"Since you're so confident, Junior Brother Chen, I'll look forward to the surprises your Five Elements Mixed Spirit Root brings!"
Pi Dong gave a cold laugh, his eyes brimming with scorn, then turned and left.
Among all the menial disciples, this good-for-nothing with a Five Elements Mixed Spirit Root had taken the longest to break through to the Qi Refining Realm. It would take him at least two months to get even a rudimentary grasp of Cloud Rain Art.
Menial disciples had limited aptitude, and their cultivation was slow.
If he were an inner disciple, he would have learned to cast even a rudimentary Cloud Rain Art convincingly in just a few days.
After a brief silence, Chen Changming went back to his room, took out the Spirit Rice Planting Guide, and made his way to the fields. He opened the book and began to study it.
After reading the guide, Chen Changming soon understood it. It didn't cover cultivation techniques, only describing the process of growing Spirit Rice in detail.
After all, he had spent several years farming with his grandmother as a child, so he could apply what he knew to this.
Once he had finished the guide, Chen Changming walked along the field ridges, surveying his five acres of Spirit Rice and checking how it was growing and whether any pests had appeared.
"There's a bug!"
A golden beetle about the size of a fingernail was resting quietly on a green stalk. Chen Changming had spotted it.
This was a Gold Spirit Bug, one of the most common pests in the fields.
Chen Changming held his breath and didn't dare let his guard down as he carefully drew his steel saber.
These weren't ordinary bugs. They devoured Spirit Rice, and their shells were hard. He had to bring his strongest force to bear.
After cautiously taking a few steps, the youth slashed out with his saber.
The strike was fast—faster than it had been when he was in the Xiantian Realm. But the Gold Spirit Bug was startled by the gust of the blade and took flight, evading the attack.
"Die!"
Chen Changming sprang into the air and unleashed Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain.
Thud!
The Gold Spirit Bug couldn't dodge in time. The blade caught it, sending it crashing onto the grass nearby.
On the ground, the injured Gold Spirit Bug rolled over and over, then darted quickly through the grass to escape.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh... The blade flashed.
Chen Changming pounced after it and struck several times, finally killing the Gold Spirit Bug.
"What a hard shell."
After sheathing his saber, the youth stood in the grass, his face still pale with fright.
His Five Tigers Soul-Severing Blade was still too weak. He had needed several strikes to kill the Gold Spirit Bug.
"Looks like I need to strengthen my Five Tigers Soul-Severing Blade, too..."
Chen Changming thought to himself.
He didn't have any contribution points, so he couldn't cultivate Spirit Finger Flick. For now, he could only pin his hopes on the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Blade.
For the next two hours, Chen Changming stayed in the fields, hunting for Spirit Bugs and wounding them. As he did, he practiced the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Blade again and again.
Every strike added to his experience.
It was as if the youth was slowly advancing along the path of improvement. One day, his saber technique would surely reach a new level.
"Hmph!"
"I didn't expect that kid to know martial saber techniques. No wonder he's so arrogant! But this is as far as he'll get. Without Cloud Rain Art, the fields will yield less. Then we'll see what you do!"
In the distant woods, Pi Dong watched through the sparse leaves. His face was livid. He stamped his foot in irritation, then turned and left.
Meanwhile...
Deep inside a cave on the highest peak of Lingxiao Sect, a faint voice sounded.
"Has a youth bearing an ancient green token joined the sect recently?"
"No, Ancestor."
Sect Master Li Yue replied with a bow. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. What kind of youth could draw the attention of this Ancestor, who was on the verge of the Golden Core Realm?
Could he be a descendant of the Ancestor's old friend?
"If he comes, kill him."
The Ancestor of Lingxiao Sect sat cross-legged in his cave abode, his eyes closed as he spoke in a calm, unruffled voice.
Kill him?
Li Yue was startled. Who was this youth, that the Ancestor had personally ordered his death?
"Ancestor, could he be a spy from the Blood Demon Sect?"
Li Yue thought for a moment before asking.
"No. I'm merely repaying a favor..."
The Ancestor smiled faintly and waved a hand. "It's nothing important. You needn't pay it much mind. The boy hasn't even stepped onto the path of cultivation. He might not make it to Lingxiao Sect before some mountain beast eats him."
