Chapter 401: Seeding

## Chapter 401: Sowing

Three days later, Meng Hong arrived with Mu Yuan.

“The two Grand Elders greatly admire your idea, but implementing your full plan would involve too many changes. The sect might soon face another major conflict, so we are not planning to disturb the sect’s protective formation.”

Chen Mobai’s desire to cultivate the entire southern side of Giant Wood Ridge would inevitably alter the spiritual ley lines, potentially disabling parts of the Myriad Trees Formation, which has been stable for decades. Even if the two Grand Elders had great faith in Chen Mobai, they could not allow such an undertaking at this critical juncture. After all, many enemies of the Divine Wood Sect were revealed during Meng Hong's Core Formation. At this moment, stability is paramount.

“This is a matter of benefit for millennia; the sooner it’s done, the better,” Chen Mobai sighed. He understood the Grand Elders’ concerns. Considering that Ji Zhenshi and Nan Shidao recently came to exert pressure, and two Core Formation ghost cultivators are secretly coveting the sect, Chen Mobai admitted he would make the same choice if he were in the Grand Elders' position.

“I expressed that view as well, and managed to secure something for you.” As he spoke, Meng Hong produced the map of Giant Wood Ridge again and circled an area centered around Little South Mountain. “This area totals about five hundred acres of spiritual land, but it’s divided by four spiritual mountains. I’ve already discussed this with the heads of the four departments, including the Formation Department. This will serve as your experimental site for now. The Formation Department will make minor adjustments to the protective formation in this area, the Spiritual Plant Department will supply all the crop seeds you need, and the Spiritual Beast Department will relocate any spiritual beasts currently contained there. If you can successfully cultivate and connect this entire area, then once the external forces affecting the sect stabilize, it will be natural to extend this project to the entire southern side of Giant Wood Ridge, and even the whole sect.”

Meng Hong’s efforts over the past three days were not in vain. With no explicit opposition from the two Grand Elders, he used his influence to gain approval from the four departments, securing the right for Chen Mobai to use five hundred acres of spiritual land.

“Thank you, Elder Meng.” Chen Mobai immediately thanked Meng Hong upon hearing this. It’s important to note that the sect’s core plain medicinal fields total only 1,700 acres. While many of Chen Mobai’s five hundred acres are still uncultivated wasteland, gaining the right to use such a large amount of spiritual land was truly remarkable.

“Little Chen,” Meng Hong said, “you truly don’t need to work so hard. With your talent, cultivating diligently like Hong He and achieving Core Formation as soon as possible would be a great help to the sect.” Meng Hong had essentially watched Chen Mobai grow. In the eight years since joining the sect, Chen Mobai had progressed from Qi Condensation to Foundation Establishment, and then gained the inheritance of the Longevity Sect. Meng Hong believed this young man was a true genius capable of surpassing him and becoming a Core Formation cultivator. Therefore, while he supported Chen Mobai’s farming efforts for the sect’s future development, he inwardly couldn't bear to see it delay Chen Mobai’s opportunity to advance further. After all, in the Eastern Barrens, individuals like Chen Mobai, who sacrifice their cultivation time to benefit the sect at large, are truly rare.

“Don’t worry, Elder Meng,” Chen Mobai said with a confident expression, “even if I spend every day farming and making puppets, no one in the sect will catch up to my cultivation speed.”

Meng Hong was at a loss for how to persuade him further. “If you need anything in the future, just come to me. If you’re short on hands, I’ll send Mu Yuan to help you.” Ultimately, Meng Hong could only point to Mu Yuan and leave him with those words. He currently held no official position in the sect, and the only people he could command were his few disciples. With E Yun absent, only Mu Yuan remained.

“Elder Meng, please rest assured. I’ve already troubled you greatly this time.” Holding the document granting him the right to use the five hundred acres of spiritual land, Chen Mobai respectfully escorted Meng Hong to the door.

In the following days, Chen Mobai’s main body directed Li Yixian and two others in Divine Wood City to construct agricultural puppets, while his Incarnation Doll clone took Zhuo Ming to survey the newly acquired four spiritual mountains and five hundred acres of spiritual land. As all the land was in the vicinity of Little South Mountain, it was relatively easy for the master and disciple to survey and compare the areas.

During this period, cultivators from the Formation Department arrived to discuss with Chen Mobai the alteration of the ley line formations within these four spiritual mountains. To establish spiritual fields, the concentrated spiritual energy from the ley lines needed to be dispersed and evenly distributed across every inch of land. This would inevitably weaken or even nullify any formations reliant on those ley lines.

“Are there any formations that use spiritual fields as their core flags?” Chen Mobai, considering that cultivating the entire Giant Wood Ridge into spiritual fields would mean the complete invalidation of the Divine Wood Sect’s core Myriad Trees Formation, couldn’t help but ask the senior disciple from the Formation Department this question.

