Beyond the Limit

After bidding Wei Songnian farewell, Ji An changed course and flew toward the General Affairs Hall.

From their conversation, he had sorted out two pieces of highly useful information.

First, even if some people possessed exceptional talent in spells and could not reach the level he currently displayed, they were not far behind.

Second, even if he revealed his talent, there was no great danger.

But that was only Wei Songnian's side of the story. He needed to slowly verify whether it was true.

This trip to the General Affairs Hall had two purposes: first, to see whether there were any records of Companion Spirit Treasures; second, to exchange for more grain seeds.

After the Minor Cloud and Rain Art reached perfection, its mana consumption increased by half, but the area it could rain over expanded severalfold. Planting only four mu of Spirit Fields was far too wasteful.

He calculated the mana consumption during the Spirit Grain heading stage and decided to plant another two mu of Spirit Grain.

Although Talisman Grass earned more Spirit Crystals, it took longer. It was better to save some time for practicing spells.

The Spiritual Inspiration within the Stone Turtle was what he relied upon, but it was not all he possessed. Thus, he had never once slackened in practicing spells.

Ji An landed at the Library behind the General Affairs Hall and began reading books on all kinds of common knowledge about cultivation.

He flipped through them quickly. About two hours later, he truly found several records that were extremely beneficial to him.

This was a book about Aptitude Dao Bodies, and it recorded the standards by which aptitude was classified.

It also mentioned that, besides aptitude, cultivators possessed all kinds of special cultivation physiques.

The Five Elements Spirit Body was a relatively common physique. For instance, cultivators with a Fire Spirit Body could cultivate fire-attribute techniques and fire-attribute spells with twice the results for half the effort.

Seeing this, Ji An finally relaxed. He could simply be a cultivator with a Water Spirit Body!

He continued reading for a while, but found no records of Companion Spirit Treasures. He no longer forced the matter and turned to leave.

Arriving at the main hall of the General Affairs Hall, Ji An looked around. Upon spotting Li Changfeng, he leisurely walked over.

"Senior Brother, I'd like to buy two mu of Spiritual Grain seeds."

He handed over his jade token and one Spirit Stone, then touched the ten Spirit Crystals he had left and nodded slightly.

He had spent every last crystal again, all of it on the cutting edge.

"One Spirit Stone can be exchanged for twenty Contribution Points. Spiritual Grain seeds cost eight Contribution Points, so Junior Brother will have twelve Contribution Points left on his jade token."

Li Changfeng swiftly completed the transaction, secretly amused. The Contribution Points on this junior brother's jade token had never exceeded ten before. Today was truly the first time the sun had risen in the west.

Ji An accepted the seeds and smiled.

"Senior Brother, may I ask something? I heard Spirit Farmers can also take missions to oversee medicinal gardens. How does one accept such a mission?"

"Junior Brother wants to take a mission overseeing a medicinal garden? That mission requires the Minor Cloud and Rain Art, Thick Earth Art, and Wither and Flourish Art all to reach Great Accomplishment."

Li Changfeng's gaze flickered, and he lowered his voice.

"Junior Brother has also practiced the Wither and Flourish Art to Great Accomplishment?"

"Yes. Once, I came to the General Affairs Hall intending to exchange for the Great Accomplishment formula of the Wither and Flourish Art, only to be told that the sect did not have one."

Ji An spread his hands. "Senior Brother happened to be absent at the time. The senior brother on duty said that among Farming Spells, the Wither and Flourish Art, Sharp Metal Art, and Blazing Fire Spell had no Great Accomplishment-level formulas."

"Yes, that is true.

These three formulas are sufficient once comprehended to Minor Accomplishment, so no one is willing to spend effort researching them further. Any further progress depends entirely on personal insight."

"Then what is the point of practicing the Wither and Flourish Art to Great Accomplishment?"

Ji An felt his teeth ache. Had he known earlier, he would have saved the Xun Spirit.

"Because a Minor Accomplishment Wither and Flourish Art is too slow at stripping the vitality from graded spirit plants. If Junior Brother ever takes a mission guarding a medicinal garden, you will understand what I mean."

