Chapter 53: 48 Jin of Seeds?
Chapter 53: Chapter 53: 48 Jin of Seeds?
Hong Yan had an excellent tolerance for alcohol. Or rather, once someone became a Cultivator, it was impossible for them to get drunk unless they wanted to. Moreover, Spirit Wine wasn’t like the strong liquor found in the Mortal Realm, where downing it in massive gulps didn’t matter. This was brewed from Spirit Rice—every single cup was worth a fortune!
When Song Yunxi came out fully dressed, Chen Mo and Hong Yan were both completely sober, chatting and laughing together. Throughout the night, Hong Yan shared many fascinating anecdotes and tales from the Fragrance Pavilion, while Chen Mo made up tragic, beautiful romances like "Daiyu Burying Flowers" and "The Butterfly Lovers." These stories had Hong Yan wiping away tears one moment and sipping wine the next.
"Don’t tell me you two just sat here chatting all night?" Song Yunxi’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
They had come all the way to the Fragrance Pavilion, yet they only sat and talked? He was confident that with his standing, Hong Yan wouldn’t have refused to share a bed with Chen Mo. Yet, here they were...
"Miss Hong is truly a woman of great depth," Chen Mo said, standing up with a smile and raising his cup to toast her again.
Hong Yan looked at him with a gaze full of mild reproach. "You’ve completely stirred my heart and left my mind running wild." Then, she added in a soft murmur, "To think there are so many poignant love stories in the Mortal Realm. I really want to go see it for myself."
"You will have the chance."
"Then Young Master Chen must accompany me when the time comes."
"Naturally!" Chen Mo agreed with a smile.
How much truth was there to such pleasantries? However, after a night of casual conversation, Chen Mo genuinely felt she was a fascinating woman. She had a crystal-clear understanding of the ways of the world and human nature. She had even offered him many unique insights! Of course, Hong Yan had also promised that once this current storm blew over, she would present him with a grand gift!
The three Female Cultivators of the Fragrance Pavilion walked Song Yunxi and Chen Mo all the way to the entrance, watching them until they disappeared from sight.
"Yu Xi, you spent a night with him. Can you still recall what kind of person he is?" Hong Yan asked, lingering in front of the Fragrance Pavilion.
Yu Xi thought for a moment. "Sister Hong, it’s been a year, so I don’t remember clearly. But I just felt that he was different from ordinary Spirit Plant Cultivators."
"Different in what aspect?" Hong Yan asked, raising a seductive brow.
Yu Xi didn’t catch the implication at first, but she quickly understood. Even though she was accustomed to the affairs of the flesh, encountering a dirty joke still made her a little bashful.
"Haha!" Hong Yan laughed heartily before her expression suddenly turned serious. "That old fox, Song Yunxi. Anyone he takes an interest in is certainly far from simple!"
On the way back to the Yi Er San Grain Station, as they neared the place, Song Yunxi suddenly spoke up, "Brother, there’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while, and I feel I still need to warn you."
"Please speak your mind, Brother Song!"
"That woman, Hong Yan, is far from simple. You need to keep your guard up when dealing with her."
Chen Mo nodded. He had already realized that. Yin Zheng’s death had been nothing but a theatrical play put on for his benefit. A woman like her was indeed difficult to handle!
"Thank you for the warning, Brother Song. I’ll keep it in mind!"
Song Yunxi chuckled and slung an arm over his shoulder, whispering, "Though rumor has it her skills are absolutely top-notch!"
"What skills?" Chen Mo feigned ignorance.
"What do you think?"
"Haha!"
The two of them burst into laughter at the same time.
Hearing his boss’s laughter, Mei Hua hurried out to greet them.
They had enjoyed their share of pleasure; now, it was finally time to get down to business! Chen Mo followed Song Yunxi into the Breeding Room. Under the dim light of an oil lamp, the previously prepared Spirit Rice had already been sorted into several piles.
"Brother Chen! I’ll have to trouble you to work hard for the next two days!"
"No trouble at all! I’ll just treat it as Cultivation."
Chen Mo scooped up a handful of Spirit Rice and began casting the Qi Crossing Technique. With so much Spirit Rice to give him experience and Spiritual Sand to earn, it was an absolute win-win situation.
