Cultivation, Corpse Taro

Before breaking through to Qi Refining, one only needed to focus on meditating and visualizing the Three-Ring Pattern. But once one broke through to Qi Refining, not only did one have to draw the Three-Ring Pattern, one also had to suppress and soothe the spiritual energy.

The difficulty was not as simple as one plus one.

First, one needed to divide one's mind between two tasks. This point alone was enough to give many cultivators newly arrived at Qi Refining a headache for a long while. On top of that, suppressing and soothing spiritual energy consumed Divine Sense.

If one's mastery of the Basic Visualization Diagram was not high enough, there was no hope of improving one's cultivation in a short time.

After an unknown amount of time.

When the Soul Particle, carrying wood and Earth Spiritual Energy, sank into the Divine Sea.

Zhu Yu sensed the expenditure of his Divine Sense, then used the True Sight Eye to review the time. Excluding the failures in between, condensing one Soul Particle had taken nearly three hours.

He had a feeling that even after he adapted to having spiritual energy take up residence, it would still be difficult to regain his former efficiency of condensing one Soul Particle per hour.

Hopefully, once the Basic Visualization Diagram reaches great mastery, there will be some change...

Zhu Yu summoned the True Sight Eye and looked at the analysis time for the Basic Visualization Diagram. Only "seventeen days" remained.

Only after attending every Sutra Lecture Hall class teaching the Basic Visualization Diagram had he reduced the time from two months to a little over half a month.

No rush. It will be soon...

Zhu Yu dismissed the information panel and immersed himself in meditation once more.

When eleven full moons rose above the dome, it was noon.

In the wooden house, on the second floor.

"Phew..."

Zhu Yu let out a soft breath and opened his eyes. Sensing the three additional Soul Particles in his Divine Sea, he nodded with satisfaction.

Though it had taken a long time, he had completed a day's cultivation.

The reason he could condense three Soul Particles was entirely because he had advanced to the Qi Refining Realm. Not only had his soul surged in strength, but the power of his soul that naturally leaked out had increased considerably as well. Previously, without taking pills, he could only leak an amount equivalent to one and a half Soul Particles a day. Now, he could leak enough for three Soul Particles in a single day.

That was roughly equivalent to fourth-grade aptitude.

Using himself as an example, one could imagine just how enormous the soul power leaked by Immortal Seeds of sixth- or seventh-grade aptitude would be once they broke through to Qi Refining.

Of course, Immortal Seeds like that would probably advance to Late Qi Refining the moment they broke through, preparing for Foundation Establishment...

Just as he was pondering this, faint movement came from outside.

"Hmm?"

Zhu Yu was puzzled for a moment. He rose and walked to the window, only to see the gray-robed servant from yesterday directing people as they cleared the dead grass and broken branches from the courtyard.

Not far away.

A gray-skinned, sharp-horned semi-spirit beast rhinoceros stood harnessed to a massive cart, refusing to move. The cart was piled high with a dazzling array of furniture.

"That was fast..."

Zhu Yu was inwardly pleased.

Though Early Qi Refining made one increasingly less human, one still could not fast without food. He had already gone three days without eating. If he stubbornly endured for several more days, it would delay the transformation of his physique.

He walked downstairs and out of the sitting room.

When the busy servants saw Zhu Yu in his black robe, they all stopped what they were doing and bowed respectfully.

"This lowly one greets you, my lord."

"Mm. Carry on."

Zhu Yu gave a slight nod, called over the gray-robed servant, and instructed him to fill in the hollow spaces on the second floor. Then he headed toward the Corpse Field.

After checking the state of the Fierce Tiger Corpse Seed and confirming that there was no issue, he turned his gaze toward the vast stretches of empty corpse fields.

Leaving so much Corpse Field idle would be far too wasteful...

A thoughtful look entered Zhu Yu's eyes. Recalling the records in Treasures of the World, an unremarkable spiritual item the size of an adult's fist, pitted and dull gray in appearance, soon surfaced in his mind.

Its name was Corpse Taro. It was a low-grade first-rank spiritual item, edible like Spirit Rice and suited for planting in lands thick with Corpse Baleful Intent. It tasted pungent, filled the stomach, and could temper the body.

Most importantly, Corpse Taro was easy to grow. One only needed to scatter the seeds, with barely any need for tending. After three months, one could harvest a broad expanse of tubers.

