Cultivation begins with harvest.

After the red peony was planted, the seeds of the fierce heart grass were also planted among the large hibiscus after Chen Guang verified the interaction between soil and wood.

With the spiritual energy array in place, there's no need to worry about the Great Illumination Tree affecting other spiritual fields. As for its impact on the Blazing Heart Grass, there's even less to worry about. The Great Illumination Tree is just a first-tier ordinary spiritual plant with little influence on the environment, and the Blazing Heart Grass has strong vitality and doesn't require extra care.

The only thing Chen Guang couldn't figure out about Jade Heart Grass was why its roots were so tangled. He couldn't find the answer in the Scripture Pavilion or the reward light orb, so he had to figure it out himself.

With the start of spring planting, his interactions with Cao Fang decreased.

As a Qi Refining Level 4 cultivator, she already has 2+5 task spirit fields: two acres of spirit rice and five acres of task spirit fields, plus four acres of free spirit fields. Recently, she has been neglecting her studies of the Blood Refining Scripture.

Chen Guang, on the other hand, leisurely strolled around the spirit field to inspect it. With the interaction between earth and wood, he was able to discover some minor problems early on and resolve them in their nascent stages.

Every morning, I spend the first half of the day walking around the fields, weeding and loosening the soil.

Every afternoon, I would stroll around the Ice Mist Array and then begin my cultivation. Despite the increased number of spiritual plants I cared for, my cultivation time wasn't squeezed out. On the contrary, the increased number of earth and wood plants I cultivated made my cultivation more leisurely.

I found some time to go to Fanglin Hall and bought ten more Moon Rainbow Robes.

The Moonlit Robe is only valued for its ornamental properties in Xingfeng Market. To collect Moon Essence from it, a certain quantity is required. Therefore, there are only about ten seedlings in stock each month. Chen Guang almost bought them all out by himself. The shopkeeper kept telling Chen Guang that they had enough Moon Essence to buy directly, saving him the trouble of planting, collecting, and storing it himself.

As a result, I spent an extra 400 coins to buy some blue-and-white clay and spirit tool containers suitable for Yue Ni Chang. After all that, I only had 2400 coins left.

Blue flower soil is also a type of rare soil, but it is looser and does not require loosening as frequently as purple spirit soil, but it is more prone to weed growth.

Eleven Moonflowers were placed in a corner of the courtyard, making it look like a disco, a vibrant display of colors. Once these Moonflowers mature, it will look even more like a disco, with their dazzling beauty visible even through the courtyard wall.

When the seedlings of the spirit rice grew to more than an inch tall and were planted in the spirit fields, Chen Guangshun also cleared out a small space in each of the two acres of spirit fields and planted five selected blood he shou wu seeds in each.

By the end of spring, the Lingtian field, which had been mixed with all the black thistle soil, was also planted with 12 seeds of Linquan pumpkin.

The whole spring was peaceful; even the reddish-yellow Heart Grass didn't change much. When Chen Guang placed the Red Scale Stone, he specifically checked for any signs of Red Locusts, but there were none.

Apart from arranging red scale stones for the fiery heart grass and red peony, the whole spring passed by leisurely.

That day, Chen Guang was chatting with some neighbors on the ridges of the field.

Such exchanges are necessary. We can briefly share our experiences in planting spiritual plants, and although they may be disorganized, they can help each other verify our knowledge. Secondly, we can communicate the unique characteristics of the spiritual plants that we have planted.

Chen Guang and many other spirit farmers chose the Heart-Piercing Grass, which carries the risk of attracting red locusts. They had to inform their neighbors so that they could also prepare. If they didn't handle it well, the building management would intervene, and Chen Guang would lose his eligibility to cultivate such risky spirit plants in the future.

Chen Guang and his neighbors have no conflicts and are living in peace for now. However, if red locusts do roam their spiritual fields after this season, they will be fine once or twice, but if it happens too often, they will definitely become dissatisfied.

Some spiritual farmers have planted the [Flying Poison Flower]. Its petals scatter with the wind in the summer, and if not cleaned up in time, they will form a pool of poisonous water, harming the spiritual plants. The spiritual energy array cannot stop the flying petals. Although the owners try their best to deal with it, they are worried that some may slip through the net and end up in other people's spiritual fields. Therefore, they need to let their neighbors know so that they can also pay attention and not fail to react in time if there is a problem. If there is a loss, no one will be happy.

"Why are you still here? Young Master Zifeng has already arrived at the branch building." Suddenly, Cao Fang darted out from a distance and called out to them.

"Young Master Zifeng... It's been more than three years. I thought he wouldn't come again."

"Then I have to go take a look. I remember that last time, Senior Brother Liu found a seed of [Meridian Vine] in there, and that's how he made such rapid progress."

Several neighbors immediately jogged towards the building.

Only Chen Guang remained, watching their departing figures with some confusion. "Young Master Zifeng?"

Who is this?

"I knew you didn't know, so I came to call you. Come on, go and take a look. If you're lucky, you might find something too." Cao Fang walked closer and gestured for Chen Guang to follow. Cao Fang walked briskly and was about to leave, so Chen Guang had no choice but to follow.