[Qi Crossing Technique +1]
[Qi Crossing Technique +1]
...
As the Spirit Rice was continuously consumed, his experience in the Qi Crossing Technique grew like wildfire. It had already been at 172 experience points, and after going through less than a hundred catties of Spirit Rice, this Magic specifically meant for Breeding leveled up!
Chen Mo glanced at his Talent panel:
[Breeding (Blue): Channels Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into the seeds of all things, nurturing life within. Upon the day of germination, vibrant life shall burst forth. This method can be integrated into Qi Crossing Magic, increasing the breeding success rate by 100% (Already integrated with the Qi Crossing Technique. You may choose whether to apply it during casting. When this method levels up, the Talent will also level up).]
"100%!!" Chen Mo was thrilled. He never expected that a mere blue Talent would double the success rate!
He hurriedly scooped up ten catties of Spirit Rice and cast his Breeding Technique again. A moment later, the ten catties of Spirit Rice yielded over two taels of seeds.
Without factoring in his Talent, the seed yield rate for a Mastery Realm Qi Crossing Technique was roughly between thirty-five and forty to one. Compared to the Proficient Realm, the improvement wasn’t overly significant. However, with his Talent included, the yield rate stabilized at under twenty to one!
Twenty to one! What a terrifying ratio that was!
Chen Mo might not have known, but Song Yunxi was fully aware that one had to cultivate the Qi Crossing Technique to Great Success to achieve a yield rate of twenty to one. For an ordinary Breeder, without burning through tens of thousands of catties of Spirit Rice, reaching Great Success was nothing but a pipe dream!
For the next two days, Chen Mo continuously consumed his Spiritual Qi to cast the Qi Crossing Technique. Song Yunxi wasn’t stingy in the slightest; he provided all the Spiritual Sand consumed over these two days.
The first hundred catties yielded three catties of seeds. The subsequent nine hundred catties, however, caused the yield to skyrocket to forty-five catties!
The only regret was that previously, ten catties of Spirit Rice provided four experience points for his Qi Crossing Technique, but after reaching the Mastery Realm, ten catties only gave three points. Nine hundred catties increased his Qi Crossing Technique by 270 points. He was still quite a ways off from the next level-up.
But one couldn’t forget that Chen Mo still had 600 catties of Spirit Rice stored at the grain station! Once he reached Minor Achievement, just what kind of terrifying number would his seed yield rate reach?
Seeing that the time was about up, Song Yunxi came over again. Following the shopkeeper’s orders, Mei Hua had prepared food and wine to reward him for his hard work. Entering the room, Song Yunxi saw Chen Mo sitting cross-legged in recovery and spoke up, "You’ve worked hard these past two days, Brother Chen!"
"It was fine. With Spiritual Sand to replenish my energy, it wasn’t tiring at all."
Chen Mo was long accustomed to ascetic cultivation. Back in the Spirit Fields, his days consisted of either farming or Cultivation. This little bit of workload was a piece of cake. It wasn’t even as exhausting as cultivating the Flaming Palm had been.
"Nonsense!" Song Yunxi turned to Mei Hua, signaling him to bring the food and wine over. "Brother Chen, have something to eat first and take a rest."
Chen Mo didn’t decline. He picked up a bowl of Spirit Porridge and downed it, GULP GULP.
Instantly, he felt entirely refreshed and invigorated.
"Brother Song, the seeds are all on the table. You can weigh them."
"No need to weigh!" Song Yunxi waved his hand dismissively. "For a thousand catties of Spirit Rice, I’ll calculate it as thirty-five catties of seeds. At one and a half taels per catty, that makes fifty-three taels of Spiritual Sand in total!"
"Thirty-five catties? Who said it was thirty-five catties?" Chen Mo retorted with a smile.
"It’s not thirty-five catties?" Song Yunxi looked at the pile on the table in confusion.
Behind him, Mei Hua astutely stepped forward and weighed it with a scale. The next moment, he was dumbfounded.
"What’s the situation?" Song Yunxi asked.
"Shop... Shopkeeper, it... it really isn’t thirty-five catties..."
"How many catties is it?!"
"It’s... it’s forty... forty-eight catties!"
"What?!"