254: Making money

Su Ming did not explain; he simply walked over to the most severely withered seedling.

He took a deep breath, and the Qi Sea within his Dantian spun slightly.

The Spiritual Qi converted through the Ruoshui Art was no longer a violent, rushing stream, but had transformed into a dark blue, viscous, oil-like liquid that slowly dripped from his fingertips.

"Go." Su Ming gave a soft shout.

That mass of dark blue Spiritual Power did not pour directly onto the leaves, but instead seeped silently into the soil at the roots.

Deacon Wu's eyes widened.

He saw that the purple-red clump of soil, which had been as hard as iron, let out an extremely faint "sizzling" sound the moment it touched the blue light.

Wisps of smoke, barely visible to the naked eye, rose up and immediately dissipated in the wind.

Immediately after, the compacted soil began to become soft and moist.

The most miraculous part was that Fire Sun Grass.

The originally curled and blackened leaves, like a traveler in a long drought finally tasting the first sip of sweet rain, unfolded at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The scorched blackness on the leaves faded, revealing a bright, fresh crimson once again.

Although it was only one plant, that aura of death and gloom that had originally permeated it instantly dissipated by more than half.

"This... is this the Moistening Technique?" Deacon Wu's Adam's apple bobbed, his eyes filled with disbelief.

One look from an expert tells you all you need to know.

He had spent half his life growing Spiritual Plants; he had seen plenty of people watering them, but he had never seen anyone who could control Water Spiritual Energy with such precision, like an embroidery needle.

This wasn't just watering; this was clearly giving the Spiritual Plant a massage!

"Good! What a great technique!"

Deacon Wu was rubbing his hands in excitement, his sorrowful face instantly wrinkling into a smile like a chrysanthemum.

"Brother Su, no, Great Master Su! Apart from you, no one can do this job! Tell me, how should we treat it?"

Su Ming withdrew his Spiritual Power, his face turning slightly pale—of course, this was just an act.

The Ruoshui Art was inherently endless; this small consumption was merely a drop in the ocean for him.

But in business, one must always make the client feel they are getting more than their money's worth, and that you have paid a heavy price.

"This acre of land has deep-seated problems."

Su Ming wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead and said with a grave tone, "To completely eradicate the fire toxin, it will take at least two months.

I will come once a week, spending two hours each time, to provide deep conditioning for your plot of land."

He paused and glanced at Deacon Wu.

"As for the payment..."

"Name it!" Deacon Wu now looked at Su Ming as if he were his own father; as long as he could save this land and keep his job, anything was negotiable.

"Eighty Spirit Stones." Su Ming stated a number.

Deacon Wu frowned slightly.

Eighty pieces was indeed not a low amount for a service fee for an Outer Sect Disciple.

But he looked at the seedling that had returned from the dead, then thought about his half-year's stipend and his future that would be deducted if he failed the assessment, and gritted his teeth.

"Deal!"

Deacon Wu fished a heavy pouch of Spirit Stones from his robe, but instead of handing it directly to Su Ming, he lowered his voice and leaned in closer to him.

"Brother Su, let's not put this payment through the official accounts."

Deacon Wu's sharp little eyes darted around, and seeing no one else nearby, he whispered, "Going through the official accounts requires approval from the Logistics Hall and getting skimmed by those vampires; it's too much trouble.

This is my own personal savings.

Let's make a private agreement; if there are any more 'difficult cases' in this garden in the future, I'll come to you first."

Su Ming chuckled inwardly.

This was exactly what he wanted.

Going through the official accounts meant leaving a trail, being recorded by the Sect, and potentially attracting the attention of Formation Peak.

Private transactions, with money and goods exchanged directly, were both safe and practical.

"Deacon Wu is straightforward."

Su Ming took the Spirit Stone pouch, weighed it in his hand, and tucked it into his sleeve.

"In that case, we have a gentleman's agreement. For these two months, this land is in my hands."

