The Means to Make a Living

Seeing the Minor Cloud and Rain Art reach the proficient level, Ji An suddenly felt that the moonlight was gentle as water, while the night seemed especially shy and coy.

He smacked his forehead and muttered,

"Damn, I got so excited just now that I forgot to light an intact incense stick before refining the spiritual essence!"

He wanted to calculate how much time refining spiritual essence would take and whether it was related to the amount of spiritual essence being refined.

In the future, he would definitely have to learn offensive spells. By then, he would not refine all his spiritual essence as he did now, but would keep some in reserve for unforeseen needs.

If refining spiritual essence took very little time, he could simply wait until he needed it before refining spiritual essence to raise a spell's level.

He sighed again and slapped his cheeks in annoyance.

The spiritual power of the first layer of Qi Condensation was too scarce. He should have gone to his own Spirit Field to practice the Thick Earth Art.

Ji An lit a torch and jogged outside.

Though his remaining spiritual power could only cast the Thick Earth Art once more, even a mosquito's leg was still meat. He could not waste it.

The firelight swayed, and his elongated shadow fell across the winding path.

Upon reaching the Spirit Field, Ji An cast the Thick Earth Art again, then examined the spell's effects.

The loosened soil was only four fingers deep—far too shallow, and not up to standard.

He did not know the Blazing Fire Spell, so before planting, he needed to scatter pest-repelling medicinal powder over the Spirit Field.

Old Huang had said that the loosened soil needed to be at least one shovel-blade deep to pass. Otherwise, the pests in the deeper layers of soil could not be killed, and they would gnaw away at the roots of the Spirit Grain.

Looking at it this way, the Farming Spell needed to reach at least the proficient level before it held any practical value.

But that was no difficulty for him. He only needed to wait a few more days before sowing the Spirit Grain.

His divine sense connected with the Stone Turtle once more.

Spell: Thick Earth Art (beginner 83% → 85%)

Five days later.

The midday sun was scorching. Ji An trudged laboriously along the mountain path on all fours, huffing and puffing.

When he caught sight of a corner of the General Affairs Hall, a faint, stiff smile appeared on his sweat-soaked face.

A senior cultivator of the sect would be giving a lecture to new disciples tomorrow. He had set out immediately after receiving the notice three days ago.

Azure Water Lake was quite far from the General Affairs Hall. On top of that, he had no Talisman Bird for transportation and could only rely on his own two legs.

After walking through mountain paths for two days and two nights, he had finally made it here.

More than a dozen people sat scattered across the open space before the General Affairs Hall. They were likely disciples who had come from other halls.

Ji An found an empty patch of ground with no one around and plopped down.

He took out a worn blanket from his bundle, spread it over the ground, and lay down on his back.

He was simply too exhausted.

Master: Ji An

Dao Rhyme: 0

Spiritual Essence: Kan Spirit 0.2, Kun Spirit 0.1, Xun Spirit 1.6

Spells: Minor Cloud and Rain Art (proficient 72%)

Thick Earth Art (proficient 48%)

Although he had been traveling, he had not neglected his cultivation. The Stone Turtle's absorption of spiritual essence had not been affected much either. After leaving Azure Water Lake, however, it had obtained slightly less Kan Spirit than usual.

By the time he returned to the Spirit Fields at Azure Water Lake, the Minor Cloud and Rain Art would surely rise to the minor mastery level. That would be the capital he needed to settle himself and make a living.

Taking the Minor Cloud and Rain Art as an example, the second level of the spell had no additional effects. The spiritual power contained in the rainwater could only sustain the growth of Spirit Grain, and even raining multiple times in a day could not increase the Spiritual Grain yield.

Old Huang had said that if the Spirit Grain was irrigated throughout its heading stage with the minor mastery Minor Cloud and Rain Art, its yield could increase by around ten percent.

If it was irrigated with a major mastery-level spell, the yield could increase by thirty to forty percent.

