The Joyful Days of Farming

Han Yuan ultimately decided to play it safe.

He could not go all out the moment he started cultivating. What if he exploded?

He first began increasing his speed gradually according to his previous cultivation pace. When he reached four times his original cultivation speed, he felt his meridians could no longer bear it.

So Han Yuan merely maintained cultivation at four times the speed, without rushing recklessly.

Four times the speed could compress ten months into two and a half months. That was already incredibly short.

"Good thing joy didn't go to my head. If I'd accelerated to the limit right from the start, my meridians would have been squeezed apart!" Han Yuan said with lingering fear.

He cultivated like this for over two hours.

After the spiritual power in his body had increased by around fifty points, he stopped cultivating.

His meridians had reached their carrying limit. Under the slow nourishment of spiritual power, they gradually recovered and became even tougher.

His Spiritual Sense had also been greatly depleted during cultivation, and it too drew in spiritual power into the Sea of Consciousness to slowly recover.

"Eh, I seem to have overlooked my own growth potential. The carrying limits of my meridians and Spiritual Sense will both increase a little after every cultivation session. In that case, perhaps two months will be enough in the end!"

Han Yuan was in a good mood.

He glanced again at Wangcai in the corner.

Wangcai's aura had clearly risen a notch.

Wangcai was a Fire Spirit Beast and primarily absorbed Fire Spiritual Energy. Since Han Yuan only absorbed Wood Spiritual Energy while cultivating, he had inadvertently filtered out the Wood Spiritual Energy for Wangcai. This increased the proportion of Fire Spiritual Energy in what remained, speeding up Wangcai's cultivation.

As though sensing that Han Yuan had stopped cultivating, Wangcai quickly calmed the fluctuations of his cultivation, opened his eyes, and flew over with his tail wagging.

"Sigh, that temperament of yours isn't suited for cultivation."

"Forget it. Once I leave, you won't get to enjoy doubled spiritual energy either. If you want to stop, then stop."

Wangcai was his contracted Spirit Beast and could likewise enjoy the Random Buff Effect of his Spirit Gathering Array. He had tested that before beginning cultivation.

With that, Wangcai's breakthrough speed would certainly not be slow either.

As Wangcai grew stronger, Han Yuan's flight and violet-flame abilities would improve as well.

Han Yuan walked out of Cangming Tower.

Chang Chun was already waiting outside.

"Estate Master, here is the Pulse Protecting Pill!"

Chang Chun offered up a porcelain bottle.

Han Yuan accepted it, swept it with his Spiritual Sense, and nodded in satisfaction.

Chang Chun looked hesitant.

Han Yuan asked, "If you have something to say, say it directly."

Chang Chun said, "Estate Master, I heard disciples from the Welfare Hall say that pills like the Pulse Protecting Pill are best not wasted in ordinary times. After taking three Pulse Protecting Pills, their effect will be only half of the initial effect. They are generally only used when breaking through a bottleneck."

"Oh, is that so? I understand. I have another use for the Pulse Protecting Pills, so you needn't worry," Han Yuan said casually.

Drug resistance was completely ineffective on him.

Seeming to think of something, Han Yuan suddenly said, "Chang Chun, go investigate which pills or treasures can permanently improve one's various aptitudes. Even if the effect is extremely slight, even if taking a second one is useless, find them all and make me a list."

Upon hearing this, Chang Chun nodded. "I understand, Estate Master. But the things I can usually find are rather ordinary. Some effects are truly negligible!"

"Don't worry about that. Even the slightest effect will do; I have use for them!" Han Yuan paused slightly. "This matter is very important. Try to search as comprehensively as possible. You will not lack task rewards. The more thorough your investigation, the greater your reward will be. Also, remember this: once you go out, do not use my name to get things done. Keep a low profile."

"Yes!"

Chang Chun said excitedly, "This subordinate understands!"

Chang Chun hurriedly left Cangming Cave Mansion again to handle matters for Han Yuan.

Han Yuan was very satisfied with Chang Chun's work ethic. He would not mind giving him more resources later.

"Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures can greatly improve cultivation aptitude, but they are far too rare. Yet treasures with merely one-thousandth or one-ten-thousandth the effect of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures are not uncommon in this world. Although most become ineffective after being taken several times, my Random Buff Effect seems able to ignore the problem of drug resistance. If they can stack... then I can soar into the sky!"

Han Yuan had discovered another way to use his Golden Finger.

He was currently a fake genius, but if his guess proved true, he would sooner or later become a true genius—perhaps even surpassing every Peerless Genius in the world!

"Still, no matter how weak the effects of these treasures are, they can improve aptitude. They must be expensive, and I'm dirt poor right now."

In the end, Han Yuan set his sights on farming.

Aside from those Cultivation Rooms, the greatest asset within Cangming Cave Mansion was the several hundred mu of Spirit Fields.

If all of them were put to use, the annual returns could reach hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones!

That was no small sum.

