Chapter 31: The Price of Abundance
Time: One Week Later.
Location: The Secret Backroom, Phoenix Spirit Pavilion.
The heavy iron-wood door was bolted shut. Several silencing talismans were pasted on the walls, ensuring that not a whisper could escape the room.
Fatty Wang sat at the table, his hands trembling. But he wasn't trembling from fear. He was trembling from sheer, overwhelming greed.
On the table in front of him sat a small mountain of Spirit Stones.
2,000 Spirit Stones.
It was a staggering sum. In Green Willow City, a typical Outer Disciple of a sect might earn 10 stones a month. A wealthy merchant might profit 500 a year. But here, in a single transaction, sat the GDP of a small clan.
Opposite him, Luo Feng sipped his tea calmly, his face shadowed by his bamboo hat.
"This..." Fatty Wang swallowed hard, wiping sweat from his brow. "This is the advance payment for the next batch? Brother Luo, are you sure? The market is hungry, yes, but this is a lot of inventory to move."
"It's not just for the next batch," Luo Feng said, his voice low. "I am leaving you with a stockpile. 500 Flasks of Spirit Surge Wine."
He pushed a large, nondescript storage bag across the table.
Fatty Wang grabbed the bag and scanned it with his Spirit Sense. He gasped. Rows upon rows of the precious porcelain flasks were stacked inside.
"You made all this?" Wang whispered. "In a week? Brother Luo, do you have an army of alchemists in your basement?"
"Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to," Luo Feng warned coldly.
He leaned forward, his aura pressing down on the merchant.
"Listen to me, Wang. This stock... is your lifeline. But you must not sell it all at once."
"Why not?" Wang blinked. "We could clear this in three days! We could buy half the street!"
"And then?" Luo Feng asked. "Then everyone knows we have infinite supply. The price crashes. The Alchemy Guild realizes we are a threat to their existence, not just a nuisance. And the bandits realize the caravan is worth dying for."
Luo Feng tapped the table.
"Limit the sales. 10 bottles a day. No more. Keep the price at 15 stones. Make them beg for it. This stock needs to last you until I return."
"Return? Where are you going?"
"I'm not going anywhere," Luo Feng lied smoothly. "I am going into Closed Door Cultivation. I need to stabilize my foundation. Until I reach the Late Stages of Qi Refining, I will not be brewing heavily. This stockpile is your shield. Use it wisely."
Fatty Wang nodded slowly, understanding the gravity. Luo Feng was right. If they flooded the market, they would attract sharks they couldn't kill.
"I understand," Wang said, clutching the bag. "I will drip-feed the market. I will make this stock last for six months. By the time you come out, the Phoenix Spirit Pavilion will be unshakable."
Luo Feng stood up, sweeping the 2,000 Spirit Stones into his own high-grade storage pouch.
"Good. Stay safe, Partner."
The Upgrade.
Luo Feng returned to the Green Willow Courtyard. He checked on Luo Xia and the baby. Little Luo Tian was sleeping soundly in his Spirit Wood crib, his tiny chest rising and falling with a rhythmic, powerful breath.
Satisfied, Luo Feng entered the Farming Space.
He stood in the center of the 15-acre farm. The crops were lush. The grapes were purple and heavy. But Luo Feng felt cramped.
He had 2,000 Spirit Stones in his pocket. He didn't need to buy gear. He didn't need to buy pills (he made better ones).
"System," Luo Feng called out mentally. "Absorb energy."
He didn't spend the stones in a shop. He dumped 1,000 Spirit Stones directly into the Spirit Spring.
It was a crazy move. Most cultivators would call it madness to dissolve currency into water. But Luo Feng knew the secret of his System. The Farm grew with resources.
Splash.
The stones hit the water and dissolved instantly, turning into pure, raw Qi.
Rumble...
The ground beneath his feet shook. The white fog that bordered the edge of the farm began to churn and retreat.
[System Alert]
[Massive Qi Source Detected.]
[Space Upgrading...]
[Expanding Area...]
