The Jade Crystal Rice has matured, so the sect has been extremely busy these past few days.
Actually, within the Cyan Mountain Sect, there are not only disciples but also dozens of ordinary people.
Those without Spirit Root are tasked with the sect's routine affairs, performing simple tasks such as cooking meals and cleaning, and they are also considered part of the sect.
Within the system, these ordinary people are not counted as sect members. Only those with Spirit Roots and cultivation are included.
The stalks and stems of the Spirit Rice are very tough, making them difficult to cut with ordinary tools. Therefore, cultivators need to use magical artifacts to harvest them.
Thus, ordinary people cannot help with the harvesting, so only disciples can be deployed, and naturally, the speed is slower.
Fortunately, cultivators find it effortless to harvest, and picking the Spirit Rice is quite easy.
The process of picking Spirit Rice is as simple as picking fruit, and it's easy to husk, none of which troubles the cultivators.
The weather has been great these past few days, with a gentle breeze. The string of overcast days has passed, making it not unbearably hot for everyone during the harvest.
"Once the Spirit Rice is fully harvested, the plan to expand the Spirit Fields should also be put on the agenda. By then, the sect will have to spend some money, and it's estimated that half of the Spirit Stones accumulated from selling the Spirit Rice will be used up."
"I look forward to a big harvest this time; it would be great to produce more Spirit Rice."
Watching until dark, Lu Ping finally turned away.
He is now a consciousness body and can't help with the harvesting of Spirit Rice. The only thing he can do is rely on his Golden Finger to open up more resources for the sect and seek benefits for his disciples.
Next, the harvesting of Spirit Rice continued for three days.
The entire sect's disciples were mobilized and finally finished harvesting the ten acres of Spirit Fields.
Of course, during these three days, it wasn't all about harvesting from morning till night. Lu Yuanshan gave the disciples ample time for rest, so as to not hinder their cultivation.
The two disciples responsible for watching over the Spirit Fields would frequently run to the Medicinal Garden to draw several buckets of sweet and clear Spirit Well Water for everyone to drink during their breaks.
Overall, the harvesting process of Spirit Rice was quite pleasant, and everyone was in good spirits.
"This year's harvest of Jade Crystal Rice is quite good, over 300 more pounds than last year."
After harvesting the Jade Crystal Rice, everyone weighed it and found this year's Spirit Rice yield to be substantial.
"Yes, from the ten acres of Spirit Fields, the total yield is over 300 more pounds than last year, amounting to over 3,300 pounds in total."
"If things continue at this rate, next year's Jade Crystal Rice production could increase significantly."
"Yes, the sect's plan to expand Jade Crystal Rice cultivation seems feasible."
"The increase in Spirit Rice yields owes a lot to the sect's arrays, which have kept most pests at bay, ensuring the Spirit Rice remains unharmed by pests."
These 3,300 pounds of Spirit Rice can be considered the sect's biggest revenue source, very important and worth the effort.
Notably, the sect's Mountain Protection Array, the Small Mist Concealment Array, has significantly protected the Spirit Fields.
In rice cultivation, pest problems are the greatest concern.
Once a pest disaster happens, swarming locusts and other pests could easily lead to a total loss.
The Small Mist Concealment Array, operational year-round, blocks most external pests.
Any pests appearing within the sect are self-produced by Cyan Lotus Mountain and only need timely cleaning, having little impact on the Spirit Fields.
However, since the Spirit Fields are an essential industry for the sect, their protection is of utmost importance and must never be lax.
Many sects and families establish Spirit Fields not within their headquarters but around or further away, necessitating a separate array to hide and protect them.
The Cyan Mountain Sect is different, with its vast land, the Spirit Fields are all established on Cyan Lotus Mountain, making them easier to manage, one of the reasons Lu Yuanshan wants to expand the Spirit Fields.
With the Jade Crystal Rice harvested and dehusked, this batch of Spirit Rice is ready for consumption.
Due to Qi Cultivators not being able to fast yet, they need daily meals.
A portion of the produced Jade Crystal Rice will be kept as food for the disciples, used for cultivation consumption, to cater to them.
The remainder will be sold.
This bountiful harvest of Spirit Rice has noticeably improved the disciples' diet, with a lively atmosphere filling the sect.
It must be said, the Jade Crystal Rice is the size of a broad bean, full and appealing, yet soft and fragrant when eaten.
Jade Crystal Rice contains a hint of Spiritual Qi; an ordinary person eating a bowl can go without food for two to three days, not feeling hungry, effectively achieving short-term fasting.
Five days after the Spirit Rice harvest was completed, Lu Changfeng received the sect task of transporting this batch of Spirit Rice to Qinghe Market, where the sect's stores would sell it externally, generating revenue.
Previously, it was Lu Changfeng leading the team for Spirit Rice transportation, followed by several disciples.
Qinghe Market is the closest market to Cyan Mountain Sect within a thousand miles, but it's more than nine hundred miles away.
This journey is long and arduous, with many loose cultivator bandits commonly appearing, so Cyan Mountain Sect has to arrange for personnel to escort the Spirit Rice, ensuring safety.
The Dubhe Institute's protection of Cyan Mountain Sect only guarantees the sect's survival and continuous inheritance, with no time or intent to meddle in everyday skirmishes.
The sect relies on Spirit Rice for income; should this financial source be robbed, the sect would be overwhelmed. Thus, transporting the Spirit Rice is extremely important.
To transport the Spirit Rice, Lu Yuanshan specifically rented five Cloud Stepping Beasts. When Lu Yuanshan appeared with five Cloud Stepping Beast wagons, many disciples were fascinated by the Spirit Beasts.
"For this trip to Qinghe Market, even Cloud Stepping Beasts are being used by the sect?"
Zhang Nianchuan expressed surprise looking at the Spirit Beasts resembling steeds.
He was one of the disciples involved in harvesting the Spirit Rice and would accompany Lu Changfeng on the escort mission. He expected to travel with ordinary horses as before, but this time was different.
"With the Cloud Stepping Beasts involved, it seems the sect is taking this Spirit Rice transport very seriously. You all must be careful on the road and not be complacent."
Nearby, a young and beautiful female disciple advised.
She was a somewhat older cultivator, over fifty, but Qi Cultivators have techniques for preserving their appearance, making age hard to determine by looks alone, which is inaccurate.
"Everyone, this Spirit Rice transport will still be led by me."
Lu Changfeng quickly appeared, exchanged greetings with Lu Yuanshan, and began directing the disciples to load the Spirit Rice onto the wagons.
Lu Changfeng was surprised that Lu Yuanshan spared no expense, renting five Cloud Stepping Beast wagons for this trip.
Cloud Stepping Beasts are majestic and strong, about the size of a bull, resembling Celestial Horses, not ordinary mortal horses, having been domesticated.
This type of Spirit Beast has a gentle nature, fast speed, good stamina, and can be compared to Qi Cultivators, making it one of the mainstream transport animals on the market.
In the past, to save money, Spirit Rice was transported with ordinary horses.
The sect is more than nine hundred miles from Qinghe Market; ordinary horses are slow and have low transport capacity, unsuitable for long trips but are cheap, not requiring Spirit Stone expenditure.
However, this time, Lu Yuanshan spared no expense and spent ten Spirit Stones to rent the Cloud Stepping Beasts.