Senior Brother's Invitation, Golden Cores Divided into Three Grades

In the days that followed, everything became a monotonous cycle.

Cooking, cultivating, walking the dog, tending the Spirit Fields.

Day after day, every day was the same.

Anyone else might have been unable to bear the loneliness.

But whenever Xu Changqing saw the rice shoots in the Spirit Fields growing ever more robust,

his mood became incomparably pleasant.

As he continued cultivating, the spiritual power within his body also grew to four strands.

At that moment, he stood on the ridge between the fields.

The little yellow dog, somewhat bigger now, was at his feet.

Looking at the Four-Leaf Clover growing silently in the corner, he could not help raising an eyebrow.

Zhang Su had clearly said they were Four-Leaf Clover.

Yet now, most of them had only one leaf.

This was obviously wrong.

After all, he had fertilized them when they needed fertilizing.

He had brought rain when they needed rain.

When he had planted them, he had even deliberately wrapped them in spiritual power.

By all rights, they should have grown normally.

Yet their current state seemed rather uneven, with the good and bad mixed together.

Most had one green leaf.

A few had two.

But not to mention four leaves, there were not even any with three.

Was their growth cycle simply long?

Or had he overlooked something?

Xu Changqing said with certainty, "There is absolutely no problem with the nutrients."

Woof! Woof!

At that moment, the little yellow dog at his feet barked toward the other side.

Hearing the commotion, Xu Changqing could not help glancing over.

Someone was walking toward him in the distance.

But it was not Hu Bugui.

Nor was it Lin An or Zhao Ziyao.

He never would have expected it.

It was actually Li Sancai.

The Senior Brother Li who had helped him several times around the outskirts of the Spirit Fields.

"Senior Brother, why are you here?" Xu Changqing hurried forward to greet him.

Li Sancai looked around as he smiled. "My duty of guarding the outskirts has ended, so I've returned to the core area."

Xu Changqing's eyes lit up. "That's wonderful. Senior Brother, give me your address. I'll come visit next time."

Li Sancai took out a Communication Talisman and handed it to him, then explained, "At the Red Maple Valley market last time, I wasn't deliberately slighting you. My cousin had something urgent to deal with, so I couldn't delay."

"Your cousin?" Xu Changqing accepted the Communication Talisman and suddenly understood. "Li Lingbi is actually Senior Brother's cousin!"

Li Sancai nodded slightly. "You know that over the past two years, the prices of all kinds of resources have soared. Whether it's spirit plants or spirit artifacts, even task rewards are much higher than before."

Xu Changqing deeply agreed. "Exactly. I just spent twenty Low-Grade Spirit Stones to hire someone to bring rain."

The two walked along the ridge between the fields, and Li Sancai continued, "Precisely because my cousin is a core disciple, his need for all sorts of resources has only grown greater."

Xu Changqing pondered this. "Could Senior Brother's return this time also have something to do with that?"

Li Sancai gave him an approving look. "I came to find you this time for two reasons. One was to confirm your location, and the other was to discuss cooperation."

"Cooperation?" Xu Changqing was greatly surprised, yet also immensely delighted.

"Four-Leaf Clover?" Li Sancai's eyes lit up at the sight of the flourishing Spirit Rice, but when he saw the spirit plants in the corner on the other side, he froze for a moment.

Xu Changqing grinned. "That's right, Four-Leaf Clover."

Li Sancai suddenly revealed an amused expression. "You can grow Four-Leaf Clover, which greatly surprises me. But did the person who sold you the seeds not tell you how to cultivate them?"

The moment Xu Changqing saw his expression, his heart skipped a beat. He quickly shook his head. "No. I thought they were cultivated the same way as Spirit Rice."

Li Sancai could not help sneering. "This Four-Leaf Clover needs a great deal of water. Even if you plant it, you need to find a place with plenty of water, otherwise it will compete with your Spirit Rice for moisture."

Xu Changqing shook his head. "But there's nothing wrong with the Spirit Rice I planted."

