A Small Gathering After Half a Year

Three months later.

Threads of heaven and earth spiritual energy entered through his mouth and nose, circulating through his immortal veins in a specific pattern.

With every major circulation, some spiritual energy was refined into mana and sent into the Qi Sea Acupoint, with half of it, as usual, swallowed by the Stone Turtle.

When Ji An felt his immortal veins beginning to swell, he decisively ended his cultivation.

Inspecting his immortal veins inwardly, he found that another side vein, about an inch long, had expanded. He could not help feeling a swell of satisfaction.

He withdrew from meditation, a glint flashing through his eyes.

There was no moon in the heavens, only glittering stars.

"Ah, these days without pills or Spirit Grain are hard to bear."

Ji An rose from his meditation cushion. Though he spoke of hardship, he was not truly distressed.

Two months ago, he had used up all the Spirit Grain from the previous harvest.

More than half a month ago, not even a single Yellow Bud Pill remained.

It was easy to go from thrift to luxury, but hard to go from luxury back to thrift.

He had indeed been anxious for several days at first, wondering whether he should go out and promote "financial insurance" again. In the end, he held himself back.

Credit diminished with every use. Others only saw what they gave and not what they gained, which would not benefit the next round of financing.

In the future, he needed to consciously save more Spirit Stones. A year from now, even if he only put on a show of repaying his debts, he could not make no gesture at all.

Over the past few days, he had adjusted his mindset. He could not manage to remain unmoved by either gain or loss, but maintaining a calm heart was not a problem.

He put the meditation cushion away inside the house. Taking advantage of the abundant mana within him, Ji An formed a hand seal and cast the Thick Earth Art. A hazy earthen-yellow spiritual glow lit up the entire small courtyard.

Before the glow faded, the hand seal in his hands changed smoothly, and a cloud mist barely large enough to cover the courtyard rose up.

Spirit Rain came pouring down. The lush green vegetables and the cucumbers climbing the wooden trellis swayed beneath the Spirit Rain.

Ever since the two Farming Spells had reached the fourth level, he had cast them every day without fail to transform the courtyard.

Like Old Huang, he had turned the courtyard into a vegetable garden, leaving only a narrow path and a one-meter-square patch of open ground for meditation.

Though they were merely ordinary vegetables, they had been nourished by spiritual power all along. They grew quite well and contained a trace of spiritual power, making them far more nutritious than the wild vegetables he dug up.

Nodding with a strong sense of accomplishment, Ji An returned to the bamboo building and began practicing another spell—the Sharp Metal Art.

Mana flowed and gathered within his immortal veins before finally bursting from his fingertips, where specks of golden light exploded.

The Sharp Metal Art condensed Metal Element Spiritual Energy into threads. A single thread had little power; if it struck someone thick-skinned and dull in spiritual perception, they might not even notice it.

Even when so many golden threads erupted at once, their scattered nature meant it only felt as though one had been lightly pricked by needles.

The spell's power was small, but it was invincible against aphids far smaller than sesame seeds, and it would not harm the Spirit Grain.

Ji An extended his divine sense and tried to control the direction of the golden light—for instance, sending more golden light to either side and less through the center, or gathering all the golden light into a single beam.

Most of the time, his efforts came to nothing. But whenever he succeeded even once, he was as happy as a small child.

Only when the mana within him had run completely dry did he end his practice with lingering reluctance.

Through this period of constant spell practice, he had gradually come to savor the profound mysteries within the five Farming Spells.

The Sharp Metal Art could train the precision of divine sense control. The Wither and Flourish Art focused on sustained, stable mana output. The key to the Blazing Fire Spell was triggering the explosive force of Fire Element Spiritual Energy. The Thick Earth Art emphasized tolerance and accumulation, while the Minor Cloud and Rain Art contained a trace of the divine essence of water moistening all things.

Though they were merely the most ordinary Farming Spells, careful study could still reveal the True Meaning of the Five Elements hidden within them.

Moreover, though the five spells appeared utterly unrelated, they in fact complemented and reinforced one another.

