Life Is Like a Play

It was nearly noon.

Ji An wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and licked his lips as he stepped into the shade beneath a tree.

After half a day, the dharma power in his body had been completely drained, but he had finally finished planting the Spirit Grain.

Following Old Huang's instructions, he only needed to cast the Minor Cloud and Rain Art once more that evening or at dawn, and the planting would be fully complete.

"Hehe, I'll cultivate properly tonight, then cast the rain at dawn tomorrow when my dharma power is full."

Now that he had returned to the valley beside Azure Water Lake, his acquisition of Kan Spirit had returned to normal. Tomorrow, he would be able to use the third-layer Minor Cloud and Rain Art to make it rain.

Before the Spirit Grain sprouted ears, the spiritual opportunity absorbed by the Stone Turtle would surely be enough to raise his other two spells to the minor mastery level.

After planting, there would be roughly a month of free time. He needed to carefully plan how to make use of it.

He could not cultivate his technique during the day, so he could not let the time go to waste. Earning even one Spirit Crystal would be good.

He needed to get some crystals and buy a Yellow Bud Pill, see how effective the pill was, and then decide how to cultivate.

Because the Stone Turtle devoured his dharma power, his aptitude was now probably only equivalent to low-grade—likely even at the very bottom among low-grade aptitudes.

If he did not take pills, who knew how long it would take to advance to the Second Layer of Qi Condensation.

He wanted to advance before the Spirit Grain sprouted ears. It would probably cost a great deal, so he needed to think carefully about what to do next.

No one said he could only cultivate with Spirit Crystals he earned himself. He could borrow money to cultivate immortality too.

He decided to package himself and establish the persona of a spell genius.

Ji An returned to the bamboo house and swept the courtyard.

Because he had no crystals, he had not even activated the Dharma Restriction around his bamboo house. And because he was so poor, he was not worried about anyone setting their sights on it.

Entering the house, with nothing to do for the moment, he absentmindedly picked up the Spirit Seeking Rat wooden carving and turned it over in his hands as he considered whom he might borrow crystals from.

After finally waiting until sunset, he left his bamboo house and headed for Old Huang's residence.

Short on crystals and with nothing presentable to offer, he could only come empty-handed.

"Senior Brother Huang."

No one answered.

Ji An raised his voice. "Senior Brother Huang?"

Still, there was no response.

He let out a breath, stood before the wicker gate, and gazed into the distance.

Smoke curled from cooking fires, and the years seemed peaceful and serene. Yet he knew that most Qi Condensation Stage disciples lived each day in ceaseless busyness, counting grains of rice before they went into the pot.

The golden-red evening clouds resembled mountain ranges rising in the sky. As twilight gathered itself away, the brilliant colors faded into blue-gray tones, slowly blending into the night sky.

Stars hung low over the endless plains; the cold moon was like a hook.

"Cultivation truly isn't easy."

Ji An sighed from the bottom of his heart. No matter what kind of world it was, life at the bottom was always full of hardship.

The bright moon silently crossed the treetops as a gaunt figure hurried down the path.

"Who's there?"

There was a faint threat in his tone.

"Senior Brother Huang, it's me, Ji An."

"Little An."

Old Huang approached, his tone softening. "Did you need something?"

Ji An clasped his hands and said with a smile:

"Senior Brother is an old hand. I wanted to ask whether there are any suitable ways for someone at the First Layer of Qi Condensation to earn crystals."

Somewhat embarrassed, he continued:

"I should have brought wine and food to share a drink with Senior Brother, but alas, my sleeves are filled with nothing but clean wind, and I have no spare money. I can only treat Senior Brother another day when things improve."

With no crystals, he could only swallow his pride and ask.

A kindhearted person might answer such a question. It would also let him observe whether the other party was worth getting to know more deeply.

"Why be so polite? You call me Senior Brother—how could I let you call me that for nothing?"

Old Huang lifted the wicker gate.

"Come inside and let's talk. Back then, I suffered through the same hardships."

They entered the bamboo house and lit a candle.

