"Ripening? All of a sudden?"
"Well, not exactly all of a sudden. Originally, the ripening cycle for these spirit medicines was half a year. They were still at least a month away from maturity. But yesterday, these medicines suddenly ripened all at once. And their spiritual energy is incredibly rich—their quality is actually a grade higher than the medicines that ripened normally!"
That was indeed strange!
Cultivating spirit medicine was far more demanding than growing ordinary crops. An overnight ripening miracle was simply impossible.
Yet, this inexplicable thing had actually happened.
"Take me to see it." Jiang Chen hadn't seen the site yet, so he couldn't jump to any conclusions.
Jiang Yu spoke the whole truth. When Jiang Chen laid eyes on the batch of spirit medicines, they were indeed fully mature, emanating a dense spiritual aura. Their quality was visibly superior to the previous mature medicines, just as his son had said.
Jiang Chen's brow furrowed again. This was something he simply couldn't fathom.
Even with the vast knowledge of spirit medicines from his previous life, he was momentarily at a loss for an explanation.
Only two or three li away, in another plot of the same spirit ground, an identical batch of the same medicines was still in its green, unripe stage. It would need at least another two months to mature.
Yet these two plots held the exact same variety, planted at the same time. Even the cultivation methods and procedures were completely identical.
"Collect a few samples of the spirit soil for me. I'll run some tests." Jiang Chen was a grandmaster of spirit medicine, and his first thought was that something must have changed in the soil.
However, after collecting soil samples from various spots and testing them, he found no significant difference. They were virtually identical in composition.
"Could it be that someone maliciously applied spirit fertilizer to this specific area?" This thought crossed Jiang Chen's mind, but he immediately dismissed the possibility.
Spirit medicine cultivation followed its own strict laws. Spirit fertilizer could help plants grow better and shorten their growth cycle, but it couldn't make them ripen overnight.
To force overnight ripening, the amount of spirit fertilizer required would be ten, even a hundred times the value of the medicine itself.
No one would waste their time and resources on such a pointless task.
"Or perhaps a powerful warrior passed by, carrying a potent spirit artifact that leaked energy, unintentionally benefiting this patch of earth?"
This possibility was also extremely remote.
Setting aside whether such a powerhouse could even appear in this secular kingdom, even if one had passed through, the powerful spiritual energy would leave obvious traces. It was implausible that only this small area benefited while the surrounding land showed zero change.
"Could it be some reclusive expert playing a prank?" Jiang Chen even entertained this far-fetched notion.
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves. Jiang Chen shook his head slightly, scattering the jumble of guesses from his mind.
"Xiao Yu, you did the right thing. For now, seal off all information about this. Since the medicines are ripe, harvest them. Continue planting and observe what happens next. I will stay here for a few days and watch quietly."
Jiang Chen gave his orders.
Jiang Yu nodded. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Should we summon the Marquis back..."
Jiang Chen waved his hand. "No need. The situation in the Royal Capital is in constant flux; a single hair can trigger a massive response. He absolutely cannot leave now."
Even if he summoned Jiang Feng back, he would be equally baffled. In the Eastern Kingdom, when it came to spirit medicine matters, if Jiang Chen himself couldn't figure out the cause, bringing anyone else would be useless.
Following Jiang Chen's instructions, Jiang Yu had the medicine servants harvest the ripe crops. Planting began that afternoon.
"Remember, you all: what happened in this spirit medicine plot must never be leaked to outsiders. Otherwise, the family rules will show no mercy!" Jiang Yu warned sternly.
Fortunately, the medicine gardens were isolated from one another, each operating independently. What occurred in this one wouldn't easily spread.
Moreover, Jiang Yu had acted swiftly to contain the news, so the matter hadn't propagated.
A night passed. Early the next morning, Jiang Chen arrived at the garden plot. What he saw made him pause: the seeds planted just yesterday had already sprouted into seedlings, and they were already two or three inches tall.
This... this growth rate was simply insane!
"Brother, this..." Jiang Yu stared, stunned by the sight. The medicine servants were equally dumbfounded. Having worked with spirit medicines for so long, they knew their growth cycles intimately.
This scene was utterly inconceivable.
"Jiang Yu, seal this off completely. No one is to approach this garden plot."
Jiang Chen was now thoroughly perplexed. On the surface, such miraculous growth, drastically shortening the cultivation cycle, seemed like an unequivocal blessing.
Yet, a foreboding sense of unease pricked at Jiang Chen's back.
He knew, from both his past and present life, having witnessed countless truths across the myriad realms, that things which seemed like free gifts from the heavens often concealed hidden traps, lurking dangers!
This unexplained matter left Jiang Chen feeling slightly vexed.
"Brother, this isn't a bad thing; there's no need to fret. The weather is fair and gentle today. Why don't we brothers climb Purple Cloud Peak for some diversion, take in the sights of the Zijing District? What do you say?"
Purple Cloud Peak was not far from the garden, a mere ten li in a straight line. Climbing high and gazing afar could open one's heart and broaden one's spirit.
Jiang Chen led his personal guards, accompanied by Jiang Yu, and ascended Purple Cloud Peak. Looking out from the summit, their vision stretched to the very edges of the Zijing District's territory.