...

After reaching the agreement, Su Ming did not rush to leave, but instead began the first "treatment" immediately.

He sat cross-legged on the ridge of the field and formed seals with his hands.

The dark blue Spiritual Power fell like a gentle spring rain, covering the entire field of Fire Sun Grass.

To an outsider, Su Ming appeared to be casting spells laboriously, consuming his Spiritual Power.

But in reality, Su Ming was feeling absolutely fantastic at this moment.

"Hoo..."

Su Ming closed his eyes slightly, sensing the dense fluctuations of Spiritual Qi around him.

The Spiritual Plant Garden was built upon a miniature Spiritual Vein, and this plot of Fire Sun Grass had gathered an immense amount of Fire and Wood Spiritual Qi.

When Su Ming circulated the Ruoshui Art to perform "Water-Fire Neutralization," the fire toxin displaced from the soil was filtered and converted by the Ruoshui Art, transforming into an extremely pure warm current that fed back into his Meridians.

Water generates Wood, Wood generates Fire.

This wasn't working at all; this was clearly Cultivating by taking advantage of the local terrain!

The vortex of Spiritual Power within his body rotated slowly, and that Bottleneck in his cultivation, which had been somewhat stagnant, now showed signs of loosening under this high-intensity intake and output of Spiritual Power.

"Tsk tsk, killing three birds with one stone."

Lin Yu sighed in the Sea of Consciousness, "Taking their money, using their land to Cultivate, and even making them grateful to you.

Disciple, your 'capitalist' face is becoming more and more standard."

Su Ming responded in his heart, "Master, this is called resource exchange.

I provided labor and technique, and he gets the harvest; this is a win-win."

Two hours later.

As the sun set, the entire field of Fire Sun Grass looked brand new.

Although the leaves had not yet completely returned to a vibrant green, that grey, decaying Death Qi had dissipated entirely, replaced by a sense of burgeoning vitality.

Deacon Wu circled the field three times, and the word "good" didn't stop leaving his mouth.

"Brother Su, thank you for your hard work!"

Deacon Wu eagerly handed him a pot of Spiritual Tea.

"You look a bit pale; drink some tea to recover."

Su Ming took the tea and drank a sip, then took several empty earthenware jars he had prepared in advance from his Storage Pouch.

"Deacon Wu, I have one more small request."

Su Ming pointed to the pile of compacted, discarded soil he had cleared from the field.

"If this 'poisoned soil' is left by the field, I fear it will cause secondary contamination.

I happen to be researching a Formation to neutralize fire toxin and need some samples for experiments.

Could I take this waste soil with me?"

Deacon Wu glanced at the pile of foul-smelling muck and waved his hand in disgust.

"Take it, take it! I was just worrying about where to dump it.

If you can handle it, Brother Su, you're doing me a huge favor!"

Su Ming gratefully and carefully packed the "poisoned soil" into the earthenware jars, sealed them, and put them into his Storage Pouch.

Only after walking a long way from the Spiritual Plant Garden did Su Ming let out a long breath, a smile he couldn't suppress curling at the corners of his lips.

"Master, that soil..."

"Treasure."

Lin Yu's voice was uncharacteristically serious.

"That soil contains not only concentrated fire toxin but also the 'Heavy Water' residue left by the previous Array Master.

These two extreme energies have been entangled in the soil for several months, forming an extremely unstable 'thunder fire sand' structure."

"If you take it back and refine it using your 'Water Extraction Method'..." Lin Yu chuckled, "With just a little stimulation, this stuff becomes natural 'Yin Thunder Beads.'

As for the power, blowing off the leg of a Late Qi Refining Stage Cultivator shouldn't be a problem."

Su Ming touched his Storage Pouch, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

Eighty Spirit Stones, an excellent spot to Cultivate, plus a batch of raw Materials that could be used to craft a deadly weapon for ambushing people.

This trip, he had made a killing.