Entering the bamboo forest, thin mist floated, and thousands of green stalks swayed. The morning sun cast golden threads through the trees, and when the wind rose, emerald waves surged like a phoenix flapping its wings.
Li Jing's heart was peaceful, but he didn't dare to be careless. He held the red sun bow in one hand, cautiously observing his surroundings.
The bamboo forest was silent, with only the rustling of bamboo leaves when the wind blew.
Finding no danger, Li Jing stepped through the bamboo shadows. After a long while, he saw a hint of Qing Yu peeking out, piercing through the moss, as if welcoming the evening glow and morning dew.
Seeing this, Li Jing took out a hoe and dug a little behind the bamboo shoot. Soon, a palm-sized bamboo shoot was unearthed.
"Rustle, rustle, rustle"
Not far away, a wild pheasant with brilliant, colorful feathers, its head held high, strutted. Its wings and tail trembled slightly as it pecked at the ground.
Li Jing licked his lips. He hadn't known what to eat for lunch, and a wild pheasant stir-fried with bamboo shoots sounded quite good.
He performed a hand seal, and a slender Golden Silk silently snaked its way over. The pheasant continued to happily peck at the worms on the ground, completely oblivious.
The Golden Silk arrived nearby and, in a flash, shot out, instantly piercing the pheasant's head.
The pheasant let out two clucking sounds and then fell silent. Li Jing crooked his finger, and the Golden Silk wrapped around the pheasant, pulling it over.
"The Golden Thread Technique has reached the introductory level, which is not bad. If this pheasant were any further, I wouldn't have been able to reach it."
Li Jing looked at the pheasant, his eyes narrowing with delight. In his previous life, trapped in a cage, he yearned to live in seclusion in the mountains, working from sunrise to sunset.
He hadn't expected that Transmigration to the Immortal Cultivation World would actually fulfill his past life's wish: stealing half a day of leisure from the mortal world, where the most exquisite taste is simple joy.
Putting away the pheasant, Li Jing selected the bamboo and began to cut it. With a Storage Pouch, it wasn't so troublesome.
After trimming the bamboo, he stuffed it all inside. Having completed these tasks, the sunlight was pure and bright, and it was time to return.
Back on the mountaintop, Li Jing checked around and found that the beast trap hadn't been disturbed, and there were no Yao Beast footprints nearby. Only then did he relax.
Before noon, Li Jing cut the bamboo into flat pieces and began to repair the decayed and damaged parts of the wooden house.
He worked until noon, sweating profusely, before everything was finished. The wooden house was much sturdier than before, and his sense of security had also greatly increased.
Not far in front of the wooden house was a pile of broken rocks. A clear spring seeped through the crevices, flowing like shattered jade, its coldness chilling to the bone. It reflected the mossy traces, clear to the bottom, and gathered into a small pond.
Li Jing scooped up a ladle of water and took a sip, discovering that wisps of Spiritual Qi flowed into his Dantian.
"This spring water actually contains wisps of Spiritual Qi!" Li Jing's eyes lit up. He hadn't seen this small pond before, only discovering it by chance while repairing the wooden house.
Of course, how could he grow spirit rice here without water? Since this spring water also contained wisps of Spiritual Qi, the growth of the spirit rice should be even more promising.
Scooping up a ladle of water, Li Jing returned to the wooden house and began to prepare the pheasant and bamboo shoots, plucking and skinning them in one smooth motion.
He rendered the golden fat from the pheasant to extract oil, then added the chopped pheasant to the pot. Soon, the pot was filled with an aromatic fragrance.
Next, he added the bamboo shoot pieces, stirring evenly so that every piece of the ingredient was coated in oil.
Then, he added a little spring water, covered the pot, and simmered it. Before long, a rich aroma filled the air, making Li Jing's mouth water.
Serving himself a bowl of rice, Li Jing's appetite was greatly stimulated, and he ate with relish. Although there weren't many seasonings, these ingredients were all naturally grown and nourished by the spiritual spring water, unlike the many additives in his previous life. They tasted fresh and delicious.
After a satisfying meal, he found the gold spirit rice seeds, located a bare rock, and spread the seeds flat on it to sun-dry and ripen.
Then, Li Jing took a sickle and began to huff and puff as he cut grass. The spirit field was overgrown with weeds, and the gold spirit rice left from the previous year struggled to survive.
Green Wood Immortal Qi + 1
Green Wood Immortal Qi + 1
Green Wood Immortal Qi + 1
There was still a lot of gold spirit rice among the weeds, and Li Jing naturally harvested it all without hesitation, accumulating a good amount of Green Wood Immortal Qi.
Green Wood Immortal Qi could only be obtained from spirit plants of a certain grade. These ordinary weeds could not provide it.
The gold spirit rice harvested from the weeds was also sorted out by Li Jing; it could at least make a bowl of porridge.
