Minor Cloud and Rain Art Mastery

Ji An suddenly thought of a question and asked:

"Senior Brother, since those in Early Qi Condensation cannot withstand the frenzied spiritual energy during the day, doesn't that mean Senior Brother Liu cannot cultivate during that time either?"

"Little An, when we cultivate, we merely circulate our cultivation techniques to draw in the scattered spiritual energy between heaven and earth.

Judging by Junior Brother Liu's apparent family circumstances, I cannot guarantee he has enough Spirit Food, but he should have pills to spare.

After taking pills or Spirit Food and then circulating one's cultivation technique, the spiritual energy contained within the pills and food is refined first.

Even if one absorbs a small amount of ambient spiritual energy, the quantity is too little to cause us any trouble."

Ji An nodded slightly. Talking about toxicity without considering the dosage was pure hooliganism.

"I know that, but isn't there always some pill poison in medicinal pills? Even Yellow Bud Pills refined with Yellow Bud Rice as the main ingredient require an interval of two or three days between doses."

"Junior Brother, have you heard of the Spirit Absorption Array?"

Ji An cupped his hands in salute. "Please enlighten me, Senior Brother."

Old Huang greatly enjoyed the feeling of instructing others. He nodded slightly, gave an "Mm," and continued:

"We can directly draw magical power from Spirit Crystals and Spirit Stones, but the spiritual power contained within those crystals is far too violent. Unless there is an emergency, we do not use crystals to replenish magical power.

The Spirit Absorption Array can extract the spiritual energy contained within crystals. That spiritual energy is as upright and peaceful as the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Although there will be some loss, compared to rapidly raising one's cultivation, what the hell are such minor losses?"

"Tsk, tsk." Old Huang smacked his lips. "The array plate for the most ordinary Spirit Absorption Array costs twenty Spirit Stones. Add to that the cost of activating the formation and the Spirit Stones it consumes—cultivators who can use a Spirit Absorption Array are all extravagantly wealthy."

Thinking of his own possessions of only five Spirit Crystals, then of how his father at the Eighth Layer of Qi Condensation had accumulated merely twenty-seven Spirit Stones over half a lifetime, Ji An sighed:

"The fate of most people is decided the moment they are born."

Reincarnation was a technical skill. Those born into good circumstances naturally had an exceedingly high floor in life.

Ordinary people toiled bitterly their entire lives, yet the ceiling of their lives could not even reach someone else's floor.

"Isn't that the truth!"

Spittle flew from Old Huang's mouth:

"Those born with their ancestral apertures open and immortal veins revealed, once accepted by a sect, do not need to do a thing. Pills, Spirit Food, Spirit Absorption Arrays—all of it is arranged for them.

Then, with cultivation techniques best suited to them, without even practicing any spells, they are bound to step into Foundation Establishment within a few months at the fastest, or half a year at the slowest.

How can one rapidly raise one's realm during the Qi Condensation Stage? At the end of the day, is it not simply absorbing spiritual energy, refining it into magical power, and pushing oneself forward?

Give a pig such treatment, and it could become a Foundation Establishment pig demon!"

Was that not the xianxia version of, "When standing in the wind's mouth, even pigs can fly"?

Ji An bared his teeth.

"Senior Brother speaks with true insight."

"My life is about all it will ever be. Neither of my two sons entered a sect; they could only become unaffiliated cultivators, and both died hunting demon beasts.

Now I have placed all my hopes on my grandson, and I will spend my remaining years earning him a higher starting point.

If Fei Hu can advance to Foundation Establishment, then my life will have been worth it."

The light in Old Huang's somewhat clouded eyes first dimmed, then flashed once more.

He offered a few more pointers on planting before leaving in haste.

During the days after planting the Spirit Grain, before it sprouted ears, aside from drawing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to refine magical power each day, he spent all his remaining time acquiring Spirit Crystals.

If he did not need magical power to cast spells, he would have liked nothing better than to save even the time spent cultivating.

Every day, while the sky was still dark at the beginning of the Rabbit hour, he went to Azure Water Lake to temper Water Essence, leaving after the middle of the Dragon hour, when daylight had brightened.

By then, Fire Element Spiritual Energy had grown active, while Water Essence sank to the bottom of the lake, making gains difficult.

