Chapter 6. Opening Spirit Fields,Purple-Striped Wild Goose (Demon Beast)
A first-grade, low-tier spirit peach tree could bear approximately 4 to 5 dozen spirit peaches each year, translating to an annual income of over 2 100 spirit stones.
Spirit Peach Trees have a lifespan that starts at several 100 years at the very least. With an annual yield of 200 spirit stones, the accumulated returns over time become a substantial fortune.
If this were a spirit peach tree, it could greatly alleviate the Chen family's current predicament.
"What a pity."
Just as he was sighing, Eldrin suddenly froze, as if struck by a sudden realization.
Primordial Purple Qi.
He recalled that the Primordial Purple Qi could elevate 1's foundation and possessed the wondrous ability to shape innate aptitude—perhaps it could trigger a metamorphosis in the Spirit Peach Tree.
Yet he hesitated once more. The Primordial Purple Qi was exceedingly rare; after over a decade of painstaking cultivation, he had only managed to accumulate a mere 1 and a half wisps of Creation Purple Qi.
"I once wished to enhance my cultivation aptitude once more, but it seems the Primordial Purple Qi can only be used once. It has now become useless."
"Perhaps advancing the peach tree into a spirit tree and using its spiritual peaches to aid my cultivation would be the most cost-effective approach at present."
At this thought, Eldrin steeled his resolve. He exhaled a wisp of Primordial Purple Qi, letting it merge into the spirit peach tree.
Sure enough, as a wisp of Primordial Purple Qi was absorbed by the spirit peach tree, a miraculous transformation occurred within it.
It grew even more tall and lush, increasingly vigorous and extraordinary, with an aura of spiritual energy faintly emanating between its branches. The peach blossoms became ever more vibrant and exquisitely beautiful.
Spiritual Root.
"As expected, it has advanced into a first-grade spirit peach tree."
A flicker of delight crossed Eldrin's (Person Name) face, yet it was tinged with a pang of visceral pain. A single wisp of Morning Dawn Purple Qi—painstakingly accumulated over 10 long years of dedicated breath cultivation—had vanished in an instant.
Only half a breath of Morning Mist Purple Qi remained now. To accumulate another full breath would likely take 5 or 6 more years.
After the Spirit Peach Tree advanced, he simply built a bamboo hut beside it and began cultivating spirit fields.
Establishing a spirit field is a delicate task. It requires not only cultivating the land, but also setting up a Spirit Gathering Formation (Formation) within the field. Finally, the land must be nourished using a spirit planter's Spirit Nurturing Art. Only then can a spirit field possibly be established.
Eldrin spent 2 days clearing 3 mu of spirit fields, then devoted another 7 or 8 days to arranging the Spirit Gathering Formation.
Nurturing Spirit Art was a first-grade, superior-tier spell that could be wielded by cultivators possessing water, wood, or earth spiritual roots. However, its activation demanded substantial energy expenditure. Even Eldrin, with his seventh-level Qi Refining cultivation, could only execute it 3 times consecutively before needing to replenish his vital energy.
To nourish the 3 acres of spiritual fields, he performed the Spirit Nurturing Art over 30 consecutive times before finally succeeding in cultivating them.
It wasn't that more couldn't be opened; it was merely that the spiritual energy from the first-grade, top-tier spirit vein was limited. It had to sustain both the Azure Scale Spirit Fish and Eldrin's cultivation, leaving only enough residual energy to develop 3 mu of spirit fields.
As for more land, unless they consumed spirit stones to create spirit fields. However, establishing 1 mu of spirit field required 1,000 spirit stones. With the Chen family's coffers now depleted, they simply couldn’t produce such a vast sum.
After painstakingly clearing the spirit fields, it was already late March. Eldrin seized the moment and labored for another 3 days, finally managing to plant 2 acres with spirit rice and 1 acre with spiritual herbs.
"Alright."
Gazing upon the spirit rice and medicinal herbs flourishing in the spirit field, Eldrin revealed a faint smile.
Spirit Rice ripens once a year, with each acre of spirit fields yielding an annual income of 20-some spirit stones. The 2 acres of spirit fields collectively contribute approximately 50 spirit stones to the family's revenue each year.
