Lin Mo watched Liu Xianzong leave the Spirit Courtyard with a hint of regret.
First, he dripped a drop of spirit spring water whose spiritual energy concentration had yet to reach its peak beside the freshly planted seed, making up for the nutrients its deceased predecessor would have provided.
Then he picked up the uprooted spirit plant and sneaked back to his own courtyard.
He found a secluded corner, planted it, and poured in more than half a gourd of spirit spring water before stopping.
Lin Mo pressed his palms together and bowed to the spirit plant, which had been ravaged almost beyond recognition, hoping it would survive.
Returning to his room, he sat cross-legged on the bed and resumed absorbing the spiritual energy he had yet to fully digest.
Earlier, he had drunk a gourd and a half of spirit spring water and nearly burst himself to death. Even now, he had not finished absorbing it all.
The results, however, were immediate.
By now, the spiritual energy vortex in Lin Mo's dantian had essentially taken shape. He was just one final step away from completing a full circuit, entering the Qi Refining Realm, and becoming a true cultivator.
Once he absorbed the remaining spiritual energy, it would practically be set in stone.
If a genius with a three-element spiritual root drank a gourd of spring water like I did, they could probably reach the second layer of Qi Refining. The gap in talent really is enormous.
Lin Mo silently speculated.
This spirit spring water should be able to affect my spiritual root. I can feel it slowly growing stronger too. I wonder when it will evolve into a four-element spiritual root...
Ah, time waits for no one. Turning ordinary mountain spring water into spirit spring water still falls a little short. Perhaps if I poured real spirit spring water into the gourd, the essence that came out could let me advance a thousand miles a day.
But spirit spring water requires sect contribution points or spirit stones to buy. Once I've grown some spirit fruit, perhaps I'll be able to get some.
At first, Lin Mo had considered trading the spirit spring water from the gourd for spirit stones, but he had ultimately rejected the idea.
He understood the wisdom of keeping one's wealth out of sight.
After thinking it over, he realized there was no rushing this. He grinned and resumed cultivating.
With the Little Gourd in hand, everything would be manageable as long as that spirit plant survived.
Early the next morning, Lin Mo sprang from his bed with a carp's flip and ran over to check on the spirit plant.
In just one night, the spirit plant that had been on the verge of death had actually regained its vitality. Although it still looked wilted and listless, it was far better than when he had brought it back yesterday.
This spirit spring water really worked!
Delighted, Lin Mo poured on the remaining half of the spirit spring water, then left his courtyard and ran to the full-fledged disciples' residences to empty their chamber pots.
"Chamber Pot Boy, I hear you've started growing spirit plants. Over at Liu Xianzong's place, right? Trash really does flock together."
Someone sneered.
Lin Mo acted as though he had heard nothing, picked up the things, and left, leaving a string of mocking laughter behind him.
Back at Liu Xianzong's place, the seed planted yesterday showed no signs of change.
Lin Mo inwardly breathed a sigh of relief and continued with his work.
Liu Xianzong was usually busy completing his assessment assignment and was rarely anywhere to be seen.
Today, however, he stayed there, waiting until Lin Mo had watered the spirit plants one by one before approaching with something resembling a round disc.
Muttering an incantation, he took out a faintly glowing stone with a slightly pained expression and placed it on the disc.
Hum!
A humming sound rang out.
Streams of spiritual energy rose from the ground and enveloped the plot, forming the legendary sight of qi condensation into mist.
But the scene lasted only about seven minutes before dissipating.
Liu Xianzong wilted along with it, looking as though he had spent three days and nights in a brothel.
The spirit plants needed two infusions of spiritual energy each month. Using this formation disc would cost two spirit stones each time.
Liu Xianzong received only six spirit stones a month, plus three more as a spirit plant subsidy, so naturally he could not bear to spend them.
He could only use his own spiritual energy to make up the shortfall.
Each use drained all the spiritual energy from his third-layer Qi Refining body. He needed at least a day of meditation to recover.
"Phew, I've finally got enough."
Liu Xianzong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and picked several ripe Crimson Spirit Fruits.
He counted them, and a relieved smile spread across his pale face.
The annual sect assessment was half a month away. As a Spirit Plant Farmer, Liu Xianzong had to turn in a full hundred spirit fruits over the course of the year.
He had worked for well over half a year, only barely reaching the required number in the final half-month before the year-end assessment.
With his assignment complete, he would not be punished, and he felt much more at ease.
"Senior Brother, do those important people in the inner sect have to undergo these contribution-point assessments too?"
Seeing that he was in a good mood, Lin Mo seized the chance to step forward and ask.
Liu Xianzong smiled. "Inner Sect Disciples naturally don't have to do this sort of work. Their task is to cultivate. Once their cultivation and combat strength rise, they have to fight for territory along the sect's borders. That's going out with their heads dangling from their belts. When all is said and done, we're just handling logistics. There's hardly any danger."
"Sometimes, though, Outer Sect Disciples and even Servant Disciples are needed to fill the battle lines. Life and death may be uncertain, but the rewards are high too. Some people who are desperately short of sect contribution points will go. Quite a few have found great opportunities there and become Inner Sect Disciples in a single leap. Fortune and disaster lean on each other, you could say. Whether it's a blessing or a calamity comes down entirely to luck."
Everyone had their own responsibilities, and the important people of the inner sect were no exception.
"Cultivating for immortality, cultivating for immortality... when does it ever end?"
Lin Mo could not help sighing.
Seeing his expression, Liu Xianzong said, "They say that in ancient times, when spiritual energy was abundant, treasures were everywhere. Even a small sect on the level of our Azure Cloud Sect required at least a three-element spiritual root to admit a disciple. There wasn't so much fighting over resources back then, and many powerful cultivators emerged."
He rambled on at length about common knowledge in the cultivation world, and Lin Mo kept nodding as he listened.
These were all inside details he had never heard before.
Over the next few days, Lin Mo's routine remained unchanged.
He rose in the morning to check on his spirit plant, then collected chamber pots, tended the spirit plants, and returned to his courtyard to cultivate.
When he found time, he visited Steward Cui to ask whether any new Servant Disciples had arrived, only to be sent away with a casual excuse.
Clearly, there was still no suitable candidate.
Lin Mo could only rely on himself.
He had to enter Qi Refining and become an Outer Sect Disciple as soon as possible.
At last, the tenth night arrived.
Three years of life as a servant can finally end today.
The moon was bright, the stars sparse.
Looking at the spirit plant before him, laden with three bright red fruits, Lin Mo broke into a silent grin.
Only the final step remained.
He picked the three fruits and tucked them into his pocket, then sat down where he was. Taking out the Little Gourd, he gulped down a large mouthful. As he felt abundant spiritual energy coursing through his body, he gathered it all together, fed it into the fully formed spiritual energy vortex, and urged the vortex to turn.
Once the vortex spun on its own, generated spiritual energy, and completed a greater celestial circuit, he would be a cultivator.
The vortex slowly began to turn, and the spiritual energy within circulated through his body according to his cultivation method. Everything went smoothly.
But soon, Lin Mo frowned.
Why couldn't he get past this barrier to entering Qi Refining?
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