Thus, another chicken joined Xu Changqing and the little yellow dog.
No, to be precise, it was a Pearl Hen.
It was gray all over.
Its body was covered in orderly round white spots.
It really did resemble a pearl.
It laid one egg every three days.
The egg contained a faint trace of spiritual qi.
Its nutrition was fairly rich as well.
Since there was no rooster, these eggs could not hatch.
Put plainly, they could only be eaten.
A chicken could not lay eggs, and eggs could not hatch chickens.
"Woof woof!" It was perhaps the little yellow dog's first time seeing one, and it was exceptionally excited.
Every now and then, it would pretend to bite at it.
The Pearl Chicken trembled in fright.
Xu Changqing grabbed the dog's drooling muzzle and warned, "If you dare bite it, I'll beat you!"
Now that the spiritual rain had fallen.
And the fertilizer had been applied.
Although the concentration of Wood Qi was steadily rising.
Unfortunately, there was no Spiritual Qi Tide in summer.
The spirit plants could only grow while gathering Wood Qi.
As a result, the efficiency naturally became lower.
Xu Changqing knew there was no use in being anxious; the current situation could not be changed.
In any case, he was already at Late Qi Refining. Breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm was only a matter of time.
Half a month later.
Xu Changqing, who was practicing the Incomplete Ironwood Armor Art, suddenly stirred inwardly.
He looked toward his attribute panel.
[Incomplete Ironwood Armor Art ↑ (Level 1) ↑] (Effect One: Consume spiritual power to cover the body in a layer of ironwood armor) (Effect Two: +10% resistance to fire and metal attributes)
"Wait?" Xu Changqing discovered in surprise.
There was an upward arrow beside the words "Incomplete."
Could it be that the Shennong System did more than merely raise spell levels?
[Would you like to consume 15,000 days of lifespan to fully restore the Incomplete Ironwood Armor Art?]
The prompt appeared.
"Just as I thought." Xu Changqing's eyes lit up.
Didn't that mean...
Although he could not afford complete spells himself.
As long as they were incomplete or fragmentary versions, he could obtain them cheaply.
Then, with the Shennong System's help, he could restore them and obtain a complete spell.
[Would you like to consume 15,000 days of lifespan to fully restore the Incomplete Ironwood Armor Art?]
The prompt appeared again.
"Yes." This time, Xu Changqing agreed without hesitation.
Although 15,000 days was equivalent to roughly forty-one years.
That tiny expenditure was neither here nor there to him.
In an instant, countless details concerning the Ironwood Armor Art surged forth.
In a daze, Xu Changqing used his limited knowledge, experience, and techniques.
It took him a full forty-one years to restore the incomplete text.
Although only an instant had passed in the outside world.
The state felt incomparably real, with an overwhelming sense of immersion.
[Successfully consumed 15,000 days of lifespan to fully restore the Incomplete Ironwood Armor Art!] [Remaining Lifespan: 63,290 days] [Ironwood Armor Art (Level 1) ↑] (Effect One: Consume spiritual power to cover the body in a layer of ironwood armor) (Effect Two: +15% resistance to fire and metal attributes)
"Although Effect One has not changed, Effect Two has increased," Xu Changqing thought.
Moreover, if he remembered correctly.
When it was incomplete, the Ironwood Armor Art had not actually been High Grade.
Only after the system restored it were those two words added.
[Would you like to consume 888 days of lifespan to raise Ironwood Armor Art from Level 1 to Level 2?]
The prompt appeared for the third time.
"Yes," Xu Changqing replied.
This upgrade was completed in an instant.
Because during the restoration process, he had already mastered the experience and techniques.
It was like cultivating again after dispersing his cultivation; the efficiency was astonishingly fast.
[Successfully consumed 888 days of lifespan to raise Ironwood Armor Art from Level 1 to Level 2] [Remaining Lifespan: 62,402 days] [High-Grade Ironwood Armor Art (Level 2) ↑] (Effect One: Consume spiritual power to cover the body in a layer of ironwood armor) (Effect Two: +20% resistance to fire and metal attributes) (Effect Three: The wooden armor's surface is covered in sharp thorns)
"I'll raise it to the highest level in one go," Xu Changqing said seriously.
