Uncle Nine: Scattering beans to create soldiers? I'm using plants and trees to create soldiers.

Republic of China

Renjia Town

Backyard of the Mortuary

"Has Senior Brother gone mad from practicing cultivation lately?"

"He's stopped practicing Taoism and spends all his time farming and chanting scriptures over the fields. I bet in a couple of days, Senior Brother will be drawing talismans with radish strips and using cabbages as magic weapons, won't he?"

Qiu Sheng squatted by the courtyard wall, looking at the figure in the field, his tone full of helplessness.

"Could it be that my senior brother has been stuck at the early stages of Taoist cultivation for too long, causing him to develop inner demons?!"

Wen Cai stroked his chin, his aged face filled with contemplation. "Or perhaps... Senior Brother thinks we're blockheads? Teaching us is less useful than teaching those glutinous rice kids?"

"..."

Qiu Sheng looked at Wen Cai as if he were an idiot, speechless. "Have you gone mad too?! Those are glutinous rice! They're crops! You're comparing crops to people? Is your brain filled with mush?"

However, Wencai's eyes widened, and he retorted earnestly, "What's wrong with plants? Plants can become spirits too! Aren't there plenty of spirits in the mountains and fields in this world? Maybe Senior Brother can really chant 'Glutinous Rice Spirit' to protect our mortuary!"

"..."

Qiu Sheng sighed, a sense of powerlessness welling up from within.

Hopeless!

The eldest brother seemed to have developed a mental demon, spending all his time dealing with mud.

Literary talent, however, is far removed from people...

Is there no normal person in the entire mortuary besides him?

Qiu Sheng looked at Lin Xuan, who was watering the farmland not far away, his eyes filled with worry.

When will my senior brother, who is always cultivating as soon as he opens his eyes and is always full of enthusiasm for cultivation, come back?

Is this inner demon really that terrifying?

At this moment, Lin Xuan, who was at the center of the conversation between the two, turned a deaf ear to the whispers behind him.

Splash splash~~

With the last ladle of water poured, Lin Xuan's watering work for the day was finished.

In the rice paddies ahead, rows of unusual glutinous rice seedlings sway in the wind.

Their leaves are much wider than those of ordinary glutinous rice, and their roots are also thicker!

The glistening water droplets rolled across the leaves, creating layers of silvery shimmering light, subtly exuding a vigorous yang energy.

Just then, the system notification sounded.

[Complete one effective watering, Basic Cultivation Skill Proficiency +1]

[Current skill proficiency: 300/300, proficiency met, skill upgraded to Lv4 (gray).]

[Effects: Increases affinity with plants, increases maximum plant potential, and increases basic planting experience.]

The notification sound had just faded when a warm, soothing feeling spread deep within my mind.

In an instant, all sorts of profound experiences in caring for plants, techniques for cultivating spiritual materials, and knowledge of drawing energy into the soil were imprinted in my memory.

Moreover, his perception of the surrounding plants and trees became more acute.

A gentle breeze rustled through the rice paddies, and the leaves of the glutinous rice stalks rubbed against each other, making a soft "shush" sound.

Lin Xuan closed his eyes and could even vaguely feel the sense of intimacy emanating from within each plant.

"A month's hard work paid off! My basic cultivation technique has reached level four, and I'm not far from upgrading it!"

Lin Xuan casually wiped the sweat from his forehead with the towel draped around his neck, a satisfied smile appearing on his handsome face.

He then turned off the panel and looked intently at the rice paddies in front of him again.

A semi-transparent light barrier, visible only to him, then appeared above the crops.

Yang glutinous rice

Grade: Gray

Maturity: 98%

[Trait: Corpse Suppression]

[Dao Guo: The Shangqing Fire Bell Corpse-Suppressing Spell]

……

Seeing the 98% maturity level, Lin Xuan's heart skipped a beat.

The glutinous rice is only two percent away from being fully cooked!

Once this batch of glutinous rice matures, Lin Xuan will be able to harvest the "Dao Fruits" that are nurtured within them and infuse the essence of the "Shangqing Fire Bell Corpse Suppression Curse" into his body!

