38: Chapter 38 Foundation Establishment Level Nine

"Immortal Master, are you asking why we didn't continue auctioning the enlightenment spirit wine afterwards?" Ding Xin chimed in.

True Person Yuxiang said, "Correct."

"Even though we could have earned more Spirit Stones, why did True Person Yun suddenly tell everyone there were another 200,000 catties of enlightenment spirit wine to be sold?"

Zhao Mo said speechlessly, "What's the big deal about that?"

"Isn't it just about making fewer enemies and more friends?"

"If I haven't guessed wrong, the first few batches sold were all to the Liu Clan, or those close to the Liu Clan, right?"

True Person Yuxiang nodded.

"Smart."

At this moment, the sky suddenly filled with dark clouds, the wind rose, and the world became filled with a murderous aura.

"They're fighting."

Zhao Mo didn't need to ask to know that the Liu Clan would definitely not let this matter rest, but Zhao Mo was currently just a small fry at the Foundation Establishment Stage; he couldn't help even if they were fighting to the death above.

Wang Town.

The Spirit Stones from the enlightenment spirit wine had already been distributed to his account. Zhao Mo received 40,000 High-Grade Spirit Stones, and even after giving half to Ding Xin, he was now free to spend Spirit Stones as he pleased.

Of course, that was only for a short time. When he advanced to the Golden Core Stage, he would need large amounts of Spirit Stones to buy subsequent Cultivation Techniques, Spells, and Magical Artifacts.

Fortunately, Zhao Mo didn't need Spirit Stones to Cultivate, otherwise these Spirit Stones probably wouldn't last him until Core Formation.

As for Ding Xin, after Zhao Mo gave him the Spirit Stones, he went into seclusion.

He claimed it was to see what it felt like to Cultivate using High-Grade Spirit Stones.

"What kind of feeling could there be?"

"It's useless!"

Zhao Mo looked at the Spirit Stone in his hand, his face full of melancholy.

If he didn't have the System, relying solely on himself to absorb this High-Grade Spirit Stone would probably take at least a year.

"A piece of trash is trash after all. I'd better just stick to farming my land."

Zhao Mo once again recognized his own limitations.

...

【You have completed plowing the spirit field, EXP + 10.】

After finishing plowing the field, Zhao Mo looked at the motionless plow ox and felt a strange fluctuation in the surroundings.

"The aura is pure and innocent."

"This ox hasn't become a spirit, has it?"

"Come to think of it, does the Xuan Sect allow keeping demons?"

Zhao Mo was a bit worried; he had kept this ox for a long time and had developed feelings for it.

"What are you doing?"

Ding Xin had just come out of seclusion and discovered Zhao Mo walking over from a distance carrying Ox Martial.

"You're killing me! I've heard of people using the Ox Clan as mounts, but why is it the other way around for you? Are you acting as a mount for the ox?"

Ding Xin's words made Zhao Mo realize something immediately.

"That's right, if I don't keep it as a demon, I can use it as a mount."

"How do you tame a mount again?"

It seems he would have to go to the Scripture Pavilion in a couple of days to take a look.

While Zhao Mo and Ding Xin were chatting, they completely failed to notice that in the distance, a black figure had been staring motionless at Leisurely Residence.

【You have completed transplanting the spirit field, EXP + 10.】

In the blink of an eye, winter turned to spring. After six consecutive years of cultivation, the difference between the mutated white orchid fruit and the white orchid fruit became increasingly large.

In terms of yield, the mutated white orchid fruit was ten times that of the ordinary white orchid fruit, with an output per mu already reaching a thousand catties.

Not to mention the superior taste and sweetness of the mutated white orchid fruit.

【You have completed fertilizing the spirit field, EXP + 10.】

【You have completed watering the spirit field, EXP + 10.】

【You have completed harvesting the spirit field, EXP + 10.】

【Reward: After 155 days of meticulous care, your spirit field has had a bumper harvest, EXP + 600.】

It was harvest season again. The EXP rewarded by the System after the harvest had not changed at all, stuck at 600 points.

Fortunately, Zhao Mo had rented another spirit field from True Person Yuxiang three years ago. With an extra spirit field, the EXP naturally increased as well.

"It's a pity that the System rewards don't increase along with the increase in spirit fields."

