ACC Chapter 5 My Farm (1)

Our star, the Sun, was a magnificent spectacle when you were looking straight at in outer space. Of course, that only meant for people like me, a Nascent Soul cultivator. Even a Core Formation couldn't gaze at it for more than a few seconds before going blind as the intensity of its glow was enough to blind them.

Imagine billions of photons impacting your retina per second. Wouldn't that blind you?

There had been many theories as to why only Nascent Souls could gaze directly at the Sun, with some even taking into account the fact that it released the entire energy levels of the Nascent Soul stage per second.

Anyway, such research wasn't in my field, and I didn't pay too much attention to it.

Instead, I focussed upon the thousands of tiny objects that blocked the Sun's rays at particular intervals as they orbited it.

And through all that, I managed to get a glimpse of my farm, with glowing lines separating the metal base into solid metal 2d cubes. I was viewing its underside since its surface was facing the star, absorbing the solar radiation in the form of spiritual energy to grow my maize. This rectangular platform containing my farm and many others were ridiculously expensive to build, requiring the collective effort of the entire Federation. So far, we hadn't reached the level of having super organisations, those capable of owning a farm by themselves.

The reason one of the platforms had even been given to me was the fact that I had provided such immense help in the farming sector to the point that my contributions alone had paid for my ownership of a single platform.

"Even though I have to look at it using the ship's filters, I still believe it to be the most glorious thing I have ever laid eyes upon."

"What if I could pluck it and give it you?" I jested.

"Such sweet words. Mr. Reed, would you use such words when courting a desirable woman?"

"Nah! I can't date a woman. I can't have such a cheesy conversation without first planning it. And you know, conversations don't always go according to plan."

"Then how do you plan to woo a woman?"

"Just let nature take its course. I can come up with some great pickup lines, but that would defeat my purpose of wanting to be surprised or the feeling of unexpectedness."

"There is nothing we humans, especially cultivators like us, do, without first calculating the pros and cons."

"Lily, there is chaos in order, and order in chaos. It basically means that sometimes chaos can breed order through some inexplicable means."

"Chaos won't work for me."

"Don't tell me... You would script even sex?!" I feigned surprise while looking at her with an urge to smile.

"..." For a moment, she became speechless, with a minute blush coloring her cheeks.

"Anyway, I believe this is the first time you are visiting my farm, right?"

I asked even though I already knew that she must have received the damage report from the platform's AI.

"Mr, Reed, are you trying to brag, or is this one of your signature pickup lines?"

I froze. My intentions had been honest, without any significant weight to the words, yet her question almost caused a blush to appear upon my cheeks, which I suppressed before it could form.

Introverts were honest people who sometimes failed to understand the wider implications of their words.

A crisp laugh, one tinged with amusement escaped her lips when my attention was turned back to her, giving me the realisation that it had all been an elaborate prank.

"Don't look at me like that. I was just exacting my timely revenge."

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I scoffed at her words before letting it go as the ship made for the docking point upon which the AI automated arms grasped it before pulling it inwards.

The platform housing the garden was tens of kilometers in length and a few of those in width, giving it a rectangular shape whose surface where the plants were located curved outwards in relation to the Sun.

(It has been exactly 5 years, 3 months and 12 days since you last stepped foot into the farm, Mr. Reed. Its good to see you well.)

A hologram materialised in front of us spotting the appearance of a middle aged man with a slender build, clad in some sort of silvery body suit that glinted in the light, enhancing its realism.

"Kasoli, its good to see you too. How have you been? Have the others been harassing you or something?"

I smiled at Kasoli's appearance while asking him a bunch of questions. AI had advanced to the point that it's empathy could rival that of humans, with a calculation capacity rivalling the Nascent Soul stage!

"What's with the gaudy mishmash of colors? Have you perhaps found a new muse?" I asked while gazing intently at the hangar, where entire surfaces had colors that every human had an emotional revulsion towards. Yes, it was true. There were colors which invoked feelings of distaste and other gloomy emotions when gazed upon.

