Spirit Fields

As the sky had only just begun to pale with the white of a fish's belly, Ji An opened his eyes. The first thing he did was look inward at the Stone Turtle within his Qi Sea Acupoint.

Master: Ji An

Dao Charm: 0

Spiritual Potential: Kan Spirit 0.4, Kun Spirit 1.2, Xun Spirit 0.6

Spell: Minor Cloud and Rain Art (Beginner 66%)

The bamboo building was only two li in a straight line from Azure Water Lake. Perhaps for that reason, Kan Spirit had increased the fastest.

Though he had only possessed the Stone Turtle for a few days, Ji An had already drawn some useful conclusions.

The Stone Turtle could freely absorb the spiritual potential contained within the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and its absorption efficiency had nothing to do with him personally.

Last night, he had cultivated the Clear Origin Scripture for two hours, yet the spiritual potential he gained had not increased compared with the previous two days.

The good news was that, within the sect, the rate at which he obtained spiritual potential was more than twice as fast as it had been outside the mountain gate. This showed that the Stone Turtle's acquisition of spiritual potential was related to the concentration of spiritual energy in heaven and earth.

The richer the spiritual energy of a place, the more easily the Stone Turtle should be able to obtain spiritual potential.

Yesterday, he had heard two Senior Brothers mention that the sect had been built atop two second-grade Spirit Veins. Each second-grade Spirit Vein branched into multiple first-grade Spirit Veins, like the main trunk and tributaries of a river.

The two second-grade Spirit Veins were like two coiled dragons chasing one another's tails, hidden amid towering mountains and the great lake among them.

The sect's important halls, as well as the cave abodes of cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Realm and above, had been built at the various Spirit Vein Nodes.

Most Qi Condensation Stage disciples could only live on the outskirts of the Spirit Veins' reach, relying on the spiritual energy that leaked from them to cultivate.

If one day he could enter a Spirit Vein Node, Ji An would be able to confirm whether his guess was true.

Kan Spirit had increased again, and without hesitation, he converted his "economy" into strength.

Spell: Minor Cloud and Rain Art (Beginner 66% → 89%)

The jade slip explained that advancing the first level of the Minor Cloud and Rain Art was very simple. In three to five days, one could raise it to the proficient level. With a few months spent on the second level, it could also be advanced to minor mastery. But that speed was certainly not something a first-layer Qi Condensation cultivator could achieve.

With the total amount of spiritual power available to someone at the first layer of Qi Condensation, even if they spent an entire day doing nothing but cultivating tirelessly, the spiritual power gained would probably only be enough to practice a spell ten times.

Without raising one's realm, a first-layer Qi Condensation cultivator would likely need several years to raise a spell to minor mastery.

Farming Spells included not only the water-attribute Minor Cloud and Rain Art, but also the earth-attribute Thick Earth Art, the wood-attribute Wither and Flourish Art, the fire-attribute Blazing Fire Spell, and the metal-attribute Sharp Metal Art.

To achieve anything on the path of a Spirit Farmer, one had to dabble in all Five Elements Spells and become proficient in at least two or three of them.

Ji An let out a breath. No wonder they said being a Spirit Farmer was the worst of all jobs. The beginner stage was simply too difficult.

There was another point as well. A Spirit Farmer's output was merely raw materials. Like farmers in his previous life, they could only earn hard-earned money, while all the Spirit Stones went into the pockets of Alchemists.

Even high-grade Spirit Farmers did not earn as many Spirit Stones as Alchemists a whole level below them.

When he pushed open the door, he saw thin mountain mist drifting with the wind like a layer of gauze, sometimes thick, sometimes light, submerging the bamboo building in a soft dream.

Ji An breathed in the fresh air for a while, then returned to his room, grabbed his meditation cushion, and came out into the courtyard to begin cultivating the Clear Origin Scripture.

Excellence came from diligence and waste from play. He was now without the means to consume spirit rice and pills to improve rapidly, so he could only seize every moment tightly.

Morning light, like fine golden threads, traced the outlines of the valley.

Ji An emerged from cultivation with a grave expression.

For some reason, during the final stretch of his cultivation, he had felt a faint burning sensation in his immortal veins. His body no longer felt as comfortable as it had during last night's cultivation.

