"Vein of Earth's Origin!"
Zhao Xing squatted on the ground, his fingertips touching the earth, and a wisp of Origin Qi immediately flowed down into the soil, sinking deep underground.
This was followed by the second, then the third… A total of nine wisps of Origin Qi vanished into the earth.
In Zhao Xing's perception, these nine wisps of Origin Qi formed a cage-like structure deep underground.
"This is the core of the Spell, the central point. All of the underground Origin Qi will be gathered and absorbed here."
Drawing on the power of the earth veins and integrating their Origin Qi was only the first step.
With the central point established, he still needed to determine the direction.
Zhao Xing began to wander along the edge of his territory, squatting down at each spot to grab a handful of soil, as if checking where the soil was fertile.
Wen Nanxing and Xiao Ze both noticed his actions.
However, Zhao Xing didn't cross any boundaries, so they left him alone.
"This is the advantage of the Vein of Earth's Origin: its concealment!" Zhao Xing even waved at Wen Nanxing.
Feeling that this person was quite polite, Wen Nanxing nodded in response.
After a round of walking, Zhao Xing was genuinely a little tired.
Although the Vein of Earth's Origin was an entry-level Spell, it consumed a huge amount of Qi.
Casting this Spell consumed as much Origin Qi as dozens of Cloud Walking Spells.
"Origin Qi is like roots, taking hold in the earth, forming an underground network."
"The cage has been set, now we just wait to see how many fish come." Zhao Xing clapped his hands, satisfied.
Then he ran to the spring well and leaned against the well's edge, closing his eyes to rest.
Wen Nanxing and Xiao Ze couldn't discern Zhao Xing's actions, but they didn't escape Chen Shijie's Dharma Eye.
However, it took him a while to understand.
"This is... Vein of Earth's Origin?"
"The Vein of Earth's Origin is drawn but not activated. Are you planning to quietly do your work at night? Good boy! Your actions truly have my style." Chen Shijie grew increasingly satisfied with Zhao Xing, finding him more and more to his liking.
As someone from a military agricultural background, he understood this kind of operation perfectly!
Besides Chen Shijie, only Xue Wen Zhong saw through Zhao Xing's intentions.
The other officials didn't notice; they weren't as comprehensive as Chen Shijie, nor as experienced as Xue Wen Zhong.
Xue Wen Zhong naturally wouldn't speak up now to invite jealousy for his student, and Chen Shijie merely praised him inwardly, not showing it outwardly.
He knew he had already paid enough attention to Zhao Xing today; any more would be excessive.
Chen Shijie was perfectly clear about the little thoughts of those below him.
"Zi Yu, I... I can't go on..." Qian Dong collapsed to the ground, panting heavily like a fish about to die of thirst.
Chen Zi Yu wasn't much better; he was drenched in sweat, unable to wipe it all away.
It was already afternoon, and after several hours of work, there was still no movement in the fields before them.
Most of the seeds hadn't germinated, and the seedlings had all withered.
From the looks of it, the remaining small portion wouldn't even last until tomorrow.
"How about... how about we just leave? We can retake the exam next time," Qian Dong said, truly not wanting to waste any more effort.
"I'm not leaving." Chen Zi Yu shook his head. "Every time it's 'next time,' 'next time I'll work harder'... When will I ever get ahead? Let's make it this time."
Qian Dong paused, then gritted his teeth and climbed back up.
More and more people gave up, unable to endure such hardship, and left the area.
But some still gritted their teeth and persevered.
Struggling in the scorching heat, everyone finally waited until nightfall.
And Xue Wen Zhong didn't make things too difficult for them; as night fell, he sent a gentle breeze to the planting area.
.........
With Xue Wen Zhong's refreshing breeze, Zhao Xing awoke from his light slumber.
He was particularly sensitive to winds that weren't his own.
"It's dark. It's time to get to work."
Zhao Xing stretched lazily, then went to check the condition of the three plants.
At this time, the 20 green vines had already entered their growth phase from their seedling stage, with tendrils covering the loess ground, and some branches already showing flower buds.
In the two mud pits, the fragrant lotuses had already sprouted three lotus leaves, also entering their growth phase.
Only the Adamantine Bamboo, due to the characteristics of bamboo plants, still only had a shoot tip poking out.
"As expected of a High Grade second-tier plant, I've concentrated all the nutrients on it, yet it's still the same as when I started."
The Adamantine Bamboo was a scoring item, so it couldn't be cultivated so easily, of course.
Zhao Xing wasn't anxious; he hadn't even started to exert himself yet.
"It's dark. Time to work secretly."
A wisp of Origin Qi emerged from Zhao Xing's fingertip and pierced into the ground.
"Buzz~"
The Vein of Earth's Origin was instantly activated!
The large net began to spread, quietly extending beyond Zhao Xing's Cloud Walking range.
To the north, it crossed over most of Wen Nanxing's territory, while to the south, it enveloped Xiao Ze's territory.
To the west, it encompassed over a dozen individuals with A-list potential.
Li Chengfeng and Zong Shichang were at the far west, and Zhao Xing couldn't reach that far, as he had only just mastered this geomancy-based Spell.
"It covers almost half of the planting area, that should be enough." Zhao Xing, with his keen night vision, could see many officials starting to get busy after dark, all consuming Origin Qi and casting Spells.
"Come on, everyone, how tall the Adamantine Bamboo grows depends on you!"
"It's dark. The Soul-Soothing Incense I'm in charge of should begin to ripen," Huang Tao said, looking at a seedling on the ground, preparing to act.
After being frustrated by Zhao Xing in the morning, he still managed to grab a plot of land near the spring well.
The plant Huang Tao chose was called 'Soul-Soothing Incense,' a Medium Grade second-tier plant.
It had only one effect: after flowering, its fragrance could soothe the mind and stabilize the soul.
Many people liked to plant a Soul-Soothing Incense at home, as it could reduce the probability of Qi Deviation when Cultivating Origin Qi.
The flowering period of Soul-Soothing Incense was quite long, lasting several months, but it couldn't tolerate extreme heat and was difficult to make bloom, so Huang Tao didn't even try during the day, waiting until night.
"Being able to grow Soul-Soothing Incense during the Beginning of Autumn solar term, even just one plant, is enough to make it onto the A-list," Huang Tao said, full of confidence.
"Let's start! Grow strong!"
Huang Tao began to cast a Spell on the Soul-Soothing Incense seedling.
Origin Qi entered the soil, heading straight for the roots of the Soul-Soothing Incense.
A portion of this Origin Qi abruptly disappeared just as it was about to reach the roots, with only ten percent being absorbed.
"Indeed, it's difficult for Soul-Soothing Incense seedlings to grow this season."
Huang Tao didn't take it to heart, assuming it was simply because the difficulty he chose was high, so the progress was slower now.
After waiting for a moment, Huang Tao continued to cast his Spell.
The Soul-Soothing Incense seedling grew a tiny bit taller.
"Again!"
.........
At midnight, Huang Tao squatted on the ground, somewhat bewildered, looking at the Soul-Soothing Incense.
"What... what's going on? I've been continuously casting Spells on it for three hours, and even now, the Soul-Soothing Incense still hasn't entered its growth phase?"
It hadn't even reached the growth phase, let alone bloomed.
At first, Huang Tao hadn't realized, but it wasn't until his Origin Qi had been drained several times and the Soul-Soothing Incense still grew slowly that he suddenly realized it wasn't his lack of skill, but that something else was wrong!
"Did I pick a diseased seed? Impossible, I clearly checked..." Huang Tao muttered, pulling at his hair. "What exactly went wrong?"