Chapter 20: The Enhanced Quality of Solar Essence

Chapter 20: The Enhanced Quality of Solar Essence

Gu Mo initially thought it would take at least three to five days for the seeds to sprout after being planted. However, to his surprise, the seeds in the spirit field began to break through the soil in just a single day.

This unexpected result quickly made sense to him. His original estimate was based on a first-grade low-quality spirit field, but in reality, his spirit field was of first-grade mid-quality. The higher the quality of a spirit field, the greater its impact on the growth of spirit plants.

Moreover, careful management of the spirit field could further accelerate plant growth. The best way to manage a spirit field was through the five exclusive spells of spirit farmers. These spells had been proven beneficial for plant growth through countless generations of spirit farmer predecessors.

"This means that instead of six months, the Spirit Jade Rice can mature in just five." Gu Mo recalculated using his first-grade mid-quality spirit field and his mastery of spirit farmer spells as the new standard. Ultimately, he concluded that he could shorten the rice's growth cycle by an entire month.

Harvesting every five months would significantly ease his financial pressure. Furthermore, since he was exempt from rent for the next three years, all the spirit field's harvests during this period would belong solely to him. With this in mind, Gu Mo was filled with renewed motivation.

In the following days, Gu Mo dedicated himself to managing the spirit field while also practicing the other spirit farmer spells. His goal was to master all five of them.

As for cultivation, he wasn't planning to start anytime soon. His immediate priority was to grow the Spirit Sunflowers first, after which he could plant the Sunflower of the Sun to continuously produce Solar Essence.

Gu Mo wasn't planning to use the Solar Essence for cultivation either. Instead, he intended to save it up and use it to purchase a second Sunflower of the Sun from the vending machine in the Black Mist Space.

Once he had five Sunflowers of the Sun, he would be able to cultivate at a speed comparable to that of a high-grade spiritual root. Therefore, sacrificing some cultivation time now was entirely worthwhile.

A Letter Arrives

"Junior Brother Gu Mo! You've got a letter."

One day, while inspecting the spirit field, a miscellaneous disciple from the Spirit Plant Hall ran over and handed him a letter.

"Thank you!"

Gu Mo accepted the letter. In the Qinglu Sect, the only ones who would send him letters were Yao Shifeng and the others. Sure enough, the letter was from Yao Shifeng.

The various peaks of Qinglu Sect were far apart, making it difficult for regular carrier pigeons to reach their destinations. More advanced message talismans, on the other hand, were too expensive for most new miscellaneous disciples. As a result, old-fashioned letter writing remained the most economical form of communication.

This method wasn't slow either, as some miscellaneous disciples who owned flying swords would work part-time as couriers to earn extra income. With the speed of a flying sword, letters could be delivered anywhere within the sect in a single day.

"The gathering has been postponed."

Gu Mo opened the letter and nodded slightly. Yao Shifeng's message stated that their planned reunion was being delayed because everyone was too busy with their duties after joining their respective peaks.

Additionally, since all five of them were on different peaks and lacked flying swords, just traveling to meet up would take too much time.

Gu Mo glanced at his spirit field. Right now, wasting time on a gathering was indeed unwise. His field required daily watering with the Minor Cloud Rain Spell. Unless he could make a round trip within the day, he would risk neglecting his responsibilities.

The Growth of Spirit Sunflowers

Time passed, and Gu Mo continued tending to his spirit field day after day. The plants responded well to his efforts, growing vigorously.

After three months, the hundreds of Spirit Sunflowers finally bloomed, their golden flower heads shining brilliantly. However, this was only the beginning. The Spirit Sunflowers still needed a long period of maturation before their seeds could fully develop.

But to Gu Mo, these details were insignificant. What mattered was that, with these Spirit Sunflowers as cover, he could finally plant the Sunflower of the Sun.

By the second day after planting, the Sunflower of the Sun had already grown to the same size as the surrounding Spirit Sunflowers. Their appearances were strikingly similar, with the only noticeable difference being their flower heads—Spirit Sunflowers had typical sunflower heads, whereas the Sunflower of the Sun's flower head resembled a miniature sun.

Hidden among the hundreds of Spirit Sunflowers, this slight distinction was barely noticeable.

The Solar Essence Improves

On the second evening, Gu Mo harvested another portion of Solar Essence. To his surprise, this batch looked denser and more refined than the ones produced when he had planted the Sunflower of the Sun in a flower pot.

This change continued in the following days. The ethereal miniature sun formed by the Solar Essence became more condensed each day, until it eventually reached a certain threshold and stopped improving.

Curious about the cause of this transformation, Gu Mo decided to refine a portion of the Solar Essence. He was astonished to discover that this new Solar Essence provided the equivalent benefit of three days' worth of arduous cultivation.

Previously, the Solar Essence he obtained was only equal to two days of cultivation. Yet now, from the very same Sunflower of the Sun, the Solar Essence had increased in effectiveness to three days' worth.

The only difference was that the previous Sunflower of the Sun had been grown in a flower pot, whereas the current one was planted in a first-grade mid-quality spirit field.

Clearly, the improvement in the Solar Essence's quality was due to the spirit field itself. The spirit energy within the field was much richer than the three low-grade spirit stones Gu Mo had used to create the flower pot. As a result, the Sunflower of the Sun was able to produce superior Solar Essence.

Now, Gu Mo couldn't help but wonder—if he planted the Sunflower of the Sun in an even higher-grade spirit field, would the refinement of the Solar Essence continue to improve?

For now, he set aside the idea of seeking a better spirit field. The first-grade mid-quality spirit field he currently had was already enough to make many miscellaneous disciples envious. A first-grade high-quality spirit field was completely out of his reach for the time being.

Towards a Greater Goal

The enhanced Solar Essence meant that with just three Sunflowers of the Sun, he could obtain three portions of Solar Essence daily, giving him a ninefold cultivation speed—the same as a high-grade spiritual root.

Additionally, the upgraded Solar Essence was even more effective at dispersing the black mist in the Black Mist Space. The only downside was that, despite the increased potency, the vending machine still counted each batch as a single unit, just like the weaker twofold Solar Essence from before.

"Less than a month to go before I gather fifty portions of Solar Essence."

After tallying his current supply, Gu Mo estimated that in just twenty more days, he would have accumulated fifty portions—enough to purchase a second Sunflower of the Sun.

With two Sunflowers of the Sun, he would receive two portions of Solar Essence daily. In another twenty-five days, he could buy a third Sunflower of the Sun, at which point his cultivation speed would rival that of a high-grade spiritual root genius.

If he exercised more patience and followed his original plan to accumulate five Sunflowers of the Sun, his cultivation speed would reach fifteen times the normal rate—surpassing the limits of a high-grade spiritual root.

He wondered, in the vast world of cultivation, how would such a speed be classified?

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