Spirit Plant Entry: Immortality Begins with Farming

As dawn broke, Chen Yuan had already been squatting on the edge of the field for almost half an hour.

The right palm is suspended three inches above the ground, and a pale golden halo flickers like breathing.

The four acres of golden thread grass swayed slightly with the rhythm, and the glimmer in the veins of the leaves flowed more smoothly than yesterday.

Within the field's field of view, the overall condition of the field has stabilized at the [Group Optimization - Mature Stage], and the spiritual energy concentration has increased by 2%.

I heard hurried footsteps behind me.

"Senior Brother Chen!" Zhou Ming ran, panting, carrying a cloth bag. "The first batch of hemp rope and tools for weaving rings has arrived! Just like you said, the cheapest coarse hemp is enough to weave two thousand rings!"

Chen Yuan withdrew his hand and stood up, the golden light in his palm fading away.

He took the bag and looked at it. The hemp rope was rough but sturdy, and the bone needles were sharpened.

"How many people have registered?" he asked.

"One hundred and twenty-seven yesterday alone!" Zhou Ming's eyes lit up. "When I came over this morning, there was another queue outside the shop! Sister Li told me to ask if we can really supply that many?"

Chen Yuan handed the cloth bag back: "Four mu of land, each mu will yield at least 800 jin of mature golden thread grass. One jin of grass can be woven into fifteen to twenty rings. Do you think that's enough?"

Zhou Ming counted on his fingers, his eyes widening: "Then...that could make tens of thousands of rings?"

"So there's no rush." ​​Chen Yuan looked towards the field. "We'll redeem the first batch of three hundred rings in ten days. Let's see the reaction, and also see..."

He didn't finish speaking, but Zhou Ming understood—he also wanted to see if anything would go wrong.

"Senior brother," Zhou Ming leaned closer and lowered his voice, "I heard some rumors this morning. The shopkeepers across the street gathered at 'Liu's Pharmacy' last night and talked for half the night. Also... Liu San Niang went to the gambling den at the west end yesterday afternoon."

Chen Yuan's face remained expressionless as he pulled a small cloth bag from his pocket: "These contain ten 'seeds.' Take them back and have Sister Li find a sunny spot in the backyard of the shop to plant them. Water them with half a ladle of spiritual spring water mixed with wood ash every morning and evening, and make sure no one sees them."

Zhou Ming took the cloth bag; it was warm to the touch, and he could feel the faint spiritual energy emanating from the seeds inside. "This is..."

"A backup plan," Chen Yuan said briefly. "In case something happens in the fields, these seeds can save the basics."

Zhou Ming's hand trembled, and the cloth bag almost fell to the ground: "Something...something happened? Senior brother, do you mean someone is trying to ruin our fields?"

"Be careful." Chen Yuan turned and walked out of the field. "Go and register Sister Li. Remember, only register her name and address. Don't collect any deposit. If anyone asks, just say the herb isn't fully ripe yet, its efficacy is uncertain, and we dare not collect money."

"Understood!" Zhou Ming carefully tucked the cloth bag into his robes. "Then where are you going, Senior Brother?"

"Let's go to the market." Chen Yuan didn't stop walking. "To buy some things."

---

At 3:45 AM, more than twenty people had already lined up at the entrance of "Yuancaotang".

The group included miners, peasant women, and a few down-on-their-luck-looking rogue cultivators. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the wooden plank on the door, whispering amongst themselves.

"Really, one spirit stone can be exchanged for three rings?"

"If Widow Li dared to write that, she must have some basis in reality! I've smelled that grass on the east side; it truly has a magical quality!"

"Ten days from now... I hope there won't be any stock left by then."

Widow Li stood behind the counter, her palms sweaty. Ping An helped her hand over bamboo tokens, the child's face filled with curiosity and nervousness.

"Next." Her voice was a little hoarse.

A tall, thin miner squeezed to the counter, grinning to reveal a set of yellow teeth: "Manager Li, I'm ordering three bundles! My name is Wu Xiaoshuan, I live in the third alley at the west end, the one with the crooked locust tree in front of my house!"

Widow Li lowered her head to write down the name, her pen trembling slightly. She vaguely remembered this man; he was a gambler and she had heard recently that he owed the gambling den a lot of money.

"Wu... Xiaoshuan, right? Come back in ten days with the token to redeem it. Remember to bring spirit stones." She handed over the bamboo token.

Wu Xiaoshuan took the sign but didn't leave immediately. He leaned forward and lowered his voice, "Manager Li, I have a question... Can your herbal ring really cure coughs? My mother has been coughing for almost half a year, and no medicine has helped."

Widow Li paused, then looked up at him. His face was dark and rough, and besides the usual mercenary air, there was also a hint of barely perceptible anxiety in his eyes.

"I...we never said it could cure illnesses." She answered as Chen Yuan had instructed. "It's just to calm the mind and relieve fatigue. As for the cough...you'll have to see a doctor."

