18: Chapter 18 First Cooperation

That night, Shen Ye planted the first batch of seeds into the spirit field of his Cultivation Divine Kingdom.

Mu Sheng took the Wood Spirit Root Kin and specially designated an area in the center of the spirit field.

One thousand spirit gathering grass seeds were neatly sown on both sides of the irrigation canal, following the half-palm spacing suggested by Su Wanqing.

Two hundred sword leaf orchid seeds were planted near the Five Elements Array Eye: Metal, where the Metal-attribute spiritual energy was the densest.

Fifty moonlight vine seeds were planted in a separate area designated for vine trellises.

Fifty trellises were built using spirit ore transported from the mines.

Twenty spirit gathering grass seeds were interplanted beneath each trellis.

Shen Ye stood by the edge of the spirit field, watching Mu Sheng work.

Dozens of slender vines extended from his body, performing several tasks simultaneously—digging holes, sowing seeds, covering them with soil, gently pressing down, and channeling water.

The newly born Wood Spirit Root Kin followed behind him, imitating his movements.

Their movements were still clumsy, but Mu Sheng did not rush them; if they made a mistake, he would stop and demonstrate again.

Three days later in the Cultivation Divine Kingdom, the first batch of spirit gathering grass sprouted.

Tender green tips poked out from the spirit soil, topped with tiny droplets of spirit dew.

Mu Sheng crouched by the edge of the ridge, using the tips of his vines to gently touch each sprout, sensing their vitality.

Out of one thousand seeds, over nine hundred had sprouted.

The survival rate exceeded ninety percent.

Su Wanqing had said that the normal germination rate for spirit gathering grass was not low, but "normal" implied standard spiritual energy concentration.

Shen Ye's three Excellent-grade spirit springs had pushed the spiritual energy concentration above the standard level.

Coupled with Mu Sheng using the Law of Life to fine-tune the growth rhythm of each sprout, the germination rate was slightly higher than normal.

Half a month later in the Cultivation Divine Kingdom, the spirit gathering grass reached the standard for harvesting.

Each plant was as tall as an adult's forearm, with thick leaves and full of spiritual energy.

Mu Sheng led the Wood Spirit Root Kin to harvest the first batch, following the method Su Wanqing had taught—cutting two fingers above the root, preserving the rhizome to allow them to continue sprouting new shoots.

spirit gathering grass could be harvested multiple times; the more frequently it was cut, the faster new shoots would grow.

Shen Ye bundled the first batch of spirit gathering grass into standard bundles of one hundred stalks each, wrapping them in spiritual silk.

He bundled a total of nine bundles. According to market prices, spirit gathering grass grown in an Excellent-grade spiritual energy environment fetched a high price.

Nine bundles added up to quite a sum of money.

And this was only the first crop.

spirit gathering grass could be harvested multiple times a year; for one thousand seeds, the subsequent crops would add up to a very impressive figure.

The sword leaf orchid had a longer growth cycle, but after fifteen days, it also reached the harvesting standard.

Two hundred seeds were planted, and nearly two hundred plants survived.

Each sword leaf orchid leaf displayed a standard sword shape.

The edges bore faint golden veins—a sign of the Metal-attribute spiritual energy from the Five Elements Array Eye: Metal condensing within the leaves.

Su Wanqing had said that sword leaf orchid leaves could be used as materials for tempering flying swords, and market demand was stable.

And sword leaf orchids with Metal-attribute spiritual veins were of a higher grade than ordinary ones.

Shen Ye bundled the sword leaf orchid leaves separately, labeling them "Metal-attribute Mutation," which commanded a higher price than the ordinary ones.

The moonlight vine had the longest growth cycle, sixty days.

All fifty seeds survived, and the vines covered all fifty trellises, with several silver-white, unopened flower buds hanging from each vine.

The medicinal part of the moonlight vine was its petals, which had to be harvested the moment the buds fully bloomed; an hour too early and the medicinal efficacy would be insufficient, an hour too late and the petals would wither.

Mu Sheng wove fifty fine nets with his vines, covering each trellis, with mesh sizes just right to catch the petals when they fell.

The moonlight vine's flowering period lasted only one night, from the Hour of the Rat to the Hour of the Rabbit; it had to be completely harvested before dawn.

This was the first time Shen Ye witnessed Mu Sheng giving his all.

As soon as the Hour of the Rat arrived, the moonlight vine buds bloomed simultaneously.

Across fifty trellises, silver-white petals unfolded layer by layer under the moonlight, like fifty lamps lighting up at once.

Mu Sheng stood in the center of the trellises, dozens of vines extending simultaneously, precisely pinching the calyx of each flower and giving it a gentle twist, causing the petals to fall off intact into the fine nets.

His movements were not fast, but extremely precise.

Not a single flower was crushed, and not a single petal fell to the ground.

By the end of the Hour of the Rabbit, the last flower had been harvested.

Mu Sheng gathered the fine nets, and the petals from the fifty trellises formed a large bouquet.

In the morning light, he counted them—fifty moonlight vines, which had produced hundreds of flowers in total, all harvested intact.

Su Wanqing had said that moonlight vine petals had a high market price; they were a Rare-grade spiritual material and were in short supply.

The quality of this batch of petals—pure silver-white, full of spiritual energy, with intact calyxes—was considered top-tier among moonlight vine petals.

Shen Ye packed up all the harvest.

He sent a message to Su Wanqing:

"The first batch has been harvested."

A batch of spirit gathering grass.

A batch of sword leaf orchid.

A batch of moonlight vine petals.

"How should I deliver them to you?"

Su Wanqing's reply carried a rare note of surprise.