The Thick Earth Art was similar to the Minor Cloud and Rain Art. Nourishing the land with the minor mastery Thick Earth Art every other day could also raise the harvest by around ten percent.

Thinking that he could earn an additional harvest as soon as he became a Spirit Farmer, Ji An felt as refreshed as if he had gulped down an icy drink in summer!

His eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Before he knew it, he had drifted into sleep, letting out soft snores.

Waves of hunger washed over him. Ji An groggily opened his eyes and sat up, only to see red clouds filling the sky, the dark mountains stretching like a sea, and the setting sun like blood.

He took out some rations and a waterskin, wolfed down a few bites, then entered the General Affairs Hall.

He intended to use this opportunity to ask about the cost of learning a third-level spell.

When the Minor Cloud and Rain Art had risen to the proficient level, he had conducted an experiment for comparison.

Refining the same amount of spiritual essence, he discovered that after learning the knack of the second-level spell, he could comprehend the spell faster than before.

It made sense. Low-level spells had been improved over countless generations. Their explanations of cultivation methods were who knew how many times better than fumbling along and comprehending things alone.

Ji An politely cupped his hands and said gently,

"Senior Brother, sorry to disturb you. I am a new disciple who entered the sect this year and was assigned to the Spirit Fields at Azure Water Lake.

May I ask how many Contribution Points I need to learn the third-level formula for the Minor Cloud and Rain Art?"

The cultivator who had been spacing out looked him over and replied suspiciously,

"You're only a first-layer Qi Condensation disciple, yet you want to learn a third-level spell?"

Generally speaking, only Spirit Farmers at the Second Layer of Qi Condensation met the requirements to learn third-level spells.

A first-layer Qi Condensation cultivator had too little spiritual power in their body and could not practice spells more than a few times a day.

"Oh, I understand.

To help disciples progress more smoothly along the path of immortality, the sect requires very few Contribution Points for all production-type spells.

The third-level formula for any Farming Spell only costs ten Contribution Points."

What did you understand? Now it was Ji An's turn to be baffled.

He was not surprised that the other party had identified his realm at a glance.

Cultivators of different realms released different degrees of spiritual pressure. It was perfectly normal for high-level cultivators to see through the cultivation of Low-level Cultivators.

The sect's reduction of Contribution Point costs for learning production-type spells showed farsighted vision, and he felt a trace of approval for the sect.

Only with abundant material resources could development flourish. The cultivation world should be no exception.

He began recalling the ways to obtain Contribution Points. Completing sect missions could earn Contribution Points, and handing in spiritual items or cultivation techniques not recorded by the sect could also earn them.

For example, if he handed in additional Spirit Grain beyond his Spirit Field rent, he could obtain Contribution Points.

In addition, he could use Spirit Stones to purchase Contribution Points. One Spirit Stone could be exchanged for twenty Contribution Points.

At the same time, the sect allowed disciples to exchange their own Contribution Points for Spirit Stones, with twenty-five Contribution Points exchanged for one Spirit Stone.

There was also one strict rule: Contribution Points could only be used by their owner and could not be transferred.

Ji An had no spiritual items and no rare cultivation techniques. He only had five Spirit Crystals, and his entire fortune could only be exchanged for one Contribution Point.

His father's beast-taming formula might have met the requirements, but his father had said he would only pass it on after Ji An opened his immortal veins. His father had never returned, so he never received the formula.

Because of this, he had once resented his father. When his father had decided to go gather herbs, why had he not copied down the formula for him?

"I'm a new disciple and have no Contribution Points for now. I'll come back in two months, once my Spirit Grain has been harvested.

Hmm. What if I want to learn the Wither and Flourish Art?"

The cultivator held up one finger.

"The first and second-level formulas for the Wither and Flourish Art, Blazing Fire Spell, and Sharp Metal Art each cost only one Contribution Point."

Ji An laid out five Spirit Crystals. "Give me a jade slip for the Wither and Flourish Art."