Where had the problem arisen? He sank into thought.

By Azure Water Lake, Old Huang withdrew his spell. Seeing a faint watery-blue glow gathering inside the white jade bottle in his hand, he grinned.

In two hours, he had refined dozens of wisps of Water Essence. That was another batch of Spirit Crystals in hand.

Humming a little tune, he left with light steps and happened to pass Ji An's courtyard.

"Little An, what are you daydreaming about?

"We can't compare with Junior Brother Liu. Hurry up and eat. This morning, I'll teach you how to plant Spirit Grain."

Ji An came back to his senses and cupped his hands with a smile. "I ran into a small problem with cultivation and was thinking over where it went wrong. I didn't notice Senior Brother coming over. Please forgive me.

"I'll go make breakfast now. Where should we meet later?"

He had not expected this Senior Brother to truly be so eager to help him, and warmth rose in his heart.

Old Huang studied him for a few moments, then laughed. "I can tell at a glance what problem you've encountered.

"The Clear Origin Scripture is balanced and peaceful. Nothing could possibly go wrong in cultivation. It's just that you cultivated at the wrong time.

"Once the sun rises, the Fire Element Spiritual Energy within heaven and earth begins to stir. In the Early Qi Condensation stage, you can't withstand that trace of scorching fire spiritual power.

"You must be careful not only during the day, but also at night—you can't cultivate too late. When the night dew grows heavy, Taiyin power is abundant. You can't withstand that kind of cold, yin chill either."

So there were so many twists and turns. No wonder cultivation placed such importance on Law, Companions, Wealth, and Place. Without the aid and guidance of seniors, and relying only on one's own fumbling exploration, who knew how many detours one would take?

Ji An cupped his hands and said sincerely, "Thank you, Senior Brother, for clearing up my confusion."

"It's just common sense. In a few days, the sect's Foundation Establishment Realm Martial Uncles will give a lecture for the newly initiated disciples. You must make sure to attend."

Old Huang tilted his head and thought for a moment before adding, "Lectures for new disciples are always arranged at the General Affairs Hall. Everyone will be notified of the exact time in advance."

Ji An thanked him again, but inwardly, he sighed.

These common-sense matters could have simply been written into a jade slip, and new disciples would not make such mistakes.

The sect's approach seemed intended to establish its authority. At the very least, it would erect considerable prestige in the hearts of people from backgrounds like his.

Because the original owner of this body had been unable to open his immortal veins and cultivate properly, his father had never told him this common knowledge either.

Ji An looked at the shovel, hoe, and rake in his hands, then at the Spirit Field overgrown with weeds. The lofty, grand image he had held of immortal cultivation shattered in his heart.

He coughed and said in disappointment, "Senior Brother Huang, are we really going to cultivate Spirit Fields with these tools?

"Also, you clearly said the Spirit Grain in this field was harvested only five or six days ago, but the weeds have already grown a leg high."

Old Huang had just told him that he first needed to pull the weeds from the Spirit Field, then turn the soil with the shovel, level the ground with the hoe and rake, and finally sow the seeds.

These three farming tools were actually magical artifacts, and they required spiritual power to use.

The productivity of this immortal cultivation world could not even match his hometown on Earth. He was speechless. What the hell was the point of cultivating immortality like this?

He knew cultivators could create puppets, the equivalent of intelligent robots, so why did they not make puppets to do the rough work?!

"You don't understand, Little An.

"Spirit Fields are nourished by Spirit Rain for long periods and brimming with spiritual energy.

"As long as a weed seed takes root, it can grow this tall in a few days. That's perfectly normal!"

Old Huang pointed at the farming tools and continued unhurriedly, "Of course cultivating Spirit Fields doesn't require the clumsy method I taught you. But you're only at the first layer of Qi Condensation, and your spells haven't even reached the beginner level. You aren't qualified to be picky.

"These low-grade magical artifacts are only a transition. Once your spell proficiency gradually rises, you won't need to work like those mortal farmers anymore."

Old Huang pointed at a field nearby. "Those ten mu of Spirit Fields over there are mine to cultivate. Come on, I'll open your eyes and show you how I handle Spirit Fields now."