Continuous Breakthrough

After fully mastering the Cloud Rain Art, Chen Changming could summon a cloud nearly an acre in size with a single casting.

Therefore, watering his five acres of land required only five spells.

As the power of the Cloud Rain Art increased, so did its consumption; with his current level of spiritual power, he could cast it exactly five times.

Since spirit rice did not require daily watering, the Spirit Rice Planting Guide stipulated that once a month was usually sufficient, with a maximum of three times.

Consequently, Chen Changming practiced in the small grove behind his hut.

He could now cast the Cloud Rain Art fifty times a day. Although he felt utterly exhausted afterward, drenched in sweat and on the verge of collapse, Chen Changming always managed to persevere through sheer willpower.

He knew very well that with his trash-tier aptitude, he had to put in far more effort than the average person just to keep pace with a normal person's stride.

Even when exhausted, he always carved out time to weed the spirit fields and practice the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Blade.

This was his only offensive skill at the moment.

Even if it were merely a martial art from the secular world, Chen Changming wanted to break through its limits to increase his strength.

After all, he had no contribution points and no way to exchange for offensive cultivation techniques.

He practiced the Evergreen Art, the Cloud Rain Art, and the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Blade tirelessly every day; as for the Spirit Armor Art and the Heavenly Furnace Body-Forging Art, he had no energy left to spare for them for the time being.

Fortunately, the schedule for planting spirit rice was flexible and unsupervised, allowing Chen Changming to live a carefree, self-sufficient life here while his strength slowly improved.

Two days later.

At dusk.

Just as the youth was focusing intently on casting the Cloud Rain Art, a warm current suddenly surged from the soles of his feet, and a long-awaited voice echoed in his mind.

"Cloud Rain Art, one hundred times!"

He had broken through!

Chen Changming let out a long sigh of relief, a look of pleasant surprise appearing in his eyes.

His Cloud Rain Art had finally grown stronger.

The youth waved his hand, casting the technique in rapid succession. In an instant, a gale rose and clouds gathered, coalescing above the grove into a massive cloud bank that spanned a full ten acres!

The clouds churned, and thin, wispy threads of rain began to fall!

"What a massive cloud!"

Chen Changming was stunned.

This cloud was large enough to water ten acres of spirit fields at once!

Chen Changming reached out to catch the rain and felt it silently, shocked to discover that the energy within the water was more than twice as potent as before!

Wonderful!

With this rain, his spirit fields were sure to yield a bumper harvest!

After a while, the cloud dissipated, and the spiritual power in Chen Changming's dantian was completely drained.

"My cultivation realm is still too low; I can only cast this high-powered version of the Cloud Rain Art once..."

Chen Changming muttered to himself, his eyes gradually brightening.

He could control the size of the clouds formed by the Cloud Rain Art, thereby reducing the consumption of spiritual power.

After the breakthrough of the Cloud Rain Art, Chen Changming devoted his energy to practicing the Evergreen Art and the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Blade.

Half a month later.

Chen Changming's Evergreen Art reached one thousand repetitions, achieving another breakthrough.

After the breakthrough, his speed at absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth increased at least tenfold compared to before, his internal meridians were widened, and the spiritual power stored in his dantian grew exponentially.

Even though he was only at the first level of Qi Refining, the density of the spiritual power in his dantian was dozens of times greater than that of other servant disciples at the same level!

"The second breakthrough for the Evergreen Art was at one thousand; the third should be at ten thousand..."

Chen Changming thought silently.

It was easy to break through from one hundred to one thousand, but going from one thousand to ten thousand would not be easy; as for the fourth breakthrough, it might require one hundred thousand, which felt even more out of reach.

One month later.

The Five Tigers Soul-Severing Blade reached ten thousand repetitions and finally achieved a breakthrough.

This breakthrough helped Chen Changming discern a pattern: for martial arts techniques, the breakthrough threshold started at ten thousand, while for immortal cultivation techniques, it started at one hundred.

Chen Changming went to the spirit fields.

