9: Chapter 9 Purchasing the Talisman Pen

Qin Changsheng was not affected in the slightest.

Because of the blessing of the Golden Trait, Cultivation.

The Spirit Rice Stalks in his spiritual field were still growing impressively.

The golden ears of grain hung heavy, the kernels plump and firm, showing no signs of the decline caused by the weather.

This was the miraculous effect of the [Cultivation] trait. It not only amplified the nourishing effects of Spiritual Qi but also imperceptibly stabilized the growth of the seedlings, resisting the intrusion of abnormal weather. Even though there was a widespread poor harvest in the surroundings, his spiritual field could still maintain an excellent state.

This year, Overseer Hu Yuanfu had also come to check on Qin Changsheng's spiritual field several times.

Upon seeing the growth of Qin Changsheng's spiritual field, Overseer Hu Yuanfu's expression was very grim.

However, Overseer Hu Yuanfu did not have time to pay attention to Qin Changsheng.

After all, there were simply too many people with reduced yields this year.

Many people had sought out Overseer Hu Yuanfu, asking him to help them get through these difficult times.

Qin Changsheng took a deep breath and bent down, swinging his sickle.

The sharp blade sliced through the stalks, emitting a crisp "click" sound, and a cluster of mature Spirit Rice Stalks fell in response.

The moment the Spirit Rice Stalks left the soil, a miraculous change occurred.

The Spirit Rice Stalks, originally just one cluster, suddenly produced four identical clusters of rice ears at the moment of harvesting. Together with the initial cluster, a total of five stalks of Spirit Rice Stalks lay neatly stacked, each one plump with grain and filled with Spiritual Qi.

Qin Changsheng did not stop his movements. His left hand quickly pressed down on the five stalks of Spirit Rice Stalks. With a thought, four stalks of Spirit Rice Stalks vanished into thin air, steadily stored away into his Storage Space, leaving only one stalk on the ridge of the field.

He deliberately slowed down his harvesting rhythm. Every time he swung the sickle, he precisely controlled the timing of his force to ensure that the derived Spirit Rice Stalks only appeared within the range of his palm, never exposing them to the sight of surrounding Utility Disciples.

Whenever a Utility Disciple approached, Qin Changsheng would sit on the ridge of the field to rest, and once those Disciples walked away, he would continue working.

From time to time, the sighs and complaints of Utility Disciples drifted from the surroundings, mixed with the dull sound of sickles harvesting withered seedlings; no one noticed the anomaly in this corner of the spiritual field.

Qin Changsheng kept his head down, harvesting, storing, and leaving stalks—a series of movements as smooth as flowing water. He maintained a surface efficiency similar to that of ordinary Disciples while secretly accumulating a massive amount of Spirit Rice.

He occasionally lifted his eyes to scan the surroundings, and upon confirming that no one was approaching, he would speed up his movements a little.

Inside his Storage Space, the Spirit Rice Stalks gradually piled up like a mountain.

Last year, he still had to worry about hiding an excessive harvest, but now with the Golden Trait Storage Space, he only needed to do the surface work to quietly keep these Spirit Rice in his possession.

He did not stop his sickle until all the Spirit Rice Stalks on the ridge had been harvested.

At this time, it had only been a little over two hours since he started harvesting. Compared to the progress of other Utility Disciples who couldn't even finish harvesting half a field, his efficiency was already quite good.

Qin Changsheng put down the sickle, walked to the side of the field ridge, and gathered and threshed the Spirit Rice Stalks that had fallen on the ground one by one.

He took the cloth bags he had prepared in advance and carefully loaded the threshed Spirit Rice, secretly estimating the weight as he filled them.

When the several cloth bags were full, he lifted them, feeling their weight. He had a conclusion in his mind—just this Spirit Rice left on the surface amounted to more than two hundred and forty jin.

"Just enough to meet the quota for the Sect." Qin Changsheng let out a long breath.

