Whether it was the path of spirit planting or soul mastery, every technique was broad and profound; it could not be taught in just a few words.
After Li Xiuchang mastered the most basic Ghost Controlling techniques, Mo Tu stopped teaching.
However, he also said, "The days ahead are long. If you have any questions about Soul Mastery or spirit planting in the future, you can come to me anytime."
Li Xiuchang felt as though he had taken a "technical master" as his teacher. Moreover, Senior Brother Mo was far more dedicated than most technical masters. An ordinary technical master would never provide disciples with one-on-one private lessons.
Li Xiuchang glanced at his Length Value—3.48. Learning Soul Mastery from Mo Tu had increased his length by nearly half an inch.
Although it was nowhere near as fast as the increase he had gained from learning spirit planting, it was still astonishing.
This plunged Li Xiuchang into confusion once more.
When he studied spirit cooking and alchemy by himself in his spare time, his improvement had never been this rapid!
Could the difference between having a teacher and having no teacher really be this great?
Or was it possible that he also had some talent in Soul Mastery?
Li Xiuchang decided to find an opportunity to have his master, Zhao Yuansi, give him a lesson in alchemy.
Mo Tu, a Second-grade Spirit Planter and Second-grade Soul Master, had given him two lessons, and both had benefited him immensely. What would happen if a fifth-grade alchemy grandmaster like Zhao Yuansi gave him a lesson?
Wouldn't his length increase by at least two inches?
If attending lessons could increase his length, Li Xiuchang suddenly felt that accumulating length might not be difficult after all.
Senior Brother Zhang Wanzhi had mastered more than a dozen techniques, all at the peak of the second grade. If he spent some spirit stones to hire Senior Brother Zhang to give him a few lessons, wouldn't his Length Value shoot upward?
However, Li Xiuchang had no plans to learn any other new Cultivation Techniques for the time being.
He had already learned four techniques—spirit cooking, alchemy, spirit planting, and Soul Mastery—but he was still at an apprentice level in all of them and had not even entered the door in a single one. Continuing to learn something else would indeed be hard to justify.
He should wait until he had entered the door of one or two techniques first.
Li Xiuchang controlled two Yin Souls and assigned them the task of tending the courtyard. He then left the Eastern Geng District with Zhang Wanzhi.
Zhang Wanzhi said he had found an empty plot of land for him that could be used to make Smoked Spirit Meat.
"Senior Brothers, why don't you take my flying boat?" Li Xiuchang said politely.
His flying boat was a little slow, but flying boats were restricted to low speeds within the sect, so it could not fly very fast anyway.
"Sure." Zhang Wanzhi and Mo Tu both nodded.
Li Xiuchang began rummaging around in his Storage Bag, only to pull out a pile of bottles and jars filled with pills.
Zhang Wanzhi froze for a moment before remembering that Li Xiuchang was at the Second Layer of Qi Condensation and had yet to master Spiritual Sense.
Li Xiuchang pulled out several gourds of immortal brew, then brought out spirit wood, spirit stones, spirit dishes... One thing after another came out, leaving him with no choice but to give the two Senior Brothers an embarrassed smile.
Taking things out of a Storage Bag was like opening a blind box. When his luck was good, he could pull out what he wanted in one or two tries. When his luck was bad, he had to empty the entire Storage Bag.
Zhang Wanzhi was already somewhat dumbfounded. After seeing the pills, spirit dishes, and immortal brew, he finally understood why Li Xiuchang's Cultivation Level had risen so quickly.
"Found it!" Li Xiuchang finally took out his flying boat.
Looking at the uniquely shaped flying boat, Zhang Wanzhi and Mo Tu exchanged glances, and a trace of regret flashed in their eyes.
Even so, the two gave him face and jumped into the flying boat.
The flying boat rose into the air. Zhang Wanzhi pointed in a direction, and Li Xiuchang controlled the flying boat as it flew there at full speed.
