Spirit Gathering Pill

In front of the Pill Pavilion.

"Senior, I would like to exchange for two Spirit Gathering Pills."

Chen Changming bowed and handed over his contribution point token.

"Young man, it isn't easy for a handyman disciple like you to earn contribution points. Are you sure you want to exchange them for Spirit Gathering Pills?"

An elderly man with white hair asked indifferently.

The handyman disciple before him was only at the first level of Qi Refining; consuming a Spirit Gathering Pill was truly a waste of a precious resource.

"Yes, Senior."

Seeing the contempt in the other's eyes, Chen Changming said calmly.

"Fine, heh."

The white-haired elder chuckled mockingly, handed over two Spirit Gathering Pills, and then tapped the token to deduct the contribution points.

Chen Changming turned and left.

However, behind him, waves of laughter erupted, as if mocking his overestimation of his own capabilities.

Chen Changming remained calm, his gait steady, completely unaffected by the jeers.

Having wandered for these years, he had long grown accustomed to being looked down upon and ridiculed. He was well aware that his status as a handyman disciple held little weight within the Lingxiao Sect.

For a youth, when one's strength is weak, the only option is to keep a low profile and cultivate in silence.

Passing by the Mission Hall, Chen Changming did not enter, choosing instead to observe quietly from beneath a tree in the distance.

His status as a handyman disciple was too conspicuous; it was not suitable for him to appear inside the Mission Hall.

Having visited some other handyman disciples a while ago, Chen Changming had gained some understanding of the Mission Hall. He knew it was where tasks were posted for outer and inner sect disciples, which offered rewards in contribution points upon completion.

Due to their low status and weak cultivation, handyman disciples were not suited to take on these tasks; even if they did, they would only be met with ridicule from the outer or inner sect disciples.

Turning around, Chen Changming left the area, and after several twists and turns, he arrived outside the Scripture Library.

He still had 120 points on his token, and he intended to exchange for the Spirit Finger Flick.

This technique was one of the simplest, and there was even a discount for handyman disciples, so it only cost 50 points.

"Handyman disciples, turn right upon entering..."

Chen Changming explained his purpose to the elder guarding the Scripture Library, and under the latter's direction, he walked into a small room inside.

The room was not large, and on the shelves sat seven or eight manuals for the most basic techniques: Fireball Art, Water Bullet Art, Golden Light Art, Entanglement Art, Earth Spike Art, Spirit Finger Flick, and Detoxification Art.

Although these were all rudimentary techniques, to Chen Changming, who had never seen the world, they were eye-opening.

Spirit Finger Flick and Detoxification Art were 50 points each.

The other five techniques cost 100 points.

After some thought, Chen Changming chose the Spirit Finger Flick and the Detoxification Art.

He had been bitten by a venomous snake when he was young and nearly died, so the memory was particularly vivid. Since he had stumbled upon the Detoxification Art today, he decided to master it to guard against any future mishaps.

Walking out of the Scripture Library to the entrance, Chen Changming placed the two booklets on the table and said respectfully, "Senior, I would like to exchange for these two techniques."

"Very well."

The elder replied indifferently, tapped the contribution point token, and deducted 100 points.

Just then, a few outer sect disciples walked over. Seeing Chen Changming pick up the two technique manuals, one of them glanced at them and couldn't help but laugh loudly: "In this day and age, there's actually someone exchanging for the Detoxification Art?"

"Indeed, this technique is nothing but a chicken rib; it's not even as convenient as a single detoxification pill."

Another youth laughed.

"Haha, I remember now." The first youth stared at Chen Changming and suddenly clapped his hands in laughter: "This is that Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Root, the one with the trashiest aptitude among our entire batch of disciples!"

"Haha..."

The group roared with laughter, their mocking gazes filled with derision.

Chen Changming frowned slightly, tucked the two manuals into his robes, and turned to leave.

He could not afford to provoke these outer sect disciples yet.

However, that might not be the case in the future.

As long as he was given time, he would soar into the sky.

The Scripture Library elder paid no mind to the outer sect disciples' antics.

After all, a handyman disciple, especially one with the trashiest Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Root, was nothing more than a fart to him.