In the Li Family, although he was a direct descendant with a Five-Element Spiritual Root, the Family provided no resources at all. He had never even eaten spirit rice.
He worked diligently for an entire afternoon, and Li Jing was drenched in sweat; he also had to remain vigilant of his surroundings to prevent any Yao Beasts from appearing and devouring him whole.
The setting sun melted into gold, and the evening clouds merged, casting golden light across the sea of clouds, dyeing the peaks crimson jade.
Seeing that it was getting late, Li Jing went to the small pond and cupped a handful of spring water to wash his face.
The spring water was clear and refreshing, instantly making him much more alert.
"Living in seclusion in the mountains is quite tiring. If it were my previous life, a courtyard, a wife, and three hundred million in savings would be more like it."
Li Jing mumbled, then lifted the rice seeds from the spring water. This was the sun-soaking and night-dew method for germinating seeds. He would dry the spirit rice for two hours, then soak it in spring water.
Returning to the wooden house with a bamboo basket, Li Jing took a piece of burlap and covered it. After the seeds sprouted, he would keep them warm with burlap for five days before planting.
By then, he should be able to clear a few acres of spirit fields, securing this year's harvest.
He had harvested a lot of gold spirit rice in the afternoon. Li Jing didn't mind the trouble and found a wooden bucket to thresh it. The golden rice grains rustled down, making a sound like jade beads falling onto a plate at the bottom of the bucket. Soon, the bottom of the bucket was covered with golden rice grains.
Li Jing smiled faintly. This was all his afternoon's harvest. He really wondered what this gold spirit rice tasted like.
The rice grains still had a husk layer, which would be troublesome to process. Without specialized machinery, he could only use his spiritual power to vibrate and remove the husks.
There wasn't much gold spirit rice here, and with Li Jing's Qi Refining First Level cultivation, processing a bowl of spirit rice was no problem at all.
Li Jing circulated the spiritual power within his body, enveloping the gold spirit rice grains. This spiritual power pulsed, and soon the husks fell off, revealing the crystal-clear spirit rice.
Seeing this, he quickly collected the spirit rice and put it in the pot to steam.
Cuiwei Mountain had not yet developed much, so he couldn't prepare any delicious dishes to accompany the spirit rice. However, having spirit rice to eat was already quite good.
Physique: Innate Farming Saint Body (Awakening 1%)
Effect 1: The spirit plant maturation rate increased by 20%.
Effect 2: Yield increased by 20%.
Effect 3: Cultivation rate increased by 10%.
Effect 4: Comprehension Ability increased by 5%.
Green Wood Immortal Qi: 121
Lifespan: 21900 days
Li Jing glanced at the panel. One gold spirit rice could yield one wisp of Green Wood Immortal Qi, and ten wisps of Green Wood Immortal Qi could be converted into one day of Lifespan. By simply tidying up the spirit field, he had gained 12 days of Lifespan for free.
With a thought, Li Jing decided to check how much Green Wood Immortal Qi was needed to upgrade the Immortal Body.
Current Green Wood Immortal Qi is insufficient. Upgrade requires: 100,000
"One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand."
Li Jing counted under his breath, his eyes widening.
"No way, upgrading by one percent requires 100,000 Green Wood Immortal Qi? Why don't they just rob me?!"
Li Jing was quite exasperated. One acre of spirit field could grow approximately five thousand gold spirit rice plants, meaning he could harvest five thousand wisps of Green Wood Immortal Qi.
That meant he would need to cultivate twenty acres of spirit fields to awaken the Immortal Body by one percent.
Fortunately, according to the information the Immortal Body gave him, for every one percent increase, the effects of the Green Wood Immortal Body would improve slightly.
"Green Wood Immortal Body, truly worthy of being the Innate Farming Saint Body," Li Jing muttered. The further he progressed, the more Green Wood Immortal Qi would be required. He would have to farm until the end of time.
This Immortal Body, coupled with his Spiritual Root talent, although his Cultivation was a bit slow, the Green Wood Immortal Qi could be converted into Lifespan. As long as he didn't risk his life, the complete Awakening of the Immortal Body would be within reach.
Just then, a refreshing aroma wafted out. Li Jing's eyes lit up. The spirit rice was finally cooked!
He quickly served himself a bowl. Li Jing took a mouthful of the spirit rice; it was crystal white and translucent like congealed fat, plump and satisfying on the tongue. It melted easily when lightly chewed, a sweet and rich flavor spreading down his throat, and warmth flowing through his limbs.
This taste far surpassed the delicacies and gourmet meals of the mortal world, as if it were an Immortal Realm delicacy entering his stomach.
Li Jing's eyes narrowed slightly in delight as he savored it, not daring to swallow it all at once.
Just as Li Jing was lost in his enjoyment, a terrifying roar suddenly echoed from the darkness, its power terrifying and soul-stirring.
Li Jing was startled, his heart pounding. He quickly grabbed the red sun bow and rushed out of the wooden house.