Chapter 3: The First Appearance of Spiritual Plants

More than half a year had passed since the sisters were reunited.

When they had last met, Qin Jia had excitedly told her family that she had successfully drawn qi into her body and officially embarked on the path of cultivation. She was now practicing the Ice Spirit Art personally imparted by her master, Perfected Person Binghua. In addition to cultivating every day, she also had to learn to read, identify spiritual medicines, and familiarize herself with the various rules of the cultivation world.

According to Qin Jia, her master, Perfected Person Binghua, was the strongest person in the Qingyun Sect beneath the Deity Transformation realm. Knowing that her younger sister was doing well in the Qingyun Sect, the heavy stone that had long hung over Qin Zhen’s heart finally sank halfway.

Although Linxian City had the character “immortal” in its name, it was still part of the mortal world. It was called Linxian only because the city housed a teleportation array connected to the cultivation world, through which cultivators occasionally came and went.

For mortals to enter the cultivation world through the teleportation array, it was by no means enough to simply pay some silver. The spiritual energy in the cultivation world was extremely abundant, while mortal meridians were far too fragile to withstand its impact. At best, their meridians would be damaged, leaving them bedridden for the rest of their lives. At worst, all their meridians would rupture and they would die on the spot.

This was not because the Qingyun Sect deliberately barred them. Their bodies simply could not withstand it.

Still, the matter was not entirely without a solution. If mortals consumed spiritual rice, spiritual vegetables, or low-grade spiritual plants with gentle medicinal properties over a long period of time, their meridians could be slowly nourished. It might take as little as three to five years, or as long as more than a decade. As long as they consumed enough spiritual food, their meridians would gradually adapt to spiritual energy.

The reason those princes, nobles, wealthy merchants, and powerful families in the city had moved their entire households to Linxian City was likely because they were clinging to that faint glimmer of hope.

The Qin family had already accepted this reality. They lived near Linxian City, and being able to see Qin Jia once a year was far better than being separated from her forever.

That was until Qin Jia brought back more than a dozen boxes of spiritual plant seeds.

There was no spiritual energy in Linxian City. Seeds left there would almost certainly never sprout. The Qin family did not tell Qin Jia this.

Yet the instant the seeds were buried in the soil, Qin Zhen felt an overwhelming hunger. The sensation did not belong to her. It came from the seeds underground.

Ever since she was very young, Qin Zhen had been able to sense the condition of plants. She knew which vegetables lacked water, which weeds had insects in their roots, and which trees, though seemingly lush with foliage, had already begun to rot inside.

When she was little, she had once cried in fear as she told her mother that the vegetables in the fields were speaking to her. Liu Zhen had assumed she had suffered a nightmare and gently soothed her, never taking the matter to heart. As Qin Zhen gradually grew older and realized that no one else possessed such an ability, she never mentioned it to anyone again.

But the sensations transmitted by the spiritual plant seeds were much clearer than those of ordinary plants. Waves of hunger and weakness seemed to appear directly inside her mind.

Without thinking, Qin Zhen pressed her palm against the soil. A faint warmth welled up from deep within her body, traveled down her arm into her palm, and finally seeped into the earth. The seeds underground, which had been restless and uneasy, gradually quieted down.

On the morning of the third day, the first tender shoot broke through the soil. After that, more and more seeds began to sprout. Seeds that should have rotted in ordinary soil came back to life one after another under her care. This even included several seeds that had already shriveled and blackened, having nearly lost all vitality.

Half a year passed, and the once-barren land behind the house had become lush and green.

Qin Zhen crouched at the edge of the field and placed her hand on a stalk of spiritual rice. The rice leaves trembled gently, and a feeling of fullness and joy came through them.

Qin Zhen touched several of the surrounding stalks in turn.

They were ripe.

“Zhenzhen, are you looking at the things you planted again?”

Liu Zhen returned from the mountain spring carrying a bucket of water.

Qin Zhen withdrew her hand, stood up, and brushed the dirt from her clothes. “Mother, this spiritual rice is ready. It should be ready to harvest tomorrow.”

