Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Improved Spirit Rice

Chapter 18 Demonic Cultivator

Zhao Cheng'an stood up, left the tea room, and quickly returned to his bedroom.

He rummaged through the cabinet and took out the hybrid spiritual rice that he had synthesized using the Qiankun Cauldron.

"This is……"

Zhao Jingting opened the wooden box that Zhao Chengan handed him and looked at the golden rice stalk inside.

The rice ears are full of plump grains, emitting a faint fragrance of grass and wood.

Zhao Chengan explained, "This is a high-yield rice variety that I discovered by chance. Its environmental adaptability and disaster resistance should be quite good."

"However, I haven't cultivated it on a large scale yet, so I'm not sure about the specific results. Uncle, you can take it back and find a plot of land to try planting it."

Zhao Jingting already knew that Zhao Cheng'an had passed the Imperial Academy's examination and officially become a cultivator. Since this item was solemnly handed to him by Zhao Cheng'an, it must be extraordinary.

He carefully fastened the wooden box, as if it were some rare treasure, and tucked it close to his body.

"I will take these seeds back as soon as possible to arrange for trial planting."

Zhao Cheng'an looked at him and said softly, "Uncle, please take care of yourself and be careful on your journey."

……

……

Zhao Cheng'an originally wanted them to stay for a couple more days.

However, as the commander-in-chief, Zhao Jingting had many military affairs to attend to and many things to deal with upon his return. Moreover, he was eager to bring this good news back to share with his elder brother, so he only stayed briefly in the bamboo house before hurriedly taking his leave.

Zhao Cheng'an was pleased that the Dayin Dynasty could continue to exist.

After all, he inherited the original owner's memories and body, so there was some connection between them.

On the other hand, even in the worst-case scenario, if the Dayin Dynasty were truly destroyed by the barbarians, he could still protect some important figures in the royal family through his connection with the Imperial Academy, preventing them from being completely purged.

However, it's best not to go that far.

Simultaneously.

The barbarian secret medicine that Zhao Jingting mentioned also aroused Zhao Cheng'an's suspicions.

As the most powerful of the seven kingdoms, the Dayin Dynasty had always far surpassed the barbarian tribes of the far north in national strength. It was truly unbelievable that a single secret medicine could bridge such a vast gap between the two.

Moreover, the barbarian tribes' technology and medicine were far behind those of the Central Plains. How exactly were these amazing secret medicines developed?

Could it be that some cultivator was secretly giving instructions behind the scenes?

Moreover, judging from Zhao Jingting's description, the method of overdrawing life potential seems to be very much like the style of demonic cultivators.

Zhao Cheng'an was startled by the thought that popped into his head. Although it was possible, he didn't have any concrete evidence at the moment.

Moreover, he knew far too little about those secret medicines. If Zhao Jingting had brought some samples with him this time, he could have used the Qiankun Cauldron's identification function to investigate their contents.

Unfortunately, Zhao Jingting arrived in a great hurry. Moreover, the barbarians had extremely strict control over this secret medicine, only distributing it to the lower-ranking soldiers in advance before some important battles.

In short, this incident was just a minor episode on Zhao Cheng'an's path of cultivation.

After Zhao Jingting left, Zhao Cheng'an immediately gathered his thoughts and devoted all his energy back to cultivation.

"Using only Imperial Academy Spirit Rice and wild Spirit Rice as parent materials for synthesis results in far too much randomness. I wonder if it's possible to backcross using offspring?"

Zhao Chengan had tried this approach before, but he never had a suitable sub-copy.

Now, the six-entry sub-copy in his hand, though lacking in spiritual energy, perfectly inherited several excellent entries related to high productivity and disease resistance. It's perfect for giving it a try.

He gave some of these seeds to Zhao Jingting, who took some with him, but he kept a portion for himself. It wasn't enough for dedicated cultivation, but it was more than sufficient as material for synthesizing the Qiankun Cauldron.

Zhao Chengan's idea was quickly confirmed.

After more than a dozen failed attempts, he finally obtained the sample he wanted from the Qiankun Cauldron.

【Hybrid Rice: Many Seeds, Many Blessings, Rejuvenation, Sealed Spiritual Energy, Weakness, Survival from the Brink】

This is a sample of five terms.

Among them, the wild spirit rice has the "survival" attribute, which can perfectly offset the negative effects of "disease and weakness", enabling this spirit rice to survive and grow in a relatively harsh environment.

The phrase "many children, many blessings" can significantly increase production.

The terms "Return to Green" and "Sealing Spiritual Energy" are the core of the spirit rice. The former is responsible for absorbing spiritual energy from the outside world, while the latter stores the absorbed spiritual energy within the rice grains.

Because it lacks the two highly productive terms "polyploid" and "nutrient reabsorption".

The hybrid spiritual rice cultivated by Zhao Cheng'an may have a certain gap in final yield and spiritual energy storage compared to the original spiritual rice of the Imperial Academy.

However, these shortcomings can be compensated for by expanding the planting area.

In addition, Zhao Chengan noticed another pattern.

Aside from the original Imperial Academy Spirit Rice, in the past month or so, any offspring spirit rice he synthesized, as long as it had either the "Rejuvenation" or "Spiritual Energy Storage" attribute, would have its maximum number of attributes significantly reduced.

Zhao Cheng'an is still unsure of the exact cause of this problem. He speculates that it may be related to a conflict in the expression of certain specific traits.

However, in any case, the emergence of this hybrid spiritual rice is enough to solve the problem of the shortage of cultivation resources he is currently facing.

……

Zhao Chengan immediately took action.

He spent money to rent a secluded house with a large field next to Jingtian Lake, and hired several quick-witted farmers to start planting.

The results were excellent.

Three months later, the first batch of planted spirit rice had begun to turn yellow and could be harvested ahead of schedule.

noon.

Zhao Cheng'an personally served a bowl of freshly cooked rice and took it to the courtyard.

"Xiao Wu, try this."

"Your Highness, how could we bear to part with this?"

Xiao Wu, who was setting up a rack to roast rabbit legs over the fire, immediately stood up, wiped his hands on his clothes, and showed an expression of being flattered.

He looked down at the spirit rice in the bowl.

Each grain of rice is distinct, crystal clear, with a thin layer of oil on the surface, and emits a very tempting fragrance.

"It smells so good! I've never smelled rice that good before."

Xiao Wu unconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

He picked up his chopsticks and carefully took a small bite of the spirit rice and put it in his mouth.

The soft, sweet flavor exploded on the tip of the tongue, and after a few chews, it turned into warm streams that flowed down the throat and into the stomach.

Even without any side dishes, Xiao Wu ate with great relish. He wolfed down his food, finishing the rice in his bowl in no time, even licking the few remaining grains of rice clinging to the rim of the bowl into his mouth.

Xiao Wu placed the empty bowl and chopsticks on the table. "This rice tasted amazing!"

"and……"

He stood up, spread his legs, and lowered his center of gravity. He then began to practice a set of military boxing techniques right there in the courtyard.

The punches were powerful and forceful, with a whistling wind.

After finishing a set of punches, Xiao Wu had a light sheen of sweat on his forehead, but his face was full of indescribable joy.

"And I feel like I have inexhaustible energy."

"Young master, this rice must be something special."