At the beginning of the Snake Hour, he left the sect to temper Wood Essence or condense Wood Origin Pearls in the nearby mountains and wilderness.

If luck favored him and he found a spirit herb or spiritual material, that would be another unexpected windfall.

The gains might not be plentiful, but it was safe. He was merely an ordinary Spirit Farmer and knew few offensive spells. On the other hand, he had practiced a fleeing spell, Wind Riding Art, to Minor Achievement.

Ji An returned to his own Spirit Field and obediently began pulling weeds.

Since the weeds had to be pulled out by the roots, he cast Minor Cloud and Rain Art to moisten the soil before getting to work.

When new disciples became Spirit Farmers, the Spiritual Grain seeds distributed by the sect were only enough to plant two mu. This was the sole occasion on which they could receive grain seeds for free.

Old Huang advised him to plant only half a mu each time this year. For one, his realm was low; for another, his spell mastery was poor. In short, a good harvest would be difficult to achieve.

He readily accepted the advice and decided to cultivate only half a mu of Spirit Field.

With the Stone Turtle, his spell levels would surely rise quickly, but without sufficient magical power to support them, it would all be in vain.

Once the Spirit Grain had matured for one season, he would decide how many more mu of Spirit Field to cultivate based on the actual situation.

Half a mu was three hundred square meters. It did not sound like much, yet it took him most of the day to clear this patch of Spirit Field.

After clearing the weeds, he returned directly to his bamboo house, took out a jade slip, pressed it to his forehead, and examined the contents of the Thick Earth Art.

With a better method of production available, there was naturally no need to keep swinging a shovel and hoe.

As an entry-level spell, the Thick Earth Art was not particularly difficult either, similar to Minor Cloud and Rain Art.

This time, Ji An spent only a little over half an hour committing the essentials of the spell to heart.

He began practicing the spell seals. Perhaps different spells shared certain similarities in their seals, for he mastered them in even less time than he had spent practicing Minor Cloud and Rain Art.

The magical power remaining in his body was not enough to cast Thick Earth Art. He stopped practicing the spell seals and walked out of the bamboo house to deal with his food and warmth.

At this time, curls of cooking smoke rose into the air. The Spirit Farmers who had labored all day along the field paths stepped home beneath the lingering glow of the setting sun. Time was exquisite, like an unrolled ink-wash painting.

A bowl of steamed brown rice, along with half a bowl of wild vegetables, made his evening meal.

While the rice steamed, he browsed the sect rules listed in the jade slip.

The moon rose above the treetops. Fireflies flickered in and out among the grass, crickets played their little tunes, and the night grew deep and hazy.

Ji An took out a meditation cushion, lit mosquito-repelling incense in the yard, then sat cross-legged and circulated the Clear Origin Scripture.

Threads of spiritual energy from heaven and earth entered his body, circulated through his immortal veins in a particular pattern, and finally transformed into specks of magical power that flowed into the Qi Sea Acupoint.

As expected, half of the magical power still went into the Stone Turtle's mouth.

When he felt the efficiency of refining spiritual power begin to decline, Ji An stopped cultivating.

He felt keen of ear and sharp of eye, clear-headed and refreshed. The weariness from his work was swept away completely.

With magical power in his body again, he carefully recalled the key principles of the Thick Earth Art. Then he mobilized his magical power, formed changing spell seals, and began casting.

The earthy-yellow spiritual radiance was especially conspicuous beneath the night sky, blanketing more than ten square meters of ground beneath his feet.

Without checking the specific effects of the spell, Ji An immediately linked his thoughts to the Stone Turtle.

Master: Ji An

Dao Resonance: 0

Spiritual Aptitude: Kan Spirit 0.2, Kun Spirit 1.4, Xun Spirit 0.7

Spells: Minor Cloud and Rain Art (Entry 89%)

Thick Earth Art (Entry 1%)

Refine all the Kan Spirit and Kun Spirit!

His divine sense was drawn into that wondrous space. He first stood in the Kan position to practice Minor Cloud and Rain Art, then suddenly appeared in the Kun position to practice Thick Earth Art.

Spells: Minor Cloud and Rain Art (Entry 89% → Mastery 1%)

Thick Earth Art (Entry 1% → 83%)