Upon returning, Chen Changming did not rush to learn the new techniques, but instead set about replanting the five acres of fields with spirit rice.

"Relying on the yield of these five acres of spirit fields is far from enough to satisfy my cultivation..."

Looking toward the direction of the mountain peak, Chen Changming said with envy.

His current cultivation was insufficient, and he had no qualifications to farm on the mountain; for now, he could only reclaim wasteland in the woods behind his courtyard.

It took him two days to clear ten acres of land deep in the woods. After planting the spirit rice and casting the Cloud Rain Art to water it, he returned to his room and took out a Spirit Gathering Pill.

"So expensive."

He muttered to himself, a look of heartache appearing on his face.

A single pill cost 50 contribution points; he had no idea how much of a breakthrough it would provide after consumption.

A few seconds later.

Chen Changming swallowed the Spirit Gathering Pill.

A surging wave of spiritual energy erupted shortly thereafter with astonishing momentum. Chen Changming felt a surge of joy and hurriedly began circulating the Evergreen Art to cultivate.

Two hours later.

The medicinal effects of the Spirit Gathering Pill were completely absorbed.

"Eating one is equivalent to three days of cultivation..."

After silently savoring the feeling for a moment, Chen Changming swallowed another Spirit Gathering Pill.

The two Spirit Gathering Pills did not allow Chen Changming to break through, but he felt the spiritual energy in his dantian becoming increasingly turbulent.

If he could eat a few more Spirit Gathering Pills, a breakthrough would be no problem at all.

But Chen Changming also knew that this was merely wishful thinking. For now, he had to keep his feet on the ground, taking it one step at a time while waiting for the next batch of spirit rice to mature.

Once the spirit rice matured, Chen Changming planned to try his luck at the market at the foot of the mountain.

Every morning, he would go to the woods to check on the growth of the spirit rice, watering it and removing pests in a timely manner.

Through more than ten days of observation, Chen Changming discovered that the spirit rice in the newly cleared fields was growing worse than that in the regular spirit fields. After careful analysis, he concluded that the soil lacked sufficient spiritual energy, so he increased the amount of water he used.

After watering them six times over the course of a month, their growth finally caught up.

In this way, the spirit rice on both sides would mature at the same time.

Calculating based on a yield of two thousand catties per acre, the output of these ten acres would be twenty thousand catties of spirit rice. This would be Chen Changming's first "huge fortune" in the Lingxiao Sect.

Therefore, he intended to head to the market to sell it for a good price, so he could purchase more Spirit Gathering Pills for his cultivation.

Over these past ten days, Chen Changming had successfully mastered both the Spirit Finger Flick and the Detoxification Art, starting his practice with the Spirit Finger Flick.

This Spirit Finger Flick was simpler than the Cloud Rain Art; it required neither hand seals nor incantations, consuming only a small amount of spiritual energy.

Given Chen Changming's aptitude, he managed to get the hang of it in just half a day.

Chi! Chi!

Streaks of spiritual energy shot from his fingertips like arrows, striking the ground and leaving behind small pits.

"Not bad at all..."

Looking at the small pits two meters away, Chen Changming couldn't help but smile.

He was smiling quite happily.

This was the fastest technique he had ever learned, a hundred times faster than the Lesser Cloud Rain Formula.

After several rounds of testing, Chen Changming grasped the power and effects of the Spirit Finger Flick. Its power was greatest within one meter, but it diminished significantly beyond three meters.

At five meters, it could only pierce through a wooden board as thick as a thumb, and at ten meters, the power was even weaker, like a light breeze blowing past.

Chen Changming recalled Pi Dong's Spirit Finger Flick from the past, which was also effective at a distance of one or two meters.

"If this Spirit Finger Flick were to be strengthened, it should be able to attack from further away."

Chen Changming smiled, then suddenly thought of something. He flicked his fingers repeatedly, continuing to release his spiritual energy.

Every beam of finger light was equivalent to one execution of the Spirit Finger Flick.

Therefore, consuming his entire reserve of spiritual energy could be exchanged for a great number of executions, which meant that the opportunities to strengthen this technique far exceeded those of any other!