Five Elements Formula Mastery

As for the Burrowing Cicada, its vigilance was far too high. The moment he approached, it burrowed straight into the ground and vanished, leaving him helpless for the time being.

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

However, his spiritual power had been almost completely drained as well.

"This spiritual power really doesn't last.

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

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

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

Looking at the several spirit insect corpses in his cloth bag, a faint smile finally appeared on his face.

"Changwang, look over there."

At that moment, Old Xu strolled over and subtly gestured as he spoke.

Hearing this, Zhou Changwang looked in the direction he indicated and saw a cultivator dressed in a green robe constantly casting spells and bustling about within Xu Zhong's spirit field.

Meanwhile, Xu Zhong stood cautiously at the edge of the field, looking as though he wanted to draw closer but did not dare.

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

"Still, I specifically went to look at the spirit insects in his field yesterday. They've gathered without dispersing, so many they can't be counted.

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

"But spellcasting has its limits, not to mention how clever those spirit insects are. At the first sign of danger, they burrow underground or fly into the sky. It'll probably be hard to clear them out completely in one go."

As Old Xu spoke, he repeatedly shook his head.

"Indeed."

Zhou Changwang nodded.

He knew that although the masters responsible for pest removal in the Spirit Plant Hall 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 were limited in strength.

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

Though cultivators at Qi Refining, Fourth Layer had undergone a transformation of mind and possessed Spiritual Sense, allowing them to discover spirit insects more quickly.

They still needed to cast spells to kill the insects.

And 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 eradicate them 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 for pest removal once cost three Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Three days would cost nine. Ordinary spirit farmers were neither willing nor able to afford such an expense.

"Just watch. Xu Zhong will still be fretting tomorrow.

"But he brought this upon himself. Cultivating spirit fields is founded on diligence to begin with.

"If you leave them untended for a day, weeds cover the ground. If you neglect them for three days, spirit insects gather in hordes. That's perfectly normal."

Old Xu spoke with a sigh.

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

"The mortal world?"

Zhou Changwang was taken aback.

"A nation of mortals. Three hundred li east of our market, there's a Heavenly Martial Kingdom.

"Don't be fooled by the fact that we're all at the very bottom in the market, eating one meal of spirit rice without knowing where the next will come from. In a mortal nation, we only need to take out something at random to enjoy riches and glory.

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

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 lacking in the slightest. The key is that they're cheap. All they need is gold and silver; there's no need to spend Spirit Stones at all."

"Oh? Old Xu, you've been there too?"

Zhou Changwang could not help asking.

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

Old Xu's old face immediately reddened. He waved his hands repeatedly, then walked off toward his own spirit field without another word, looking rather like a man fleeing in panic with no thought for the road.

"The Five Elements Formula has reached the pinnacle of the beginner stage..."

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

He immediately saw the realm after the Five Elements Formula change from (Beginner 99/100) to (Beginner 100/100), then shift slightly before becoming (Mastery 1/200).

"The realm of the Five Elements Formula really has broken through.

"It has directly reached the mastery level."

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

In fact.

He had noticed such insights after every cultivation session.

It was just that this time, perhaps because a breakthrough in realm had caused quantitative change to trigger qualitative change, the insight was much deeper.

At this moment, it was as though he had cultivated the Five Elements Formula thousands upon thousands of times. He now possessed a deeper understanding of its many transformations.

"What effect will the mastery-level Five Elements Formula have after cultivation?"

Almost unable to wait, he wanted to find out.

After all, this was the foundation of his cultivation.

With his spirit roots unchanged, the realm of his cultivation technique determined his cultivation speed.

Thus, he began cultivating once more.

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

One minute, two minutes, three minutes...

Until the time it took an incense stick to burn had passed.

Five Elements Formula +1

Cultivation +1

Only after Zhou Changwang had run the Five Elements Formula through one full cycle did he stop cultivating.

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

"First, the technique circulates faster.

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

"Second, cultivation efficiency has improved as well. From the same amount of heaven and earth spiritual energy, I can convert thirty percent more spiritual power than before.

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

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

Even if the thirty percent increase in efficiency was not much given his spirit root aptitude, it was already more than enough to delight him.

What was more, this was only the mastery level.

Beyond this lay minor accomplishment, major accomplishment...

Then he looked toward the Attribute Panel again.

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 (Beginner 62/100), Growth Technique (Beginner 67/100), Geng Metal Finger (Beginner 63/100)

...

"Going by this, the Geng Metal Finger is close to reaching mastery as well.

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

Zhou Changwang felt a surge of excitement.

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

And as the only pest-removal method he possessed, as well as an offensive spell, the Geng Metal Finger naturally received more of his attention.

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