At dusk,
Li Ping'an arrived at Da Huai Village.
He ducked into his tent, placing all sixty Spirit Stones and collected materials on the ground.
“Refine three Puppet scarecrows for me.”
(Ding: 30000 Qi value deducted. Puppet scarecrow refinement initiated. Progress: 2%, 4%, 6%.)
The speed was a bit slow; it seemed he would have to wait a while.
Li Ping'an glanced at his Qi value, only 17000 points remained usable, and as for his cultivation points, they were long empty.
After a short rest, the refinement finally concluded.
The sixty Spirit Stones, along with other materials, were transformed into three scarecrows as if by a pair of ingenious hands.
These were different from ordinary scarecrows in a field; they had distinct noses, eyes, hands, and feet, resembling human figures more closely.
Each was dressed in brand new clothes, holding dual blades, though their straw faces with red lips looked a bit frightening.
“Collect.”
Li Ping'an murmured, and the three scarecrows were all stored in the System warehouse.
Checking their information, two were at Qi Condensation Second Stage, and one was at Qi Condensation Fifth Stage.
His Luck wasn't great, but not too bad either.
By now, it was already dark.
Heihei and Niuniu were still playing around. Niuniu didn't want to bother with it, but Heihei was too energetic, constantly ambushing him while moving around.
Niuniu came over to complain, “Boss, this dog is too annoying, he won't let this ox sleep.”
Heihei rolled his dog eyes, “As the Boss's subordinate, we must shoulder the responsibility of patrolling and ensuring safety here. The darker it gets, the less we can sleep.”
Niuniu: “You're a guard dog, I'm a farm ox. We each have our own duties.”
Heihei: “This dog also works the field.”
Niuniu: “Did I tell you to work the field? If you don't agree, go find the Boss.”
Just as Li Ping'an was about to speak, Heihei opened his mouth and ambushed Niuniu, then vanished into the night.
“Moo~” Niuniu was enraged, “Today, I'm going to ram you until you get diarrhea.”
He ran quite fast, his charge creating a considerable stir.
“These two fellows.”
Li Ping'an shook his head and lay down to sleep.
Tomorrow, he had to work hard, accumulate some cultivation points, and then make a trip to Dragon City in the East Border. In a few days, it would be the memorial day for his parents and his father's sworn brothers.
Li Ping'an would not forget this day.
The night was deep, moonless.
Niuniu finally fell asleep.
Heihei's tail was no longer wagging from being rammed, and he kept cursing, “Stupid ox, dumb ox, he actually went for real, it hurts this dog so much.”
He lay down outside the tent, clearly having taken a beating.
The next day.
Heihei snuck into the tent early in the morning and whispered, “Boss, it's not safe here. Someone has been watching us.”
Li Ping'an opened his eyes, “How many people?”
Heihei: “One, but he's already gone.”
Li Ping'an raised an eyebrow and asked, “He didn't discover your and Niuniu's abilities, did he?”
“No.” Heihei shook his head.
“Then it's fine, just strengthen our defenses.” Li Ping'an grabbed his hoe and walked out of the tent. After a simple meal, he took the horse manure and called Heihei to head to the First-Grade Spirit Field.
After spreading the horse manure, he tilled the two mu of land thoroughly, then made it rain twice, planting the corn seeds he brought, earning 90 cultivation points in total.
Although the season no longer allowed it, this was a Spirit Field, and corn grew very quickly. Coupled with the Myriad Things Growth Technique, he should be able to harvest it one more time.
Li Ping'an wanted to try.
After all, many things only yield answers after being tried.
When he returned to Da Huai Village, there was an extra person: Qin Ying.
Seeing Li Ping'an return, Qin Ying smiled faintly, “Young Master Li, is this your farmland?”
“Yes.” Li Ping'an responded, “Miss Qin, why are you here?”
Qin Ying smoothed her wind-tousled hair and said, “To buy land.”
Buy land?
Li Ping'an looked puzzled.
Qin Ying's red lips moved slightly as she said, “You are the descendant of a general. Your parents were heroes who contributed greatly to the Empire. I won't hide anything from you.”
She paused slightly, then continued, “I want to buy this land and cultivate it. Perhaps there will be more Spirit Plants to harvest, including the kind you sold yesterday.”
Li Ping'an understood.
It seemed Qin Ying had guessed that this might be a First-Grade Spirit Field, which was why she came to acquire it.