“So soon?”

Liu Zhen walked to the edge of the field and looked at the heavy ears of rice in surprise. “Can it really be eaten?”

Wang Sumei had been drying wild vegetables in the courtyard. Upon hearing them, she hurried over as well. She stared at the spiritual rice in the field for a long while, her wrinkled face breaking into a broad smile.

“That’s wonderful. This old woman has lived for so many years, yet I’ve never eaten anything that immortals eat.”

Liu Zhen laughed. “Mother, Jiajia already said that this is merely the most ordinary spiritual rice, not some elixir of immortality.”

“The most ordinary spiritual rice is still spiritual rice.” Wang Sumei beamed. “Even the wealthy lords and madams in the city may not be able to get their hands on it.”

At those words, Qin Zhen’s gaze shifted slightly.

She knew that spiritual food was expensive. But exactly how expensive it was, no one in the Qin family knew.

The plot of land was not large. Qin Ye had originally estimated that, with the entire family working together, they could finish harvesting it in no more than one morning.

He walked into the field, grabbed a handful of rice stalks, and brought the sickle down.

Clang!

A crisp sound, like metal striking metal, rang out.

Qin Ye’s wrist went numb, and the sickle instantly bounced back. If he had not reacted quickly, the blade would have nearly slashed his arm.

“What happened?”

Qin Wen hurried over.

Everyone lowered their heads to look. A clear gap had been knocked into the sickle’s edge. By contrast, the rice stalks that had been struck only bore a faint white mark. Their outer skin had not even truly been broken.

Unwilling to believe it, Qin Ye moved to another spot and swung down with all his strength. The result was the same. After several strikes, the sickle’s edge had been completely bent, yet not a single stalk of spiritual rice had fallen.

“It looks just like rice, so how is it harder than wood?” Qin Ye frowned.

Qin Huai pondered for a moment. “These are ultimately things from the cultivation world. I’m afraid ordinary iron tools can’t be used to harvest them.”

Qin Wen suddenly remembered something. “Didn’t Jiajia bring back a sword last time?”

The sword had been an ordinary longsword given by the Qingyun Sect for its disciples to practice sword techniques. Qin Wen quickly retrieved it from the house.

Most items from the cultivation world required spiritual energy to activate. Qin Ye gripped the sword hilt with both hands and brought it down forcefully toward the spiritual rice. The instant the blade touched the stalk, an invisible resistance came up through the sword. The entire weapon suddenly grew heavy. No matter how much strength Qin Ye exerted, the blade could not move down even half an inch.

Qin Wen took the longsword and tried as well, but the result was the same.

“Looks ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‍like this won’t work either.” Qin Ye reluctantly lowered the sword. “Since even this spiritual rice is an immortal object, perhaps only a cultivator can harvest it.”

“Then we’ll wait until Jiajia comes back next time.” Wang Sumei looked at the heavy ears of rice in the field. Though disappointed, she had no other choice.

“Father, let me try.”

Qin Ye froze. “This sword is heavy. You won’t be able to lift it.”

“I’m not going to swing the sword.” Qin Zhen looked toward the spiritual rice in the field. “I just want to see whether I can make it help me cut the rice.”

Although Qin Ye did not understand what she meant, he still handed her the sword.

The moment the longsword fell into her hands, Qin Zhen’s arm sank sharply. As expected, she could not truly wield the weapon.

She crouched down, gripping the sword hilt with one hand while gently pressing her other hand against the base of a nearby stalk of spiritual rice. A faint warmth welled up from deep within her body and flowed through her palm into the rice’s roots and stalk.

The spiritual rice in the field began to sway gently.

Just then, a faint breath of energy traveled along the leaves of the spirit rice and returned to Qin Zhen’s body. It was not the vitality she sent into the spirit plants every day, but a wisp of spiritual energy that the plants had naturally accumulated within themselves after ripening.

That wisp of spiritual energy flowed along her arm into her other hand before finally sinking into the hilt of the sword.

Hum...

The longsword suddenly let out an almost imperceptible, clear ring. A faint blue-green light appeared along the previously dim patterns on its blade.

