Chapter 55: Rent-Free Renewal
"Senior Brother Gu Mo!"
"Senior Brother Gu Mo!"
...
On his way from the spiritual fields to the Spiritual Plant Hall, Gu Mo noticed that the once-empty fields were now filled with many chore disciples tending to their crops. Seeing him pass by, they all greeted him respectfully.
This alone was enough to show Gu Mo's status among the chore disciples. After all, who wouldn't respect a senior brother who frequently gave them guidance?
Hearing them call him "Senior Brother," Gu Mo couldn't help but reflect on how he had now become a veteran of the Spiritual Plant Hall. With ease, he made his way to the warehouse. Just then, a familiar voice called out.
"Junior Brother Gu Mo! Long time no see!"
Gu Mo turned to see Mai Yunfa walking in as well.
"Senior Brother Mai, are you here to register your harvest too?" Gu Mo greeted him with rare enthusiasm, as Mai Yunfa was one of the few people he was familiar with in the Spiritual Plant Hall.
"Hehe, that's right! This time, I successfully cultivated several acres of Yunmu Grass." Mai Yunfa grinned. As an outer disciple of the Spiritual Plant Hall, nothing was more satisfying than improving in cultivation—except perhaps growing a rare spiritual plant.
The Yunmu Grass he mentioned was a mid-grade Tier 1 spiritual plant. Though called "grass," it resembled wood and could be used as a fast-growing spiritual timber, useful for both alchemy and fire-starting.
"Congratulations on this year's bountiful harvest, Senior Brother Mai," Gu Mo said with a smile. The more valuable the spiritual plant, the greater the grower's rewards.
"Haha, it's nothing. Junior Brother Gu Mo, you're the truly impressive one! Achieving an 800-jin yield per acre for Spirit Jade Rice isn't something just anyone can do. I wonder if you'll pull off another miracle this time." Mai Yunfa still vividly remembered Gu Mo's record-breaking yield of 800 jin per acre of Spirit Jade Rice—something he himself couldn't accomplish.
From Mai Yunfa's words, it was clear he was unaware that Gu Mo had planted Water Spirit Rice this time. Only the official who distributed the seeds and Zhao Qiancheng knew about it. Since they weren't sure whether Gu Mo would succeed in growing it, they had kept the information confidential.
As they talked, the two arrived at the registration window. Gu Mo handed over his chore disciple token.
"Disciple Gu Mo, please state the type of spiritual plant you are registering."
The warehouse official asked as part of the routine procedure, preparing to write down "Spirit Jade Rice" out of habit. After all, he was the one who had reported Gu Mo's record-breaking yield to the higher-ups.
"Water Spirit Rice."
Gu Mo clearly stated the type of spiritual plant.
"What rice?"
The warehouse official looked up, somewhat startled. He thought he had misheard Gu Mo, but he was sure it wasn't "Spirit Jade Rice."
"Water Spirit Rice, Senior."
Gu Mo took out a handful of Water Spirit Rice grains to confirm his claim.
This official was in charge of the warehouse, not seed distribution, so he was unaware that Gu Mo had received Water Spirit Rice seeds.
"Hiss—"
As soon as Gu Mo produced the Water Spirit Rice grains, gasps sounded both in front and behind him—the warehouse official in front and Mai Yunfa behind.
Both of them were very familiar with Water Spirit Rice and knew how difficult it was to cultivate. Precisely because they understood the challenge, they were so shocked.
"Junior Brother Gu Mo, you—you..." Mai Yunfa was utterly incredulous. Water Spirit Rice was a high-grade Tier 1 spiritual plant that he himself was still unable to cultivate, yet Gu Mo—who had only been in the sect for just over two years—had already successfully grown it?
The gap between people really was immense.
"It seems your Little Cloud Rain Technique has reached proficiency."
Suddenly, another voice spoke up. Hearing this, Gu Mo turned to see Zhao Qiancheng and immediately bowed.
"Greetings, Steward Zhao!"
Having learned that Gu Mo was here to register his harvest, Zhao Qiancheng had come personally. He already knew what Gu Mo was about to report.
"Alright then, let's see your yield."
Zhao Qiancheng gestured for Gu Mo to present his harvest.
Gu Mo waved his sleeve, taking out all the Water Spirit Rice grains he had harvested. The warehouse official placed them into a specialized artifact, and moments later, shimmering translucent spiritual rice appeared.
"300 jin!"
A single glance was enough for the warehouse official to determine the total yield.
"Not bad! Not bad!"
Zhao Qiancheng's eyes gleamed with excitement. A 300-jin yield of Water Spirit Rice was no small feat. In fact, even if Spirit Jade Rice production continued to decline this year, with this Water Spirit Rice, his overall performance review would still be rated as excellent.
Compared to the abundant but sometimes surplus-producing Spirit Jade Rice, high-grade spiritual rice like Water Spirit Rice was what the sect truly valued.
This type of premium rice was always in high demand, and the sect placed great importance on increasing its yield. Producing even a few hundred more jin of Water Spirit Rice was far more significant than increasing Spirit Jade Rice yields by thousands or even tens of thousands of jin.
"Steward Zhao, may I keep 100 jin of the rice for myself?" Gu Mo quickly asked upon realizing that Zhao Qiancheng intended to claim the entire harvest.
"Of course!"
Zhao Qiancheng coughed lightly, suddenly remembering that—technically—this entire 300-jin yield belonged to Gu Mo. His spiritual field was still under a rent-free period.
However, that rent-free period was set to expire in six months. With this in mind, Zhao Qiancheng had an idea.
"Gu Mo, if you can contribute 200 jin of Water Spirit Rice annually, you will be allowed to continue using your spiritual field rent-free. Additionally, the 200 jin you contribute will still be counted for sect contribution points."
"Thank you for your generosity, Steward Zhao!"
Gu Mo's eyes lit up. Offering 200 jin of Water Spirit Rice in exchange for permanent rent exemption was a fantastic deal for him. Not only did he get to keep his field, but he would also earn contribution points as usual. This arrangement was already better than what many outer disciples in the Spiritual Plant Hall received.
Even outer disciples had to pay rent for their fields, and the rates weren't low. Of course, some disciples with special skills enjoyed better conditions.
"Our Spiritual Plant Hall does not hesitate to reward outstanding disciples. As long as you maintain a stable supply of Water Spirit Rice, I will apply for you to receive outer disciple status."
Zhao Qiancheng threw out yet another tempting offer.
Hearing this, Mai Yunfa couldn't help but feel a little envious. He had never seen Steward Zhao treat a disciple so warmly before.
"I will do my best!"
Gu Mo immediately bowed. He hadn't expected that his path to becoming an outer disciple would be secured so soon. Given his current abilities, maintaining a yield of 300 jin of Water Spirit Rice per acre was not a problem.
With an additional 2,000 sect contribution points now added to his disciple token, Gu Mo completed his registration.
One jin of Spirit Jade Rice was worth only 1 contribution point, but Water Spirit Rice was worth 10 points per jin. With 200 jin contributed, he had just earned 2,000 points in one go.
If he contributed his remaining 100 jin as well, he would have 3,000 points—enough to exchange for the Concealed Qi Technique, which he had long desired.
At this moment, Gu Mo truly felt the power of progress. Before, it would have taken him three years of farming to accumulate 3,000 points. Now, in just one season, a single harvest of Water Spirit Rice was enough.
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