Chapter 100: A Spirit Array Master Pays a Visit
Chapter 100: Chapter 100: A Spirit Array Master Pays a Visit
When it came to farming, one would gradually figure out its patterns over time.
The contents of the *Spirit Plant Atlas* were now completely memorized in Chen Mo’s mind. He only needed a brief moment of thought, and the plantable Spirit Plants would quickly appear in his head. Ten acres of Spirit Yellow Rice were quickly planted. He was extremely familiar with this kind of Spirit Plant.
As for the five acres of Giant Bone Spirit Rice, he dug small pits every three feet in the Spirit Fields and buried the seeds one by one. For the final five acres of Cyan Leaf Orchids and Yellow Spirit Grass Flowers, he piled the earth into ridges and sowed the seeds along them. With Kang’s help, Chen Mo didn’t have to expend much effort to finish sowing the twenty acres of Spirit Fields.
Next came Rainfall and Weeding, followed by quietly waiting for them to slowly sprout.
Just like in the Ancient Dust Marketplace, Chen Mo cleared a flat space in the center of the Spirit Fields and placed a cushion on it. Sitting cross-legged, he grasped a Low Grade Spirit Stone in his hand and continued his arduous cultivation.
One day, two days—time flew by quickly. In the blink of an eye, the Cyan Leaf Orchids and Yellow Spirit Grass Flowers had already sprouted.
These Spirit Plants, which usually took three to four months to mature, had their growth cycles shortened to one and a half to two months under the effects of his Rapid Maturation Talent. This meant that as long as conditions allowed and the temperature was appropriate, he could likely harvest four to five crops a year!
In this way, compared to ordinary Spirit Plant Cultivators, his profits would be greatly increased. Everything was going smoothly.
On the seventh day since Chen Mo moved to his new residence, Mei Hua came knocking on his door.
Before the other party even approached, Chen Mo got up and walked over. By the time Mei Hua poked his head out to see if Chen Mo was in the room, Chen Mo had already arrived behind him and patted his shoulder.
"Steward Mei, is there something you need?"
This sudden appearance gave Mei Hua a considerable fright. He realized that the fact Chen Mo could appear silently behind him meant that if Chen Mo harbored malicious intentions, he could take Mei Hua’s life in a single move! But fortunately, that wasn’t the case.
"Fellow Daoist, you really startled me," Mei Hua said.
Chen Mo smiled. "My apologies, I was too engrossed in my thoughts."
"The Pavilion Master has been quite busy lately. He has to handle all matters, big and small, in the entire marketplace, so he couldn’t come personally and had to send me to invite you."
"What is it about?" Chen Mo frowned unconsciously. He wondered why he was being called over again when he had only been away for seven days.
"The Pavilion Master didn’t tell me, but he said you’d know once you get there."
Chen Mo barely hesitated. After pondering for a moment, he nodded and said, "Alright, let’s go."
The two of them crossed a patch of Spirit Fields that had yet to sprout and walked for less than half an incense stick of time before quickly arriving at the White Snake Marketplace.
At this moment, the place seemed somewhat desolate, just like the Ancient Dust Marketplace. The Loose Cultivators were either out adventuring or busy cultivating, leaving fewer people coming and going in the marketplace.
The road was practically empty as Chen Mo and Mei Hua arrived at the Master’s Mansion.
Song Yunxi, who had been sitting in the reception hall drinking tea, beamed with smiles upon hearing the announcement. He looked at Ban Xiaowei beside him and said, "Senior Brother Ban, if you please!"
This person looked rather young, only in his early thirties. With his long hair tied up in a Daoist topknot and wearing a green robe, his chiseled features gave off an aura of strict righteousness. Even while standing next to Song Yunxi right now, he remained entirely unsmiling and serious.
A moment later, Mei Hua and Chen Mo walked in.
"Brother Chen!" Song Yunxi constantly wore a hearty smile on his face. It seemed that in Chen Mo’s memory, this older brother never had any worries—or perhaps he never let them show on his face.