Ji An glanced around the room. Its furnishings were nearly identical to his own place, except for several extra vats. He had no idea what they contained.

"For a cultivator at the First Layer of Qi Condensation, earning Spirit Stones is difficult.

"Forget the First Layer—even disciples in Early Qi Condensation have a hard time getting by.

"At this stage, disciples' spells are unrefined and their dharma power is scarce. Even if they want to go out and risk their lives, no senior brothers are willing to take them along."

As Old Huang spoke, he raised his left hand and held up three fingers.

"When I entered the sect, I was already at the Second Layer of Qi Condensation.

"I gritted my teeth and endured for a year before reaching the Third Layer of Qi Condensation.

"Without crystals to support you, it's simply impossible to raise your cultivation quickly.

"If you just follow the usual routine and circle around Spirit Fields all day, there's almost no hope of advancing to Mid Qi Condensation.

"With no other choice, a few senior brothers, junior brothers, and I, all birds of a feather, went out during the farming lull to seek some opportunities.

"Four went out. One and a half came back.

"From then on, I honestly stayed in the sect and tried every method of earning crystals I could think of."

He went on and on about his past circumstances, his words filled with endless sighs.

"You're only at the First Layer of Qi Condensation now. I can think of only two methods.

"First, you can try your luck in the forests beyond the sect gate. You might find some low-grade spirit herbs or medicinal plants, but remember not to venture too far.

"Second, you can take temporary jobs at Azure Water Market. But with your cultivation so low, I'm afraid it'll be difficult to find work."

Azure Water Market was an internal marketplace established by the sect, frequented by Qi Condensation Stage disciples from along the shores of Azure Water Lake.

Ji An wore a troubled expression and nodded slightly.

"Thank you for Senior Brother's guidance."

He was not disappointed. He had already expected this.

With cultivation at the First Layer of Qi Condensation, taking temporary jobs in an immortal city would only earn a little more than an ordinary mortal martial artist.

His main reason for coming today had not been to find a way to earn crystals.

"Senior Brother, I finished planting the Spirit Grain today and plan to make it rain at dawn tomorrow.

"It'll be my first official time casting rain, and I have no experience. I would like to ask Senior Brother to come and offer some guidance."

"What guidance is there to offer? Just choose a spot above the Spirit Field for the clouds and mist to take shape."

Old Huang did not understand.

"Hehe, I'm still a little uneasy. It won't take much of Senior Brother's time.

"I've discovered that I have quite good comprehension when it comes to Five Elements Spells. I always feel that my spell level is about to improve."

Could his spell be about to reach the proficient level? Judging by the time, it was about right.

Still, achieving such results while practicing spells with the dharma power of the First Layer of Qi Condensation truly counted as having considerable comprehension.

Old Huang nodded.

"Fine, I'll come take a look.

"But I'll have to wait until I return from Azure Water Lake after extracting Water Essence. I should reach your Spirit Field at around the third quarter of the hour of the dragon."

Ji An clasped his hands.

"Thank you, Senior Brother."

Success. The other man was willing to watch. This would be his first performance in life.

First Layer of Qi Condensation, third-layer Minor Cloud and Rain Art—tell me, aren't you afraid?

After a pause, he added:

"Senior Brother, what is Water Essence?"

He had heard his father mention Water Essence before, so he knew a little about it.

His current persona was that of a newcomer to the cultivation world, a blank sheet of pure white paper, with shallow knowledge written all over his face.

"Little An, when you have time in the future, you should visit the Library in the General Affairs Hall more often. You still need to understand some basic common knowledge."

Even more foolish than I was back then. Old Huang shot him a glance and explained:

"Water Essence is one kind of Five Elements Essence. It is the Five Elements vital energy that cultivators extract from objects of the five elements using the Spirit Tempering Art. It has countless uses.

"Artifact Refiners use it to enhance the spirituality of dharma artifacts, while Alchemists use it to raise the grade of medicinal pills.

"If you reach Mid Qi Condensation, extracting Five Elements Essence would be a fairly good job."