7: Chapter 7 First-Order Alarm Array

[You have completed watering the spirit fields, Experience +10.]

This was the final watering for the spirit fields; harvest would begin in about half a month.

Looking at the thick spirit rice, Zhao Mo wore a grin all day long. It looked like this year would be another bumper harvest.

[You have completed the spirit rice harvest, Experience +10.]

[Reward: After one hundred and fifty-nine days of meticulous care, your spirit fields have yielded a massive harvest. Experience +150.]

"An experience reward of one hundred and fifty?"

The voice in his ear left Zhao Mo stunned. The reward was fifty in the first year, forty last year, and now it was one hundred and fifty—what was the logic behind this?

"Quick, quick! Don't just stand there dazed. Hurry up and start threshing. Let's see how much spirit rice we harvested!"

After the reaping was done, Ding Xin was even more anxious than Zhao Mo, constantly urging him on.

Zhao Mo had no choice but to set aside his thoughts of checking the System and began threshing.

"Aren't you going to help?"

"Huh?"

"Haven't you always forbidden me from touching anything?"

Zhao Mo snapped, "Get lost! I only forbade you from working inside the spirit fields because I was afraid you'd ruin my land. I never said you couldn't help with the work on the threshing floor."

Ding Xin was dumbfounded. What kind of logic was that?

Thump, thump, thump.

As the two of them beat the stalks, the spirit rice continuously fell away.

"Holy crap! Once it's dried, a conservative estimate is fourteen hundred pounds. That's an increase of nearly a third. Senior Brother Zhao, you're amazing!"

Zhao Mo didn't doubt Ding Xin. Having known the guy for so long, he knew Ding Xin never misjudged weights.

"We need to keep this quiet."

Zhao Mo blinked, then replied, "Naturally."

Ding Xin laughed heartily.

"How about Senior Brother comes to help me tomorrow? I'll treat you to a meal of spirit rice too."

Zhao Mo said, "Fine, I've been waiting for this day."

Over the past few months, Ding Xin had done quite a bit of work for Zhao Mo aside from the labor in the spirit fields. For instance, the renovated wooden house, the deep pit for composting, the threshing floor behind the house, and even Zhao Mo's bathroom had seen Ding Xin's handiwork.

Of course, he had also eaten quite a lot of Zhao Mo's spirit rice.

After Ding Xin left, Zhao Mo carefully put away a small pile of spirit rice nearby. These were the hybrid spirit rice seeds he had cultivated this year, weighing about ten pounds. He planned to do a trial planting next year; if it worked, he would begin large-scale seed production using this method.

The next day, after spreading his own spirit rice out on the threshing floor, Zhao Mo headed to Ding Xin's spirit fields.

Fortunately, their plots weren't very far apart. From Ding Xin's field, Zhao Mo could see his own drying spirit rice just by looking up; otherwise, he really wouldn't have felt at ease.

"You're here?"

Ding Xin's spirit fields were much larger than Zhao Mo's, nearly ten acres. Even though both possessed cultivation, it took them nearly two days to finish the harvest.

Then came the threshing, combined with the need to air-dry his own spirit rice. Zhao Mo was so busy his head was spinning, leaving him absolutely no time to check the System.

"Finally finished. Dammit, it was way too hard just to get this one meal of spirit rice from you,"

Zhao Mo said resentfully as he stared at the pot of spirit rice.

"You're so stingy. Would it kill you to put in a little more rice? You're a real miser."

Ding Xin said, "I already put in a pound. If I put in more, it'll be wasted if we can't finish it."

Zhao Mo: "Tsk~"

He had seen it—Ding Xin had set aside over ten bags, probably over a thousand pounds. No need to ask; that was definitely to be handed over to the Xuan Sect. The rest, however, had all been packed into a small cloth pouch.

"A Cosmos Bag, right?"

"Did your sister give it to you? She's really generous."

Ding Xin chuckled, "Naturally."

"Hurry up and eat, the rice is ready."

Zhao Mo looked at the Cosmos Bag with envy, but it was just envy. An ordinary Cosmos Bag cost dozens of Low-Grade Spirit Stones; he couldn't afford one.

"You rascal, no wonder you're so reluctant to eat or drink, saving everything for your sister. It turns out you have a Cosmos Bag as a fallback."

