21: Chapter 21 The Harvest and Undercurrents of the Spirit Field

The rooster crowed three times, and before the light had completely torn through the thick ink on the horizon, A-Tu was already barefoot, stepping on the cold and damp ridge of the field.

His breathing was rapid, his chest heaving violently, and his eyes were wide round, staring fixedly at the rice field swaying in the morning breeze before him.

A expanse of golden yellow.

The heavy rice ears bowed the slender stalks, each plant hung with plump grains, the husks seeming to be plated with a layer of faint silver brilliance, refracting starry, dreamlike luster under the dim morning light.

The air was filled with a unique scent mixed with the fragrance of soil and the fresh aroma of rice; taking a breath made one feel comfortable in every limb and bone.

"M-Master..." A-Tu's voice trembled. He wanted to turn his head but couldn't bear to take his eyes off the golden ocean, not knowing where to put his hands and feet. "It's ripe! It's all ripe! It... it grew even better than the best rice in my hometown!"

Lin Chen stood behind him, hands behind his back, his expression calm.

His gaze passed over A-Tu's excited shoulders, examining the Spirit Field he had personally cultivated.

The seeds for this batch of "Silver Thread Rice" originated from the System. He had regularly nourished them with his weak Foundation Establishment Stage Spiritual Qi, and with A-Tu tending to them day and night in the most clumsy yet diligent way, they finally welcomed their first harvest.

The yield per mu was not astonishing; looking at it roughly, it was only twenty or thirty percent more than the high-grade fertile fields among Mortals.

But the difference between them was worlds apart.

He was not excited by this harvest; what filled his heart was more of a rational verification and calculation.

His mind stirred, and an extremely simple, translucent panel that only he could see unfolded in his field of vision.

[Family Luck Visualization Panel]

The world in his vision instantly changed its appearance.

Behind him, in the direction of the Lin Family's small courtyard, a small, fist-sized, thin yet stable milky-white aura was rising, like a candle in the wind, yet it stubbornly refused to be extinguished.

That was the "Family Luck" marked by the System.

And above the Spirit Field before him, countless starry, firefly-like pale green light spots were floating; that was the vitality of this land and the spiritual plants.

Most importantly, between that cluster of milky-white Family Luck and this patch of green vitality light spots, countless threads, thinner than a hair, were trembling as they connected them.

At the other end of the threads, something was being extracted extremely slowly, strand by strand, from those green light spots, converted, and then integrated into that cluster of milky-white Luck, preventing it from dissipating with the passage of time.

So that's how it is.

Lin Chen understood in his heart.

This Spirit Field was not just an economic source for producing Spiritual Grain; it was more like an "external nutrient dish" for the Family Luck, the very Foundation for this newborn Family to take root here.

If the Spirit Field prospers, the Luck increases; if the Spirit Field is ruined, the Luck declines.

This was the greatest difference brought by System 2.0—it presented the ethereal "Luck" before him in an intuitive way.

Inside the Alchemy room, a faint fragrance of plants and trees replaced the usual medicinal smell.

Su Qingyao held her breath, using a small bamboo spoon to carefully portion the pale cyan powder from a coarse ceramic bowl into folded small paper packets.

Her movements were focused and devout, as if she were treating some rare treasure.

The powder in the bowl was the result of her forgetting to eat and sleep over these past few days.

She had dried and crushed a few stalks of unranked "Green Spike Grass" harvested from the corner of the Spirit Field, and boldly added the half-stalk of somewhat withered "Dew Condensing Grass" found in Outer Sect Deacon Wang Heng's Storage Pouch. Relying on the solid Foundation she had built in the Qingmu Sect and her intuition for medicinal properties, after repeatedly experimenting over a dozen times, she finally succeeded in refining this small bowl of powder last night.

[Qi Nourishing Powder], First Grade Low Grade.

The effect was a hundred thousand miles worse than the Qi Supplementing Pill issued by the Qingmu Sect, but it had the advantage of costing almost nothing. It could provide slight auxiliary effects for Cultivators in the early Qi Refining stage, and for Mortals, it could strengthen their bodies and eliminate all kinds of illnesses.

When the last paper packet was carefully sealed—ten packets in total, neatly stacked on the table—her tense shoulders finally relaxed slightly, and fine beads of sweat had already seeped from her forehead.

Lin Chen pushed the door and entered, happening to see this scene.

He picked up a packet, opened it, pinched a bit of the powder with his fingertips, put it into his mouth, and gently licked it with the tip of his tongue.

