Chapter 35

With a "bang," sparks flew from the ground.

Liu Ming felt his hands heat up as a powerful force pushed back, nearly causing the silver hoe to slip from his grasp.

The earth seemed as hard as refined iron, and the silver hoe could not penetrate it at all.

Liu Ming was taken aback and hurriedly bent down to examine the ground closely. Only then did he realize that this place was different from ordinary farmland, with the soil being a purplish-red color.

The roots of the weeds were deeply embedded in the ground, gathering all the soil together as if it were a single, solid mass.

When he poked the purplish-red soil with his finger, he found it abnormally cold and hard.

"Kid, stop investigating. This isn't ordinary soil; it's 'Xi Tu,' a special soil used for growing spirit rice. You can't till it with ordinary methods," a well-built man with his upper body exposed said with a laugh after seeing Liu Ming's actions from a distance.

"Xi Tu?"

Liu Ming had never heard of this name before. He immediately stood up and looked at the other inner disciples who were busy working.

Nearby, several disciples were also swinging their silver hoes wildly, but they landed silently and only managed to turn up a thin layer of soil about an inch deep.

The silver hoes in their hands emitted a faint white light, clearly indicating that they were not just simple farming tools.

"This thing is actually a talisman weapon."

Liu Ming refocused his gaze on the object in his hands and noticed that the surface of the hoe was engraved with shallow spiritual patterns. His face showed a hint of surprise.

"Since it's a talisman weapon, I should try infusing it with essence energy," Liu Ming thought. He immediately directed his essence energy through his hands into the silver hoe.

But after a moment, his expression changed.

No matter how much essence energy he infused, the hoe remained unchanged, as if all his efforts were in vain.

Liu Ming frowned, thought for a moment, and then tried infusing the object with the newly converted magical power.

After a short while, the surface of the silver hoe glowed with a soft white light as the spiritual patterns lit up.

Indeed, that was the case!

No wonder only inner disciples were here, and no outer disciples were in sight. To till this Xi Tu, one had to use magical power.

After understanding this, Liu Ming didn't hesitate. He swung his arms, and the silver hoe fell to the ground again.

With a "puff," the silver hoe landed, producing a muffled sound, but it finally managed to dig up a thin layer of purplish-red soil and some weeds.

Liu Ming let out a light breath and began working diligently.

By late afternoon, Liu Ming was sitting cross-legged in the field, quietly breathing. After a while, he slowly opened his eyes and scanned the field he had just tilled, only to sigh bitterly.

This Xi Tu was indeed extremely difficult to till. Not only had he exhausted his magical power several times, but his body and arms were also aching terribly.

What was even more frustrating was that some weeds had already started to sprout from the purplish-red soil he had just tilled, though they were still very small. He knew that tilling the soil a second time would still be a significant challenge.

As for the other fields, a few inner disciples in their twenties, with deep magical power, had already completed their tasks and left after submitting them to the old man in the forest.

Some other disciples, around seventeen or eighteen years old, had tilled their fields to a depth of several inches and would likely finish their tasks in half a day.

Liu Ming could only smile bitterly as he watched all this.

He couldn't compare himself to these senior disciples. With his shallow magical power, he had to use every moment of the three days to till the soil to a depth of half a foot. He had no time to rest.

What made him even more depressed was that he seemed to be the only new disciple here.

But he thought it was normal.

There were only a few dozen new spirit apprentices in total this time, and each received their tasks at different times. The specific content of the tasks assigned by the sect could also vary greatly.

It wasn't easy to gather everyone together.

After pondering for a while, Liu Ming gritted his teeth, stood up again, and walked to the edge of the field. The silver hoe in his hand glowed white and fell into the field once more.

...

The next morning, the other fields had already been tilled by the senior disciples, and Liu Ming was the only inner disciple left.

However, by noon, Liu Ming stood in the center of the field, looking at his arms, which were swollen and red like carrots, and could only frown deeply.

At that moment, his arms were so sore from overuse that he could no longer continue tilling the soil.

"Good, there aren't many new disciples who can persist to this point."

A faint voice suddenly came from behind him.

Liu Ming was startled and quickly turned around to see the old farmer-like spirit master.

The old man looked at Liu Ming with a hint of approval in his eyes.

"Salute, Uncle Master!"

Liu Ming didn't dare to be disrespectful and hurriedly greeted him.

