[You have barely managed to plant and keep alive a Tier-1 spiritual plant: Emerald Bud Rice. EXP +0.1…]
[You have barely managed to plant and keep alive a Tier-1 spiritual plant…]
[You have barely managed…]
Over thirty identical messages popped up in succession, followed by a glowing panel forming before Li Ye's eyes.
[Name: Li Ye]
[Spiritual Root: Low-Grade Earth-Wood Spiritual Root]
[Remaining Lifespan: 71 years (Vitality Overdraft -5 years)]
[Skills: Planting Tier-1 (Beginner) 69/1000, Alchemy (Untrained) 2/2000]
[Herbal Essence: None]
[Experience: 3.4]
"Huh?!"
Li Ye's expression shifted slightly, his heart pounding faster in his chest.
He instinctively looked around.
Nearby spirit farmer disciples were focused on their work and seemed unaware of anything unusual. Even those who noticed Li Ye glancing around only nodded politely, showing no signs of suspicion.
Not a single gaze lingered on the translucent panel floating before him.
However, when a few glanced at the field under Li Ye's care, their expressions became strange, as if they wanted to say something but held back.
With a technique like that...
Once the spirit rice matures, this guy might not even meet the minimum harvest requirement. He'll probably lose contribution points too.
So only I can see this panel…
Li Ye ignored their looks.
He was secretly glad that their attention stopped at the mess he'd made in the field.
He bent down as if tending to the seedlings, but his full focus was now on the glowing panel.
The few lines of text were simple, but the information they conveyed made his heart race.
"I've got a golden finger too!"
He was practically ecstatic.
Being saddled with the mess his predecessor left behind, even his relatively steady mindset had begun to waver when thinking about the future.
But now, everything has changed!
Without hesitation, he used his remaining three experience points to level up the [Spirit Planting] skill.
He needed to see what this panel could do.
As the number rose from 69 to 72, a subtle stream of insight flowed into Li Ye's mind. He suddenly grasped the techniques of planting far more clearly.
The improvement in actual skill was minimal, but it was enough to bring the blurry memories of spiritual plant care into sharp focus. All his rustiness vanished.
This kind of immediate feedback confirmed the panel's usefulness beyond a doubt!
"It instantly helped me integrate everything the former host had learned. Could this function be a form of stabilizing or consolidating my foundation?"
Li Ye's thoughts surged.
"But this experience… can only be gained by tending spiritual plants?"
"And what exactly is 'Herbal Essence'?"
Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, new questions quickly surfaced in his mind.
But speculation would only get him so far experimentation was the key.
Standing up again, he glanced at the two plots of land he'd already planted. The more he looked at them, the less satisfied he felt.
Sloppy work…
Even though his "Spring Rain Technique" was limited in range due to his cultivation level, the high-quality spiritual field should've helped significantly.
Yet only twenty to thirty seedlings had shown signs of life and triggered the panel feedback. That said a lot.
Not to mention the panel's phrasing of "crude technique," "and barely surviving" which got under his skin.
"If better cultivation techniques result in higher evaluations, will I earn more experience?"
"Could it even trigger that elusive 'Herbal Essence'?"
Do it over! I have to redo it!
…
Green droplets of spiritual rain fell again and again. Li Ye's already pale face flushed with a strange red hue.
Spiritual fields weren't ordinary land they were hard to cultivate, and tending to spirit rice consumed a lot of energy.
He had to rest frequently between tasks.
After replanting and reorganizing the two plots, Li Ye was completely spent, his body and spirit drained. Mud clung to his hands, feet, and clothes he looked like he'd rolled through a swamp.
But he couldn't have cared less. His eyes shone with joy.
[You have used practiced technique to successfully plant and keep alive a Tier-1 spiritual plant: Emerald Bud Rice. EXP +0.2…]
[…]
A stream of fresh notifications scrolled by, stopping when his total experience reached [234].
Even though not every seedling had rooted and triggered a message, the sheer increase in experience proved beyond doubt that Li Ye's skill as a spirit farmer had skyrocketed compared to before.
About half the seedlings still looked healthy, and with more attentive care and a few more rounds of "Spring Rain Technique," they should all take root soon.
However, even now, there was still no sign of anything related to "Herbal Essence."
"Is my technique still lacking? Or is Emerald Bud Rice too low-tier to provide that kind of feedback… or maybe it only activates when the rice fully matures?"
As a transmigrator, Li Ye wasn't short on hypotheses.
He couldn't immediately test the latter two, but improving his technique? That was very doable.
"One acre of Tier-1 spiritual field can grow roughly 10,000 plants…"
"With five plots under my care, that's around 5,000 seedlings. If each one grants EXP, I could earn about 1,000 points in total…"
"That should be more than enough to push my Spirit Planting skill to Intermediate Tier-1!"
In terms of yield and seedling density, this spirit rice was vastly different from what Li Ye had known in his previous life.
But that could only be attributed to the unique nature of spiritual Plants there was no point in overthinking it.
Li Ye pondered thoughtfully.
"Since planting successfully grants experience, then daily care, maintenance, and the final harvest should also yield some…"
With that in mind, even if his skills advanced and he still couldn't extract any Herbal Essence from the Emerald Bud Rice or figure out what it did, it wouldn't be a big deal.
He would still have a steady stream of experience points to continue leveling up various skills.
Of course, that was just speculation for now something to be tested with time.
That didn't stop Li Ye from indulging in some hopeful daydreams about the future.
At that moment, his gaze drifted toward the [Alchemy] skill on his status panel.
