54: Mutant sweet potato

"I don't feel anything at all." Lin Yan felt a bit regretful.

"Improving a Spiritual Root is indeed very difficult; it is not a task for a single day."

He had only refined five slices of the Mountain Ginseng today. He estimated that even if he refined the entire Mountain Ginseng, there wouldn't be any significant improvement.

To improve by one grade, he would need to refine over ten such Millennial Ginseng or similar spirit plants.

"It's too hard." Lin Yan shook his head slightly.

No wonder such a treasure that could improve a Spiritual Root could be bought for one thousand Spirit Stones.

It was a purchase one made in silence.

For ordinary Cultivators, it would be better to honestly spend their Spirit Stones on improving their cultivation level.

But Lin Yan was not an ordinary Cultivator; he was not short on Spirit Stones.

"Sooner or later, I will raise my Spiritual Root to High Grade." Lin Yan secretly made up his mind.

"Next, it is time to Cultivate the Azure Wood Technique."

Putting away the Millennial Ginseng, Lin Yan stood up and walked toward the spirit field.

There was no help for it; he was too busy now, and the time for catalyzing spirit plants every day had to be scheduled for the evening.

As the Sword Testing Tournament approached, the Sword Pavilion became increasingly lively.

Among the Disciples of the Spirit Herb Hall, rumors were spreading.

Almost everyone knew that among this batch of Disciples, there were four Geniuses who had all comprehended the realm of Human-Sword Unity.

They were Luo Haoyu, Jiang Yizhou, Gu Xianzhi, and the youngest, Lin Yan.

Some busybodies even opened betting pools, placing wagers on these four favorites to win the championship.

Among them, Luo Haoyu had the highest support to win, followed by Lin Yan.

However, the hustle and bustle of the outside world did not affect Lin Yan.

After politely declining the visits from many busybodies, Lin Yan's Small Valley finally returned to its former tranquility.

After a month of field maintenance, a new batch of Spirit Rice began to be sown.

For this step, Lin Yan always did it himself.

In the early morning, the spirit field was filled with mist, and the field surface, having undergone slurry treatment, was in a soft, slippery state of "mud and water."

Lin Yan adjusted the irrigation speed of the spirit spring so that the water level only covered the mud by about 1 centimeter, which both protected the seedlings and prevented feet from sinking.

The seedlings in the nursery field had grown to about five or six inches high, with tender green leaves and white, tough roots.

He held the seedlings in his left hand and divided the stalks with his right, emitting a faint trace of Wood spirit Qi from his fingertips to cover the surface of the seedling roots with a very thin layer of cyan glow, which ensured that every stalk of Spirit Rice would survive.

Using his index and middle fingers to hold the seedling roots, he gently pressed them into the mud along the root line, one stalk after another, with high efficiency.

Two hours later, one mu of the spirit field was filled with lush, green seedlings.

Lin Yan stood up, brushed the mud off his sleeves, and swept his gaze across the entire spirit field.

Under the sunlight, every seedling stood straight, its green stalk slender yet tough.

The leaves spread out like feathers, swaying gently with the breeze, exuding vitality.

In one day, he finished planting three mu of Spirit Rice.

Yes, after consideration, Lin Yan decided to only plant three mu of ordinary Spirit Rice in the future.

His own spirit field would be dedicated to planting Mutated Rice and some high-value spirit plants.

Now, this spirit field was still quite empty, mainly planted with three types of spirit plants.

A circle of Spirit Potato at the very edge of the spirit field, dozens of Mutated Rice in the middle, and ten stalks of Sword Grass.

In the middle of the spirit field, the situation of the Sword Grass had stabilized.

Two stalks of Sword Grass had a growth progress not exceeding 90 points.

Five stalks of Sword Grass had a growth progress not exceeding 100 points.

Only three were successfully cultivated, two of which had stopped growing.

[spirit plant name: Sword Grass]

[growth progress: 107 / 1000]

[spirit plant characteristics: Refining can help a Sword Cultivator comprehend Sword Intent]

[Growth status: None]

[spirit plant name: Sword Grass]

[growth progress: 109 / 1000]

[spirit plant characteristics: Refining can help a Sword Cultivator comprehend Sword Intent]

[Growth status: None]

Only one stalk of Sword Grass was still continuing to grow.