Luo Feng watched with satisfaction as the land stretched. New soil appeared out of nothingness—rich, black, fertile earth. The boundary pushed back, revealing more empty land.
[Upgrade Complete.]
[Current Area: 20 Acres.]
[New Feature Unlocked: Auto-Irrigation (Mental Control).]
Luo Feng took a deep breath. 20 Acres. It was the size of a small village's entire agricultural output.
He looked at the Spirit Spring. It had grown larger, turning into a small pond.
"Auto-Irrigation?" Luo Feng focused his mind.
Before, he had to physically carry buckets or use clumsy telekinesis to splash water. It was exhausting work for 15 acres.
He closed his eyes and connected his Spirit Sense to the Spring.
Rain.
He gave the command.
Whoosh!
Water rose from the pond, not in a splash, but in a controlled stream. It split in the air, turning into a fine mist that drifted over the corn and grapevines. It was effortless. It was like he was the god of this small world, commanding the weather.
"Convenient," Luo Feng grinned. "Now I can farm 20 acres without breaking a sweat."
The Crisis of Abundance.
Greed is a natural instinct.
With 5 new acres of land (bringing the total to 20) and an automated watering system, Luo Feng's first instinct was to maximize profit.
"If I plant Spirit Rice on all 20 acres," Luo Feng calculated, "I can double my wine production. I can feed the baby higher purity porridge. I can make a fortune."
He immediately went to work. He used his telekinesis to plow the new land. He sowed the seeds. He used the Auto-Irrigation to water everything.
Within an hour, the entire 20-acre space was green with sprouting life.
Luo Feng sat down in the center, ready to cultivate.
"Sun & Moon Technique. Absorb."
He opened his pores, expecting the usual rush of dense, sweet Qi that pervaded the space.
Nothing happened.
Luo Feng frowned. He tried again. He pulled harder.
He managed to scrape a tiny wisp of Qi, but it was thin. Weak. It was no better than the dirty air in the city slums.
"What is going on?" Luo Feng stood up, panicked. "Did the upgrade break the Qi source?"
He looked around.
The crops were growing terrifyingly fast. The Spirit Rice was visibly taller than before. The Grapes were swelling.
[System Warning]
[Ambient Qi Depletion: 95%]
[Cause: Over-Farming.]
Luo Feng froze.
He looked at the 20 acres of hungry plants.
The Farming Space generated Qi, yes. But it wasn't infinite per second. It was like a well. It refilled over time.
Usually, the well was full because he only farmed a small patch. But now, he had 20 acres of Spirit Plants. Each stalk of rice, each vine of grapes, was a living cultivator. They were breathing. They were eating.
They were sucking the room dry.
"I am competing with my own crops," Luo Feng realized, horrified. "The plants are eating all the Qi before I can absorb it."
If he kept all 20 acres full, the crops would mature fast, but Luo Feng's own cultivation would stall completely. He would be a rich farmer, but a weak human.
"Resources are useless if I don't have the strength to use them," Luo Feng muttered.
He made a hard choice.
He raised his hand.
Slash.
He used his Mental Manipulation to control the sickle.
He cut down the crops on the 5 new acres. Then he cut down another 5 acres of the old corn.
He cleared 10 Acres completely, turning the plants into compost to feed the soil.
He left only 10 Acres active (Rice, Grapes, Yams).
As soon as the extra plants died, the balance shifted.
The ambient Qi in the air began to thicken again. The "pressure" returned. The artificial sun seemed to shine brighter.
[Ambient Qi Level: Restored to Optimal.]
Luo Feng wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Balance," he sighed, sitting back down. "The Dao of Farming is like the Dao of Life. You cannot have everything. If I want to grow strong, the land must rest."
He looked at the 10 acres of empty, black soil.
"I will keep half the land fallow," Luo Feng decided. "This ensures the Qi density remains high enough for me, Xia, and Luo Tian to cultivate. Money is good... but power is better."
He closed his eyes and began to breathe. This time, the thick, hot Sun Qi flooded his body, rushing through his meridians.
He had learned a valuable lesson: Even in a cheat system, there is no such thing as a free lunch.
[End of Chapter 31]
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