Cultivation begins with harvest.

Chen Guang moved nimbly, consciously controlling the sound of his footsteps, and arrived in front of the Fiery Heart Grass that exuded an unknown aura.

Without further investigation, the robust, three-inch-long locust with unusually thick, red and yellow membranes inside its leathery wings, exuding a peculiar aura, was hiding at the base of the Fiery Heart Grass. Chen Guang discovered it, and it also discovered Chen Guang, but instead of getting up, it remained almost motionless.

"Laying eggs—"

The moment this thought crossed their minds, the eight emerald peaks of magic emitted a rapid buzzing sound as they pounced on the red locust. The red locust also let out a faint, almost inaudible hiss, and immediately stood up. As a layer of solidified fire appeared on its body, it actually knocked two emerald peaks of magic away in one fell swoop. The special heat contained in the fire caused visible cracks to appear on the latter's verdant body.

【Fire Flight Technique】.

It is known for its rapid bursts of power and the ability to accumulate strength during flight among all flying techniques. Although it has a short flight distance, it is one of the few basic flying techniques that possesses direct destructive power.

Just as the flames that the red locust had transformed into were about to subside, and the red locust was about to escape the encirclement of the magic-powered green peak, Chen Guang stretched out his palm. Without any preparation, a hot and humid mist immediately enveloped the red locust.

The temperature reached its highest point when it enveloped the red locust.

If it were water, it would have boiled at this temperature long ago. But because it's mist, it's even more lethal. The red locust seemed to let out a slight hiss again and hurriedly flew out of the range of the Flame Mist spell. Its body surface turned a moist red, which was a sign that its body had been steamed, but it still stubbornly flew out at an angle.

One of the reasons why insect taming can be considered a separate cultivation technique is that these spirit insects are extremely tenacious.

In this state, the red locust was no match for the magic-powered green peaks. Under Chen Guang's magic power, the eight magic-powered green peaks not only recovered from their injuries but also flew faster. They landed on the red locust, raised their tails, and fiercely pierced the red locust's body. The rampant green magic power tore the red locust's abdomen, which was even tougher than leather, apart in an instant.

Eight magical green peaks, covered with red locusts, were instantly torn apart, leaving only their remains on the ground.

"This is indeed a bit troublesome."

Chen Guang glanced at the remains of the red locust, then parted the clump of grass at the base of the Fiery Heart Grass. There, a dozen or so tiny, yellowish insect eggs, each smaller than a grain of rice, lay quietly near the soil.

Chen Guang used his magical artifact to collect the insect eggs. The red locusts only lay twenty or thirty eggs at a time, not as many as those in the mortal world. They were disturbed by him.

The probability of insect eggs hatching is not high. If they fall into the hands of cultivators who tame beasts and control insects, about one-third of them will hatch. In Chen Guang's hands, they are even less valuable.

Chen Guang himself certainly didn't want it.

"It's only early summer and there are already red locusts appearing. Summer and autumn are the peak seasons for their activity."

Perhaps the Fiery Heart Grass emitted some kind of scent, or perhaps the Red Locusts were searching for a suitable place to lay their eggs. As a spirit insect, it may have had a more acute and broader sense of perception, and thus found Chen Guang's place.

Chen Guang dared not be careless. He collected the remains of the red locusts to use as food for his spirit beasts. He then searched the spirit fields again but did not find a second red locust. He hurriedly headed towards his neighbor's house.

The discovery of the first red locust should serve as a warning to them.

This is only to be expected.

The neighbors reacted differently, but for now they were able to accept it. If red locusts were to actually invade their sacred fields, then it would be a completely different situation.

Since discovering the red locusts, Chen Guang has had to take time out of his leisurely cultivation to guard the fields of Fiery Heart Grass. As long as he finishes his work in other spiritual fields, he stays in the fields of Fiery Heart Grass except for eating and sleeping. He has built a simple shed on the edge of the field and sometimes sleeps there.

It's convenient to get up in the middle of the night and search around. It's good that the red locusts are dealt with in time, otherwise, the red peony and fiery grass, which are also of the fire attribute, will be very attractive to them. If it's delayed, Chen Guang will be the one who suffers losses.

If he were to sleep soundly through the night and a red locust happened to sneak in, Chen Guang would lose countless Heart-Piercing Grasses by the time he woke up in the morning.

At first, it was fine; for a cultivator, getting up frequently at night wasn't a big deal.

As time went on, things changed. The daytime heat amplified the fatigue from not getting enough rest, and Chen Guang could only grit his teeth and bear it. He could only maintain his focus by studying the "Red Heart Elixir Scroll" and books on formations, and occasionally he would sleep a little longer to replenish his energy.

Because these damned red locusts are spirit insects, they don't have fixed activity times day and night. Chen Guang can't relax either, but he has gradually figured out some patterns. They are less active at night and during the day, which is when Chen Guang catches up on sleep and does other things.

"From now on, we'll need to bring the Thousand-Needled Wrens to guard the spirit fields earlier; these spirit birds pose a significant threat to all kinds of spirit insects."