Zhao Mo sighed with regret.

【Farmer: Zhao Mo】

【Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer (Can be upgraded.)】

【EXP: 1230 / 1200】

【Reward: None】

After breaking through from the Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer to the Foundation Establishment Seventh Layer, the System's EXP requirement, as before, increased by 300 points, reaching 1,200 points.

It was also from that time on that it took Zhao Mo at least a year and a half to break through one Realm.

"System, Breakthrough."

After getting his hands on 20,000 High-Grade Spirit Stones, Zhao Mo couldn't be bothered to brew enlightenment spirit wine anymore; it wasn't worth many Spirit Stones, which was truly boring.

Therefore, Zhao Mo sold the white orchid fruit after harvesting it.

After finishing everything, Zhao Mo finally went into seclusion with peace of mind, intending to break through to the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer.

On the System panel, the number 1230 frantically decreased until it finally stopped when it reached 30.

And inside Zhao Mo's body, it was already completely occupied by True Essence.

His Dantian, Meridians, and even his flesh and blood were filled with True Essence.

The Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer is also known as the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection.

The next step is to compress the True Essence and form the Golden Core.

This is also the first Life and Death Tribulation that all Cultivators face. If Core Formation is successful, magic power is born, and from then on, one can live for eight hundred years; in the eyes of ordinary people, this is an immortal.

If the Breakthrough fails, the Dantian is crippled and the Meridians are severed in mild cases; in severe cases, one's life and Dao vanish, and one simply dies.

"Huu~"

Zhao Mo, who didn't know how long he had been Cultivating, let out a long sigh of relief.

The long breath rushed straight towards the door.

Outside, heavy snow was falling.

This seclusion had lasted at least two months.

Carefully sensing his surroundings, sure enough, Ding Xin was still Cultivating. Benefiting from the High-Grade Spirit Stones, his Cultivation had actually followed Zhao Mo's, breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Seventh Layer, and he was now pushing for the Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer.

"No wonder everyone likes Spirit Stones; they really can make you take off."

In fact, the reason no one suspected Zhao Mo's Cultivation progress was precisely because Zhao Mo had High-Grade Spirit Stones.

...

Winter passed and spring came.

"Gwai-gwai~"

Slap.

Zhao Mo drove Ox Martial, plowing all ten mu of spirit fields in one go.

【You have completed plowing the spirit field, EXP + 10.】

Then, he had to wait for Ox Martial for a few days.

"You beast, you plow for half a day and rest for seven. In the last three hundred years and the next three hundred, there's no one as comfortable as you."

Zhao Mo grumbled as he carried Ox Martial back to the ox shed.

Days passed, and in the blink of an eye, the day for harvesting the white orchid fruit arrived.

"Hey! Senior Brother, your white orchid fruit is so big and smells so good. Why is it different from what others grow?"

Zhao Mo, busy harvesting, looked up at the person by the edge of the spirit field. He had a straw hat on his back and one pant leg rolled up, a typical farmer's attire.

"Oh, this is a mutated white orchid fruit that I researched myself."

"Then sell me a few catties?"

Zhao Mo didn't think much of it.

"What's this about buying? Come, I'll give you a few."

【You have completed harvesting the spirit field, EXP + 10.】

【Reward: After 155 days of meticulous care, your spirit field has had a bumper harvest, EXP + 600.】

With two spirit fields, after a year of busy work—composting, plowing, watering, fertilizing, and harvesting—the EXP gained was less than 600 points. Adding the System reward, it was simply not enough for a Breakthrough.

"Either I rent another spirit field, or I go buy or rent a third-grade spirit field. If I keep wasting time in this second-grade spirit field, my Cultivation speed might not even be able to compare to Ding Xin's."

Zhao Mo hadn't forgotten that he still had a ten-year agreement with True Person Xinzhi. That was a grudge over killing his son; how could he avoid it?

Just as Zhao Mo was thinking about how to quickly break through to the Golden Core, Liu Zhiming finally waited for the news he wanted.

"Did you find out?"

With his Golden Core shattered, Liu Zhiming was now only holding on by a breath of Qi. He was now senile, his whole body exuding a decaying aura; one look and it was clear his life was not long for this world.

"Immortal Master, it has been found out."

"It is Zhao Mo."