I Spoke Out of Turn

When Zhou Changwang carried the Ironclad Boar into the spirit fields, every spirit farmer was stunned.

Among them were quite a few who knew that Zhou Changwang's spirit field had been ravaged by demonic beasts these past few days. Naturally, there were no shortage of people who took pleasure in his misfortune and wanted to watch him make a fool of himself.

After all, he had caused quite a stir earlier by using his Geng Metal Finger to help Xu Zhong's spirit field get rid of its insect infestation.

And now, beneath Long Ridge Mountain, he was the only person besides the Zhao Brothers to have bought a Spirit Hound. The occasional envious looks cast his way were enough to scorch a person.

Yet none of them had expected Zhou Changwang to be so bold as to enter Long Ridge Mountain alone to slay demons.

The key was that he had succeeded.

The Ironclad Boar's enormous body and thick armor made everyone turn their heads.

"Changwang, did you really kill this Ironclad Boar?"

Old Xu's face was filled with disbelief.

He, Xu Zhong, and the other night watchmen had all faced this Ironclad Boar before. But intimidated by its size and the force of its possible charge, none of them had dared make a move.

After all, they were spirit farmers. Fighting was not their profession, and aside from spirit farmer spells, none of them had learned many offensive spells.

Precisely because of that, they were especially shocked that Zhou Changwang had been able to kill this demonic beast.

"Luck."

Zhou Changwang nodded without boasting.

Slaying demons might look impressive, but that was only because the people before him were all spirit farmers.

Of the Rogue Cultivators who dared venture into the wilderness, which one had never slain a demon?

If he became arrogant over this, then when he truly began frequently entering the mountains and forests to slay demons, he might not even know how he died.

This time, he had only acted because of his own spirit field. Otherwise, if he had let it continue wreaking havoc, his losses would have been enormous.

"This Ironclad Boar would be worth at least one or two hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones if sold.

Its hide can be used to make talismans, and it should have an Inner Core inside it too, right?

I heard that demon beast Inner Cores are excellent materials for alchemy. Even the cheapest one can be worth more than a dozen Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

Someone could not help saying enviously.

"I heard that whether a demonic beast has a Demon Core depends on luck, especially low-level demonic beasts.

Some rely on bloodlines. You might not find one that produces a Demon Core even among ten of them."

Someone who seemed a little more knowledgeable explained.

"No matter what, Fellow Daoist Zhou made a killing this time.

One trip nearly matched a whole year of our hard work."

Someone else said sourly.

"But that is Fellow Daoist Zhou's skill.

You all know about his Geng Metal Finger. Not only is he incredibly fast at casting it, but it is extremely precise—he hits wherever he points.

This Ironclad Boar was destined for this calamity when it provoked him."

A group of people gathered around the Ironclad Boar's corpse, passing judgment on it.

Some of them carefully inspected the boar's corpse and discovered that its fatal wounds had been caused by the Geng Metal Finger. Their hearts gained several more degrees of awe toward Zhou Changwang's methods.

They had also mastered the Geng Metal Finger, but an Entry-level Geng Metal Finger had limited power to begin with. Even if someone had cultivated it to the Proficient level, its casting range was only two zhang. How would they dare use it to slay demons?

Only a Geng Metal Finger at Minor Mastery could extend its casting range to five zhang, giving one room to use it against demons.

After the excitement had died down, the crowd quickly dispersed.

After all, they were all spirit farmers. The work in their spirit fields could never be finished.

"Changwang, how do you plan to deal with this Ironclad Boar?"

Once the crowd had gradually dispersed, Old Xu moved closer and asked cautiously.

"What?"

Zhou Changwang shot him a sidelong glance.

"Didn't I strike up an acquaintance with the manager of Lin's Restaurant some time ago?

Business is good there, and they consume a great deal of demonic beast meat.

If you are willing, I can act as the middleman and sell this demonic beast for you."

Old Xu said with a smile.

He had already tasted the benefits when he helped Zhou Changwang buy spirit insects before.

"There's no need for that.

Don't forget what my father used to do."

Zhou Changwang glanced at him and shook his head indifferently.

Though Zhou Changwang had not said much about the Ironclad Boar ravaging his spirit field, Old Xu and the others had been on night watch, and it was their duty to guard against and drive away such threats.

They had remained unmoved, even allowing the Ironclad Boar to wreak destruction throughout his spirit field. He would not do anything about it, but he kept his own ledger in his heart. Naturally, he would not let Old Xu profit from him again.

"That's true. I spoke out of turn."

Old Xu immediately looked embarrassed.

Zhou Changwang did not pay him much attention. He went straight down into the spirit field and began tending to the Spirit Grain Rice that the Ironclad Boar had trampled flat.

He propped them up one by one, then used the Growth Technique to stabilize their vitality.

Finally, he nourished them with the Spirit Rain Art.

Though this Spirit Grain still looked somewhat wilted, it would no longer affect its growth.

"By the way, I wonder whether the Withered Wood Renewal Technique can also work on this Spirit Grain?"

Zhou Changwang suddenly thought of the spell he had just mastered, and his heart stirred.

Though the Withered Wood Renewal Technique was a healing spell, it was a wood-element spell, so it could naturally be used on spirit plants.

He did it as soon as the thought came to him.

Zhou Changwang calmed his mind and focused his spirit. The spiritual energy within his body was drawn forth, condensing into one rune structure after another.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

As time passed, the rune structures were gradually completed one after another.

Ten breaths, eleven breaths, twelve breaths...

The instant the fifteenth breath arrived.

Buzz!

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth around him was swiftly stirred.

A peculiar rosy light quickly gathered.

Withered Wood Renewal Technique +1

Then Zhou Changwang raised his hand and pointed at the patch of Spirit Grain Rice before him.

Specks of rosy light fell like spiritual rain, spreading evenly across this patch of Spirit Grain Rice.

At once, the Spirit Grain Rice that had been damaged and left wilted all regained their vitality.

Some Spirit Rice grains that had still been somewhat shriveled seemed to absorb a vast amount of spiritual energy in the blink of an eye, becoming plump and full...

Much of the Spirit Grain bent beneath the weight of the growing Spirit Rice, presenting a flourishing, vibrant sight.

"It really works.

It is just a pity that the casting range is too small.

For one mu of spirit field, I would need to cast it at least five times to cover everything."

Zhou Changwang was delighted, but he also discovered the limitations of this spell.

The Withered Wood Renewal Technique was even more effective on Spirit Grain than he had imagined. If cast regularly, it could absolutely increase the Spirit Rice harvest from the original five hundred jin per mu to six hundred, or even seven hundred jin per mu.

He had heard that spirit plant masters who grew Spirit Grain Rice could achieve yields of a thousand jin per mu.

He had originally found it hard to believe, but now it seemed those spirit plant masters must have mastered one or two mid-grade, or even high-grade, spirit plant spells.

Unfortunately, he had learned this spell too late.

The Spirit Rice was already mature. Even if it could increase the yield, it could not add much more.

Still, no matter what, with this spell, he could somewhat make up for his losses.

Not to mention that seven- or eight-hundred-jin Ironclad Boar.

If things went smoothly, it should bring in around a hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones as well.