Li Changfeng nodded. His Lineage specialized in planting, so he was extremely familiar with the intricacies of cultivation.

After a pause, he added.

"It will be very difficult for Junior Brother to obtain a mission tending a medicinal garden. Among the sect's Qi Condensation Stage disciples, Spirit Farmer Disciples are the most numerous, numbering in the thousands.

There are quite a few who meet the requirements. Whenever a medicinal garden has an opening, it can be filled immediately."

The competition was this fierce?

Ji An was stunned, his brows knotting together. He had wanted to go cultivate at a Spirit Vein Node.

"Is there really no chance at all? If one day I practice the Minor Cloud and Rain Art or Thick Earth Art to perfection, surely I'll have a chance then!"

Li Changfeng pulled Ji An outside the hall and sighed.

"Junior Brother, missions tending medicinal gardens come with generous benefits. The interests involved are tangled together like roots and branches.

Unless you receive support from those above, it will be difficult."

Ji An returned to his own Spirit Field, cultivated two more mu right beside it, and scattered the grain seeds.

That night, he came to the Spirit Field once more and formed hand seals to cast rain.

Spirit Rain containing a special aura poured down in a steady rush, and his thoughts merged into the rain.

When the clouds parted and the mist dispersed, Ji An let out a breath and turned to leave.

Li Changfeng's words had cooled his blazing heart. Sometimes people were chosen not for their ability, but for their connections and interests.

Human nature was the same in every world.

Cultivation could make people stronger and grant them longer lifespans, but it could not make them noble.

Ji An completely abandoned the idea of revealing his perfection-level Minor Cloud and Rain Art, deciding that he would cast rain only at night from then on.

If there was no benefit to be gained, then he would keep as low a profile as possible.

Unable to obtain a mission tending a medicinal garden, he most likely would have no opportunity to cultivate atop a Spirit Vein before reaching Foundation Establishment.

If he could not change the greater environment, then he could only change himself.

Ji An decided to earn as many Spirit Crystals as possible and strive to advance to Foundation Establishment as soon as he could.

At the Foundation Establishment Realm, he could choose a Spirit Vein Node as his cave dwelling. By then, the Stone Turtle would be able to absorb more Spiritual Inspiration every day, and he would receive twenty mu of his own First-tier Spiritual Field.

With a relatively practical goal, one would no longer feel lost.

Every day, Ji An cultivated peacefully, prepared talisman ink, and studied spells. His days were tense yet fulfilling.

The vegetables in the small courtyard were watered with the perfection-level Minor Cloud and Rain Art. The spiritual energy they contained had already reached half that of true spirit vegetables, an unexpected delight.

Because the Spirit Rain covered too wide an area, even the weeds outside the courtyard grew with remarkable vigor.

To conceal the effects of the Spirit Rain, he cast the Blazing Fire Spell on the ground outside the courtyard every day. This rarely used spell also improved rapidly.

Thus, with an endless supply of Azure Jade Pills, Spirit Grain, and spirit vegetables, Ji An encountered not the slightest obstacle in improving his cultivation. It steadily advanced.

More than two months passed.

The Spirit Grain and Talisman Grass matured about ten days earlier than before. After Ji An harvested the Spirit Grain, removed its husks, and weighed it, he clenched his fist hard.

He had planted a total of five mu of Spirit Grain. Some had been eaten by birds, so by all reason, the harvest should have been below fifteen hundred jin.

Yet after weighing it, he discovered that he had harvested a full sixteen hundred jin of Yellow Bud Rice. The perfection-level Minor Cloud and Rain Art had changed the genetic limit of Yellow Bud Rice!

Although it only brought in one additional Spirit Stone, its significance was immense.

Cultivating high-grade spirit medicines often took decades or even centuries. The perfection-level Minor Cloud and Rain Art could shorten that time. If he learned even more powerful spells in the future, would he be able to greatly shorten the maturation time of spirit medicines and improve their efficacy?

The road ahead was bright, and Ji An was bursting with motivation.

The earlier maturation of the Spirit Grain and Talisman Grass also gave him more time to make talisman paper.

He planned to sow ten days later than everyone else from now on and plant two mu of Talisman Grass, allowing him to earn even more.