A bundle of glutinous rice represents a certain level of skill!

Looking out, there are hundreds and thousands of bundles of Yangnuo rice with the Daoguo (a type of fruit) in the entire field!

If we harvest all of these, my proficiency with the Corpse Suppression Curse will definitely skyrocket!

Raising three to five levels shouldn't be a problem!

Thinking of this, Lin Xuan couldn't help but feel excited.

Looking back, I remember how I used to meditate, practice Qi, draw talismans, and chant incantations, and it would take several days of arduous practice to barely gain some understanding of Taoism!

It took him more than 20 years of cultivation to barely reach the initial stage of a Taoist.

And now?

Plant some crops, water the plants, chant some scriptures...

After waiting a month, harvesting a batch of Dao Fruits will yield several times, or even more than ten times, the previous harvest.

The difference in cultivation speed is like a chasm!

Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai thought he was just playing in the mud because he was upset, but in reality, his farmland was the strongest shortcut to the main road!

All these changes stemmed from the cheat system he unexpectedly awakened a month ago—the [Myriad Spirits Seed Dao System].

The system's functions are very simple.

First, you gain 'experience'.

The host can gain experience by engaging in behaviors related to "plants".

Turning the soil, sowing seeds, removing pests... can earn experience points and improve basic skills.

Plants mature and are harvested, which also grants proficiency in corresponding Taoist techniques, secret arts, and talents.

Even more so, as long as he chants scriptures, casts spells, draws talismans, or practices incantations next to plants, he can improve his skill proficiency and allow the plants to absorb the essence of the Dao and its teachings, thus helping them grow.

Secondly, and most importantly, is the system's function of point generation.

Using the Qi cultivated through one's own practice as a medium, one can enlighten ordinary plants and activate their inner potential!

Even ordinary wild plants can achieve a leap in quality!

And possesses extraordinary characteristics!

In this degenerate age, spiritual energy is becoming increasingly scarce, and cultivation resources are of utmost importance!

With the system at his disposal, he will never lack resources!

As the number of plants he cultivates increases, his cultivation speed will only increase!

Given enough time, Lin Xuan could very well raise an army of spirits and monsters!

Lin Xuan took a deep breath to calm his excited emotions, and then turned his gaze back to the other plants in the farmland.

【soy】

Grade: Gray

Maturity: 94%

【Characteristic: Nourishing Qi】

[Dao Guo: "Grassroots Soldiers"]

……

Mugwort

Grade: Gray

Maturity: 90%

【Special trait: Cleansing】

[Dao Guo: The Yellow Court Classic - Enlightenment of the Mind and Spirit]

……

【peach】

Grade: White

Maturity: 12%

[Specialties: Ward off evil spirits, possesses spiritual fruits]

[Dao Guo: The Three Talents Formation]

……

Looking at the plants in the backyard, Lin Xuan's tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

Having been reincarnated into this world for so many years, Lin Xuan is like a tightly wound puppet, never daring to relax for a moment.

The reason for this is not only because he has two troublesome junior brothers, Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai, by his side!

A bold and resilient person who likes to cause trouble whenever he goes out.

The other one is stupid and hypocritical; he might just cause you a huge mess if you're not careful!

If you stay by their side and your cultivation isn't strong enough, you might get into serious trouble one day!

Another important reason is this chaotic world of the Dharma's decline!

Demons and evil spirits will stop at nothing to cultivate!

Ordinary people are food to them, while those who cultivate the Tao are even more nourishing "talents" to them!

When cultivators with weak spiritual power walk in the mountains and wilderness, they often fail to exorcise demons and instead become food for the demons!

Over the years, Lin Xuan has diligently cultivated his skills and reached the early stage of Taoist cultivation. Moreover, he was privately taught the Heart Seal Talisman by Uncle Jiu, which allows him to summon the Dharma lineage's soldiers for protection.

But that's far from enough!

When encountering real flying zombies or evil spirits, this meager skill level will still mean certain death!

He must hurry up and improve his skills!

With that in mind, Lin Xuan decided not to delay any longer.

