The Fruits of the First Harvest
The once-barren spirit field now rippled with waves of green. It was time to harvest the Qingxin beans she'd planted.
'Alright, let's give it a try.' With a simple invocation of the Bean Soldier Technique, the pods popped off the stems one by one, floating up into the air. They stacked neatly inside the basket. Pop. Pop. Pop. A smile crept across her face with each pod that gathered in the basket.
'So this is all thanks to spirit stones.' Normally, Qingxin beans took about two years to mature, but under her care, they'd ripened in just a little over two months. The harvesting itself didn't take long compared to the growing time, leaving her feeling a bit dazed still.
Once the harvest was mostly done, she paused in front of the spot where she'd planted the support poles. The mutant Qingxin bean. She picked one particularly ripe pod by hand. Pluck.
The mutant differed from regular Qingxin beans. It had fewer beans inside the pod, but each one was thicker, and they felt firmer to the touch.
"This one's definitely different."
She put the mutants in a separate basket to keep them from mixing. The yield wasn't high, but she didn't mind. She had no intention of selling them anyway—just replant them as seeds.
By the time the harvest wrapped up, a decent pile of regular Qingxin beans had accumulated in one corner of the storage pouch. A small basket held just a few mutant pods. Clutching the small basket to her chest, she walked to an empty patch on the edge of the spirit field.
First, she took out one of the leftover Qingxin beans from the previous planting. Then, one from this harvest. Even at a glance, the one she'd just harvested looked in better condition.
If it showed up as a status window, it'd probably look something like this.
Previous Qingxin Bean – Mid-grade
My Qingxin Bean – Top-grade
Of course, no actual window popped up, but that's exactly how it felt. Even though they were the same Qingxin beans, the color was a deeper shade, and they seemed more sensitive to spirit energy.
"Let's test it out."
She first infused spirit energy into the previous Qingxin bean. A bean soldier she'd seen countless times took shape. Then, she pushed spirit energy into one from this harvest. A second bean soldier stood up right away.
Visually, there wasn't much difference at first glance. But the one she'd grown had a subtly richer color. Infuse your eyes with spirit energy, and the gap became clear—the internal structure looked denser.
'Definitely better when I grow them.'
"Time for a performance test. Now, fight each other!"
At her command, both moved at once. The first couple clashes were even. As bean soldiers made from the same type of bean, their movements weren't all that different. But soon, the difference showed.
Cracks started forming first on the body of the one from the previous bean. The newly harvested one was clearly tougher. As she watched the fight, the bursting sounds grew louder.
Crack. The cracks widened steadily. She raised a hand to stop them.
"Enough."
The result satisfied her. Spirit stones earned from Qingxin beans were nice, but at least with these beans, hers outperformed others'. As the grower, what could be more reassuring?
'Heh.' The corners of her mouth tugged up involuntarily.
"Now, let's try you out too."
She carefully cracked open a pod from the basket and took out a single bean. Infusing it with spirit energy, the mutant Qingxin bean quickly formed into a bean soldier.
"Looks promising."
The body wasn't hugely different from a regular Qingxin bean soldier. But instead of blunt, hand-like arms, these extended long and sharp—like spears meant for stabbing.
The moment she saw them, instinct kicked in. She pulled the Black Wood Spirit Tablet from her storage pouch and deployed its barrier.
"Attack me."
The mutant bean soldier pawed the ground briefly, then thrust its arm forward. Boom. A loud explosion rang out, and her arm ached from the shockwave. The barrier held, of course, but the impact was no joke—comparable to blocking a mid-grade magic tool back at the tournament.
"Again."
At her order, it thrust once more. Another boom, and the transparent barrier rippled.
"Perfect timing. I was short on offensive magic tools anyway."
She stowed the Black Wood Spirit Tablet back in her pouch and eyed the mutant bean soldier. Checking her spirit energy consumption: more than a regular one, but definitely less than a Purple Soldier Bean soldier.
