Chapter 32: Black Soil Beneath the Mountain, Meeting with Senior Brother Chen

At the same time, he was extremely curious.

He wanted to know what kind of cultivation technique the other party would bring from the rogue cultivator market. As long as it was suitable for a Wood Spirit Root to cultivate, it would be absolutely fine.

Moreover, with the help of his golden finger, he could instantly master it to the maximum level. These seventy-thousand-plus days of lifespan had long been “itching for action.”

Immediately after, the man and the dog headed back toward the direction of the stone mountain.

They already knew the situation on the mountain. But there was still one cave they hadn’t entered. Since it was still early, they could go take a look.

Soon, Jiang Chen returned to the foot of the stone mountain.

The cave was on the other side. It was fairly well-hidden. The entrance, however, was somewhat low and narrow. Given Jiang Chen’s height and build, he had to lower his head and enter sideways.

In contrast, the little yellow dog had no such restriction and darted inside instantly.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen quickly called out, “Slow down! What if there’s danger inside?”

He then hurriedly followed.

The deeper they went, the dimmer the light became. Fortunately, the passageway was straight with no turns. After about ten meters, they reached the end.

At the deepest part, there was only a very small interior space.

Jiang Chen’s gaze swept over it; aside from the little yellow dog, there was almost nothing there. The interior of this cave was just like the entire stone mountain—utterly unremarkable.

“Woof!” The little yellow dog squatted in a corner, putting on an expression of exertion.

Jiang Chen said irritably, “The air isn’t great to begin with, and now you’re taking a dump.”

He took a few steps back and waited on the other side.

Before long, the little yellow dog finished its business. It then used its hind legs to kick at the ground, attempting to bury the “evidence” with dirt.

This in itself was nothing unusual; it was normal behavior. But when Jiang Chen glanced out of the corner of his eye, his eyes suddenly widened.

However, what caught his attention wasn’t that pile of dog waste. It was the soil that had been kicked aside by the dog’s legs.

The surface layer was yellow. But underneath, it was actually black.

“Could it be…” Jiang Chen ignored the stench and immediately moved closer.

“Woof! Woof!” The little yellow dog, thinking its master was hungry, instinctively blocked the waste with its body.

Jiang Chen pushed it aside and then reached out to touch the black soil. The texture felt somewhat hard, but after crumbling it between his fingers, it felt quite sticky and rich.

“Black soil. It’s definitely black soil.” Jiang Chen was thrilled.

“Woof?” The little yellow dog tilted its head, looking at its master in confusion.

“Little guy, you’ve done a great service this time.” Jiang Chen immediately picked it up and vigorously rubbed its head.

Next, he cast Vine Bind (Third Layer). He released the ten grass seeds stored within his spirit seal.

The moment they landed, these grass seeds evolved into ten black iron vines. Then, under Jiang Chen’s control, they began drilling around the area bit by bit.

Gradually, that surface layer of yellow soil was turned over.

Sure enough, just as he had guessed, underneath was all black soil.

Although buried for too long, its quality might not match that of the Spirit Farm outside, but it would be absolutely fine for planting the most common Spirit Rice. After cultivating it for a while, perhaps other spirit plants could be grown there as well.

Not long after, Jiang Chen left this abandoned cave with the little yellow dog.

Once outside, he couldn’t help but re-examine the stone mountain before him. The more he looked at it, the more suspicious—or rather “deliberate”—it seemed.

If it were a normal mountain, there’d be no issue at all. But it just happened to be a stone mountain, and it just happened to have a large amount of black soil underneath.

Without a doubt, this place had once been a Spirit Farm as well. Because of the black soil, it was at least Tier-2.

But currently, not many people knew about this. Especially now; perhaps only Jiang Chen remained.

Later on, he could secretly clear and cultivate a portion. Then Jiang Chen could plant Spirit Rice on one part and other spirit plants on another.

You must know, if not for part of the Spirit Farm being occupied by Spirit Clover…

Seeing that it was now noon, for lunch, Jiang Chen specially prepared a very sumptuous meal for the little yellow dog.

Well, what could he do? It had rendered great service this time.

After eating and washing the dishes, Jiang Chen took out a communication talisman from his small storage pouch. Chen Bo had given this when he visited; they hadn’t contacted each other privately since.

Seeing that spring had passed, according to their agreement, he needed to deliver eight hundred jin of Tier-2 Spirit Rice to Chen Tian.

“Aren’t we partners?”

“Huh… You’ve prepared eight hundred jin of Tier-2 Spirit Rice?”

“Head east. After crossing three hills in a row, you’ll see a river. I’m on the opposite bank.”

The communication ended.