He chose a clean bluestone in front of the field, sat cross-legged, formed a mudra with his hands, and slowly closed his eyes.

He took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

The deep, rhythmic chanting echoed in the backyard:

"The Supreme Lord, in his leisure, composed a seven-character poem, explaining the physical form and the various deities. Above is the Yellow Court, below is the Guanyuan Gate, behind is the Netherworld Gate, and in front is the Gate of Life..."

As the Huangting Jing was recited, Lin Xuan's body faintly emitted a layer of light that was difficult to see with the naked eye.

The wisps of profound magical intent drifted out with the sound waves and were absorbed into the leaves of the surrounding plants.

A gentle breeze blows, and the golden waves of rice sway in the wind.

The ripeness of the glutinous rice is gradually increasing.

98.1%...

98.2%...

……

Just as Lin Xuan was immersed in the profound realm of accelerating plant growth—

Bang bang bang!

Bang Bang Bang!

The front gate was being pounded on loudly.

"Uncle Jiu! Is Uncle Jiu home?! Open the door quickly, something's happened!"

Lin Xuan frowned slightly, and the chanting paused.

Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai, who were standing by the courtyard wall, exchanged a glance and stood up one after the other.

"Senior Brother, you rest, I'll go see what's going on."

Qiu Sheng volunteered and quickly walked to the front yard to open the gate.

Wen Cai followed closely behind.

The gates of the mortuary opened, and a fishy smell from the river wafted in.

Four burly men stood outside the door, carrying a simple, thin coffin on their shoulders.

The coffin was made of rough materials, and the edges of the coffin boards were still covered with wet mud.

Several hemp ropes were tied around the coffin, and sparse, grayish-black water droplets fell in front of the threshold.

The leader was a middle-aged man in a short jacket, who looked shaken. He hurriedly bowed to Qiu Sheng when he saw him.

"Young, young Taoist priest, I apologize for disturbing you..."

"We're here to deliver a body. It was retrieved from the Beiqing River. We'd like to temporarily place it in a mortuary. We don't know if that's alright?"

The middle-aged man swallowed hard, cold sweat trickling down his cheeks.

"A body pulled from the river? Why wasn't it sent to the security team for investigation? What are you doing bringing it to our mortuary?"

As Qiu Sheng spoke, he stepped forward and placed his hand on the coffin lid.

squeak-

The squeak of damp wooden planks scraping against each other echoed through the front yard.

Qiu Sheng peered into the coffin and saw a male corpse lying inside, its skin white and bloated from being soaked in water.

The corpse was pale and bluish-white, with its dead fish eyes wide open.

There was a small, dark hole in the center of his forehead, with the surrounding skin and flesh rolled up and charred black.

"Oh? Or did he die from a gunshot wound?"

Qiu Sheng raised an eyebrow.

"Young Taoist priest, we don't want to trouble you either."

The leader shuddered and said through gritted teeth, "But the village elders say that people who die violently and have been submerged in water are most likely to carry something dirty. When we pulled this man out of the water, his eyes were still open, just staring straight at us."

"Moreover, when we were carrying the body, we inexplicably felt a chill, so we didn't dare to delay and quickly sent it over."

Hearing this, Qiu Sheng curled his lip, completely unconcerned. "Tch, you're just scaring yourself!"

It's just a water corpse that died not long ago. It hasn't even developed rigor mortis yet. What's there to be afraid of?

"With this Taoist master here, nothing filthy can get through! Go inside!"

As Qiu Sheng spoke, he took out a talisman from his satchel.

The lines on the talisman were crooked and twisted, like earthworms crawling across it; the whole thing looked like a defective product.

Then Qiu Sheng pretended to chant a few incantations, and slapped the talisman on the corpse's forehead with a "smack".

Qiu Sheng waved his hand, signaling the men to carry the coffin into the morgue.

The morgue was dimly lit, cold, and damp.

Four strong men quickly carried the thin coffin to a corner and hurriedly closed the lid.

The moment the wooden planks closed, the dead fish-like eyes of the male corpse inside the coffin rolled and looked toward a corner of the coffin.