Early Spring.
The faces of the spirit farmers in the shantytown were filled with joy, some had even put on rare new clothes, as if heading to a grand celebration.
Fang Xi strolled through the bamboo grove, casually flicking his right hand.
The Green Millet Sword flew out, slicing down a section of bamboo.
He tapped on the bamboo tube, listening to the deep, solid echo inside, and nodded with satisfaction."The spirit rice is ripe."
Without hesitation, Fang Xi kindled a flame right on the ground and began roasting the bamboo tube.
As time passed, a rich aroma, blending the fragrance of rice and bamboo, slowly spread through the air.
This was another way of eating spirit bamboo rice, cooked as bamboo rice.
Over the past few weeks, he had remained in the bamboo forest, keeping a close watch over the hard-won spirit rice and guarding against petty thieves and pests alike.
He hadn't even made trips to Daliang during this period.
Today, at last, the harvest was ready!
Pop!
After a while, the bamboo tube exploded open, revealing a mass of spirit rice inside.
The freshly ripened grains were plump and uniform, melting almost instantly upon touching the tongue, and the fragrance was pure and invigorating.
Pairing it with the preserved meat he had brought along, it made for an excellent meal.
After eating his fill, Fang Xi felt spiritual power surging through his body. Not daring to waste it, he immediately ran through a cycle of the Everlasting Spring Art.
Afterward, he also assumed a stance, practicing his hand techniques to temper his body.
"Tsk tsk... Little Fang, are you training your physique?"
Time blurred as Fang Xi, immersed in his martial practice, heard a teasing voice. Looking up, he saw a flying artifact, a vessel shaped like an iron-leaf boat, slowly descending from the sky. A man alighted from it.
The newcomer was a plump man in his thirties, wearing a sky-blue merchant's robe. He had a broad, smiling face, exuding a wealthy and amiable demeanor.
Fang Xi immediately halted his practice, rising to greet him with a respectful smile."Greetings, Steward Situ."
Catching the man's gaze, Fang Xi quickly added with a laugh,"Just passing the time with some mundane martial arts, nothing serious, nothing serious..."
This portly man in blue was named Situ Ying, a member of the Situ family and steward over part of the spirit fields.
To many spirit farmers in the mountains, he held the power of life and death, a petty emperor of sorts.
"Mmm, this bamboo grove has grown well. You've clearly put in the effort," Situ Ying said, inspecting the bamboo and nodding in approval.
"Not at all! It's all thanks to Green Bamboo Mountain's fertile land and rich spiritual energy that the spirit rice thrives," Fang Xi flattered him while producing a small brocade pouch and offering it over.
Inside were the last few spirit crystals Fang Xi could scrape together.
Situ Ying accepted the pouch without even checking its contents, his smile growing even warmer."Good lad, you know the proper way... Very well, begin the harvest!"
The scene made Fang Xi reflect on accounts he had read in his past life, how ancient landlords and tenant farmers would act during harvests.
Since both of them were cultivators, harvesting was swift.
Crash!
Whole sections of bamboo grove fell, transforming into piles of spirit rice.
At the end, Situ Ying pulled out a large measuring artifact from his storage pouch and began weighing the rice.
"A storage artifact, huh?"
Fang Xi's eyes lingered enviously on the inconspicuous gray pouch hanging from Situ Ying's waist.
He himself had no such treasure...
"This year's yield is good, 200 kg and 40 catties (1 catty is equivalent to 500-600 grams) of spirit rice. The family takes half, that's a hundred and twenty catties!" Situ Ying rattled his abacus expertly."If you sell me your private share, I can offer you four spirit stones..."
Fang Xi calculated quickly and forced a smile."I'll keep half for myself."
According to his lease, he was entitled to half of the harvest, one hundred and twenty catties.
But if he wished to sell, it could only be to the Situ family, who also ran a rice shop in the marketplace. Thus, they could ruthlessly suppress prices.
Most spirit farmers, needing rice for cultivation, could ill afford to sell much.
Situ Ying's suggestion to sell his share was a clear sign of greed.
"Half, then... I'll leave you sixty catties."
Situ Ying swept the remaining rice into his storage pouch, tossed Fang Xi a small bag of spirit crystals, and left aboard the iron-leaf boat.
Fang Xi opened the bag, finding only eighteen spirit crystals inside, and couldn't help cursing under his breath,"Bloodsucking leech... Someday, he better not fall into my hands..."
After the spirit bamboo rice harvest, it would be summer before sowing could resume.
Planting here was strange, there was no need for seeds, only the stimulation of bamboo roots to sprout new shoots.
Thus, the period between the spring harvest and summer planting was a rare season of leisure.
Fang Xi strolled back to his hut, considering whether to renovate it a bit.
As he opened his door, he noticed someone new in the adjacent hut that had belonged to Old Mai. He paused, surprised.
"You must be Daoist Fang? I'm the new spirit farmer, Chen Ping," the newcomer said with a polite smile. He looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties, with a plain, unremarkable appearance and a Qi Refinement early-stage cultivation.