[spirit plant name: Sword Grass]

[growth progress: 115 / 1000]

[spirit plant characteristics: Refining can help a Sword Cultivator comprehend Sword Intent]

[Growth status: Continuous catalysis, experience + 1]

[Absorbing spirit fertilizer, experience + 1]

"In a few days, I will send a stalk of Sword Grass to Senior Sister Su," Lin Yan pondered inwardly.

Of the two Sword Grass stalks with a growth progress exceeding 100, one would go to Su Wan Yue to complete the task.

He intended to refine the other one himself to comprehend the embryonic form of Sword Intent.

Because Su Wan Yue had said that comprehending the embryonic form of Sword Intent at the Qi Refining realm had benefits.

He would continue to vigorously Cultivate the Sword Grass that was still growing.

A Sword Grass with a growth progress of 100 points could help a Sword Cultivator comprehend Sword Intent; what changes would occur at 200 points?

There were still 300 points, 400 points... The growth progress limit of Sword Grass was 1000 points.

It was something to look forward to.

Lin Yan did not pull out the seven Sword Grass stalks that had failed to Cultivate.

His spirit field was very large; he didn't lack this little bit of space.

The Mutated Rice was still the same, but the Spirit Potato gave Lin Yan a surprise.

[spirit plant name: Spirit Potato tuber]

[growth progress: 11 / 100]

[mutation progress: 3%]

[Growth status: Continuous catalysis, experience + 1]

The spirit plant name was "Spirit Potato tuber," not Spirit Potato.

Yes, the Spirit Potato had not mutated; what had mutated was a part of it.

This was not the first time Lin Yan had encountered this situation; previously, the willow tree had also had a part of its leaves mutate.

It was just a bit more novel this time.

The willow leaves were at least in the space above ground, while the Spirit Potato tuber grew under the soil.

This system panel was not even on the ground, but underground.

It projected through the soil layer as if it were shining down from a higher dimension, traversing space and reflecting in Lin Yan's eyes.

This feeling was like some kind of black technology; it was very magical.

As his understanding of life became more profound, Lin Yan was no longer surprised by this phenomenon of local mutation.

It was rumored that top-tier powerful figures in the Immortal Realm could be reborn from a single drop of blood.

How could one not say that this drop of blood was an independent life?

If this was true for Cultivators, it went without saying for spirit plants.

A tree was an independent life, and a leaf on the tree could also be an independent life.

Life existed at different levels.

However, spirit plant mutation was inherently difficult to detect.

Partial spirit plant mutation was not only hard to detect but even harder to succeed.

Fortunately, these things could not stump Lin Yan.

For partial spirit plant mutation, the handling method was the same as general spirit plant mutation: fertilization plus catalysis.

On one hand, it required precise fertilization for the spirit plant, and on the other, precise catalysis for the part that had mutated.

Lin Yan prepared a bucket of bright green spirit fertilizer.

The vines of the Spirit Potato grew extremely fast, and the Spirit Potato leaves with purple veins had already covered the entire edge of the spirit field, some even crawling onto the field ridges.

Finding the location of the mutated tuber, he lifted the dense Spirit Potato vines and leaves.

With a ladle of spirit fertilizer poured down, a faint fragrance of soil faintly emanated from the spirit field.

After the Medicine Residue had completely fermented, the soil quality of this spirit field had already reached the second grade.

Coupled with the Azure Spirit Concealment Array increasing the concentration of Spiritual Qi.

Lin Yan's mu of spirit field had completely stepped into the level of a second-grade spirit field.

The Spirit Potato tuber grew in the soil layer; although he could not see the specific location of the tuber, through the system panel, Lin Yan could accurately measure its depth.

"At this distance, it is about two feet deep."

Lin Yan estimated it and continued to apply fertilizer.

Because he was afraid of affecting the normal growth of the Spirit Potato, he did not dig up the soil layer but directly flooded it with the spirit fertilizer.