Zhao Mo joked for a few more moments before burying his head in his food.

Ding Xin just kept grinning foolishly. He only dared to take out the Cosmos Bag because he had gotten to know Zhao Mo; if it were anyone else, he would have kept it hidden away.

In late summer and early autumn, the sun was hot enough to melt a person. After several days of drying, the spirit rice was finally stored in the granary.

This time, Zhao Mo was cautious. He only left six bags of spirit rice out in the open, while the rest were piled inside the house. Fearing prying eyes, he even set up some camouflage.

"Steward Liu."

Every time Zhao Mo finished storing his spirit rice, Steward Liu would inevitably appear the next day. Zhao Mo secretly wondered if the Xuan Sect was constantly monitoring them; otherwise, how could it be so coincidental every year?

"Here is this year's spirit rice. I've had it ready for you."

"Mm."

"Put it on the flying boat."

Steward Liu, whose belly was noticeably larger than last year's, looked at Zhao Mo's house.

"Oh, quite an upgrade you've got here."

In the first year, Zhao Mo's house was just a thatched shack, but now it was a small courtyard with five rooms.

"Hmm? Fourth level of Qi Refining?"

Steward Liu's sharp eyes seemed to want to see right through Zhao Mo.

After a long pause, he casually remarked,

"Interesting."

Then, he turned and boarded the flying boat without asking again if Zhao Mo had any spirit rice to sell.

Meanwhile, Zhao Mo was scared half to death, his back soaked with sweat.

Only when Steward Liu's flying boat had completely vanished did he breathe a sigh of relief. The Aura of the Foundation Establishment Stage was truly terrifying.

"My cultivation is still too low," Zhao Mo lamented.

"Since my cultivation is too low, then let's level up."

"System."

【Farmer: Zhao Mo】

【Cultivation: Qi Refining Fourth Layer (Can be upgraded)】

【Experience Points: 210/200】

【Reward: None】

"Upgrade cultivation."

A warm current appeared out of nowhere, once again strengthening the True Qi within Zhao Mo's body. The expanded True Qi then surged through several blocked Acupoints, and Zhao Mo's strength rose significantly once more, reaching the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Once his cultivation stabilized, the first thing Zhao Mo did was summon the System. He was afraid the experience cost would increase.

"It's still two hundred experience points. It seems the experience cost only increases when there's a major jump in strength, like from level three to four."

Zhao Mo let out a quiet sigh of relief. It was good that the experience cost didn't increase constantly.

"Fourteen hundred and sixty pounds of spirit rice. I gave six hundred pounds to the Sect, leaving eight hundred and sixty pounds. I'll keep three hundred pounds for myself... actually, make it three hundred and sixty pounds. I can still sell five hundred pounds."

"How many Spirit Stones can I get for that?"

Zhao Mo calculated in his head, planning to visit the market tomorrow to see how bulk spirit rice was being sold.

...

Xuan Sect Market.

"What?"

"Individuals can't sell spirit rice? It can only be sold to the Xuan Sect Rice Shop?"

"Then what about those people selling spirit rice?"

"Oh, they're all from the Rice Shop. Never mind then."

Zhao Mo was helpless; it turned out that individuals weren't allowed to sell spirit rice in the market.

"You have spirit rice?"

Zhao Mo said warily, "A little, not much."

"You want to buy?"

"No, no, no, I didn't say I'd buy it. I want to trade for it—"

Zhao Mo looked at the person dressed in all black across from him, feeling like they didn't seem like a good person.

"Trade with what?"

"A Tier 1 Alarm Formation Plate."

"Alarm Formation? What kind of Formation is that?"

The man in black acted a bit evasively.

"You define an area and bury the Formation Plate. Once the Formation is activated, it will sound an alarm if anyone breaks in."

Zhao Mo: "Hmm? That's it?"

"That's it."

"And how do you want to trade?"

"Four hundred pounds of spirit rice."

"Why don't you just go rob someone?" Zhao Mo blurted out, turning to leave immediately after speaking.

"Two hundred pounds, I can't go any lower."

"One hundred and fifty pounds. Take it or leave it."

spirit rice was a hard currency; at worst, Zhao Mo could just sell it to the Rice Shop.