Chapter 24 (continued)
Shan Heyuan had fired Fertilizer Pills several times before. Because the materials were hard to come by and the formation was difficult to set up, every firing gave him a chance to practice.
This time was no different.
As soon as he began firing, he drew on his experience from the previous attempt to make small adjustments to his technique, striving to judge the precise moments to channel in Spiritual Power.
He set aside all distractions and calculated intently.
To the onlookers, all that could be seen was his intricate technique, flowing like clouds and water.
He Wei sat high in his chair, looking down and nodding inwardly.
His senior brother had suddenly taken on this Registered Disciple and treated him so generously, and their fellow disciples were not very convinced.
Judging by what He Wei saw today, the junior below was indeed extraordinary.
It was hard to say about anything else, but on the path of a cultivator of Spirit Plants, he could probably surpass the young disciples of the entire city and its fourteen towns.
Even among those long-established cultivators of Spirit Plants, it was hard to say whether any had performed so astonishingly in their youth.
With talent like that alone, there was no loss in doing him a favor.
The process of firing a heap of Fertilizer Pills took a long time, and He Wei left after watching for a while.
The Supreme Harmony Sect disciples who did not work with plants also gradually left.
The crowd dwindled until only a few dozen people remained, gathered around the firing site, watching Shan Heyuan's technique and recording it with image stones.
Shan Heyuan paid the disciples no mind. He only looked out a few times during the firing, and his heart settled once he saw that Shen Duheng was sitting in meditation to one side with his sword in his arms the whole time.
The Fertilizer Pills were not finished until evening.
The Fertilizer Pills produced this time were still of excellent quality. Perhaps because his cultivation had improved, their fertility had even increased somewhat.
The Fertilizer Pills were so good that the Supreme Harmony Sect's cultivators of Spirit Plants asked to trade for some.
Having asked about Shan Heyuan's previous trades, they had made a point of preparing a batch of less common Foundation Establishment-grade seeds, none of which Shan Heyuan had.
Shan Heyuan had intended to use this batch of Fertilizer Pills on the Supreme Harmony Sect's Spirit Plants anyway, so since its disciples wanted to trade, he did not stand on ceremony.
In that trade, he received dozens of Foundation Establishment-grade seeds. He reckoned he had enough spirit seeds to last him through the entire Foundation Establishment Realm.
If he could get the Illusionless Tree branch to grow, he would certainly rely on it for cultivation, so he would not need many Foundation Establishment-grade Spirit Plants to begin with.
With Fertilizer Pills and spirit seeds prepared, Shan Heyuan lacked nothing else, so he put other matters out of his mind and entered seclusion.
He chose neither his home nor the mountain as his place of seclusion, but He Wu's private Spirit Plant garden.
He needed to place the Spirit Plants there in his Dantian to cultivate quickly.
The Supreme Harmony Sect sat atop a Spirit Vein, where Spiritual Qi was far more abundant than in ordinary places.
Spiritual Qi was even more abundant in He Wu's private Spirit Plant garden, mingled with the scent of the Spirit Plants' medicinal potency. Cultivating there yielded twice the result with half the effort.
On top of that, the valley where the Spirit Plants grew was quiet and secluded, with layer upon layer of restrictions, making it safer to cultivate there than in an ordinary place.
Shan Heyuan therefore settled in there with Shen Duheng. Shan Heyuan had sent He Wu a communication talisman to ask, and He Wu did not mind Shen Duheng cultivating there as well.
With Shan Heyuan there, Qi Yuanbai also liked to come over to the Spirit Plant garden.
His sword had begun to develop Sword Intent, and he now needed to consolidate and deepen it.
Seeing him run to the Spirit Plant garden every day, Jiu Mingyue and He Mingqing turned a blind eye and said nothing to him.
In the depths of winter, the Spirit Plants in the garden were lush and green, their stalks standing straight and their leaves thick and plump. They appeared to be growing very well.
According to each Spirit Plant's needs, Shan Heyuan weeded, loosened the soil, watered, caught insects, and smoothed out their Spiritual Power every day, tending them well.
On this day, Shan Heyuan had just used Spring Breeze Turns to Rain, turning the prepared spirit spring water into a fine rain over the Spirit Plant garden.
The rain was warmer than the air, and as it enveloped the Spirit Plants, it turned into a hazy white mist.
Nourished by the mist, the Spirit Plants looked even more delightful.
Qi Yuanbai followed right on Shan Heyuan's heels and took a deep breath of the air, laden with mist and Spiritual Qi. "Senior Brother Shan, why do I feel like your cultivation skills are growing more profound? The Spirit Plants were nowhere near as healthy half a month ago."
