Food System in Cultivation World

By the water mirror, the Ugly Monkey's eyes were fixed on the center of the canal.

It saw, upon the shimmering water surface, clusters growing row by row, like tiny objects of emerald jade.

At first glance, these objects did not resemble plants but rather seemed like intricately crafted curiosities.

As the Ugly Monkey stared at them, these objects, right before its eyes, rapidly grew taller at a speed visible to the naked eye!

The Ugly Monkey was startled, as if it were an ignorant common monkey, suddenly tilting its head back.

With this backward glance and a blink of an eye, when the Ugly Monkey returned its gaze to the small objects in the middle of the canal, it suddenly noticed that they had miraculously grown to about a foot tall.

And by this point, the Ugly Monkey finally saw what these things were.

It observed the straight stems, with slightly curved tops.

On the verdant tops hung clusters of fruit resembling grains, heavy enough to bend the nearby green leaves slightly, swaying with the breeze and rippling water.

Thus, these small green things also rose and fell with the water, appearing as an endless green wave.

The Ugly Monkey, gazing at this pleasing spectacle, blinked in a daze for a moment before finally reacting, exclaiming, "What, what are these? How can they grow directly in the water!"

In truth, many plants grow directly in water in this world.

Originally, the Ugly Monkey shouldn't have been so surprised.

But conventionally speaking, most aquatic plants either root underwater or spread like flattened duckweed on the water's surface.

Yet these in the center of the canal now—

Generally appearing suspended, growing vertically on the water, were something the Ugly Monkey had never heard of or seen.

Yet the vast world is full of wonders.

It's just that these small things in the canal grew a bit strangely, which the Ugly Monkey, not being a simple monkey, could accept.

Thus, what truly amazed the Ugly Monkey was firstly the astonishing growth rate of these small objects, and secondly, how it sensed through the water mirror the abundant energy they contained.

Of course, this abundance is relative to ordinary people.

Still, even in its current state, facing the difficult situation in the Northern Border, it was perfectly adequate.

In this world full of cracks, spiritual objects cultivated aren't the only things of value.

Amongst the billions of beings in the mortal world, do not these aquatic rice waves in the canal now surpass hundreds of spiritual cultivation objects in worth?

The Ugly Monkey stared with bulging eyes, mouth agape.

For some reason, its eyes, usually fierce and impatient, were at this moment filled with a strange, bittersweet sensation.

It blinked, deliberately huffing, saying to Mr. Zhou,

"Sir, look at these strange things in the canal... who knows where they came from? They look so odd, utterly annoying!"

Mr. Zhou smiled faintly and tapped the Ugly Monkey lightly on the head again.

This time, however, the tap didn't hurt.

The Ugly Monkey still instinctively covered its head, glaring angrily at Mr. Zhou.

Mr. Zhou sighed, "In this world, paragons rise like great waves, better than their predecessors. The young are to be feared, while I am already growing old."

The Ugly Monkey protested with glaring eyes, "Sir, what are you saying? How are you old? You just refuse to go out..."

Before it could finish speaking, cries of joy echoed again by the water mirror.

What was it?

It was the confirmation, after continuous hours of waiting, that the river hadn't dried up, meaning the canal opening, diverting water from south to north, had preliminarily succeeded!

This water came from the Southern Border, flowing north along the canal.

On its way, it passed through over a dozen southern provinces and crossed the Jingheng Dao at the north-south junction, meandering through Yunshuo Dao and Longchuan Dao.

Eventually, the canal reached Jingji Dao.

It shot like an arrow, piercing the vast lands of Jingji Dao, finally connecting with the Silver River Crossing of Tiandu Guard City and Yunxiao City.

That Silver River Crossing, where once a Divine Turtle roamed, bringing forth the "Great Li's Splendor Record."

In fact, just the previous day, on the first of July, the Divine Turtle bearing the "Great Li's Splendor Record" once again swam past Silver River Crossing.

However, on the first of July, the rankings on the "Great Li's Splendor Record" hadn't changed much from the first of June.

Only after the sixtieth position on the Profound List did a few paragons shift places slightly.

People often only remember the top ranks; changes in positions beyond the sixtieth don't usually stir much attention.

Thus, the Divine Turtle's roaming was both traceless and untraceable.

The first of July also marked the time for local examinations.

Notably, the county exam in Jingji Dao was also held on the first of July.

This July was destined to be a month of upheaval.

On the third of July, the North-South Grand Canal officially opened.

When the grandiose canal was constructed in Jingji Dao, the military and civil officials everywhere were indeed shaken.

Yet at this moment, the Emperor was unconscious, Wang Zhen dared not act rashly, nor did Liu Shao, leading the cabinet, make a move—

Thus, what should the officials everywhere do?

Naturally, everyone remained still.

In summary, moving might not be correct, but staying still certainly wouldn't be wrong.

With no edict from above, the silent observation below couldn't be considered anything but loyalty to the imperial mandate.

Ultimately, the North-South Grand Canal was miraculously completed.

This day was indeed one for the history books.

Simultaneously, also deserving to be recorded in history were the large floating rice fields that appeared in a section of the canal in Longchuan Dao!

Yes, these were floating rice, and they had been improved by Chen Xu using the Myriad Transformations Talisman.

[This variety of floating rice originated from the Micro Dust Country's rice seeds and underwent multiple transformations with the Myriad Transformations Talisman for enhancement.

They thrive in water, requiring three-inch water fields to mature, needing constant water supply, and can yield up to 500 pounds per acre when mature.

If fully submerged, they absorb elemental force, growing rapidly.

The heavier the elemental force, the faster they grow, with potential yields reaching 800 pounds per acre at maturity.]

The original floating rice from the Micro Dust Country was too small, but after Chen Xu's improvements, though the plants remained short, growing up to only a foot, their yield was substantial!

At that time, the floating rice grew vigorously in the center of the canal sections.

All the people and demons assisting with the canal construction were amazed at this sight.

Among them, a Fox Demon was the liveliest, fixing a wilted flower behind its ear, chirping twice, and turning to Chen Xu with wide, wet eyes, asking, "Hmm, what a peculiar thing, did Mr. Chen bring it?"

It had seen Chen Xu sowing seeds earlier, hence the question.

Chen Xu explained the purpose of the floating rice, and as his words fell, there was suddenly a strange tremor in the world!