He handed Fang Xi a low-grade Dust-Cleansing Talisman with a fawning smile."A little gift, no more than a token."
"Many thanks. Let's be good neighbors," Fang Xi responded with a smile, then returned to his own room, stroking his chin thoughtfully."In the past, spirit farmers would gift pastries or a bit of spirit rice at most... This newcomer seems rather well-off... Could he be a talisman maker?"
Still, he couldn't help feeling a bit of melancholy.
Old Maitou had been a spirit farmer for decades, yet after his death, he was quickly forgotten. His house and fields were reassigned almost overnight.
Such was the harsh reality of the cultivation world.
Low-level cultivators were like ants, cut down at will, only to be replaced without a second thought.
"Yesterday it was Old Mai, tomorrow it could very well be me," Fang Xi thought with a wry smile.
Given his own temperament, few would likely remember him either.
"Well... best make good use of this period of leisure to cultivate."
The Everlasting Spring Art was progressing slowly, though he practiced it daily.
On the other hand, his martial skill, the White Cloud Palm, was improving by leaps and bounds.
Daliang.White Cloud Martial Hall.
"Senior Brother Fang!"
"Good day, Senior Brother!"
Dressed in crisp white training clothes, Fang Xi entered the martial hall. The outer court disciples greeted him with smiles filled with admiration.
At first, they had respected him for his wealth as a "Young Master Fang," but now their awe was genuine.
The reason was simple, Fang Xi's martial advancement was astonishing!
Not only had he quickly mastered the fundamentals at home, but he had also completed the FirstBlood Qi Transformation and recently announced his breakthrough into the second!
Many disciples secretly burned with jealousy.
But what use is envy? Fang Xi thought with a faint smile, making his way to the hall's inner court.
"Senior Sister!"
He greeted Mu Piaomiao, the hall's top female disciple, before heading to a crude earthen stove.
The stove, made of green bricks, supported a large iron cauldron.
When Fang Xi arrived, servants immediately kindled the fire and began pouring in sack after sack of medicinal herbs.
Among the ingredients writhed centipedes, spiders, and other venomous creatures, enough to make one's scalp tingle.
"After reaching the Second Transformation with the White Cloud Palm, the next step is to temper my palms with poison," Fang Xi muttered.
He gazed at his hands.
After two rounds of blood refinement, his palms had become as tough and resilient as leather, ideal for this next stage.
After all, poison cultivation inevitably damaged the body. Even with antidotes, cumulative injuries were unavoidable.
Fwoosh!
The fire roared, causing the potion to bubble and thicken into a foul, blackish-green brew.
Without hesitation, Fang Xi plunged his hands into the boiling toxin.
Splash!
The venom swirled around his hands as he silently operated his blood-transformation technique, absorbing traces of poison.
As expected, Fang Xi thought grimly, only after reaching the second transformation can the body and blood withstand even a trace of toxin. Attempting this too early would have destroyed my hands!
After half an hour, he withdrew his hands, now flushed red.
Examining his palms, he noticed that whenever he circulated his blood, a faint gray mist would form.
"This... this is the Poison Palm, the Dark Cloud stage of the White Cloud Palm! No, it's only the beginning..."
The White Cloud Palm had three stages, White Cloud, Dark Cloud, and Black Cloud.
The White Cloud stage covered the first and second transformations, where the palms appeared flawless.
The Dark Cloud stage came with the third transformation, when the practitioner circulated qi, their palms turned black and venomous.
Fang Xi was now straddling the boundary between the two.
As for the final Black Cloud stage, that required the cultivation of true force, mastery!
It was said that Mu Canglong, the Martial Hall's grandmaster, had palms black as ink when he exerted himself, even the wind from his strikes carried lethal poison.
"My abundant wealth allows me to buy the rarest toxins to temper my palms, speeding up my progress immensely..."
Fang Xi mused quietly.
Moreover, he could use his spiritual sense to inspect and repair the damage within his body, expelling toxins, another tremendous advantage.
With so many factors stacked in his favor, it was no surprise that his White Cloud Palm progressed at breakneck speed, even surpassing Wu Ji, once considered a top talent.
Though Wu Ji still maintained a friendly facade, there was something calculating behind his smiles these days.
Within the entire Martial Hall, in terms of pure martial prowess, only Mu Piaomiao and Mu Canglong remain above me, Fang Xi thought coolly.
Wu Ji is finished. Liu Taotao lacks resolve. Perhaps it's honest and steady Tang Xuan who might someday catch up... I should consider befriending him.
Just as these thoughts crossed his mind, the handsome Wu Ji appeared in the courtyard, wearing his usual warm smile.
"Junior Brother Fang..."
"Senior Brother Wu, what brings you here?" Fang Xi raised an eyebrow.
"Ah, well... I've been focusing heavily on my training lately and find myself somewhat strapped for funds... Would you, perhaps..."
As Wu Ji trailed off, it became clear he was here to borrow money.
The little boat of friendship has just capsized, Fang Xi thought to himself with an inward sigh.