Chapter 53 of 100

Chapter 53: The Four Great Spirit Woods

13 min read3,141 words

Leaving Wuzhou, they traveled for three full days by carriage, finally arriving at the northern border under Wuzhou's jurisdiction.

"Is this the Spirit Plant Zone?"

A young figure, accompanied by a large dog with a golden coat, walked to the end of the road. Before him lay a vast expanse of farmland.

The farmland was entirely planted with spirit rice, which could mature once every season. Now, it was about to mature again.

Looking out, all he saw was a heavy, golden hue.

The golden fields, stretching for miles, resembled a vast sea of gold. From a high vantage point, one could see them divided into countless squares, with paths crisscrossing.

"Over there!" Ding Hao curiously observed the world before him.

In the sky, a white cloud floated. Wherever this cloud went, rain would follow. After a while, a man in a yellow robe appeared, raised his hand, and drew the cloud into his palm, stuffing it into a spirit treasure pouch.

Ding Hao exclaimed in surprise, "So that cloud was actually a spirit treasure!"

Soon after, a middle-aged woman approached, wearing a unique spirit treasure pouch with a green mantis embroidered on it. She walked to the edge of the field, patted the pouch, and immediately a large number of green mantises flew out. These mantises, well-trained, each landed on a spirit rice plant. When they encountered pests, they would mercilessly wield their large scythes, cutting them down.

Once the pests in the area were eliminated, the green mantises obediently flew back into the spirit treasure pouch.

Seeing these wonders he had never seen before, Ding Hao was deeply moved.

"This world is indeed extraordinary. The workers here are all cultivators at the Qi Condensation stage!"

This was something Ding Hao had never imagined. In his mind, cultivators were always high and mighty, but here, they were farming.

Accompanying Ding Hao to the Spirit Plant Zone was a young officer from the City Lord's residence named Xu Yuanjun.

Xu Yuanjun followed and laughed, "Master Ding, are you shocked? When I first came here, I was speechless seeing cultivators at the third and even fourth layers of Qi Condensation farming."

Ding Hao replied, "Yes! I thought cultivators were always high and mighty, but I never expected them to be farming. It's truly surprising."

Xu Yuanjun continued, "Master Ding, don't think farming is lowly. These cultivators are all inner disciples of the Nine Provinces Academy. One day, they will venture into the Immortal Refinement World and never return." Xu Yuanjun's eyes showed envy as he added, "In fact, they are still high and mighty."

As they were talking, the woman approached, and he quickly bowed.

The woman smiled slightly, "Young Officer Xu, is this your Wuzhou's genius? The young man is quite impressive."

Xu Yuanjun replied, "Reporting to Master Liu, this is our Wuzhou's top genius, Ding Hao. The City Lord sent me to bring him here to broaden his horizons."

Master Liu said, "Then take a walk around."

Xu Yuanjun added with a smile, "Master Liu, you must be busy."

The woman laughed happily, looking at the endless rice fields and sighing, "100 years, it's not easy. I've been here for 100 years. But it's all worth it. In half a year, I can leave here." She looked up at the sky, her eyes filled with passion.

"Master Liu, you're busy."

Xu Yuanjun led Ding Hao away and whispered, "These are all cultivators with earth or wood spirit roots. Their talents may not be the best, but they are diligent! Therefore, the Nine Provinces Dao Sect has a rule: if they farm here for 100 years, they can ascend to the Immortal Refinement World and join the Wood Immortal Dao Sect for cultivation! Master Liu is almost at 100 years and is about to ascend to the Immortal Refinement World, so she is happy."

"Is that so." Ding Hao nodded, looking at the men and women working in the fields with newfound respect.

Transcending the boundary, ascending to the Immortal Refinement World! Pursuing the Dao, gaining power!

This is the dream of many strong individuals in the Nine Provinces World.

But some can only look up at the sky, dreaming of the ethereal immortal mist above, which seems unreachable; others, though given the chance to ascend, are eventually eliminated and sent back to the lower world to have children; only a few can stay in the upper world forever, becoming disciples of the Nine Provinces Dao Sect, or even join larger sects, cultivating to become True Men, True Cultivators, and Ancestors.

"Living is about experiencing, walking more paths, and seeing more wonders. Even if you die, you won't regret it!"

Ding Hao looked up at the sky, which was a deep, clear blue like a pool of water. He clenched his fist, silently vowing, "Immortal Refinement World, I will definitely come. Wait for me!"

The Spirit Plant Zone of the Nine Provinces World belongs to the Nine Provinces Academy, and its area is equivalent to several Wuzhous. Compared to the vast Nine Provinces Academy, the Three Emperors and Nine Lords seem insignificant.

The Spirit Plant Zone is also an outer domain, without the Heavenly Will system in the sky. However, it is very safe, with all kinds of fierce beasts exterminated except for the tamed spirit beasts. There are many powerful cultivators here, and demons, evil spirits, and strange creatures have long been eliminated, so no one dares to cause trouble.

