Cultivation begins with harvest.

Having been to the noodle shop once, Chen Guang was already quite familiar with the place.

However, since this wasn't the first time using the Spirit Crane this month, Chen Guang also distributed ten jin of spirit rice from his pocket to the other buildings, leaving him with only 100 grains of rice, which was only slightly better than when he first became a cultivator.

Upon entering the noodle market, they found their previous spot and silently waited for the arrival of the mysterious cultivator.

This time, Chen Guang brought all his Thousand Water Gourds. If the other party hadn't shown up, he didn't know how many he could have sold.

While Chen Guang waited somewhat anxiously, all eight Linquan pumpkins were sold. Compared to the last time, there were even fewer Qi Hall disciples left in the market. Buying a single Linquan pumpkin only cost eighty, and if you bought more than three, the price was only seventy per pumpkin. Chen Guang could accept this market change. The price of Linquan pumpkins could still drop, and the lowest price ever reached was sixty catties of spirit rice per pumpkin.

The Linquan pumpkin brought Chen Guang an income of 570 jin of Lingmi rice.

Finally, after Chen Guang had been eagerly waiting for more than an hour, the mysterious cultivator reappeared.

"You're very punctual," the mysterious monk said. "I still want to take a look first."

"Please do as you wish," Chen Guang replied without hesitation.

After the mysterious cultivator confirmed the price, he immediately bought six Thousand Water Gourds at the price of 1,600 catties of spirit rice, and as he said, he also made up for the 400 catties of spirit rice from the two gourds last time.

Ten thousand catties of spirit rice, in the form of grains, were handed to Chen Guang in a thick stack.

Without saying a word, the mysterious cultivator hurriedly left.

"It seems unlikely that we'll find such a quick buyer for the Thousand-Water Gourd again."

Chen Guang had this thought in mind, so he packed up his stall and went to the place where he had previously bought books on formations. These kinds of stalls are usually quite fixed, and Chen Guang was able to find the stall owner without any problems. After asking the stall owner, the owner told Chen Guang that he did not have any books on guiding wood-attribute formations, but he did have some information about a wood-attribute formation, which was not very suitable for a beginner like Chen Guang. If Chen Guang really wanted to buy it, he would have to pay a deposit of at least six thousand catties of spirit rice now.

The deposit usually doesn't exceed 20% of the total price, and 30% is the highest it can go. A deposit of 6,000 indicates that this formation is worth tens of thousands.

According to the stall owner, this is a second-level wood-attribute Yanhuang formation, worth more than 60,000 catties of spirit rice. However, because there is only some vague information at present, the deposit is low. Even if Chen Guang pays the money now, it will take several years to complete the subsequent transaction.

Chen Guang was no longer a novice, and of course he understood what the second level of the Yanhuang Formation meant.

The Yanhuang Formation is divided into three levels.

The first level is the highest: "Drawing Qi for use, forming a self-circulating cycle", which is close to the Qiankun Formation. It is the highest level of the Yanhuang Formation. Even if one specializes in formations, it can usually only be presented by Golden Core cultivators and very talented Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The second level is: "Qi circulates and the force is evenly distributed in the formation". The external pressure is no longer borne solely by the central part of the formation, but is evenly distributed to other parts of the formation. The concealment and stability are greatly improved. This is a level that a small number of Qi Refining cultivators and most Foundation Establishment cultivators can reach.

The third level is the entry level: "Utilizing its subtleties and each displaying its abilities." This is the entry-level stage of formations. Using formations to achieve fixed effects is the direct manifestation of this level. Being able to achieve the mixed use of multiple functions is a more advanced level of this level, and it is the only level that Qi Refining cultivators commonly use.

Individual Spirit Gathering Array, Yin-Yang Array, and Yuan Gang Array are all single-function Yanhuang Arrays, standard entry-level arrays. Combining these functions in a more complex way creates a more mature third-level Yanhuang Array.

For example, the Ice Mist Array is a simplified version of the first-level Cloud Bing Sixteen Constellation Jade Pillar Array, which has been simplified three times to become the third-level Ice Mist Array. It has a complex effect with multiple functions such as temperature control, spirit gathering, and cloud movement, and is of a very high standard.

It's a good thing that a stall owner can now directly produce a second-level wooden array. However, the price and specifications are too high. For Chen Guang, who has no foundation, investing now would definitely be a loss and would greatly squeeze his pockets.

