Five Elements Formula Mastery

As for the Burrowing Cicada, its vigilance was far too high. The moment he approached, it burrowed underground and vanished. For the time being, he was helpless against it.

In all, after inspecting the three mu of Spirit Fields, he had harvested six spirit insects: three Azure-Armored Beetles, two Black Octagonal Beetles, and one Root-Eating Ladybug. It was quite a haul.

However, his spiritual power had been nearly exhausted as well.

"This spiritual power really doesn't last.

"Every spell has to be carefully budgeted to be enough."

Zhou Changwang sighed and sat down wearily on the ridge between the fields to rest.

"Still, six spirit insects should let my cultivation progress rise by another stretch."

Only when he looked at the several spirit insect corpses in his cloth bag did a faint smile appear on his face.

"Changwang, look over there."

At that moment, Old Xu strolled over and gestured slightly.

Hearing this, Zhou Changwang looked in the direction he indicated and saw a cultivator dressed in green robes continuously casting spells and working away in Xu Zhong's Spirit Field.

Meanwhile, Xu Zhong stood cautiously at the edge of the Spirit Field, looking as though he wanted to approach but did not dare.

"That Xu Zhong is willing to spend, all right. He actually hired a cultivator from the Spirit Plant Hall to get rid of the insects.

"But I specifically went to look at the spirit insects in his field yesterday. They had gathered there without dispersing, too numerous to count.

"The Spirit Plant Hall cultivators may be skilled at exterminating insects.

"But there is a limit to their spellcasting. Besides, those spirit insects are clever—they burrow underground or fly into the sky at the first sign of danger. It will probably be difficult to clear them out in one go."

As Old Xu spoke, he shook his head repeatedly.

"Indeed."

Zhou Changwang nodded.

He knew that although the masters in the Spirit Plant Hall responsible for pest removal were all spirit plant masters and possessed one or two formidable spirit plant techniques, most of them had their own Spirit Fields to tend. Those who could spare the time and were willing to accept employment generally had limited strength.

At most, they were only at Qi Refining, Fourth Layer.

Although cultivators at Qi Refining, Fourth Layer had undergone a transformation of the mind and gained Spiritual Sense, allowing them to discover spirit insects more quickly—

They still needed to cast spells to kill the insects.

Their spiritual power was limited as well.

Naturally, they could not kill too many at once.

Xu Zhong's Spirit Field was swarming with spirit insects. To clear them out completely, he would need to hire someone for at least three consecutive days.

But farming was also a matter of balancing the books.

Hiring someone once for pest removal cost three Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Three days would cost nine. Ordinary spirit farmers could neither bear to part with that sum nor afford it.

"Just wait. Xu Zhong will be worrying again tomorrow.

"But he brought this upon himself. Planting Spirit Fields is founded on diligence.

"If you neglect them for one day, weeds will cover the ground. If you fail to watch over them for three days, spirit insects will gather in swarms. That is perfectly normal."

Old Xu spoke with a sigh.

Zhou Changwang nodded and was about to agree when Old Xu's brows lifted. His expression suddenly changed as he said, "Still, Xu Zhong certainly knows how to enjoy himself. I heard that he specifically made a trip to the mortal world these past few days... Come to think of it, it is understandable. He is young, after all..."

"The mortal world?"

Zhou Changwang was startled.

"A country of mortals. Three hundred li east of our market, there is a Heavenly Martial Kingdom.

"Don't be fooled by the fact that we are at the very bottom in this market, eating Spirit Rice one meal but having none for the next. In a mortal country, taking out just about anything we have would be enough to bring wealth and glory.

"So Xu Zhong went to the Heavenly Martial Kingdom and stayed for several days at the Happy House there..."

As he spoke, Old Xu smacked his lips. "The girls in that Happy House may not compare to the female cultivators of the Heavenly Fragrance House in the market, who are proficient in charm arts and dual cultivation arts, but their looks are not inferior in the slightest. The key is that they are cheap. They only require gold and silver, not Spirit Stones."

"Oh? Old Xu, have you been there too?"

Zhou Changwang could not help asking.

"Well... well, no. I only heard about it, heard about it..."

Old Xu's old face reddened at once. He waved his hands repeatedly, then headed toward his own Spirit Field without another word, looking rather like someone fleeing in blind panic.

"The Five Elements Formula has reached Initiation Perfection..."

That night, Zhou Changwang had just awakened from cultivation when he hurriedly turned his gaze to the Attribute Panel.

At once, he saw the realm behind the Five Elements Formula change from (Initiation 99/100) to (Initiation 100/100), then flicker slightly before transforming into (Mastery 1/200).

"The Five Elements Formula's realm has indeed broken through.

"It directly became Mastery."

As delight surged through Zhou Changwang's heart, he immediately sensed a peculiar realization arising within him.

In fact—

He had noticed this realization after every session of cultivation.

It was only that perhaps his breakthrough in realm had caused quantitative change to give rise to qualitative change, making this realization far more profound than before.

At that moment, it felt as if he had cultivated the Five Elements Formula thousands upon thousands of times. He gained a deeper understanding of its many transformations.

"What effect will the Five Elements Formula at the Mastery level have after cultivation?"

Almost unable to wait, he wanted to find out.

After all, this was the foundation of his cultivation.

With his Spirit Root unchanged, the realm of his cultivation method determined his cultivation speed.

Thus, he began cultivating once more.

His mind controlled the spiritual power as it circulated within his body, swiftly drawing the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth toward him.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes...

Until one incense stick of time had passed.

Five Elements Formula +1

Cultivation +1

Only after Zhou Changwang had completed one full circulation of the Five Elements Formula did he stop cultivating.

Then, he immediately sensed the changes brought by the breakthrough in his cultivation method's realm.

"First, the circulation time of the cultivation method is faster.

"Originally, one full circulation took twenty minutes to complete. Now, it takes around eighteen minutes.

"Second, its cultivation efficiency has also improved. The same amount of spiritual energy from heaven and earth converts into thirty percent more spiritual power than before.

"In other words, under the same conditions, my cultivation speed has increased by more than thirty percent..."

Zhou Changwang carefully experienced the changes, his face filled with delight.

Even though the thirty-percent increase in efficiency was not much given the quality of his Spirit Root, it was already enough to delight him that it had improved at all.

What was more, this was only the Mastery level.

Beyond that, there were still Minor Mastery, Major Mastery...

Then he looked again at the Attribute Panel.

Name: Zhou Changwang

Lifespan: 17/75

Cultivation: Qi Refining Second Layer (24/100)

Cultivation technique: Five Elements Formula (Mastery 2/200)

Skills: Spirit Rain Art (Mastery 153/200), Cleansing Art (Initiation 62/100), Growth Technique (Initiation 67/100), Geng Metal Finger (Initiation 63/100)

"By the looks of it, Geng Metal Finger is also close to the Mastery level.

"When that happens, my pest-removal efficiency should improve even further."

Zhou Changwang felt a surge of excitement.

At present, the spiritual resources he had access to were limited. There was only one kind: spirit insects.

As the only pest-removal method he possessed—and an offensive spell at that—Geng Metal Finger naturally received more of his attention.

As for the Growth Technique, which had higher proficiency, it was indeed immensely useful. It was one of the most basic and important spells for spirit plant masters. If its spell realm was high enough, it could greatly shorten the growth cycle of spirit plants without affecting their results—but since it could not fundamentally improve his cultivation environment, it could only be a secondary choice.