When Zheng Fa saw Master Qian again, he almost didn’t recognize him.
It was still the same person, the same face, the same belly.
But the expression on his face was greatly different from before—Master Qian used to be in charge of the Qianhe Sect workshop, often engaged in welcoming and sending off guests, and his personality leaned more towards being lively and slick, naturally reflecting in his expressions.
This time, however, Zheng Fa saw some familiar qualities in him.
He actually seemed a bit like Mrs. Tian.
Master Qian was squatting next to a field in the Medicine Garden, closely examining a stalk of rice, his expression somber, focused, and even somewhat lost in deep thought, not even noticing Zheng Fa and others approaching.
Zheng Fa had never expected that after coming to the Jiushan Realm, the one who changed the most drastically would be this Master Qian, whom he wasn’t very familiar with.
Zheng Fa spoke softly.
Only then did Master Qian come back to his senses. When he turned his head and saw Zheng Fa and Zhang with a few others come, he was so startled that his expression momentarily returned to its old ways.
A flattering smile appeared on his face, reminiscent of his former demeanor, as he hurriedly performed a ritual greeting to them.
"Master Qian, have you gotten any results?"
Zheng Fa waved his hand and asked.
"Results..." To his surprise, Master Qian seemed conflicted and hesitant, "There are some results, but..."
Seeing him , Zheng Fa became even more interested: "Would you tell me about it?"
Since Master Qian had invited Zheng Fa here, naturally he wouldn’t hide anything, but he glanced at Zhang and the others, seeming somewhat reluctant to speak.
After pondering for a moment, Master Qian bit his teeth and led them further into the field.
"This matter has to start from when we were cultivating the rice seeds."
He spoke while walking.
"At that time, didn’t you leave me a few books?"
These were some agricultural experiment schemes summarized by Elder Hou and Mrs. Tian; they had tried modern concepts in the nursing home, found them effective, and recorded them in those books.
"I couldn’t understand them at first, so I thought about learning while planting, even if I couldn’t grow anything significant, I would still learn something."
Hearing Master Qian say so, Zheng Fa couldn’t help but praise: "That’s the right approach, learning by applying, which helps you learn faster."
Hearing this, Master Qian also laughed, his shoulders noticeably more relaxed.
"I couldn’t understand the rest, but the part about hybrid experiments..." he said cheerfully, "I figured that part out."
"I’ve crossed the spirit plants in the Medicine Garden with the rice seeds we collected."
Zheng Fa was stunned.
He stood still, looking at Master Qian and finally understanding this man’s change.
This was no small workload; the Spirit Plants in the Medicine Garden numbered at least a few thousand.
Add the varieties of rice seeds, such an experiment would require tens of thousands of trials...
It’s a wonder he hasn’t gone mad from the change...
Master Qian nodded, as if understanding what Zheng Fa was thinking: "This is tedious work, but I had a few disciples to help, so it was not too troublesome."
"Yes!" Master Qian pointed ahead, "That’s it."
Zheng Fa looked in the direction he was pointing: a single rice seedling stood upright.
The seedling wasn’t thick or tall, but had one peculiar feature—from top to bottom, it had light blue-purple speckles, giving it a somewhat mystical and dangerous appearance.
"Is this grain a Spirit Plant?"
Zheng Fa was overjoyed inside.
It wasn’t that grain Spirit Plants were especially valuable, but lower-level disciples couldn’t do without them.
Above the Golden Core stage, one can practice Fasting.
But Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment cultivators need to eat.
"It sort of is..." Master Qian waved his hand lightly, and a disciple brought over a bowl, which contained a small bowl of rice, speckled with blue-purple as well.
"This isn’t poisonous, right?"
Suddenly, Fairy Yuan asked.
"Not poisonous... it’s just..."
"Then I’ll try it!" Hearing this, Fairy Yuan’s eyes brightened, and she grabbed a few grains of raw rice and stuffed them into her mouth.
Master Qian was about to say more but hesitated.
"There’s still quite a bit left..." Fairy Yuan thought he was reluctant, comforting him, "I’m just trying~the~fla~vor~"
When she pronounced the last few words, Fairy Yuan suddenly let out a series of tremors, seemingly quite ecstatic.
Everyone couldn’t help but look at her face, seeing her mouth twisted and face contorted, her expression slightly twitching—they couldn’t help but turn back to Master Qian.
You said it wasn’t poisonous, right?
"Not poisonous... but it’s electrified..." Master Qian also felt a bit embarrassed, speaking softly, "Fairy Yuan ate too quickly, I didn’t get to mention..."
"...Is it numbing?" Zheng Fa suppressed a smile, asking Fairy Yuan.
Fairy Yuan spoke with a heavy tongue.
Master Qian’s expression also explained: "This new Spirit Plant indeed contains Spiritual Energy, but also... carries a strong electric charge."
"Everyone might find it a bit hard to adjust to eating..."
As he spoke, his expression also became a bit dejected.
No wonder he had been hesitating earlier.
The Spirit Plants of the Xuanwei Realm are usually either abundant in Spiritual Energy or have a unique taste—
There’s no lunatic chasing the thrill of electrification.
Zheng Fa suddenly remembered an old friend with the surname Yan...
In his place, it wasn’t just him who was a lunatic!
Thinking of Yan Wushuang, he suddenly had an idea.
He took a few grains of rice and popped them into his mouth, slowly chewing.
Hmm, a bit electric, but not too strong!
After practicing the Five Thunders Body, he was almost insensitive to this bit of electricity.
Zheng Fa looked at Master Qian, seeing his face a bit anxious, as if he truly felt he had created something rather useless.
Zheng Fa suddenly bowed his head lightly in a salutation towards him.