After practicing the Sharp Metal Art, he could control his mana more precisely, allowing him to control his spellcasting more accurately and conserve mana.

That was how he had just made the Minor Cloud and Rain Art and Thick Earth Art cover the small courtyard exactly.

He calmed his mind and connected with the Stone Turtle.

Master: Ji An

Dao Resonance: 0

Spiritual Potential: Kan Spirit 0.4, Kun Spirit 0.2, Xun Spirit 7.3

Spells: Minor Cloud and Rain Art (Mastery 39%)

Thick Earth Art (Mastery 25%)

Wither and Flourish Art (Mastery 3%)

Blazing Fire Spell (Proficient 8%)

Sharp Metal Art (Proficient 48%)

Once a spell reached the Mastery level, the effect of spiritual potential noticeably diminished. He needed to refine more spiritual potential to comprehend the true meaning of the spell.

Even so, judging by his current pace, by the sect examination three years from now, he would certainly be able to push both the Minor Cloud and Rain Art and the Thick Earth Art to the Perfection level.

Because Yellow Bud Rice had its genetic limitations, Mastery-level spells were more than sufficient, so he was in no hurry.

Within the sect, very few people raised any beginner Farming Spell to the Perfection level.

First, divine essence was difficult to comprehend. Second, once they reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, they would learn more exquisite Farming Spells.

Ji An reached out and patted the cloth sack filled with Spirit Grain, feeling much more at ease.

Yesterday, he had harvested two mu of Spirit Grain. After husking and weighing it, he had obtained a total of 588 jin of Yellow Bud Rice. Old Huang, who had come over to "help," had stared until his eyes nearly popped out.

At the time, Old Huang had said sourly that it had taken him seven or eight years to reach the theoretical yield of Yellow Bud Rice. Thinking of that resentful look now, Ji An still found it amusing—and felt pride well up from the bottom of his heart!

Being a Spirit Farmer was hard? No, you were just too useless!

The next day, at dawn, Ji An finished cultivating, stretched his long legs, and ran toward Azure Water Market.

A few days ago, Zhang Yuanshan had sent Chu He to contact the disciples from the same cohort at Green Pine Dao Academy.

Invitations had been sent out, setting a banquet for noon today in the Number Four Heaven Room at Hundred Flavors Tower in Azure Water Market.

The dishes at Hundred Flavors Tower were all prepared by Spirit Chefs. Setting everything else aside, a hearty feast would surely yield mana equivalent to several days of bitter cultivation once refined.

Cultivators had their organs and physique nourished and improved by spiritual energy. Ji An was now at the Third Layer of Qi Condensation, and his speed was more than twice what it had been when he first walked to the market.

By the time he arrived, he did not feel as exhausted as he had last time.

After washing his face by the lake and resting briefly, he waited until his breathing returned to normal, then strode into Hundred Flavors Tower—the tavern he and Wei Songnian had once passed by without entering.

Upon reaching the private room, Ji An found that Zhang Yuanshan, Chu He, and Zhao Mengyao had all arrived.

"Senior Brother, Senior Sister, good morning."

The three creditors gathered at one table all looked at him with amused expressions.

As the organizer of the gathering, Zhang Yuanshan rose and said, "Junior Brother has advanced to the Third Layer of Qi Condensation. Congratulations. Please, have a seat."

"Thank you, Senior Brother." Ji An sat down as though nothing were amiss.

"Ahem." Chu He coughed, then said in a deep voice, "Junior Brother, before coming to the sect, you borrowed three Spirit Stones from each of us. After entering the sect, you borrowed again.

"We have discovered that your debt is rather high."

Zhang Yuanshan tapped the table with his finger and smiled. "It is not that we do not trust you, but Junior Brother has taken up the work of a Spirit Farmer. Now you can only grow Spirit Grain, and earning Spirit Stones is not easy.

"I heard that only three Farming Spells can increase production, and they must reach the Minor Mastery level before they can do so.

"How long will it take you to repay a debt of more than ten Spirit Stones?"