The next day arrived quickly.

Early in the morning, just as the sun was rising, Jiang Chen and Lin An left swiftly without even eating breakfast.

The location of that [Foundation Establishment] stage spirit farmer happened to be near Lin An’s [Spirit Farm]. Because of this, he was able to get the information first and then notify everyone around.

“Let me tell you, there’s a real difference between the [Qi Condensation] stage and the [Foundation Establishment] stage,” Lin An said seriously.

“Why?” Jiang Chen asked, looking at him.

Lin An countered with a question, “That [Foundation Establishment] spirit farmer, do you know how many acres of [Spirit Farm] he has alone?”

“A full ten Mu (around 1.6 acres) of [Tier-2 Spirit Farm],.

Lin An was quite satisfied with Jiang Chen’s surprised reaction and continued, “I inquired about it later. It turns out that after reaching [Foundation Establishment], you gain one more acre of [Tier-2 Spirit Farm] with each minor realm advancement.”

“But even if you reach perfection, wouldn’t that only be five acres?” Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow.

“The remaining five acres of [Tier-2 Spirit Farm]… you, me, and Zhao Ying probably all know how they were obtained,” Lin An said meaningfully.

It seemed this [Foundation Establishment] spirit farmer, named [Wang Ze], was probably like Wang Hu, having served as a [Senior Brother] for assessments in the outer regions. Those extra five acres of [Tier-2 Spirit Farm] were all acquired during that time.

Lin An cautioned, “This [Foundation Establishment Senior Brother] is named [Wang Ze]. His reputation is decent. As long as we don’t damage the spirit plants, we shouldn’t provoke him.”

Before finding Wang Ze, the two first met up with Zhao Ziyao.

Although Jiang Chen hadn’t seen him for several months, there wasn’t much to talk about. However, he noticed that the spirit rice this person was cultivating wasn’t doing well. It seemed the yield wouldn’t be high. At best, it would just barely meet the quarterly quota.

Not long after, the three arrived near Wang Ze’s Spirit Farm.

Jiang Chen glanced around and saw the area was surrounded by a fence. Ten acres of [Spirit Farm] clustered together; the concentration of wood-attributed spiritual energy in the air was very dense.

However, what surprised Jiang Chen the most was that different spirit fields had different spirit plants. Some resembled eggplants. Some were covered in frost. There wasn’t a single stalk of spirit rice among them.

With their arrival, all ten people were gathered. All were [Qi Condensation] stage disciples who had become full members less than a year ago.

“Remember this! Do not damage the spirit plants under any circumstances!”

“Every single plant here is more valuable than your lives!”

“If anyone’s hands aren’t steady, they should leave now!”

Wang Ze didn’t have the demeanor of an ordinary spirit farmer; he appeared very arrogant and well-fed. While speaking, his gaze didn’t linger on Jiang Chen and the others at all. He basically just glanced over them briefly to remember their faces roughly.

“You go to Spirit Field One, on the far left,” Wang Ze began assigning tasks.

As for Jiang Chen, Lin An, and Zhao Ziyao, they were conveniently assigned together to the three [Tier-2 Spirit Farms] on the far right.

The spirit plant Jiang Chen needed to harvest looked very strange. Resembling tangled and gnarled thorns, it appeared bizarrely shaped. The harvesting method involved digging up the soil and working from the exposed roots.

“Look! Two Dao Companions!” Lin An glanced back and immediately showed an envious expression.

Jiang Chen and Zhao Ziyao also looked upon hearing this.

They saw two female disciples with exceptionally impressive figures standing beside Wang Ze, curvaceous in all the right places. Their faces were also quite delicate. Judging by the patterns embroidered on their chests, they were clearly both water-attributed spiritual roots.

It seemed Wang Ze was also attempting to generate a new spiritual root through this method.

Zhao Ziyao shook his head and said, “Stop looking. He’s at the [Foundation Establishment] stage!”

“What do you know? I aim to become a spirit farmer like him in the future,” Lin An said with great longing.

Jiang Chen couldn’t help but retort, “You should focus on actually growing some spirit plants first.”

Lin An immediately looked extremely embarrassed.

Both Jiang Chen and Zhao Ziyao were at least cultivating something, even if it was just the most ordinary spirit rice. But he was still wandering around aimlessly everywhere. He didn’t even dare to start cultivating easily, afraid of making mistakes.

Soon, the three arrived at their respective Spirit Fields for harvesting.

