My Portable Spirit Farm: Rise of the Humble Servant

Chapter 151: It Really Can Improve!

Mist coiled around the waist of the Green Mountain, thick with Qi.

Beneath the swirling vapor, sixty acres of Spirit Fields thrived with a vibrancy that bordered on the supernatural. The Large Spirit Gathering Array hummed silently, funneling the ambient spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the soil.

Since purchasing the array, the results were undeniable.

After nearly a year of meticulous observation and planting, the Spirit Field’s innate bonus to herb growth had stabilized. It offered a natural thirty percent increase in growth speed.

But when combined with the dense, pressurized Qi environment created by the Large Spirit Gathering Array, that efficiency climbed even higher.

The total growth boost now hovered around forty percent.

While not a heaven-defying figure, in the world of cultivation, a consistent forty percent increase in production was a fortune.

However, maintaining such a massive operation was a brutal task for Yao Min and Shan Yu.

Sixty acres was no small plot. Every day was a grind of weeding, loosening soil, channeling spiritual spring water, monitoring growth patterns, and maintaining the Formation’s nodes. The trivial, repetitive labor chewed through their time, leaving them exhausted and with precious little energy for their own cultivation.

Spirit Rice was particularly troublesome.

‘In the future, when we switch to high-value spirit herbs, the daily maintenance shouldn’t be this intensive,’ Chen Ping mused. ‘No need for constant irrigation or soil loosening. That will free up their hands.’

He needed them strong. Both disciples were at the late stage of Qi Condensation. Their goal—and his expectation for them—was the Grand Perfection stage, followed by the leap into Foundation Establishment.

Time was their most valuable currency.

Outside the seclusion cave, Yao Min and Shan Yu stood in respectful silence.

The stone door rumbled open. Chen Ping stepped out, his gaze sweeping over his two disciples.

A year of harsh field labor had bronzed their skin, but the flightiness of youth had vanished from their eyes, replaced by a calm, steady resolve.

“Master.”

The two bowed in unison, their movements precise.

Chen Ping nodded. With a flick of his wrist, two small jade bottles appeared. He tossed one to each of them.

“Take these. You have managed the Spirit Fields well this month. It has been hard work.”

They caught the bottles, unstopping them instinctively. Inside each sat a single pill—round, lustrous, and emitting a pure, medicinal fragrance that cleared the mind.

A Middle Grade Essence Nurturing Pill.

For Chen Ping, who mass-produced these like candy, it was nothing. He had more than he could consume.

But for Yao Min and Shan Yu, this was a lifeline.

They scanned the pills with their Divine Sense, and despite receiving this reward monthly, the shock never quite wore off. Their hands trembled slightly.

A Middle Grade Essence Nurturing Pill!

For late-stage Qi Condensation disciples, this was a dream resource. The sect’s monthly stipend was pitiful scraps in comparison, and risking one’s life on sect missions yielded limited returns.

Only a Master this wealthy, this tyrannical in his resources, would hand these out as a monthly bonus.

“Thank… Thank you, Master, for your heavy reward!”

Yao Min’s voice shook as she bowed so low her forehead nearly touched her knees. Over the past year, her awe of Chen Ping had deepened into genuine, bone-deep respect.

Shan Yu was even more overcome. His face flushed a deep red as he dropped to his knees, his voice booming with fervor.

“Disciple Shan Yu thanks the Master! I will spare no effort! I will guard the Spirit Fields with my life!”

The math was simple. One Middle Grade Essence Nurturing Pill was worth nearly 80 Spirit Stones. That was more wealth than they could generate in months of labor.

This wasn’t just payment; it was an investment. It was recognition. To follow such a generous, rising star was the greatest Fated Chance of their lives.

For such a Master, they would go through fire and water without hesitation.

Chen Ping waved a hand, dismissing their gratitude, and signaled for them to withdraw.

He looked past the fields toward the foot of the mountain.

In a small courtyard, his father, Chen Dashan, had just finished a cultivation session. The fluctuations of the fifth layer of Qi Condensation rippled off him. He sat there, a satisfied smile on his weathered face. Fueled by his son’s endless supply of High-grade and Middle Grade pills, his progress was terrifyingly fast compared to his peers.

In the next room, his mother, Madam Lin, remained at the fourth layer.

She was currently humming a tune, sewing clothes for her husband and son. Her cultivation had lagged, distracted by household chores and the simple joys of domestic life.

