"Metalbane Grass Sword!"
A sharp swordlight shot forth, striking a dirt-yellow snake with a piercing screech. The snake's flesh split open, leaving it half-dead.
"Nice hit!"
Lowering his hand, Li Ye looked up toward the voice and saw Zhang Liangfu standing on the ridge of the field, an envious look on his face.
Pointing at the half-severed snake, he chuckled,
"That Earthborn Snake if the gallbladder's intact, you could sell it for two to three spirit crystals. Brother, you just made a nice little profit!"
As he spoke, the burly man sighed regretfully,
"Even though I'm no slouch at pest control either, these things just never seem to burrow into my field…"
"Lately, I've been scrounging every last bit of spirit crystal just to help heal up and recover some energy. This Earthborn Snake came at just the right time."
Li Ye grumbled as he spoke, though his hands didn't slow. In a few quick steps, he reached the snake and efficiently stored it away. Smiling, he added,
"The spirit Plants are growing stronger by the day. It won't be long before all sorts of low-tier spirit pests start showing up. No shortage of opportunities for you, Senior Brother."
"True enough. In a while, we'll probably have to stand guard over our fields just to keep those little pests from ruining everything!"
Zhang Liangfu had more experience than Li Ye in this regard.
He nodded in agreement and, not dwelling on the snake, turned back to tend to his plot.
Even something as lowly as an Earthborn Snake barely worth two or three spirit crystals could cause envy.
That's how miserable life is for us low-tier farming disciples.
And what's even more miserable… is that I've completely blended in without even realizing it.
Li Ye lowered his gaze with a quiet sigh, a faint sadness in his heart.
By now, he'd been in this world for nearly a month. Compared to before, his complexion had improved, showing more color and less of the sickly pallor from before.
The price for that improvement?
Out of his original three lower-grade spirit stones, two had already been traded for spirit rice and eaten.
Other than that, all he had left were a few scattered spirit crystals not even enough to exchange for another lower-grade spirit stone!
Fortunately, the spirit rice had paid off.
With its steady nourishment, Li Ye's control over his spiritual energy had improved significantly. He was now not far from fully mastering his cultivation base.
His injuries had also begun to mend, and his body felt noticeably more comfortable.
At least the spirit stones weren't wasted.
Still, even if the money had gone to the right place, his already-thin savings were quickly running dry.
Which only made him focus more intently on tending to his spirit fields.
Still recovering from his injuries, Li Ye had no intention of taking on outside missions for extra contribution points.
For now, his only source of income was this plot of five plots of spirit farmland.
Once the harvest came, he could finally breathe easier.
Not only could he fully recover, he'd also have the capital to dip into other branches of cultivation arts and diversify his income.
This first pot of gold I've got to protect it with everything I've got.
Having carefully tended to one patch of seedlings, Li Ye moved on to the next.
There, he saw a particularly healthy seedling, vibrant with life and softly glowing with spiritual light.
At that moment, a familiar system prompt flashed before his eyes:
[You've used skilled techniques to nurture Tier-1 spirit Plant Emerald Bud Rice. Growth enhanced. EXP +0.1…]
[…]
[Emerald Bud Rice thrives. You've gained: Emerald Bud Essence (1%)…]
Emerald Bud Essence!
A flash of delight crossed Li Ye's eyes.
Just as I suspected…
The experience feedback from spirit plants wasn't a one-time thing
As Li Ye nurtured them to a better state, he would continue to receive feedback!
And that mysterious [Herbal Essence], most likely, would also appear again at those times!
Glancing at the panel where [Emerald Bud Essence] (1%) was displayed, Li Ye found no further information.
He didn't even know what this thing was actually for.
Still, he was quite excited.
"One percent, huh…"
Staring at the number on the panel, Li Ye murmured to himself,
"These past days, the seedlings have been growing stronger and healthier. There are quite a few like that one just now…"
"If I tend the entire spirit field today, I should be able to gather a complete unit of Emerald Bud Essence!"
Having just finished meditating to recover, Li Ye was in great shape physically and mentally.
Now, with this newfound motivation, curiosity burned brightly in his heart.
He immediately threw himself into caring for the next patch of spirit seedlings.
…
[Tier-1 Spirit Plant – Emerald Bud Rice is thriving. You've gained: Emerald Bud Essence (1%)…]
"Whew…"
After finishing up the final plot, Li Ye was so tired he nearly couldn't straighten his back.
He exhaled deeply, letting his spiritual energy circulate and activate his qi and blood, which helped ease the fatigue and allowed him to stand upright.
Then, with a quick hand seal, he cast a cleansing spell. The dried mud that had caked on his body vanished, leaving him feeling refreshed.
With that done, Li Ye, as usual, bid farewell to Zhang Liangfu and the others, then returned to his quarters.
He closed the stone door and activated the barely-passable protective ward.
Finally, he was alone.
Only now did a trace of excitement spread across his face. Without delay, he opened his panel.
[Emerald Bud Essence]: 1 (14%)
A whole day's worth of labor had successfully earned him his first full unit of Emerald Bud Essence!
And the moment his focus locked onto it, he naturally understood its purpose.
With a thought, he tapped the panel entry.
Whoosh
A wisp of vibrant green spiritual energy materialized in front of him, sparkling with light. Faint rune patterns shimmered within it.
A hazy image of a fully mature Emerald Bud Rice stalk slowly took shape in the mist.
At the same time, a gentle fragrance of rice began to fill the small, shabby room.
Li Ye studied it for a moment, then suddenly opened his mouth and inhaled. The Emerald Bud Essence immediately flowed into him.
Warm spiritual energy spread through his body as his spiritual power surged.
Li Ye's expression shifted slightly he was surprised.
The essence's nature was identical to the Emerald Bud Rice he had purchased before.
But in terms of purity, it was on an entirely different level!
With just a sweep of his spiritual energy, he absorbed and refined a portion of the essence almost effortlessly.
The process was nearly frictionless as if there were no impurities at all.
In less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Li Ye had completely refined the essence.
Drawing his spiritual power back in, he opened his eyes, filled with delight.
He examined his condition carefully.
The energy within one Emerald Bud Essence was roughly equivalent to a full meal of pure Emerald Bud Rice with no mundane grains mixed in.
While the boost wasn't overwhelming...
Its purity meant there was zero risk of tainting his spiritual energy.
Compared to consuming medicinal pills which always carried the risk of pill toxins this had no downside whatsoever!
Just refining that one unit had already made his spiritual aura a bit more refined noticeably so.
Some lingering stagnation in his energy flow had eased up as well.
The effect was nothing short of miraculous.
"But the purpose of Herbal Essence surely isn't limited to direct absorption…"
His thoughts wandered.
Drawing on his limited knowledge of alchemy, an idea came to him.
"Since Herbal Essence matches the nature of the spirit plants they come from, and are incredibly pure could they be used directly as alchemical ingredients?"
"Instead of extracting medicinal power from plants, wouldn't this be the same thing or even better?"
"Considering its purity, it might reduce or even eliminate the problem of pill toxins."
"And by that logic, in other cultivation arts anything involving spiritual ingredients these essences might work the same way…"
As he thought this far, more and more ideas bloomed in his mind.
His eyes drifted to the [Alchemy] tab on the panel, and a flicker of excitement lit up in his heart.