noffsinger Chapter 104 Everything went smoothly and all was well.
Chapter 104 Everything went smoothly and all was well.
Shen Qing carefully scooped the seeds that had already taken root from the earthenware bowl and transferred them into a shallow earthenware basin.
The bottom of the basin was covered with a layer of fine soil taken from the spirit field, mixed with a small amount of spirit spring water, just enough to be moist but not muddy.
The seeds were evenly scattered on the surface of the soil. Shen Qing gently pressed each seed with his fingertip, burying it halfway into the soil.
Then, he used his divine sense to guide the earth vein energy in Qingyun Mountain into the basin. This action was to allow the seedlings of the spirit valley to adapt to the earth vein energy at the foot of the mountain in advance, so as to make full preparations for the seedlings to be planted in the field later.
The earth's energy seeped into the soil, causing the temperature in the pot to rise slightly.
Shen Qing could sense the dramatic changes taking place inside the seed; the roots were rapidly extending in the soil, and the embryo was accumulating strength within the husk.
Three days later, the first seedling broke through the soil.
A very pale bluish-green hue, as fine as a needle tip, peeks out from the soil.
Then came the second seedling, the third seedling... Within three days, the vast majority of the seeds successfully sprouted.
Shen Qing roughly counted that there were about 500 seeds in one jin of spirit grain, and about 450 seedlings successfully sprouted.
The loss rate was a bit high, but for his first attempt, it was a pretty good result.
Shen Qing decided to transplant the seedlings in the middle of April.
Shen Qing began preparations several days in advance. First, he carefully turned over the soil in the spirit field and scanned the soil layer by layer with his divine sense to confirm that there were no pests lurking in it.
Then, the spiritual spring water and mountain spring water were mixed in proportion and used to thoroughly irrigate the entire acre of spiritual field.
In the fourth month, the Yang energy reaches its peak, then retreats at its zenith, while the Yin energy begins to sprout in secret.
The vital energy sinks and subdues, concealing the opportunity to transform into Yin.
Early that morning, Shen Qing moved the pottery basin to the edge of the spirit field.
Four hundred and fifty seedlings huddled together in the pot, already about an inch tall, their tender green leaves trembling slightly in the morning breeze.
Shen Qing squatted down, gently pinched the root joint of a seedling with his fingertips, enveloped its delicate root system with his divine sense, and lifted it out of the pot.
The roots of the seedlings were clearly visible in my divine sense, and the direction of each root was crystal clear.
Shen Qing dug a shallow pit in the spirit field, gently placed the seedling's roots into the pit, and then watered the surrounding soil with spirit spring water, allowing the soil to naturally cover the roots.
The first one was a success.
Then came the second one, the third one...
It took Shen Qing an entire morning to transplant all the seedlings.
The spacing between each seedling strictly follows the requirements of the cultivation method, with a row spacing and plant spacing of one and a half feet.
One mu of spiritual field is just enough to accommodate these 450 seedlings.
It was noon when the transplanting was finished. Shen Qing stood on the edge of the field, looking at the scattered tender green shoots all over the field, and a feeling that was hard to describe welled up in her heart.
Two months ago, this land was a barren slope overgrown with weeds.
Now, it has become a spiritual field capable of supporting the growth of spiritual grains.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Shen Qing carefully tended to the spirit grain seedlings in strict accordance with the spirit grain planting method.
He dared not slack off in the slightest, even when Sun Wenyuan of the academy asked him, the headmaster, to teach the students several times, Shen Qing refused on various pretexts.
It was now May, the season of Ruibin, when the yang energy gave rise to yin, the blazing sun covered the universe, and the vital energy was powerful and vast.
The seedlings of the spirit valley grew taller day by day in the spirit field. From the initial inch or so, to five inches, and then to a foot. The leaves changed from light green to dark green, and the stems gradually became thicker.
Shen Qing stayed by the spirit field almost every step of the way. Every day after receiving the spiritual energy extracted by the system at dawn, he would begin his routine field patrol.