When Chen Guang caught up, Cao Fang explained, "Zhuang Pei, courtesy name Zifeng, the courtesy names of cultivators are different from those of ordinary people. Cultivators call each other by their full names. Although some retain their courtesy names or pen names from their mortal days, they all come from mortal cities like you, so it's not a consensus. Among the descendants of true cultivators, being given a courtesy name is a special treatment that is a customary practice—representing the extreme favor of at least a Golden Core cultivator."

"Only by sacrificing a trace of their own golden essence to forge a foundation can a Golden Core Venerable be qualified to bestow a name upon someone, which shows their extraordinary talent. Ordinary Golden Core Venerables' children are not fortunate enough to have the blessing of changing their fate with golden essence. Senior Brother Zhuang Pei is a descendant of a certain Venerable on Purple Spirit Peak. He is extremely favored and that's why he was bestowed a name. Outsiders call him Young Master Zifeng, but we can call him Senior Brother."

Chen Guang was so shocked that he didn't know what to say for a moment.

Whether or not a Golden Elixir Master had actually seen it, it didn't really matter, but he had a rough understanding of the preciousness of the Golden Essence.

Giving up even a trace of one's own golden nature comes at a very high price.

Only after a cultivator forms a Golden Core can such a small amount of Golden Nature exist within it. This Golden Core contains all the essence of a cultivator. If even a trace of it is lost, a Golden Core cultivator would need several years of arduous cultivation to barely recover. Before the Golden Nature is replenished, even their vital energy will continuously leak away, causing damage to their strength. The harm caused is so great that it cannot be recovered in just a few years of arduous cultivation. The specifics are beyond the comprehension of a Qi Refining disciple like Chen Guang, but he can understand its preciousness.

If that's the case, then this young master Zifeng is indeed of immeasurable nobility.

"What is the relationship between this Young Master Feng and us?" Chen Guang asked.

Cao Fang revealed a hint of excitement: "This is why I came to find you. Do you know what kind of skill Young Master Zifeng practices?"

Chen Guang pondered for a moment: "Since you think I should go, perhaps it's to become a spirit plant master, or a pill refiner, or a formation master?"

Cao Fang revealed a strange smile: "It's Yan Ling."

"What?! It's Yanling?!" Chen Guang was once again so shocked that he didn't know what to say.

【Yanling】 can be traced back to the art of weapon refiners. It has derogatory names such as 【Jia Zhen】 and 【Zeiling】. It is a special profession that everyone knows is remarkable, but almost everyone hates. It is truly speechless that a noble person who has been bestowed with a golden elixir would choose this profession.

In layman's terms, "Yanling" refers to a skill that involves being proficient in counterfeiting, passing off fakes as genuine, deceiving others, disguising oneself, using flattery and charades, and so on. Of course, they don't say it that way; they have their own set of self-serving explanations.

It originated from the fact that weapon refiners created a skill by imitating some famous artifacts from ancient times. However, as it was used, it was used by people with ulterior motives to make counterfeits. Gradually, it developed into a new art of cultivation, but its reputation was truly terrible.

It's not all bad that they are counterfeiters. First of all, they are indeed very good at counterfeiting, and their disposable items are well-regarded, provided that they are clearly told that they are fakes. In many cases, these low-end substitutes can indeed come in very handy.

Secondly, they possess a pair of discerning eyes. Even alchemists might mistake a pill for something else, but Yanling rarely makes a mistake. It is said that Xingfeng Market has two highly skilled Yanlings who specialize in identifying counterfeits.

"The sect's 'Yanling' (a type of malevolent spirit) can only cultivate and enter the market with the joint guarantee of disciples of the Xiantang (a high-ranking and prestigious sect). Young Master Zifeng also had that Golden Core cultivator as his guarantor to cultivate openly. Without this guarantee, this skill is very risky, and it would be difficult to find many orthodox cultivators. A Yanling who has achieved mastery and is determined to do evil can cause immeasurable harm," Cao Fang explained.

Chen Guang finally accepted it.

However, even when the art of "Yan Ling" (a type of male role in Peking Opera) is brought to the forefront and secured, it is not actually that trustworthy. This inherent nature of the art has led to such a reputation.

Making counterfeits is just one aspect of their work, and it's something that Gu Yanling excels at. Nowadays, many Yanlings are skilled at disguising and concealing their aura, and they are even better at deceiving people. Yanlings deserve some credit for the development of aura concealment and aura observation techniques.

"Then, Senior Sister, why did you come to see me in the first place? What good things can Yanling offer us Spirit Farmers?" Chen Guang asked, puzzled.

Cao Fang said seriously, "Young Master Zifeng follows the path of counterfeit goods, so every now and then he brings a large number of counterfeit goods. Among these counterfeit goods are quite a few valuable spiritual seeds, spiritual artifacts and materials. It all depends on your eyesight."

"It's also a contest, to see if his tricks are more sophisticated or if you have better eyesight. This young master Zifeng has the background of a Golden Core cultivator, so he must have some good stuff. Last time, Senior Brother Liu Yige obtained the Meridian Opening Vine and opened up all his meridians in one go, making rapid progress. However, most of the time he will definitely get nothing."

"Young Master Zifeng last came more than three years ago. You haven't experienced that, so I came to find you. Your luck should be pretty good. If you get something good, don't forget my contribution."

Cao Fang smiled happily, her breath hot as she looked at Chen Guang, her eyes practically glowing.

Chen Guang looked at Cao Fang's flushed face and the strands of hair stuck to her ears as she anxiously came to find him, and silently remembered this kindness.