Eternal Life: Starting with Refreshing the Farmland

"Exactly."

"Currently, the Beast Tooth Rice hasn't fully matured yet, but it has been successfully planted. It's only a matter of time," Qin Ming said calmly.

A hint of joy appeared on Fellow Cultivator Ruan's face.

"Since you have this as an additional item, a trade is certainly possible."

"However, ten pounds is a bit too little. I'd need at least twenty pounds of Beast Tooth Rice," Fellow Cultivator Ruan pondered for a moment before making his offer.

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming frowned, turned around, and walked away.

Was this person trying to take advantage of him?

Twenty pounds of Beast Tooth Rice?

That was practically daylight robbery.

It was worth noting that in the past, the price of Beast Tooth Rice was already ten times that of ordinary Golden Spirit Rice.

Now, with the skyrocketing prices of cultivation resources in the Qingyang Market, the price of Beast Tooth Rice had risen to at least five spirit stones per pound.

The cultivation technique "Hundred Treasures Glazed Sutra" sounded impressive from Fellow Cultivator Ruan's description, but no one had ever successfully cultivated it.

No one knew if the creator of the technique had exaggerated its capabilities.

Moreover, once one started cultivating it, it would require a constant expenditure of spirit stones.

Even after several generations of the Ruan family's efforts, the highest achievement was only reaching the third layer.

Although Qin Ming was somewhat interested in the technique, Fellow Cultivator Ruan's asking price far exceeded his acceptable range.

Seeing Qin Ming walk away without a word, Fellow Cultivator Ruan grew anxious, regretting that he had set the price so high.

"Wait, wait, Fellow Cultivator Qin! Let's discuss this! Don't leave in such a hurry, please stay!" Fellow Cultivator Ruan quickly stopped him.

"How about this? I'll lower my demand to fifteen pounds of Beast Spirit Rice?"

Qin Ming remained silent, simply staring at him.

Seeing Qin Ming's unyielding demeanor, Fellow Cultivator Ruan felt helpless.

'Young people these days are so impatient,' he thought.

He knew this was Qin Ming's final stance.

Fellow Cultivator Ruan sighed deeply, hesitated for a moment, and then murmured, "Ah, forget it. My Ruan family has guarded this technique for so long, yet no one has achieved anything remarkable with it."

"Perhaps our family's fortune isn't sufficient."

"Then let's go with Fellow Cultivator Qin's offer: one hundred spirit stones and ten pounds of Beast Tooth Rice."

He put on a relieved expression.

Qin Ming smiled slightly and said, "Deal."

"When can Fellow Cultivator Qin deliver the Beast Tooth Rice?" Fellow Cultivator Ruan asked, finally relaxing.

"In about two years," Qin Ming replied after some consideration.

"In that case, how about this? Fellow Cultivator Qin can pay me the one hundred spirit stones first, and I'll provide you with a copy of the first five layers of the technique. Once the Beast Tooth Rice matures, you can come back for the original manual."

"How does that sound?"

Fellow Cultivator Ruan proposed a compromise after some thought.

"Agreed."

Qin Ming nodded decisively.

He then took out one hundred spirit stones from his storage bag and handed them over to Fellow Cultivator Ruan.

While he appeared calm and generous on the surface, inwardly, he was bleeding.

He had worked so hard to save up those spirit stones, and now he was practically betting it all.

Fellow Cultivator Ruan collected the spirit stones and then handed Qin Ming a jade slip with a smile.

Qin Ming took the jade slip, pressed it to his forehead, and carefully examined its contents with his spiritual sense.

After repeatedly comparing it with the technique recorded on the animal skin in Fellow Cultivator Ruan's possession and confirming its accuracy, the transaction was complete.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Qin Ming left the Ruan residence.

Returning to the slum area, Qin Ming resumed his ordinary life of farming.

In the one-acre Beast Tooth Rice field:

**[Name]**: Beast Tooth Rice 

**[Trait]**: Advanced Spirit Rain Technique x5 (Maturity: 35%) 

**[Name]**: Beast Tooth Rice 

**[Trait]**: Quality Enhancement x1 (Maturity: 32%) 

**[Name]**: Beast Tooth Rice 

**[Trait]**: Accelerated Growth x5 (Maturity: 40%) 

Qin Ming observed these three traits daily, watching as the rice gradually matured. This gave him confidence in his plans.

Over the next two years, Qin Ming had already made up his mind.

If the "Accelerated Growth" trait appeared again in the field, he planned to secretly transplant and accelerate the growth of a small portion of the Beast Tooth Rice for his own cultivation.

Removing a few hundred plants wouldn't be noticeable to others.

Of course, the three plants with the special traits had to be moved and accelerated.

The Beast Tooth Rice field also had an "Accelerated Growth x5" trait. With the spirit seeds and the traits, he could continue to accelerate their growth.

If it weren't for the increasingly unstable environment around him, Qin Ming wouldn't be in such a hurry.

He could have waited the two years without issue.

But the current situation didn't allow him to wait any longer.

Although he didn't seek trouble, trouble seemed to find him.

The situation in the cultivation world was changing rapidly.

Even the upper echelons of the sects were now affecting the small Qingyang Market, located in a remote corner of the Yunze Wilderness.

Qin Ming wanted to firmly grasp control of his own destiny.

...

A month later.

The final harvest of the spirit rice for the year finally arrived.

This time, it was different from before.

Ancient Steward Gu and Overseer Du Haifu of the Lingyu Sect were already waiting in the field, accompanied by numerous disciples who were keeping watch nearby.

Under Ancient Steward Gu's watchful gaze, the spirit farmers began harvesting the rice.

As the evening glow rose, the harvest was completed, and Overseer Du Haifu began collecting the spirit rice taxes from each farmer.

He quickly completed the tally and respectfully handed the ranking jade slip to Ancient Steward Gu for review.

In the final season, Qin Ming's Golden Spirit Rice yield had increased once again.

It broke through to ten stones and ninety pounds!

Moreover, Ancient Steward Gu had exempted him from ten percent of the spirit rice tax this season.

After paying the tax, Qin Ming was left with three hundred and twenty pounds of Golden Spirit Rice.

His total ranking for the three seasons of the year had also climbed into the top ten.

When Overseer Du Haifu came to collect the taxes, his attitude was a world apart from before.

He addressed Qin Ming as "Little Qin" with an overly sweet tone.

Of course, part of the reason for Qin Ming's sudden rise into the top ten was the recent disturbance caused by the Howling Monkey demon beasts.

Only Qin Ming's field and a few others had remained intact.

After reviewing the spirit rice yield statistics, Ancient Steward Gu's stern face showed no emotion.

He coldly announced, "The rankings for this year's spirit rice yield have been finalized. You may check them yourselves."

"The bottom thirty cultivators, board the ship and come with me."

Even though the fields had been attacked by demon beasts, the Lingyu Sect showed no leniency toward these lowly spirit farmers.

The thirty farmers stared blankly at the ranking screen, their spirits broken. They knew exactly what fate awaited them.

Qin Ming watched them, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Then, his gaze suddenly turned resolute!

He turned and patted Old Cai Nine beside him, saying, "Don't look anymore. Let's go."

"Qin Ming, do you think one day we'll be among those thirty?" Old Cai Nine asked, his voice slightly hoarse.

Qin Ming paused.

He didn't answer.

If he didn't have his special ability, the scene he had just witnessed might have been his answer.

The final destiny of an ordinary person.

A beast of burden in times of peace, cannon fodder in times of war—exploited in life, sacrificed in death.

(End of Chapter)