A breakthrough in Foundation Establishment immediately made Yang Hong feel the world was vastly different.
The world in his eyes was much more vibrant than before, not just in the vividness of colors, but in the way all things felt more alive and distinct.
For instance, when looking at a green leaf, he could previously only differentiate between new and old leaves.
Now, he could not only distinguish new and old leaves by their color but also sense the leaf's lifespan by its faint aroma, and even estimate its approximate time of falling.
Simultaneously, he could instantly identify common plant diseases and pests.
This Foundation Establishment had apparently granted his eyes some form of enhancement or evolution.
Furthermore, he had activated his divine sense.
"It's truly magical. This divine sense is like a microscope, magnifying things many times, even countless times.
Now that I've just entered the Foundation Establishment realm, my divine sense can only extend one zhang (approximately 3.3 meters), magnifying objects tenfold. It allows for intricate observation deep within matter, which is far superior to a microscope."
Looking at a leaf in his hand, under his divine sense, he could see details like leaf veins, cell walls, and chlorophyll, akin to what he had observed in biology experiments at school in his past life.
Though the magnification was only tenfold, combined with the effect of deep observation, it was truly astonishing.
Putting down the leaf, Yang Hong checked his attributes.
[Yang Hong: Sixth Prince of the Great Sui Dynasty.
Daily灌顶 (Guanding) Uses: 5/6
Lifespan: 21/300
Cultivation: 1000 years of True Qi (Foundation Establishment Realm, 190,000 jin of Strength, 1 zhang Divine Sense)
Cultivation Techniques: Intermediate Breath Control Technique Level 51, Beginner Body Tempering Technique Level 55
Martial Skills: Fierce Ox Fist Level 100... etc.
Special Abilities: Eidetic Memory, Proficient in Farming.]
His cultivation had reached a thousand years. His physical strength progression had slowed considerably, reaching only 190,000 jin. A new annotation for divine sense had also appeared.
His lifespan limit had also increased to 300 years. If he didn't meet an accidental death, Yang Hong had another 279 years to live!
"This must be the most alluring aspect of cultivation," Yang Hong exclaimed, his face flushing with excitement as he looked at the lifespan.
He then briefly scanned his other attributes.
During this period, to quickly achieve Foundation Establishment, he had barely increased his cultivation in the Beginner Body Tempering Technique. In over two months, it had only advanced by one level.
The martial skills he had secretly learned prior also showed no progress, remaining at level 1.
Next, he could resume his rapid cultivation.
He glanced at the medicinal garden. All the seeds had matured, but Yang Hong wasn't in a hurry to harvest them. He left them in the ground to dry slowly, accumulating more vital essence, intending to harvest them only when the first winter snow arrived.
Leaving the medicinal garden, Yang Hong first went to the nearby rice paddy.
This year's summer rice was also nearing maturity, and he wanted to accelerate its ripening to prepare some for seed preservation.
He had heard from Yang Zhong that the imperial farm's spring rice crop had been a great success this year.
Not only had it been harvested 20 days earlier than usual, but the yield had reached 700 jin per mu (a unit of land area).
In an era where the average yield was only two to three hundred jin per mu, a yield of 700 jin per mu was an enormous advancement.
To provide greater benefits to the people, after harvesting this batch of rice, all of it would be used for seeds and replanted.
It was rumored that several imperial farms near Daxing, with 180,000 mu of land suitable for planting rice, had reaped another bountiful harvest.
These 180,000 mu of rice fields alone would yield at least 100 million jin of grain.
Of course, this rice would not be sold as food but as superior seeds, to be sold at low prices nationwide next year.
In addition to rice, other vegetables, after two seasons of cultivation, had also yielded large harvests and were scheduled for large-scale seed sales starting this autumn.
In early August, a chain of "Yadu Superior Seed Stores" would open simultaneously across the country, awaiting the delivery of seeds from the imperial farms.
During this period, Yang Zhong had visited Yang Hong's small courtyard with a smile on his face.
The frustration he had felt from not getting to eat dog meat, which had hindered his cultivation recovery, had completely dissipated.