Any fellow disciple passing through the sky could not help taking an extra look at Li Xiuchang's flying boat.
When Li Xiuchang turned around, he discovered that the two Senior Brothers had already squatted down.
He pulled the canopy over his head and sat down as well. He saw that both Senior Brothers' expressions relaxed considerably once the roof had closed.
"Junior Brother, this flying boat of yours is quite comfortable."
Zhang Wanzhi had to admit that, setting aside his prejudices, the flying boat's comfort was actually quite good.
Li Xiuchang felt proud and smiled. "Apart from being a little slow, this flying boat really has no obvious flaws."
You haven't mentioned its appearance at all... Zhang Wanzhi grumbled inwardly.
Li Xiuchang continued, "However, there's still plenty of room to improve its comfort. I originally planned to wait until I mastered the techniques of artifact refinement, then personally build an upgraded flying boat. Unfortunately, my energy is limited, so I can only leave it for later."
Zhang Wanzhi felt somewhat tempted. If he extracted the essence of Li Xiuchang's flying boat while discarding its dross, building a small flying boat focused on comfort would be a rather good choice.
Interested, he said, "Junior Brother, have you forgotten that I'm also an artifact refiner? If you have any ideas, why not tell me? If they're feasible, wouldn't it be wonderful for the two of us to work together and make a batch of spirit stones?"
Li Xiuchang had never considered making spirit stones from this, but since Zhang Wanzhi had brought it up, he naturally would not refuse. He explained some of his ideas in scattered fragments.
"It'd be best to put several rows of seats inside the flying boat—two or three rows would do. The seats must be comfortable, with their surfaces wrapped in Beast Hide. They should recline, so people can sit or lie down. Ideally, they'd come with massage and heating functions..."
"The flying boat should be able to automatically regulate its temperature, warm in winter and cool in summer..."
"It'd be even better if the flying boat could drive itself. Set a destination, and it would arrive automatically, avoiding obstacles along the way without anyone needing to worry."
Zhang Wanzhi had not expected Li Xiuchang to have many ideas, but he had never imagined that Li Xiuchang would rattle off a whole basketful of them.
"Junior Brother Li, you certainly know how to enjoy yourself!" Zhang Wanzhi exclaimed sincerely. "Tomorrow, I'll start building the flying boat according to your ideas. If we can mass-produce them later and make some spirit stones, we'll split the earnings between us."
While they chatted, the flying boat had already reached its destination.
It was an empty plot of land in the outer sect's planting district.
Zhang Wanzhi and Mo Tu had jointly rented a plot of medicinal fields to grow Spirit Medicine. However, they had planted only half of it, leaving the other half empty, so they temporarily lent it to Li Xiuchang to make Smoked Spirit Meat.
This was private territory, so no one would come to disturb them. The grounds were also large enough; they were more than sufficient for making Smoked Spirit Meat.
Li Xiuchang offered to pay rent, but Zhang Wanzhi and Mo Tu stubbornly refused. Li Xiuchang could also tell that the two Senior Brothers were both skilled at making money and probably did not care about such a small amount of rent, so he did not insist, lest he seem overly affected.
The next day, Li Xiuchang and Wang Long moved the Smoked Spirit Meat production line over.
From then on, Li Xiuchang's doorway finally became peaceful.
All he had to do was set aside half a day every four days to make Smoked Spirit Meat and light the furnace. He did not need to worry about anything else.
After finishing everything, Li Xiuchang could finally continue cultivating in peace. He now had three inches of usable length and was merely waiting to cultivate to the Third Layer of Qi Condensation so he could test whether using increased length to raise his Cultivation Level was feasible.
However, Li Xiuchang always felt that he had forgotten something.
It was not until he sat in the cultivation room and began cultivating that he remembered: Zhang Wanzhi and Mo Tu had said they wanted to borrow some of his Charcoal Attribute Mana for research, but the two of them seemed to have forgotten all about it...
Before you continue