Chen Ping had tried to admonish her, urging her to focus on immortality rather than needlework. She would always agree verbally, smile, and then go right back to finding something to clean or sew.

Chen Ping had eventually given up. If this was her happiness, he would let her have it.

Further away, in a more secluded and heavily guarded courtyard, a different scene played out.

Yuan Jingtian—formerly the ferocious “Scarred Bear”—was hunched over a desk, sweating profusely.

On the yellow talisman paper before him, cinnabar ink flowed like liquid fire. His brush moved with trembling precision, channeling spiritual power into the strokes.

As the final stroke landed, the spirit patterns flared with a soft light before absorbing into the paper.

Success. A Tier 1 Low-grade “Light Body Talisman.”

Over the past year, fueled by Chen Ping’s pills, Yuan Jingtian had stabilized his cultivation at the eighth layer of Qi Condensation. More importantly, his skills in the Dao of Talismans had finally crossed the threshold, entering the ranks of a true Tier 1 craftsman.

Sensing Chen Ping’s aura descend from the mountain, Yuan Jingtian dropped his brush immediately.

He rushed out of his room, faced the direction of the cave dwelling, and bowed deeply. His posture was not just respectful; it was servile.

A few days ago, Chen Ping had casually tossed him thirty Middle Grade Essence Nurturing Pills.

Thirty.

Thinking of that fortune, Yuan Jingtian bent his waist even lower.

The fear and suspicion he had felt a year ago were ashes. In their place was a fanatical, terrifying clarity.

What secrets did Chen Ping hold? What was the source of his wealth?

Yuan Jingtian had once wanted to pry. Now, the very thought made him sick with terror. He didn’t want to know. He didn’t dare to know.

He only knew one truth: Follow the Lord, and there will be pills. Follow the Lord, and there will be a future.

His life belonged to Chen Ping. If the Lord pointed East, Yuan Jingtian would not take a single step West.

A wise man knows when to adapt.

Yuan Jingtian was content. He only aspired to be the most loyal, vicious, and useful dog under the Lord’s command.

On the mountain peak, Chen Ping withdrew his Divine Sense.

Everything was on track. His foundation was stabilizing. His subordinates were loyal. His resources were snowballing.

Now, he just had to wait.

Wait for the spirit herbs in the Black Earth to reach the requisite age and medicinal potency.

He yearned to accelerate his own cultivation. The “Whale Swallowing Technique” was ready, a method of cultivation so domineering it could devour Qi like water. But without Top Grade True Essence Pills to buffer the impact and provide the necessary fuel, using the technique was suicide.

‘Patience,’ he told himself. ‘Wait for the herbs. Refine the Top Grade pills. Then, my speed will increase tenfold.’

He shifted his consciousness into the Black Earth space.

Beside the thriving garden sat a pile of Spirit Stones, heaped up like a small hill.

After a year of trading and accumulating, his liquid assets had once again surpassed 30,000 Spirit Stones.

‘I have the capital,’ Chen Ping thought, eyeing the Jade Pendant floating in his Dantian. ‘Let’s see if upgrading the fuel source changes anything.’

Previously, the Jade Pendant had absorbed Low-grade Spirit Stones to expand and evolve the space. What if he fed it Middle Grade Spirit Stones?

He left instructions for Yuan Jingtian to guard his parents, then departed for the Marketplace.

A quick inquiry revealed bad news: The Sect’s official exchange was dry. Due to some internal upheaval, the sect had recalled all Middle Grade Spirit Stones.

“No matter.”

Chen Ping slipped into an alley and donned his old Tier 2 disguise mask. He headed straight for the black market.

The black market had stock, but the vultures were circling. The exchange rate included a steep premium—110 Low-grade stones for 1 Middle Grade stone.

Chen Ping didn’t blink. He exchanged for ten Middle Grade Spirit Stones.

He rented a private room in a secure tavern, laid down a concealment Formation, and sat cross-legged in the center.

Breath steady, he summoned the Jade Pendant from his Dantian.

It hovered before him, pale cyan and ancient, finally looking like a proper artifact.

Chen Ping picked up a Middle Grade Spirit Stone and pressed it against the surface of the jade.

Whoosh.

There was no resistance. The Middle Grade Spirit Stone disintegrated instantly, turning into fine powder drifting to the floor.

“It really works!”

Chen Ping’s heart hammered against his ribs. He immediately grabbed the remaining nine stones.

In the blink of an eye, the Jade Pendant devoured them all.