After all, when Yang Zhong learned that everyone in the "Zhi Ruo Wang Wen Pavilion," including the palace maids, were all innate grandmasters, his jaw had nearly dropped.
Upon discovering it was the big black dog's doing, he had been so angry he wanted to throttle Yang Hong.
In his words, this unfilial grandson had not shared such a valuable resource with him.
For this reason, he had glared at Yang Hong with hostility for two consecutive months.
Furthermore, the old man had killed all the black dogs he could find in the entire palace and stewed them into a dog meat hot pot.
This led Yang Hong to suspect that Yang Zhong's fierce glare for those two months was simply a result of excessive consumption of dog meat hot pot, leading to internal heat.
This also forced Yang Hong to postpone his plan to mutate another black dog.
Otherwise, his Profound Sun Ginseng would be impossible to cultivate, and even all his herbs would struggle to grow.
"Ding~ You infused 60 days of True Qi into ordinary rice, receiving a tenfold return, returning 600 days of True Qi cultivation."
"Ding~ Ordinary rice has accumulated enough energy and is beginning to evolve."
"Ding~ Ordinary rice has triggered two evolution branches. Please choose:
One: Spirit Rice Tree. The Spirit Rice Tree is tall, with higher yields, but further advancement is very difficult.
Two: Spirit Pearl Rice. Spirit Pearl Rice grains are larger, with slightly lower yields but a higher chance of advancement."
Seeing these two options, Yang Hong was first surprised, then conflicted.
He had initially designated a small patch of rice paddy, intending to cultivate some ordinary rice of grade 8 or 9. He hadn't expected it to evolve into spirit rice, and with two evolutionary paths.
Spirit Rice Tree, as the name suggested, was a tree that produced spirit rice, a completely new variety.
The description also mentioned high yields. Given the system's indication of high yield, it would surely be exceptionally high.
This was very tempting to Yang Hong.
However, the drawback was the difficulty of further advancement.
Spirit Pearl Rice also appeared to be a new species; at least it wasn't ordinary rice.
Spirit Pearl Rice could advance more easily, which was what Yang Hong found most appealing.
After careful consideration, Yang Hong chose...
"Ding~ Ordinary rice has successfully evolved into a Grade 1 lower-tier Spirit Plant: Spirit Rice Tree."
Considering his need to cultivate some special spirit plants and the daily limit on 灌顶 uses, Yang Hong decided to temporarily forgo cultivating Spirit Pearl Rice.
Once successfully cultivated, the Spirit Rice Tree should be able to produce many harvests, saving him a significant number of 灌顶 uses.
It would also prevent him from cultivating too many special plants, which might attract unwanted attention.
A gentle green light flashed, and the rice plants, initially less than two feet tall, suddenly began to grow rapidly. Within mere breaths, they reached over a zhang tall, about 4 meters, and as thick as a large bowl.
"Phew~ Fortunately, this Spirit Rice Tree resembles bamboo and retains its original rice form, otherwise, I would have no explanation."
Looking at the Spirit Rice Tree, which resembled bamboo more than a tree, Yang Hong breathed a sigh of relief.
He then looked at the spirit rice on the tree. The spirit rice still grew in panicles like ordinary rice. The size of the panicles was only slightly larger than that of ordinary rice, and the grains were also just a little bigger.
This Spirit Rice Tree bore 7 panicles. Based on this, it represented at least a sevenfold increase in yield.
If one considered the size of the Spirit Rice Tree and the land it occupied, the increase might only be 2-3 times.
However, when factoring in that trees are perennial plants, the increase was even greater.
Indeed, the yield was higher.
But then...
"Damn it~ How many other rice plants will be squeezed to death by the rapid growth of this Spirit Rice Tree?
I've infused this patch at least twice, cultivating at least Grade 6 ordinary rice. I can't let it go to waste."
Yang Hong quickly noticed the several rice plants nearby. The 7 rice plants closest to the Spirit Rice Tree had completely withered, their vitality clearly absorbed by the Spirit Rice Tree.
Yang Hong reached out and touched the panicles and grains. Sure enough, they had all shriveled, and the seeds were ruined.
"It's a bit of a pity.
However, with this experience, I'll have more knowledge for future 灌顶 uses and won't make such a mistake again."