A Minor Cultivator of Linghua

June 14, Year 5492 of the Yuanguang Calendar.

Linghua Island, Yunsha Sea Region.

At noon, the blazing sun hung overhead.

In the spirit fields at the foot of the mountain, Zhao Yi released his hand seal, looked at the two mu of spirit rice he had just finished watering, and wiped away his sweat.

Sensing how little true qi remained in his body, Zhao Yi could not help smiling bitterly. Even with his cultivation at major attainment of the Meridian Opening stage, watering two mu of spirit fields with spirit rain all by himself was still somewhat beyond him.

The Rain Transformation Technique, Spirit Shaking Spell, and Spirit Growth Acceleration Technique were the three signature spells of Spirit Planters, with the Rain Transformation Technique being the most important.

Two mu of spirit fields were neither particularly large nor particularly small. Each casting of the Rain Transformation Technique could cover a patch of land two zhang across with spirit rain, so watering both mu once required dozens of castings. A single round left him thoroughly exhausted.

Zhao Yi shouldered his wooden buckets and raised his head, squinting at the blazing sun. The sun burned like fire-just the weather for a cool dip. He promptly headed for the river.

As for why he carried wooden buckets, transforming rain was not the same as summoning wind and rain. Without water, how could he transform it into rain? The power to summon wind and rain that mortals spoke of was a mighty divine ability. How could a sesame-seed-sized cultivator like Zhao Yi possibly wield it?

The cool river water flowed down Zhao Yi's dark, sturdy body, instantly washing away the summer heat and leaving him cool and comfortable.

After a while, Zhao Yi emerged from the river, dressed, shouldered his wooden buckets, and slipped onto a woodland path.

He followed the woodland path up the mountain. Halfway up, a pavilion came into view, where two young cultivators sat facing each other in casual conversation.

The slightly older young cultivator on the left wore pale green Daoist robes. He stood tall and straight, his face like polished jade and his eyes like cold stars, with a gentle refinement in his speech and bearing.

The youth on the right wore sky-blue Daoist robes. His features were fine and handsome, and a hint of slyness shone in his bright, black-gem eyes.

"Oh? Liu Yu, why are you out of seclusion?"

The two chatting in the pavilion heard Zhao Yi's voice and hurriedly turned toward him, both rising to their feet.

The green-robed cultivator smiled faintly. "Senior Brother, I came out once my cultivation had stabilized."

The young cultivator in blue strode out of the pavilion to help Zhao Yi with his carrying pole and wooden buckets.

The one in pale green Daoist robes was his second junior brother, Liu Yu, while the blue-robed youth was his third junior brother, Wang Qing.

After setting the buckets outside the pavilion, the three took their seats, and Wang Qing poured Zhao Yi a cup of plain tea to ease his hunger and thirst.

"Senior Brother, I broke through to the Meridian Opening stage three days ago, then spent a few more days in seclusion stabilizing my cultivation. I only left the Cultivation Room this morning."

"I have to say, the Meridian Opening stage really is different from the Qi Nurturing Stage!"

As he spoke, Liu Yu rubbed his fingers together. A flame sprang to life at his fingertip, then went out again.

"Good. I thought you would need at least another month to break through. I didn't expect you to manage it ahead of time."

Zhao Yi answered with a smile as he looked at Liu Yu.

The Meridian Opening stage was also known as the Spellcasting stage. Unlike at the Qi Nurturing Stage, a cultivator's true qi was no longer so scarce, allowing them to cast a few minor spells. Only upon reaching this stage were cultivators called immortal masters by mortals!

"Eldest Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, I've reached major attainment of the Qi Nurturing Stage too. I'm only two steps away from the Meridian Opening stage!" Wang Qing said beside them, also smiling.

"Two steps away? Haha!"

Hearing this, Liu Yu mulled it over and could not help laughing aloud.

"In that case, Wang Qing, let your second senior brother lend you a hand."

With that, Liu Yu took a green jade bottle three cun tall from inside his robes and handed it to Wang Qing.

"You still have some Essence Qi Pills left in that bottle?" Zhao Yi asked in puzzlement.

"That's right, Second Senior Brother. Those Essence Qi Pills were meant to help you break through to the Meridian Opening stage. Besides, even after your breakthrough, you could still take the remaining pills to stabilize your cultivation!"

"I broke through after taking six. After several days in seclusion, my cultivation has stabilized too. There were ten Essence Qi Pills in this bottle, so four are left. Wang Qing, take one every three days. They should save you at least three months of effort."

With that, Liu Yu gave Zhao Yi a meaningful look.

Zhao Yi looked at Liu Yu and smiled helplessly. "In that case, Wang Qing, take them. Finish those Essence Qi Pills as soon as you can, so your second senior brother's kindness won't go to waste."

"Ah, more bitter cultivation in seclusion!" Wang Qing muttered, accepting the bottle with a miserable expression.

"I see that lazy streak of yours is twitching again. Need me to loosen up your muscles and bones?" Liu Yu rubbed his wrists and smiled at Wang Qing.

"No, no, no, Second Senior Brother! I was just thinking I'd like a taste of those Essence Qi Pills!" Wang Qing hurriedly cupped his hands and begged for mercy.

"All right, we've rested enough. Back to the Daoist temple. There's something I need to tell you."

Zhao Yi swept his gaze over the two, drained his cup of tea, and strode out of the pavilion.

Linghua Island was ten li long from east to west, four li across at its widest point from north to south, and less than one li at its narrowest. It was a small island.

At sea, only islands with fresh water counted as islands, and any less than fifty li across were considered small islands.