Qin Zhen abruptly opened her eyes.

The longsword, which had felt as heavy as a mountain moments ago, had become slightly lighter. It was not completely weightless, but she could now slowly lift it.

She had not even truly swung the sword. The few stalks of spirit rice nearest to her simply bent to one side on their own. Their cuts were smooth and even, without damaging a single grain.

The field fell silent at once.

Qin Ye and Qin Wen stared at the faintly glowing longsword in Qin Zhen’s hand, momentarily forgetting to speak.

Wang Sumei stood stunned for a long while before cautiously asking, “Zhenzhen, do you have a spiritual root too?”

Qin Zhen’s face paled slightly. She shook her head. “Master Chen tested me. I don’t have a spiritual root.”

Qin Ye looked at the longsword in her hand. “Then how were you able to make it move?”

Qin Zhen lowered her gaze to the hilt. “I don’t know. Perhaps... they were helping me.”

She looked toward the gently swaying spirit rice before her.

The moment she finished speaking, the blue-green light on the blade rapidly dimmed. The heavy force pressed down on her arm once more. Qin Zhen nearly lost her grip on the sword and hurriedly planted its tip against the ground.

She had only cut down a few stalks of spirit rice, yet a thin layer of sweat had already appeared on her forehead.

Qin Huai noticed that something was wrong with her complexion and immediately said, “Don’t push yourself.”

Qin Zhen shook her head. “They’ve already ripened. If we don’t harvest them soon, the rice heads will weigh down and break the stalks.”

She placed her hand against the leaves of the spirit rice once more. A gentle, familiar emotion again reached her from the plants in the field.

After resting for a while, Qin Zhen borrowed another wisp of spiritual energy and slowly awakened the longsword.

Her body swayed. Liu Zhen hurried forward to support her. “Zhenzhen, are you feeling unwell?”

“No.” Leaning against her mother’s arms, Qin Zhen took a gentle breath. “I’m just a little tired.”

She looked toward the field, which had now been completely harvested.

The plot of land had seemed small, but in the end, it had yielded more than twenty pounds of spirit rice. Even uncooked, it gave off an exceedingly faint, pleasant fragrance.

Wang Sumei scooped up a handful of spirit rice, beaming with delight. “We’ll cook some tonight and have a taste.”

Qin Zhen reached out to stop her. “Grandmother, don’t cook too much. There’s a very strong force within this spirit rice. We can’t eat much at once.”

She could not explain how she knew. The moment her fingers touched the rice, she could sense the gentle yet abundant energy contained within it.

To cultivators, this spiritual energy might be insignificant. But the Qin family had never come into contact with spiritual energy before. If they ate too much at once, they might not be able to withstand it.

Wang Sumei had already grown accustomed to following Qin Zhen’s instructions regarding the fields. Hearing this, she took out only a small handful.

That evening, Liu Zhen mixed the small amount of spirit rice with ordinary millet and cooked it into a thin porridge. Once it was ready, each person received only half a small bowl.

The spirit rice was soft and sticky, with a hint of delicate sweetness. After drinking half a bowl of spirit porridge, the soreness in Qin Huai’s legs eased considerably. Wang Sumei had worked hard all her life and usually slept restlessly at night, but that day she fell into a deep sleep not long after lying down and did not wake once throughout the night.

The next morning, every member of the Qin family clearly felt somewhat lighter and more energetic upon waking. The change was not particularly dramatic, but it was enough to prove that the rumors circulating in the city were true.

Spiritual food really could nourish the bodies of ordinary people.

Inside the wooden house, the Qin family sat gathered together.

Qin Ye stared at the cloth bag for a long time, hesitation showing on his face. “I’m thinking of going into the city to ask around and find out where this spirit rice actually came from.”

The moment Qin Zhen heard this, she immediately shook her head in opposition. “Father, no. We can’t expose ourselves. It’s far too dangerous.”

“Zhenzhen is right.” Qin Huai’s expression darkened as he looked at Qin Ye in disapproval.

“Understood, Father. Then I’ll continue hunting in the mountains.”