Jiang Chen’s field was covered in thorns, so he didn’t approach recklessly. Holding a spirit tool sickle, he walked around looking for a spot to start.

In contrast, Lin An and Zhao Ziyao had it easier. One had a plant resembling an eggplant. The other had dense clusters of small red flowers.

“See that? With just ten jin of [Tier-2 Spirit Rice] I can get a group of people to help me willingly. No need to get my hands dirty or get covered in mud,” Wang Ze said, looking at the busy [Qi Condensation] spirit farmers with obvious superiority on his face.

Others worked themselves to death for just ten jin of [Tier-2 Spirit Rice]. But look at him; just by sending these medicinal herbs to the [Alchemy Hall], he could earn tens of thousands of Low-grade Spirit Stones..

“You’re amazing!” The water-attributed Dao Companion on his left had stars in her eyes. The one on the right had joined not long ago and wasn’t quite used to it yet. But she could tell, this man seemed to be showing off, but he was actually enjoying the women’s admiration.

Finally, Jiang Chen found a suitable spot to start.

He focused his mind and used the [Evergreen Art] to sense the surrounding spirit plants. He discovered that the actual optimal harvest time was tomorrow.

This was essentially one day early.

Although they were mature and harvesting was possible, the quality, yield, and other aspects would obviously be somewhat inferior.

Regarding this, Jiang Chen had no intention of reminding anyone; after all, they weren’t his plants anyway. He did this purely out of curiosity.

Afterward, he began digging up the slightly hard black soil to harvest from the roots.

From daytime until nearly dusk, apart from drinking water occasionally, he hardly stopped working at all—let alone eating meals. Fortunately, his strength had reached the mid-[Qi Condensation] stage; his body had sufficient spiritual energy reserves for support.

Wang Ze looked at the completely harvested black thorns with satisfaction and asked, “Very good. What’s your name?”

Jiang Chen replied respectfully, “Senior Brother Wang Ze? I am Jiang Chen.”

Wang Ze asked another question, “How long have you been in the core region?”

Before Jiang Chen could answer, Lin An beside him spoke first, “We’ve all been here less than half a year.”

Wang Ze shot a sidelong glance at Lin An, scaring the latter into hurriedly lowering his head, then turned his gaze back onto Jiang Chen, smiling, “First time harvesting, and you handled the troublesome Black Thorns so completely. It shows a solid foundation.”

“Thank you for the praise, Senior Brother.” Jiang Chen cupped his hands respectfully, bowing slightly.

“Seeing such excellence, I’ll give you an extra ten jin of [Tier-2 Spirit Rice].” Wang Ze waved his hand grandly.

People around immediately showed envious looks. Zhao Ziyao even felt somewhat jealous.

“Thank you, Senior Brother.” Jiang Chen cupped his hands again.

Wang Ze lightly patted Jiang Chen’s shoulder, smiling, “I remember you. Next harvest, come directly. No need to sign up.”

“You may return now.” After saying this, Wang Ze turned and left.

Lin An enviously said, “Being appreciated by Senior Brother Wang, you’re going places, kid!”

Hearing this, Jiang Chen just smiled, then took out five jin of [Tier-2 Spirit Rice], handing it over to Lin An. “Thanks are largely due to you. I have nothing else, so I can only thank you with Spirit Rice.”

“What are you doing? I can’t take this; you’re too polite.” Lin An quickly waved his hands, refusing.

“Just accept it,” Jiang Chen insisted.

Zhao Ziyao beside them chimed in, “We’re at least growing Spirit Rice. You’ve been wandering around; your Spirit Rice is running low, right?”

He had to admit, Zhao Ziyao saw accurately. During this period, Lin An had been constantly moving around the core region, meeting many people but also giving away a lot of Spirit Rice. His stock was running low, which was why he came to help Wang Ze harvest plants.

Jiang Chen also noticed this, plus he was genuinely grateful to the other party. Therefore, he specifically took out five jin of [Tier-2 Spirit Rice].

After accepting the rice, Lin An asked, “Are you returning tonight?”

“Returning. I’m exhausted; I probably won’t get up tomorrow,” Jiang Chen said, rubbing his shoulders.

“Alright, I won’t keep you overnight.” Lin An smiled understandingly.

Thus, the three subsequently separated.

Jiang Chen walked nearly half an hour before finally returning to his own wooden hut.

But the first thing upon arriving home wasn’t eating or resting, but immediately checking his attribute panel.

This time, helping Wang Ze harvest Black Thorns, he gained a full eighty years of [Lifespan]!