Yang Genshuo moved his mouse over the glowing rat and a character card-like introduction popped up.
[Realm: Fetal Breathing, Stage 1]
[Talent: Gluttony (Mortal Level)]
[Gluttony (Mortal Level): Possesses strong digestive capabilities, food consumption +50%.]
"It's actually a Spirit Beast!"
This was Yang Genshuo's first encounter with a Spirit Beast, and he and Yang Shi knew very little about them, having only heard rumors that Immortals rode Spirit Beasts when they traveled.
He was aware of the Fetal Breathing, Stage 1 though—the shopkeeper of Treasure Pavilion, young Liao Cao, who had traveled far and wide, was very knowledgeable and had told Yang Shi about the mysterious Cultivators.
The Fetal Breathing Stage was the beginning of Immortal Cultivation, similar to Martial Cultivators' Body Refining Realm. However, their cultivation was much easier as they only needed to breathe in the Spiritual Energy from heaven and earth. Their realm would rise step by step without straining their bodies like Martial Cultivators, who pushed their physical limits. And once they reached the peak, they would break through to the Qi Refinement Realm and ascend to be a lofty Immortal.
Even Innate Masters among Martial Cultivators were merely fit to serve Qi Refinement Immortals.
Such beings were beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
At that time, when he spoke of them, Liao Cao had shown deep respect, recounting how he once had the privilege to witness several Qi Refinement Immortals up close while at the headquarters of Treasure Pavilion, leaving a lasting impression.
Yang Genshuo looked at the Spirit Beast again. Although it was large, it had been beaten to near death by Hu Zi and was tightly bound with thick ropes, unable to move, its face seeming to say:
Mousey me... I'm almost dead.
"Hu Zi is at the Body Refining Realm, Level Three, and can easily capture this thing. It seems to be one of the weaker ones among Spirit Beasts. Should I keep it? Don't they often raise Spirit Beasts to guard the house in cultivation novels?"
But Yang Genshuo glanced at the 100-acre estate again, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
Put the pig in the feed pool...
Being so large, and with the "Gluttony" talent, who knows how many crops it could destroy.
"Forget it, it's so weak there's no use keeping it. Might as well let Yang Shi eat it to strengthen himself—it is Spirit Beast meat, after all."
He personally didn't like eating mice.
He was about to make Yang Shi "Manifest," but looking at these Large Field Mice, he suddenly remembered something.
"Slave not working, chasing Large Field Mice... I've seen several in the estate... people in Qingshi County have never seen such a big field mouse before, how could they just appear out of nowhere?"
"That's not right, it's abnormal."
He pressed "Manifest."
"The one in the middle is a lower-order Spirit Beast."
"Oh? The kind of Spirit Beast shopkeeper Liao mentioned..."
Yang Shi was also startled.
"That's right, ask Hu Zi and the Slaves where they caught these mice and find their nest."
The golden font disappeared.
"Hu Zi, where did you catch these field mice?"
"Just north, at the base of the mountain. The land is uneven, with lots of grass and trees, we haven't yet cultivated it."
"Good, take more people and weapons, let's go find the nest of the field mice."
"Hey, are we catching all of them? Can we eat them all?"
"Be careful, these aren't ordinary mice."
Hu Zi whipped his whip on the ground, scaring all the Slaves from the surrounding buildings to run out.
"Slaves! Grab your hoes and pitchforks, come with me to catch the Large Field Mice! Those who move slow get a '10 consecutive pulls'—guaranteed 1 whip to the face."
Whoosh, the Slaves quickly sprang into action.
Clearly, Hu Zi had learned lots of advanced management techniques from Yang Shi.
With over fifty people searching at the foot of the mountain, they indeed found another massive field mouse.
"Don't grab it, follow it!"
A crowd surrounded the vole as it scurried towards its burrow in panic.
In front of everyone, it slipped into the bushes and disappeared.
"Dig up the grass and trees in this area!"
Over fifty people clanged away, peeling back the turf and revealing a dark cave with several voles squeaking inside.
Hu Zi, along with a few sturdy slaves, crawled in and captured all the voles, tying them up with ropes.
Only then did Yang Shi himself step into the cave.
The entrance wasn't large, but the inside opened up considerably, allowing Yang Shi to walk even while bending over.
There were many unusually large fungi inside the cave, similar in size to the voles.
"Could this place hold some extraordinary secret?" Yang Shi muttered to himself as he touched the ground.
"This really is like a Bulbasaur entering Mickey's Magic House to eat Doritos—it's brilliantly bizarre! I knew there had to be something special!"
On Yang Genshuo's screen, this uncovered cave was now emitting a faint glow, and the plants inside were also twinkling with light.
[A naturally occurring field with inherent spiritual power, suitable for planting.]
[Spiritual Energy Concentration: 1]
"Objects with spiritual power are marked with a glow in the game."
"This Spirit Field is why those voles had grown abnormally large; they had eaten the fungi here."
"And that vole with the [Gluttony] talent became a Spirit Beast because it ate too much and absorbed more spiritual power."
"However, it had little intelligence or combat ability."
Next, Yang Genshuo informed Yang Shi through Manifestation that this was a Spirit Field. He instructed him to pick the remaining fungi and stew them with that vole.
Yang Shi then assigned Hu Zi and the others to do this, while he himself climbed up the mountain to the Yang Family ancestral grave to discuss matters unknown to Yang Genshuo.
"Great Ancestor, a few days ago, I was having tea with Shopkeeper Liao from the Treasure Pavilion, and he mentioned this Spirit Field..."
Yang Genshuo was pondering how to use this Spirit Field when he realized Yang Shi had knowledge in this area.
"That's true, I was asleep, and in the half-year Yang Shi lived on his own, he gained knowledge that I wasn't involved in."
On the screen, Yang Shi continued speaking.
"He mentioned there's a historically renowned family in Yulong County, the Ge family, skilled in the Art of Spiritual Planting. By scattering different Spirit Seeds in a Spirit Field, they can harvest Spirit Rice, Spirit Fruits, and Spiritual Materials. Immortals eat Spirit Rice and Spirit Fruits, and use Spiritual Materials to forge Magic Treasures."
"Ordinary people who eat Spirit Rice become stronger, healthier, and extend their life span."
"But this Art of Spiritual Planting is said to be learnable only by Cultivators..."
"Great Ancestor, how should we manage this Spirit Field?"
Yang Shi felt troubled, possessing valuable land but feeling unable to use it.
Yang Genshuo, however, had a different perspective.
"Art of Spiritual Planting? It's just farming, but using techniques to yield more crops."
"If mushrooms naturally growing here can have spiritual power, then planting more suitable Spirit Seeds and carefully tending to them should also produce some Spiritual Objects, right?" Latest content published on novelFɪre.net
"It's better to plant something than nothing; let's give it a try."
In his time, one day was equivalent to a year. If nothing grew by this time next year, they could always replant and let mushrooms grow again.
The Spirit Field was about an acre in size, ample for Yang Shi and him to have enough to eat.
"Figure out how to get quick-maturing Spirit Rice to plant in the Spirit Field, and also, keep this matter absolutely secret, do not let it leak!"
This Spirit Field's crops were Cultivators' provisions, which could attract trouble if discovered.
Yang Shi understood the critical importance.
After giving instructions, Yang Genshuo hit the fast-forward button, and time in the game sped up...