This year, the Spirit Rice quota set by the Sect for Utility Disciples was two hundred and twenty jin. By keeping an extra twenty jin, it not only made his harvest appear slightly better than others but also wouldn't arouse suspicion due to an excessive surplus.

And inside the Storage Space, the nine hundred and sixty jin of Spirit Rice was his true harvest for the year, enough to support him in his Cultivate for a long time, and even more so to exchange for the Materials needed for making Talismanic Incantation.

More than an hour later, Manager Liu Cheng brought over a dozen Utility Disciples and walked along the ridge of the field.

Manager Liu Cheng was dressed in a green steward's uniform, holding an account book with a serious expression.

Upon seeing this, the surrounding Utility Disciples all revealed expressions of difficulty; some were dawdling while tidying up their withered Spirit Rice, while others huddled together, whispering pleas, hoping for a reprieve.

This year, the weather was abnormal, and most Disciples found it difficult to meet the two-hundred-and-twenty-jin quota.

Manager Liu Cheng walked along with his brows tightly locked. Looking at the meager, withered Spirit Rice handed in by the Disciples, his expression grew increasingly ugly, and he occasionally scolded them sternly.

When he walked to Qin Changsheng's spiritual field, obvious astonishment appeared on his face.

Manager Liu Cheng signaled for a Utility Disciple to come forward and weigh the grain.

The Utility Disciple first checked the Spirit Rice before lifting the cloth bag onto the scale. After adjusting the weight, he announced loudly, "Manager, two hundred and thirty-five jin!"

"Two hundred and thirty-five jin?" Manager Liu Cheng took the account book and confirmed the weight again, the astonishment in his eyes deepening.

He had collected Spirit Rice from most of the Utility Disciples today; either the weight was short, or the grains were withered. Many people couldn't even manage one hundred jin. Not only did Qin Changsheng meet the quota, but he also had fifteen jin extra, and the Spirit Rice grains were plump and filled with Spiritual Qi, forming a stark contrast to the others.

"Your Spirit Rice is quite impressively grown." Manager Liu Cheng scrutinized Qin Changsheng, his tone carrying a hint of inquiry, "The weather is so bad this year, and others have poor harvests, yet you are an exception. Do you have any secret?"

Qin Changsheng had been prepared; he bowed his head, his tone respectful and indifferent, "Replying to Manager, perhaps it is because this spiritual field of this Disciple is in a remote location, avoiding strong winds and heavy rains. Coupled with the fact that this Disciple takes care of it diligently, watering and loosening the soil without interruption, I was fortunate enough to have such a harvest. There is no secret."

Manager Liu Cheng heard this, his gaze swept across the surroundings of the spiritual field, and seeing that it was indeed in a remote location, sheltered from the wind and rain, he nodded and did not ask further.

He put away the account book, took out a small cloth bag from his bosom, and handed it to Qin Changsheng, "According to Sect rules, there is a reward for handing in the full amount of Spirit Rice. Take this one hundred Spirit Sand."

Qin Changsheng reached out to take the cloth bag and found that there were only forty pieces of Spirit Sand inside, ten less than last year.

But he did not speak, only bowed respectfully to thank him, "Thank you, Manager."

At the bottom of this Sect, it was already the norm for stewards and deacons to withhold Disciples' rewards. As a Utility Disciple with no power or influence, he had no qualifications to question it.

Rather than arguing endlessly and attracting the steward's resentment, it was more practical to endure for now and keep the forty pieces of Spirit Sand in front of him.

Moreover, compared to the massive amount of Spirit Rice in his Storage Space, this little bit of withholding, while unpleasant, would not affect the overall situation.

Manager Liu Cheng saw that Qin Changsheng was so sensible, not arguing or making a fuss, and his expression softened a little.

He patted Qin Changsheng on the shoulder, his tone carrying a hint of meaningful warning, "You are quite steady. Next year when planting Spirit Rice, pay more attention to the movements around you. This year, many Yao Beast have run near the Heavenly Sword Sect. Don't just focus on taking care of the spiritual field and lose your life."