"Which lineage are you from, and what is your name?" the old farmer asked.

"Disciple Bai Congtian, under Jiuying," Liu Ming replied honestly.

"Jiuying, that's Master Gui's disciple. How many spirit veins do you have? You're not a direct disciple, are you?" The old farmer looked him up and down and asked again.

"Junior has three spirit veins. How could I be a direct disciple?" Liu Ming said respectfully.

"Three spirit veins, your talent is a bit low, which is a pity. Otherwise, with your character and perseverance, I would have considered taking you as a disciple," the old farmer sighed.

"Disciple is ashamed. I don't know who Uncle Master is..." Liu Ming's heart stirred, and he couldn't help but ask.

"My surname is Su. You can call me Uncle Master Su. However, looking at your current state, it's impossible for you to continue. I'll teach you a set of body-strengthening boxing. Just practice it a few times, and it will remove the swelling and pain in your arms."

"Thank you, Uncle Master Su," Liu Ming said, overjoyed.

"You don't need to thank me. This body-strengthening boxing is a physical cultivation technique that new disciples can learn after a year. I'm just teaching it to you early," Uncle Master Su said calmly.

Then he moved his body, assumed a strange posture, and began to perform a peculiar set of boxing techniques, reciting some incantations as he did so.

Liu Ming, who had seen many secret techniques on the island, was naturally very interested in this kind of boxing technique. He immediately focused his mind and began to memorize the old farmer's every move and the incantations he recited, using his talent for multitasking.

By the time the old farmer had performed the boxing technique for the third time, Liu Ming had memorized it completely and performed it flawlessly on the spot.

Seeing this, Uncle Master Su's face showed a hint of regret, but he said nothing more and turned to leave.

Liu Ming, left behind, immersed himself in the body-strengthening boxing. After practicing it seven or eight times, he felt a warm sensation all over his body, and his swollen, red arms returned to normal.

Not only that, but he also felt more energetic than before.

Liu Ming was overjoyed. He then noticed that Uncle Master Su was no longer by his side. After a moment's thought, he picked up the hoe and continued tilling the field.

By the evening of the third day, when Liu Ming threw down the hoe and stretched his back, the field he had been tilling was completely finished. The soil was loosened to a depth of half a foot, and there was not a single weed in sight.

Liu Ming was about to enter the forest to submit his task to Uncle Master Su when a sound of something breaking through the air came from the sky. Clumps of gray clouds descended, and it turned out to be the senior disciples who had been tilling the fields with him the previous days.

These inner disciples stood silently by the field, but their faces showed clear signs of happiness.

Liu Ming was extremely puzzled and was about to go over to ask when Uncle Master Su also flew out of the forest and directly to the sky above the spirit field.

He held a small golden bowl in one hand and waved his sleeves with the other, and many golden grains rained down evenly across each field.

When the clouds approached Liu Ming's field, he naturally hurried to step aside.

After a moment, the gray clouds under the old farmer paused, and he threw the golden bowl high into the air. He recited some incantations and pointed at it, and it transformed into a large water jar in a golden glow.

Then, the water jar made a "gurgling" sound, and streams of milky white spring water spurted out, turning into raindrops that fell evenly on each field, continuously.

Even though Liu Ming was standing outside the field, he could clearly sense the strong essence energy permeating the soil.

More strangely, as the rain continued, green rice seedlings began to sprout from the soil and grew rapidly, visible to the naked eye, forming full, plump ears of rice.

After an hour, the rain stopped, and the hundred acres of land turned into a golden expanse, filled with giant rice plants about half a zhang tall.

"According to the old rules, each person can pick ten spirit ears from their field and then leave," the old farmer's voice came from the sky, and he then flew back into the forest.

The disciples who had been waiting outside the field bowed in thanks and rushed into their fields to pick the rice ears, using various tools to cut them.

Everyone was very honest and really only picked ten ears from their fields, with no one daring to take more.

"Senior Brother, what are these spirit ears for? Why are all the senior brothers so happy?" Liu Ming, unable to contain his curiosity, walked up to a young disciple around seventeen or eighteen years old who had just finished picking his ears and was about to leave.

"Hmph, these are spirit rice. Eating them after cooking will bring significant benefits. Try them yourself, and you'll know," the male disciple said impatiently, then flew away.

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