74: Planting Spirit Tea

Soon, they arrived at the mountain top.

The scene before them was striking; at the summit of the steep peak, there was actually a fairly large flat area, resembling a natural viewing platform.

Standing here, one could overlook the entire Small Valley.

The hazy spirit fields, verdant mountains, and the winding stream outside the valley were all within view, offering an incredibly expansive vista.

"This is the place!" Lin Yan clapped his hands excitedly.

"This spot has abundant sunlight and a great view; it's practically tailor-made for zhenyang spirit tea!"

Xu Shuangyuan looked around and couldn't help but exclaim, "It really is quite nice!"

Lin Yan grinned. "Let's get started. These wild bushes will block the sunlight, so we need to clear them away first."

No sooner said than done, the two immediately sprang into action.

Lin Yan held the hundred refined azure steel sword, and with a single swing, he slashed down a patch of trees.

Xu Shuangyuan held a Spiritual Artifact sickle, carefully clearing away weeds and low shrubs.

Although these plants were not of any Rank, they were numerous, and their roots were intertwined, requiring some effort to clear completely.

"The roots of these weeds are really deep; my hands are going numb from hoeing," Xu Shuangyuan complained while swinging his hoe.

He had already switched to a Spiritual Artifact hoe to cut the weeds out by the roots.

There were also many rocks in the soil at the summit.

Often, a strike of the hoe would send sparks flying.

Fortunately, it was a Spiritual Artifact hoe; although it had no special power, its material was extremely hard.

Lin Yan smiled and comforted him. "Don't rush, take it slow. Just remember to preserve the topsoil to make it easier to level the ground."

After clearing the weeds and shrubs, Lin Yan cut down all the trees around the summit.

These large trees had thick trunks and massive crowns; to ensure the zhenyang spirit tea received sufficient sunlight, they had to be felled.

The qinggang sword was like a divine weapon; no matter how thick the tree, it fell with a single strike.

Afterward, sword light flashed wildly, and the tall trunks were first chopped into pieces, then minced finely like meat.

Xu Shuangyuan watched with envy.

"Senior Brother, can you let me try?" Xu Shuangyuan volunteered to cut the trees.

"Sure..." Lin Yan handed the qinggang sword to him.

Little Fatty walked up to a thick tree with the sword, gathered his spiritual power in both hands, and slashed fiercely at the trunk.

"Crack!"

The qinggang sword sank deep into the tree, but it got stuck in the middle of the trunk.

These trees, having grown for many years, were quite hard.

"..." Lin Yan covered his face with his hand, then stepped forward to instruct him. "You need to use finesse when wielding the sword. Come, let me demonstrate for you..."

With every tree felled, the sunlight on the summit grew brighter.

"Phew, finally done!" Xu Shuangyuan sat down on the ground, panting heavily. "Senior Brother, can we plant the tea now?"

Lin Yan nodded with a smile and took a small bag of zhenyang spirit tea seeds from his Storage Pouch.

These seeds were only the size of a small fingernail, pale gold, round, and had a faint spiritual light flowing on their surface, emitting a light scent of tea.

"There are one hundred seeds in total, just enough to fill this plot." Lin Yan said, looking at the three-zhang by three-zhang piece of land that had already been leveled.

"Let's plan the planting positions."

He took out a thin rope and carefully measured the land, marking spots every meter and digging holes for planting.

Then, Lin Yan planted the zhenyang spirit tea with his own hands.

He carefully took out a seed and pinched it lightly between his fingertips.

"zhenyang spirit tea has extremely high requirements for soil and sunlight, so you must be extra careful when planting." Lin Yan said softly, as if speaking to the seeds.

He first injected a trace of Wood Spiritual Power into the marked position to invigorate the soil, then gently placed the seed into the ground and covered it with a thin layer of spirit soil.

This spirit soil was dug from his own spirit field, reaching Tier 3 quality.

The concentration of earth qi in his spirit field had already exceeded Tier 6.

Nourished by this rich earth qi, the quality of the soil in the spirit field had also risen by one Rank.

After the seeds were planted, it was time for fertilizing and catalyzing.

Lin Yan took a bucket of spirit fertilizer from his Storage Pouch and poured a scoop of the lush green spirit fertilizer over each planting hole.

After fertilizing, Lin Yan formed hand seals and cast the Azure Wood Technique; strands of blue-green spiritual power coiled around the seeds like silk threads.

Lin Yan catalyzed them quickly, one after another.

Xu Shuangyuan watched, mesmerized, and couldn't help but ask, "Senior Brother, how long until these seeds sprout?"