Qin Changsheng felt a chill in his heart and quickly responded, "This Disciple will remember. Thank you for the reminder, Manager."

Manager Liu Cheng nodded in satisfaction, signaled for the Utility Disciple to put away the Spirit Rice, and then turned to collect the Spirit Rice from other Disciples.

Qin Changsheng moved his mind, storing all the Spirit Sand into his Storage Space, and placed them together with the resources he had accumulated before.

Although forty pieces of Spirit Sand were not much, they were enough to purchase a batch of Talismanic Incantation Materials and could also support him for a period of Cultivate.

In the market.

The next day at noon, Qin Changsheng arrived at the market.

He was preparing to buy some daily necessities and tools for making Talismanic Incantation.

Qin Changsheng walked through the streets and alleys with familiarity, heading straight to Baicao Pavilion. This shop not only sold Spirit Rice but also sold low-level Talismanic Incantation Materials. The quality was reliable, and the shopkeeper was a smooth operator who would not overly question the buyer's identity.

"Shopkeeper, please trouble yourself to get some low-level Talisman Paper, Cinnabar, and also take a regular Talisman Brush." Qin Changsheng walked into the shop and said to the shopkeeper who was calculating accounts behind the counter.

The shopkeeper looked him up and down and smiled, responding, "Young friend, are you practicing making Talismanic Incantation? It just so happens that I have a batch of newly arrived Talisman Paper, and the Qi-inducing effect is quite good."

As he spoke, he took out a stack of yellow paper and a small jar of Cinnabar from under the counter, and then picked up a Wolf-hair Brush, "This Talisman Paper is one hundred sheets per stack, ten Spirit Sand; one jar of Cinnabar, ten Spirit Sand; this is a regular Wolf-hair Brush, it requires twenty Spirit Sand."

Hearing this, Qin Changsheng's heart sank.

Although he had anticipated that Talismanic Incantation Materials would not be cheap, he did not expect them to be this expensive.

The forty Spirit Sand he harvested this year were just enough to buy these.

Qin Changsheng said in a deep voice, "Shopkeeper, can you make it a bit cheaper?"

The shopkeeper shook his head, his tone carrying a bit of apology, "Young friend, don't blame me, this is the clearly marked price."

Qin Changsheng hesitated for a moment and handed over the forty Spirit Sand.

The shopkeeper carefully checked them and then handed the Talisman Brush, Cinnabar, and Talismanic Incantation to Qin Changsheng.

"In the future, if you have Talismanic Incantation, you can come to my shop to sell them!" the shopkeeper said with a smile.

Qin Changsheng exchanged a few polite words and was just about to turn and leave, when he suddenly remembered the mountain of Spirit Rice in his Storage Space. His heart stirred, and he turned back to ask, "Shopkeeper, I would like to ask what the purchase price for Spirit Rice is this year? I still have some surplus grain at home and would like to exchange it for some Spirit Sand."

The shopkeeper heard this, and a look of understanding appeared on his face, "The market for Spirit Rice is very good this year, mainly because the abnormal weather led to a poor harvest. Whether it is the Sect or the market, Spirit Rice is in short supply. If it is ordinary Spirit Rice, I can give ten Spirit Sand per jin; if the quality is better and it is full of Spiritual Qi, the price can be raised a bit more."

"Ten Spirit Sand per jin?" Qin Changsheng's pupils shrank slightly, and a wave of emotion surged in his heart.

The Spirit Rice in his Storage Space was all matured under the blessing of the [Cultivation] trait, and its quality far exceeded ordinary Spirit Rice. At this price, he only needed to sell three jin to recoup the cost of purchasing the Materials this time, and the remaining Spirit Rice could be exchanged for a massive amount of Spirit Sand, enough to support his long-term Talismanic Incantation making and Cultivate.

At the same time, Qin Changsheng did not expect that the Sect would exploit them so severely.

They, these Utility Disciples, harvested two hundred and twenty jin of Spirit Rice a year.

But the reward they received was only a few jin of Spirit Rice.