A gentle medicinal force with the raw, grassy scent of plants dissolved in his mouth. Although there were many Impurities, the Wood Spiritual Qi within it was quite pure.

"The medicinal force is gentle, and there are few Impurities." He nodded, giving his evaluation. "It will do."

These two simple words allowed Su Qingyao's nerves, which had been tense for several days, to completely relax.

She lowered her eyes, avoiding Lin Chen's gaze, but the corners of her mouth uncontrollably lifted into a tiny arc.

Late at night, everything was silent.

Inside the newly renovated Meditation Room, Lin Chen sat cross-legged.

He did not sit in meditation to recover from his injuries; instead, he was attempting to practice the incomplete fragment of the "Spirit Nourishing Technique" obtained from the Jade Slip.

According to the records of the completed technique, he cautiously guided a wisp of Foundation Establishment Stage Spiritual Qi within his Dantian. He did not let it circulate through his Meridians according to the usual Cultivation Technique route, but forcibly pushed it into the blood vessels spread throughout his body.

The process was extremely obscure and difficult.

The feeling of Spiritual Qi traveling along the vessel walls did not feel like nourishment; it felt more like a blunt knife scraping against bone.

Every circulation was accompanied by a wave of soreness and stinging pain that penetrated deep into the marrow.

His forehead was soon covered in cold sweat, and the muscles all over his body were twitching uncontrollably.

This was a process of forcibly performing a Fusion of his own Spiritual Qi and Bloodline, laying the Foundation so that in the future, when conceiving offspring, he could transfer the "Spiritual Essence" from his own Spiritual Root into the next generation.

He did not know how much time had passed. When that wisp of Spiritual Qi finally struggled to complete one cycle and returned to his Dantian, Lin Chen was drenched, as if he had just been fished out of water.

He wearily exhaled a breath of stale air and sensed carefully.

The cluster of liquid Spiritual Qi in his Dantian seemed to have been "cleansed" by some invisible force by an imperceptible amount, becoming a fraction more condensed than before.

At the same time, a strange feeling arose in his heart.

He could vaguely feel that between himself, Su Qingyao sleeping in the next room, and Lin Leyao in the swaddling clothes beside her, there seemed to be a faint, ethereal resonance at the Bloodline level that transcended Divine Sense perception.

The System's cold notification sound rang out at the right moment:

["Spirit Nourishing Technique" completed one cycle, Spiritual Qi purity +0.001%, Bloodline connection stability slightly improved.]

The improvement was negligible, but a glint flashed in Lin Chen's eyes.

This path was correct.

This incomplete Cultivation Technique formed a perfect complement to his Multi-Child Multi-Fortune System.

The next day, the newly renovated gate of the Lin Mansion opened. Old Zhou had changed into clean, old robes and, carrying two small cloth bags, walked steadily into the streets of Black Stone Town.

He went straight to the only rice shop in town.

The shopkeeper of the rice shop was named Zhao Youcai, a lean, shrewd middle-aged man.

In the past, he had always been indifferent to outsiders like the Lin Family whose background he didn't know.

But today, the moment he saw Old Zhou, he immediately greeted him from behind the counter with a face full of smiles.

"Oh my, Mr. Zhou, what wind has blown you here!"

Old Zhou's expression remained unchanged as he placed a cloth bag on the counter. "Shopkeeper Zhao, take a look at the goods."

Zhao Youcai nimbly untied the bag, revealing the silver-glittering rice grains inside.

He picked up a few grains and put them in his mouth, closed his eyes, and chewed carefully. Then his eyes lit up suddenly. "Good rice! It really carries a trace of Spiritual Qi. Although thin, it has the advantage of being pure! It's not inferior to the secondary Spiritual Rice that flows out from those large Sects!"

Old Zhou pushed the other small bag over, which contained five paper-wrapped packets of Qi Nourishing Powder.

Zhao Youcai opened one packet, brought it to his nose to sniff, then used his fingernail to scrape a little powder to taste, nodding repeatedly. "The quality is not bad; it's a proper Medicinal Pill! Although the grade is a bit low, it is most suitable to sell to those wealthy Mortals who want to strengthen their bodies!"

After some bargaining, Zhao Youcai finally offered a price thirty percent higher than the market rate, accepting the goods for fifteen Low-Grade Spirit Stones and some gold and silver.

After the transaction was completed, as Zhao Youcai handed the Spirit Stones and gold and silver to Old Zhou, he chatted casually, "Mr. Zhou, how is Master Lin... doing recently? The commotion that night a few days ago was heard by everyone in town, and everyone is worried."