Jiang Chen put the communication talisman back into his small storage pouch and began preparing.

The little yellow dog, full and contented, lay resting comfortably by the doorway. Even when its master approached, it couldn’t be bothered to move much, just wagging its tail half-heartedly.

Jiang Chen smiled and instructed, “I’m going out for a while. Guard our home well. If bad people come, run quickly and hide in that abandoned cave.”

He closed the door properly and set off in Chen Bo’s direction.

After crossing three hills in succession as instructed, he indeed saw a river. The river water was quite clear, with many small white fish swimming inside.

On the opposite bank stood a stone house and two mu of Spirit Farm.

From this, it was evident that Chen Bo was someone who lived freely and easily, unburdened by worldly concerns.

Jiang Chen circled around, crossed the river via a floating bridge, and upon reaching the opposite bank, hurried straight toward the fence gate without pause.

Why? Because Chen Bo was already waiting at the entrance!

“Senior Brother.” As he approached, Jiang Chen promptly bowed with hands clasped.

“Come in.” Chen Bo opened the fence gate.

Immediately, the two walked side by side.

Jiang Chen looked around curiously at the two mu of Spirit Farm on either side.

One mu held familiar Spirit Rice plants. Judging by their condition, their quality had definitely reached top-grade.

The spirit plants in the other mu, however, were rather unfamiliar to him. They resembled orchids but were multicolored and dazzlingly bright.

Noticing his gaze, Chen Bo explained, “These are called Colorful Orchids. They’re specifically used for making talisman ink, a spirit plant exclusively supplied to Rain Pavilion.”

“A mu yields about fifteen hundred plants, which can be sold for five Mid-grade Spirit Stones.”

Chen Bo continued, “Moreover, they can be harvested every two months.”

Jiang Chen’s expression changed slightly.

Every two months… There are twelve months in a year… That means six harvests per year… If each harvest yields five Mid-grade Spirit Stones… That would be thirty Mid-grade Spirit Stones per year…

Equivalent to three thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones…

Chen Bo seemed to notice Jiang Chen’s interest but then shifted gears. “But not everyone can cultivate them.”

Chen Bo shrugged. “First, one must have reached late-stage Qi Condensation…”

Jiang Chen wasn’t foolish; he understood immediately.

While his own strength wasn’t an issue… the second requirement… was simply unattainable for him currently.

Within Rain Pavilion, the only person he barely knew was Lin Yu.

Unlike Chen Bo, who had his cousin Chen Tian backing him. This cousin was a genius figure, young yet already striving for an Earth-grade Golden Core.

Afterward, the two arrived before the stone house. There was a pavilion here. Inside stood a stone table. Hot water and tea leaves were already prepared on top.

Without further ado, Jiang Chen decisively took out eight hundred jin of Tier-2 Spirit Rice.

“Top-quality Spirit Rice?” Initially sensing casually, Chen Bo’s eyes widened in surprise.

Eight hundred jin of top-quality Spirit Rice produced from Tier-2 Spirit Farm land—neither more nor less.

Actually, for this first collaboration, he had been prepared for Jiang Chen possibly failing to deliver eight hundred jin.

After all, for many new spirit farmers who had just joined core cultivation areas, merely completing quarterly tasks was already quite strenuous. Asking them to additionally hand over eight hundred jin of Tier-2 Spirit Rice seemed somewhat demanding.

Now, this Junior Brother not only didn’t disappoint him but far exceeded expectations.

Chen Bo felt extremely fortunate in his heart—thankful he had helped Jiang Chen back when he was in the peripheral areas. Now he had even brought Jiang Chen into his cousin Chen Tian’s team.

This top-quality Spirit Rice wasn’t something just anyone could grow; even he himself only managed high-quality. It seemed this Junior Brother possessed considerable talent in farming.

Immediately, Chen Bo said, “Junior Brother Jiang, you’re aware of the current market rates for Tier-2 Spirit Rice, I presume?”

“But between us partners, we obviously won’t follow market rates exactly.”

“Mmm.” Jiang Chen nodded understandingly.

Chen Bo took out four spirit stones from his storage pouch and handed them over. “Of course, this Senior Brother won’t take advantage of you either.”

“While we can’t trade at the current market ratio of 1:1.5 exactly, 1.7 is achievable.”

Taking them, Jiang Chen saw they were indeed four Mid-grade Spirit Stones. Adding them to that one Mid-grade Stone given earlier, this transaction netted five Mid-grade Spirit Stones total.

It wasn’t a loss nor a huge profit—just a stable income, which was advantageous as far as reliability goes.

Currently, the number of spirit stones in Jiang Chen’s possession had reached ten Mid-grade ones!