"Not bad! All four of your techniques and insights are excellent truly among the best of Qi Refining disciples!"
"Based on that alone, any one of you would be more than qualified to tend my spirit fields!"
While the four below were still lost in their thoughts, Elder Ji suddenly let out a loud laugh after reviewing the jade slips, his voice booming like thunder.
The sound startled Gu Daojin and the other two, who quickly straightened up and composed themselves.
So it's true!
Li Ye does have some skills…
But if all four were qualified, did that mean there was still competition?
That thought flashed through their minds, and instinctively, they looked to Elder Ji expectantly.
But instead of addressing them, Elder Ji turned to the four steward disciples.
"You four did well to find such capable candidates."
His tone was noticeably gentler now. With a casual wave, four small jade bottles flew into their hands.
"These pills are your reward for your efforts."
"Many thanks for Elder Ji's generosity!"
The four stewards immediately dropped to their knees in gratitude, voices full of excitement and respect.
Elder Ji nodded slightly.
"Mm… Your part is done. You may leave now."
Old Luo and the others promptly rose and took their leave with utmost deference.
Only once they were gone did Elder Ji leisurely turn back to Li Ye and the others.
"As for the four of you… Since your understanding and skills are all commendable, I'll judge your true abilities by watching you in action in the spirit fields."
"I've cultivated over five mu of land behind this mountain. Only the one mu closest to my cave residence, enriched by a spirit vein, qualifies as Tier-2 land. The rest are top-tier Tier-1 fields… but even they hold more spiritual energy than the Sect's Spirit Herb Garden."
"In the days to come, each of you will be responsible for cultivating one mu of land with Blood Grain Rice, while also assisting me in nurturing Sunfire Flower."
"Before my next journey, whoever performs the best will earn the right to stay."
With that, he stood up decisively and headed for a side door.
Li Ye, his eyes sparkling with excitement, quickly followed. The other three, seeing this, immediately trailed behind.
Although the final candidate hadn't been chosen outright, Li Ye didn't feel he'd lost out at all.
The others, whether selected in the end or not, would only benefit from the highly concentrated spiritual energy in the area for their cultivation.
But Li Ye? He was different.
Even with just one mu of land under his care, as long as he could till it, he could steadily earn experience points and Botanical Essence, constantly improving himself.
So long as he was willing to invest the effort, his progress in spirit farming would outpace their imagination.
How could they possibly compete with me?
On top of that… he even had the chance to get hands-on experience with the Tier-2 plant, Sunfire Flower!
"Blood Grain Rice is already pretty generous… I wonder how much EXP the Sunfire Flower will yield, and what effect the Botanical Essence will have…"
As he pondered this inwardly, Li Ye followed Elder Ji past a series of pavilions and covered walkways, eventually reaching the back of the palace.
There, a crystal-clear pond glimmered like a gemstone, and beside it stretched a patch of spirit fields with soil tinged a reddish hue.
Farther downhill, four more spirit fields were laid out in terraced rows.
While the main hall had seemed rather ordinary, standing here was a different story altogether.
A wave of dense spiritual energy hit them head-on so intense that Li Ye's spiritual power nearly went off-track.
Fortunately, his cultivation was already refined and stable enough that he quickly adjusted. But if he stayed too long, the overwhelming energy might still prove harmful.
Meanwhile, Gu, Yao, and Xiong weren't so lucky. The moment the spiritual energy hit them, their faces flushed red and they began coughing uncontrollably.
"Your cultivation is too low. The spiritual energy here will do more harm than good if you remain too long,"
Elder Ji said flatly, casting three streaks of power their way to stabilize their condition.
Seeing how Li Ye remained completely unaffected, he looked at him with a hint of surprise and praise.
"Didn't expect you to be so diligent in your cultivation your spiritual power is impressively refined. For someone at Qi Refining Stage 4 to withstand this level of energy… You can handle more work in the Tier-2 field from now on."
Upon hearing this, Gu, Yao, and Xiong immediately panicked.
"Elder Ji, I'll be able to adapt in no time!"
This is outrageous!
They hadn't even officially started working in the spirit fields, yet Li Ye was already earning multiple compliments from the elder and now he was even taking their share of the work?
If this continues, they might as well give up the competition!
"Heh… Whether you can handle it is your own business,"
"But if you force it and your unstable spiritual power ends up ruining my Sunfire Flower, don't expect me to show mercy!"
Elder Ji didn't spare them a glance, instead leading the four toward the fields.
"This one-mu field has been specially infused with Crimson Sun Soil to enhance its fire-aligned yang energy and balance the fertility of the land… When tending to the Sunfire Flower, be careful not to damage this spirit soil."
"As for the four-tiered fields below, each of you take one and start planting Blood Grain Rice. Once you've used up the beast blood for irrigation, come find me for more."
"And once you've finished sowing, you can begin assisting me with the Sunfire Flower cultivation."
With a wave of his hand, four sets of rice seeds, sealed jars, and wooden tokens appeared on the ground.
The seeds were deep blood-red, each the size of a soybean. When piled together, they emitted a strange yet pleasant bloody fragrance.
Just smelling it caused the blood in one's body to stir faintly, subtly accelerating its flow.
Li Ye's eyes lit up with joy.
To perfect his foundation and ensure he passed all three stages of Foundation Establishment without flaw, he had long been researching ways to enhance his vitality and spirit.
Among all low-grade spirit grains, Blood Grain Rice was the only one that mimicked the effects of beast meat it nourished the blood and boosted essence, but in a gentler, more sustainable way.
If he could harvest the Blood Grain Essence during the farming process and refine it, it would be a massive boon to his vitality!
And now, with the contribution points he'd just earned, he could barely afford an entry-level body-refining technique from the Sect's archive.
Combining the two would not only help him lay a solid physical foundation but also raise his combat strength by a decent margin.
Demonic beast meat, spirit herbs, rare elixirs, even earth-essence energy… those are all far too expensive for someone like me.
But this free, bootleg version of a body-refining package?
Isn't that just perfect?!
Swallowing his excitement, Li Ye didn't waste a second. Ignoring everyone else, he stepped forward and quickly gathered his assigned materials before heading straight toward the lower fields.
Seeing how eager he was, the other three didn't dare fall behind. Each picked out a field they favored and got to work.
Li Ye had taken the far-left plot, so Xiong Yinxiu claimed the far-right, leaving Gu Daojin and Yao Shaohui to take the two middle fields.
At this point, no one spoke further they simply got busy.
Blood Grain Rice was a type of aquatic rice. To grow it properly, one had to carefully balance the water and soil with fresh beast blood.
Not only was the stench of blood overwhelming, but the task itself was far messier than working with Emerald Bud Rice, which was a dry crop.
Yet none of the four seemed to mind in the slightest.
This was a rare chance that could determine their future cultivation path. Even Li Ye was giving it his all.
Despite never having worked with this specific spirit grain before, he moved with the ease and precision of a seasoned farmer.
Mixing the blood-soaked soil, pre-sprouting the seeds, sowing them at the perfect depth he did everything as if it came naturally, with flawless timing and technique.
The others had already been suspicious of Li Ye's skill in spirit farming, so they kept a close eye on him as he worked.
What they saw left them quietly stunned, their expressions shifting.
This level of craftsmanship… even a Tier-2 Spirit Planter might not do better!
To think they had underestimated him this much earlier…
Now it seemed that even without any favoritism, they might not stand a chance against Li Ye.