outside the door: "Reporting to the Pavilion Master and Manager, an itinerant cultivator surnamed Wu is outside requesting an audience, claiming he is here to sell spirit rice."

Hearing this, Gu Qingzhao’s tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and she hurriedly ordered, "Quickly, bring him in."

A moment later, Wu Jiang walked into the private room with a smile and greeted the two with a bow.

"Fellow Daoist Wu, what exactly is going on at Moon-Watching Island?" Manager Liao asked impatiently. Gu Qingzhao also looked toward him, feeling equally perplexed. However, seeing Wu Jiang—who lived on the island—appear safe and sound, she guessed that nothing catastrophic had occurred.

"Hehe! You two need not worry; Moon-Watching Island is perfectly safe," Wu Jiang explained. "War has broken out across the archipelago. To protect the island from the ravages of war and the encroachment of various factions, Fellow Daoist Qin had no choice but to set up this illusion-mist as a defensive measure. Everything on the island remains as it always was. He specifically asked me to inform you both, and incidentally, to sell some spirit rice and procure some supplies."

After Wu Jiang finished his explanation, Gu Qingzhao and Manager Liao were even more stunned. "This mist that can block a Golden Core Ancestor... was created by Fellow Daoist Qin?"

Wu Jiang gave a noncommittal nod. In truth, when Qin Ming was setting up the mist, he himself had spent over a month in a state of constant anxiety. He then recounted the full details to the two from the Mirror Snow Pavilion.

"Come, come! We have been hoping for Fellow Daoist Wu to bring us spirit rice. Look at us, so caught up in asking about the island that we haven't even served you tea. How rude of us." After hearing the story, the anxiety that had plagued Gu Qingzhao and the manager vanished, and they felt a sudden sense of relief. Manager Liao put on his professional smile once more, inviting Wu Jiang to sit and brewing some spirit tea.

...

Upon returning to Moon-Watching Island, Wu Jiang told Qin Ming all about the rumors circulating outside.

"Hehe, that works out well. It brings some peace and quiet; let them think what they want," Qin Ming said with a smile. From that day on, Moon-Watching Island truly became a place isolated from the world.

From then on, Qin Ming began a monotonous daily routine of cultivation. When not cultivating, he dedicated his time to studying the inheritance of a Third-Tier Spirit Planter and the Miao family’s *Thousand-Mechanism Puppet Art*. Since he had recently promoted to a high-grade Second-Tier Spirit Planter, he needed to find a way to advance to the third tier.

Practicing the puppet arts required an incredibly high level of divine sense, and this high-level technique from the Miao family was immensely ingenious. It even involved a "Divided Spirit and Manifested Thought" method for controlling puppets, which, for Qin Ming, was like adding wings to a tiger. With his current divine sense, which was already comparable to that of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was in dire need of such a technique to utilize his mental power.

After merely half a month of study, he used spirit plants to refine several grass-man puppets, each possessing the strength of a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator. These grass-men were currently in the spirit fields outside, helping him till the soil.

Time passed slowly. Three months later, Qin Ming’s three acres of top-grade Lingxi Rice were fully mature. He took his spirit sickle to the spirit paddy fields, smiling like a farmer as he gazed at the crops he had worked so hard to cultivate. The joy of the harvest flooded his heart.

This time, the eighty rice-flower spirit fish in the paddies were even plumper than the last batch. Each was stout, sporting three tiger-stripes on their backs. The smallest weighed seven or eight pounds, while the larger ones reached nearly twenty.

Qin Ming peeled a grain of top-grade Lingxi Rice; a dazzling luster immediately caught his eye, revealing a grain as transparent as glazed glass. An astonishing fluctuation of spiritual energy radiated from the grain. Feeling the rich energy within, Qin Ming revealed a smile. He rolled up his sleeves and began to harvest the rice, while the spirit fish in the paddy leapt and splashed about.

After a busy afternoon, Qin Ming harvested three *shi* of top-grade Lingxi Rice—enough to sustain him for a long time. In addition, he harvested two blue-tier attribute leaves:
[Mana Crystal] x5
[Space-Time Leaf] x5

That night, Qin Ming caught a ten-pound rice-flower spirit fish and cooked a pot of top-grade Lingxi rice. The cave dwelling was filled with the swirling, intoxicating aroma of spiritual food. If these items were to appear in the outside world, they would undoubtedly cause a massive sensation.

Looking at the rice and fish, Qin Ming’s appetite was piqued, and he began to feast. Massive waves of spiritual energy poured into his body. After the meal, he immediately went to his natal Longevity Vine and began practicing the *Ancient Wood Longevity Technique*.

Feeling the time was right, Qin Ming consumed all five [Mana Crystals].

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

The cyan liquid mana within his body gathered and surged, flowing like a trickling stream through his meridians and into his Dantian. In an instant, his cultivation, which had been at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, began to climb steadily. It did not stop until it reached the peak of the early stage. His current reserves of liquid mana now exceeded those of an ordinary mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator—more than double that of his peers.

Qin Ming ceased his practice and slowly opened his eyes, a flicker of green light vanishing within them. The Longevity Vine continued to infuse him with the aura of time and the essence of vegetation. The silver rune within his body also began to outline itself slightly, signifying that his progress in the "Ancient Wood Evergreen Body" had begun in earnest.

Qin Ming felt the incredibly thick cyan liquid mana within him and smiled with satisfaction. "If things continue at this rate, and I keep hiding on this island to farm for a few more years, the late stage of Foundation Establishment will not be far off."