That day, Chen Guang looked at the half-filled red locust eggs in the spirit tool jar and felt a sense of urgency.

Three months have passed since the beginning of summer. In another month or two, the fastest-maturing spiritual rice and Linquan pumpkins will be ready for harvest. However, the frequency of red locusts has actually increased, probably due to the scent of the nearly ripening Fiery Heart Grass.

Thanks to Chen Guang's diligence, he was willing to put in some effort rather than let a single red locust escape. He took excellent care of the spirit field and even received some spirit plants and vegetables as a token of his appreciation from his satisfied neighbors, which was a pleasant surprise.

Even though the cause was their own, the neighbors, comparing the performance of other spiritual farmers who cultivated Heartgrass, felt immense satisfaction and a slight sense of gratitude.

Chen Guang also took the opportunity to ask them to find buyers for the red locust eggs.

This thing is really useless in Chen Guang's hands. At most, it can be used to feed the Ice Armor Turtle. It would be a treasure for the Insect Master, but if Chen Guang were to hatch it himself, he would be courting death.

Therefore, Chen Guang simply exterminated all the red locusts. He had no corresponding methods, and it was not worth the trouble of learning insect-controlling techniques to control them.

Chen Guang put away the jar of insect eggs and went to the spiritual land of the Jade Heart Grass. There was a spiritual energy array there. After six months of planting, some Jade Heart Grass with six leaves actually began to appear. The conditions for most Jade Heart Grass were met, and only a few still had four leaves.

Chen Guang summarized some insights.

The Jade Heart Grass produces one leaf per month, but if it is harmed in the slightest, its roots will become tangled, and once tangled, no more leaves will grow. Chen Guang tried to manually untangle the roots, but who knew that the Jade Heart Grass was so fragile that it would wither and die as soon as the roots were disturbed. As a result, Chen Guang lost a Jade Heart Grass at this time, and there was no time to replant it.

Even if it is not damaged, the Jade Heart Grass will naturally entangle its roots. After about six months, this natural and slight entanglement will have an effect, making it difficult for the Jade Heart Grass to grow a perfect seventh leaf after it has six leaves.

Chen Guang still has no clue about the deeper reasons and solutions.

Just as Chen Guang was pondering in the spirit field of Jade Heart Grass, Liu Yige, with her bangs half-covering her face and a tall, slender figure, walked towards Chen Guang along the main road without any attempt to conceal herself.

As Chen Guang approached, he greeted Liu Yige politely, saying, "Senior Brother."

Liu Yige nodded expressionlessly and asked, "Junior Brother Chen, is this our first time meeting?"

"I met you before during the preliminary exams," Chen Guang said frankly. "I didn't know you were coming, so I apologize for not greeting you properly."

"Never mind those formalities, I'm here to talk to you about something," Liu Yige said calmly. "I heard you have a lot of red locust eggs looking for buyers, are they still there?"

Because of guarding the spirit fields, Chen Guang spent the rest of his time resting and couldn't go to the market. These insect eggs were really hard to sell. Since they were all spirit farmers, they didn't have much demand for such things. Chen Guang was also reluctant to sell them as fertilizer. When he heard Liu Yige ask this, the slight unfriendly tone in the other party instantly became insignificant: "Senior brother wants the red locust eggs? They're all here."

Chen Guang flipped his hand and took out a magical artifact jar. He opened the lid, and small, yellowish, rice-grain-shaped insect eggs appeared before Liu Yige's eyes.

Without uttering a word, Liu Yige forcefully took the jar, examined it thoroughly, and then nodded: "Well done, I'll take it."

Chen Guang frowned slightly: "May I ask what price you're offering, Senior Brother?"

"How about I give you a thousand-needle bird egg in exchange for all your red locust eggs from now on?" Liu Yige said, as if he had never considered the possibility that Chen Guang might refuse him.

Chen Guang indeed found it hard to refuse. The thousand-needle wren feeds on various insects and is the nemesis of such pests. If he had a thousand-needle wren, his burden would be much lighter.

For this reason, the thousand-needle wren is in high demand, especially among the spiritual farmers of the earthen hall. On the other hand, the demand for bird eggs is not high. There are some on the market, but not all bird eggs can hatch. It takes five years from hatching to maturity, and they need to be tamed and controlled. In the end, it is a long-term and heavy investment.

It's common for adult Thousand Needlebirds to be priceless and unavailable. Chen Guang had considered asking Wan Longjing for help, but it didn't work out. Bird eggs are easy to obtain, but they're not very meaningful.

Chen Guang felt he was making a small profit by exchanging insect eggs, and he was willing to do so.

"Senior brother, I heard you raise thousand-needle wrens. I wonder if you could sell your breeding experience? I'm willing to pay a high price for a copy," Chen Guang asked in return.

"Don't be too greedy. I'll add another bird egg. You should be satisfied." Liu Yige put the spirit tool jar away directly.

This infuriated Chen Guang, who said coldly, "Is Senior Brother trying to force me to buy or sell?"

All the cultivators he had encountered so far were normal people. Suddenly, such an arrogant fellow appeared, leaving Chen Guang speechless and annoyed.