"I understand, Ancestor."
Li Yue respectfully withdrew from the cave.
Since the Ancestor had said as much, Li Yue relaxed. He returned to the Sect Master Hall, casually gave a few instructions, then put the matter out of his mind.
After killing all the Gold Spirit Bugs in the fields, Chen Changming returned to his room and began studying Cloud Rain Art.
It took him seven days to fully grasp this rudimentary art.
"My aptitude really is awful..."
The youth gave a self-deprecating smile.
During those seven days, he visited the fields every day, practicing the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Blade as he cleared out pests.
After returning, he also spent time cultivating the Evergreen Art.
After all, he couldn't neglect this cultivation technique. It would determine whether he could break through to the second level of the Qi Refining Realm.
After grasping Cloud Rain Art, Chen Changming went to the fields to put it into practice.
"Cloud Rain Art!"
Standing on the ridge, the youth formed several hand seals in quick succession. As the spiritual energy in his body circulated, he thrust out a finger!
A white cloud the size of a washbasin appeared out of thin air.
That was it?
Looking at the tiny cloud, Chen Changming felt like crying. He really was a complete good-for-nothing.
His first attempt ended in failure. The tiny cloud dissipated without producing a single drop of rain.
"This Cloud Rain Art is much harder than Spirit Armor Art..."
Chen Changming shook his head.
He knew that when he had learned Spirit Armor Art, Zhu Fang had controlled the flow of energy for him. But with Cloud Rain Art, he had to control everything himself. He was still unfamiliar with the way energy flowed through many of his meridians.
That was why his first attempt had failed so badly.
The youth refused to give up and kept practicing Cloud Rain Art. After casting it thirty times in a row, the spiritual energy in his body was finally depleted.
Chen Changming sat by the fields, panting. After waiting until his breathing settled, he began cultivating the Evergreen Art to replenish his spiritual energy.
The youth didn't realize that an ordinary early-stage Qi Refining menial disciple had enough spiritual energy to cast Cloud Rain Art only five or six times. He had cast it thirty times—clear proof that the spiritual energy reserves in his dantian were five times greater than an average person's!
After ten cycles of the Evergreen Art, the spiritual energy in his dantian was replenished, and the youth began practicing Cloud Rain Art again.
Seven days later.
Chen Changming could finally manage to conjure a cloud the size of an Eight Immortals table and make it rain.
He was thrilled!
With that one pitiful little cloud, Chen Changming had managed to water two acres of fields in a single day.
His Cloud Rain Art was still poor. The cloud was small, and it didn't produce much rain. But he made up for that by casting it again and again!
He replenished his spiritual energy ten times a day, allowing him to cast Cloud Rain Art three hundred times. Thanks to that staggering number, he managed to water two acres of Spirit Rice fields.
With his spirits lifted, Chen Changming performed beyond his usual ability. The next day, Cloud Rain Art grew stronger again, and the cloud expanded by a ring, allowing him to water two and a half acres.
He put in extra hours to water the remaining half-acre that evening.
At dawn, a faint mist blanketed the mountains.
The red sun on the horizon appeared and vanished behind the haze, and the entire valley was filled with the faint fragrance of Spirit Rice.
After finishing his cultivation of the Evergreen Art, Chen Changming took the guide back to the fields and carefully inspected the Spirit Rice.
"My Cloud Rain Art is still lacking. The rainwater doesn't have enough spiritual energy..."
After examining the crops closely, Chen Changming reached that conclusion.
"Cloud Rain Art!"
He put away the Spirit Rice Planting Guide and began making rain once more.
If the quality wasn't good enough, he would make up for it with quantity!
He had all the patience in the world.
Over the next several days, Chen Changming kept casting Cloud Rain Art to water the fields. The more he practiced, the more familiar he became with how the art worked, and the deeper his understanding grew.
After watering the five acres six times, he finally mastered Cloud Rain Art completely. By then, another half-month had passed.
"No voice appeared. Looks like the earlier attempts didn't count because I hadn't truly mastered Cloud Rain Art..."
The youth thought silently.