Han Yuan strode forward and soon arrived at the edge of the Spirit Fields.

Of the original hundred mu of Yellow Millet Rice, only the Thirty-Three Mu Spirit Fields still had Yellow Millet Rice growing in them. Qin Feng was clearing weeds from among the rice plants, working extremely hard.

Qin Feng noticed Han Yuan approaching and hurried over. "Estate Master!"

Han Yuan said with feeling, "Old Qin, you've worked hard during this time!"

"It's nothing. It's what I should do!" Qin Feng replied cheerfully.

Looking at the faintly visible weed seedlings in the fields, Han Yuan could not help feeling an itch in his hands.

"Step aside. Let me try clearing the weeds with a spell," Han Yuan said.

"Oh, all right."

Qin Feng stood outside the Spirit Field and watched Han Yuan's movements curiously.

Han Yuan's expression turned serious as he recalled the casting steps for Qi Sword Slash.

Qi Sword Slash was a Gold Element spell, often used in Spirit Fields to deal with weeds, dead branches, pests, and even loosen the soil. It had plenty of uses.

Han Yuan formed a hand seal, and the Spell Imprint for Qi Sword Slash within his Dantian lit up.

A wisp of Qi Sword appeared between his fingers.

His Qi Sword Slash was merely at the Entry Level, and its power was weak. But for dealing with weeds, it was more than enough.

The wisp of Qi Sword leaped from his fingers and darted through the Spirit Rice. Whenever it swept past a weed, it severed it at the root. In particular, the gold nature within the Qi Sword directly extinguished the weeds' vitality, eliminating any chance for their roots to grow back!

"Slash! Slash! Slash!"

By the time the spell dissipated, the weeds between two rows of Spirit Rice had already been completely cleared!

Qin Feng said enviously, "Estate Master, this spell is much faster than using my sword to clear them!"

Han Yuan glanced at the longsword in Qin Feng's hand, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. Using a sword to weed? Something about that felt wrong.

"I'll handle the Spirit Fields from now on. Go contact Chang Chun and complete a task with him," Han Yuan said.

"Oh, all right!" Qin Feng beamed with joy. Not having to farm was simply wonderful!

He left excitedly, as though he did not want to remain in the Spirit Fields for even a moment longer.

But Han Yuan was just getting interested.

"Just now, after I cast Qi Sword Slash, I vaguely seemed to stir the Gold Spirit Script and Sword Spirit Script in my Sea of Consciousness. My understanding of Qi Sword Slash seems to have deepened noticeably!"

Having just cast Qi Sword Slash once, Han Yuan immediately sensed an obvious change. In the past, even after practicing it ten times, his progress had been minuscule, so slight that he could barely perceive it.

Yet today, after casting it only once, he felt a sense of smooth clarity!

There was no need to say it—it had to be the Spirit Scripts taking effect!

Though this effect had not triggered the Random Buff Multiplier, it was already enough to accelerate his comprehension of spells!

"I'll try it a few more times and find out!"

Han Yuan walked between another row of Spirit Rice and cast Qi Sword Slash again. A Qi Sword appeared at his fingertips, then under the control of his Spiritual Sense, it cut away the weeds in that row.

The gold nature within the Qi Sword effortlessly cut off the weeds' life force, turning even the weed roots buried in the soil into useless dead roots!

If weeds were cleared the way Qin Feng did it, they would grow back amid the dense spiritual energy after a single day. There would be no end to the daily weeding. But with Qi Sword Slash, he could prevent the weeds from regenerating altogether.

As Han Yuan deliberately focused on sensing things during this second attempt, he truly felt his thoughts becoming more lively. Many doubts from his previous practice of Qi Sword Slash were resolved as easily as splitting bamboo!

He even had the strange feeling: how could he have made such an error?

"Could this be what being a genius feels like?"

Han Yuan did not know what true geniuses were like, so he had no basis for comparison. But compared with his former self, the difference was like heaven and earth.

"Qi Sword Slash!"

"Qi Sword Slash!"

"Qi Sword Slash!"

Yellow Grade Low-Rank Spells consumed little spiritual power, and his cultivation technique could restore it on its own. The little spiritual power he consumed would recover in the blink of an eye, so Han Yuan continuously cast Qi Sword Slash without stopping.

After he had cleared all the weeds from the Thirty-Three Mu Spirit Fields once, Qi Sword Slash had become exceptionally proficient, charging straight into the Minor Accomplishment Realm.

Han Yuan pointed with one finger, and three Qi Swords shot from his fingertips. They wound and twisted through the Spirit Rice like spiritual serpents, occasionally even turning back to gaze at the moon, vivid and lifelike. They were far more nimble than their earlier stiff, straightforward movements!

"This feels amazing! It's already at the Minor Accomplishment Realm?"

Han Yuan could not help sighing. Spirit Rain Technique had remained at the Entry Level after a year, yet Qi Sword Slash had reached Minor Accomplishment in a single day!