Shan Heyuan said, "Nothing shows better than Spirit Plants that you reap what you sow. The spirit spring water and spirit fertilizer haven't been used on them every day for nothing. If you want to grow Spirit Plants, patiently follow this method for a while, and your results won't be much worse."
Qi Yuanbai shook his head repeatedly. "I'll pass. If I had that kind of patience, I wouldn't have become a sword cultivator."
Seeing him shake his head like a pellet drum, Shan Heyuan smiled.
Looking at Shan Heyuan's smiling face, Qi Yuanbai said with some regret, "If only you'd come half a year earlier. Master still had a few Core Formation-grade Spirit Plants in his garden then. They would surely have been a great help to your cultivation, but unfortunately, Master used up every part of them as ingredients when refining the Nascent Soul Pill."
He Wu spent most of the year away, precisely to seek an opportunity to form a Nascent Soul.
Shan Heyuan smiled. "Being able to cultivate here is already a tremendous stroke of fortune. How could I dare ask for more?"
Qi Yuanbai said, "You're cultivating so fast even without Core Formation-grade Spirit Plants. If you had them, you might have reached Qi Refining Great Perfection already."
Shan Heyuan had a premonition from the Unseen that the time for Foundation Establishment was near, so he was especially calm. "There's no rush. My cultivation isn't all that slow as it is."
Qi Yuanbai stared at his face and shook his head again, still feeling regret on his behalf.
Winter passed and spring came. Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng spent their time cultivating, and their days were very peaceful.
After the new year, at the beginning of spring, Shan Heyuan woke up on the morning of the third day of the first lunar month and suddenly discovered that he had reached Qi Refining Great Perfection.
His body was brimming with Spiritual Power, and even drawing in the slightest bit more made his meridians feel painfully stretched.
The peculiar sensation made him feel like a balloon that might burst if he was not careful.
After checking repeatedly, Shan Heyuan confirmed that he had indeed reached the threshold.
Excited, he went to knock on Shen Duheng's door. "Brother Shen, I think I've reached the threshold. What should I do next?"
Shen Duheng came over to examine him.
After keeping a hand on his shoulder for quite a while, Shen Duheng asked, "You don't feel anything else?"
Shan Heyuan blinked. "What else am I supposed to feel?"
Shen Duheng said, "We expected that you wouldn't encounter a bottleneck in Foundation Establishment. Once you reached Qi Refining Great Perfection, you would naturally proceed to Foundation Establishment, and there would be a slight change in the way Spiritual Power circulated in your body."
Shan Heyuan swept his Divine Sense through his meridians and Spiritual Power, examining them carefully for a long while. "It seems like they've always been this way. Nothing has changed."
Shen Duheng released his shoulder, looking thoughtful. "Then the time hasn't come yet. You'll need to wait a while longer."
Shan Heyuan was disappointed. "How long do I have to wait?"
Shen Duheng said, "It varies. You might achieve Foundation Establishment today."
Matters of fate were the hardest to predict. Shan Heyuan had no way around it, so he could only put Foundation Establishment aside for the time being.
The weather was poor that day. They had been up for a while, but the sky was still overcast, and it looked as though it might rain.
Spring rain was especially common. Shan Heyuan smelled rain in the air, turned on the Spiritual Qi lamp, and went to the kitchen to cook.
The Spiritual Power in his body had already reached the point of making him feel overfull. He certainly could not cultivate anymore, so he could only find something else to do.
Thinking that he had not made pancakes in a long time, Shan Heyuan scooped out some flour ground from spirit wheat and began kneading dough in a basin.
His thoughts wandered most easily while he was doing chores. As his mind drifted from one thing to another, he paid no attention to what was happening outside for a while.
The muffled rumble of spring thunder sounded in the distance, with an occasional flash of lightning.
Since their home was protected by a complete set of restrictions, there was no chance of lightning striking the courtyard. Watching the flashes through the window, Shan Heyuan felt quite reassured.
At least he did not have to worry about being struck by lightning out of nowhere.
Before long, the newspaper they subscribed to was delivered. The cultivator delivering it knocked on the door outside and asked them to come out and collect it.
Shan Heyuan was busy making breakfast, so he leaned out the window and called to Shen Duheng to fetch it.
Shen Duheng had just finished cultivating and was lying in a reclining chair, reading a book borrowed from the Supreme Harmony Sect. He had already been about to answer the knock, but Shan Heyuan's call made him pause instead.