“That would require a Grandmaster of Formations to come and re-survey and design. Our Divine Wood Sect’s Myriad Trees Formation was personally set up by Grandmaster Xie from Empty Mulberry Valley.” The Myriad Trees Formation is essentially an upgraded version of the Heavenly Wood Divine Light Formation. It combines multiple Heavenly Wood Divine Light Formations, using three fourth-tier Longevity Trees as its core, to form a massive fourth-tier grand formation. The Divine Wood Sect has no fourth-tier formation masters; Grand Elder Zhou paid a hefty price to invite someone from within the Eastern Yi territory to help complete this protective formation.

“It seems this task will be arduous for Senior Brother Duan.” The leader from the Formation Department was Duan Shaojiu, an experienced Foundation Establishment cultivator. Although only in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, he was one of the sect’s only four third-tier formation masters. The other three were coincidentally the head of the Formation Department, the deputy head, and the inspector. He was unlucky; his cultivation was the lowest, so he typically handled all sorts of tasks. Chen Mobai’s plan to transform ley lines into spiritual land meant that two formation flags of the Myriad Trees Formation, located near Little South Mountain, needed to be relocated. This was also considered a difficult chore.

“Junior Brother Chen is also doing this for the sect; my small effort is nothing,” Duan Shaojiu replied. Duan Shaojiu was older and had little chance of further advancement, but he had a son and a daughter with spiritual roots, so he was currently focused on earning resources for them. After Chen Mobai described the general situation, Duan Shaojiu even asked if he wanted one of the formation flags moved to the peak of Little South Mountain. The formation flags of the Myriad Trees Formation were actually Azure Sun Spirit Trees. If planted on the peak of Little South Mountain, occasionally trimming some branches and leaves wouldn't affect the grand formation's operation, and the sect would usually turn a blind eye.

Chen Mobai was slightly tempted by this, but after careful consideration, he shook his head. Firstly, he valued his privacy greatly and wasn’t sure if planting a formation flag on his own mountain would expose his long-standing secret of traveling between two realms. Furthermore, possessing the Divine Tree Secret Realm made Azure Sun Spirit Trees not particularly rare to him. Moreover, if he intended to plant third-tier spiritual rice in the future, he would need to dissolve the core of Little South Mountain’s spiritual ley line to cultivate some third-tier spiritual land. In that case, the formation flag would need to be moved again, creating even more trouble. It was better to simply move it out of his jurisdiction once and for all.

Upon hearing Chen Mobai’s decision, Duan Shaojiu acted decisively. Within two days, he transplanted the two Azure Sun Spirit Trees onto two nearby mountain peaks. These Azure Sun Spirit Trees were second-tier spiritual wood, requiring a second-tier spiritual ley line to sustain them. During the transplant, Sun Gaochang also came to assist. As an inspector in the Spiritual Plant Department and a third-tier spiritual plant master, he wasn't strictly required to personally intervene, but due to his close relationship with Chen Mobai, he proactively offered his help to prevent any unforeseen incidents. With Duan Shaojiu and Sun Gaochang working together, the transplant of the two Azure Sun Spirit Trees proceeded without any incidents and was completed very smoothly.

Without the involvement of the protective mountain formation, Chen Mobai could finally focus on cultivating the spiritual fields with peace of mind.

That day, as Chen Mobai and his two disciples surveyed the five hundred acres of spiritual land centered around Little South Mountain from the air, Zhuo Ming pointed to the undulating landscape below, her brow furrowed with worry. “Master,” she began, “Miao Mountain and Ting Mountain are both near third-tier spiritual ley lines and have relatively flat terrain, but Wing Mountain and Shuyang Mountain are surrounded by hills and slopes, which will be difficult to cultivate.”

Although it truly amounted to five hundred acres of spiritual land, most of it was actually uncultivated wasteland. Only about a hundred acres were high-quality spiritual fields, like those on Little South Mountain, ready for use after just a little loosening of the soil. The remaining three hundred-plus acres would all need to be cultivated on hillsides and slopes. If ordinary mortals were to undertake this, it would likely take three generations of continuous effort to transform it into suitable spiritual fields for cultivation.

“Ming’er, if you were to do it yourself, how long would it take?” Standing on the Scarlet Cloud Mist Gauze, Chen Mobai pointed towards Wing Mountain and Shuyang Mountain below, where the terrain was particularly rugged. Beneath Shuyang Mountain lay a hill, Little Yang Ridge, which was where he originally began his rise to prosperity and still remained under Chen Mobai’s name.

“Reporting to Master,” Zhuo Ming replied, “it would probably take about ten years.” Zhuo Ming, hearing Chen Mobai’s question, genuinely counted on her fingers, calculating seriously. With her cultivation level and various spiritual tools, completing the cultivation of over three hundred acres of terraced fields in ten years would be considered fast.

“Master, I’ll help Senior Sister,” Luo Yixuan said, who was listening nearby. She had thought Chen Mobai was truly going to assign this arduous task to Zhuo Ming. After a moment of thought, she stepped forward and patted her chest, demonstrating sisterly loyalty.

