The Automatically Operating Cultivation Method

The next day.

Li Ye groggily opened his eyes and habitually felt beside his pillow, only to touch the Flint Crystal Worms in their box. Startled from being crammed together as they slept, the crystal worms immediately gave off a scorching heat.

"Ah!"

Li Ye jerked his hand back from the burn, and what little drowsiness he had left instantly vanished.

"You little fellows..." Though he had been burned, he first checked whether the Flint Crystal Worms were hurt. Only after seeing that they were unharmed did he let out a breath of relief.

"I wonder what time it is now..."

Unable to tell the time accurately, he could only get up.

When he pushed open the window, the swirling snow outside was even heavier than it had been last night, leaving heaven and earth blanketed in white. Such heavy snow was a sight he had never seen in his previous life.

"The snow wasn't this heavy last night. Still, timely snow promises a bountiful harvest—perhaps this is a good omen?"

He watched the snowy scene for a while before shifting his gaze to the Silver Moon Grass beside the well in the courtyard. One stalk in particular looked exceptionally vigorous, with a plump Flint Crystal Worm hugging its leaves and sleeping soundly.

"Why does it look more comfortable than I am?"

He could not help but laugh, and his heart settled considerably.

This little fellow was the foundation of his livelihood. If anything happened to it, he would be in real trouble.

"Whoosh, whoosh~~~"

With the window open for too long, cold air drifted in along with snowflakes. Li Ye shivered and hurriedly shut it, then went through the small side door to wash up.

The water in the house came from a spring that continued to bubble even in the depths of winter. The Spring Water carried no Spiritual Energy fluctuations and was merely ordinary warm water, yet it was exceptionally sweet.

He circled the spring and studied it for a while, saying curiously, "This Spring Water seems as though it was specially arranged for people to use..."

Did the Cultivation World have running water too?

The original owner's memories did indeed retain some information about this house. After all, this was the Cultivation World, so naturally there were convenient formations and Magic Tools.

For example, the clear Spring Water constantly bubbling before him; the stove fire nearby that could be lit with a press; the Automaton Mice outside that automatically cleared away snow; and even the Automaton Box that could deliver goods to one's door after the desired items were entered.

"Pretty interesting."

After washing up, he walked into the courtyard, picked up an Automaton Mouse from the corner, and lightly pressed its button. The tiny wooden mouse immediately began clearing the snow from the yard.

It moved incredibly fast, darting through snow deep enough to bury itself. The piled snow melted at a visible rate beneath the hot wind it emitted, then flowed through the water channels into a pool nearby.

The courtyard was not entirely farmland. Only a little over one mu at its center was used for planting; the rest was paved with bluestone slabs, with carefully designed hidden channels that ensured water would never collect.

In mere moments, all the snow outside the field had been cleared away, leaving only the farmland still buried beneath a thick blanket of white.

Li Ye's gaze swept over the field and was drawn to the vegetables growing there.

"Uh."

"Napa cabbage."

He had only transmigrated yesterday and had not noticed what was planted in the field. Only now did he realize that it was filled with row after row of Napa cabbages!

Their outer leaves were emerald green tinged with white, crystal-clear like jade. Each stood about a foot tall, lined up neatly throughout the field.

So people in the Cultivation World eat cabbage through the winter too?

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly. He recalled how his family had also stockpiled large amounts of cabbage for winter in his previous life, only stopping once shopping became more convenient.

He had not expected to find so much cabbage growing here.

"Squeak, squeak."

At that moment, the Automaton Mouse, having completed its task, returned to his feet and stayed quietly there, like a wooden toy carving.

"What a truly amazing little thing."

In just this short while, all the convenient objects he had seen had filled him with curiosity. Among cultivators, there were no shortage of people who enjoyed researching and creating, and these Magic Tools were their handiwork.

Li Ye picked up the Automaton Mouse and inspected it, unexpectedly discovering the words "Mo Family Automaton Workshop" on its underside, followed even by the address of its shop in the market district.

"..."

Those familiar words reminded him of the advertisements he had seen on buses and in subway stations in his previous life. Did the Cultivation World have such marketing tactics too?

He could not help muttering to himself, stroked the mouse's smooth body, and casually put it back in the corner.

Afterward, he stepped closer to inspect the Silver Moon Grass and Flint Crystal Worms.

