Sent Cai the Ninth away.

Qin Ming closed the courtyard door and immediately began to ponder alone.

He hadn't expected the teleportation array of the Spirit Feather Sect to be repaired so quickly. Judging by the current situation, his predicament was going to become extremely awkward.

Qin Ming was now living under others' roofs, serving within the Spirit Feather Sect, unable to act on his own and constantly constrained by the sect.

The decisions from the higher-ups of the sect change on a whim – today you're dragged to the front lines as cannon fodder, tomorrow you're forbidden from privately selling Spirit Rice.

They exploit you in normal times, and use your life in times of war!

These sects basically don't view us Spirit Farmers as humans, purely using us like cattle or horses.

Apart from that.

The cultivation realm is unpredictable and ever-changing. Don't be fooled by the current camaraderie between the Spirit Feather Sect and Golden Cloud Valley.

It's entirely possible that one day they'll turn against each other for the resources of the Yunze Wilderness, starting a war at the slightest disagreement.

At that time, the first ones to be affected would still be cultivators like us at the bottom.

The battle camps on the frontline have been fighting those Barbarian Cultivators for years without any progress, nor have they gained any advantage, resulting in substantial losses instead.

What does this illustrate?

The natives deep within the Yunze Wilderness are not so easily manipulated by the Spirit Feather Sect and Golden Cloud Valley.

If we're not careful, those natives might counter-attack us, which would be a dire situation indeed.

"Preparations must be made early."

Qin Ming's gaze flickered, and within his heart, the desire to leave the Spirit Feather Sect grew ever stronger!

"Simply fleeing might not be very realistic."

"I still need to find a way to get rid of servitude and regain my freedom."

He deliberated for a while.

To be excused from servitude in the Spirit Feather Sect, one must meet any of the three conditions set by the sect.

The first condition is reaching Foundation Establishment Stage, which Qin Ming immediately disregarded; it's simply impossible for him to achieve that in a short time.

The second condition is to hand over any resource that aids in Foundation Establishment. Hmm... skip this one too, as he currently doesn't possess any rare resources to hand over.

Thinking over and over.

Qin Ming thought the third condition seemed worthwhile and highly feasible, which is mastering any one of the Hundred Skills of Cultivation to Tier Two level.

He is currently a Tier One Middle-Grade Spirit Plant Master and estimates that he can advance to a Tier One High-Grade Spirit Plant Master after next year.

With the entries he has, there's a good chance he can break through to become a Tier Two Spirit Plant Master.

However, he currently isn't aware of the conditions required for advancing to a Tier Two Spirit Plant Master.

He still needs to inquire with the Steward Hall about this someday.

Thinking to this point.

Qin Ming's eyes were resolute, and he had already made decisions about his plans for the future.

He then began to seriously contemplate how to handle the sale of Beast Fang Rice next year.

Time flew by, and more than half a month passed.

As expected, as Cai the Ninth had mentioned.

During the spring plowing this year, Steward Gue brought people to the Spirit Field and announced a ban on the private sale of Spirit Rice.

This was undoubtedly adding insult to injury for the Spirit Farmers.

This year, Qin Ming planted Golden Spirit Rice on his three acres of Spirit Field.

Then he cast the High-Level Spirit Rain Technique to shower it with Spiritual Rain.

...

After finishing the work in the Spirit Field.

Qin Ming returned to his courtyard and began his day-to-day arduous cultivation.

The "Hundred Treasures Glaze Scripture," under the pile of Top-Grade Blood Locust Rice, forced the body refining technique to the peak of the 6th Layer.

The entries of "Weak Qi Blood" and "Abundant Qi Blood" in his Sea of Consciousness were both cultivated and exhausted one after another.

Even with this amount of Qi Blood accumulation, he still could not break through to the Body Refining Seventh Layer.

One can imagine the terrifying amount of Qi Blood spiritual materials required in the later stages of the "Hundred Treasures Glaze Scripture."

As for mana cultivation.

Qin Ming could now refine Qi Condensing Pills himself, although the effect of these pills was not as strong as Spirit Gathering Pills.

But the mana within his body was steadily increasing.

One day.

While Qin Ming was cultivating, there was a fluctuation from the Dharma Array Restriction outside the courtyard gate.

He stopped cultivating, opened his eyes, and got up to look out the door.

He recognized this person.

The visitor had a wooden crown on his head, a jade belt around his waist, fair skin, a proud appearance, slightly swollen eyes, and kept yawning.

With a Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer cultivation, slightly short stature, wearing the blue inner sect attire of the Spirit Feather Sect.