'Just right.' She needed something usable not just in critical moments, but daily. This came at the perfect time.
That naturally brought the Purple Soldier Beans she'd planted last time to mind. She headed to the spot where she'd fed it beast blood a week ago.
"Hmm... It's sprouted, but that's it."
No big change from a few days ago. Unlike the other Qingxin beans, she'd poured spirit energy directly into it every day with utmost care for a week, but no further progress.
"Do I have to keep feeding it beast blood to grow it?"
'Separate from germination...?'
That thought made her finances come into sharp focus. With the Qingxin harvest imminent, she'd shoved the Barrier Pills aside and frequented the Spirit Food Tower. Living expenses had spiked lately. She still had some spirit stones left, but...
She needed to save for her cultivation. Buying more beast blood from the Myriad Treasures Pavilion now? Her head shook instinctively.
She'd bought once as an info fee. But if she had to keep buying for the Purple Soldier Bean to mature, her finances would crumble before it did.
The Purple Soldier Bean, oblivious, just showed off its purple cotyledons.
'Guess I'll have to get it myself.' The Qingxin harvest covered immediate needs, but who knew how much it'd take.
"Prep first."
'Last time, I nearly died to a demon beast.' This time, thorough preparation.
Qingyun Sect had a place where disciples sold their cultivated spirit plants and gathered herbs: the Spirit Farming Pavilion. Functionally, it resembled a cooperative from her past life.
They appraised disciples' spirit plants and herbs, exchanging them for spirit stones at fair market rates. Protective formations ensured identity verification and safety. Disciples could sell without worry—no small number had vanished trying to haggle higher outside. Think of it as a safety fee. Plus, being inside the sect made it convenient.
Inside the Spirit Farming Pavilion, it wasn't as crowded as expected. She approached a counter where a female disciple sat. Even up close, the formation blurred her face oddly.
"Here to sell?"
Without a word, she pulled Qingxin beans from her storage pouch and placed some on the counter—not all at once, just enough for inspection.
The female disciple deftly picked up a pod, scanned the exterior, then split it with a fingernail to check the beans inside.
"Good condition."
"How much?"
"Need to check more."
Her tone was curt, but her expression as she examined the beans wasn't displeased. She took out a few more pods for closer scrutiny.
"...Hold on."
She split another pod, checked more beans. Then, glancing up, she gestured for more from the pouch. Ryu Yeon-hwa silently added a few.
"Well?"
The female disciple spoke slowly. "Thought mid-grade... but no."
She held one bean up to the light and added, "Deep color, perfect spirit energy distribution. Solid grains. This is top-grade."
"Top-grade?"
"Yes. Rare top-grade."
Ryu Yeon-hwa had guessed from her traits, but official appraisal confirmed it. The disciple rolled the bean once more and said flatly,
"Standard grade comes in often. Top-grade's rare. Especially for spirit crops—most neglect them."
"Price?"
The disciple flicked the abacus beads rapidly, then slid it over.
"Top-grade rate."
Total: Five mid-grade spirit stones
'Can't read an abacus...' As she stared blankly, the disciple caught on and stated the number.
"Five mid-grade spirit stones total."
Easy math now. She'd bought the seeds for ten low-grade stones; in two months, they'd multiplied fiftyfold.
'More than enough reason to farm.' No outward sign, but with field rent covered, she was pleased. Time well spent. Time to consider renting another field.
"Better than expected."
"Top-grade deserves it."
The disciple was matter-of-fact. "No reason for the pavilion to lowball and get complaints."
Ryu Yeon-hwa liked that. She'd assumed sect businesses gouged, but this was straightforward.
"Deal."
The disciple placed a hand on the jade plate below the counter. Moments later, five neat mid-grade spirit stones appeared.
"Bring more quality spirit crops next time."
"Will do."
Stepping back, she patted her storage pouch. Finances improved, mood lifted. Though thinking of the imminent spending soured it a bit.
Now, off to prepare for demon beast hunting.