Chapter Nineteen: First-Rank Spiritual Botanist

Two months later.

Qin Ming stood beneath a large tree near the spiritual fields. He looked up, studying a dirt-yellow beehive on the tree, as large as a pot lid.

A constant hum filled the air as thousands upon thousands of bees swarmed densely around the hive, making one’s skin crawl at the sight. Each bee was about the size of a pinky finger, pure white all over, with two pairs of wings and a nearly transparent stinger at the tail—its venom concealed, insidious and hard to guard against. If not observed carefully, they would be difficult to detect.

These were the Four-winged Frost Bees, unique to the Cloud Wastelands. Although not considered a ranked spirit insect, their overwhelming numbers made them formidable. If swarmed, their venom could even paralyze a cultivator’s spiritual power for a short time.

But Qin Ming no longer feared such insects. He was merely observing, searching for the queen bee to prepare for the use of the “Bee Command Technique.” As long as he controlled the queen, he would be able to command the entire swarm.

“There you are!” Qin Ming’s eyes lit up.

He formed an intricate hand seal and directed it toward the lower right corner of the hive. The “Bee Command Technique” entry in his sea of consciousness was activated.

Inside the hive, a frost bee more than five times larger than the ordinary ones was sleeping. Suddenly, it felt a wave of dizziness within its mind, and a hint of confusion appeared in its eyes.

Sensing the successful connection, Qin Ming’s face lit up with joy. He could clearly feel a mysterious link had been established between himself and the frost bee queen.

Immediately, Qin Ming sent a command to the queen bee.

In response, the bees on the tree swarmed out of the hive and flew toward the three acres of Shadow Condensing Flowers he had planted.

“It really works!” Qin Ming was elated. He quickly issued a new command to the queen, instructing the swarm to pollinate the Shadow Condensing Flowers.

Soon, the frost bee swarm was busy among the three acres of spiritual flowers.

Qin Ming looked at the fields and nodded with satisfaction.

Master Su had originally only asked him to ensure a one-tenth survival rate. Now, the survival rate had soared to a staggering ninety percent. Once the seven-day pollination period ended, he was confident the quality of the spiritual herbs would be excellent.

He had every confidence in that.

---

Within the three acres of Shadow Condensing Flowers, about a hundred mature plants grew per acre, totaling around three hundred plants to be harvested.

At the price Master Su had set—five spirit stones per plant—that meant a haul worth over a thousand spirit stones.

Qin Ming considered it might be time to pursue the path of cultivating spiritual herbs and medicines.

...

Seven days later.

After a full week of pollination, the Shadow Condensing Flowers exuded a rich, pure fragrance, ready for harvest. Qin Ming sent a message talisman to Master Su.

Shortly, Master Su arrived, dressed in white robes and carrying a small bamboo basket at a measured pace. But when he saw the flourishing fields of Shadow Condensing Flowers, his expression became quite extraordinary.

“You grew… all of these?!” he exclaimed, pointing at the fields, his tone filled with disbelief as he looked at Qin Ming.

Qin Ming grinned sheepishly, “Just luck! Pure luck, really.”

Master Su shot him a glare. “Who are you trying to fool? Pure luck, and you managed to have successful pollination for seven days straight?”

With that, he carefully picked a flower and examined it closely.

“Hmm… not bad. The quality is excellent—suitable for medicine and alchemy.”

Then Master Su looked Qin Ming up and down, saying slowly, “I truly wouldn’t have guessed, Fellow Daoist Qin, that your talent for spiritual plants was so high. It’s a waste for you to just be a spirit farmer here.”

Qin Ming waved his hand and gave a wry smile. “You flatter me, Master Su. It was just good fortune.”

“But with such a harvest of Shadow Condensing Flowers, I owe you a considerable favor,” Master Su said at last. “I don’t like owing favors. How about this—when I refine pills in the future, you may observe at my side. I won’t teach you directly, but you can learn as much as you’re able. How does that sound?”

Qin Ming was overjoyed at these words.

He had worked hard for a whole year just for this moment. The taste of those two Spirit Gathering Pills Master Su made was unforgettable. He even dreamed of the day he could refine pills to enhance his own cultivation.

“In that case, I gratefully accept,” Qin Ming said, bowing in thanks.

Then the two began harvesting the Shadow Condensing Flowers.

“In total, we’ve harvested three hundred and twenty plants,” said Master Su. “As agreed, nine parts for me, one for you.”

He took out thirty-two plants from his basket and handed them to Qin Ming. “Remember to store them in a jade box, or the medicinal properties will fade.”

Qin Ming carefully accepted the flowers and put them away.

Afterward, Master Su took his leave, telling Qin Ming he would notify him via message talisman the next time he refined pills.

Qin Ming did not leave immediately.

---

Instead, he returned the swarm of Four-winged Frost Bees to their hive. After so many days of pollination, the bees showed no fatigue; if anything, they seemed even more energetic.

“These bees might come in handy for cultivating spiritual herbs in the future. I’ll leave them be for now and fetch them later with a spiritual beast pouch,” he thought.

...

Two days later.

All the spiritual rice in the fields had ripened.

Elder Gu from the Spiritfeather Sect arrived as usual with disciples to collect the spiritual rice tax. This season, Qin Ming’s Beast Fang Rice had fully matured, making it the focus of the collection.

Before long, four acres of Golden Spirit Rice and one acre of Beast Fang Rice were all harvested.

Du Haifu took out a large-scale weighing artifact, and after weighing everything, he said to Qin Ming, “The total yield of Golden Spirit Rice is twelve stones and eighty jin. The Beast Fang Rice yields four stones and ten jin.”

Having announced the results, Du Haifu approached with a smile. “Congratulations, Daoist Qin. You’ve successfully completed the cultivation of Beast Fang Rice. From now on, your spiritual rice tax will be halved.”

Qin Ming was puzzled. Du Haifu, usually the “local emperor” among the spirit farmers, was now even changing the way he addressed him—no longer calling him “Little Qin,” which caught him off guard.

“I’ll be counting on your guidance, Overseer Du,” Qin Ming replied.

“Daoist Qin, here’s your qualification token for the Spiritual Planter’s official assessment. You may choose when to go to the Spiritfeather Sect’s office in Qingyang Market to complete your examination,” Du Haifu said, handing over a wooden token.

“Hehe, allow me to congratulate you in advance on joining the ranks of Tier One Spiritual Planters.”

Qin Ming examined the token. His name was carved on the front, and the back bore the image of a spiritual plant. Probing it with his spiritual sense, he saw it recorded his successful cultivation of Tier One spiritual plant “Beast Fang Rice.” The theoretical exam was left to be completed.

After the Spiritfeather Sect collected their tax, they departed as usual, also taking away the lowest-ranking farmers.

After paying his taxes, Qin Ming was left with over six hundred jin of Golden Spirit Rice and two hundred and ten jin of Beast Fang Rice—a considerable income for him.

“Little Qin, you promised, remember?” Old Cai grinned, sidling up with undisguised envy. “You owe me a treat at Gathering Pavilion. Come on, let’s celebrate you becoming a Tier One Spiritual Planter.”

“Of course, I’ll treat you,” Qin Ming replied in high spirits, smiling and nodding.

He needed to visit Manager Liao anyway to sell the rice and inquire about moving to Qingyang Market. Besides, he had to visit Daoist Ruan to obtain the final four levels of the “Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture.”