"Huh."

He had been standing too far away by the window earlier, so he had failed to notice that a tiny red bead had suddenly grown at the tip of the Silver Moon Grass, only half the size of a Moon Nectar Pearl.

Rosy and translucent, it resembled a clump of solidified firelight. Even on this frigid snowy day, it gave off fragrant warmth. The mere scent of it made Li Ye's mouth water.

"Wait. If it mutated, does that mean the little fellow mutated too?"

Li Ye's eyes lit up, and he quickly bent down to inspect the Flint Crystal Worm hidden beneath the leaves. Sure enough, he found a wisp of silver sprout on its back, reflecting a cold, hard metallic gleam in the winter snowlight.

The silver sprout had replaced the originally stunted red one and brimmed with vitality.

Recalling the jade slip he had read last night, he fell into thought.

"It releases vitality in winter, buries itself underground in summer to grow grass and draw in vitality, waiting for winter to arrive... This seems rather like cordyceps."

"They wouldn't have made it through this winter to begin with. Have they recovered because of the symbiotic repair? How marvelous."

"Since I've helped you like this, you'd better produce well."

—Whether or not they had heard Li Ye's voice, the Silver Moon Grass and Flint Crystal Worm trembled faintly. A wave of pure spiritual energy rushed toward him, carrying two utterly different sensations: a slight chill and a warm glow.

At the same time, he could vaguely sense faint awareness coming from the spirit beast and spiritual plant. It seemed to be gratitude, along with a message telling him not to pluck them before they had fully matured.

The mood displayed on the panel was gratitude as well.

Li Ye instinctively drew that spiritual energy into his body, and a wave of comfort immediately washed over him. Spiritual energy filtered through them was practically more effective than swallowing pills!

Even more astonishingly, his cultivation art, the Five Elements Spirit Ascension Art, began circulating on its own. Like a waterwheel suddenly struck by a rushing current, it spun at breakneck speed, completing an entire cycle in only a few breaths.

The injuries within his body were warmed by that aura and eased considerably, though there was still no substantial healing effect.

"What is this...?"

He was rather startled. This cultivation art came from the mysterious and powerful Four Seasons Sect. It was a common cultivation method distributed to cultivators with five spirit roots, and had always been known for being utterly unremarkable. Why was this happening?

He tucked the matter away in his mind, intending to ask around discreetly if he ever got the chance to do so safely.

Though he did not understand it, he was still quite pleased. The spiritual energy filtered and purified by spirit beasts and spiritual plants was exceptionally pure; once refined, it was roughly equivalent to ten days of arduous cultivation.

He was currently at Qi Refining Stage Three. With last night's Moon Nectar Pearl and the spiritual energy he had absorbed today, he estimated that he would soon reach the fourth level.

Most importantly, he basically did not need to circulate his cultivation art or complete cycles himself. He could cultivate all on his own.

He let out a soft breath and decided that his next step would be to find a way to acquire more spirit beasts and spiritual plants like these, bind them, and reap the benefits.

Whether it was Vital Essence, the gains they could bring, or the increase in spiritual energy, all of it was what Li Ye needed.

He also wanted to see whether every spirit beast and spiritual plant would produce spiritual energy for him like this. If that were truly the case, it would be a wonderful thing indeed.

Wouldn't that mean he could increase his cultivation while lying down?

At that thought, something suddenly occurred to him. He asked the Silver Moon Grass, "Can you produce three Moon Nectar Pearls every three days?"

The Silver Moon Grass conveyed a faintly affirmative awareness, its leaves trembling slightly.

Just as he thought!

It had to be that miraculous panel at work. He could actually communicate with spiritual plants, if only vaguely!

If it could keep producing them, then he would need to consider how to trade them for more Spirit Stones and profit from them.

Before going out, however, he still needed to review the spells the original owner of this body knew. It was not as though he planned to start fighting the moment he stepped outside, but in a cultivation world, one had to have some confidence tucked away.

He could choose not to pick fights, stay home and quietly grow stronger, but he could not be without the means to deal with trouble!

Just as he was preparing to practice his spells, however, a wave of hunger suddenly rose from his stomach.

It was accompanied by a rumbling "gurgle."

He blinked and silently looked toward the napa cabbages scattered all over the ground.