However, being easy to cultivate and producing in large quantities meant that its price could not be high.

Zhu Yu had previously seen someone selling it at the Market. Twenty catties of Corpse Taro sold for only one Low-grade Spirit Stone, and even then, not many people asked about the price or bought any.

It is still an income, however small. Better than leaving it idle...

After some thought, Zhu Yu decided to plant Corpse Taro.

It was not that he did not want to plant other Spirit Medicines suited to growing in Corpse Fields, but their maturation periods were either too long, or they required watering with spiritual water and were difficult to tend.

"Twenty catties for one Spirit Stone. At the lowest yield of three thousand catties of Corpse Taro per mu, nearly three mu of Corpse Field should bring in nine hundred Spirit Stones in half a year no matter what."

Zhu Yu silently calculated, then nodded with satisfaction. He thought this was likely a small benefit the Sect offered to newly promoted disciples.

In that case, although the Heavenly Dao Sect demanded Spirit Stones for everything, it treated newly initiated disciples quite well.

"The Spirit Field Hall has Corpse Taro seeds. I can also buy a few catties of Spirit Rice to see what it tastes like, along with tiger demon blood..."

With these thoughts in mind, Zhu Yu returned to the wooden house, gave the gray-robed servant a few instructions, then turned and descended the earthen hill, heading straight for the Beast Pen nearby.

The Underworld Grounds, Spirit Fields, and Beast Pen were only a thousand meters apart.

Halfway there, a faint breeze brushed across his face, and the world seemed to change. The pervasive vicious, baleful air faded away, replaced by a fresh, wild aura as though he had stepped into a primeval mountain forest.

"A formation? ..."

Surprise flashed through Zhu Yu's eyes. He looked around in every direction but could not see the slightest sign of anything. Inwardly, he marveled, The Formation Dao truly is profound and unfathomable...

Unfortunately, inheritances of the Formation Dao were rare. No, it should be said that all hundred arts of cultivation were difficult to obtain. Among the many classrooms of the Sutra Lecture Hall, not one taught any of the hundred arts of cultivation.

Still, after becoming an initiated disciple.

Zhu Yu learned that several dozen li away stood a Dharma Repository containing tens of thousands of methods. Yet entering required Contribution Points, and exchanging for methods required an ocean of Contribution Points.

Without dwelling on it, he found a grassy path and headed straight toward the nearest main road.

Not long after.

Zhu Yu reached a stone-paved road roughly three zhang wide. Looking around, he saw a Beast Pen glittering with spiritual light every dozen or so mu of Spirit Fields. At the edge of a Spirit Field not far away stood a figure in green robes, while rain clouds gathered above the Spirit Field before him.

Could those be the rain clouds gathered by the Little Cloud-Rain Technique?

Zhu Yu had been about to find someone and ask where the Spirit Field Hall was. Seeing this, he waited for a while. Once the rain clouds floating in the air dispersed into mist, he hurried over and cupped his hands from afar.

"This one is Zhu Yu. Greetings, Senior Brother."

Hearing this, the green-robed figure with his back to Zhu Yu turned around. His hair was white as a crane's feathers, yet his face was ruddy, and he possessed an immortal bearing. He sized Zhu Yu up, stroked his beard, and smiled.

"This old man is Hong Xingwang. What guidance does this junior brother seek?"

Seeing that Hong Xingwang looked kind and not like a wicked man, Zhu Yu stepped closer and cupped his hands. "Greetings, Senior Brother Hong. I am a newly promoted disciple of the Underworld Grounds. I would like to ask how to reach the Spirit Field Hall."

"Hmm?"

Hong Xingwang was immediately taken aback, his gaze turning somewhat strange. Someone from the Underworld Grounds was not going to the Corpse Grotto, but was instead asking where the Spirit Field Hall was. How strange indeed. He raised his hand and pointed toward the upper right.

"Follow this stone road to the intersection, turn right, then keep going until the end. That is where the Spirit Field Hall is located."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Hong."

Zhu Yu quickly voiced his thanks, cupped his hands in salute, and turned to leave.

Not long after he departed.

"Tsk, someone from the Underworld Grounds is actually this polite..."

Hong Xingwang withdrew his gaze and clicked his tongue twice, then turned toward the next tenant's Spirit Field.