After enjoying the Spiritual Food, Fang Yun bid farewell to Huang Datong's family and immediately returned to his residence.
Next, he had to properly digest and absorb the benefits from the meal.
The faster he did so, the greater the improvement he would see.
Fang Yun spent most of that night cultivating.
"This is what real cultivation feels like."
During this cultivation session, he could finally feel a distinct improvement, bringing him one step closer to the peak of the Qi Refining Second Layer.
The Celestial Cloud Sect recruited new disciples every July. For Huang Mengzhu, who had tested as having Three Spirit Roots, this meant she would be joining the sect in July.
That was still over a month away.
As for him, the outcome of his own efforts would be decided in four months.
He was being accepted into the Celestial Cloud Sect under a special admission for other talents, so he didn't need to wait until next July; early October of this year would suffice.
The prerequisite was that the yield of the Purple Corn he planted had to be at least one hundred pounds per mu.
Fang Yun was quite confident about this.
...
「Early September.」
Today, Fang Yun was checking the kernel formation on each stalk of Purple Corn.
After inspecting all of them, he already had an estimate in mind.
The yield from one mu would be over one hundred fifteen pounds. The other was slightly worse but should still produce over one hundred ten pounds.
Becoming a disciple of the Celestial Cloud Sect next month was a sure thing.
Once he had the backing of a sect, the monthly settlement of Talent Points would receive a significant bonus.
In the five months since he had started planting Purple Corn, he had drawn a Life Talent four times, receiving Planting Talent once, Alchemy Talent once, and Artifact Refining Talent twice.
Now, all three of his Life Talents had reached the one-star level.
Tonight, Fang Yun had something important to do.
He had to break through from the peak of the Qi Refining Second Layer to the Qi Refining Third Layer.
He had managed to reach the peak of the Qi Refining Second Layer thanks to the foundation he built before turning sixteen. However, his progress over the last five months was also largely due to having an unrestricted supply of Clear Water Rice, not to mention the recent boost from the Spiritual Food.
It was no small feat for a seventeen-year-old to reach the peak of the Qi Refining Second Layer, especially with the handicap of his Five Spirit Roots.
Not long after returning to his small house, Fang Yun began his attempt to break through to the Qi Refining Third Layer.
In the Qi Refining Stage, the breakthroughs from the First to Second Layer, and from the Second to Third Layer, were somewhat difficult for a Cultivator with Five Spirit Roots, but not excessively so.
Most Cultivators with Five Spirit Roots would get stuck at the peak of the Qi Refining Third Layer. Breaking through from there to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer meant advancing from the early to the middle stage of Qi Refining—that was the truly difficult hurdle.
Circulating his Cultivation Technique, the *Cyan Wood Technique*, Fang Yun began to repeatedly assault the bottleneck between the Second and Third Layers of Qi Refining.
As if a membrane had been pierced, a profound transformation washed over Fang Yun.
It was now the middle of the night.
"I'm at the Qi Refining Third Layer!"
The most direct benefit of the breakthrough was that his Qi Sea expanded, allowing him to store more Spiritual Power.
'If I had broken through to the Qi Refining Third Layer five months ago, the yield from the two mu of Purple Corn would have been much higher. Both plots might have even exceeded one hundred and twenty-five pounds.'
'With my aptitude, breaking through to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer without the help of pills will be difficult to achieve in one go.'
Fang Yun recalled the process of breaking through to the Qi Refining Third Layer. Although he had succeeded, the process had not been very smooth.
「Early the next morning.」
Now at the Qi Refining Third Layer, Fang Yun tended to his Purple Corn just as he always did.
After his Realm breakthrough, he tended to the two mu of Purple Corn with greater ease, and it took less time than before.
"Fang Yun, you've broken through to the Qi Refining Third Layer! Congratulations."
"Yes, Uncle Datong. I just broke through last night."
"You've grown this Purple Corn really well." After chatting for a few moments, Huang Datong went down into the Spirit Field to observe the Purple Corn stalks, nodding as he looked. "In one month, you'll definitely become a disciple of the Celestial Cloud Sect."
With his years of experience, he could tell that this mu of Purple Corn would absolutely yield over one hundred pounds by harvest time.
"Hahaha, I hope your words prove true, Uncle Datong."
Seeing how carefully Huang Datong was observing the kernels on the Purple Corn, it was as if he was more concerned than Fang Yun himself about whether he could enter the Celestial Cloud Sect.
Two months ago, Huang Mengzhu had already passed the Celestial Cloud Sect's test and successfully become an Outer Sect disciple.
After Huang Mengzhu entered the Celestial Cloud Sect, Huang Datong rented more Spirit Fields and worked even harder at farming than before.
The next few days passed uneventfully.
At the end of September, the two mu of Purple Corn that Fang Yun had planted were officially ready for harvest.
Looking at the Purple Corn waiting to be harvested in the Spirit Field, a wave of satisfaction washed over him.
Just as he was preparing to head into the Spirit Field, Steward Song appeared.
"Elder Song."
"You've taken care of them very well, Little Fang. Leave the rest to me."
He was the one who had provided the Purple Corn, and it was also the test he had given to Fang Yun.
He was responsible for the test he had administered. It was possible to cheat in the Purple Corn planting test, for instance, by mixing in corn from other Spirit Fields and claiming it as one's own.
'Fang Yun probably wouldn't do something like that, but I still had to come over.'
Steward Song took out a small yellow basket. As he guided it with his Spiritual Power, the basket touched the stalks, and the Purple Corn kernels tumbled into it one by one.
'Watching this, Fang Yun's mind wasn't on the incredible efficiency of the process, which was far greater than his own when harvesting Spirit Rice. Instead, he was thinking, 'I'm the one who grew this Purple Corn, so this should still count as my harvest, right?''
'It should... right?'
Before long, both mu of Purple Corn had been completely harvested.
"One hundred fourteen and a half pounds, and one hundred seventeen and a half pounds. A total of two hundred thirty-two pounds. A complete pass!"
Steward Song looked at Fang Yun with great satisfaction.
'Fang Yun's Planting Talent is even greater than I thought. His chances of becoming a Spirit Plant Master in the future are much higher now.'
The total yield was in line with what Fang Yun had expected over half a month prior.
Steward Song took one hundred forty pounds of Purple Corn, the required amount for submission, and gave the remaining ninety-two pounds to Fang Yun.
"Elder Song, thank you for your hard work. This is a small token of my appreciation."
Fang Yun took out about five pounds of Purple Corn and offered it to Steward Song.
Steward Song looked at Fang Yun with increasing satisfaction.
'Judging by this harvest, Fang Yun must have a much clearer understanding of his own Planting Talent now. A Cultivator like him could have a very comfortable future in the Celestial Cloud Sect just by focusing on planting. He has no need to curry favor with me.'
'And that was another reason I'm even more pleased with him.'
"Alright, I'll accept it this time." As he spoke, Steward Song took out the small yellow basket. "You've seen the function of this Lower-Grade Magical Artifact. It can greatly increase your efficiency when harvesting Spirit Rice. It's yours."
"This..."
"Don't be so quick to refuse. This is a welcoming gift for you. Consider it an early congratulations."
"Thank you, Elder Song. In that case, I'll graciously accept."
Since Steward Song had put it that way, Fang Yun had no reason to refuse.
'This little gadget will actually be quite useful. It'll definitely be helpful for harvesting Tier One, Lower-Grade Spirit Rice in the future. I just wonder how it'll handle Tier One, Middle-Grade Spirit Rice.'