62: The brothers chatted casually.

The morning sunlight spilled over the two acres of specially fenced and reclaimed Spiritual Fields on the east side of New Town, appearing particularly striking under the sunrise.

The ridges were neat, and the soil exhibited a fertile deep black, distinctly different from the surrounding ordinary fields—this was the spiritual plant trial field meticulously selected by Li Qingfeng.

In the field, ten Azure Origin Fruit saplings, about half a person tall, were distributed at intervals, their leaves tender and bearing faint purple veins.

Between them were rows of peculiar rice stalks, the 'Cloud Wave Golden Crystal Rice,' neatly standing just over a foot high. The leaves of the rice were long and narrow, with fine golden serrations along the edges, reflecting specks of golden light in the sun. Although the panicles were not yet full, their extraordinary outline was already apparent.

Several experienced old farmers were carefully working in the field, leading five pre-teen children.

They lightly loosened the soil with specially made wooden hoes and meticulously pulled weeds, their movements gentle, as if afraid of harming these precious spiritual plants.

These five children were the 'Immortal Seedlings' selected during the Immortal Ascension Assembly.

Thirteen-year-old Lin Luo had his sleeves rolled up and his trouser legs hitched to his knees, meticulously clearing the weeds around the roots of an Azure Origin Fruit sapling.

His movements were nimble; he didn't even bother wiping the fine beads of sweat beading on his forehead, his eyes fixed entirely on the tender saplings.

Nearby, eight-year-old Li Youfu seemed a bit clumsy. Imitating Lin Luo, he cautiously loosened the soil under the Golden Crystal Rice saplings with a small hoe. His movements were slow but extremely earnest; his wide, coarse cloth clothes were smeared with mud, and his small face also had a few smudges of dirt.

The other three Unranked Disciples were also busy:

Eleven-year-old Liu Yaowen, from a wealthy family, despite his young age, moved quite nimbly, following an old farmer and trying hard to distinguish weeds.

Twelve-year-old Pu Liangmu from a fishing family and eleven-year-old He Baibai were clearly more adept at farm work.

Pu Liangmu silently loosened the soil, while He Baibai followed behind him, carefully pulling weeds.

"Senior Brother Lin, look at this stalk, isn't it the strongest growing one?"

He Baibai pointed to a Golden Crystal Rice stalk in the row that was noticeably taller than the others and asked Lin Luo in a low voice.

"Mm, it is sturdier than the rest."

Lin Luo glanced over and nodded, "Junior Sister He has good eyesight."

Pu Liangmu also came closer:

"Senior Brother Lin, can this Golden Crystal Rice really yield a thousand catties per mu? And does it contain Spiritual Qi? Does that mean we can eat Spiritual Rice every meal from now on?"

Liu Yaowen interjected:

"Junior Brother Pu, dreaming! That Spiritual Rice will definitely be prioritized for Master, Martial Uncles, and for the Sect's tribute first! It will be good enough if we get a tiny bit to taste."

Li Youfu looked up and asked with simple honesty:

"Senior Brother Lin, after eating Spiritual Rice, can we fly like Master?"

Lin Luo was amused and patted Li Youfu's small, muddy head:

"Want to fly? You'll need to work hard to Cultivate and achieve a Breakthrough to the Qi Ling First Layer! Right now, we need to finish the work Master assigned, plant the fields well—this is also a form of Cultivation!"

"Oh!"

Li Youfu nodded as if he half-understood, then buried his head to loosen the soil again, muttering softly to himself:

"Plant the fields well, eat Spiritual Rice, Cultivate diligently..."

After more than a month of spending days and nights together, the toil in the fields made the children familiar with each other.

Lin Luo was Li Qingfeng's Named Disciple, and as the Eldest Senior Brother, he naturally became the backbone of the small group.

He took good care of the simple and honest Li Youfu.

Liu Yaowen, Pu Liangmu, and He Baibai all called Lin Luo 'Senior Brother,' called Li Youfu 'Brother Youfu,' and Li Youfu honestly called Lin Luo 'Senior Brother Lin.'

They were talking quietly while working when a familiar sound of rushing wind came from the horizon.