After observing them silently and comparing them to the Spirit Rice Planting Guide, he was surprised to find that the spirit rice was not far from maturity.

They had already flowered, and in two months at most, they would begin to form ears.

"Could it be that the enhanced Cloud Rain Art has the effect of accelerating the growth of spirit rice?"

Chen Changming guessed with pleasant surprise.

At this rate of growth, his five acres could produce two harvests of spirit rice a year, and the rice he planted was growing exceptionally well; every harvest was destined to be a massive success!

"Junior Brother Chen, your spirit rice is growing quite impressively, isn't it?"

Just as Chen Changming was delighting in his own success, a sinister laugh suddenly drifted over from the distance.

Chen Changming frowned, turned around, and saw Pi Dong strolling over from afar with his hands behind his back.

"It's alright."

Chen Changming said indifferently.

He was now tending his spirit field alone and no longer needed to concern himself with Pi Dong's moods.

Pi Dong walked up, took a close look, and suddenly exclaimed, "Junior Brother Chen, what kind of dog-shit luck have you had? The spirit rice here is actually about to ripen!"

Chen Changming felt a jolt in his heart.

The secret of his spirit field had been discovered, and that was certainly not a good thing.

He thought for a moment and said with deliberate nonchalance, "You flatter me, Senior Brother Pi. Perhaps I've just been taking good care of it."

"Pah! You wish!"

Pi Dong rolled up his sleeves and huffed, "I never imagined this plot of yours had connected to a subterranean spirit vein, which is why it matures every six months!"

Chen Changming caught the implication behind his words and asked calmly, "I don't understand what you mean, Senior Brother Pi."

Pi Dong pointed toward the mountainside and said irritably, "You new disciples aren't very skilled, so you were given the lowest-quality fields at the foot of the mountain, which only mature once a year. We veteran disciples who have been in the Lingxiao Sect for years all farm on the mountainside or the peak. Those fields are all connected to the subterranean spirit veins to some degree; they mature at least twice a year, and the best ones up to four times!"

"So that's how it is."

Chen Changming wore an expression of sudden realization.

He hadn't expected there to be such mysteries hidden within the valley's spirit fields. Fortunately, Pi Dong had come today and volunteered these secrets, which had inadvertently helped Chen Changming cover his own tracks.

It seemed that in the future, he couldn't just focus on cultivation; he needed to walk around more, get to know the other menial disciples in the valley, and get a clear grasp of the situation while building some connections.

Otherwise, burying his head in cultivation wasn't a long-term solution. Being ignorant of the outside world would only invite unknown risks.

Pi Dong couldn't do anything about Chen Changming. After all, this junior brother could water and weed the fields himself, and he had been lucky enough to stumble upon a good plot of land. It was no longer possible to squeeze any contribution points out of him.

After grumbling for a while, he left in low spirits.

Chen Changming turned back to his room to continue practicing the Evergreen Art. A month passed, and his cultivation progressed once more, his spiritual power growing increasingly robust.

During this month, besides cultivating, Chen Changming had also ventured out, actively visiting the more senior menial disciples on the mountainside and the peak, gradually mapping out the situation in the valley.

Most of the spirit fields on the mountainside could produce two harvests a year.

On the peak, the majority of the fields produced three harvests a year, with a small portion producing four.

Although the fields were of higher quality and produced more harvests, the rapid growth of the spirit rice required more frequent watering.

Without a certain level of cultivation, it was difficult to handle the workload.

The menial disciples at the peak had reached as high as the third level of Qi Refining. Because of their significant contributions to the Lingxiao Sect, they were rewarded with three Spirit Gathering Pills every month.

These Spirit Gathering Pills could assist in the practice of the Evergreen Art and accelerate the speed of breaking through realms.

My cultivation has been so slow—it turns out I've been lacking medicinal pills!

Chen Changming stood in his courtyard, gazing at the mist-shrouded peaks, his eyes gleaming with intensity.

He had to find a way to get his hands on those Spirit Gathering Pills!