"I lost in 4D chess."

"I doubt that. Most of your games take years to finish, so how could you have lost this fast?" My interest had been piqued. In their version of the game the platforms didn't simply remain stationary, but moved around, thereby adding to the difficulty.

"We added a new... Gimmick..? Each piece could exhibit quantum effects randomly every few seconds...(sigh)... My King piece became entangled with the Queen piece. I was happy at first, only for the next effect to have them both vanish from the board."

"It looks like the probability effect that is luck didn't favor you this time." I patted Kasoli on the shoulder, trying to comfort him. I couldn't relate, but the gesture was needed.

"...and I presume the color adoption had been imposed because of a bet?"

"Yes."

"So, my farm... Have there been any more developments?"

I really wanted to empathise with Kasoli, but my heart was pounding with excitement at the fact that I was about to get a glimpse at the mutation on my farm!

As we rode the elevated platform towards the surface, I was impatiently counting down the micro seconds elapsing. The platform was fast, but to a Nascent Soul, it was a crawl.

That wasn't helping, so I directed my brain power elsewhere, simulating what kind of mutation could have happened.

First, I considered the interaction between water and wood spiritual energy.

Water and Earth could enhance wood. But water alone could only rejuvenate. I had been occasionally supplying the maize with my refined wood-attuned spiritual energy. Though with five years having elapsed, there still remained some unrefined motes within. If there had been none, then the plants wouldn't have mutated. They would have been destroyed instead.

Of course plants were wood attuned. But being of a wood nature and having pure wood energy within were two different concepts.

Water could exist without the presence of water spiritual energy, yet for water spiritual energy, the opposite wouldn't be true. Left alone, water spiritual energy breaks down into water and pure spiritual energy.

"Once again, your genius has enslaved you within your very mind, Reed."

Those words pulled me out of my pondering. I had forgotten about the two people with me.

"Sorry about that."

"Its okay for me, but miss Lily here shouldn't be treated like this. That's why you are still single."

"Oy! Oy! I choose to be single! Don't slander me."

Even as I shouted at Kasoli, a chuckle from Lily captured my attention. Was she mocking me with her fake amusement?

"Come now. Overreacting means that I am right on the money."

"..." I chose silence over another response, instead directing a glare towards the two. They had clearly teamed up.

Inwardly though, I was embarrassed. Lily had been partially right about the fact that there were very few cultivators who really became dao companions because of love. Benefits were always at the forefront of every relationship.

But I still wouldn't change my goal. I wanted someone who helped me relax and forget worldly problems, not someone I would have to watch out for. That would be very tiring.

"Okay okay, you now have my full attention. As you already know Kasoli, dealing with others is a pain. Only you and...now Lily and maybe...Livia? Are the only people I can act honestly around."

"Don't forget to include the president. Anyway, miss Lily, welcome to this tiny tiny club. Its very difficult to earn his genuine approval."

The hatch above split to the side, allowing the Sun's bright rays of light to fall upon us, birthing within me the feeling of being back on Earth's surface.

I took a deep breath in, absorbing the light-attuned spiritual energy within the rays, causing a reaction within my core that almost made me moan out loud as a euphoric feeling almost induced a chill down my spine, one not of danger, but excitement.

The spiritual energy hadn't just been light-attuned, but mixture of others in trace concentrations. I could even sense each and every trace amount of attunement within.

The basic five elemental structure, coined by a Chinese empire in the past, of wood, water, earth, metal and fire had been an achievement of its time, especially the link between them. But it had already been disproved because of the fact that those five wouldn't even be capable of linking up without other obscure ones in play, like how the Sun's spiritual energy affected wood spiritual energy greater than even water or earth.

Above the hatch, stood my garden, my work, my everything. This piece of land on a platform in space held my greatest piece of work, my maize. Just the anticipation of the future harvest alone brought immense pride and anticipation within me.

"Miss Lily, welcome to my farm! My garden!"

With a smile and excitement gripping me, I said that line with a flourish of my arms in a dramatic pose.