A streak of cyan-green light arrived swiftly and landed on the field embankment.

It was the green bamboo shuttle piloted by Wang Tiezhu, with Li Qingfeng standing beside it with his hands behind his back.

"Revered Master and Martial Uncle Wang are here!"

Lin Luo's eyes lit up, and he immediately called out to everyone:

"Quick, line up!"

The five children, along with the few old farmers, quickly put down their tools and rushed to the edge of the field to stand in formation.

The green bamboo shuttle landed, and Li Qingfeng and Wang Tiezhu stepped out.

"Greetings, Revered Master! Greetings, Martial Uncle Wang!"

Lin Luo led the children in a respectful bow, and the old farmers also bowed in greeting.

Li Qingfeng waved his hand, his gaze sweeping over the Spiritual Field. Seeing that the seedlings and small trees were alive, growing slowly but appearing relatively vigorous, a hint of satisfaction crossed his face:

"Dismissed. You have worked hard."

Wang Tiezhu, however, heartily slapped Lin Luo's shoulder:

"The kids did well! All the seedlings held on!"

"Thank you, Revered Master, Martial Uncle!" the children said in unison.

"Alright, you all step back a bit."

Li Qingfeng signaled.

Lin Luo and the others obediently retreated to the distant embankment, watching eagerly.

Li Qingfeng and Wang Tiezhu walked to the center of the Spiritual Field, standing one on the left and one on the right.

Both men looked serious, formed hand seals, and chanted incantations.

A faint golden spiritual light emanated from Li Qingfeng.

Wang Tiezhu, however, shone with an even more dazzling golden light.

As the spell was activated, the moisture in the air began to slowly converge.

The convergence of moisture on Li Qingfeng's side was relatively smooth, with specks of crystalline water droplets appearing in the air.

On Wang Tiezhu's side, it was noticeably slower. The veins on his forehead twitched slightly, and the dazzling golden spiritual light continuously flickered and distorted as he struggled to mimic the fluctuations of the water attribute.

A moment later, two patches of pale gray mist, slightly different in color, gathered above the Spiritual Field.

"Clear Rain Art! Descend!" they both shouted simultaneously.

Drizzling rain fell from the mist, carrying weak Spiritual Qi, evenly moistening the Spiritual Field below.

The area covered by Li Qingfeng's spell had noticeably denser rain threads, and the life-nurturing Spiritual Qi contained within was also richer.

On Wang Tiezhu's side, the rain threads were much sparser, and the Spiritual Qi was significantly weaker.

After finishing the spell, Wang Tiezhu let out a long breath of stale air, as if exhausted (mainly mentally exhausted), and couldn't help but complain:

"Damn it! This foreign attribute spell is truly killing me! Just converting the Spiritual Power into that appearance that's neither water nor wood took several times the effort and was agonizingly slow!"

"Look at this rain, it's like it hasn't eaten enough! We truly lack a proper Wood or Water Spiritual Plant Master to manage the clouds and rain right now!"

Li Qingfeng also slightly regulated his breathing and shot him an annoyed look:

"Be content, Pillar. At least these few little saplings can lend a hand with some chores. Once they achieve Qi Nurturing and break through to the Qi Ling First Layer, and learn this Clear Rain Art, the burden on our shoulders will ease a bit."

Wang Tiezhu pursed his lips and nodded his chin towards Liu Yaowen, Pu Liangmu, and He Baibai on the distant embankment:

"That's what you say, but Brother Feng, Aptitude is something you can't fake."

"Those three Unranked little guys, if they were in the Sect, living in the large communal dorm with abundant Spiritual Qi, working themselves to death as menial laborers during the day, getting scolded by the overseers if they were lucky, or beaten if they weren't, and then forcing themselves to meditate and desperately absorb that meager Spiritual Qi at night."

"The ones with quick minds might struggle for a year or two and perhaps reach the Qi Ling First Layer, earning an easier job. But look at our situation here..."

He lowered his voice and sighed:

"The Spiritual Qi is so thin! Even if we let them do nothing but meditate, I estimate it would take them two years! Unless... the Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence becomes stronger again, and the Spiritual Qi gets denser, then perhaps it could be faster."