He sensed them once every day.

And once the Evergreen Formula reached the fifth level,

he would be able to perceive the full condition of spirit plants in advance.

Li Sancai looked as though he had everything under control. "First, because you have a lot of Spirit Rice.

Second, there is a problem with the Four-Leaf Clover seeds.

Third, I assume your Evergreen Formula has improved."

"I see." Xu Changqing neither confirmed nor denied it.

Seeing this, Li Sancai did not press him. Instead, he pointed to where the Four-Leaf Clover was planted and said, "Next time, dig a water channel beside it. That will do."

Xu Changqing sighed with feeling. "I never thought Senior Brother would help me again. I'll never be able to repay this kindness."

Li Sancai said, half laughing and half crying, "It's nothing. Many things are mutual."

Although the other party had not admitted whether his Evergreen Formula had improved,

that was not the important part.

After all, more than half a year had already passed.

No matter how poor one's aptitude was, one would still improve little by little.

What was more, judging by how well the Spirit Rice was growing, its yield would definitely not be low.

"By the way, what does Senior Brother want to cooperate with me on?" Xu Changqing was very curious.

Li Sancai's smile faded, and his expression turned serious. "My cousin Li Lingbi plans to challenge for an Earth-Grade Golden Core within ten years, so he needs a vast amount of resources."

Xu Changqing could not help changing the subject. "What is an Earth-Grade Golden Core?"

Li Sancai answered, "Golden Cores are divided into three grades: Human, Earth, and Heaven."

Human-Grade Golden Cores were the worst kind of Golden Core.

Whether in the intensity of one's magic power or the might of spells after they were cast, they were the weakest.

But the overwhelming majority of cultivators had Human-Grade Golden Cores.

This involved many reasons.

One was aptitude.

Another was resources.

An Earth-Grade Golden Core could utterly crush a Human-Grade Golden Core.

But to reach the Earth Grade, one needed enormous resources.

Moreover, one had to venture out and hunt thousand-year-old demons to obtain their core parts.

By absorbing the power within those core parts, one could strengthen one's Spiritual Root.

As for Heaven-Grade Golden Cores, they involved even more things.

In the entire Heavenly Origin Realm, perhaps only one would appear in a thousand years.

Therefore, for many geniuses, an Earth-Grade Golden Core was both the limit and the goal.

Xu Changqing immediately asked, "Is a Heaven-Grade Golden Core difficult to attain?"

Li Sancai said solemnly, "It is not a matter of whether it can be attained. It requires a certain opportunity. Unless one possesses immense fortune, it is almost impossible."

Xu Changqing thought to himself, Just because others cannot do it does not mean I cannot.

Even a genius like Li Lingbi, who possessed Threefold Mutual-Generating Spiritual Roots,

had to seek a breakthrough within his limited lifespan.

But he was different. He had an almost infinite lifespan, so he could accumulate things bit by bit.

Seeing him fall silent, Li Sancai thought he had been dealt a blow and comforted him, "These things are still too distant for you. Wait until Foundation Establishment before thinking about them."

Xu Changqing nodded. "Senior Brother is right."

Li Sancai returned to the main topic. "Junior Brother, as long as you join our team, you will be extremely busy over the next ten years, and there may even be many demands placed on you. But whether my cousin ultimately succeeds or fails, you will receive the greatest benefits."

"Benefits?" Xu Changqing fell into thought.

Li Sancai said meaningfully, "Even if my cousin fails to challenge for an Earth-Grade Golden Core, he is still a genius with Threefold Mutual-Generating Spiritual Roots. He is not someone certain people can compare to."

Xu Changqing knew whom he meant, but he did not agree immediately. Instead, he hesitated. "Since it is Senior Brother's invitation, I certainly cannot refuse. I'm just afraid I won't be able to help much."

Li Sancai laughed. "Before coming here, I actually had the same concern.

But after seeing how well you care for your Spirit Rice, and that you have even begun growing Four-Leaf Clover, that concern has vanished!"