Tao Cultivation encompasses a hundred trades.
In the vast Nine State, with its varied regional customs, Cultivators rely on the mountains and waters, adapting to local conditions to make a living through these trades.
As Spirit Farmers who till and plant Spirit Rice crops, they indeed belong to one of the hundred trades of Tao Cultivation.
Tongxian City, being mountainous and lacking arable land, sources its Spirit Paddy and Spirit Rice from an Immortal City to the west that lives off cultivating Spirit Fields.
This was the first time Mo Hua had ever seen Spirit Fields as extensive as those stretching out before him.
To the south of Thousand Families Town, the Spirit Fields stretched out in blocks, arranged like a grid and encompassing about a hundred acres.
Amid the Spirit Fields were verdant rice seedlings, with misty water vapor enriching the space between them.
The sky was high and distant, with clouds drifting lazily; the rice fields were lush and stretched out far and wide, like an emerald carpet unfurling towards the horizon.
Where the distant blue sky met the Spirit Fields was a range of mountains shrouded in layer upon layer of clouds and mist.
Mo Hua took a deep breath, the air crisp and refreshing. His spirits lifted, his eyes brightened, and he suddenly had an insight.
All beings are born of nature, and the earth nourishes all.
The heavens display the Great Dao, while the earth is an extension of it.
And indeed, traces of Formation could be seen amongst these Spirit Fields.
On the embankments of the Spirit Fields, there were hard soil and stones, upon which Formation Patterns were drawn.
But these weren’t Ultimate Formations; they were simple Cultivating Soil Formations, designed to nurture Spirit Rice and accumulate moisture.
Mo Hua extended his Divine Sense and sensed only ordinary Cultivating Soil Formations. There was no special Formation aura, which was somewhat disappointing.
Thinking it over, he decided to explore deeper into the fields.
Near the Spirit Fields there were paths, and Mo Hua followed one for a while when he suddenly furrowed his brow.
It was just morning time, the sun was bright and pleasant, and there were Spirit Farmers working the land.
Most of these Spirit Farmers were older, their clothes tattered and stained with mud, their skin dark and lean, fingers rough and cracked.
Bent at the waist, they seemed oppressed by something, struggling to breathe.
In the bright morning sun, within the vibrant Spirit Fields,
these stooped, expressionless Spirit Farmers looked terribly out of place.
Mo Hua sighed.
As he walked on, he encountered an elderly man by the side of a Spirit Field.
The elder was probably also a Spirit Farmer, dried up and thin, his face as yellow as wax and carved wood, with a hint of despair upon it.
A little grandson followed beside him, wiping his tears with dirty little hands.
Mo Hua’s heart softened, so he asked,
"Old man, is something the matter?"
The elderly man turned his head woodenly and, upon seeing a young, fair-looking Cultivator with clear eyes, he hesitated repeatedly before finally letting out a deep sigh,
"The field is ruined again..."
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His voice carried a thick bitterness and hardship.
Mo Hua paused, concerned, and asked,
"How can the field be ruined?"
The elder pointed to the embankment and said hoarsely,
"The Formation is broken. Without the Formation, the Spirit Field becomes barren, unable to retain water, causing the crops to wither. There’ll be no harvest this year..."
By the end of his sentence, the elder’s voice was tinged with a slight choke.
Turning his head, Mo Hua saw indeed that a Cultivating Soil Formation on the embankment had failed, its Patterns present but devoid of Spiritual Power flowing through them.
Mo Hua exhaled in relief; he had thought it was something serious...
It was only a simple six-Pattern Cultivating Soil Formation.
"This Formation is simple, I’ll fix it for you," Mo Hua offered.
The elder was stunned, "You... you know Formations?"
The child beside him looked at Mo Hua with eager eyes.
Mo Hua nodded modestly, "I know a little."
"But that Formation is quite difficult..."
"I just happen to have studied it."
Seeing Mo Hua’s young age yet composed demeanor, appearing confident, the elder believed him somewhat, but he was still conflicted,
"What if it’s worse off..."
"But it’s already broken," Mo Hua pointed out.