Chen Guangke had not forgotten that his primary purpose in learning formations was to acquire the skill of "Returning to Spring" (a technique related to the transformation of wood into spring).

"Please keep an eye out for it. I'll consider it once I have concrete news." Chen Guang subtly expressed his refusal and his future intentions.

The stall owner also expressed his understanding, but the verbal promise not to pay a deposit would inevitably reduce his level of attention to the news.

After strolling around the market, Chen Guang broadened his horizons. In the end, he only spent 2200 catties of spirit rice to buy one mu of blood he shou wu seeds. Actually, he also had a batch of second-generation seeds at home, but the germination rate would definitely not be very high, so he didn't need them for now.

The germination rate of wild spiritual plant seeds, especially first-generation seeds of first-tier spiritual plants, is extremely high. As long as they are cultivated by humans, even with just simple care, it will affect the germination rate of subsequent seeds.

A common explanation is the influence of popularity. Everyone has popularity, and cultivators are no exception, but this influence is definitely not ordinary popularity.

However, there is no definitive conclusion on the specific reason. Perhaps one day Chen Guang will enter Chunyuanju, or go further on the path of a spiritual plant master, and he will be able to verify the reason himself.

For now, we should just obediently buy seeds.

These blood-shouwu will be planted, about fifteen plants, along the edge of the two mu of Lingmi rice fields, using the same planting method as before. This will serve as another source for Chen Guang's understanding of the "Panxue Jing" and the source of the Blood Qi Pill.

If we plant more, it will exceed the tacit understanding between the branch buildings and the spirit farmers. However, since it only occupies a very small part of the branch buildings, no one will complain.

After taking a stroll around, Chen Guang left.

The next morning, I bought two more sets of spiritual energy arrays at the market to ensure that all the spiritual fields except for the one acre of ice mist array had spiritual energy arrays. I also bought several more rune stone plates to operate the spiritual energy arrays. These spiritual tools are replaced every year and are not as durable as the divination objects for the ice mist array, so it's good to have some on hand.

Then they went to the Cao brothers' place and ordered 400 catties of black thistle soil.

They also bought 300 catties of demon beast meat, which was much cheaper, costing only 900 catties of spirit rice. The Ice Armor Turtle is still young, and there aren't many Ice Tail Shrimp. The 20 catties of demon beast meat given by the building each month, plus some wild grass, is enough. But sooner or later, it's not an exaggeration to say that they will consume dozens of catties of demon beast meat a month.

After all that, the tens of thousands of catties of spirit rice will be reduced to only 2800 catties once the black thistle soil transaction is completed. Chen Guang will then have very little left to trade.

The second-tier materials, such as the Flame Crystal, Purple Spirit Earth Root, and Purple Canopy Flower Qi Fruit Tree Seeds, are too valuable; I'd rather let them gather dust for now.

The floating oil and cloud soil are for my own use; I can only sell some when I'm really short of money.

I need the Blood Qi Pill to cultivate the Blood Scripture, the Jade Blade is also a valuable item that I'm unwilling to easily discard, and the Pure Spirit Qi is also a precious cultivation resource.

Upon careful calculation, Chen Guang's wealth is indeed substantial, but he currently has few non-fixed assets available for use. It's a good time for him to settle down, focus on farming, and improve himself.

Thinking of this, Chen Guang turned around and went to the Xingfeng Hall office, where he received a golden fruit and swallowed it on the spot. This time, the feeling of mental clarity was much weaker, obviously not as good as the first time he took it.

Outer disciples can receive a free Golden Fruit for each level of cultivation they advance; learn a free spell; and gain a certain number of opportunities to study the treasure lands corresponding to their respective halls.

Chen Guang doesn't have any specific goals yet, so he'll keep the free spells for now.

The Earth Hall corresponds to the Spring Fate Residence, where a cultivator can advance from a spirit farmer to a spirit plant master. Each breakthrough grants the cultivator the corresponding level multiplied by the number of days for comprehension. Chen Guang now has three days, and he should take the opportunity to go and see it. He has too many things to take care of, and it's impossible for him to use up all three days at once.

Now there's some concern that the Ice Armor Turtle might not be so rule-abiding and might break the rules within the Ice Mist Array, so the trip to Spring Fate Residence will have to be postponed until the next time we come to the market.