Cultivation begins with harvest.

"So many? It seems the customer has quite a bit of experience in cultivating spiritual plants." The shopkeeper was quite surprised when he saw the package Chen Guang had placed on the counter and opened it to find a bunch of blood he shou wu (Polygonum multiflorum).

It weighs about 25 taels. On average, a piece of ordinary quality He Shou Wu weighs about 3 taels; a piece of excellent quality He Shou Wu weighs about 5 taels. But there are always some more and some less, and that's how much it weighs when you put them together.

"The quality is quite good. For all of them, it's fifty-two catties of spirit rice per ounce. What do you think?" After inspecting the rice, the shopkeeper gave a price.

Blood-scented Polygonum multiflorum is indeed sold wet, unlike in the mortal world. Dried blood-scented Polygonum multiflorum cannot be used to refine Blood Power Pills, but can only be used to refine Red Pattern Pills, and the price will be lower.

Sometimes Chen Guang felt that some things in the cultivation world were a bit counterintuitive, but he got used to them and they were fine.

"Okay." Chen Guang naturally had no further objections. Watching the shopkeeper weigh the rice and the abacus he was using showed that it was exactly the same as the calculations he had made before he came. He was overjoyed. He was about to get 1300 catties of spirit rice. Just thinking about that number gave Chen Guang a huge sense of happiness.

My own field also has many Linquan pumpkins, swallowtail grass, red peonies, and jade heart grass...

Chen Guang's plan before the new year proved to be correct; once he got through this year, he would step into a new world.

"That's a total of 1300 catties of spirit rice, and here's 1300 ear coins," the shopkeeper said politely, handing over a stack of unusual, soft, and cloth-like iron coins.

No one would carry 1300 catties of spirit rice with them, but Suiyuan is different; it is both convenient and useful in Xingfengfang Market.

After the shopkeeper and Chen Guang confirmed that the payment and goods were settled, the shopkeeper seemed to remember something and asked, "Sir, are you unaware that there won't be a regular supply of He Shou Wu in the future?"

Chen Guang thought of the excellent quality blood he shou wu that weighed nine taels in his family, but still shook his head: "I only managed to get a little bit of the first-grade blood he shou wu seeds by sheer luck. That's all I have."

"I haven't seen any customers selling vines or fruit. You should still have some fruit in your possession, right? Do you have the method and confidence to condense the seeds?" the shopkeeper asked politely.

Chen Guang glanced at the shopkeeper and instantly understood. He then looked at the special counter before asking, "Do you have a method to condense Blood Polygonum multiflorum?"

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "There are ordinary methods, but they are not very helpful for top-grade first-level spiritual plants. However, we have a regular relationship with Master Dai from the Earth Hall of Purple Spirit Peak. Master Dai is a first-level spiritual plant master and can help condense seeds. However, the price is quite high."

Ditang is one of the nine halls under the jurisdiction of Ziling Peak.

The Qingheng Sect has seven peaks and three academies, each relatively independent. For example, Ziling Peak has its own complete operating system.

Chen Guang was a member of the Earth Hall, but he dealt more with the Xingfeng Hall. The Xingfeng Hall was responsible for daily affairs and maintaining order. In fact, so far, Chen Guang had only been to the Earth Hall once when he first joined Ziling Peak, and he had never had the chance to go there again.

"Any kind of seed is fine? How much does it cost?" Chen Guang asked hurriedly.

For top-tier first-grade seeds, regular shops can no longer help condense the seeds. If it is a wild spiritual plant, the development rate of the first generation of seeds is still considerable, but after that, each generation is worse than the last. Seeds distributed by sects, or those collected after they have matured using the condensation method, have an even more appalling development rate.

Therefore, the status of plant practitioners is evident.

The shopkeeper said, "First-tier ordinary spiritual plant seeds will not be accepted by the agent. First-tier top-grade seeds will be accepted for 1000 catties of spiritual rice per batch, and second-tier ordinary spiritual plants will be accepted for 1800 catties of spiritual rice per batch. Seedless, seedless, and unseeded seeds will be doubled in price and require prior notification. Whether this can be done depends on the situation. Second-tier top-grade seeds will not be accepted. Fang Lintang will also charge a handling fee based on the first and second tiers: one hundred for first-tier and two hundred for second-tier. The agent will take two-thirds of the seeds, Fang Lintang will take one-third, and the remaining seven-tenths will go to the original owner."

So cruel!

Chen Guangxin trembled.

Refining a seed once yields at least a thousand catties of spirit rice; that's an incredibly lucrative business.

"What are the specifics? There should be standards for germination rate and the degree of seed consumption, right?" Chen Guang asked.

"Normally, it's one out of five seeds you condense, but the seeds you condense are almost guaranteed to grow into spiritual plants. Normally, even if you get 70% of the seeds for Blood He Shou Wu, once you plant them, you should still get 10-20% more than you did this year," the shopkeeper patiently explained.

Chen Guang's face darkened. "So if you don't take a cut, wouldn't I be in a virtuous cycle, making things even better?"

