Plant VS Cultivation

Chapter 39: First Encounter with the Inner Sect

An inner sect disciple with a high cultivation speed had a guaranteed future of at least reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. Even the Golden Core stage was within reach, and with great fortuitous encounters, the Nascent Soul stage was not entirely out of the question.

Faced with such a promising junior sister, how could Zhao Qiancheng not be enthusiastic? In the cultivation world, strength was paramount, but when one's progress stagnated, social connections became equally important. If he didn't take the opportunity to build rapport while she was still weak, he might never get the chance once she became powerful.

"That's right, for us cultivators, cultivation is the most important thing." Zhao Qiancheng responded with a smile.

As they conversed, the two arrived at the warehouse of the Spirit Plant Hall. This junior sister, Yuan, was not here just to chat with Zhao Qiancheng—she had come to claim her inner sect disciple benefits and to tour the sect's various industries.

Compared to outer sect disciples and laborers, inner sect disciples were the true core of Qinglu Sect, the future leaders of the sect. Naturally, Qinglu Sect was generous with their treatment. Spirit stones, pills, and magical artifacts were standard benefits, but one of the most important perks was that inner sect disciples consumed spiritual rice daily to supplement their cultivation.

After all, pills could not be consumed excessively, but spiritual rice had no such limitations. As long as a cultivator was not financially strained, they would consume spiritual rice regularly, as it both satisfied hunger and aided cultivation.

"Young man, why is this season's yield lower than usual?"

As Zhao Qiancheng led the fire-element spirit root girl into the warehouse, they heard the warehouse manager's voice.

The girl had timed her arrival well—this was precisely when the new season's spiritual rice had ripened. Since she was here to collect her ration, naturally, she wanted the freshest harvest.

"The spiritual fields suffered from a pest infestation this season, so…" Gu Mo had prepared his response in advance. Anyone involved in farming had encountered pest or rodent problems before, so fluctuations in yield were perfectly normal.

"What a pity."

Hearing that Gu Mo's fields had been affected by pests, the warehouse manager showed a look of regret. Gu Mo had won the highest yield award last season. If he had maintained his previous yield of 800 jin per acre, he might have been able to compete for the title again this year.

Winning the highest yield award came with a substantial reward. Labor disciples lacked innate talent and had to rely on resources to progress. The reward for the highest yield was a significant resource boost.

Seeing the warehouse manager's regretful expression, Gu Mo also showed a hint of disappointment. He had been looking forward to the award, as the last time he won, it had earned him the opportunity to become a Spirit Plant Master. Even if this time the reward wasn't as great, it was unlikely to be bad.

Unfortunately, perfection was unattainable. In order to master the Concealment Technique as quickly as possible, Gu Mo had to sacrifice some yield.

Missing this chance meant he would never again compete for the Spirit Jade Rice highest yield title.

Now that he had reached Qi Refinement Level 2 and mastered all five Spirit Farming Techniques, Gu Mo was fully capable of attempting to cultivate higher-grade spirit plants.

If he was no longer growing Spirit Jade Rice, he would naturally forfeit the chance to compete for the highest yield title.

After weighing the harvest, Gu Mo's yield this season was confirmed at just over 600 jin. Although it was lower than his previous 800 jin, it was still well above the average.

Of this yield, 300 jin was submitted in exchange for contribution points. Adding to his original 800 points, Gu Mo now had 1,100 contribution points. Without needing to save for the 3,000-point Hidden Qi Art, this amount was already enough to exchange for many valuable resources.

As for the remaining 300 jin, Gu Mo planned to sell 200 jin for spirit stones. His only external sect connection was with the tavern in the marketplace, which was valuable for gathering information on the world outside the sect. Cutting off this connection was not an option. Moreover, with his formation plate consuming spirit stones, Gu Mo needed a steady supply.

The last 100 jin was for his personal consumption.

"Steward Zhao!"

After finalizing the harvest records, Gu Mo was about to leave when he turned and spotted Zhao Qiancheng. He immediately bowed in greeting, feeling slightly nervous—this was the moment that would test whether his mastery of the Concealment Technique could fool a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"You handled the matter well."

Zhao Qiancheng glanced at Gu Mo and nodded. The matter he referred to was Gu Mo's recent recruitment of over a hundred new labor disciples for the Spirit Plant Hall.

This was the largest voluntary recruitment in recent years. The quality of these recruits was also much better than those selected from the general labor pool.

Currently, these new labor disciples were diligently training in Spirit Farming Techniques. Once they mastered even a single technique, they could be sent to develop spiritual fields outside the valley, which would help stabilize the declining yield of the Spirit Plant Hall.

Unfortunately, among these new recruits, none had displayed exceptional talent like Gu Mo. It had been four or five months, yet no one had successfully learned a Spirit Farming Technique. In contrast, Gu Mo had mastered Minor Cloud Rain Technique in just three months.

"This is my duty as a disciple."

Gu Mo remained humble, but his gaze inevitably drifted toward the young girl beside Zhao Qiancheng. Her striking black-and-red hair was particularly eye-catching.

This was a physical anomaly caused by the imbalance of elements in the body of those with attribute-specific spirit roots. The higher the grade of their spirit root, the more pronounced these abnormalities became.

"Keep working hard!"

Zhao Qiancheng offered a few words of encouragement. He had no intention of introducing the girl to Gu Mo—after all, she was an inner sect disciple, while Gu Mo was merely a labor disciple. They were worlds apart.

Hearing this, Gu Mo bowed and took his leave. Throughout the entire exchange, Zhao Qiancheng never noticed anything unusual about Gu Mo's cultivation, proving that the Concealment Technique was indeed effective in deceiving Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"Senior Brother Zhao, you seem to value that labor disciple quite a bit."

As Gu Mo left, the girl's curiosity was piqued. It was unusual for a Foundation Establishment steward like Zhao Qiancheng to converse with a mere labor disciple for so long.

"He's a promising talent. He has exceptional comprehension—he mastered Minor Cloud Rain Technique in three months and won the highest yield award within a year. Unfortunately, his spirit root is too poor."

Zhao Qiancheng sighed. Aside from his lacking spirit root, Gu Mo's performance had been outstanding in every other regard.

For this reason, Zhao Qiancheng had even made an exception, granting Gu Mo the opportunity to study under a Spirit Plant Master.

The girl, however, remained indifferent. While Gu Mo's achievements were impressive among labor disciples, they were nothing remarkable to an inner sect disciple like her.

She had comprehended fire-element techniques much faster than that. In fact, among inner sect disciples, she was considered one of the most talented in fire-element cultivation. This was the advantage of a mid-grade fire spirit root.

But when Zhao Qiancheng casually mentioned that Gu Mo had mastered Cleansing Technique to perfection, the girl's expression suddenly changed.

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