This particular matter was hazy even in the memories he had inherited.
Back when the original Li Ye had first begun cultivating, his poor spiritual roots had made progress excruciatingly slow, prompting him to look for alternative paths.
Although he wasn't fond of becoming a spirited farmer, he had followed his father in fieldwork long enough to pick up some basics but refused to invest further time in it.
At his insistence, his father had even dug up a few incomplete beginner manuals on alchemy from the clan archives.
But the path of alchemy was notoriously difficult. Even just distinguishing the properties of herbs and minerals in those beginner scraps required extraordinary talent and dedication.
The former Li Ye only dabbled briefly out of curiosity. Finding the material too dry, obscure, and challenging to understand and lacking any particular talent for it he quickly lost interest and gave up.
Disheartened, he abandoned the pursuit of other cultivation arts as well, deciding instead to focus on finding a better sect or environment for training.
Who would have thought that those brief efforts would leave a trace on the panel?
"But now things are different... I might just have a shot at alchemy too!"
Li Ye mused quietly to himself.
The little green rice seedlings before him suddenly looked far more precious and adorable in his eyes.
...
Now that he had his status panel, what had once been a last resort taking on the role of a spirit farmer had become something he threw himself into with genuine passion.
Even though his injuries and low cultivation meant he couldn't work for long stretches and his efficiency was limited, he had spent the last two days meticulously planting four of the five plots under his care.
Today, he would finish planting the last one.
Li Ye got up early, restored his condition through meditation, and was just about to head out when a streak of flame shot straight toward him.
"A transmission talisman?"
He casually extended his hand, guiding it over with a flicker of green spiritual energy.
A crisp, feminine voice rang out from the talisman:
"Senior Brother Li, have your injuries improved? We found a mission with generous contribution rewards. Senior Brother Cai is planning to take it. Please come meet us at the Internal Affairs Hall."
Li Ye listened expressionlessly. Then, bringing the talisman to his lips, he infused it with spiritual energy and replied calmly:
"I appreciate Senior Brother Cai's kind offer. Please let Junior Sister Tang know that I am still recovering from my injuries and am currently unfit for combat. I must decline, and I hope everyone will understand."
With that, he released the talisman and let it fly off again.
Watching the firelight fade into the distance, Li Ye's lips curled into a cold smile.
The original Li Ye, after joining the Purple Profound Sect, had quickly realized how hard it was to get by alone. After several attempts at socializing, he'd joined a small faction led by this so-called Senior Brother Cai.
Within this clique, he had indeed enjoyed a few conveniences.
But when it came to actual missions, he was often persuaded coaxed, and pushed by Cai and Tang to take the most dangerous tasks.
He did all the dirty, risky work, but received no more contribution points than anyone else.
The lion's share of the rewards always ended up in Cai's pocket!
And the worst part? All it took was a few flattering words from the others, and the old Li Ye would puff up with pride and forget all about fairness. If Tang sweet-talked him a little, he'd fall head over heels and volunteer for anything.
That might've been fine for the old Li Ye, but Li Ye now? He scoffed at it.
"Got me injured to the brink of death, and now they want to drag me along again as their lackey?"
Even though the elixir had saved his life, the cost was written right there on the panel: reduced lifespan from the damage to his vital energy.
After suffering such a loss, how could he not feel resentful?
If the old Li Ye liked being treated like a dog, that was his choice.
But now? No one was getting in the way of his farming!
And if the opportunity came, Li Ye fully intended to make them pay back every bit of what they owed him!
...
"…I hope you all understand."
Inside the Internal Affairs Hall, the group fell silent after hearing Li Ye's calm reply from the talisman.
Cai Shiwei, the leader, frowned slightly.
At once, a pudgy cultivator beside him snapped in frustration,
"Li Ye's clearly from some tiny backwater family. Useless!"
"All it takes is a minor injury and he starts making excuses. What, did those rogue cultivators scare the courage out of him?"
A thin, sharp-faced cultivator chimed in, looking angry.
"We finally came across such a profitable mission if we miss it because of him… can he even afford the cost of losing that Essence-Converging Pill?!"
"Someone like him, with low birth and poor cultivation he'd have gotten nowhere if not for Senior Brother Cai's support… hmph!"
Tang Xiaohan, who had delivered the message, wasn't pleased either.
Li Ye had never refused her requests before yet today, he had declined so bluntly!
"Senior Brother Cai, what do you think…?"
She looked at Cai Shiwei with admiration in her eyes.
The man was strikingly handsome, with eyes like ink and a cultivation at the sixth stage of Qi Refining only one step away from the late stage!
As the group turned toward him, Cai's frown slowly faded into a gentle smile.
"Without Brother Li, the mission will indeed be more difficult…"
"But it's only one person less. With our strength, it's still possible…"
He lowered his voice and said a few more words no one knew exactly what he shared, but it left Tang and the others gasping softly.
The sharp-faced cultivator exclaimed excitedly,
"Senior Brother, to think you've come across such a lucky chance! In that case, we don't even need Li Ye. That's one less mouth to share the rewards with… Perfect!"
With renewed confidence, the group immediately went to claim the mission and hurried out of the Internal Affairs Hall.
Watching the group depart, now one person short, an old steward named Luo who had been secretly eavesdropping couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
So he didn't join those guys?
Could it be… Li Ye has changed and is now content to stay behind and farm.
Or…
Was he just so terrified by the rogue cultivators that he doesn't even dare leave the sect anymore?
The steward's lips curled into a knowing, amused smile.