Li Ping'an thought for a moment and said, “What price do you want to offer?”
Qin Ying said, “You name a price.”
Li Ping'an spoke, “500.”
“5 million gold coins?” Qin Ying raised an eyebrow slightly.
“No.” Li Ping'an shook his head, “I want 500 Spirit Stones.”
“Alright.” Qin Ying agreed without hesitation.
Li Ping'an muttered in his heart, 'Did I ask for too little?'
However, it didn't matter.
The First-Grade Corn Essence wasn't grown here at all.
Li Ping'an smiled, “However, let's be clear upfront: no refunds.”
“Naturally.” Qin Ying smiled faintly and continued, “I'll go back now to prepare the Spirit Stones. Don't go far.”
Li Ping'an found a stone to sit on, “I won't leave. I'll wait right here. If I don't, I'm a little dog.”
“If you regret it, you're a little dog.” Qin Ying said, then spurred her horse away.
Both had their own ideas.
Li Ping'an knew very well that this was not a Spirit Field.
And Qin Ying didn't treat it as a Spirit Field; she was merely guessing there might be a Spirit Stone vein.
Regardless, in her opinion, 500 Spirit Stones were definitely worth a try…
An hour later.
Qin Ying arrived as scheduled, also bringing writing brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone.
The transaction was completed, and 500 Spirit Stones were in hand.
Li Ping'an tied the heavy box to Niuniu's back and said, “Miss Qin, I know you're here for the First-Grade Corn Essence. That was indeed grown by me.”
“As for which plot of land it was on, I'm not sure at all and paid no attention. If you can't grow it, don't blame me.”
“How could I?” Qin Ying smiled.
Li Ping'an pointed to the nine mu of still-unripe corn, “It'll be ready to pick in a few more days. After I've picked it all, this land will be yours.”
Qin Ying frowned, “If you can't take all this corn, I can give you more money.”
“That won't do.” Li Ping'an shook his head, “One must finish what one starts. I enjoy the joy of harvest, not farming for money.”
“It's only a few days, it won't affect your wheat planting. Besides, destroying it now would be a waste of food.”
Qin Ying nodded, “Alright, five days from now, I'll bring people over. By then, you must have picked all this corn.”
After a few exchanges, she swung herself onto her horse.
Before leaving, she reminded Li Ping'an, “Spirit Stones are very valuable. Even ten Spirit Stones can bring you a killing calamity. You should send the Spirit Stones back to the city.”
Qin Ying spurred her horse away, her posture dashing.
Li Ping'an gently stroked the box. All five hundred Spirit Stones were immediately stored in the System warehouse. He then used cultivation points to replenish his Qi value.
(Ding: Qi value +50, Qi value +500, Qi value +200, +10000, +3000…)
His Luck wasn't very good today.
He continuously used 30 cultivation points just to replenish his Qi value to 100000 points.
“Myriad Things Growth Technique.”
Li Ping'an came to the cornfield and frequently cast this great technique.
Each cast consumed 10000 Qi value, in exchange for one mu of land's vigorous growth.
After nine times, only 10000 Qi value remained, and the corn was now ripe.
“Little fellows, time to work.”
Li Ping'an called out to Heihei, and Niuniu immediately went to the field.
“Crunch~ Crunch~ Crunch~”
Niuniu continued to roll around, and Heihei was responsible for bringing down each corn cob.
Li Ping'an's speed was very fast. In just an hour, he had picked all the corn clean, obtaining a Cultivation Treasure Chest and a Heavenly Dao Reward Treasure Chest.
As for the corn stalks, he didn't need to deal with them; the Fengyun Merchant Guild had plenty of manpower anyway.
“Open Treasure Chest.”
(Ding: Cultivation points +50.)
(Ding: Congratulations, Host! You truly possess Heaven-Defying Luck and are blessed with good fortune! Upon opening the Heavenly Dao Reward Treasure Chest, you obtained one Divine Beast Embryo!!!)
Another Divine Beast?
Li Ping'an's heart swelled with joy. Since he was blessed with good fortune, he would seize the tail of Luck and directly cultivate the Divine Beast Embryo.
(Ding: 10 cultivation points deducted. The Divine Beast Embryo has been nurtured. Evolution value: 100. Do you choose for it to be born?)
Indeed.
Anything, as long as it is blessed by Luck, will surely achieve twice the result with half the effort!
Li Ping'an chuckled happily, “Little darling, be born…”