[Successfully consumed 1,888 days of lifespan to raise Ironwood Armor Art from Level 2 to Level 3] [Successfully consumed 2,888 days of lifespan to raise Ironwood Armor Art from Level 3 to Level 4] [Remaining Lifespan: 59,514 days] [High-Grade Ironwood Armor Art (Level 4)] (Effect One: Ironwood armor evolves into Silverwood Armor, granting an additional +10% defense) (Effect Two: +25% resistance to fire and metal attributes) (Effect Three: The wooden armor's surface is covered in sharp thorns) (Effect Four: Sharp thorns grant +10% reflected damage) (Effect Five: Once activated, automatically absorbs Wood Qi to repair damage)
"Impressive." Xu Changqing's eyes lit up.
He immediately activated the Level 4 Ironwood Armor Art.
At once, a faint layer of silver light covered his body.
Upon closer inspection, there were patterns like the growth rings of trees.
Moreover, it was covered in sharp thorns as fine as needles.
Since he had no opponent for the moment, he did not know exactly how strong its defense and resistance were.
Xu Changqing simply went to the Poplar Tree he had constantly "tormented." This time, however, he did not attack it, but stepped forward and embraced it like an old friend.
Screech!
Pssh!
In an instant, the sound of penetration rang out.
Hearing the commotion, Xu Changqing released the tree and retreated several steps.
He saw that the Poplar Tree he had embraced was a miserable sight.
Its surface was riddled with dense needle holes.
Although he had not tested the reflected-damage effect.
It was clear that these sharp thorns did not deal little damage either.
After turning the matter over in his mind, Xu Changqing's gaze fell on the Pearl Chicken and the little yellow dog.
The Pearl Chicken instantly curled into a ball and began trembling again.
The little yellow dog sensed that things were going badly and immediately tucked its tail between its legs and bolted.
It quickly vanished without a trace.
"I feed you and water you, yet when the crucial moment comes, neither of you can be relied upon." Xu Changqing rolled his eyes.
Several days later.
Rumble!
Thunder rang out.
Soon, a mass of dark clouds gathered in the sky.
Xu Changqing was not surprised in the slightest.
Although summer temperatures were high and droughts came easily.
It also rained occasionally.
They were merely thunderstorms.
They came quickly and went quickly.
To spirit plants, this was sweet dew falling from heaven.
It brought only benefits and no harm whatsoever.
However, Xu Changqing remained vigilant.
After all, during the spring rains, many Rice Planthoppers had crawled out of the water.
There should be insects in summer as well, though he did not know what kind they would be.
Soon, a succession of crackling sounds rang out.
Rain fell.
The Spirit Rice, Four-Leaf Clover, watermelons, and Chinese cabbages were nourished.
They all became moist and glossy.
Xu Changqing stood beneath the eaves.
The little yellow dog sat crouched to his left.
The Pearl Chicken stood atop the armrest of the chair to his right.
Man, animals, and nature blended perfectly together at that moment.
There was not the slightest sense of discord.
A few minutes later, the rain stopped and the sky cleared.
The temperature rose once more.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Xu Changqing slowly strolled onto the ridge between the fields.
He expended spiritual power, swiftly sensing every corner of the Spirit Fields.
He immediately uttered a sound of surprise.
The next moment, he took off his shoes and entered the Spirit Fields barefoot.
He quickly arrived before a Spirit Rice plant with an exceptionally unusual appearance.
It gleamed golden all over.
Its Wood Qi was incredibly dense.
Especially its rice ears: the others had only three to five.
Yet this one had as many as nine.
At the sight, Xu Changqing hurriedly circulated the Evergreen Formula.
[Mutated Spirit Rice] [More Children, More Blessings]
Whether it was because of the rain that had just fallen.
Or because of some other cause.
This Spirit Rice plant had actually mutated.
Its color was deeper.
Its rice ears were more numerous.
It had even gained an utterly unbelievable trait!!!
Before you continue