News of "Moonflower Nectar" and "Sunlight Creation Technique" spread everywhere, reaching Yang Hong's ears within seven days.
"Has anyone succeeded in cultivating them yet?"
To Ran Boren's anxious and resentful emotions, Yang Hong merely asked.
"No, as of yet, there's no rumor of any cultivator at the Seven-Day stage succeeding. The outside world claims these two spiritual plant techniques are the highest spiritual plant techniques in the Taiyuan Realm."
Ran Boren was stunned, then spoke with pride. The higher the outside world's evaluation of "Moonflower Nectar" and "Sunlight Creation Technique," the higher the evaluation of Clear Wind Villa.
"Once someone succeeds, find a way to recruit them to Clear Wind Villa. It's fine even if you have to kidnap them back."
"Ah~ This, your disciple understands. Sect Master, you intend to select suitable disciples for the two spiritual plant techniques. How ingenious. But, Sect Master, won't the price be too high?"
Ran Boren understood on his own, but still didn't fully comprehend.
"I've been teaching these two spiritual plant techniques at Clear Wind Villa for over thirty years. Has any of you succeeded? Since you all lack the talent, I can only cast a wide net and catch more fish."
What Yang Hong said was not wrong, but he knew that to successfully cultivate these two spiritual plant techniques, there was a prerequisite: understanding the rules of creation, at least at the Dao Rhyme level. To use them well, one needed to comprehend rules at the Law level. It was not that simple. If someone could truly learn them, they would undoubtedly be a genius. Even if their luck was not as good, they would be very valuable for cultivation.
He then asked Ran Boren again, "Have you finished collecting the ordinary crop seeds I asked you to gather?"
"Sect Master, your disciple has collected quite a lot. Rice, wheat, soybeans, sorghum, millet – five major grain crops. Your disciple has collected 129 varieties and will continue to collect more."
As he spoke, Ran Boren handed over a storage ring.
"Not bad. Continue collecting. Collect varieties from all five great states of the Tianyuan Continent, and also gather vegetable and fruit seeds."
"Yes, Sect Master."
After dismissing Ran Boren, Yang Hong poured out the collected seeds to study them carefully, releasing his divine sense to its fullest to delve into the seeds and analyze them. The Tianyuan Continent was vast. There were already thousands of rice varieties. He himself did not have the energy to travel across the entire Taiyuan Continent, so he simply assigned the task of collecting seeds to his disciples. He would diligently study the seeds within the sect.
Upon examining the 129 varieties of seeds, a common issue was found: all of them were intertwined with unstable spiritual energy.
In November, the Lihuo Desert was cloudless, with a high and vast sky. A gentle breeze blew from the depths of the desert. By the time it reached the Shallow Dyeing Plain, it had become a strong gale of Force 7 or 8. As the wind swept through, the colorful spirit flowers danced with it, making the entire plain resemble a giant, seven-colored ship on a green ocean. On the southwest corner outside the green ocean was a small patch of golden ripples. This was a combination of rice and wheat fields, grown naturally without the use of spiritual plant techniques for accelerated growth. Surrounding this patch of farmland was a circle of multi-colored fields composed of various crops, but these were cultivated and ripened using spiritual plant techniques.
Yang Hong, dressed in plain, earth-gray cloth, carried a hoe and walked along the ridges of the fields. Occasionally, he would use his divine sense to catch and crush a passing insect. He would also walk into the furrows to weed, just like an ordinary old farmer. To minimize the influence of spiritual energy, he had also specially set up a formation to isolate this farmland from external spiritual energy.
After four months of meticulous care, the rice and wheat finally ripened. Walking into a section of paddy field and scooping up a stalk of rice, he pressed the grains one by one. A smile gradually appeared on Yang Hong's face.
"As expected, without spiritual energy interference, the growth of crops has gradually returned to normal. The problem indeed lies with spiritual energy." The seed setting rate of the rice stalk in his hand had returned to seventy percent.
With a smile, he crossed the formation and entered the outer farmland, where Yang Hong couldn't help but let out a wry smile and shake his head. In a normal environment, whether grown naturally or cultivated using spiritual plant techniques, all crops were "polluted" by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Crops grown without the intervention of spiritual plant techniques had a seed setting rate of no more than ten percent. Even with Yang Hong's careful nurturing using two Rank 8 spiritual plant techniques, the seed setting rate barely exceeded thirty percent. Thirty percent was the absolute maximum.
"Sect Master~ The entire cultivation world has discovered the seed problem. Not only seeds, but many fruit trees that have been growing for years are also experiencing widespread yield reduction. Cultivators can absorb spiritual energy, so the impact is not significant, but ordinary mortals are already facing famine."
As soon as Yang Hong emerged from the cultivation area, Gu Boji flew over to report the latest news. But Yang Hong was not concerned about the outside world.
"Mm, I know. On our Seven-Colored Plain, have the yields of ordinary crops been tallied?"
"They have been tallied. Ordinary non-spiritual plant crops have a fifty percent yield reduction, spiritual plant crops have a seventy percent yield reduction. Only the yield of the Hai Ting Feng has reduced by just twenty percent."
Hearing this yield, Yang Hong's steps faltered. After a moment's thought, he said, "Begin selling Hai Ting Feng to the outside world. Directly explain the problem and its advantages. Sell it at a higher price to accumulate some spirit stones for the sect."
"Yes, Sect Master."
Receiving Yang Hong's command, Gu Boji immediately turned and left. Yang Hong shifted his steps and moved to the side of a paddy field. Reaching out to stroke the stalks of rice, he suddenly recalled his days in the Great Sui Imperial Palace. At that time, he had just obtained the "Plant Infusion System for Cultivation Return," and he was cautiously lying low, solely worried that his growing power would be discovered, leading to him being killed. He never expected that over three hundred years would pass, and he would already be a cultivator at the late stage of the Integration Realm.
"I never expected that I, a seventh-tier Integration Realm Immortal Master, would still be cultivating ordinary plants."
"I wonder what price I will have to pay for using the new [System]?"
As he spoke, he squatted down, held a rice plant, and communicated with the [System] in his heart. An invisible and colorless fluctuation emanated from the depths of his mind, passed through his sea of consciousness, through his Daogong, and coursed through his meridians before entering the rice plant in his hand through his right palm. A mysterious ripple of rules, completely incomprehensible to Yang Hong, entered the earth from the roots of the rice plant and simultaneously entered the heavens and earth from its leaves. Immediately, a verdant, life-filled radiance emanated, transforming the rice plant in his hand, causing it to evolve rapidly, almost instantly becoming a spiritual plant.
"Do not evolve, adapt to the spiritual energy of this world!"
Yang Hong's consciousness sent a command to the green radiance in his heart. Following his will, the rice plant did not evolve further, maintaining its quality as a common Rank 9.
"Ding~ You have infused ordinary rice with 600 days of cultivation, gaining a tenfold cultivation return, and have received 6 million days of cultivation."
"Ding~ Ordinary rice has advanced, advancing to common Rank 9 high-quality, high-yield rice."
The familiar prompt sound, ringing again after decades, made Yang Hong momentarily dazed. His cultivation surged forward like a broken dam. In one breath, he broke through to the Tribulation Crossing Realm, and in another breath, he was already at the second level of the Tribulation Crossing Realm. But Yang Hong did not feel joy; his expression instantly changed drastically.
"Not good!"