Chapter 16: The Expensive Seed
Time: The Next Morning.
Location: "Thousand Herbs Pavilion" (Green Willow District Seed Shop).
The shop in the Green Willow District was nothing like the dirty stalls in the Outer Market. The floor was polished marble, and the air smelled of rare medicinal herbs.
Luo Feng walked in, dressed in clean blue robes. He didn't look like a slum rat anymore; he looked like a young, prosperous cultivator.
"Welcome, Daoist," a clerk bowed politely. "What can I find for you?"
"I need seeds," Luo Feng said directly. "High-Grade Spirit Rice seeds. And... do you have Blast Chili seeds?"
The clerk blinked, surprised. "Blast Chili? Daoist, those are difficult to grow. They require specific Fire-attribute soil, or they just rot. And even if they grow, harvesting them is... risky."
"I have the soil," Luo Feng said calmly.
"Very well. The seeds are 10 Spirit Stones for a pouch (50 seeds)."
Luo Feng nodded. Expensive. Normal rice seeds cost 1 stone for a huge bag. These were luxury items.
"I'll take ten pouches," Luo Feng said, dropping 100 Spirit Stones on the counter without blinking.
The clerk's jaw dropped slightly. 100 Stones? This young man was wealthy.
"Also," Luo Feng added, pointing to a glass case where a single, glowing red fruit sat on a velvet pillow. "Give me that ripe Blast Chili."
"That?" The clerk hesitated. "That is a 50-Year maturity Blast Chili. It sells for 20 Spirit Stones. Alchemists usually buy it to refine 'Raging Fire Pills'."
"I'll take it. I need to study the properties before I plant."
Luo Feng paid a total of 120 Spirit Stones. His fortune was shrinking, but he knew this investment was necessary.
The Analysis.
Back inside the safety of the Courtyard, Luo Feng entered the Farming Space.
He sat at the table with the ripe, 50-Year Blast Chili in front of him. It hummed with unstable energy.
"Let's see why you are so expensive," Luo Feng muttered.
[System Scan]
[Item: Blast Chili (50-Year).]
[Grade: Rank 0 High Tier.]
[Primary Use: Alchemy Material. Increases the potency of Fire-attribute pills.]
[Secondary Use: Weapon (Impact Detonation).]
[Market Value: High.]
Luo Feng picked it up. It was warm.
"The clerk said Alchemists use it. That explains the price. Nobody throws 20 Spirit Stones at an enemy just to cause an explosion. It's a waste of money."
He tapped the fruit.
"But I'm not buying them. I'm growing them. For me, the cost is zero."
The Limitation.
Luo Feng took out his dagger and carefully sliced the chili open.
Hiss.
A puff of spicy red red dust sprayed out.
Luo Feng inhaled a tiny bit. Immediately, his eyes watered, and his throat burned. He coughed violently.
"Potent," he wheezed, wiping his tears. "If this dust gets in someone's eyes, they are blind instantly."
But then, he frowned. He activated his Sun & Moon Technique.
He closed his streaming eyes and extended his Spirit Sense (Perception).
Even though his physical eyes were stinging and shut, he could "see" the table, the chili, and the dagger perfectly through his Spirit Sense.
"I see," Luo Feng realized, the excitement fading slightly.
"This blinding effect... it's useless against experts."
Layer 1-3 Cultivators: They rely on their physical eyes. If I throw this, they go blind. Easy kill.
Layer 4-9 Cultivators: They have unlocked Spirit Sense. If I blind them, they just switch to magical perception. They can still see me. They can still kill me.
"So, as a weapon against the weak, it's overkill," Luo Feng analyzed coldly. "Against the strong, it's an annoyance, not a fatality."
Little Gold landed on the table, eyeing the chili.
Luo Feng pushed the bird away. "Don't eat it. It's for science."
He looked at the red dust.
"But... Spirit Sense has a weakness. It relies on detecting stable Qi flows. What happens if the air is filled with chaotic, exploding Fire Qi?"
Luo Feng grinned.
"One chili won't blind a Layer 4 expert. But what if I detonate fifty at once? The chaotic energy storm would scramble their Spirit Sense like static on a radio. They would be physically blind and magically blind."
"Quantity," Luo Feng decided. "I need overwhelming quantity."
The Planting.
Luo Feng walked to the Red Clay Area.
The 5 acres of red soil were pulsing with heat, clean and ready thanks to Little Gold's weeding yesterday.
"We plant them all," Luo Feng told Luo Xia, who was standing at the safe edge of the field.
He moved through the hot soil, using his Spirit Finger to punch holes.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
He planted all 500 Seeds.
"Water!"
Luo Feng grabbed a bucket of Sun & Moon Spring Water. He splashed it over the rows.
HISS!
Steam rose up. The seeds drank the water and the intense heat of the soil. Because this was the Farming Space (Time Dilation + Spirit Soil), these plants wouldn't take 60 days. They would be ready in 10 Days.
"In ten days," Luo Feng wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I will have 500 grenades. I won't just throw them. I'll make traps. Cluster bombs."
The Daily Routine.
With the crops planted, the couple returned to their routine.
1. The Morning Milk:
The Cloud-Horn Goat was producing 2 liters of milk daily.
Luo Feng drank a bowl. The cool, Yin-attribute energy seeped into his bones.
Creak.
His bones felt denser. He punched the air. His fist felt heavier.
"It works," Luo Feng noted. "My skeleton is becoming tough enough to handle the recoil of the Solar Bullet."
2. The Saber Practice:
Luo Feng swung his Spirit Iron Saber.
1,000 swings.
His muscles, fueled by the Yang Qi of the Sun technique and the meat of the wind wolf (which they were slowly eating), were becoming distinct and hard, like carved wood.
3. Little Gold's Evolution:
Little Gold was still eating the Demon-Blood Thistles that occasionally popped up in the Red Clay. The bird hated the taste, but his feathers were turning a deeper, darker red. He was approaching Rank 0 High Tier.
10 Days Later (Inside Time).
Luo Feng stood before the Red Clay field.
It was a sea of red.
500 bushes.
Each bush held 3 to 5 glowing, fist-sized Blast Chilies.
That was over 1,500 explosives.
Luo Feng picked one. It hummed with power.
"In the outside world, this is a 20-Stone Alchemy ingredient," Luo Feng whispered. "To me... it's ammo."
He put the chili in his Storage Ring.
"Now," Luo Feng looked at the exit. "We have the money. We have the base. We have the weapons."
"It's time to visit the Battle Hall."
"Why?" Luo Xia asked, wiping her saber.
"Because," Luo Feng said, his eyes sharp. "I have Level 4 Cultivation. I have explosive weapons. But I have zero combat experience against humans besides that one ambush. I need to learn how to fight before the real enemies come."
[End of Chapter 16]
— Author's Note —
The Arsenal is stocked! 💣
Luo Feng analyzed the Blast Chili:
Pro: Expensive, high damage, blinding to low levels.
Con: High-level cultivators have Spirit Sense (Wallhacks), so blinding gas doesn't work on them.
Solution: Cluster Bombing. Overload their senses with too many explosions.
With 1,500 Chilies in his inventory, Luo Feng is walking around with enough firepower to level a city block.
Next, he needs to learn how to actually fight. Farming makes you rich, but fighting keeps you alive.
Support the Blast Farmer!
1. Add to Library!
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