The cyan-tailed spirit fish was caught and can be bred, but Lu Xuelian's beast taming mastery is somewhat lacking, making the breeding process quite troublesome and requiring time to figure out how to nurture them properly.
It's not too bad though. Although the first year's profit was not much, only 65 spirit stones, it is commendable not to incur losses while establishing a new industry of spirit fish farming.
A year is a very short period for cultivators and will pass quickly.
After glancing at the new resource of cyan-tailed spirit fish, Lu Ping no longer focused on it.
[Reputation: 191]
He checked his reputation points, accumulating up to 191, enough to unlock the [Resource Optimization].
This [Resource Optimization] is something Lu Ping plans to use on the sect's spirit fields to increase productivity.
However, since Lu Changfeng and his team have not yet returned from their procurement, and the sect's spirit fields have not been expanded, there isn't an urgent need to act immediately.
Next, patience is required.
Thinking of this, Lu Ping checked another reward, the Exorcism Divine Thunder Talisman.
It is worth mentioning that upon inspection, Lu Ping was delighted to discover he can use this talisman with his own hands.
This means that when needed, Lu Ping can cast the Exorcism Divine Thunder Talisman to fend off enemies without having to hand it over to a sect member to use.
It is indeed a pleasant surprise.
Viewing it this way, keeping the talisman in his own hands seems the best option.
If it were to be passed on to a sect member, it would be hard to choose the right person.
After all, Lu Ping doesn't have the ability to predict the future and can't determine who might need this talisman most critically in the future.
Keeping it until a disciple encounters trouble that endangers their life, he can then pass it down or use it directly without delay.
Time flew by, and a little more than a month passed.
After spending over a month in Qinghe Market and selling out the spirit rice, Lu Changfeng quickly completed the procurement and, along with the disciples, left Qinghe Market and returned to the Cyan Mountain Sect.
Without the burden of transporting spirit rice, the speed of the Cloud Stepping Beast increased significantly, and they quickly returned to the sect.
The next day, Lu Yuanshan arranged manpower to begin expanding the spirit fields.
The spirit field area is located from the mountainside up of Cyan Lotus Mountain, where there is a vast fertile land with abundant spiritual qi, very suitable for planting and practicing cultivation.
Based on the original ten acres of spirit fields, Lu Yuanshan decided to expand fifteen acres eastward, increasing the spirit rice planting scale.
The spirit rice being planted is still Jade Crystal Rice.
Jade Crystal Rice is Tier One Top-Grade spirit rice; its yield is higher than other spirit rice of the same tier and is quite valuable, making it an excellent choice for the Cyan Mountain Sect.
In past years, the sect always planted Jade Crystal Rice, with rich experience in doing so, so it was decided to continue planting Jade Crystal Rice.
"After harvesting the spirit rice over two months ago, starting today, we must quickly complete the new spirit field expansion to enlarge the Jade Crystal Rice planting scale."
"Song Minghui, in the coming days, you will lead ten disciples to develop the spirit fields, organizing a fifteen-acre spirit field area."
"Once the spirit fields are developed, the disciples with water, wood, and earth spirit roots who have also learned the Spirit Gathering Rain Technique will cast spells every three days, applying the Spirit Gathering Rain Technique on the new spirit fields to nurture and enrich the spiritual qi."
"Since the new spirit fields' soil nutrient and spiritual qi are not as rich as the old fields, you may use the Spirit Gathering Rain Technique more frequently."
"After casting the Spirit Gathering Rain Technique five times, it should be almost ready to sow the valley seeds."
"Once the seeds are sown, the subsequent task of casting the Spirit Gathering Rain Technique to water will be solely the responsibility of the two disciples guarding the spirit fields."
A total of 25 disciples participated in the task, and there is no shortage of disciples with water, wood, and earth spirit roots, who are best suited to practice the Spirit Gathering Rain Technique and show quick results.
Learning the Spirit Gathering Rain Technique has become a required course for disciples of the Cyan Mountain Sect in recent years, and it is the most suitable magic for planting and irrigating the spirit fields and medicinal gardens.