The terrain was high in the east and low in the west, high in the north and low in the south, gradually leveling out from northeast to southwest.

Linghua Mountain stood on the eastern side of the island. Only a little over a hundred zhang tall, it was lush and green, thick with ancient trees.

A small river rose on Linghua Mountain and flowed south into the sea. The Daoist temple where Zhao Yi and the others lived stood near its source.

The terrain in the west was gentle, with fertile soil on both banks of the river. The island's mortals had opened up extensive farmland along the river, making it their granary.

An inlet on the southern side of the island formed a well-positioned harbor that offered shelter from wind and rain when great storms came.

The islanders had therefore built a port there, where a hundred or so fishing boats usually lay at anchor.

The vast sea stretched without end. Zhao Yi and the others also relied on boats for their usual journeys. Their vessel, a two-masted ship, was moored at the port as well and left in the islanders' care.

This island had been settled by Zhao Yi's grandmaster, Chen Changdao.

Back then, the Tide-Subduing Sect, a major sect of the Fubo Sea Region, had issued a Sea-Opening Decree encouraging rogue cultivators to settle the outer seas. Anyone who occupied an island would receive magical artifacts, pills, spirit seeds, and even mortals to help them put down roots in the outer seas.

His grandmaster had been over sixty at the time, his Dao Path beset with difficulties, so he had answered the Tide-Subduing Sect's call and set out to settle this nameless sea region through Sea-Opening.

Later, he had been fortunate enough to occupy this island. He received the mortals sent by the Tide-Subduing Sect and put down roots here.

He later accepted two disciples, Chen Yichong, Zhao Yi's martial uncle, and Chen Yihua, Zhao Yi's master. After passing on his legacy, he died.

After their grandmaster's death, their martial uncle could not endure the island's poverty and hardship, so he left Linghua Island to venture into the wider world.

Their master, Chen Yihua, remained alone on the island. Only after he took Zhao Yi, Liu Yu, and Wang Qing as his three disciples did the island grow a little livelier.

Zhao Yi was the eldest disciple and had not originally belonged to this world. An accident had brought him to this world of cultivation, where people flew through the heavens, burrowed through the earth, and summoned wind and rain, and had turned him into an infant.

At six, he had been taken away by the Tide-Subduing Sect. Later, because of his poor aptitude, his master had brought him to Linghua Island to begin cultivating.

In the stillness of the night, whenever he recalled his previous life and his present one, Zhao Yi always wondered whether this might be a dream, and whether he would return to his original world when he woke.

Unfortunately, this was no dream!

Linghua Island's poverty and hardship did not mean a lack of food or clothing, but a lack of spiritual qi. It was a mortal island, without a spirit vein.

Cultivators wrested years of life from heaven. To cultivate quickly, spiritual qi was essential.

The spiritual qi between heaven and earth was thin. Trying to wrest years from heaven with that meager spiritual qi was a flight of fancy.

Meditating to refine qi and taking pills and medicines could both improve cultivation, but refining qi and growing spirit medicines alike required spiritual qi.

Fortunately, on this island devoid of spiritual qi, nearly a century of effort by two generations-their grandmaster and their master-had finally produced two mu of low-grade spirit fields.

Spirit fields were fields whose soil contained spiritual power, allowing spiritual produce to grow.

Linghua Island's spirit fields could only grow spirit rice, the staple food of cultivators who had yet to free themselves from the need to eat.

This was what was meant by refining essence into qi. Before cultivators reached the realm of Spirit Attraction into the Body, they needed to consume spiritual produce to improve their cultivation.

Spirit rice was among the most common kinds of spiritual produce. These two mu of spirit fields were planted with low-grade White Jade Rice. Each grain was one cun long, shaped like a spindle, and translucent as jade.

One jin of White Jade Rice contained as much spiritual power as half a low-grade spirit stone, while one spirit stone could buy two jin of White Jade Rice.

These two mu of spirit fields were the lifeblood of Zhao Yi and his two junior brothers. They tended them with great care, never missing a single watering or pest removal.

Zhao Yi had an earth-attribute spiritual root. Having cultivated under his master for many years, the spells he had learned were those of a Spirit Planter.

He had become proficient in all three Spirit Planter spells: the Rain Transformation Technique, Spirit Shaking Spell, and Spirit Growth Acceleration Technique.

Under Zhao Yi's meticulous care, the White Jade Rice yielded one crop a year, with the two mu producing around two hundred jin of spirit rice.

Besides the spirit fields, there was also a spring halfway up the mountain, the source of the island's river.

The spring opening was one zhang deep and two chi across, its water cold enough to pierce the bones. If one scooped up a ladleful and tasted it carefully, there was a faint trace of spiritual power.

This was Linghua Island's secret. Without this spirit spring water, in a place with such thin spiritual qi, even seventy jin of White Jade Rice per mu would have been a good harvest.

Beside the spring stood a date tree, planted by their grandmaster years ago.

It was said that their grandmaster had attended the Tide-Subduing Sect's Sea-Opening ceremony back then. The sect had been generous, rewarding every rogue cultivator who participated in the Sea-Opening with three Spirit Dates.

Their grandmaster had eaten the Spirit Dates and planted their pits beside the spring. Of the three pits, only one had grown into a date tree.

The dates it now bore each year were tasty snacks for Zhao Yi and the others.

After all, it was descended from a Spirit Date tree and grew close to a spirit spring. The dates contained an exceedingly faint trace of spiritual power when eaten, making them far better than ordinary wild fruit.