Old Zhou carefully put away the Spirit Stones, placing them in his inner pocket, his face remaining expressionless. "The Master is in secluded cultivation and does not like to be disturbed. Thank you for your concern, Shopkeeper Zhao."

After speaking, he cupped his hands and turned to leave, without the slightest hesitation.

Watching his steadily departing back, the smile on Zhao Youcai's face slowly faded, his eyes flickering uncertainly.

Secluded cultivation? I fear he is consolidating his cultivation... It seems this Lin Family is really going to take root in Black Stone Town.

That night, in the main hall of the Lin Mansion that had been barely repaired, the lights were lit for the first time.

Lin Chen sat in the main seat, Su Qingyao sat below him, and Old Zhou and A-Tu stood respectfully below the hall.

On the table lay the fifteen Low-Grade Spirit Stones just exchanged from Zhao Youcai, as well as the sixty-plus remaining from Outer Sect Deacon Wang Heng's inheritance.

Over seventy Low-Grade Spirit Stones, in this remote Black Stone Town, was already a huge sum of money enough to make anyone jealous.

"Forty pieces," Lin Chen extended his fingers, dividing the Spirit Stones into three portions, his voice clear and forceful. "Used to purchase Materials to set up a real First Grade Spirit Gathering Array. I will handle this myself."

"Thirty pieces, as the daily expenses of the residence, your remuneration, and backup funds for subsequent investment in the Spirit Field." He looked at Old Zhou.

"The rest, store in the treasury for emergencies."

He turned his gaze to Su Qingyao. "Whatever Materials are needed for Alchemy, list the grade, age, and quantity for Old Zhou, and let him keep an eye out when he goes to town or next time he goes to a larger marketplace."

Su Qingyao gave a soft "Mn."

He then looked at A-Tu; the young man was excitedly looking at the Spirit Stones on the table, his face full of pride and excitement.

"After harvesting the Silver Thread Rice in the field, immediately plow the land and prepare to sow the next season. I will give you some new spiritual seeds."

"Yes, Master!" A-Tu nodded vigorously, his voice loud.

Finally, he looked at Old Zhou, his tone becoming serious. "You are meticulous; from now on, the external affairs of the residence will be handed to you. In addition to purchasing, you must also pay attention to news in town and from passing Loose Cultivators, especially regarding the Qingmu Sect. Any disturbance must be reported to me immediately."

"Yes, Master." Old Zhou bowed deeply.

The assignments were set, and the three of them went to carry out their orders.

This simple machine of the Lin Mansion, driven by Spirit Stones, emitted a clear and orderly sound of operation for the first time.

In the dead of night, Lin Chen stood alone within the repaired courtyard wall, looking up at the starry sky.

After Foundation Establishment, his five senses became unprecedentedly keen.

He could hear the faint snoring from the townsfolk's homes in the distance, smell the scent of plants and soil mixed in the night breeze, and even more clearly feel the thin Spiritual Qi in the air being drawn in bit by bit by the simple Spirit Gathering Array in the courtyard.

The night in Black Stone Town was very quiet, but beneath this superficial quiet, he felt some obscure, sticky gazes like spider webs.

These gazes were cast toward the Lin Mansion from different corners of the town, appearing and disappearing.

There was awe, curiosity, and probing... perhaps, there was also greed hidden deep in the darkness.

The death of Outer Sect Deacon Wang Heng was like a giant stone thrown into a lake, temporarily deterring all the petty villains, but the ripples on the lake would eventually subside.

How long could this deterrence brought by violence last?

He subconsciously rubbed the stone ring on his right thumb.

That rough stone ring, personally gifted by Su Qingyao, shone with a hint of warm luster under the cold moonlight, its touch cold and hard.

He knew very well that this short-lived peace before him was just the interval before the storm arrived.

He needed to accumulate strength faster, needed more offspring to provide feedback on cultivation and Luck, and needed to forge this small "Lin Mansion," which had just gone through the baptism of blood and fire, into a truly impregnable fortress.

And all of this, relying solely on this corner of Black Stone Town, was far from enough.

His gaze pierced through the heavy night and subconsciously looked toward the east.

That was the direction leading to the vast and more dangerous Eastern Cultivation World, and it was also the place he would go sooner or later.

He withdrew his gaze and turned to walk back to the Meditation Room.

When passing Su Qingyao's room door, his footsteps paused slightly. That faint resonance between their Bloodlines emerged again, causing a hint of warmth to rise in his heart, which had become somewhat cold due to thoughts about the future.

Before dawn, Lin Chen changed into a set of semi-old gray martial attire.