[Worm-like Aphid (Juvenile): Tier One Demon Insect, Level: 1, Skills: Acidic Saliva Spray, Soul-Devouring Essence.]
Staring at the juvenile demon insects attached to the Spirit Rice stalks, Li Mu frowned deeply.
In about fifteen days or so, the Spirit Rice would reach maturity and be ready for harvest, but now he found Worm-like Aphid larvae. If they weren't removed quickly, months of hard work would be in vain.
However, how to completely eradicate the pest was a difficult problem.
Li Mu quickly ran into a wooden hut by the field, rummaged through boxes, and found a book titled "Hundred Methods of Spirit Plant Pest Control," which he quickly began to read.
"Mengya Insect, Green Horsefly, ... Aha, Worm-like Aphid!" Li Mu flipped through a few pages and quickly found the solution to dealing with Worm-like Aphids.
Worm-like Aphids are pests that hide in the day and come out at night. Eggs buried underground hatch when spirit plants are about to mature, accelerating their growth by consuming the marrow of the plants. If quick, they can pass through the fragile juvenile stage in seven days.
The juvenile stage of Worm-like Aphids can be poisoned using Poisonous Insect Liquid or exterminated with the Illusionary Flame Array.
Worm-like Aphids in the mature stage are quite troublesome and can only be dealt with using single-target techniques like Golden Essence Finger, Blazing Flame Bomb, Frost Finger, Sword Qi Threads, etc., to kill them one by one.
If Worm-like Aphids enter the mature stage and complete their pupation, they become even more challenging to deal with. A group of pupated Worm-like Aphids requires Foundation Establishment Cultivation to kill. "Hundred Methods of Spirit Plant Pest Control" does not record methods to exterminate mature Worm-like Aphids.
Nonetheless, this was unrelated to Li Mu as he was only at the Qi Refining Second Layer, with no idea when he would reach Foundation Establishment.
Thinking about how he couldn't even handle a juvenile insect, Li Mu felt a bit disheartened: "Growing crops is this troublesome, life is too hard, sigh!"
Li Mu focused his mind, concentrating his attention on a virtual light spot within his field of vision. In the next second, a character attribute interface resembling a game's interface expanded and became clear. Beside the character attributes was an item bar with 64 storage compartments, seven or eight of which were already used, holding random items like the Profound Iron Sword, Water Bag, and Porcelain Bottle.
[Character: Li Mu]
[Gender: Male]
[Lifespan: 17/85]
[Spirit Root: Five Elements Mixed Spirit Roots]
[Innate Divine Techniques: Recognize Ten Thousand Spirits, Plant Spirit Absorption]
[Cultivation: Qi Refining Second Layer: 108/1000]
[Cultivation Technique: Cyan Wood Technique (Yellow-level Lower Grade) Level Three: 125/3000, Eighteen Swordsmanship Decisions (Yellow-level Middle Grade) Level Two: 402/1000.]
[Skills: Clear Wind Rain Summoning Skill (Level Two): 287/1000, Dust Cleaning Technique (Level Two): 541/1000, Sword Control Technique (Entry Level): 38/100; Talisman Making Technique (Entry Level): 37/100.]
This was Li Mu's personal attribute after inheriting from the original owner.
The original owner's condition was really poor.
Li Mu wasn't from this world, but from Blue Star. Due to frequent overtime, staying up late, and dying suddenly from overwork, his soul transmigrated to this terrifying Cultivation World.
Li Mu quickly embraced this identity, replacing Zhao Huai Ren, whose cause of death was unknown.
After all, in his original world, Li Mu was just a suffering middle-aged youth bearing a monthly mortgage of twenty thousand, repeatedly enduring the 996 work schedule, diligently and fearing layoffs. Now, he had transmigrated as a Servant Disciple of a Cultivation Sect, equipped with a golden finger resembling a game panel, beginning a brand new life — an unexpected delight.
However, the original Zhao Huai Ren's death was somewhat suspicious, and after taking his place, Li Mu felt a vague sense of unease.
Currently, the most pressing issue was resolving the pest problem; otherwise, if something went wrong with the Spirit Field and he couldn't pay the rent, he would certainly face punishment from the sect and might even be expelled from the Qing Xuan Sect.
Li Mu placed the book back in the wooden cabinet, then locked the courtyard door and headed to the nearest marketplace in Qing'an Town to buy pest control supplies.