"Brother Song!"
"Come, come, let me introduce you!" Song Yunxi walked over to Ban Xiaowei and intimately tried to pat the other party’s shoulder, but the man ducked slightly and dodged out of the way.
Clearly, this unfamiliar Cultivator was somewhat averse to such a lack of boundaries.
"Heh..." Song Yunxi awkwardly scratched his head and pretended nothing happened, continuing, "This is Ban Xiaowei, a fourth-generation disciple of Purple Cloud Peak. Like me, he is at the Qi Refining Eighth Grade."
"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Ban!" Chen Mo cupped his fists and greeted him with utmost courtesy.
The other party returned the salute with equally meticulous precision. For Ban Xiaowei, this was his code of conduct.
"Well?" Song Yunxi asked, looking at his senior brother.
However, Ban Xiaowei shook his head and spoke bluntly, "Looking at Brother Chen’s age, I’d say he’s about thirty-three or thirty-four, right?"
Chen Mo nodded.
"Did you ever try to join an Immortal Sect in the past?"
"My Talent was poor, and my Innate Talent was mediocre."
Ban Xiaowei looked at Song Yunxi and said, "Master won’t accept him as a disciple."
"Nonsense!" Song Yunxi nearly jumped up. "If your master was willing to take him as a disciple, why would I have sought you out? You’ve been freeloading food and drink off me for days!"
Ban Xiaowei rolled his eyes. "Do I need to spell it out more clearly for you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Since Master won’t accept him, neither will I."
Song Yunxi returned the eye roll. "When did I ever ask you to take him in as a disciple? He’s my brother! If you take him as your disciple, what then? Are you trying to take advantage of me and become my senior?"
"Then why did you call me here? Just to give me free food and drinks?" The way Ban Xiaowei said this with complete seriousness somehow carried an inexplicable sense of comedy.
Standing on the side, Chen Mo roughly guessed what was going on. If nothing unexpected happened, this person should be a Spirit Array Master! Song Yunxi was truly dedicated, actually managing to find one for him!
However, his own Talent was indeed not high. Back when he was comprehending the most basic Mountain Gazing Shadow Retaining Array, he had even been mocked by Kang. There was nothing he could do about it; farming was the only thing he could consider himself good at.
"You don’t have to take him as a disciple; you can just teach him!" Song Yunxi proactively leaned in toward the other man’s ear, but Ban Xiaowei still pulled away to keep his distance.
"Just say it straight. I can hear you."
"You! Given our relationship, what’s wrong with teaching him two or three agricultural Arrays? I’m not asking you to teach him Illusion Arrays or Arrays of Slaughter and Destruction!"
"Do you think I’m the type of person who breaks the rules and disobeys the Master’s teachings?" Ban Xiaowei kept a straight face. With his sharp features, he truly didn’t look like someone who knew how to be flexible!
However, Song Yunxi punched him in the chest and declared, "You are!"
"Oh! Then I suppose I am."
The other man remained completely serious, but his words left Chen Mo slightly stunned. He wondered what the man meant by that. Was he or wasn’t he?
"The old rules: two Low Grade Spirit Stones per Array. We’ll pre-order three for now, and pay you once you’ve taught him!"
"This price of yours makes things very difficult for me," Ban Xiaowei said, maintaining his unsmiling and serious demeanor from beginning to end.
"Cut the crap. I’ll cover three visits to the Fragrance Pavilion for you, too."
"Deal!" Ban Xiaowei didn’t even hesitate in the slightest.
For Spirit Array Masters, they weren’t proficient in every single kind of Array. Among them, Arrays that focused on Yang energy, movement, slaughter, or control were relatively complex. The cost of learning and mastering them was significantly higher for a Spirit Array Master.
However, among all Tier One Spirit Arrays, there were some that were comparatively simpler. For example, the Temperature Control Array, or the Insect Repellent Array...
"I heard from him that you’ve studied the Memory Array?"