In June, the yin energy gradually emerges, while the yang energy is concealed.
The spirit grains in the spirit fields behind Qingyun Mountain have grown to about a foot tall, with stems as thick as a little finger and large, dark green leaves.
For the past two months, Shen Qing has devoted almost all his attention to this spiritual field.
From breeding to transplanting, from watering to pest control, he watched the growth of every single Linggu plant.
The seeds of the spirit valley absorb water and swell in the spirit dew, breaking through the shell and taking root. The seedlings take root, sprout leaves, and grow tall in the soil. He pondered each stage repeatedly.
Initially, he only wanted to ensure the survival of the spirit grains. The Qingyun Sect had a weak foundation, and if this batch of spirit grains could be harvested smoothly, it would not only fulfill the 50/50 split with Zhao Yuanlang, but also accumulate the first batch of cultivation resources for the sect.
But gradually, he found that the longer he stayed in the fields, the clearer the subtle feeling in his heart became.
The growth of spiritual grains and the cultivation of cultivators have some similarities.
The earth's energy surges up from the depths of the mountain's base, is absorbed into the seedling's body by its roots, and is transformed into the power of growth in its stems and leaves.
The spiritual energy in the spiritual water seeps into the soil, is absorbed by the roots, and transforms into vibrant green life in the leaves.
This is remarkably similar to the process by which he draws upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth through his dantian and transforms it into his own spiritual power.
A seed falls into fertile soil, absorbing the earth's energy, the essence of the sun and moon, and the rain and dew of the four seasons. It sprouts, grows branches and leaves, and eventually blossoms and bears fruit, giving birth to new life.
This is the evolution of life from nothing to something, from weak to strong.
And isn't the cultivation of cultivators exactly the same?
Guiding Qi into the body and rooting it in the Dantian is like planting a spiritual seed in the soil. Nourished by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the principles of the Great Dao, it slowly settles and grows until the foundation of the Dao reaches the heavens and the Dao fruit is naturally formed.
Shen Qing had a vague feeling that planting this acre of spirit grain might not be as simple as just harvesting spirit food; perhaps this planting experience could serve as a way to observe the Dao.
Shen Qing felt that reading a book a hundred or even a thousand times was not as fulfilling as experiencing it firsthand.
Watching the entire process of Linggu from seed to seedling, and from seedling to heading, the power of life coming from nothing is more intuitive than any scripture.
During this period, after receiving the spiritual energy extracted by the system every morning at dawn, he would use his divine sense to survey the entire spiritual field.
His divine sense started from the edge of the field and gradually advanced inch by inch towards the center of the spiritual field.
The earth's energy pulsed slowly through the soil as usual.
To Shen Qing's surprise, the alarming insect infestations described in the Thick Earth Sect's cultivation method had hardly appeared in the past month or so.
During that time, only a few ordinary insects flew in from the direction of the pine forest. They were shaped like moths with brown spots on their wings.
As soon as the insects entered the spiritual field, they were detected by Shen Qing's ever-present divine sense, and a tiny sword aura shot out, instantly pulverizing them.
This continued for over a month, causing Shen Qing's tense nerves to relax somewhat unconsciously.
Shen Qing pondered that Qingyun Mountain was not a spiritual mountain to begin with, and its spiritual energy was thin. The spiritual fields were only opened up in the first year, so perhaps the spiritual insects had not yet had time to be attracted.
Or perhaps I was just lucky; the location of this spirit field happened to be out of the activity range of spirit insects.
He put the idea aside for the time being, but his daily field patrols continued without interruption.
By mid-June, the spiritual water had run dry.
After two months of continuous irrigation of the sacred fields, the spiritual dew and water taken from the secret chamber of the Huang Clan Ancestral Hall were consumed very quickly.
Shen Qing had been calculating the dosage for the past few days, barely managing to hold on until today, when the last jar of spiritual water had been completely used up.
The spirit grain is about to enter the period before heading, and the following grain-filling period is the key to determining the quality of the spirit grain, so the spirit water must not be interrupted.