Chapter 187 – Evaluation
"Uh… what?!"
Gu Mo stared blankly at the scene before him. When he'd decided to exhibit the Sunlit Glazed Flower, he'd expected it to draw attention—but now, it was clear that he had still underestimated its impact.
More precisely, he had underestimated how attractive the power of the sun would be to plant cultivators. Aside from a handful of shade-loving species, most spiritual plants depended heavily on Sunlightto thrive.
And the power of the sun was essentially condensed Solar Yang—an energy source that could dramatically boost a plant's growth. It could even revive a dying plant, or allow two otherwise incompatible species to merge into an entirely new one.
In no uncertain terms, the power of the sun was a spiritual elixir tailor-made for plants. While it might not appeal much to other cultivators, to a gathering full of spiritual botanists? Its allure was overwhelming.
"An Elder is coming!"
Just as Gu Mo was thinking about how to push through the crowd to reach his exhibition booth, a voice rang out.
At the announcement, the crowd immediately scattered, each person hurrying back to their own booth to await the elders' evaluations.
Thanks to the dispersing crowd, Gu Mo was finally able to reach his booth without issue.
"Senior Brother, did you cultivate that Sunlit Glazed Flower?" asked a nearby Foundation Establishment disciple from the next booth, casting him an eager voice transmission.
"That's right," Gu Mo nodded.
"Then… um…"
Now certain that Gu Mo was the flower's cultivator, the disciple looked increasingly nervous. He clearly wanted to ask for some of the sun's power, but after remembering his own financial situation, he couldn't bring himself to say the words.
"You can offer your own plants in trade," Gu Mo offered, sweeping a glance over the young man's display—which featured a few stalks of spiritual rice.
That was enough for Gu Mo to make an educated guess: this disciple was likely from the Spirit Rice lineage of Shennong Valley, a group of plant cultivators dedicated to researching spiritual rice. The famed Spirit Jade Rice was one of their earlier creations.
That breakthrough allowed countless cultivators to consume spiritual grains on a regular basis, greatly advancing the cultivation world's overall development.
"Really? Thank you, Senior Brother!"
The disciple lit up, but quickly hesitated again. "To be honest, my rice is still a prototype," he confessed. Then he gave Gu Mo a brief overview of the plant's current development stage.
"No problem. Once you complete it, you can give it to me then. I'll fund you with some Solar energy in the meantime."
After hearing the young man's explanation, Gu Mo's eyes brightened. He immediately decided to invest—because if this strain of rice could be completed, it would be no less revolutionary than the Spirit Jade Rice.
That said, completing this rice would be extraordinarily difficult. The disciple's concept was ambitious—clearly modeled after the Spirit Jade Rice itself—and Gu Mo suspected the young man might devote his entire life to it.
But if he succeeded, he'd become a household name in the cultivation world.
Of course, there was also a real chance he'd accomplish nothing, even after a lifetime of effort. Cultivating a brand-new spiritual plant was a high-stakes gamble for any spiritual botanist.
That's why most of them sought investors—to reduce risk and increase their chances of success.
If a cultivator believed in a botanist's concept and saw commercial potential in the new plant, they might invest early. If it paid off, their return on investment could be tenfold—or even a hundredfold.
"Thank you, Senior Brother! I'll do everything I can to complete the rice strain!" the disciple said, flushed with excitement at Gu Mo's investment.
Meanwhile, Elder Hou Chunyu and several other elders appeared at the edge of the exhibition area.
"Let's begin the evaluations," Hou Chunyu said, holding a name list as she approached the nearest booth.
The disciple at the booth visibly tensed at the sight of the elder.
"Introduce your plant," Hou Chunyu said gently, easing the disciple's nerves slightly.
"Greetings, Elders. The plant I'm presenting is a strain of Redgrass," the disciple said, pointing at a small black plant on display.
Redgrass was a fire-aligned plant, usually crimson. The fact that this one was black was what had prompted the disciple to collect and exhibit it.
"It's been corrupted by demonic energy. Where did you find this Redgrass?" Hou Chunyu said after a single glance.
"What?!" The disciple was dumbfounded, but still answered honestly with the location where he had found it.
"Send someone to investigate. There may be demonic spies in that area," Hou Chunyu said, activating a communication talisman and sending the coordinates.
"If demonic spies are confirmed, you'll earn merit for this report," she added.
The disciple's eyes lit up. Reporting demonic activity was a major contribution—and the reward would be significant.
But before he could celebrate, Hou Chunyu casually gave his exhibit a failing grade, snapping him out of it. The corrupted Redgrass, while a potential clue, had no cultivation value—it was too ordinary to be considered a viable entry.
"You can give this one a Low Grade," Hou Chunyu said, moving to the next booth.
There, she saw a spiritual herb that had clearly advanced from Tier-1 Low Grade to Tier-1 Mid Grade. Breaking through a tier was never easy, and outside the Valley, this would earn someone the title of "master."
But here in Shennong Valley? That kind of improvement was barely passing.
"Low Grade," she said again, moving on.
There were many participants in the exhibition, but the elders moved quickly. As Nascent Soul cultivators, their spiritual sense allowed them to assess most displays with a glance.
Only a few booths caused them to pause—and when they did, every cultivator nearby turned to look.
