Spirit Field

The sky had only just begun to pale like a fish's belly when Ji An opened his eyes. The first thing he did was examine the Stone Turtle within his Qi Sea Acupoint.

Master: Ji An

Dao Rhyme: 0

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

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

The bamboo lodge was only two li in a straight line from Azure Water Lake. Perhaps because of this, the Kan Spirit had increased the fastest.

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

The Stone Turtle could freely absorb the Spiritual Inspiration contained within heaven and earth's spiritual energy, and this absorption efficiency had nothing to do with him personally.

He had cultivated the Clear Origin Scripture for two hours last night, yet the Spiritual Inspiration he obtained had not increased compared to the previous two days.

The good news was that within the sect, he gained Spiritual Inspiration more than twice as quickly as he had outside the mountain gates. This showed that the Stone Turtle's acquisition of Spiritual Inspiration was related to the density of heaven and earth's spiritual energy.

The richer the spiritual energy of a place, the easier it should be for the Stone Turtle to obtain Spiritual Inspiration.

Yesterday, he had heard the two senior brothers mention that the sect was built atop two Second-tier Spirit Veins. Each Second-tier Spirit Vein branched into multiple First-tier Spirit Veins, like the trunk and tributaries of a river.

The two Second-tier Spirit Veins were like two crouching dragons chasing each other's tails, hidden among towering mountains and the great lake within them.

The sect's important halls and the cave dwellings of cultivators above the Foundation Establishment Realm were built upon the various nodes of the Spirit Veins.

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

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

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

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

The jade slip stated that the first level of the Minor Cloud and Rain Art was very easy to improve. It could reach the Proficient level in three to five days, and with several months at the second level, it could advance to Minor Accomplishment. But that speed was certainly not something someone at the First Layer of Qi Condensation could achieve.

With the total amount of spiritual power at the First Layer of Qi Condensation, even if he did nothing all day but cultivate diligently, the spiritual power he gained would likely only be enough to practice a spell ten times.

If he could not raise his cultivation realm, then for someone at the First Layer of Qi Condensation to raise a spell to Minor Accomplishment would likely take several years.

Farming Spells included not only the water-attributed Minor Cloud and Rain Art, but also the earth-attributed Thick Earth Art, the wood-attributed Wither and Flourish Art, the fire-attributed Blazing Fire Spell, and the metal-attributed 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 Spirit Farmer was the worst of all jobs—the beginner phase was far too difficult.

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

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

Pushing open the door, he saw a thin mountain mist flowing with the wind like a veil of gauze, sometimes dense, sometimes faint, drowning the bamboo lodge in a gentle dream.

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

Mastery came through diligence and was wasted in play. He was now without the means to rapidly improve by consuming spirit rice and medicinal pills, so he could only seize every second of every minute.

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

Ji An withdrew from cultivation, his expression grave.

For some reason, during the final stretch of his cultivation, he had felt a faint burning sensation in his Immortal Meridian. His body also did not feel as comfortable as it had when cultivating last night.

Where had the problem arisen? He sank into thought.

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

After two hours of refining, he had obtained 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 staring blankly for?

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

Ji An came back to himself and smiled as he cupped his hands.

"I ran into a small problem in cultivation and was pondering where the issue lay. 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 knew what problem you had at a glance.

"The Clear Origin Scripture is upright, balanced, and peaceful. There's no way cultivation it could cause any problem. You cultivated at the wrong time.

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

"It's not just daytime you need to watch out for—you can't cultivate too late at night either.

"When the night dew grows heavy, the Taiyin power is abundant. You can't withstand that icy chill either."

So there were so many twists and turns. No wonder cultivation stressed Law, Companions, Wealth, and Place. Without guidance and assistance from teachers and elders, 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 knowledge. In a few days, the sect's Foundation Establishment Realm Martial Uncles will give lectures for newly admitted disciples. You must go listen."

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 once more, but inwardly, he let out a soft sigh.

These common-sense matters only needed to be written into jade slips, and new disciples would not make such mistakes.

The sect's actions carried a hint of establishing authority. At the very least, they would build no small amount of prestige in the hearts of people from backgrounds like his.

Because the original owner had been unable to open his Immortal Meridian and thus could not cultivate properly, his father had never told him these basic facts either.

Ji An looked at the iron 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.

He coughed and said in disappointment, "Senior Brother Huang, are we really going to rely on these tools to plant the Spirit Field?

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

Just now, Old Huang had instructed him to first 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, requiring spiritual power to use.

The productive capacity of this cultivation world could not even match his old home on Earth. He was speechless. What kind of immortal was he supposed to cultivate into like this?

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

"You don't understand, Little An.

"Spirit Fields are nourished by Spirit Rain for years on end, 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 planting 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 entered the beginner stage. You're in no position to pick and choose.

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

Old Huang pointed to a field beside them again.

"The ten mu of Spirit Fields over there are mine to tend. Come on, I'll open your eyes and show you how I handle Spirit Fields now."