Chapter 48
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Chapter 48: A Shortage of Three to Five Acres (Part 2)
He… spit!
As Wang Chen stepped out of the headquarters, he spat on the ground.
Despite the fixed amount of two thousand five hundred catties in rent for the fields, he had actually paid at least two thousand six hundred catties.
The Spirit Plant Hall had taken over a hundred catties from him!
It might not sound like much.
But consider that this hundred catties of spiritual grains had been forcibly extracted from his own resources.
With no return at all!
Moreover, with grain prices skyrocketing, the value of a hundred catties of spiritual grains was at least doubled compared to last year.
Wang Chen had come to realize the situation.
For the enormous Yunyang Sect, the one hundred thousand outer sect cultivators were merely like chives in the fields.
They could be harvested at will.
In this world where power flows back to oneself, a Golden Core true master is enough to suppress thousands of low-level cultivators.
So the mid-to-senior levels of the sect didn’t care about the lives of those below.
After all, no matter how many died, there were plenty of loose cultivators from the outside world eager to get in.
Wang Chen knew he was weak and could do nothing about it.
But he no longer felt any sense of belonging to the Yunyang Sect.
Now he would lie low and slowly accumulate strength, waiting until he had the ability to protect himself before seeking out a new path.
The Mountain-Sea Realm is vast and wide.
Wang Chen did not believe there wasn’t a place truly suitable for him!
Thinking this, he walked along the main street.
Suddenly, a burst of intense clamor disrupted his thoughts.
He saw a large crowd gathered in front of a shop with a sign that read "Great Hong Rice Shop."
Most of them were spiritual plant farmers like Wang Chen.
“Yesterday the price of Chen rice was only six spirit fragments; why has it gone up to eight spirit fragments today?”
“White corn is ten spirit fragments a pound, why don’t you all go rob it?”
“Scoundrels!”
“How can people’s hearts be so wicked?”
“The price at the grain store ahead is the same; you’re all colluding to scam us!”
“Where is the shopkeeper? Bring the shopkeeper out!”
Everyone was filled with righteous indignation, crowding around the shop assistant standing in front of the price list, shouting loudly with flushed faces.
Their anger was perfectly justified.
In previous years, the rice shops in the city had only purchased spiritual grains at the price of two spirit fragments per pound.
Even when buying back, the price was only slightly higher.
Now, the price had surged three to four times, which was utterly outrageous!
The other party clearly intended to exploit this year’s crop disaster, knowing that farmers couldn’t pay their full rent for the fields or needed food.
They hoarded supplies to make a fortune!
However, facing a group of cultivators at the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth levels of Qi Training, the shop assistant with only Transcendence-level cultivation remained unafraid, hands on hips and neck held high, arguing back.
“Do you understand market conditions? Let me tell you, if you don’t buy today, the price will go up again tomorrow!”
“If you don’t buy, there are plenty of others who will!”
“Buy if you want; if not, get lost!”
“Scoundrels? Say that again. Do you know which family we serve?”
“Get to know Master Fan from Wanbao Pavilion!”
“Get lost and don’t interfere with our business.”
“If you don’t leave, I’ll call the patrol guards!”
Facing dozens of cultivators, the assistant from Great Hong Rice Shop spoke with unwavering confidence, leaving the group of spiritual plant farmers speechless.
His battle power was off the charts!
Although any cultivator could easily crush this arrogant guy with a single finger, who would dare to fight in the city?
Not to mention that behind him stood a master from the inner sect!
In fact, aside from Wanbao Pavilion and the Four Seas Trading Association, no one opening a shop in Yunshan City was a simple character.
They were either directly connected to master families or affiliated with them.
Exceptions were extremely rare.
Everyone knew this, but in a moment of anger and heated blood, they surrounded the shop to denounce it.
Now, after being confronted, their anger cooled, and reason regained control of their thoughts.
They couldn’t help but shrink back.
“Bah!”
Seeing the spiritual plant farmers walk away dejectedly, the shop assistant spat triumphantly on the ground.
A female cultivator approached, holding a child’s hand.
She stopped in front of the rice shop and frowned at the price list on the wall.
“White corn has gone up again.”
The female cultivator sighed and said to her child, “Xiaohu, white corn is too expensive now; can we buy some tribute rice to take home and make rice balls for you?”
“No!”
The five-year-old mischievous child shook his head vigorously like a drum: “Mom, I want to eat white corn; tribute rice doesn’t taste good!”
White corn is a type of spiritual rice.
Tribute rice, on the other hand, comes from the Mortal Realm and is known as pearl rice.
In fact, pearl rice doesn’t taste bad and can fill your stomach without any issue.
However, it contains no spiritual energy at all, so it is very cheap.
Many loose cultivators rely on tribute rice to avoid starving in the outer realms.
Yet, if cultivators eat tribute rice regularly, it not only hinders their daily cultivation but also brings the trouble of the cycle of grains.
Even a Child knows the benefits of spiritual rice!
To strengthen his argument, the mischievous child wriggled free from his mother’s hand and rolled on the ground.
“I want to eat spiritual rice, ahhh!”
His cries echoed loudly.
The female cultivator felt quite embarrassed and couldn’t argue against her mischievous child.
So, gritting her teeth, she pulled out spirit stones from her storage bag and bought the High Price white corn.
Just as she left with her child, a group of spiritual plant farmers rushed over to check the rice prices.
They, too, were left speechless!
“Good news!”
At that moment, a cultivator dashed over, shouting loudly: “The outer sect headquarters just posted an announcement to form ten pioneering teams, and any eligible disciples can join!”
“Those who join the teams can immediately be exempt from this year’s ten acres of field tax or receive an equivalent amount of spiritual grains!”
“Limited spots, a rare opportunity!”
He yelled while running, and everyone on the main street heard him clearly.
A wave of excitement spread through the crowd!
Earlier, the headquarters had sent a message crane to recruit preparatory disciples, and now they were forming ten pioneering teams.
The so-called pioneering teams refer to groups of cultivators who venture out to expand territory.
The purpose of this pioneering is mainly to claim new hunting grounds, search for new ore veins, and gather spiritual herbs and spiritual materials.
However, confronting countless Evil Spirits from the outer realms makes pioneering quite a dangerous job.
The last large-scale pioneering by the Yunyang Sect happened thirty years ago!
Usually, the sect encourages disciples to explore and gather resources through tasks.
Forming pioneering teams means they want to undertake a major operation.
Each pioneering team consists of three hundred cultivators, and with ten teams, that makes three thousand cultivators.
According to past customs, each pioneering team is led by two or three Purple Palace masters.
This is madness!
Many cultivators felt their hearts race.
With the soaring rice prices, the exemption from ten acres of field tax or the equivalent supply of spiritual grains was already quite tempting.
Furthermore, the benefits of the pioneering teams were very good, with techniques, elixirs, talismans, and magical tools all provided.
Once the pioneering was successful, the rewards in contribution points would be even more generous!
Some cultivators couldn’t contain their excitement and immediately rushed to the headquarters to find out more.
But among those, Wang Chen did not include himself.
He felt no excitement.
Instead, a chill crept over him!
After some thought, Wang Chen decisively ran back home.
Regardless of what others thought, he had no intention of joining either the preparatory disciples or the pioneering teams.