After the spirit rice matures, it is harvested, and the yield is large. The best quality spirit rice is all sent to the Immortal Refinement World, while the medium and low-quality spirit rice is left to supply the Nine Provinces Academy and the black market. Ordinary people in the Nine Provinces World cannot eat spirit rice.

Ding Hao was fortunate enough to taste a meal made from the best quality spirit rice here.

Although Ding Hao consumed a lot of spirit rice, it was his first time eating it, and it was truly mouth-watering and never tiring. Eating spirit rice didn't require any side dishes; it was so delicious that the meat of the bristle beasts and the armored rhinos could be discarded.

After eating, don't rush to get up. Everyone immediately sat in meditation, trying to refine the spirit energy in the spirit rice into their own spirit energy, not wasting it.

However, Ding Hao's cultivation method was different from others, and such conversion was useless for him. He could only pretend to sit for a while.

Ding Hao came here to cultivate and find suitable spirit wood for his cultivation.

After everyone had refined the spirit rice, Ding Hao asked, "Master Liu, is the Spirit Plant Zone so large that it only grows spirit rice? As I understand, spirit rice is only a low-grade spirit wood. Does the Spirit Plant Zone have any medium-grade spirit wood?"

Ding Hao needed to absorb items of higher grades for cultivation. Spirit rice had already become ineffective, and even the best quality spirit rice was not much better. For Ding Hao, the quality of spirit rice was too low, and the roots and branches of the spirit rice were even less useful.

"No," Master Liu shook her head. "Medium-grade spirit plants belong to the Immortal Refinement World. The Nine Provinces Dao Sect does not allow the lower world to grow too many upper-world plants. In fact, this is true. The spirit energy in our Nine Provinces World is weak, and only low-grade spirit rice is suitable for cultivation. Other plants are not suitable."

Ding Hao sighed inwardly. Low-grade spirit rice had already become ineffective for him, and he needed medium and high-grade plants.

Master Liu explained, "Finding medium and high-grade spirit wood is very difficult, but there are similar ones. In the deepest part of the outer domain, there live cultivators of the demon path. The wood spirits they possess can reach the medium-grade level."

"Medium-grade." Ding Hao pondered.

The red flower tree left by the female flower spirit last time was probably a medium-grade spirit wood. Ding Hao thought, if there was no other choice, he would have to risk entering the deepest part of the outer domain, but there were too many demons and evil spirits there, and Ding Hao did not dare to be too reckless.

At this moment, Xu Yuanjun asked curiously, "Master Liu, are there any higher-grade spirit woods in the Nine Provinces World?"

"Yes," Master Liu replied. "High-grade spirit woods are very rare. The main reason is that the Nine Provinces Dao Sect does not allow the lower world to grow them. Another reason is that these spirit woods consume a lot of spirit energy and require spirit stones for cultivation, which is too costly for ordinary people. As far as I know, there are four high-grade spirit woods in this world."

"Four?" Ding Hao was shocked.

Master Liu said, "These four spirit woods are called the Eye-Washing Tree Spring, the Spirit Essence Fruit Tree, the Body-Strengthening Treasure Lotus, and the Lustrous White Pine. They are all very precious species, specially permitted by the Nine Provinces Dao Sect, and are unique in this world!"

Ding Hao found the names of these four spirit woods impressive. He had heard of the Spirit Essence Fruit Tree before and asked, "In the hall of the Native City's merchant guild, I saw a fruit tree with many Spirit Essence Fruits, each selling for ten spirit stones."

Master Liu replied, "That's right, it's the Spirit Essence Fruit Tree. In fact, these four spirit plants are owned by the four major merchant guilds. Otherwise, who else in this world could afford to own these four high-grade spirit woods?"

"That's true." Ding Hao asked again, "Which one does the Tang Family Merchant Guild own?"

Master Liu said, "The Tang Family Merchant Guild owns the Eye-Washing Tree Spring, which is the only plant in the entire Nine Provinces World that can be used to see through others' cultivation levels. The Eye-Washing Spring can reveal the cultivation level of a cultivator at the peak of Qi Condensation after multiple washes, making it in high demand and earning the Tang Family Merchant Guild a fortune."

"The Eye-Washing Spirit Liquid, it all comes from the Tang Family." Ding Hao nodded. He had used Eye-Washing Spirit Liquid before, but it was the weakest kind, only revealing cultivation levels below the seventh stage of innate. The original liquid, however, could reveal the cultivation level of a cultivator at the peak of Qi Condensation after a single wash.

Master Liu continued, "The Spirit Essence Fruit Tree is owned by the Merchant Guild, and the Spirit Essence Fruits nourish the spirit. The Body-Strengthening Treasure Lotus is owned by the Qian Family, and the lotus seeds on it can strengthen the body. The most mysterious is the Lustrous White Pine, owned by the Duanmu Family. I still don't understand its exact function."

"All of them are great treasures." Ding Hao's mouth watered. If he could obtain these four high-grade spirit woods and absorb their spirit energy for cultivation, he could easily reach the Qi Condensation stage!

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