The Qing Xuan Sect is a renowned major sect, controlling thousands of Spirit Mountains, with hundreds of True Disciples, thousands of Inner Sect Disciples ranging in the tens of thousands, tens of thousands of Outer Disciples and serves millions, as well as millions of Servant Disciples — a definite pyramid structure.
And he, was just a Servant Disciple at the very bottom of this pyramid, renting the sect's Spirit Field, planting Spirit Rice, and being exploited by the sect. No! It should be said that he was contributing a bit of strength to strengthen the sect.
From the Spirit Field to Qing'an Town, it was about three or four miles. Li Mu sprinted all the way, reaching Qing'an Town without pausing for even a quarter of an hour.
However, the journey was dusty, quite embarrassing, unlike those Servant Disciples at the Qi Refining Sixth or Seventh Layer who had learned Sword Control Technique and could fly short distances, fast and graceful, making Li Mu truly envious.
"Enter the town, one Broken Spirit." Li Mu was about to enter the town when he was stopped by a guard collecting entrance fees.
Reluctantly, Li Mu took out a Spirit Stone the size of a fingernail from his pocket. Ten Broken Spirits equaled one Low-grade Spirit Stone, and one Low-grade Spirit Stone could buy ten pounds of Spirit Rice. This entrance fee alone was enough to cover his meals for a few days; it was really too outrageous.
"Go on in! If you're not staying overnight, you're not allowed to stay in town." The guard snatched the Broken Spirit and sternly reminded Li Mu.
"Understood." Li Mu nodded and walked into Qing'an Town.
The smooth bluestone road, the street-side shops were somewhat rundown but open for business.
Qing'an Town, controlled by the Qing Xuan Sect, besides Servant Disciples and Outer Disciples, also had families affiliated with the sect operating here. Shops lined both sides of the street — Spirit Rice Stores, Spirit Beast Stores, Spiritual Artifact Stores, Miscellaneous Stores, Inns, ... various shops of all kinds, though small in scale, were very comprehensive in variety.
Li Mu had only three Low-grade Spirit Stones and a few Broken Spirits on him. Besides buying Poisonous Insect Liquid, he couldn't afford anything else, so he headed straight to the Spirit Plant Shop.
"Boss, do you sell Poisonous Insect Liquid that can poison Worm-like Aphids?" Li Mu directly asked the shop owner as he walked into the Spirit Plant Shop.
"Yes, yes, five Broken Spirits per bottle. How many bottles do you need?" The store owner quickly responded.
"How much Spirit Field can a bottle of Poisonous Insect Liquid treat?" Li Luo asked.
"Diluted a hundredfold with Spirit Water, it's enough for three acres of pest extermination." The shop owner replied.
"Can I buy half a bottle?" Li Mu asked in a negotiated tone since he only rented one acre of Spirit Field, not needing a whole bottle.
...
The shop owner, speechless, gave Li Mu a disdainful look and refused outright: "No sales for half a bottle, only by the whole bottle."
"Then I'll take a bottle!" Li Mu decided helplessly, then asked, "Do you have any Spirit Seeds for sale? Let me take a look."
"Those are over there, check them yourself." The shop owner gestured toward a wooden rack displaying Spirit Seeds in front of the counter, a board with several dozen small compartments, each containing a type of spirit plant seed.
Li Mu glanced over, activating his innate divine technique - Spiritual Awareness of All Things, allowing information on the Spirit Seeds to immediately unfold before his eyes: Tier One 'Sunflower', Tier One 'Ice Spirit Grass', Tier One 'Colorful Spirit Flower', Tier One 'Black Blood Vine', Tier One 'Blood Reishi' ...
Dozens of Spirit Plant Seeds, almost all Tier One Spirit Plants at a glance.
However, Li Mu could understand; a small town like this wouldn't have anything good. High-tier Spirit Plant Seeds needed to be purchased in the Spirit Plant Store at the County City.
"Hey! Boss, all these seeds are dried up!" Li Mu spotted a significant goods collection, pointing to compartments at the end filled with several dozen different withered seeds.
The shop owner gave Li Mu an annoyed glance: "I have eyes; no need for a reminder from you."
"Boss, these withered seeds can't be used; why not sell them to me at a discount?" Li Mu suggested with a sly grin.
The store owner became instantly alert.