"If everything goes smoothly, they should break through the soil within three days." Lin Yan answered with a smile.

"The Grand Elder told me that zhenyang spirit tea is a Tier 3 Spiritual Plant; although its vitality is very tenacious, it has high requirements for its growth environment."

"Therefore, early care is especially important; it doesn't matter if the subsequent growth is a bit slow."

Just like that, Lin Yan planted the spirit tea seeds one by one, pouring his heart and soul into every single one.

Xu Shuangyuan wanted to help, but Lin Yan refused.

This process had to be done by his own hands until the spirit tea displayed a system panel.

Moreover, his level of cultivating spirit plants was far higher than Xu Shuangyuan's; planting them himself could maximize the chances of successful cultivation.

The seeds of the zhenyang spirit tea were very precious.

When the last seed was planted, Lin Yan straightened his back and looked with satisfaction at this land where hope had just been planted.

It took a full half-day to plant these spirit tea seeds.

Midway, Little Fatty went down the mountain to cook a meal and brought it up; the two ate the spirit rice with mountain spring water on the summit.

Under the sunlight, a gentle breeze blew by, bringing a breath of fresh air, as if responding to their efforts.

"Next, it's just a matter of waiting patiently." Lin Yan took a deep breath, feeling the fresh air and warm sunlight of the summit.

"When these spirit teas sprout and grow, we will be able to taste the zhenyang spirit tea we planted with our own hands."

Xu Shuangyuan rubbed his hands excitedly. "Senior Brother, you'll have an endless supply of spirit tea in the future!"

"If the spirit tea bears seeds, we can continue to expand this Tea Garden, and the extra spirit tea can be sold for Spirit Stones!"

"Hehe, you've worked hard today; tonight when we go back, Senior Brother will treat you to some spirit tea!" Lin Yan said generously.

Little Fatty's face immediately filled with anticipation and emotion, and he said heavily, "You really are my own Senior Brother!"

"Hehe..." Lin Yan chuckled.

If you want the horse to run, you have to feed it grass.

No, that's not right, it's tea.

...

From then on, every day, Lin Yan would go up the mountain to personally catalyze the spirit tea seeds.

On the morning of the third day.

In the summit Tea Garden, Lin Yan crouched down, his fingertips gathering a wisp of pure Azure Wood Spiritual Power.

Xu Shuangyuan followed behind, rubbing his sleepy eyes, carrying a water pot in his hand.

"Senior Brother Lin, checking them so early? It's a Tier 3 Spiritual Plant, can they really sprout this fast?"

Lin Yan did not answer, but instead focused all his attention on the one hundred tiny soil pits.

He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and the Azure Wood Technique spiritual power within his body gathered into his palm like a trickling stream.

"Azure Wood Technique."

As Lin Yan chanted softly, a faint blue-green light emerged from his fingertips.

This light was soft yet full of vitality, like the gentlest spring breeze of early spring.

Lin Yan carefully tapped his fingertip above the first seed, and that wisp of blue-green spiritual power coiled down like a silk thread, silently seeping into the soil.

Beneath the soil, the dormant spirit tea seed seemed to feel the summons.

Beneath that golden seed coat, a touch of tender green vitality began to surge quietly.

Microscopic cracks first appeared on the surface of the seed coat, like the most delicate ice crack patterns on porcelain, and then these cracks gradually expanded, with a faint but firm vitality coming from within.

"Look, it moved!" Xu Shuangyuan suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the slightly trembling planting hole.

Lin Yan smiled slightly, his hands not stopping, continuing to inject Azure Wood Spiritual Power into the seed in the soil.

The soil where the first seed lay began to rise slightly, the cracks grew larger and larger, and finally...

"Pop!"

With a sound that was almost inaudible, a tender green sprout pushed through the soil and tremblingly poked its head out.

It was only the size of a fingernail, with two tender leaves like the wings of a newborn butterfly, dripping with tenderness, reflecting a faint golden luster in the morning light.

Small soil particles still hung on the leaves, but they couldn't hide that vibrant vitality.

"It succeeded!" Xu Shuangyuan jumped up excitedly. "Senior Brother Lin, look! It really sprouted!"

A joyous smile also appeared on Lin Yan's face.

A small system panel appeared before his eyes:

[spirit plant Name: zhenyang spirit tea]

[growth progress: 1 / 10000]

[spirit plant Properties: Special leaves have the effect of strengthening Mental Energy.]

[Growth Status: Continuous catalysis, experience + 1]