Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Host, please keep going

Translator: 549690339

Lin Jing had just walked out.

The door to the courtyard opposite his also happened to open.

Two very similar-looking young men stepped out, and the two parties faced each other.

To avoid awkwardness, Lin Jing nodded in greeting, intending to leave afterward.

However, just then, a voice came from behind him.

“This fellow Daoist, please wait a moment.”

Lin Jing stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the two men.

The one on the left, smiling, said:

“You must be new here, right?”

“I am Zhang Sen,” he said, pointing to the person next to him, “This is my twin brother, Zhang Lin,”

“May I know your esteemed name?”

“Lin Jing.”

Lin Jing spoke, then asked Zhang Sen with a puzzled look:

“May I ask what it is you need, Fellow Daoist Zhang?”

Lin Jing, being new, was not familiar with those around him and had no plans to interact with others for now, so he came across as rather cold.

Zhang Sen, however, did not mind and said, “So it’s Fellow Daoist Lin. Since you’re new to this place, you must be unfamiliar with everything here.”

“We’ll all be neighbors on this street in the future, so we should look out for each other.”

“If there’s any difficulty where you could use the help of us brothers, feel free to speak up.”

Lin Jing was somewhat surprised; they were just meeting for the first time, and their enthusiasm was unexpected.

“Thank you for your kind offer, Fellow Daoist Zhang, but it’s getting late now, and I still need to purchase some furniture, so I’ll not chat with the two of you,”

“Let’s talk another time when there’s a chance.”

However, Lin Jing didn’t want to get too involved with them for the time being, so he made an excuse to leave.

“You’re too polite, Fellow Daoist Lin,” Zhang Sen said.

“My brother and I have matters to attend to as well, so we won’t delay you. Let’s talk another day.”

After saying this, the two of them left directly.

Watching them go, Lin Jing also turned to leave.

……

After browsing the Fang Market, it was dark by the time he returned.

Back at the courtyard, Lin Jing had gained a preliminary understanding of several merchant houses in the market that bought Spirit Rice.

He had planted ten mu of Spirit Rice in the System Space, and each mu could yield one thousand catties, adding up to a total of ten thousand catties.

Ten thousand catties was not a small amount; he obviously could not sell it all to just one merchant as that would raise suspicions, and he needed to change up the stores he dealt with.

Yet, as a mere Qi Condensation Stage Level 2 cultivator, even if he sold the rice separately, it was still likely to attract attention.

“If only I had a magic artifact to change my appearance and aura, that would be perfect,” Lin Jing thought.

“The maturity period for Spirit Rice is one year, but with the boost from the System Space, it only takes half a year. With twenty mu of Spirit Field in the System Space, if fully planted with Spirit Rice, it would yield forty thousand catties a year.”

“That’s equivalent to the annual yield of a small family.”

“No, that won’t do,” Lin Jing shook his head.

“Forty thousand catties of unexplained Spirit Rice flooding the market would definitely attract the attention of interested parties.”

“I cannot plant solely Spirit Rice; in the following days, I must also find out if there are other crops that I can grow.”

“Moreover, I must arrange for a magic artifact that can change my appearance and aura as soon as possible.”

Naturally, he couldn’t neglect his cultivation either.

Since Lin Jing had used up his time in the System Space the previous night, he could only cultivate in the courtyard for now.

But it wasn’t long before Lin Jing frowned and ceased his cultivation.

“The spiritual energy of this place is so scarce, even poorer than when I was at Qingyuan Peak.”

Lin Jing’s frown was because the spiritual energy was too thin here, and with his Spiritual Root talent, cultivating in this place was utterly ineffective.

“I don’t know how the others cultivate. Do they have to use Spirit Stones?”

He quickly dismissed the idea.

First of all, his talent for cultivation was too poor. Even if he cultivated with Spirit Stones, the effect wouldn’t be significant unless he managed to obtain a Spirit Gathering Array. With the enhancement of a Spirit Gathering Array, it would be somewhat better.