Those who had already been evaluated even gathered the courage to follow the elders around, curious to learn from others' work. The elders allowed it. Watching their peers' work was a form of motivation.
It didn't take long for the first outstanding exhibit to be identified.
"The elders are at the Swordheart Bamboo booth!" Gu Mo spotted the elders gathering around it and hurried over to listen in.
He'd been especially interested in this plant. His sword cultivator clone practiced the Grand Yan Sword Canon, which required numerous flying swords for formations—an expensive undertaking. If Swordheart Bamboo could be used to craft those swords, it would save him a fortune.
What's more, formation swords worked best when their materials and design were consistent. He'd planned to buy some Swordheart Bamboo from Senior Sister Ding Shiyan after the exhibition.
Still, the Swordheart Bamboo felt not quite perfect to Gu Mo. Due to the barrier array around the booth, he couldn't inspect it in detail—so he was eager to hear the elders' thoughts.
"My evaluation for this Swordheart Bamboo… is Mid Grade," Hou Chunyu declared, leaving the crowd stunned.
To most disciples, the Swordheart Bamboo was a treasure—it naturally contained sword intent, making it perfect for crafting flying swords. With such value, they had expected a High Grade evaluation.
"You should already know what your Swordheart Bamboo is lacking," Hou Chunyu said, glancing at Ding Shiyan.
She was a rarity in Shennong Valley: a sword cultivator and a plant cultivator. She cultivated the Azure Lotus Sword Canon—which explained how she'd managed to grow a plant imbued with sword intent.
"I ask for your guidance, Elder," Ding Shiyan said, bowing respectfully.
She was aware of the flaw, but hadn't yet resolved it—though just now, she'd found a potential solution. Even so, hearing the elder's insight might offer a new perspective.
"Using your own sword intent to nourish the plant is a clever idea," Hou Chunyu said. "But swords are weapons of killing. Sword intent is inherently destructive. While it did imbue the bamboo with sword presence, it also damaged its foundation."
he then glanced toward Gu Mo with a smile. "As for solving this issue, I doubt I need to say anything—you've already figured it out."
The Solar energy from Gu Mo's Sunlit Glazed Flower was the ideal fix for the Swordheart Bamboo's flaw.
"Thank you for your guidance," Ding Shiyan said again, grateful for the confirmation of her guess.
"It was referring to my Sunlit Glazed Flower…"
Gu Mo quickly understood the elder's hint. To think his flower could perfectly resolve the bamboo's problem—what a coincidence.
He now planned to exchange Solar energy for Swordheart Bamboo. The only concern was whether his supply could keep up with demand.
He might need to research how to downgrade Sun Essence into Solar energy—or just trade the Sun Essence directly, depending on how much trust he built with the other party.
The elders resumed their evaluations, picking up the pace. While there were brief pauses, most were fleeting. An exhibition that featured something like the Swordheart Bamboo was already considered a rare success.
After all, cultivating spiritual plants could take years or even decades. Only when multiple geniuses happened to make breakthroughs in the same year would an exhibition like this present multiple standout entries.
And as luck would have it, this was one such year.
Aside from the Swordheart Bamboo, the exhibition also featured the Roaring Ancient Tree and the Sunlit Glazed Flower—each of them enough to wow a crowd.
"You scheming old fox, Hou Chunyu! You tricked me!" Elder Gu snarled internally as he noticed the Sunlit Glazed Flower at Gu Mo's booth. Recalling the bet he'd made with Hou Chunyu, he ground his teeth in frustration.
But even so, the Roaring Ancient Tree his disciple had cultivated might not necessarily lose to the Sunlit Glazed Flower. After all, spiritual plants were graded across multiple dimensions.
Meanwhile, Elder Liu Shulan was confused. "Wasn't he supposed to be exhibiting Torch Tree Stumps?"
"The conceptual direction of this rice strain is promising," Hou Chunyu commented at Gu Mo's neighboring booth, giving the Foundation Establishment disciple a Mid Grade evaluation.
The announcement caused a stir. Even the Swordheart Bamboo had only earned a Mid Grade. How could a half-finished rice strain match that?
"Value isn't just about rarity or grade," Elder Gu's voice rang out. "It's also about scalability."
The Swordheart Bamboo was rarer and higher grade, but couldn't be mass-produced—and was only useful to sword cultivators.
The rice strain, if completed and deployed widely, could transform the cultivation world—especially for body cultivators.
This new strain was designed to enhance physical constitution. If it worked and saw widespread adoption, it would allow many more people to pursue cultivation—particularly those with poor innate talent.
Such a breakthrough might even lead to the creation of an entire sect focused solely on body cultivation.
Of course, it was only a prototype now, and its success would be immensely difficult to achieve. Otherwise, there wouldn't still be just one type of Spirit Jade Rice in existence.
Even so, the elders awarded it a Mid Grade—recognizing its potential and encouraging the young disciple. That rating alone would earn him a generous supply of sect resources, allowing him to continue his research.
If he made further progress in the future, he could return to the exhibition and earn even more rewards—until he either succeeded, or gave up.
With that rice strain evaluated, only two booths remained.
The elders had saved them for last on purpose. After all, they were tied to a personal wager between two elders—and both were widely regarded as the highlights of the exhibition.
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