Chapter 30

For the sudden burst of energy and vigor from Chu He, the task supervisor, He Zhisshi, was greatly surprised.

Because just a few days ago, there were rumors that this young man was seriously ill. It was unexpected that he could now complete twenty to thirty tasks every day, earning at least twenty to thirty low-grade spirit stones from him.

Previously, he had feigned illness to cover up his ability to easily resolve that strange poison. However, the information provided by the Blue Robe Sect had disrupted his plans.

In the Green Spirit Mountain, there was no time to worry about any flaws. After all, they wouldn’t dare to openly bully him. Perhaps the other party didn’t even take him seriously.

After a few days, Chu He finally took a break and turned to tending his spirit fields.

Those seven to eight acres of spirit fields had been nourished day and night by the Sweet Dew Technique over the past few days, restoring more than 90% of their vitality. Unfortunately, Chu He couldn’t yet learn the Withered Wood Spirit Gathering Technique. If he could, he could restore the fields to 100% or even surpass their previous level.

Besides water and wood spirit energy, there was another method to help the spirit fields: setting up a Spirit Gathering Array around the fields to gather spirit energy from a certain area to nourish the fields.

The Spirit Gathering Array was a formation that could only be set up by innate realm cultivators. Chu He wasn’t yet qualified, and using the array on low-grade spirit fields wasn’t cost-effective.

Actually, the Withered Wood Spirit Gathering Technique could be considered a simplified version of the Spirit Gathering Array. The main difference was that the technique could only gather wood spirit energy, consuming spirit essence, while the array could be maintained by spirit stones, continuously gathering pure, attribute-less spirit energy from the heavens and earth, with higher efficiency and longer duration.

Low-grade spirit fields could grow ninth or eighth-grade spirit plants. If there were no special requirements, the most profitable option currently was the Green Spirit Grass.

From the information in the Traction Jade, he knew that due to the recent unrest of high-level demonic beasts in the Demon Cloud Mountains and the intense battles with demon hunters, the demand for many medicinal pills had increased, raising their prices and, in turn, the price of Green Spirit Grass.

Chu He spent over 200 low-grade spirit stones at the Green Wood Hall in the Spirit Garden to buy seeds. He then used farming tools to carefully till the soil, mixing the earth's qi evenly before planting the seeds.

At the beginning of planting the Green Spirit Grass, he didn’t need to water it too much. Chu He used the Sweet Dew Technique once and then returned to his room to cultivate.

If nothing unexpected happened, this batch of Green Spirit Grass could be harvested in over two months, and he could plant another batch afterward. In terms of income, after deducting field rent and other expenses, Chu He would earn at least 3,000 low-grade spirit stones.

This income was much better than the income from doing tasks, and it was also much easier. However, Chu He wasn’t satisfied and still took on tasks when he had free time to earn more spirit stones.

Of course, his efforts were noticed by the various supervisors and instructors, who all praised him. In the tradition of Green Spirit Mountain, diligence was one of the most important qualities, and it was highly valued by the sect.

During this period, Chu He still had to return to the Spirit Garden every seven days for a class, but his classmates were no longer the previous spirit farmer apprentices. Instead, he was with the junior spirit farmers of the Cone Peak.

One of the instructors was Instructor Zhang Yu, who placed great importance on Chu He. Recently, he secretly passed the Withered Wood Spirit Gathering Technique to Chu He.

After multiple evaluations and observations, and considering Chu He’s performance in conflicts with Luo Wu and others, the innate realm expert could naturally see that Chu He’s spirit essence was different. In awe, he decided to pass down the technique to Chu He, which was beyond his current level.

As expected, Chu He quickly mastered the Withered Wood Spirit Gathering Technique and used it as skillfully as a sixth-layer Qi Condensation realm spirit farmer.

Chu He was aware of Instructor Zhang Yu’s care and attention. However, with his current low cultivation and lack of resources, he could only invite him to a hot spring in his humble abode to show his gratitude.

Initially, Zhang Yu wasn’t very interested, but he came along to check on Chu He’s spirit fields, to see how the seedlings were growing and if there were any hidden pests. To his surprise, this visit turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

Of course, his good friend Gu Han, who provided the fine wine, was indispensable. This time, Gu Han not only provided the wine but also took care of the food to go with it.

When he heard that Gu Han was preparing roasted suckling pig, Chu He’s mouth almost watered. It was a distant memory, one of his favorite dishes from Earth. He wondered how good Gu Han’s cooking would be.

In this area of a dozen miles, there were few people, but there were many birds and beasts. It was easy for Gu Han to get the ingredients he needed. This time, he caught two suckling pigs of the right age.

Throughout the process, Instructor Zhang Yu was treated like a revered ancestor, with both of them showing great respect and ensuring he didn’t have to do anything, just soaking in the pool and waiting to eat.

Most of the work was done by Gu Han. The grill was set up not far from the pool, and he continuously applied various seasonings to the wild pigs, his technique so skilled that it dispelled Chu He’s concerns.

The aroma of the seasoned meat spread, making everyone’s mouths water. Looking at the almost golden-brown roasted suckling pigs on the grill, Zhang Yu secretly swallowed his saliva.

Although cultivators generally didn’t care much for external things, this was usually limited to ordinary items. Unless they were immortals, the desire for good food was hard to suppress. Otherwise, the practice of preparing spirit food wouldn’t be so popular in this world.

It had to be said that from the outside, Gu Han’s barbecue skills seemed excellent. He was particular about his food and drink, which matched the saying: those who enjoy eating are good at cooking.

Seeing that the suckling pigs were almost done, Gu Han took out a jade-colored small basin and some items, explaining their use to Chu He.

The bottom of the jade-colored basin was engraved with white runes, forming a spirit array.

The wine was a five-year-old grape wine brought by Gu Han, in a large bottle, and produced by the Fine Wine Workshop. Chu He suspected that there might be Earth transmigrants among the workshop’s members, given the variety of Earth-style wines they produced.

Chu He first used the Sweet Dew Technique to fetch water, filling the jade basin to about seven-tenths full. Then he placed his palms on both sides of the basin, with his palms facing the many concentric circular runes, channeling spirit energy into them.

After a few breaths, white smoke rose from the surface of the water in the jade basin, and a coolness spread. After a few more breaths, the water in the basin had turned into clear ice.

This small basin was a cooling magical tool, perfect for chilling the grape wine today.

Due to the poor quality of the materials and the low-level spirit array, it took Chu He, at the fifth-layer Qi Condensation realm, about ten breaths to achieve the desired effect.

He poured the grape wine into three jade cups, used his spirit essence to evenly break the ice in the jade basin, and then used a spoon to put some ice into the wine to chill it.

The roasted suckling pig was cut and placed on a large porcelain plate by the pool. On the edge of the plate were several small dishes containing sugar sauce, salt sauce, and a sweet-salty sauce, allowing everyone to choose according to their taste.

"The color is like amber, and it resembles real gold. It melts in the mouth, as if it were snow, with a rich and smooth texture, truly extraordinary." These words from a book he had read before could describe the results of Gu Han’s cooking. Both Chu He and Instructor Zhang Yu praised it highly after tasting it.

With the moon shining in the sky and good friends by his side, sipping chilled grape wine and chewing on the tender and slightly sweet roasted pork, it was truly a great pleasure in life. One might even feel a sense of illusion: even immortals couldn’t be happier than this.