"But everyone says this herb has pure spiritual energy, and wearing it for a long time can improve your health!" Wu Xiaoshuan's voice rose a little. "Is that true?"

The people in line behind them perked up their ears.

Widow Li panicked for a moment, then her face hardened: "Go find whoever spread the rumor! Our shop only advertises 'Tranquility and Peace of Mind,' nothing else! Publish it if you want, otherwise don't delay what happens later!"

Wu Xiaoshuan was rebuffed, his expression changed, and he forced a smile: "Ta-da! Ta-da! I was just asking..." He put the bamboo token away, turned around and squeezed out of the crowd.

As Widow Li watched his retreating figure, that unease in her heart resurfaced.

Ping An tugged at her sleeve: "Mother, that person... has such fierce eyes."

"Don't talk nonsense." Widow Li patted his head, but her voice was even lower. "Hand over the plaque properly."

---

At the same time, in the backyard of the gambling den at the west end of the market.

The room reeked of smoke, and the floor was covered in wine stains and phlegm. Scarface Tiger sat shirtless in a grand chair, a hideous scar running from his shoulder to his abdomen across his chest. He held two iron gall bladders in his hands, which twirled loudly.

Liu San Niang sat opposite him, holding a cup of tea in her hands, the rim of which had a small chip. She didn't drink it, but simply gently stroked the rim of the cup with her fingertips.

"The man has already been registered," Scarface Tiger said in a hoarse voice. "That brat Wu Xiaoshuan owes me thirty spirit stones. If he doesn't pay them back, I'll break his arm. The twenty spirit stones you gave me, plus a bottle of 'Drunken Immortal Powder,' are enough to keep him working himself to the bone."

Liu San Niang smiled: "I trust Tiger to handle things. It's just... that scene ten days from now needs to be acted convincingly. It should happen in public, the more horribly the better. Ideally, he should spit out blood, faint, and be carried away."

"Don't worry." Scarface grinned, revealing teeth blackened by tobacco smoke. "I've tried that drug. It takes effect in three hours. The pain in your meridians will be intense, your blood will surge, and bleeding from your mouth and nose is the least of your worries. It's not uncommon for those with unstable cultivation to faint on the spot."

"That's good." Liu Sanniang put down her teacup, took out a small cloth bag from her sleeve, and gently pushed it over. "This is the other half of the reward, fifty spirit stones. After the matter is done, Tiger Lord, you can ask for any piece of Chen Yuan's shop or land you want."

Scarface didn't touch the bag, Iron Gallant spun it even faster: "I'll take the shop. The land... you keep it."

Liu San Niang raised an eyebrow: "Tiger Master doesn't want those few acres of land?"

"It's not that I look down on you, it's that I don't want to get involved." Scarface Tiger stared at her. "Your little schemes can't be hidden from me. You want to push the most conspicuous thing onto me while you hide in the back and reap the rewards? Liu San Niang, we've cooperated more than once or twice, don't play these tricks."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Liu San Niang's smile remained unchanged, but her eyes turned slightly colder: "Master Hu, you misunderstand. I was thinking that since the shop is in the market area, it's only natural that you would manage it. The land is at the east end of the shantytown, which I know well and can easily manage. We can each get what we need."

"I don't want the land," Scarface said firmly. "I want ready-made shops and a steady stream of water. As for the land... you can plant whatever you want, but I want 30% of the annual harvest."

Liu San Niang tapped her fingertips lightly twice on the table.

"Twenty percent," she said.

"Thirty percent." Scarface remained unmoved. "Otherwise, you can handle this yourself. As for that kid Wu Xiaoshuan, I'll break his arm tonight so he won't be in the way."

silence.

The sound of the iron bladder turning was exceptionally clear inside the room.

"Alright." Liu San Niang stood up. "Thirty percent. But Tiger must guarantee that the scene ten days from now will not go wrong."

"Of course." Scarface Tiger finally reached for the cloth bag, weighed it in his hand, and stuffed it into his pocket. "You can go now. Ten days from now, wait and see the show."

Liu San Niang turned and left, her smile vanishing instantly.

Reaching the alley entrance, Li Xiong emerged from the shadows and asked in a low voice, "Have you reached an agreement?"

"It's settled." Liu San Niang kept walking. "That old fox wants the shop, and he also wants 30% of the profits."

"Thirty percent?!" Li Xiong's eyes widened. "What makes him think he can get that much?"

"He may be Scarface Tiger," Liu Sanniang sneered. "But it doesn't matter. Once Chen Yuan falls, how the shop and land are divided will be up to us, won't it? At that time... give him 30%? Ha."

Li Xiong understood and grinned, "You've got a long-term vision! Now, let's get to it..."

"Now," Liu Sanniang said, her eyes turning cold as she gazed at the golden-thread grass field shimmering in the morning light to the east, "just wait. In ten days, we'll make our Brother Chen famous."

---