The maturation of spirit herbs was an exceedingly protracted process. Across this 1-acre spirit field, over 30 spirit herb seeds had been sown. Those with the swiftest growth required 10 years to mature, while the slower ones needed several decades, or even hundreds of years, to reach full maturity.
The value of spirit herbs is immense. Although they do not generate wealth as swiftly as spirit rice, they are indispensable treasures for cultivators above the Foundation Establishment realm—rare and serendipitous finds crucial to their cultivation.
A few years ago, a Green Origin Fungus matured in the herb garden of Verdant Chariot Mountain (Location). Patriarch Chen Changxuan (Person Name) had someone refine it into a furnace of second-grade, superior-quality pills, which finally allowed him to break through the bottleneck at the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment.
After planting the spiritual rice and medicinal herbs, Eldrin finally breathed a sigh of relief. From then on, he only needed to nourish the spirit fields with his Spirit Nurturing Art every half month and water them once with the Rain Creation Technique. The rest of his time could be devoted entirely to cultivation without worry.
Time slipped away swiftly in the midst of cultivation, and in the blink of an eye, 2 months had passed.
1 day, after Eldrin completed his cultivation routine, he guided a lone boat across Spirit Isle Lake, counting the Azure Spirit Fish.
"2 are missing."
After triple-checking, Eldrin furrowed his brow.
The Azure Spirit Fish typically followed their leader, moving in schools to feed on aquatic plants. Under the protection of their Qi Refinement, Late Stage monarch, the young fry remained largely secure, with vanishingly rare instances of disappearance.
Yet after multiple counts, he still found 2 missing. With his current visual acuity, it was virtually impossible to miscount a 100-some spirit fish.
Thus, Eldrin suspected there was something peculiar within the spirit lake—likely a demonic beast that had hunted 2 of the spirit fish.
"The spirit lake has been purged of demonic beasts 3 times already. In theory, there shouldn't be any ferocious ones left."
"Could it be that more demon beasts have migrated here?"
Eldrin contemplated seeking aid from Verdant Chariot Mountain, yet ultimately suppressed the impulse.
Only 2 fry of the Azure-Scale Spirit Fish were lost, so the intruder likely wasn't an overly powerful demon beast. Otherwise, the Azure-Scale Fish King wouldn't have been able to protect the entire school.
The Pale Azure Fish King was of a gentle disposition. Despite possessing the power of Qi Refinement, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm), its combat prowess ranked among the lowest within this realm.
That beast couldn't even handle the Fish King, so its strength was likely quite limited. He reckoned he could subdue it with ease.
The immediate priority is to identify the beast that stole the spirit fish and capture it.
That day, Eldrin searched nearly half of the spirit lake, yet as the sun dipped westward, he still returned empty-handed. He had no choice but to head back to the lake's central island, resolved to continue his search the following day.
Early the next morning, after inhaling the morning glow and completing his cultivation of the Primordial Violet Qi, Eldrin set out for the Spirit Lake.
At the sight of the fish swarm, his eyebrows furrowed as he noticed something amiss with the number of spirit fish.
Sure enough, after a thorough check, the number of spirit fish had decreased by 2. With his cultivation at Qi Refinement, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm), his memory far surpassed ordinary people. He immediately noticed the 2 missing spirit fish were the smallest ones.
This pained Eldrin beyond measure, gnashing his teeth in silent fury. Each matured spirit fish was worth 5 spirit stones, and with 4 young ones lost in succession, the family had nearly suffered a loss of 20 spirit stones.
The annual stipend for a Chen Clan Qi Refinement, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm) cultivator amounted to merely 10 spirit stones. Losing 4 spirit fish at once—even as an influential elder unlikely to face formal repercussions—would inevitably flood his heart with scorching humiliation.
"Damned bastard, don't let me catch you."
Eldrin gritted his teeth, cast the Water Evasion Art, and plunged into the lake. He followed the school of spirit fish, lying in wait for his prey.
The fish school encountered no attacks that day. Yet, having resolved to capture that demon beast, he did not return to the lake’s central isle. Instead, he stayed close behind the school, keeping watch through the entire night.
It was not until the break of dawn the next day that he finally made some progress, uncovering the culprit behind the stolen spirit fish.
A furtive creature emerged from the reed marshes, stealthily swimming toward the spirit fish.
“Purple-Striped Wild Goose (Demon Beast)？”