"You grew them all?"

"The moonlight vine bloomed too?"

"How long have you been planting them?"

Shen Ye could not tell the truth.

Less than a day had passed in the outside world, but over two months had passed in the Cultivation Divine Kingdom.

With Double Time added to the base time ratio of the Cultivation Divine Kingdom, his spirit plant growth speed was countless times faster than Su Wanqing's Spirit Plant Garden.

"Your seeds are good."

He replied.

Su Wanqing did not press for more details.

She sent an address; it was the Su Family Chamber of Commerce's warehouse in Nanjiang City.

"Tomorrow afternoon, I will wait for you at the warehouse."

"Bring the samples, and I will help you estimate their value."

The Su Family Chamber of Commerce's warehouse was located in the logistics district south of the city, a three-story stone building with walls engraved with Law patterns for preservation, moisture-proofing, and pest control.

When Shen Ye arrived, Su Wanqing was already waiting at the entrance.

She was wearing dirt-resistant dark work clothes, with her sleeves rolled up to her forearms, holding a data pad in her hand.

"Did you bring the samples?"

Shen Ye handed over the three sample bags.

One bundle of spirit gathering grass, five sword leaf orchid leaves, and a small bag of moonlight vine petals.

Su Wanqing did not take them, but pointed to a long table inside the warehouse door.

"Lay them out."

Shen Ye lined up the samples on the table.

Su Wanqing first picked up the spirit gathering grass, holding it up to the fluorescent light to check the thickness and color of the leaves.

Then she untied the bundle, pulled out one stalk, and used her fingernail to pinch the connection between the root and the stem, observing the oozing sap.

She brought the spirit gathering grass close to her nose to smell it, then set it down.

"The spiritual energy concentration is very high. The leaves are thick, the sap is abundant, and there are spirit liquid crystals at the junction of the root and stem."

She noted a few things on the data pad, "Premium grade. It's a notch higher than the ordinary spirit gathering grass on the market."

Then she picked up the sword leaf orchid leaf.

She ran her finger along the edge of the leaf, stopping at the golden veins, and gently scraped them with her fingernail.

The golden veins did not fade; instead, they became brighter after being scraped.

"The Metal-attribute spiritual energy has already permeated the leaf fibers; it's not surface dyeing."

She made another note on the data pad, "sword leaf orchids of this grade can be sold directly to flying sword forging workshops without going through middlemen."

Finally, she opened the small bag of moonlight vine petals.

She did not touch them with her hands, but took a magnifying glass out of her pocket and observed the petals carefully.

She checked the color, the veins, and the integrity of the edges.

After a while, she put down the magnifying glass.

"Seeds with silver-white hilums produce petals like this."

She resealed the small bag, "Most moonlight vine petals on the market are grayish-white; silver-white ones are very rare."

"This batch of yours can be priced separately."

Shen Ye did not speak.

After Su Wanqing finished examining the three samples, she calculated for a while on the data pad and stated a figure.

It was much higher than Shen Ye had estimated.

There was a premium for the premium spirit gathering grass and a premium for the Metal-attribute mutation of the sword leaf orchid.

There was also a premium for the silver-white moonlight vine petals—Su Wanqing was not giving him a bulk price, but a price based on grading.

"Are you satisfied with this price?"

She asked.

"Satisfied."

Su Wanqing nodded.

"Then from now on, we will follow this standard. Whatever grade of goods you give me, I will pay the price for that grade."

"Fifty-fifty split, settled after harvest."

Shen Ye agreed.

Su Wanqing put down the data pad and leaned against the table.

"I have a question for you."

"You don't have to answer."

"Your spirit plant growth speed is much faster than my own Spirit Plant Garden."

"Not just a little faster, but an order of magnitude faster."

Shen Ye was silent for a moment. "Double Time."

Su Wanqing looked at him.

S-rank talent, Double Time, doubling the time flow rate of the Cultivation Divine Kingdom.

This was public information, clearly written on the stele of the awakening test.

Double Time meant one day in the outside world was two years in the Cultivation Divine Kingdom, so the spirit plant growth speed was naturally fast.

But she did not ask for details.

She did not ask why the spiritual energy concentration of the spirit gathering grass was higher than the normal value, did not ask if the Metal-attribute mutation of the sword leaf orchid was a coincidence or inevitable, and did not ask why the germination rate of the moonlight vine was one hundred percent.

She just nodded, stored this information in her mind, and moved on.

"Fine. From now on, I will create a separate file for your goods and not mix them with other sources."

"I will find premium channels for you, the prices won't be low."

She pulled up an electronic contract from the data pad and pushed it in front of Shen Ye.

"Long-term cooperation agreement. Take a look, and if there are no issues, sign it."

Shen Ye read it from beginning to end.

The terms were clear, rights and responsibilities were well-defined, profits were split fifty-fifty, and both parties could terminate at any time.

There were no hidden clauses or additional conditions. He signed his name.

Su Wanqing signed it too, then saved the contract into the data pad and put it away.

"Happy to work with you." She extended her hand.

Shen Ye shook it.

Su Wanqing's palms had thin calluses, worn from long-term handling of spirit plant seeds.

She was not a pampered young lady.

When he walked out of the warehouse, it was nearly dusk.

Porters in the logistics district were loading and unloading goods, and spiritual power forklifts were moving back and forth on the stone road.

Shen Ye stood at the warehouse entrance, watching the setting sun dye the entire street orange-red.

In his pocket, his communicator vibrated—Su Wanqing had transferred the payment for the first batch of goods.

He took a glance at the number and tucked the communicator back into his pocket. From today on, he had resource channels that truly belonged to him, outside of school.