Chen Guang wasn't entirely ignorant about spirit plant masters; Jiang Zuoyun, the branch building steward, was a gentle man who had managed to glean quite a bit of useful information from somewhere.

For plants in the mortal world, there are many methods to propagate them, such as sowing, cutting, division, layering, and grafting. However, even so, these methods are not applicable to all plants.

It would be even more special in the world of cultivation.

Sowing is a propagation technique that non-spiritual plant practitioners can easily master. Other methods such as cuttings, division, layering, and grafting may sound simple in principle, but only those who have actually tried them know that doing so is simply a matter of luck.

Jiang Zuoyun also told Chen Guang a legend that in ancient times, cultivators would stay wherever they found spiritual plants and gradually develop the technique of transplanting. It was only when other techniques such as cutting and division for spiritual plants were introduced that the special profession of spiritual plant master was truly created.

The understanding of spiritual energy, spiritual energy, and the laws governing their operation is something that a mere Qi Refining cultivator cannot solve through imagination and effort alone.

If there is such a need, there are only two legitimate paths.

One option is to find a spiritual plant master.

Secondly, become a spiritual plant master.

So Chen Guang felt helpless, but he still agreed with the high price charged by the plant spirit masters.

Others rely on their own abilities, and they do indeed possess extraordinary skills, which are beyond reproach.

"Let's leave it at that for now. Do you have any good spiritual plant seedlings or seeds here?" Chen Guang finally became honest.

If even He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum) is so expensive, then Linquan pumpkin, which has no seeds or pits, is even more pricey, so there's no hope for it for now.

"Yes, of course," the shopkeeper led Chen Guang to the special counter. "Among the non-Qingheng Sect shops in Xingfeng Market, Fanglin Hall is second to none when it comes to spiritual plants. We have a total of 61 kinds of Tier 1 spiritual plant seeds. Among them, seasonal vegetables are counted in three categories, such as ginger, garlic, and chili peppers (for seasoning); leafy greens, cabbage, and other vegetables are counted in one category; and other fruits and beans are counted in another category. So this number is definitely not small. Then, grains are counted in one category. In addition, we have 57 kinds of Tier 1 spiritual plants. The germination rate is based on our own technology. On average, the germination rate is nearly 70%, generally higher than 80%. Only a few special cases have a germination rate of less than 50%."

"There are five types of first-tier top-grade plants. The reason there are five is because we have mastered the seed condensation technique. Only these three types have a germination rate of over 30%, which can guarantee profitability. The other first-tier top-grade spiritual plants are not included here. There are three other types that we only sell as seedlings."

The shopkeeper explained it very clearly.

Seeds are cheap, seedlings are expensive.

Fanglintang has a considerable number of spiritual plants, unlike the shops on Ziling Peak, which, although they have a certain probability of germination, have a small number of plants. Most of these plants are the type that the sect doesn't mind buying, and some are even forbidden to be planted by the sect.

"I wonder if your esteemed hall's seed-forming technique is available for sale?" Chen Guang asked.

The shopkeeper nodded readily: "Of course, it's business, six spirit stones."

Chen Guang suppressed the urge to hit someone.

Spirit stones are only available to disciples in charge of the ceremony, and they must achieve a high ranking in the five-year minor competition. This price is clearly a standard deterrent.

So the shopkeeper naturally shifted the topic to other things: "There are eight kinds of first-grade top-quality seeds in total. There are two ways to sell the seeds. One is based on the standard of planting one acre, and the other is based on the standard of enough for one acre after calculating the germination rate. The former requires a minimum of 500 catties of spirit rice per bag, with only a 30% germination rate. The latter requires a minimum of 2,000 catties of spirit rice per bag, guaranteeing enough for one acre."

"If you want seedlings, the price of one seedling is about 160 catties of spirit rice. This is a list of eight first-grade top-quality spirit plants. Please take a look."

Chen Guang couldn't hold back his excitement after just a couple of glances at the list of spiritual plants and their prices.

Even top-tier Tier 1 crops aren't easy to cultivate; everyone knows the profits involved.

There is definitely a chance to make money. Half an acre of Linquan pumpkin yields about 1600 catties of Lingmi rice, and one acre yields about 3000 catties. Blood Polygonum multiflorum takes up less land, but the yield per acre is about the same.

If the seeds require two thousand catties of spirit rice, the pressure will be immense.

However, not all top-grade first-tier items are Linquan Pumpkin. Blood He Shou Wu also required a lot of fresh monster blood from Chen Guang to reach the qualified quality. In addition, the monster blood had to be processed to maintain its spiritual energy, which added up to an expenditure of nearly 400 catties of spirit rice. This left only a profit margin of 500 to 600 catties of spirit rice.

If we don't take good care of it, the output will be lower, and the profit margin will be even smaller.

This is what farmers are like.

Spirit farmers are still farmers, and the benefits of a year's hard work are obvious. The output value of one mu of spirit rice is nearly 300 jin, while the output value of first-grade spirit plants is not as fixed as that of spirit rice.

Chen Guang suddenly realized that asking a spirit plant master to make a thousand catties of spirit rice was actually quite a good deal.