After listening to Lu Yuanshan's arrangement, the disciples did not dare slack, understanding the significance of expanding the spirit fields to the sect.
The expansion of the spirit fields is tied to everyone's future.
As long as the spirit fields are well planted, the sect will have sufficient grain, plenty of spirit rice to sell externally, allowing the sect to prosper gradually, accumulating spirit stones to cultivate disciples, which will benefit everyone ultimately.
For the disciples' labor, the sect will provide corresponding rewards, ensuring they won't work for nothing, providing the necessary benefits.
So on the very day, the disciples started working diligently, each having a clear division of labor, planning the expansion area, then began weeding, cleaning, turning the soil, methodically taking each step diligently.
The weeding and clearing of stones were simple tasks that only took one day, and on the second day, the group began turning the soil.
Since the land containing spiritual qi is harder than regular fertile land and also inhabited by some spirit worms, this process required preparation for three days.
Initially, the progress of turning the soil was rather slow.
"Little Junior Sister, your way of turning the soil is incorrect."
"Look at me, you must mobilize spiritual power when the spiritual hoe enters the soil; this way, you activate the spiritual hoe. Otherwise, if you can't control the timing and force, continuing to mobilize spiritual power will quickly deplete it, making it unsustainable."
"Remember to exert strength at critical points. You haven't done this before, so learn well."
"Alright, alright, it's my first time after all."
Among the participating disciples, there are those who are newly working in the fields, and a little junior sister named Liu Shiyao was one of them.
She was wearing a big straw hat, sweating profusely as she swung her spiritual hoe diligently over the soil, though her technique lacked proficiency.
The hard soil of the spirit fields is tough for ordinary people to turn, requiring cultivators to use spiritual hoes for time and labor efficiency.
Compared to Liu Shiyao, She Qingqing's actions were much more skillful, exemplifying textbook proficiency for others to learn from.
Moreover, while turning the soil, attention must be paid to whether there are any spirit worms in the soil.
The most common example is the Soul-Devouring Worm, which feeds on spirit grass and spirit rice and is considered a pest.
During soil turning, if Soul-Devouring Worms are discovered, they need to be cleared promptly.
The corpses of the spirit worms can act as fertilizers, nourishing the land and cultivating nutrients.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed, and all spirit fields were turned over; next comes watering and sowing.
The planting method of spirit fields differs somewhat from that of secular grains, and the timeline varies as well.
With united strength, in the following two days, the spirit fields were finally planted.
The expansion of the new spirit fields was a success.
The Jade Crystal Rice Valley Seeds quickly rooted and grew robustly in the spirit fields.
At a glance, it was a sea of lush green.
"The spirit field expansion completed, plus the previous ten acres, totals twenty-five acres of spirit fields. May next year yield a great harvest of spirit rice."
"The sect's main income for the next three years will largely depend on these spirit fields."
In the following month, Lu Yuanshan brought fifty yellow-striped ducks to the spirit field area.
Yellow-striped ducks are not yet Tier One spirit beasts but are stronger than regular ducks.
They are mild-mannered, with yellow stripes on their bodies, similar in size to ducks.
The purchase of these ducks, naturally, was not for consumption.
They are excellent helpers in cultivating spirit fields.
When placed in the spirit fields, they not only prey on spirit insects on the spirit rice but also consume weeds.
The water ripples they create while swimming help to transfer nutrients to the roots of the spirit rice efficiently.
At the same time, their activity makes the water turbid, preventing weeds from easily growing.
With their presence, managing the spirit fields becomes much easier.
Once all this was complete, the next task was to cast the Spirit Gathering Rain Technique periodically to irrigate the spirit rice branches and leaves, replenishing spiritual qi.
This task will be executed by the disciples who guard the spirit fields.
With his mind off the spirit fields, Lu Yuanshan could focus on other essential matters.
In fact, Lu Ping observed the entire expansion process of the spirit fields, feeling gratified for the disciples' dedication and cooperation in cultivating the spirit fields.
Now that the spirit field expansion is complete and the spirit rice has been planted, [Resource Optimization] can be used to upgrade the spirit fields.