Chapter Sixty: Heart-Guarding Soft Armor, Thunder Spirit Rice

However, Zhou Changwang had his eyes not on those few mid-grade magical artifacts—he couldn’t afford them even if he wanted to. His target was a piece of soft armor among them. Though called soft armor, it was in fact a magical artifact—a defensive one. Crafted entirely from some kind of scales stitched together with silk, it featured a heart-protecting mirror embedded at the left chest. Though somewhat petite, it offered protection for all the vital areas, such as the heart and the dantian. Most importantly, the heart mirror was inscribed with a spell formation; if activated successfully, it would greatly enhance his ability to preserve his life. The only pity was that the lower part of the soft armor, both front and back, bore a fist-sized hole—obviously pierced during some fierce battle by a powerful artifact.

“Senior Chen, how many spirit stones for this soft armor?” Zhou Changwang crouched slightly, pointing to the soft armor.

“This is the Heart-Guarding Soft Armor, likely crafted by the Artifact Workshop. The main material is the scales of the Water-Patterned Serpent, stitched with Golden Silk Silkworm threads. If it were intact, there’d be buyers at eight hundred lower-grade spirit stones. But since I made a hole in it, luckily the main spell formation on the heart mirror isn’t damaged, so it’s somewhat discounted. If you truly want it, I can let you have it for three hundred lower-grade spirit stones,” Chen Yushu glanced at the armor, cast a sound-proofing spell, then spoke with casual indifference.

“It’s still a bit expensive. For the sake of my frequent patronage, could you make it cheaper?” Zhou Changwang probed.

“You haven’t bought much spirit rice from me altogether, maybe five lower-grade spirit stones worth? Still, since we know each other, and I have no use for this item, I can shave off five spirit stones for you,” Chen Yushu rolled his eyes and responded.

“That’s too little. How about two hundred fifty? Wait, that sounds awkward—how about two hundred forty-eight?” Zhou Changwang shamelessly pressed further. After all, every reduction was a gain; he bargained without mercy.

Unfortunately, after much back-and-forth, the price dropped only to two hundred eighty lower-grade spirit stones, and Chen Yushu refused to budge any further, acting as if he’d rather not sell at all. Zhou Changwang realized he couldn’t push past this bottom line; besides, he truly needed the artifact, so he gritted his teeth and made the purchase.

Watching Zhou Changwang painfully count out the spirit stones, Chen Yushu showed a hint of surprise, asking calmly, “It seems your spirit fields yielded quite a harvest.”

“It’s just a small inheritance left by the old man when he returned to his hometown,” Zhou Changwang replied with a half-truth, half-joke.

He then picked up the heart-guarding soft armor, cared little for appearances, took off his outer garment, and donned it right away. Finding it a perfect fit, he felt even more satisfied. Though the armor was damaged, its main spell formation was intact; normally it would never sell for less than three hundred fifty lower-grade spirit stones, so buying it for two hundred eighty was an absolute bargain.

Zhou Changwang didn’t intend to linger. He cupped his hands and prepared to take his leave.

Unexpectedly, Chen Yushu asked, “Any results with those three seeds?”

“No,” Zhou Changwang’s heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained calm. He countered, “What are those three seeds anyway? I’ve tried everything, but none will sprout.”

“They’re not supposed to sprout,” Chen Yushu replied without disappointment. Zhou Changwang’s failure was only natural—so many veteran spirit cultivators couldn’t succeed; he never believed a mere spirit farmer could do so. He’d only given the seeds on a whim, and regretted it immediately, chiding himself for desperate measures—how could he expect anything from a novice farmer?

Still, since Zhou Changwang had just bought the soft armor from him, Chen Yushu patiently explained: “Eight hundred years ago, Tianjue Mountain was the ancestral seat of the Qi clan, a family of cultivators. The Qi clan had two major industries: Frost Fish and Thunder Spirit Rice. Frost Fish, a specialty from a cold pool in Tianjue Mountain, was said to boost a cultivator’s water-elemental spiritual roots—a rare treasure that could enhance innate attributes. Thunder Spirit Rice was a special kind of spirit rice, rich in spiritual energy, and when eaten, left traces of thunder attribute spiritual power. This supposedly increased the efficiency of cultivating thunder techniques and spells. Sadly, wealth often invites envy. These two treasures were too alluring, and eventually attracted powerful rivals. Eight hundred years ago, a great battle erupted when the Qi clan refused to yield. Their mountain-protecting array was broken, the clan destroyed, and the ancestor, out of rage, detonated the array in a bid for mutual destruction. Thus, Tianjue Mountain, once a second-grade spiritual land, was reduced to ruins, its spiritual veins dissipated…”

At this point, he sighed deeply. Both Frost Fish and Thunder Spirit Rice were rare treasures; their disappearance was a great loss to the world of cultivation.

“So, those spirit seeds are likely the legendary Thunder Spirit Rice seeds?” Zhou Changwang asked in amazement.

“I’m not certain myself. I’ve never seen that kind of spirit rice,” Chen Yushu admitted. “Only by actually cultivating them can they be identified.”

Zhou Changwang nodded thoughtfully, didn’t dare press further, and simply cupped his hands: “Then, Senior Chen, I’ll take my leave.”

“If the spirit rice seeds show any change, notify me at once. My earlier promise still stands,” Chen Yushu said.

“I understand,” Zhou Changwang replied, then turned and departed.

…

“Thunder Spirit Rice, huh? Unfortunately, I know almost nothing about it, and I don’t dare ask too much…”

On his way, Zhou Changwang’s face clouded with worry. Under his care, the three spirit seeds had all grown well, appearing tall and robust. Yet he’d noticed that although they thrived, none showed any signs of flowering or bearing fruit. Moreover, the Thunder Spirit Rice grew in the form of trees—roots, trunk, branches, and leaves—unlike spirit grain, which has root and leaf combined and forms rice nodes.

At first, he’d even thought they were some kind of spirit wood and felt quite disappointed. That’s why he’d asked Chen Yushu.

“It seems I’ll have to make a trip to the Spirit Cultivation Hall,” Zhou Changwang mused, deciding to consult its records. The Spirit Cultivation Hall, belonging to the Qingyuan Sect, was a sect property, naturally housing many books and legacies on spirit plants.