Moreover, he may seem to have plenty of Spirit Stones now, over five hundred, but he still needs to learn Alchemy, not to mention purchasing alchemy recipes, Alchemy Ingredients…

And also, he needs to buy a Magic Artifact that can change his appearance and aura.

Once he factored all that in, those Spirit Stones were far from enough. Not to speak of other expenses, just a Magic Artifact that can alter his appearance and aura would probably cost a significant amount of Spirit Stones.

After all, what he needs to buy is not an ordinary Magic Artifact. At the very least, it has to be capable of withstanding the Divine Sense of a late-stage Foundation Establishment expert, to facilitate dealing with others in the future.

In this world, weakness is the original sin. He certainly doesn’t want to be devoured during a trade, not even leaving behind a trace of his bones.

Therefore, concealing his identity is of the utmost importance right now.

……

Unable to cultivate, Lin Jing started to read the alchemy manual.

He read until late at night when the System’s prompt arrived.

“System Space time refreshed, remaining time: 4 hours.”

Lin Jing entered the house and took out the scythe that he had bought along with the furniture.

“Enter the System Space,” Lin Jing silently recited in his mind.

The Spirit Rice was ripe, he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Subsequently, Lin Jing began to get busy.

Until one hour later, soaked in sweat, Lin Jing collapsed at the edge of the field.

“System notification: Harvesting one mu of Medium Grade Spirit Rice, reward: 1 Harvest Point.”

Seeing the floating system notification, Lin Jing couldn’t help but ridicule.

“The System is really stingy!!!”

“System notification: Since the host is harvesting a Spirit Plant for the first time, you are rewarded: 10 Harvest Points.”

“Is this another achievement reward?”

Only one Harvest Point for a mu of Spirit Rice—if he wanted to upgrade to the next level, wouldn’t it take an absurdly long time?

“System, come out and explain this.”

“Host, the Harvest Points earned from planting Spirit Plants are determined by the grade of the planted Spirit Plants. The higher the grade of the Spirit Plant, the more Spiritual Power it contains, and the more Harvest Points you will get.”

“To obtain more Harvest Points, you need to find and plant higher-level Spirit Plants.”

“Host, please try your best.”

After listening to the system’s explanation, Lin Jing felt somewhat embarrassed.

“Heh… hehe…”

It seems he can’t blame the system; after all, what he planted was Spirit Rice.

It’s his own low Cultivation that prevents him from accessing higher-level Spirit Plants.

……

Although the Harvest Points given are few, the yield is quite good.

In this mu of land, Lin Jing estimated that the yield should be over a thousand catties, and this is Medium Grade Spirit Rice, much more valuable than Low Grade Spirit Rice.

Based on the price he inquired about today, fifty catties of Medium Grade Spirit Rice could be exchanged for one Lower Grade Spirit Stone—reaping one thousand catties would net him twenty Lower Grade Spirit Stones.

“Indeed, being a landlord oneself is more comfortable.”

With his previous experiences at the Qingyuan Sword Sect for comparison, Lin Jing smiled contentedly.

After reaping the rice, he now had to spread the Spirit Rice out to dry and husk it before it could become genuine Spirit Rice.

Recalling the several mu of Spirit Fields yet to be harvested, Lin Jing did not linger any longer. After spreading out the Spirit Rice to dry, he left the System Space.

That night, Lin Jing did not cultivate but instead slept soundly.

In the days that followed, Lin Jing left early and returned late every day, wandering around the market.

He gained a fairly good understanding of the entire market.

Nanshan Market was established and managed by several Sects nearby to facilitate trading among various powers.

The largest of these forces, of course, is the Qingyuan Sword Sect.

Due to their considerable renown in the Nanming Domain and their proximity to the Night Mist Mountain Range with its abundant resources, many Loose Cultivators came seeking their fortune.

Some smaller clans even moved their entire families here to seek development, and over time, Nanshan Market grew to its current size.

Of course, Lin Jing didn’t need to concern himself with these details; what he was more interested in were the various trade firms in the market.

Because he would inevitably deal with these firms in the future.

So.

It was essential to get to know them in advance.