“Hahaha,” Chen Mobai chuckled, “if Ming’er went off to cultivate new land, wouldn’t I have to personally handle the annual sowing and harvesting?” Chen Mobai chuckled, indicating he had other arrangements, but he was very pleased by his two disciples’ willingness to endure hardship. Cultivators willing to clear land like ordinary farmers were exceedingly rare, at least within the Divine Wood Sect.

“Master, if all five hundred acres are indeed planted with spiritual rice, won’t we need to build very large warehouses to store the harvest?” Zhuo Ming asked, already worrying about the storage capacity of the warehouses at the foot of Little South Mountain.

“You don’t need to worry about that.” Chen Mobai intended to benefit the entire Divine Wood Sect. While five hundred acres of spiritual rice seemed like a lot, when distributed among all members of the sect, it wouldn’t actually be that much. “First, prepare the spiritual fields in the flat areas. The second half of the year is still the season for planting Fire Spirit Rice, so we mustn't waste this opportunity.” About a hundred acres of spiritual land only required clearing weeds and small rocks, and driving away some wild beasts, before they could be used for sowing. Zhuo Ming was an expert in this area. However, for efficiency, Chen Mobai personally led her, burning wild grasses and trees, and while fertilizing, he also personally worked to dissolve the spiritual ley lines hidden within the hills, transforming them into acres of spiritual fields.

“Master, if it’s just the three of us sowing, we won’t have enough time,” Zhuo Ming said, noticing a new problem after all the flat spiritual fields had been demarcated.

“I’ve already arranged for the Spiritual Plant Department to help with that.” Compared to the scarcity of puppet masters, the Divine Wood Sect had many spiritual plant masters. Chen Mobai and Sun Gaochang were close friends despite their age difference, and the sect always supported spiritual rice cultivation. So Chen Mobai had the Spiritual Plant Department help cultivate one hundred acres of Fire Spirit Rice seedlings. If he and Zhuo Ming had to do this themselves, they would certainly not have enough time.

The Spiritual Plant Department provided these one hundred acres of seedlings for free. The only requirement was that Chen Mobai’s spiritual fields must yield at least eighty acres of spiritual rice next year. If the harvest fell short, he would be fined spirit stones and sect contribution points. Of course, all the spiritual rice harvested would belong to Chen Mobai. He could sell it to the sect, which would buy it back for ten times its contribution value, or he could keep it to sell independently or use for brewing wine. While the seedlings were provided free of charge, the Spiritual Plant Department would not assist with the actual sowing; Chen Mobai would have to do it himself.

“Master, why don’t we go to the Spiritual Treasure Pavilion and hire some spiritual plant masters to help?” Although Zhuo Ming wasn't afraid of hardship or exhaustion, with only a few days left, she simply couldn’t sow one hundred acres of Fire Spirit Rice seedlings by herself. This was her first time asking Chen Mobai for outside help.

“Hahaha, don’t worry, I’ve already prepared everything.” The next day, Chen Mobai’s main body arrived with Li Yixian and his two companions, bringing the newly debugged sowing puppets. These puppets featured two large wheels connected by a long track. The track had numerous holes, allowing seedlings to be inserted and secured individually. With his powerful divine sense, Chen Mobai quickly selected a thousand seedlings from the batch supplied by the Spiritual Plant Department, inserted them into the track holes, then placed a spirit stone to activate the puppet. A short while later, to the disbelief of Zhuo Ming and the others, the puppet rolled back and forth across the spiritual field, its wheels turning. The track’s width perfectly matched that of the spiritual field. As it rolled over the soil, seedlings were planted one by one, perfectly aligned and precisely spaced, as if measured with the most accurate ruler, neatly arranged in the soil. After thirty passes back and forth, one acre of land was completely sown. In a single day, fifteen acres of seedlings were planted.

“Master, this puppet is truly amazing!” Zhuo Ming, who farmed every day, immediately recognized the sowing puppet’s incredible efficiency. With this device, one could easily sow hundreds of acres of spiritual fields with just an old farmer supervising.

“This is on flat land, which is why the sowing is fast,” Chen Mobai pointed out the puppet’s flaw, “but on hills and terraced fields, the speed would be reduced by more than half.” Even so, Zhuo Ming felt it was very impressive.

“My three junior nephews, please put all your effort into making another one of these puppets for me.” Chen Mobai still had over a hundred acres of land to sow, and one puppet wouldn’t be enough.

“Senior Uncle Chen, it will take at least seven days,” Li Yixian said truthfully. Li Yixian was speaking honestly; although they had mastered the puppet’s construction method under Chen Mobai’s guidance, they couldn’t increase their speed significantly.

“If you can deliver it within two days,” Chen Mobai said, speaking words that greatly excited Li Yixian and his two companions, “I am willing to give you a square unit of Azure Sun Spirit Wood as compensation.”

“Is Senior Uncle serious?”

“We can sign a contract at the Spiritual Treasure Pavilion.”

“We guarantee to complete the task!” Without another word, Li Yixian and his two companions immediately asked Chen Mobai to take them back to Divine Wood City, where they planned to gather their friends from the Puppet Department and jointly earn that square unit of Azure Sun Spirit Wood.