Though a child of a wealthy family, you could tell he frequented the brothels too often.

This person was the short cultivator from that day on the street, among Jiangg Kun's group, snatching the old man's treasure.

Perhaps following behind Jiangg Kun for a long time, he's become as arrogant as his master.

Qin Ming frowned when he saw this person.

Inwardly, he couldn't help but curse his luck.

But he still steeled himself to open the door for the man, as after all, the other party was from the Spirit Feather Sect.

"Oh, it's Fellow Daoist Qin, right?"

"I am Chen Ziang from the Spirit Feather Sect."

"I heard you recently advanced to Middle-Grade Spirit Plant Master? Congratulations!"

"Brother Jiangg would like to invite you to the Mingzhen Tower for a drink, Fellow Daoist Qin... would you do us the honor?"

Chen Ziang was unusually cheerful, with a sincere attitude as he extended the invitation.

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming realized he had no option to refuse.

No matter what, he couldn't avoid this trip.

"Since Brother Jiangg is inviting me, please, Fellow Daoist Chen, lead the way."

Qingyang Market, after all, was under the jurisdiction of their Spirit Feather Sect, and Jiangg Kun's group wouldn't act too outrageously in public.

Moreover, the various forces in the market were intricately intertwined, and even the core of the Spirit Feather Sect had to consider them carefully.

Mirror Snow Pavilion was one such force.

...

"Fellow Daoist Qin, a pleasure to meet you."

Inside the private room of Mingzhen Tower, Jiangg Kun, a core disciple of the Spirit Feather Sect dressed in a blue robe with gold thread, looked at Qin Ming with a smile in his phoenix eyes.

"Brother Jiangg invited me, I wonder..."

"No rush, no rush, first have a taste of this finely brewed Spirit Grain Wine."

Jiangg Kun took out two white jade cups and personally poured wine for Qin Ming.

Then he poured himself a cup, toasted Qin Ming across the table, and drank it in one go.

Such a warm welcome left Qin Ming feeling flattered.

He picked up the cup in front of him, and without a trace of hesitation, drank it all at once.

The Hundred Treasures Glaze Scripture he practiced made him immune to all poisons, so he had no fear of any tricks in the wine.

The Spirit Grain Wine slid down his throat.

The taste was rich and pure, with spiritual energy resonating within his mouth; it was indeed a fine wine.

"Fellow Daoist Qin is indeed a straightforward person."

Unnoticeably, a glint of surprise flashed in Jiangg Kun's eyes.

Then he raised a smile, "Speaking of which, last time there might have been a slight misunderstanding with Fellow Daoist Qin, when I was hurriedly securing a spot for my subordinates at the Steward Hall. My tone may have been a bit harsh, please don't take it to heart."

"Heh, Brother Jiangg jests, if you hadn't mentioned it, I would've forgotten about it." Qin Ming forced a smile, responding with a grin that didn't reach his eyes.

"It seems I overthought, with Fellow Daoist Qin being so magnanimous, I shall penalize myself with a drink." With that said, Jiangg Kun indeed filled his own cup and downed it.

Subsequently, Jiangg Kun began discussing recent events with him.

For instance, in the field of spirit rice cultivation, he praised Qin Ming highly and congratulated him on advancing to a Middle-Grade Spirit Plant Master.

Of course, the conversation also touched upon how Qin Ming had connected with Mirror Snow Pavilion.

Qin Ming always tailored his responses to his audience.

Speaking transparently when he could, otherwise being vague.

If it weren't for witnessing Jiangg Kun's true nature some time ago.

He might have really believed the other was a humble and approachable senior brother.

As they drank through the rounds.

Jiangg Kun, smiling slightly, took out an exquisite jade box from his storage pouch and gently pushed it in front of Qin Ming.

"A small token of goodwill, I hope Fellow Daoist Qin will accept it."

Qin Ming was taken aback, confused by this gesture.

"Brother Jiangg, what's the meaning of this...?"

In his confusion, Qin Ming opened the jade box.

Its contents left him visibly moved.

Five perfectly round spirit stones, emitting radiant brilliance, with a rich spiritual qi that could be felt from afar.

They were Middle-Grade Spirit Stones!

Each one could be exchanged for a hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones, sometimes even more.

This amounted to over five hundred spirit stones.

Additionally, the jade box contained a delicately crafted porcelain bottle.

Qin Ming picked up the bottle and opened it, a refreshing fragrance of pills wafted out.

Inside was a deep green spirit pill.

He was quite familiar with this kind of pill as he had watched Su Yuqing refine it before.

"A Late-stage Qi Cultivation Breaking Pill — the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill!"

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